Low power is no obstacle to giant sound and tone in this 5-watt, 1xEL84 overachiever.
Carr Amplifiers
Trail Rider Amplifer
he Trail Rider--all you need to climb that hill or win the race--with two classic voices, reverb, and a built-in attenuator. Lightweight and stylish, offered as a 1-12 combo (29 Lbs) or head – the Trail Rider’s single cylinder EL84 cranks out 5 real world watts. Home, studio, small group, or in modern live venues - you can count on the Trail Rider’s ease of use, practical features, ultra high-quality parts, and US made craftsmanship to deliver.
T57
As the Tweed amps and guitar styles of the 50s evolved, a single Tone knob did not seem enough. Mr F worked to add more usable sonic controls over the guitar signal. Just before 1957 the pro level Fullerton amps appeared with two new bleeding edge tone shapers, Treble and Bass. The California Sputnik of equalization. For a few short years this adaptation of the single Tone knob (Treble) and a new low-end volume/low pass filter (Bass) guided the Tweed amps from their origins to the end of the decade with the development of the Treble, Middle, Bass tone circuit in use today. This unique 57 implementation yields a huge range of sounds from wonderfully woolly and broodingly somber tones to ultra sharp astringent pushed highs, naturally with super usable vibes in-between. Cool cleans to extra chewy Overdrive when pushed.
V67
Later, across the sea, a different breakthrough Treble/Bass circuit arrived with Top Boost. Mid 60s guitarists wanted more cut, more top end, and a way to stand out in a mix. The Top Boost circuit, derived (the story goes) from unusual mid 50s American amps, offered an edgy, ‘modern’, Mid scooped and bright sound. The V amp interpretation is known for its chime-to-grind versatility.
Gibson's 100th anniversary is the occasion for a contemporary twist on a flattop beloved by Dylan, fingerstylists, and country blues pickers.
The Gibson L-00 was developed in the early 1930s and has been an industry standard small-bodied guitar for decades. These smaller Gibsons deliver a tonality that is best described in Gibson’s 1934 catalog as a sound of “perfect balance.” The smaller-bodied L-Series guitars, often referred to as parlor guitars since they were frequently played in living/sitting rooms or “parlors” of homes, have remained popular ever since.
Gibson
L-00 Century 12-Fret
The Gibson Century Collection is the company’s love letter to 100 years of flat-top guitar building, and this L-00 Century 12-Fret represents one of the design's earliest renderings. Maintaining its original spruce-topped mahogany tone and iconic parlor-bodied punch made famous by countless blues players throughout history, this L-00’s song is a timeless treasure that fingerstyle players will adore. Its unique 12-frets-to-the-body design channels the layouts of the earliest L-00s, shaped with a dedicated SlimTaper 12-Fret neck profile and sleek rosewood fingerboard for enhanced command that today's players will appreciate. From head to toe, the L-00 Century 12-Fret exudes classic ’30s style with a vintage pickguard, a double-bound body, Golden Age tuners, a sloped-rectangle closed-slot rosewood bridge, and a historic Gibson script logo on the headstock. The cherry on top is a Century Collection tweed hardshell case, allowing you to carry the L-00 Century 12-Fret with a matching charm and to let everyone know that you roll old-school!
The Gibson L-00 was developed in the early 1930s and has been an industry standard small-bodied guitar for decades. These smaller Gibsons deliver a tonality that is best described in Gibson’s 1934 catalog as a sound of “perfect balance.” The smaller-bodied L-Series guitars, often referred to as parlor guitars since they were frequently played in living/sitting rooms or “parlors” of homes, have remained popular ever since.
Now, Gibson is proud to introduce a new version of this legendary model: the L-00 Century 12-Fret. It retains many of the classic features that players love about the modern L-00, but features a 12-fret neck-to-body joint instead of the standard 14-fret joint. Why is this important? With a 12-fret neck joint, the neck is shorter and the position of the bridge plate is relocated, which places it further from the body’s waist and closer to the center of the widest area of the body, where it can drive the top more efficiently, making the guitar more comfortable to hold and play and resulting in a tone that is warm, punchy, and resonant and that responds ideally to the dynamics of fingerstyle players and players with a lighter picking attack.
While this is not the first L-00 to feature a 12-fret neck, such models have previously been limited to the earliest vintage L-00 flat-top models from the early 1930s and occasional limited-run models, making them relatively rare compared to their 14-fret cousins and harder to find. Now, the rich tone of a parlor guitar with a 12-fret neck is available to all in the form of the Gibson L-00 Century 12-Fret. Part of the new Century Collection celebrating 100 Years of Gibson Flat-Tops, it features a mahogany body with a Sitka spruce top, with single ply cream top and back binding outlining the body’s perimeter.
The mahogany neck has an easy-playing SlimTaper 12-Fret profile and attaches to the body at the 12th fret with a compound dovetail neck-to-body joint, fastened with hot hide glue, just like all Gibson acoustic models. The rosewood fretboard is equipped with 19 standard frets and adorned with simple mother-of-pearl dot inlays.
The headstock is outfitted with open-back Golden Age strap tuners with cream buttons and features an early-1900s Gibson script logo decal for a vintage-inspired touch. Another vintage-inspired detail is the sloped rectangle closed-slot rosewood bridge. The nut and saddle of the L-00 Century 12-Fret are bone, while the bridge pins are TUSQ. The L-00 Century 12-Fret has a classic Gibson L-00-style pickguard and features a hand-sprayed satin nitrocellulose lacquer finish.
It comes packed in a premium Century Collection tweed hardshell case and is available in both right and left-handed versions. Pick up a L-00 Century 12-Fret today and experience the sweet tone of a 12-fret neck Gibson parlor acoustic for yourself.
Known for his shredding ways, Paul Gilbert shows PG host John Bohlinger his robust musical vocabulary that hinges on hummable melodies and creative chord progressions. Oh, and then there's the whole thing where he wrote his latest album, WROC,around George Washington’s Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour In Company and Conversation. Another impressive attribbute of Gilbert's is impeccable music intellect recall for songs and lyrics. He claims to have stolen most of what he knows and plays, but we think that's just humility. Enjoy the conversation, camaraderie, and jams with PG and JB!
Jared James Nichols has a few calling cards: his mane of total-rockstar hair, his giant steel-toed boots, and his sweet, stinging Gibson-plus-Marshall shredding. He just released his latest record, Louder than Fate, which landed him on the cover of Premier Guitar’s June issue.
PG’s Chris Kies met up with Nichols at Gym 5 in Nashville to get a look at his revamped, pared-down rig, based around a classic recipe: Gibson guitars, Marshall stacks, and a couple of stomps to push those elements to the edge.
These four electrics are Nichols’ mainstays. The 2025 Gibson Futura, second from the right, has been modded with Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups and a custom black pickguard. To its left sits a 1952 Les Paul nicknamed “Dorothy,” Nichols’ favorite axe, which has survived a tornado and will be with him for life.
Also on the roster are Nichols’ signature Epiphone “Blues Power” Les Paul Custom (far left), with a Seymour Duncan Silencer JJN P-90B that gets rid of hum, and a Gibson Made to Measure Les Paul (far right), with a Custom Bucker and another Silencer JJN P-90B, intended to recreate Nichols’ ’54 Les Paul nicknamed “Old Red.”
Nichols uses DR Strings Veritas sets (.010–.049).
Stacks on Stacks
Nichols runs two Marshall 1959 modified heads through Marshall 1960 4x12 cabs, with Celestion GT-75 speakers. One is set for higher treble response, and the other favors bass presence.
Jared James Nichols’ Pedalboard
Nichols’ stomp setup is simple as can be: Along with a Klon Centaur and an Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer, he carries a Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster Mini, a TC Electronic PolyTune 3, and a Whirlwind Selector A/B Box to switch between amp heads.
The Fender Vintera III series delivers meticulously crafted vintage recreations that capture the authentic look, feel, and tone of iconic Fender guitars from the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s. The Vintera III Early ‘60s Bass VI features an alder body and a maple neck with rosewood fingerboard for classic Fender tone that’s full of punch and clarity. The early ‘60s “C”-shape, 30” scale maple neck with 7.25” radius rosewood fingerboard and vintage-tall frets provides supreme comfort and outstanding feel. At its heart, you’ll find three vintage-style early ‘60s single-coil pickups that deliver all the deep and growling, rich and articulate tone that made Fender famous. Other features include a vintage-style floating tremolo for expressive vibrato, individual on/off switches for each pickup, vintage-style Bass VI mute and vintage-style tuning machines for enhanced tuning stability. Embrace the authentic vintage spirit and legendary sound of Vintera III – where every detail tells the story.
Fender
Vintera III Early '60s Bass VI 6-string
6-string Electric Bass with Alder Body, Maple Neck, Rosewood Fingerboard, 3 Single-coil Pickups, and Tremolo - Candy Apple Red
![Jared James Nichols [2026]](https://www.premierguitar.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=66892615&width=1245&height=700&quality=70&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0)
