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Rig Rundown: Kurt Vile & The Violators

The Philly-based group explains how they use vintage Fender gear, classic tube amps, and a few homemade pedals to produce their brand of psychedelic folk-rock.

Laasko’s current backup bass (and reserved for the lower-tuned songs) is an older B.C. Rich Eagle. He was able to buy this normally pricy vintage piece because it was missing the bridge pickup and had other head-scratching mods and dings on it.

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Jeff Beck playing: the ‘Oxblood’, his 1954 Gibson Les Paul.

Christie’s will auction Jeff Beck: The Guitar Collection on January 22, 2025, in London. See the highlights.

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J. Rockett Audio Designs Phil X Signature (PXO) Boost & Overdrive Demo
- YouTube

The PXO was created as a live or studio tool. When we sent Phil the overdrive sample he found that it saved him in backline situations and provided him a drive that plays well with others.

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In this promotional photo of the Waikiki Trio, the standing guitarist is playing a Martin 0-42, and the seated guitarist is playing a Martin 0-18K.

Photo courtesy of the C.F. Martin & Co., Inc. Archive

Pacific Island pluckers had a hand in developing the beloved dreadnought acoustics, and changed the course of American guitar music.

In 1906, a devastating earthquake and three days of raging fires leveled 80 percent of San Francisco. Nine years later, to honor the opening of the Panama Canal and signal that San Francisco was back, the city held the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

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The tiniest TS on Earth has loads of practical upside and sounds that keep pace with esteemed overdrive company.

Solid Tube Screamer tones in a microscopic machine. Light and easy to affix to anything.

Small enough to lose easily! Vulnerable in the presence of heavy steppers?

$99


Olinthus Cicada

olinthus.com

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The Olinthus Cicada’s Tube Screamer-on-a-postage-stamp concept is a captivating one. But contemplating the engineering impetus behind it begs questions: How much area does the pedal and mandatory/included TRRS breakout cable actually conserve? Where do you situate it in relation to other pedals so you can actually tap the bypass—which is the pedal enclosure itself! Would my neighbor’s cat eat it? As it turns out, there’s many good reasons for the Cicada to be.

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