High Voltage
Cool article [“Amp First-Aid,” August 2012]. Simple common sense. Your number one [tip]—carry a backup—has to be the prime advice to guitarists. My Marshall 18-watt died at a gig (I later found out that most of them did that!) and I would have been out of luck, but I had purchased another amp on the way to the gig. Talk about luck. Ever since, I have a cute little Boogie Mark I head for insurance: takes up no space and sounds like a real amp.
—Jay Robertson
via Facebook

I just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed your magazine— been there from the very, very beginning. I really enjoyed the article on the 15-watt amps [“Champions of Chime,” August 2012]. I wish you’d consider writing an article on some of the less expensive amps, such as the Vox Night Train, the one from Blackheart, and others in that price range. It’d even be nice to see how they compare to the boutique amps. I’m pretty sure others would really be interested in this also. Keep up the good work, and unbiased opinions on your gear reviews.
—Andy Rhodes
Wilkesboro, North Carolina

Hey Shawn,
Back in 1965, I was 13 and my dad bought me a Dakota Red Fender Mustang and a Deluxe Reverb. Knowing my dad, he didn’t spend all that much. Less than a year later, the Folk Boom came to town and I sold both pieces to fund a Goya 12-string. Boy, was that stupid. I’ve made plenty of boneheaded trades over the years, but that stands out as one of the worst.
Regards,
Richard Larris

Carvin’s Take
We appreciate Premier Guitar and Mr. [Jordan] Wagner taking the time to review Steve Vai’s latest amp, the VL300 head. In response to Mr. Wagner’s comments: “I still needed to really push the presence and treble controls,” and “Gain can be muddy, difficult to get crisper overdrive tones,” this could make sense considering the VL300 was tested using the Celestion G12T75, which is noted for having a darker sound. Premier’s earlier review on the Emperor 4x12 noted that this enclosure has a boosted low-end response, which would require pushing the hi-frequency controls. We suggest to all reviewers that a reference standard such as the Celestion Vintage 30 be used simply because everyone knows this speaker, which the VL300 was designed around because it is Mr. Vai’s choice of speaker.
In respect to the MI industry,
Carson Kiesel
President
Carvin Corp

Cultural Exchange
Andy Ellis’ article, “The Secret World of Hindustani Slide” [July 2012] was as edifying to read as it was entertaining. It filled in some fairly significant gaps in my knowledge of one of my favorite subgenres of music (the importance of the Hawaiian influence and the fact that Brij Bhushan Kabra’s customization of a guitar preceded Vishwa Mohan Bhatt’s, to name just a couple of examples). I’d like to return the favor, if I may, and touch on a few points the article didn’t.

Both V.M. Bhatt and Kavichandran Alexander (founder of the Water Lily Acoustics record label, which produced the Bhatt/Cooder collab, A Meeting by the River) have given credit for much of their interest in cross-cultural musical endeavors to JFK’s efforts in supporting and promoting legislation such as the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961. One program in particular brought bluesmen from the Delta and the Deep South to places like India and Ceylon, profoundly influencing people like Bhatt and Alexander. It’s almost embarrassing to admit that I’d missed the obvious elements of the Hawaiian musical tradition in these works, but I’ll make the excuse that what I’d really been listening closely for has been those little tastes of blues flavor.

I’d like to make two RIYL-style recommendations in addition to the four excellent ones contained in the “Essential Listening” sidebar. There are two albums of this ilk, which have inspired me to repeatedly use the phrase “changed my life.” For instrumental music fans, I can’t think of a better album than V.M. Bhatt, Jerry Douglas, and Edgar Meyer’s Bourbon & Rosewater. (I was going to say, “for fans of instrumental music with this variety of cross-culturalism” or some such, but no, I can’t think of a better album for fans of instrumental music. Period.) And for folks who need some high-quality vocals to keep their attention, Dead Man Walking: The Score (not “... the Soundtrack”) can’t be beat.

Honestly, I’ve yet to hear a bum track on any album put out by Water Lily Acoustics or Realworld (the label initiated by Peter Gabriel’s insistence upon making the score for The Passion of the Christ sound more like the time and place of Christ and less like that of the 16th Century Roman Catholic Church).

Again, kudos to Mr. Ellis and Premier Guitar for a wonderful article!
—Kevin D. McCollough

Hello Kevin:
I really appreciate your kind words. It’s rare to get such well-reasoned, informed comments on stories I’ve written and when it happens, it inspires me to keep researching and writing. I also appreciate learning about the albums you listed—none of which I’ve heard. So we both get new insights ... can’t beat that!
Thanks,
AE

P.S. I actually got a lesson from Debashish Bhattacharya in the mid ’90s as part of a feature I wrote. Listening to him play from two feet away is humbling. Very humbling.