PG's Joe Coffey is On Location at the 2010 LA Amp Show where he visits the WattGrinder Engineering room. Now specializing in cabs, WattGrinder is producing cabs loaded with 15" Eminence guitar speakers. The idea is to give players more body and dynamic range a la SRV in the '80s. The cabs are also aimed at 7- and 8-string guitarists who have a larger frequency range. WattGrinder also builds cabs with 12" speakers, and incorporates a Dominator-style split-angle that is aimed to spread sound around a space in a big way.
PG's Joe Coffey is On Location at the 2010 LA Amp Show where he visits the WattGrinder Engineering room. Now specializing in cabs, WattGrinder is producing cabs loaded with 15" Eminence guitar speakers. The idea is to give players more body and dynamic range a la SRV in the '80s. The cabs are also aimed at 7- and 8-string guitarists who have a larger frequency range. WattGrinder also builds cabs with 12" speakers, and incorporates a Dominator-style split-angle that is aimed to spread sound around a space in a big way.
Kevin Morby joins the discussion of what we’re plugging our guitars into these days. Plus, musical obsessions!
Q: Do you own or use more than one amp—why or why not?
Kevin Morby — Guest Picker
Photo by Johnny Eastlund
A: I technically own four different amps. Two different Orange 15-watt practice amps that are great for recording and running vocals through in my living room. I also own a Supro and Fender Vibrolux. The Fender Vibrolux is my most used amp, and the Supro is good if I ever want a lot of overdrive.
Kevin Morby's Current Obsession:
My current musical obsession is MJ Lenderman, a young artist from Asheville, North Carolina, who is making incredible music. If I didn’t know his backstory, I would maybe think I was listening to a lost demo from the early ’90s Drag City submissions bin. But it’s not from then, it’s from now, and it’s amazing. I listened to it while mowing the lawn recently and it was perfect lawn-mowing music. He is also incredible at guitar. Go listen!
Joseph Müs Contento — Reader of the Month
A: Yep, and I use them both at the same time. Got a Vox Night Train combo set clean and a Marshall Class 5 set dirty, and the resulting sound is a sparkly, gritty mix. Chimey and articulate, while warm and meaty. Best of both worlds.
Eventually I want a Fender ’65 Princeton Reissue and a Marshall Silver Jubilee 20-watt combo to really accentuate those qualities. I also use stereo delay and ping-pong the signal between the two amps. The further I physically keep the amps away from each other, the more dramatic the effect. It’s trippy and atmospheric AF, fills out the space between notes, and I love it.
Joseph Müs Contento Current Obsession:
Continuing to build the coolest guitars I can. I’ve settled into my job at Gibson Custom and have slowly built up a woodshop of my very own. The inaugural build that I just started this spring is my entry to this year’s Great Guitar Build-Off. I’m excited to dig my teeth into my new tools and techniques and to see how far I’ve come as a luthier in the past two years!
Shawn Hammond — Chief Content Officer
A: Yes! I love the variety of tones and textures imparted by different types of power tubes—and that you can further tweak responsiveness with preamp-tube swaps.
My ’76 Fender Vibrolux Reverb (6L6 tubes) is a killer pedal platform and pairing it with a Fender Rumble 200 bass amp adds massive oomph. An old Fender Vibro Champ (6V6) is great for middle-of-the-night playing that still sounds nice (I hate headphones).
A Sound City SC30 (KT66s) yields a huge array of British tones with killer reverb, a Goodsell Valpreux 21 (6973s) is great for soulful, old-school tones at a reasonable volume, while a Jaguar HC50 (EL34s) combo has big, brawny sounds, thanks to its Hiwatt-esque circuit and oversized cab.
Shawn Hammond's Current Obsession:
Current obsession: Fontaines D.C.’s new album, Skinty Fia.
Ted Drozdowski — Senior Editor
Photo by Johnny Hubbard
A: I’ve curated my amps for a wide variety of tones, and I love having Marshall, Fender, Carr, Supro, Orange, and Quilter sounds at ready for the stage—where I run in stereo—and studio.
After many years, I’ve found a voice as a guitarist that’s my own, and blending a variety of amps, guitars, and effects is part of it.
Ted Drozdowski's Current Obsession:
Germanium fuzz and octave fuzz pedals. Over the past year I’ve gone deep into fuzzworld and acquired a pile of stomps, including three custom builds (my one-off Burns Buzzaround clone with four germanium chips is satanically heavenly), and they’ve expanded my sonic vocabulary even more. I want to keep it expanding, like the universe.
In celebration of 25 years of Reverend Guitars, the company is releasing two guitars and one bass with special anniversary cosmetics.
The guitars are the Reverend Six Gun HPP, the Reverend Sensei Jr, and the Reverend Decision P. The models are in Metallic Silver Freeze, have Ebony fretboards with an XXV inlay at the 12th fret, and a brushed aluminum pickguard.
Reverend Guitars is celebrating 25 years of building guitars with a modern-meets-vintage vibe. Legendary guitar designer, Joe Naylor, designs all the guitars. Tech teams meticulously inspect, set up, and hand serial-number each guitar. Every guitar is crafted with a sense of purpose, whether you play in your bedroom or in an arena.
Reverend Sensei Jr
<p>Often called the most versatile single-pickup guitar in production, the Reverend Sensei Jr has a single P90. But when used with the Reverend Bass Contour Control, players can get creative.</p>
Trivium frontman Matt Heafy partners with Epiphone to launch 6 and 7-string models with Fishman Fluence Custom Humbucker pickups and classic Les Paul cosmetics.
The Matt Heafy Les Paul Custom Origins Collection is available in 6 and 7-String versions, in both Ebony and Bone White, and each guitar is also available in right and left-handed versions. The Matt Heafy Les Paul Custom Origins and a Les Paul Custom Origins in 6 and 7-String models. Each guitar features a pair of Matt Heafy’s Fishman Fluence Custom Series Signature Humbucker pickups that deliver three distinct tones – two standard Modern voices, and one crystal clear single coil tone.
These tonal options are selected with push/pull volume and tone pots. The maple-capped mahogany body has modern weight relief for hours of comfortable play, and the mahogany neck has a fast-playing SpeedTaper D profile and a contoured heel for exceptional upper-fret access. Gold hardware, including locking Grover Rotomatic tuners with Tulip buttons, and classic Les Paul Custom cosmetics make this a standout guitar on-stage. Available in Ebony and Bone White gloss finishes, a custom hardshell case is included.
Matt Heafy Les Paul Custom Origins
The Matt Heafy Les Paul Custom Origins Collection guitars are available worldwide through authorized Epiphone dealers and via www.epiphone.com.
