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Gallery: Shaky Knees 2017

PG dives into gear details with Phoenix, Warpaint, Third Eye Blind, Moon Taxi, the Shins, and others playing the massive Atlanta festival.

Saint Motel’s A/J Jackson

The dream-pop conductor takes a break from piano to jam on his butterscotch Fender Tele and here’s why he loves it: “‘Tiger’” is my workhorse. It's reliable, agile, and it knows me well. The addition of the Evertune has made string changes a breeze.”

Check out these ten exclusive Amazon Prime gear discounts, only available October 8-9. Upgrade your sound without hurting your budget!

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Name: Edward Sarkis Balian

Hometown: Detroit, Michigan

Guitars: The Van Gogh Brothers, Vinnie and Theo


The Van Gogh Strat, aka “Vinnie,” built with a Canadian alder body and featuring a replica of the painter’s famous work.

This passionate builder designed a custom Strat/Tele pair, both adorned with hand-painted replicas of The Starry Night.

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Photo by Jay Gilbert

Jeff "Skunk" Baxter expands his acclaimed first-ever solo album, Speed of Heat, with a brand new Storytellers Edition, featuring brand-new commentary tracks.

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Beauty and sweet sonority elevate a simple-to-use, streamlined acoustic and vocal amplifier.

An EQ curve that trades accuracy for warmth. Easy-to-learn, simple-to-use controls. It’s pretty!

Still exhibits some classic acoustic-amplification problems, like brash, unforgiving midrange if you’re not careful.

$1,199

Taylor Circa 74
taylorguitars.com

4.5
4.5
4.5
4

Save for a few notable (usually expensive) exceptions, acoustic amplifiers are rarely beautiful in a way that matches the intrinsic loveliness of an acoustic flattop. I’ve certainly seen companies try—usually by using brown-colored vinyl to convey … earthiness? Don’t get me wrong, a lot of these amps sound great and even look okay. But the bar for aesthetics, in my admittedly snotty opinion, remains rather low. So, my hat’s off to Taylor for clearing that bar so decisively and with such style. The Circa 74 is, indeed, a pretty piece of work that’s forgiving to work with, ease to use, streamlined, and sharp.

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