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Shubb Unveils the Pāua Pearl Capo

Shubb Unveils the Pāua Pearl Capo

The Pāua Pearl's dazzling finish is reminiscent of Pāua, the Maori (native New Zealand) name for a species of abalone. Pāua shells are often used for beautifully colorful inlays in specially crafted guitars. To help accentuate the special finish, Shubb is using a clear fret pad / sleeve that is exclusive to this model.


Shubb's Pāua Pearl capo features the same durable titanium process as Shubb's other Capo Royale models, so its eye-popping, color-shifting beauty will last practically forever.

Shubb Capos - Paua Pearl

Shubb's new Pāua Pearl capo is available in two configurations: C1P for steel string guitar and C2P for nylon string guitar. Both versions carry a list price of $29.95.

For more information visit www.shubb.com.

Guitarist Brandon Seabrook, architect of fretboard chaos, and his trusty HMT Tele.

Photo by Reuben Radding

With a modified and well-worn heavy metal Tele, a Jerry Jones 12-string, a couple banjos, some tape sounds, and a mountain of fast-picking chops, New York’s master of guitar mayhem delivers Object of Unknown Function.

“It’s like time travel,” says Brandon Seabrook, reflecting on the sonic whiplash of “Object of Unknown Function.” The piece, which opens the composer’s solo album of the same name, journeys jarringly from aggressive “early banjo stuff” up through “more 21st-century classical music,” combined with electronic found sounds from a TASCAM 4-track cassette recorder. The end result approaches the disorientation of musique concréte.

“The structure is kind of like hopping centuries or epochs,” he adds. “I [wanted] all these different worlds to collide. It’s like a choose-your-own-adventure.”

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The Hummingbird Studio EC features a mahogany body and sides with a Sitka spruce top, a Round SlimTaper profile mahogany neck, and L.R. Baggs electronics.

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A forward-thinking, inventive, high-quality electro-acoustic design yields balance, playability, and performance flexibility.

High-quality construction. Flexible, responsive, and detailed-sounding pickup/mic system. Lots of bass resonance without feedback or mud.

Handsome, understated design may still estrange traditionalists.

$1,599

L.R. Baggs AEG-1
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Though acoustic amplification has improved by leaps, bounds, and light years, the challenges of making a flattop loud remain … challenging. L.R. Baggs has played no small part in improving the state of acoustic amplification, primarily via ultra-reliable pickups like the Anthem, Lyric, andHiFi Duet microphone and microphone/under-saddle systems, the overachieving, inexpensive Element Active System, and theM1 andM80 magnetic soundhole pickups—all of which have become industry standards to one degree or another.

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During routine quality checks, Blackstar has identified a problem with specific Debut 100 Series amps.

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