Roll With It
Fresh from his victorious performance at FitzGerald’s, Jimmie Vaughan has a new piece of signature hardware to show off. The new Gretsch G400JV Synchromatic Archtop is a joint production between Gretsch and Vaughan targeted at “players looking for a cool stage-ready acoustic/electric archtop guitar,” according to Mike Lewis, marketing manager for Gretsch. Features include all solid wood construction, nitrocellulose lacquer finish, an all-new Fishman archtop acoustic pickup system, and Grover Imperial machine heads. “Jimmie Vaughan has been a tremendous friend to all of us at Gretsch for a long time,” says Lewis. “His playing is unbelievable and his influence on so many styles of music and musicians is undeniable. It is truly an honor to be able to pay homage to his contributions, and to work with him on designing this unique instrument.” It’s a beauty of a guitar, as you’d expect, recalling Art Deco archtops of the ’40s and ’50s. Retail price is $2,900; visit www.gretschguitars.com for full details.
ALFRED
Hits For Easy Guitar
Alfred’s Hits For Easy Guitar series features songs that are, well, easy to learn and play on guitar. The company claims Acoustic Rock Hits For Easy Guitar contains “nearly 20 of the most popular acoustic rock hits ever written!” We’ll be the judge of that, Alfred. Some highlights (or lowlights?) are “Time Of Your Life” by Green Day, “Heart Of Gold” by Neil Young, and Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville.” “Gear”‘s personal favorite, Surf & Spy Hits For Easy Guitar, includes “The Batman Theme” by The Ventures, “Forty Miles Of Bad Road” by Duane Eddy, and, of course, “Wipeout” by The Surfaris. We guess the most popular will be Classic Rock Hits For Easy Guitar, which offers The Grateful Dead, Neil Young, The Animals, The Zombies, The Kinks, and Led Zeppelin. For more information, visit Alfred’s Web site at www.alfred.com.
GATOR
GRBW-3U+6W Rolling Rack
Though it looks like a piece of Samsonite luggage ripe for TSA inspection, Gator‘s new rack bag is a practical and portable solution for storing and securely mounting effects processors, power amps, recording equipment, and wireless microphones. The smartly named GRBW-3U+6W works with six space wireless mic/guitar units or four space wireless units and one antenna combiner – got all that? The case has three units of rack space with replaceable rack rails. Its best feature? The microphone pocket holds six microphones or six wireless body packs in a padded insert in its outside pocket, along with a mesh pocket for accessories. The bag is constructed of lightweight nylon and a rugged polyethylene interior frame and internal reinforced aluminum valance for superior protection. Extra features of the case are a retractable, removable handle and practical rolling wheeled design. Priced around $180. Visit www.gatorcases.com for more details.
NEWS & NOTES
Two worthy guitar shows are back in town this month. The Texas Amigo‘s Chicago Guitar Show is at the Odeum in Villa Park on September 9th and 10th, and R & B Productions’ Guitar Maddness returns to Judson College in Elgin on September 24th. If you’re ready for guitar fun on your holiday weekend, Ronnie’s House Of Rock in Wood Dale is having a grand opening on Labor Day.
– David Gedge
