Fayetteville, NC (June 30, 2009) -- Lava Cable introduces a new version of its revolutionary solder-free plug. This new plug comes with a black anodized housing and gold-plated stem and
The new Black Gold Lava Plug retails for $9.50 each and comes in kits with 10ā of Lava Mini ELC Cable, 10 Plugs plus a stripping tool for $113.95 and can be purchased direct on Lava Cableās website or through Lava Cable dealers carrying this product.
For more information:
Lava Cable
Celestion introduces a low-sensitivity, dual voice coil, attenuating speaker.
The Peacekeeper offers guitarists and other amplified musicians a simple and effective way to dial in the coveted "sweet spot" on their amplifiers while still performing at modest volume levels. The Peacekeeper will be on display, alongside a range of Celestionās key guitar and PA products at the companyās NAMM 2025 booth (Hall C, #6602).
The Peacekeeper is designed to work seamlessly with almost any amplifier, like a conventional guitar speaker, but itās in-built attenuating technology will significantly reduce output sensitivity. This enables musicians to drive their amplifiers harder while maintaining manageable volume levels.
Key features of the Peacekeeper include:
- Attenuation Technology: The Peacekeeperās innovative design effectively attenuates the amplifierās output, compared with conventional speakers, allowing players to achieve their desired sound at lower volumes.
- Uncompromising Tone: Attenuation is achieved āorganicallyā through the natural operation of the loudspeaker, enabling the Peacekeeper to preserve the Celestion tone that musicians love: the attenuation process adds no colouration or compromise.
- Seamless Integration: With its 12ā diameter, the Peacekeeper seamlessly integrates with any standard cabinet, offering a hassle-free solution for volume control.
- Widely Compatible: Offering 8Ī© impedance and a maximum power rating of 50W, the Peacekeeper is suitable for pairing with a wide range of amplifiers.
- Precision Built in the UK: Peacekeeper drivers are assembled at Celestionās UK-based loudspeaker research and manufacturing facility, and rigorously tested to meet exacting performance criteria.
For more information on the Peacekeeper, visit: https://celestion.com/product/peacekeeper/
Visit Celestion at The NAMM Show, January 23-25,2025 in Hall C, Booth #6602.
An all-new line of solid body electric guitars, rooted in Eastmanās DāAmbrosio Series.
The FullerTone SC '52 and DC '62 represent the fusion of Eastmanās old-world craftsmanship and modular versatility, featuring their FullerTone two-bolt, long-tenon neck design first pioneered in the highly acclaimed D'Ambrosio Series. This innovative neck-to-body construction delivers more tone, sustain, and stability.
Through collaboration with renowned pickup builders ToneRider, both models deliver pure, pristine tone while maintaining exceptional warmth and projection. The SC '52 single-cutaway and DC '62 double-cutaway models draw inspiration from California's natural beauty, coming in three distinctive colorsāMoss Black, Desert Sand, and Ice Blue Metallicāeach complemented by industrial anodized aluminum pickguards and Eatmanās signature Truetone Satin Gloss finish, delivering a gust of modern refinement and graceful mojo.
Key features of the Eastman FullerTone Series:
- Eastmanās highly coveted FullerTone two-bolt, long-tenon neck system with three times greater neck-to-body contact, delivering more tone, sustain, and stability
- Custom ToneRider soapbar humbuckers with gold-foil covers and noiseless stacked single coils
- Premium-grade electronics
- Roasted black limba bodies with custom-designed staggered tuners for optimal string pull
āMy challenge for this design was simple: to create a modular bolt-on neck system that performed, looked, and felt better than what is commonly seen on the solid body bolt-on market. This led me to explore three-dimensional neck joints in solid-body guitars. The FullerTone neck system integrates a small structural heel and tenon hidden underneath the neck pickup. The matching geometry of the neck and body securely locks the two pieces into place and is mechanically fastened together. This design utilizes the best qualities of its main components,ā said Otto DāAmbrosio, Eastmanās master luthier and designer.
"With these guitars we have managed to break through various barriers without cutting any corners. Again, everything is top notch, as we always offer nothing but the best. This one is for everyone, we feel," said Pepijn 't Hart, Eastmanās director of fretted instruments.
The FullerTone Series is available through Eastman Authorized Dealers worldwide, offering unlimited possibilities for players ready to take their creative expression to new levels.
Cort Guitars debuts the latest evolution of their X series electric guitars, the Mutility II.
Named for its āmultiple utilityā, the Mutility II brings multi-scale performance, ergonomic design, and improved features. Those improvements include new scale lengths and swapping out the old 3-way selector switch to a 5-way for increased sonic versatility.
Available in either Tactical Gray or Military Beige finishes, the sleek double cutaway body is the first sign that this guitar is built for ease of play, performance, and comfort. The deep, ergonomic contours make for an extremely comfortable playing experience. Made of American basswood, the body provides the ideal warmth and fullness needed for a wide variety of musical genres. The second sign of this being one serious guitar is the multi-scale bolt-on neck. The new 25.0ā ā 25.5ā, multi-scale neck is made of a 5pc roasted maple and walnut laminate for improved resonance and durability. A much more comfortable improvement over the previous 24.75ā ā 25.2ā layout. The 15.75ā radius, roasted maple fretboard has 24 stainless steel frets, a 1 11/16ā Graph TechĀ® Black TUSQ nut, and Luminlay side dots for easy play and navigation. A six inline, tilt back headstock improves the guitars sustain and completes the overall, aero look and feel of the guitar.
The heart of this guitar is the Fishman Fluence Open Core Modern humbuckers. Featuring black nickel blades, these humbuckers deliver powerful, precise tones suitable for any genre. A single master volume knob controls overall output while a push/pull tone control combines with an upgraded 5-way selector switch to provide players with a variety of tones to accommodate most any musical endeavor. Each string has its own individual hardtail bridge and saddle which feeds through the body for precise intonation, improved sustain, and greater articulation. At the headstock, each string is anchored by the Cort staggered locking tuners.
A set of DāAddario EXL110 strings, a spoke nut hotrod truss rod, and a gig bag complete this guitar, making it suitable for all playing styles, at all playing levels, in any imaginable environment.
For more information, please visit the NAMM Booth 5102 or online at www.CortGuitars.com
Street Price: $1399.99 USD.
Youāve gotta have serious chops to toil in a music instrument storeābut not the kind youād think.
Weāve all heard those classic phrases: āDo what you love, and youāll never work a day in your life!ā or Elbert Hubbardās āWork to become, not to acquire,ā which is, I think, more zen than any of us have time to process these days. This column is about that little thing that every single guitarist has asked themselves: What if I worked in a guitar shop?
Here are some tips and insights from the first 13 years of a long career in the instrument game.
Home Base: If you live in an area with a great music store ā¦ congrats! Youāre at an advantage! Big-box stores have muscled out a lot of brick-and-mortar shops over the last 20 years, and if you and your community have kept a small-to-large music business going, I applaud you! Even if you just go in for strings and picks, the folks at that shop know you, and theyāre happier than you can imagine that you continue to choose them. This is, most likely, the shop that you are interested in working for.
Are You Guys Hiring? No. (Or Are We?): In 2010, I was a scrappy avant-folk fingerpicking guitarist who managed an art supply store about four blocks from Acoustic Music Works (now my forever home) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I would dip over on my lunch breaks, playing guitars from Collings and Huss & Dalton, instruments that I could only dream of owning. Steve Miklas, the store owner, acknowledged my used LarrivĆ©e OM as a solid purchase and encouraged me to play anything I wanted in the shop. He would occasionally ask me pointed questions about my art store gig, feeling out my retail chopsāthe chops that matter when the music instrument industry is how you make your living.
Believe it or not, you donāt have to be a great player! Itās about digging the instruments on a deep level, desperately wanting to know how they work. Letās just call it āpassion.ā Steve could tell that I was way more into guitars than the average customer, plus we got along great and he knew that I could handle a retail environment. He hatched a plan to steal me from my art store job, and weāve been at it together ever since!
Dealing with People: This is the worst and the best part. Customers are going to come at you from every direction and from all corners of the world. Having retail chops also means having a somewhat thick skin. When you get an email that just says āBEST PRICE?ā you canāt spend a lot of time thinking, āNow that just sounds rude. Why didnāt they ask me about the guitar? Why didnāt they introduce themselves?ā Tell them, and move on. There are more of these dispassionate interactions than ever, but you canāt let it break you, because you need to save up energy to answer the good questions, offer guidance, and transfer enthusiasm for the products that youāre selling.
Wearing All Those Hats: Some shops have bigger crews and a clear delineation of jobs, while many have smaller crews where employees do a number of jobs. My official title is shop manager but my jobs include lead luthier/tech, photographer, videographer, copywriter/copy editor, social media coordinator, web designer, shipping and receiving, graphic design, and lowly store clerk who rings up sales at the register. If you excel in any of those areas, let your skills be known to the powers that be. The majority of transactions occur online, and fan bases crop up around a shop's YouTube channel, so sharpen those Photoshop, Lightroom, and Premiere Pro skills and they will serve you very well.
āBelieve it or not, you donāt have to be a great player! Itās about digging the instruments on a deep level, desperately wanting to know how they work.ā
If youāre vying for a job on the tech/repair side of things, have a portfolio ready, including before/after pics, a log of the jobs youāve done, instruments youāve built, and whatever formal training you have. An applicant who says, āIād love to learn to work on guitars,ā means we have to devote a lot of attention to bringing them up to speed, versus getting an immediate contribution for the good of the shop. Like most jobs, the deeper the resume, the higher the paycheck.
Thatās the crash course, but thereās so much more! This is a dream job in a lot of ways, but burnout is always over the horizon if one isnāt careful. Like any job, itās important to keep a work/life balance and approach things with positivity. It definitely aināt sitting around jamming with your buddies all day! Feel free to reach out with any questions, but sorry, weāre not hiring right now. Or are we?