Gear: January 2011
Rock Lock Company
The Rock Lock
If you constantly worry about your guitar getting stolen from the stage, then entrepreneur Chris Goulet thinks a lot like you. While in college, he had a pretty good idea when he sketched out a drawing for a way to lock up his guitar after his roommate “borrowed” it without his permission, again. It was during an entrepreneurial class in business school when he figured out that this idea might actually make business sense. With the official release of The Rock Lock, guitarists everywhere can keep their instruments relatively safe in just three simple steps: loop, load, and lock. “It really seemed simple to me,” said Goulet, owner and founder of The Rock Lock Company. “Guitar theft is typically a crime of opportunity, and happens at bar and club gigs, in band rooms, dorms, and even at home. I was surprised there was nothing out there to prevent this, so I sketched out an idea, developed the business plan in school, and here we are today.” The Rock Lock allows you to secure your guitar to anything convenient to where you are, for example an amplifier, drum kit, speaker, or whatever else is handy. List price is about $50. Visit www.therocklockcompany.com.
Kemper GmbH
Profiling Amplifier
Those crazy Germans at Kemper have developed an entirely new concept for guitar amplification in the modern world. Following the radical idea that every guitar player should be able to bring his personal sound of the tube amp setup he owns into a compact and reproducible format, the Profiling Amplifier learns the sonic behavior of any guitar amplifier and offers exactly the tone and feel the player knows from his real amp. Of course, not every guitarist owns a perfect studio environment or stocks a number of classic tube amps. That is why the Profiling Amplifier comes preloaded with profiles of classic tube amps: the British blues sound, the California sound, electric Chicago blues, and more, including the classic speaker cabinets that are incorporated into the memory of this modeling amp. Kemper is introducing this quirky little lunchbox-sized amp at the upcoming NAMM show. Price is unknown at presstime, and Kemper doesn’t have an English-reading version of their Web site yet. But a nice intro video is available on You Tube if you search for Kemper Profiling Amplifier. Schnell!
Gibson
Custom Shop Eric Clapton 1960 Les Paul Reissue
Eric Clapton’s legendary “Beano Burst” Les Paul – which was stolen in 1966 during Cream’s early rehearsals – has been reborn aas the Gibson Custom Shop Eric Clapton 1960 Les Paul, and has been created with the close, personal cooperation of the man himself. Every component in the build, including grain pattern and finish color, neck profile and feel, pickups, and more has been personally approved by Clapton. Fifty-five guitars will be hand-aged by renowned finishing expert Tom Murphy, and hand-signed by Clapton himself (who gets to keep the first five guitars for his private collection – a dubious reward for someone who lost the original). A further 95 axes will be Murphy-aged, and 350 guitars will be finished with Gibson’s not-quite-so-expensive Vintage Original Spec (VOS) treatment. All 500 replicas will display striking characteristics of the artist’s original 1960 Les Paul Standard, including the subtly figured maple top with an Antiquity Burst finish, period-correct hardware (including Clapton’s own upgrade to Grover tuners), and two of Gibson’s finest reproduction PAF-style humbucking pickups. If you still believe “Clapton is God,” you’ll be able to handle the list price of $8,500 for the “cheaper” VOS model. Visit www.gibson.com for details.
— David Gedge
