Straight to the Top It is not too often that I am so happy with a product that I write the owner/chairman/president to exclaim just that. I am sure that
Straight to the Top
It is not too often that I am so
happy with a product that I write
the owner/chairman/president to
exclaim just that. I am sure that
I am just like many of your readers—
work hard and long hours
when needed, attend to matters
as needed, and at the end of day,
look forward to some down time
(or, in many cases, sneaking some
PG moments in during the day).
When I am not engaged in actually
playing the guitar, I can be
found with my latest PG.
I cannot tell you how happy I am when I open the mailbox and see my latest edition. I eagerly start at the front and read through, always finding great content that is relevant and informative. It is hard to do, but I honestly try and make my edition last. In the times that I do run out of material, I either log online and review the latest online content (Rebecca [Dirks, web editor] does an awesome job!) or I pull a past edition and scan through in search of articles forgotten. (My better half knows not to throw any of my older PG mags out.)
There are many guitar magazines available, and some do contain some good articles, however, I have not found one that— month after month, edition after edition—compares front to back and online to PG. This, to me, provides great value.
So just a note to say “job
well done.” You and your team
have certainly earned it.
— James Ross
Candler, North Carolina
Thank you, James. That means a lot to us!
Smokin' Squier
We received this photo from
Brian Devlin via Facebook,
with the message: “Inspired
by the recent feature
[‘Giving a Squier Tele the
Cigar-Box Treatment,’
February 2012] in Premier
Guitar.” Smokin’ axe, Brian!
Guitar Abusers
Anonymous
Our editors’ musings on “What’s
the stupidest thing you’ve ever done
to a piece of gear?” [“Staff Picks,”
March 2012] induced so many
jaw-dropping stories from readers
who’d loved and lost that we had
to share a few (read more online at
facebook/premierguitar.com).
Where to start? Smashing an
early-’80s Ibanez Roadstar in
the driveway of my parents’
house because the tremolo
I’d installed wouldn’t stay in
tune. Five years later, I tossed
an Ibanez Roadstar II from
the stage for the same reason.
(I’ve been playing hard-tails
ever since.) Then I dismantled
a perfectly good Squier Strat
and repainted the body with
several cans of spray paint, gave
the body to a bandmate who
said a friend could strip my
botched paint job and repaint
it for cheap. Never saw it again.
Twenty years later, I spray-painted
the headstock of a brand-new
Reverend, sanded the neck,
refinished it with Tung oil, and
sold it on eBay for half of what
I’d paid for it.
— T-Bone Terrier
I shot my B.C. Rich Warlock
with an M4 and a .44 magnum
revolver to give it some “character.”
— Sean Kruse
Left a guitar on the roof of the
car once. It fell, and the tuning
machine hooked on the bumper.
Dragged it about a quarter mile
before realizing it.
— Jeff Williams
Which Side Are You On?
I have been playing guitar
for 12 years now and am a
singer-songwriter. Ani DiFranco
[“History on Her Side,” January
2012 web-exclusive] has been
such a strong influence on me
and my evolving music. She
is an amazing guitarist/songwriter/
producer and all-around
talented person. She definitely
deserves to be highlighted as
one of the most talented female
musicians around. Some of her
music is harsh, but so are the
issues she is writing about. Not
for everyone, but I thank you
for this interview and write-up.
She is very deserving!!
— Georgie
via premierguitar.com
[DiFranco’s] “Your Next Bold
Move” is one of my favorite
songs. It is one of the only modern
protest songs that captures
the mood without being difficult
to listen to (as in rappers
or cookie-monster speed-metal
singers) or corny (Toby Keith,
Charlie Daniels). But it is certainly
not Premier Guitar.
— Tom
via premierguitar.com
It’s funny to me how people
can be prejudiced in their
thinking without even realizing
it sometimes. Would some of
these commenters have been
so defensive and begrudging if
Ani had been a man, or at least
not outspoken and feminist?
It’s almost as if they want to
take away from her abilities
and accomplishments, which
are far more than most of the
commenters here, I am sure.
Some people just can’t stand
to see someone that doesn’t
fit their idea of “what is” be
successful. Oh and so what if
she uses the “F” word? Who
cares? So do 99 percent of
most performers. Go back and
listen to your adult contemporary
if you don’t like it ... she
is quite technical, but also a
very inventive songwriter. Better
than Vai and Gilbert? Not
technically, no—certainly not
according to the guitar nerds’
standards—but I would come
away remembering one of her
songs long before I would one
of them. Vai puts me to sleep.
His pretentiousness leaps out
of the speakers. Clapton’s not
technical, either, really, unless
you consider pentatonics
technical.
— Coley
via premierguitar.com
CORRECTIONS
In our March 2012 Vintage
Vault column [“1957 Gretsch
6022 Rancher,” p. 60-61], we
mistakenly printed an error. The
beginning of the article should
have read “The Fred Gretsch
Company introduced its most
famous flattop, the Rancher,
in 1954.”