Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Premier Guitar features affiliate links to help support our content. We may earn a commission on any affiliated purchases.

GALLERY: South by Southwest 2011

Some of the performers at SXSW 2011, including Billy Gibbons, the Foo Fighters, The Strokes, and more. Photos by Arnold Wells.

By Rebecca Dirks,
Rebecca Dirks
Rebecca Dirks graduated from the University of Iowa with degrees in journalism and art, and joined Premier Guitar as an intern in 2007. She lives in the Iowa City area with her husband, two giant dogs, and more cats than are appropriate to mention. When not petsitting, she enjoys challenging herself in the kitchen, watching the Packers dominate, and discovering new music or rediscovering old favorites.
See Full Bio
Arnold Wells
Arnold Wells
See Full Bio
Mar 23, 2011

Liz Phair
Liz Phair and her Fender Mustang rocked the house in a miniskirt and heels as she played through her early hits and more recent fare at the IFC Crossroads House.
south-by-southwestphoto-gallerieswhats-newonline-only

The Latest

Four musicians sit together in a cozy room, playing guitars and smiling, with colorful decor.
News

Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs’ Mission Of Mercy Out June 12

Epiphone Futura: The Future of Feel, Fire, and Bold Design
News

Epiphone Futura: The Future of Feel, Fire, and Bold Design

Ben Harper Performs “Emotional Arson” on His Gold Label 512e Special Edition
Sponsored

Ben Harper Performs “Emotional Arson” on His Gold Label 512e Special Edition

Fender's Vintera III: New Age Aesthetic Meets Vintage Vibes
News

Fender's Vintera III: New Age Aesthetic Meets Vintage Vibes

More for you

Rocky Mountain Slides Co Swamp Critter Giveaway

Rocky Mountain Slides Co Swamp Critter Giveaway

You could be one of THREE winners of the brand new "Swamp Critters" series of slides from RMSC! Three winners will select from The Devil Croc, Golden Gator and Swamp Rattler.

Keep ReadingShow less

Most Popular

Electro-Harmonix Pico Atomic Cluster Review
Pedals

Electro-Harmonix Pico Atomic Cluster Review

Revv Doubles Down on Portable Tube Amps With the G25
News

Revv Doubles Down on Portable Tube Amps With the G25

Ernie Ball Music Man Celebrates 30 Years of the Axis With Limited Edition Collection
News

Ernie Ball Music Man Celebrates 30 Years of the Axis With Limited Edition Collection

Derek Trucks’ Forward Motion
Artist Features

Derek Trucks’ Forward Motion

Keeley Oaxa Review
Pedals

Keeley Oaxa Review

Alessandro The Dane Review
Amps

Alessandro The Dane Review

Orange OR60 V3 Review

Orange OR60 V3 Review

Orange’s calling-card is, in the minds of many, a thick, coppery, and compressed high-gain roar. But for an amp that kicks this hard, the OR60 excels at translating the tonal qualities of a guitar with refinement and balance, and it’s a more subtle and nuanced creature than you might expect. In this respect, it’s much more like a late-'70s Marshall JMP with pre-gain than a hot-rodded Soldano or Bogner. The OR60 ably covers tones ranging from funky when clean to absolutely feral when cranked. And while the single-channel configuration suggests a narrow voice, there’s a massive range of timbres to explore—from chimey to chunky to charging-rhino, and all points in between.

Keep ReadingShow less

Tonewood Teardown: Pickups and Wiring for an Esquire-Style Electric

Two guitar pickups on a textured surface: one black with wires, one shiny silver with attached wires.
photo courtesy SINGLECOIL (https://singlecoil.com)

Hello, and welcome back to Mod Garage. This month’s installment in our “Tonewood Teardown” series will be the most important one, dealing with the electrified tone of our guitar. We’ll start work on the wiring, which is the key component of every electric guitar. I really like the analogy that the pickup is the heart, the wiring the brain, and the wires themselves the neural system of an electric guitar. This means we should take care to do everything as carefully as possible here.

Keep ReadingShow less

Sunn O))) Celebrate the Beginner’s Mind

Sunn O))) Celebrate the Beginner’s Mind
Sunn O))) Celebrate the Beginner’s Mind
Photo by Charles Peterson

Somatics, a field within body work, originated as a product of a cultural movement in the 18th century that focused on physical activity and strength-building. The principal element of somatics, which has gained prominence in the past decades in wellness culture and therapeutic contexts, is soma. On a surface level, soma is the perceived experience of the body, as distinct from the intellectual response to stimuli in your brain. The divide is easy to grasp. Maybe your brain thinks you’re at ease, but your body tells you something different: It’s tense, shaky, locked up. Our bodies can send us messages that our cerebrum might not be able to parse in the moment. The thought can be unsettling, but it can also be empowering, even invigorating, to acknowledge that the body can communicate in a way that defies conventional logic and easy explanation.

Keep ReadingShow less

Gibson Unveils the First-Ever Sadler Vaden Signature Guitar

Gibson Unveils the First-Ever Sadler Vaden Signature Guitar

Gibson proudly announces the debut of the Sadler Vaden SG™ Standard, the first-ever signature guitar for acclaimed guitarist, producer, songwriter, and longtime member of Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Sadler Vaden. Inspired by Vaden’s road‑tested 2005 Gibson SG Standard, this new model brings the sound and character of his most trusted instrument to players everywhere. Vaden’s original SG, discovered in Memphis, TN, and gifted to him by producer Paul Ebersold after his band suffered a devastating gear theft in Philadelphia, became the anchor of his sound for nearly two decades. It is the guitar he continues to rely on nightly with Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, and its voice and feel form the foundation of this new signature edition. The Gibson Sadler Vaden SG Standard is now available worldwide at authorized Gibson dealers, at Gibson Garage locations, and on www.gibson.com.

Keep ReadingShow less