Loyal Performer
Hi PG Folks,
I almost lost it when I saw your “Gear Of The Month” article in the October 2012 issue [“1985 FenderPerformer Guitar”]. I own a Fender Performer, which I bought new from Zavarella’s Music in Arlington, Virginia, for $250. Through many years of poverty and having sold numerous LP/CD collections, drums, amps, guitars, etc. in order to eat ... this is the one piece I never let go. Today, with my small collection of guitars ranging from Gibson to PRS to Carvin— this is still my go-to instrument. I’ve made some cosmetic changes and replaced both switches, but I have not altered its original wiring or sound. It’s a fantastic axe with endless tonal capabilities, the depths of which I still have only begun to explore. Attached is a picture of me playing my Performer at a gig earlier this year. Thank you for this article and your wonderful publication.
—Todd Mack

Head Rush
Shawn,
I just read your article on Rush in Premier Guitar while on a flight from Orange County to Dallas [November 2012]. I have been a guitar player for over 30 years and Rush fan for 29 years and am a voracious reader of everything they do—not the psycho-type of fan, just someone who appreciates that their music and personalities have been part of my life and to some extent have shaped who I am. Life is too busy for me to consume all media, therefore I rarely go to the movies or watch TV. I am perfectly content with reading, listening to (good) music and being an over-consumer of Apple products. Because I pick and choose where I spend my time, I am always grateful when something doesn’t just end up being another waste of time. Your interview and subsequent article was so well done: just the right amount of tech, balanced nicely with some great questions that most other numb-nuts publications (e.g. RS) wouldn’t have the brains or interest to ask. I think it was the only time an article about a rock band (albeit my favorite) made me well up with tears. It wasn’t just the questions and answers about their eventual retirement and aging/ mortality (because I’ve seen that question asked and answered before). Somehow you succinctly demonstrated how three good guys in the music industry can be true to themselves, have passion for their craft, deliver a fantastic product, and be realistic about what matters in life. Well done.
Sincerely,
Robert Fosmire, Irvine, California

Hot Rods
Hi there,
Here’s a submission for readers’ hot rod guitars. Left to right: Fender 2007 Reverse Stratocaster with a modded pickup switch to give series middle wiring in the bridge position, reversed middle pickup pole pieces and leads to make RWRP pickup and GraphTech saddles. The Peavey Wolfgang Standard has Dunlop strap locks, and added push-pull pot to the tone pot that I wire for coil tap or kill on the neck pickup, and EVH gear bridge pickup as the original crapped out. Next is a Fender 2003 MIM Stratocaster that I found in a local store that had the neck reversed. This is my modtester guitar. Mods are as follows: roller string tree, replaced frets with stainless steel frets, Dunlop strap locks, GraphTech saddles, DIY road-worn finish, black knobs and covers, Fender Tex-Mex pickups in neck and middle, Seymour Duncan Lil59 in bridge. Electronics are wired master volume/master tone, neck tone pot is wired to middle pickup and acts as a volume pot for the middle pickup for kill toggle effects.
—Paul Getz

No Politics (Just Gigs and Girls, Pleas)
Thank you for your November editorial about music and politics [“Tuning Up”]. Your “strict MO” at PG is quite positive: “yay” on the music and gear, and “nay” to politics and music and gear. I’m now 65, retired, and back playing rock and blues in a band after years in electrical engineering. I have noticed that we seem to be one of the few local bands that just want to play music without politics these days.

We started out in high school, playing acoustic folk music in Denver in the early ’60s. We saw The Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul, and Mary in ’63. TKT was a great show with music, humor, and some non-partisan political commentary— every person in the audience had a great time. PPM was also great, but their politics just kept getting in the way of the music—we did not all get our money’s worth that night. Our band soon switched to rock— more gigs and girls. We started as a surf band (and yes, we see the irony of surf music in the Rockies). The pure joy of playing, and the uninhibited reactions of the fans were the reasons for playing, not the chance to tell everyone our political beliefs. However, for the last 50 years we seem to hear about this or that band alienating half of their (potential) audience at gigs and I just don›t understand it at all. Playing at a fundraiser sure—politics are in order. But those of us in the audience pay our money (and hard-earned money at that) to see our fave bands and listen to our fave music, not be preached at about their politics. The five of us read four or five different guitar magazines, but PG has been our fave for several years. I am beginning to understand why. Keep up the good work and detailed gear reviews.
—Don Gray, Denver, Colorado