Jason Shadrick - Associate Editor
Aguilar Tone Hammer 500
For a lot of musicians, the load-in can make or break a gig. Aguilar is helping bassists everywhere by creating a small, 4-pound amp that can easily fit in a gig bag. With 500 watts of power, the Tone Hammer 500 has more than enough oomph to fill the room with thunderous lows. The midrange had a nice clarity to it and the Drive control features Aguilar’s AGS (Adaptive Gain Switching) circuitry.
Aguilar Amplification
Godin 5th Avenue Jazz
Just added to the 5th Avenue line, the Jazz is a more modern-looking archtop with a mini-humbucker in the bridge position. I picked it up and thought the neck played great. The sound of the mini-humbucker was more focused and responded better to a wide variety of picking dynamics. Unplugged, the guitar had enough volume to chunk out Freddie Green-style chords with some nice low-end thunk.
Godin Guitars
Mike Lull Tom Petersson TPT4 T-Bass
Cheap Trick bassist Tom Petersson teamed up with Mike Lull to create a signature bass based on Lull’s T-Bass model. It features a mahogany body and graphite-reinforced neck.
Mike Lull
Danelectro Wild Thing Baritone
Danlectro guitars drip with coolness, and the new Wild Thing baritone is no exception with its futuristic curves on the upper and lower bouts. Like old Danos, it has a strip of textured vinyl around the edge of the body.
Danelectro
Choice Swag: Guitar Lessons by Bob Taylor
Bob Taylor's upcoming book on how his small workshop came to be one of the biggest, most successful guitar companies around ensures that flight-home entertainment will be covered for this
PG editor.