
Takamine Guitars introduces six new additions to its G Series acoustic-electric guitars at the 2025 NAMM Show.
The new GD21CE, GY21E, GN37CE, GD49CE, GN73CE, and GD74CE-12U will be available soon at Takamine dealers worldwide.
āWe feel that the latest batch of new G Series guitars are among the most exciting Takamine has ever offered,ā says Tom Watters, Director of Product Development for Takamine Guitars.
GD21CE
The GD21CE is a dreadnought cutaway guitar in Satin Molasses finish. Created with a solid spruce top and sapele back and sides, this affordable and attractive guitar includes Takamineās TP-3G preamplifier with 3-band EQ, volume, and chromatic tuner for easy and efficient use for live performance and recording. The new GY21E offers a similar set of features, including the great-looking Satin Molasses finish, in Takamineās compact New Yorker body shape.
The new GN37CE, available in a brilliant Pearl White finish, is now viable in Takamineās popular NEX shape. This guitar offers a solid spruce top with maple back and sides for a shimmering, punchy, bold sound that is great across a wide variety of musical styles. It also features the TP-3G electronics system. The FX cutaway GD49CE is one of the most distinctive guitars in the Takamine lineup, with its Cosmic Black Sparkle finish thatās highlighted with red binding and accents. It features a spruce top with sapele back and sides.
GN37CE
GN73CE
Available in a striking Satin Black finish, the GN73CE is an NEX Cutaway-shaped guitar with a solid spruce top and sapele back and sides. Accented with white multi-ply binding and an attractive tortoiseshell acrylic pickguard, the GN73CE also features exciting ivoroid/abalone split-block fingerboard inlays, as well as Takamine TP-3G electronics. The GD74CE-12U is a very distinctive 12-string dreadnought cutaway designed for players who prefer the requinto style, and it is robustly constructed with double X-bracing, a reinforced 3-piece neck, and a unique bolt-on bridge to properly handle the extra tension of the unison double-course string setup. It offers a spruce top, flame maple back and sides, and includes Takamine TP-3G electronics.
For more information, please visit esptakamine.com.
GD74CE-12U
- Takamine P3MC Acoustic Guitar Review āŗ
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- Takamine Glenn Frey Signature EF360GF Acoustic Guitar Review āŗ
Blackberry Smoke will embark on a co-headline tour with Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs. Lead singer Charlie Starr shares, āWhat could be better than summertime rock and roll shows with Blackberry Smoke and the one and only Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs?ā
Blackberry Smokeās fan club will have early access to tickets with pre-sale beginning tomorrow, March 11 at 10:00am local time, with the public on-sale following this Friday, March 14 at 10:00am local time. Full details and ticket information can be found at blackberrysmoke.com.
In addition to the new dates, Blackberry Smoke is currently on the road with upcoming headline shows at New Orleansā The Fillmore, Houstonās 713 Music Hall, Austinās ACL Live at the Moody Theater, Dallasā Majestic Theatre and Maryvilleās The Shed (three nights) among others. They will also join Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Avett Brothers for select dates later this year. See below for complete tour itinerary.
Tour Dates
March 14āDouglas, GAāThe Martin Theatre*
March 15āDouglas, GAāThe Martin Theatre*
March 27āNew Orleans, LAāThe Fillmoreā
March 28āHouston, TXā713 Music Hallā
March 29āHelotes, TXāJohn T. Flooreās Country Storeā”
April 24āMontgomery, ALāMontgomery Performing Arts Centre§
April 25āPensacola, FLāPensacola Saenger Theatre§
April 26āTampa, FLāBusch Gardens Tampa - Gwazi Field
May 8āAustin, TXāACL Live at the Moody Theater#
May 9āDallas, TXāMajestic Theatre#
May 10āPalestine, TXāWiggly Thump Festival
May 15āMaryville, TNāThe Shed~
May 16āMaryville, TNāThe Shed%
May 17āMaryville, TNāThe Shed§
May 31āVirginia Beach, VAāVeterans Band Aid Music Festival
June 1āLexington, KYāRailbird Festival
July 10āPistoia, ItalyāPistoia Blues
July 11āMilan, ItalyāComfort Festival
July 13āWeert, LimburgāBospop
July 15āManchester, U.K.āAO Arena**
July 16āBirmingham, U.K.ābp pulse LIVE**
July 18āBrighton, EnglandāThe Brighton Centre**
July 19āLondon, UKāOVO Arena Wembley**
July 25āNashville, TNāRyman Auditoriumā ā
July 26āNashville, TNāRyman Auditoriumā ā
July 31āLewiston, NYāArtpark Amphitheaterā ā
August 1āPittsburgh, PAāStage AEā ā
August 2āColumbus, OHāKEMBA Live! Outdoorā ā
August 3āRoanoke, VAāBerglund Performing Arts Theatreā ā
August 5āNorth Charleston, SCāFirefly Distilleryā ā
August 7āRaleigh, NCāRed Hat Amphitheaterā ā
August 8āCharlotte, NCāSkyla Credit Union Amphitheatreā ā
August 9āAtlanta, GAāSynovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Parkā ā
August 10āAsheville, NCāAsheville Yards Amphitheaterā ā
August 21āBonner Springs, KSāAzura Amphitheaterā”ā”
August 22āRogers, ARāWalmart AMPā”ā”
August 23āEl Dorado, ARāMurphy Arts District Amphitheaterā”ā”
August 30āCharlestown, RIāRhythm and Roots Festival
*with special guest Parker Gispert
ā with special guest Zach Person
ā”with special guest Brent Cobb
§with special guest Bones Owens
#with special guest Jason Scott & The High Heat
~with special guest Rob Leines
%with special guest Taylor Hunnicutt
**supporting Lynard Skynyrd
ā ā co-headline with co-headline with Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs
ā”ā”supporting The Avett Brothers
A satin finish with serious style. Join PG contributor Tom Butwin as he dives into the PRS Standard 24 Satināa guitar that blends classic PRS craftsmanship with modern versatility. From its D-MO pickups to its fast-playing neck, this oneās a must-see.
PRS Standard 24 Satin Electric Guitar - Satin Red Apple Metallic
Standard 24 Satin, Red App MetA reverb-based pedal for exploring the far reaches of sound.
Easy to use control set. Wide range of sounds. Crush control is fun to explore. Filter is versatile.
Works best as a stereo effect, which may limit some players.
$299
Old Blood Noise Endeavors Dark Star Stereo
oldbloodnoise.com
The Old Blood Dark Star Stereo (DSS) is one of those pedals that lives beyond simple effect categorization. Yes, itās a digital reverb. But like other Old Blood designs, itās such a feature-rich, creative take on that effect that to think of it as a reverb feels not only imprecise but unfair.
The Old Blood Dark Star Stereo (DSS) is one of those pedals that lives beyond simple effect categorization. Yes, itās a digital reverb. But like other Old Blood designs, itās such a feature-rich, creative take on that effect that to think of it as a reverb feels not only imprecise but unfair.
In this case, reverb describes how the DSS works more than how it sounds. Iāve come to think of this pedal as a reverb-based synthesizer, where reverb is the jumping-off point for sonic creation. As such, the sounds coming out of the Dark Star can be used as subtle sweetener or sound design textures, opening up worlds that might otherwise be unreachable.
Reverb and Beyond
Functionally speaking, the DSS starts with reverb and applies a high-/low-pass filter, two pitch shifters, each with a two-octave range in each direction, plus bit-crushing and distortion. Controls for lag (pre-delay), multiply (feedback), and decay follow, with mini knobs for volume, mix, and spread. Additional control features include presets, MIDI functionality, plus expression and aux control.
The DSS can be routed in mono, stereo, or mono-in/stereo-out. Both jacks are single TRS, and itās easy to switch between settings by holding down the bypass switch and selecting via the preset button.
Although it sounds great in mono, stereo is where this iteration of the Dark Starāwhich follows the mono Dark Star and Dark Star V2āreally comes alive. Starting with the filter, both pitch shifters, and crush knobs at noonāall have center detentsāaffords the most neutral settings. The result is a pad reverb, as synthetic as but less sparkly than a shimmer. The filter control is a fine way to distinguish clean and effect signals. In low-pass mode, the effect signal can easily get dark and spooky while maintaining fidelity and without getting murky. On the other end, high-pass settings are handy for refining those reverb pads and keeping them from washing out the clarity of the clean signal.
Lower fidelity is close at hand when you want it. The crush control, when turned counterclockwise, reduces the bit rate of the effect signal, evoking all kinds of digitally compromised sounds, from early samplers to cell phones, depending on how you flavor it. Counterclockwise applies distortion to the reverb signal. Thereās a lot to explore within the wide ranges of the two pitch controls, too. With a four-octave range, quantized in half steps, the combinations can be extreme, and Dark Star takes on a life of its own.
Formless Reflections of Matter
The DSS is easy to get acquainted with, especially for a pedal with so many features, 10 knobs, and two footswitches. I quickly got a feel for the reverb itself at the most neutral filter and pitch settings, where I enjoyed the weight a responsive, textural pad lent to everything I played.
With just the filter and crush controls, thereās plenty to explore. Sitting in the sweet spot between a pair of vintage Fenders, I conjured a Twin Peaks-inspired hazy fog to accompany honeyed diatonic arpeggios, slowly filtering and crushing that sound into a dark, evil low-end whir as chords leaned toward dissonance. Eventually, I cranked the high-pass filter, producing an early MP3-in-a-good-way āshhhā that was fine accompaniment to sparser voicings along my fretboard. It was a true sonic journeyThe pitch controls increase possibilities for both ambience and dissonance. Simple tweaks push the boundaries of possibility in exponentially deeper directions. For more subtle thickening and accompaniment sounds, adding octaves, which are easy to tune by ear, offers precise tone sculpting, dimension, and a wider frequency range. Hearing simple harmonic ideas plucked against celeste- and organ-like reverberations kept me in the Harold Budd and Brian Eno space for long enough to consider new recording projects.
There is as much fun to be had at the highest feedback settings on the DSS. Be forewarned: Spend too much time there and you might need a name for your new ambient band. Cranking the multiply and decay knobs, Iād drop in a few notes, or maybe just a chord, and get to work scanning the pitch knobs and sculpting with the filter. Soon, I conjured bold Ligeti-inspired orchestral sounds fit for a guitar remix of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The Verdict
The Dark Star Stereo strikes a nice balance between deep control, a wide range of sonic rewards, playability, and an always-sounds-great vibe. The controls are easy to use, so it doesnāt take long to get in the zone, and once you do, thereās plenty to explore. Throughout my time with the DSS, I was impressed with its high-fidelity clarity. I attribute that to the filter, which allows clean and reverb signals to perform dry/wet balance and EQ functions. That alone encouraged more adventurous and creative exploration. Though not every player needs this kind of tone tool, the DSS is a must-check-out effect for anyone serious about wild reverb adventures, and itās simple and intuitive enough to be a good fit for anyone just starting exploration of those zones. However you come to the Dark Star, itās a unique-sounding pedal that deserves attention. PG
Introducing the new Firebird Platypus, a tribute to the rare transitional models of 1965.
In early 1965, the original Firebird design transitioned through several different iterations. One of the significant transitions that occurred flipped the headstock to the Non-Reverse shape. Unlike the original Reverse Firebird headstock design, which featured a two-layered headstock with a holly veneer, the new headstock was flat, like the bill of a platypus.
Mahogany body and glued-in mahogany neck
The Firebird Platypus has a mahogany body with the appearance of a traditional neck-through Reverse Firebird body for that classic Reverse Firebird appearance, while the neck of the Firebird Platypus uses glued-in, set neck construction like the Les Paul and SG and delivers outstanding sustain and resonance.
Platypus transitional headstock design
The headstock features the flat, transitional style āplatypusā design that was found only on rare models from the 1965 transitional period when the Firebird was gradually switching over from the features found on the original models that were released in 1963 to the features that were used for the later Non-Reverse Firebird models.
Firebird humbucker pickups
Itās outfitted with two Firebird humbucker pickups. These pickups are equipped with Alnico 5 magnets and have a unique sound that is not quite like any other humbucking pickup, with unmatched clarity, chime, and bite. They sound great for both clean and overdriven tones.
Exclusive Cherry Sunburst finish
This exclusive Cherry Sunburst finish is available only on Gibson.com and at the Gibson Garage.
For more information, please visit gibson.com.