Matt Proctor recently wrote me to let me know about his guitar company, M-tone Guitars. I’ve never played one of Matt’s guitar, but they definitely have a unique vibe to them, likely due to Matt’s 15-year stint as a sculptor. I like his philosophy:

I remember when I was ten years old in Santa Fe, NM, looking in a pawn shop window at a beat up blue paisley Jaguar and getting a gnawing, excited feeling that never went away. Thinking about that guitar 35 years later still fires me up, and I try to build guitars that make me feel like that over and over again. My guitars play like a dream and feature top of the line electronics and hardware, but most importantly they are sexy and fun and can make you remember why guitars are important to begin with. The world always needs more cool guitars.

He makes a point of mentioning that he does all of the work himself and doesn’t rely on robots or computers to help him out. He also chooses not to use plastic whenever possible. For example, he uses steel for pickguards, which I think add to the funky vibe of the guitars.

I can’t attest to how they play or sound, but Matt’s guitars certainly look cool:

Read more about Matt’s guitars at the M-tone Guitars website.

“Once you’ve discovered you enjoy playing the guitar, you can’t stop playing the guitar.”

In his article “Building the Guitar You’ll Keep” for Wired.com, Chuck Squatriglia offers an excellent glimpse into Richard Hoover and his company, Santa Cruz Guitars.

It’s an unhurried place. Guitars are built one at a time, by hand, a process that takes eight weeks or more. Almost every guitar in the joint is already spoken for, and if you order one today you won’t be playing it until this fall.

I’ve had the opportunity to hear Hoover speak about wood, and I would venture to say that there are few people that know tonewoods as well as Hoover does. The story of his company is, for me, perhaps even more interesting, and Squatriglia does a good job of profiling both Hoover and the company. Hoover clearly has a passion for building high-quality guitars. And, if you’ve ever had the pleasure of playing a Santa Cruz Guitar, you know that Hoover’s passion manifests itself in some of the highest quality guitars made today.

As an added bonus, the article features some excellent photography of the Santa Cruz Guitars shop taken by Jim Merithew.

(Thanks to Darren M. for pointing me to this article.)

This year, Fender is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Fender Telecaster. Many things have changed in the past 60 years, but the Telecaster remains largely unchanged from its original design, which is a real testament to Leo Fender’s original design. Fender has created a video featuring a number of artists who have come together to discuss their appreciation for the Telecaster:

Fender has recently added a virtual guitar builder to their website that allows you to design and customize a Stratocaster with a variety of options. Even if you’re not in the market for a new guitar, it’s a lot of fun just to play around with the options.

Guitarist Alex Skolnick was invited to attend the Gibson event that announced the Firebird X guitar that Gibson promised will revolutionize music. He has written his thoughts on the event and guitar for Guitar Player. Here’s what he had to say after a Gibson employee demoed the guitar:

One of the beauties of the electric guitar as a musical instrument is the pure, organic quality, despite the fact that the sound is amplified. When guitar tone is done well (Jeff Beck, Billy Gibbons, David Gilmour, Brian May, and Slash being among my personal favorites), our ears are still able to decipher the distinctions of the naked wood through the layers of tonal clothing. In this sense, electric guitar tone is like a fashion statement: ultimately a body (human or guitar), is the core, the solid foundation—”solidbody,” if you will. Any layers, whether sonic or fabric, should serve the purpose of accentuating, not hiding, that which lies underneath. From that demonstration, I got no sense of how the Firebird X—the guitar itself—even sounded underneath its internal labyrinth of technology.

And, here’s his blunt advice for Gibson:

During these trying economic times, instead of developing exorbitant, overpriced, computerized guitars (not to mention tribute models that most potential buyers will never be able to afford, such as the $9,000 Randy Rhoads Tribute Les Paul), what Gibson needs to do is put its energy back into doing what it used to do: create timeless guitars, not futuristic ones, and offer them for prices that, if not low, are at least fair. Instead of flooding the racks of retail stores with watered-down versions of the classic models, such as the current crop of cheapened, hollowed-out Les Pauls mass produced on the assembly line (for the same prices previously designated to the hand-built models), these inferior instruments should be properly labeled and priced as “entry level” or “discount,” not passed off to unsuspecting buyers as the real thing.

It’s interesting to hear the thoughts of someone who attended the event. As a working guitarist, you would think Skolnick would be the type of person a $5,000 guitar like the Firebird X is aimed at. If people like him are not impressed, then who is Gibson’s target customer for this guitar?

Read Skolnick’s article about the event and the guitar here.

By now, you’ve probably heard about Fender’s recently released Blacktop series of guitars. This series features Stratocasters, Telecasters, Jaguars, and Jazzmasters with humbuckers replacing the single coil pickups typically found in these guitars. (The Blacktop Jazzmaster actually has one P90-style pickup in addition to one humbucker. The rest of the guitars have two humbuckers.) Fender has stated that they created this series to appeal to modern rock guitarists who want a hotter sound than what single coils provide. The most intriguing aspect of these guitars to me is the $449.99 street price. As you might expect at this price point, the guitars are not made in America, but are made in Mexico. Even so, this is a great price point as it’s actually cheaper than many of Fender’s other MIM guitars. I was curious to see how well they played and sounded.

My local Guitar Center had a few Stratocaster and Telecaster models in stock, but none of the Jaguar or Jazzmasters. I was especially interested in playing the Telecaster model since I’m a big fan of Rosewood necks and most Telecasters do not have them, but these do. Additionally, I was thinking about picking up a Telecaster when these guitars came out. The Stratocasters and Telecasters are also available with Maple necks.

I was very impressed with the neck on these guitars. The neck felt great on each of the Blacktop guitars I played. However, the skunk stripe that covers the truss rod on one of the Telecasters was slightly raised to the point where I could feel it when I played the guitar. This only occurred on one of the guitars I played, but I thought it was worth noting since it affected the overall playability of the guitar.

In place of the typical control knobs used on Fender guitars, these guitars feature amp knobs. Some people don’t like the amp knobs, but I think they look fine on the guitars. My Muddy Waters Telecaster has amp knobs as the controls, so maybe I’m just used to them.

I played the Telecaster model through a couple of different amps. I felt like the pickups sounded OK, but were a little muddy. I think if I were to pick up one of these guitars, I would probably end up replacing the pickups. That being said, at $449 you can forgive a little muddiness in the pickups. Based on other reviews and comments I’ve seen, other people like the pickups, so maybe it’s just that I’m used to a different sound.

The Stratocaster features a slightly different control set from the Telecasters. Even through the Stratocaster has two humbuckers, it features a five-way switch with a couple of coil-splitting options. This is a nice way to give a little bit of the typical Strat quack along with the bite of humbuckers.

Overall, based on the Blacktop guitars I played, I think Fender has a big hit on their hands with these guitars. They appear to be a great value and, aside from the finish issue I mentioned above, appear to be solid, well-made guitars. I’ve only played a few of the Telecaster and Stratocaster models, so I can’t comment on the Jaguar or Jazzmaster models. I am especially interested in hearing people’s comments about the Jazzmaster since this is the cheapest Jazzmaster produced under the Fender brand and I can see it appealing to a lot of people.

Back in June, I mentioned that Epiphone was working with Joe Bonamassa to create a Joe Bonamassa signature model Epiphone Les Paul. More details have come out about the guitar, and it is now available for pre-order in the US with a release date tentatively scheduled for this December. So far, American Musical Supply is the only US retailer that I’ve found that has it for pre-order. Andertons Music Co. has the guitar available for pre-order in the UK.*

The guitar has the following features:

• 1950′s rounded neck profile mahogany neck with long neck tenon for added strenth and sustain
• Mahogany body married to a hard Maple cap for that unique combination of warmth and bite
• Gibson Burstbucker 2 pickup in the neck and the hotter Burstbucker 3 in the bridge for added bite
• Black pickup mounting rings, a black pickguard, black toggle washer and black cavity control covers
• Limited run of only 1,000 guitars will be made

The price on American Musical Supply’s website is $699. Only 1,000 will be produced, so if you want one you may want to pre-order soon to ensure that you get one.

*Note: I have no affiliation with American Musical Supply or Andertons Music Co. If you see another online retailer that has these guitars for pre-order, feel free to list them in the comments.

EddieVegas.com is selling Eric Johnson’s 1962 Stratocaster, which is the Strat that Fender used as the basis for the EJ Rosewood signature series guitars.

It’s hard to believe that Eric would sell it, but Eddie has all the paperwork from Eric claiming it was his. The asking price is $90,000, so this one is most likely for collector’s only. The guitar is also listed on eBay.

You can see Eric playing the guitar in the video below.

Lichty Guitars, the shop of luthier Jay Lichty, have donated a guitar for raffle to benefit the Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF) in North Carolina, where Lichty Guitars is located. The guitar is a handmade acoustic OM-style guitar built with African Bubinga and Spruce woods. It is valued at $3500 and raffle tickets are only $10. Only 350 tickets will be sold, so your chances of winning are pretty good! Best of all, your contribution will help support music in arts in communities through the LEAF organization.

A slideshow of the guitar that is up for raffle is shown below.

A couple of months ago, I reviewed a nice S-style guitar made by Landric Custom Guitars, LLC. Since then I’ve had the chance to ask Rick Land, the luthier behind Landric Custom Guitars, some questions about his guitars and how he builds them. Check out the interview below:

How did you get into building guitars?

I started building electric guitars to keep out of the “dog house” with my wife. When I really got into the more vintage style guitars, I knew there was no way I could afford the real good re-issues let alone the authentic relics, so I thought I’d try build one. Well, one turned into two, and two turned into three. When I got up to five or so, my wife lovingly suggested that I sell my builds to help pay for future ones.

How do you choose the components that go into a guitar?

There are a lot of factors that go into each guitar I build. There might be a certain look I am trying to achieve, or a sound(s) I am looking for. Most of the time, the guitar’s cost is a big factor. I really try to get the most “bang” for the buck. I always strive for quality without spending top-dollar. There are a lot of nice parts, pieces, and pickups out there that need to be tried in a guitar.

How did you develop your relicing technique?

Lots of trial and error unfortunately. I am always studying the real thing. Whether I’m studying books and photos of vintage guitars, or I get a chance to hold an authentic relic, I try to replicate what I see. There is something new I learn from every old, worn, and played-out guitar. It always amazes me how different one vintage guitar looks from the next. Every player plays a little different. They hold their guitars differently. They store them differently. Some guitars are played in a studio all their life while some have been played in nothing but smokey bars and outdoor stages. They all age, just very differently. I am always trying to recreate these effects. It’s an art I’m learning with each relic job I do.

It seems like even though you might use a few off-the-shelf components, you work them into something unique that fits the particular instrument you’re working on. What process do you use to do that?

I actually use many off-the-shelf components. Because I build a lot of very popular-styled guitars, there are many, many parts available. Sometimes you just go with what works. I get a lot of feedback from players on each of my builds. They tell me if something works or doesn’t work for them. I like to visualize each guitar in my head before I build it. Unless it’s a requested custom guitar, I will mix and match paint colors, fingerboard woods, bridges/tremolos, tuners, …etc. until I have a combination that seems to work for me. Then once the guitar is built, I get it into a players hands to give it a “test run”. Not every player likes the same feel or sound from an electric guitar, so I try to do something a little different any time I can. It’s a fun, but time consuming, process.

I noticed the S-style models I played had a unique electronics set up. Could you explain that a little?

Most of my guitars will get the same electronics. I try to use good quality components and a few tricks I pick up on from some real talented builders over the years. The Retromaster (S-type) guitars will generally come with 5-way switching, vintage pots, cloth wire, “orange-drop” capacitors, and most have a treble-filter on the volume pot. This filter or by-pass, will let you “roll” your volume down without the guitar’s tone getting “muddy” sounding. A lot of the good builders out there will add this feature because it works so well. My Trebleshooter (T-type) guitars use all those same components, but come with 3-way or 4-way switching. I have even experimented with a Trebleshooter that has a 5-way switch. With a added tone capacitor and some different wiring, this guitar gives you all three original T-style tones plus an “out of phase” tone and a neck pickup setting with treble by-pass. Just something you don’t always see, but may be a tone players are looking for…

Any plans to introduce other body styles in the future?

This is a definite plan. Right now, I am just finishing up a custom-ordered 5-string bass guitar. I have done a few bass guitars over the last few yeas, but I hope to get some out in the store soon. I am also working on finishing up a Trebleshooter Baritone and a Thin-line Retromaster. A few other guitar ideas are not far behind either.

For as much as I love the classic styles that we are all grew up with and are accustom to, I can’t wait for the time when I can put a more custom designed Landric guitar out there for players to try. I don’t know when exactly this will happen, but God-willing, it’s a definite plan.

Please feel free to expand on any other part of the guitar-building process that you’d like to talk about.

I will have a few more demos out on Youtube soon. I’ve been very blessed to have the talents and skill of Jared James Nichols playing my Landric guitars out and on video. He really puts my guitars through the extreme playing styles and methods on a daily/nightly basis. Jared and I are working on some new videos to get out there soon.

I also am very close to getting my website up and running. It should give a lot more detail and information on my guitars and what I have to offer. Until it is finished though, you can always go to Cream City Music’s website at: www.creamcitymusic.com to see what I have in stock at their store in Brookfield, WI. Cream City Music is one of the “go-to” guitar stores in the Midwest. They do a lot of business on-line and their showroom is an excellent place to show my guitars. I can also be reached at rick@landricguitars.com.