
Night Beats guitarist Danny Lee Blackwell joins PG editors and our reader of the month in sharing strange experiences from the online gear market.
Q: What was your weirdest Craigslist/online gear purchase experience?
Danny Lee Blackwell [Night Beats]
Danny Lee Blackwell
Photo by Hamilton Boyce
A: One time I replied to an ad for a keyboard (Vox Continental) on Craigslist in Fort Worth, Texas. He wanted to meet in the parking lot of a Whataburger, which sounded strange but I agreed. I didn't know how we were going to test out the keyboard, because how were we going to plug it in, right? Either way, I meet up with him and he has a van with a built-in power supply and full moving workshop.
Vox Continental
He ended up being awesome and invited me back to his place to check out more of his gear. After a little deliberation, I said, "Why not?" We ended up playing music in his home for a few hours. I got on drums and played simple kraut-style beats on his drum kit while he tinkered around with organs and keys. Nice guy.
Current Obsession:
I've been a fan of Mdou Moctar since we opened for him in New Orleans a couple years ago. There's something about the inclusivity of his music that's so refreshing. I'm always coming back to my favorites though ... Smokey Robinson, Barbara Lynn, Selda Bağcan, Bill Withers. Lee Moses' Time and Place might never leave my head. He was the guitarist for the legendary Atlanta R&B artist, the Mighty Hannibal. That solo on Lee Moses' "Adorable One" is one of my favorite guitar phrases of all time: It's so simple and powerful, but ties the rest of the guitar work of the song together so beautifully.
Tyler Wells [Reader of the Month]
Tyler Wells
A: This happened last week ... I traded a Fender reissue '62 Strat for a fake John Mayer Stratocaster. The guy wouldn't trade back after I figured it out. It ended up costing me around $2K in value. On a happier note, I ended up trading the fake guitar for a Mexico-made Tele, which I traded my way up to an American Deluxe Strat. Almost back to where I started!
Current Obsession:
Spotify playlists! I'm loving how new music is curated to fit your musical taste while throwing old favorites into the mix. If you haven't experimented on Spotify playlists, you're missing out on some amazing music that you normally wouldn't listen to. I've been loving "Dionne" by Bon Iver/Japanese House, "Anyone" by Justin Bieber, and doing a throwback to some of the Black Keys' earlier albums.
Shawn Hammond [Chief Content Officer]
A: I've got two. #1: The weirdest was in a dream I had just last night. I lived in the same place I lived 25 years ago and I was using my 2021 iPhone to navigate my long-gone '93 Nissan Pathfinder to meet some Craigslist guy and sell him my Deluxe Reverb. My dream self was very dumb and agreed to meet him out in the boonies at the foot of massive, very ominous-looking mountains. Suddenly my GPS stopped working, I was badly lost, night was falling, and my phone wouldn't exit out of the current app to the home screen. I was so mad I bent the phone in half—and then immediately freaked out about it.
#2: In real life, a guy wanted to meet me at Wendy's and buy all three pedals in my ad. Once we were at the late Dave Thomas' place, the buyer just handed me the money without even opening the boxes. The next week, all of the pedals were for sale again on Craisglist, and from then on I periodically noticed ads for entire batches of pedals for sale from the same guy.
Shawn Hammond
Chief Content OfficerCurrent Obsession:
Current Obsession:
I'm still obsessed with recording!
Tessa Jeffers [Managing Editor]
A: I only have one Craigslist story because of what happened to me in 2011. I'd just moved to Iowa to start an exciting new job at PG. I needed a couch, so my brother, who helped me move, suggested I grab a cheap one off Craigslist. We found one quickly for $50 and picked it up. That evening, I saw a bug crawling on the arm of the couch, a curious type of insect I'd never seen before. I captured the bug in a Ziploc, Google ID'd it, and then immediately shoved the couch off my apartment balcony to the dumpster below. It was a bed bug. The couch was definitely the source because I called an exterminator ASAP and no other bugs were found. NEVER again!!!
Current Obsession:
Tame Impala at Nashville Ascend Amphitheater
Photo by Tessa Jeffers
Live concerts, because it's been two years, summer of 2019, since we enjoyed a full concert season. Reminiscing about special ones I saw during that time: Anderson .Paak, Raconteurs, Lana Del Rey, Tame Impala, the 1975, and Foo Fighters.
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Lutefish, the real-time music collaboration device and platform, is excited to announce a suite of new features designed to simplify setup, streamline collaboration, and offer more flexible subscription options for Lutefish Stream users. These latest updates, Audio Presets, Automatic Session Recall, Improved Scheduling with Contact Visibility, and a new Yearly Subscription Plan, are all about making it easier than ever for musicians to jam together, no matter where they’re based.
Save Time and Stay in the Flow with Audio Presets & Session Recall
Musicians can now save and reuse their exact audio settings, reducing setup time and ensuring every session sounds exactly as they want.
- Automatic Session Recall: When users leave a session, their current audio levels are automatically saved and restored when they rejoin.
- User-Defined Audio Presets: Each user can create and name up to five custom presets, like “Band Practice,” “Studio Mic Setup,” or “Quick Jam,” making it effortless to jump back in with the perfect sound.
“These tools are all about saving time and hassle,” said Patrick Finn, Business Manager at Lutefish. “Musicians want to make music, not spend time rebalancing levels every session. With presets and recall, we’re giving them time back and helping them sound their best, every time.”
Smarter Scheduling and Contact Visibility
The latest update to Lutefish also made it easier to find collaborators and book sessions. Users can now:- View all their contacts at a glance when scheduling a session.
- Instantly identify which contacts own a Lutefish Stream device—so they will always know who’s ready to jam.
Go Yearly and Save 20%
Lutefish now offers a Yearly Subscription Plan, providing users with the same great access as the monthly plan at a 20% discount.
This option is now available within the Lutefish app and web platform, and current monthly users are eligible for a discount with an upgrade to a yearly subscription.
Lutefish’s mission has always been to empower musicians to connect and collaborate without boundaries. With these new updates, Lutefish Stream continues to break down barriers—whether you’re jamming with a friend across town or collaborating with a bandmate 500 miles away.
For more information and to start jamming today, visitlutefish.com.
Few musical acts did more to put their fame and fortune to good use than punk rock icon Wayne Kramer. Known for his enduring commitment to activism, especially in justice reform, his life story embodies the defiant, DIY ethos of punk, directly inspiring generations of bands and musicians who followed. Now, fans and fellow musicians alike can attempt to emulate Kramer’s incendiary sound with the new, limited-edition pedal.
Designed before his death in February 2024, Wayne Kramer—together with friend Jimi Dunlop (Dunlop CEO) and Daredevil Pedals owner Johnny Wator —the pedal features artwork from artist and activist Shepard Fairey (Obey Clothing founder). A majority of profits from the sale of the pedal goes directly to Kramer’s charity supporting the rehabilitation of incarcerated people of all ages, genders, and backgrounds.
In honor of his close friend, Tom Morello—the innovative guitarist behind Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, the Nightwatchman, and more—demoed the pedal, showcasing its sound and shining light on Wayne Kramer’s incredible legacy.
Tom Morello Introduces MC5 Wayne Kramer-Inspired Pedal For Charity: MXR Jail Guitar Doors Drive
"What they've tried to bake into the MXR® Jail Guitar Doors Drive distortion pedal is not just Wayne's sound but Wayne's attitude, and the grit and the rawness of Detroit and of the MC5," said Morello, one of Kramer’s best friends, during his demo of the pedal. "This is the guitar pedal that was used on the song 'Heavy Lifting' that I recorded with Wayne for the last MC5 record.
"Named after the late rocker's charity—which provides instruments and art workshops to incarcerated individuals as rehabilitation tools—the MXR® Jail Guitar Doors Drive pedal aims to capture all of the high-voltage energy of Wayne Kramer's sound. It features two uniquely voiced gain circuits cascaded together with a singular pot controlling both the output level of each circuit and the overall saturation level of the distortion.
Music makers looking to capture Kramer’s raw, fiery sound can pick up the new MXR® Jail Guitar Doors Drive pedal, exclusively on Reverb via The Official MXR Jail Guitar Doors Drive Reverb Shop for $199, here: https://reverb.com/shop/the-official-mxr-jail-guitar-doors-reverb-shop.
Kiesel Guitars has introduced their newest solid body electric guitar: the Kyber.
With its modern performance specs and competitive pricing, the Kyber is Kiesel's most forward-thinking design yet, engineered for comfort, quick playing, and precision with every note.
Introducing the Kiesel Kyber Guitar
- Engineered with a lightweight body to reduce fatigue during long performances without sacrificing tone. Six-string Kybers, configured with the standard woods and a fixed bridge, weigh in at 6 pounds or under on average
- Unique shape made for ergonomic comfort in any playing position and enhanced classical position
- The Kyber features Kiesel's most extreme arm contour and a uniquely shaped body that enhances classical position support while still excelling in standard position.
- The new minimalist yet aggressive headstock pairs perfectly with the body's sleek lines, giving the Kyber a balanced, modern silhouette.
- Hidden strap buttons mounted on rear for excellent balance while giving a clean, ultra-modern look to the front
- Lower horn cutaway design for maximum access to the upper frets
- Sculpted neck heel for seamless playing
- Available in 6 or 7 strings, fixed or tremolo in both standard and multiscale configurations Choose between fixed bridges, tremolos, or multiscale configurations for your perfect setup.
Pricing for the Kyber starts at $1599 and will vary depending on options and features. Learn more about Kiesel’s new Kyber model at kieselguitars.com
The Sunset is a fully analog, zero latency bass amplifier simulator. It features a ¼” input, XLR and ¼” outputs, gain and volume controls and extensive equalization. It’s intended to replace your bass amp both live and in the studio.
If you need a full sounding amp simulator with a lot of EQ, the Sunset is for you. It features a five band equalizer with Treble, Bass, Parametric Midrange (with frequency and level controls), Resonance (for ultra lows), and Presence (for ultra highs). All are carefully tuned for bass guitar. But don’t let that hold you back if you’re a keyboard player. Pianos and synthesizers sound great with the Sunset!
The Sunset includes Gain and master Volume controls which allow you to add compression and classic tube amp growl. It has both ¼” phone and balanced XLR outputs - which lets you use it as a high quality active direct box. Finally, the Sunset features zero latency all analog circuitry – important for the instrument most responsible for the band’s groove.
Introducing the Sunset Bass Amp Simulator
- Zero Latency bass amp simulator.
- Go direct into the PA or DAW.
- Five Band EQ:
- Treble and Bass controls.
- Parametric midrange with level and frequency controls.
- Presence control for extreme highs.
- Resonance control for extreme lows.
- Gain control to add compression and harmonics.
- Master Volume.
- XLR and 1/4" outputs.
- Full bypass.
- 9VDC, 200mA.
Artwork by Aaron Cheney
MAP price: $210 USD ($299 CAD).