Stevensville, MD (November 12, 2014) -- In 1985, while the world was focused on the birth of the first .com, a new computer operating system called Windows and āLive Aidā concerts for famine relief, an Annapolis, Maryland guitar repairman that had been steadily making a name for himself by building and fixing guitars decided to take a bold step by creating his own namesake guitar manufacturing company called Paul Reed Smith Guitars. Three decades later, Paul Reed Smith Guitars has risen to become the #3 US electric guitar manufacturer with instruments played by musicians and bands as diverse as Carlos Santana, Periphery, Blake Shelton, Alter Bridge and John Hyatt, to name a few.
PRS Guitarsā approach to manufacturing, still guided by its founder Paul Reed Smith, has maintained a consistent focus: design and create the best instruments possible using the finest materials available including beautifully figured tone woods, proprietary electronics, and patented processes. These instruments, considered collectorās items, stage necessities and amateur guitaristsā go-to instruments are sold in more than eighty countries worldwide through authorized dealers and distributors.
"Since day one it has been our goal to craft the finest guitars and amplifiers possible and Iām extremely proud of what weāve achieved over the last 30 years," stated Paul Reed Smith. āBut it doesnāt stop here. We will continue our journey, keeping the best of what weāve learned while experimenting with new advancements and features.ā
Honored to celebrate their landmark anniversary and their pursuit of excellence, PRS is offering a series of 30th Anniversary Custom 24 guitar models in each of their electric guitar product families including the US-made Private Stock, the distinguished US-made Core line, the vintage-inspired US-made S2 and the PRS designed SE guitar, each incorporating the visionary design and masterful craftsmanship that has become synonymous with the brand.
The US-made 30th Anniversary Custom 24 core model is a prime example of how Paul and the craftsmen at PRS keep focused on providing the best possible instruments for guitar players and guitar enthusiasts. Based on PRSā iconic, top-selling model, the 30th Anniversary Custom 24 features a highly figured maple top with mahogany back, a 25ā scale length, 24 fret mahogany neck and PRSās patented tremolo system with locking tuners which enhance the playability and feel of the guitar. The alluring carved body shape of the 30th Anniversary Custom 24 is available in 18 finish colors that deliver a delicious depth to the natural wood grain with colors such as Blood Orange, Jade, and Vintage Sunburst.PRS 30th Anniversary bird inlays on a rosewood fretboard further enhance the beauty of the model. PRSās new 85/15 treble and bass pickups come standard with a 5-way blade switch and volume and tone controls, providing exceptional clarity and a killer versatile voice.
The complete line-up of 30th Anniversary models:
- Private Stock 30th Anniversary Custom 24
- Artist Package 30th Anniversary Custom 24
- 30th Anniversary Custom 24
- S2 30th Anniversary Custom 24
- SE 30th Anniversary Custom 24
For more information:
PRS
Riptide Eventide Pedal
Ripping Distortion and Swirling Modulation
Ready to be swept away? Introducing Riptide, the result of extensive research into the iconic Uni-Vibe and legendary overdrives. Whether you're looking to ride the slow, vibey waves of lush modulation or dive headfirst into the pulsing depths of overdrive, Riptide invites you to play with power and attitude that's unapologetically bold.
Riptide features not one, but two distinct voices for each effect, all delivered in glorious stereo. Plus, you can effortlessly transition from Drive into Vibe or Vibe into Drive. Let āer rip.
Two Colors of Drive
Riptide features a balanced distortion with superb dynamics and touch sensitivity. Green is a dynamic, mid-range crunch. Red is a smooth and boosted overdrive.
Two Colors of Vibe
Authentic Shin-ei Uni-Vibe emulation captures the richness and modulation of the original, in stereo! Green is the traditional Uni-Vibe. Red is a deeper, phase-y Vibe.
Features:
- Four Effects: 2 Overdrives, 2 Uni-VibesĀ
- Drive ā VibeĀ at the press of a buttonĀ
- No Deep Dives: 3 Drive Knobs, 3 Vibe Knobs
- Five presets at your feet ā more available with Eventide Device Manager (EDM) softwareĀ
- Dual-action Active Footswitch is latching or momentaryĀ
- Rear panel Guitar/Line Level switch for matching impedances with guitar, synths, FX loop or DAW interfaceĀ
- Map any combination of parameters to an Expression PedalĀ
- Use a single Aux switch for Tap Tempo or a triple Aux switch for easy preset changingĀ Ā
- MIDI capability over TRS (use with a MIDI to TRS cable Type A or converter box) or USB
- Multiple Bypass options: Buffered, Relay, DSP+FX or Kill dry
- Catch-up mode to dial in your sound when toggling between presets/parameters
- Eventide Device Manager PC or Mac application for software updates, system settings and creating/saving presetsĀ
Simple controls make it easy to use, while models derived from the award-winning HX family of processors ensure exceptional hard-driving sound quality and authentic feel.
This new unit gives players seven amps, seven cabs, and 17 distortion, modulation, reverb, and delay effectsāincluding a looperāand it may be powered by three AA batteries (included) or an optional 9-volt power supply.
Guitarists can also download the free POD Express Edit app for their computers or mobile devices to quickly and easily access a world of deeper tone editing, preset management, and global settings.
āFor a wide variety of Metal guitarists, the POD Express Black is a great all-in-one modeler that gives them a unique selection of high-gain tones, plus essential effects,ā says Rick Gagliano, Line 6 Director of Product Management. āItās compact, fun and easy to use, affordable, andāmost importantlyāit features tones derived from the Helix family of products.ā
Additional features include stereo outputs, tap tempo, a tuner, a noise gate, a headphone output, and a USB-C audio interface with re-amping capabilities. Add an optional expression pedal for volume control, or up to two footswitches to select presets or turn effects on and off.
The POD Express family, which also includes the previously released POD Express Guitar and POD Express Bass, represents the latest evolution of a line that began in 1998 with the groundbreaking red "kidney-bean" PODāthe portable processor that pioneered the amp modeling revolution.
POD Express Black is $179.99
For more information, please visit line6.com.
Once a musician, always a musician. At 71, jazz guitarist Mike Stern is still jetsetting to perform around the world.
Even though Stern had to leave the next day for a week-long stint at the Alternative Guitar Summit campāwhere he would do clinics and perform alongside giants of the modern jazz world including John Scofield and Kurt Rosenwinkelāhe invited me over that night to his Gramercy Park apartment to discuss his debut Mack Avenue Records release, Echoes and Other Songs.
As I set up my recording equipment, Stern was also busy setting up. He opened his Boss BCB-60 pedalboard case and connected his pedals to his well-worn Yamaha SPX90II, then routed the setup into a pair of Fender Twin Reverb reissues. āI just want to set my stuff up so I can practice later,ā explains Stern. He was very generous with his time, and our interview concluded around midnight. As I headed out, Stern was just beginning his hours-long, late-night shedding session.
This relentless drive and obsessive discipline are the keys to Sternās āchops of doom,ā his nearly half-century reign as one of the worldās most celebrated jazz-fusion guitarists, and his remarkable road to recovery from a horrific accident that happened eight years ago.
Mike Stern - "Echoes"
In the Aftermath
In the summer of 2016, Stern tripped and fell over improperly stowed construction equipment while crossing the street, and broke his humeri (both of the arm bones that extend from the shoulder to the elbow). His right hand suffered permanent nerve damage, which caused it to become bent like a claw, making it so that he can no longer do some things like fingerpick and pinch harmonics. Sternās legendary fluid picking style also became choppy, and heās had to work extremely hard over the years to get it to flow smoothly again. āItās still frustrating as hell,ā admits Stern. āYou didnāt have to think about the technique so much because youāve been doing it for years, and then all of a sudden, now you have to spend energy and brain power on it. But itās getting more natural as I keep doing it.ā
āYou didnāt have to think about the technique so much because youāve been doing it for years, and then all of a sudden, you have to spend energy and brain power on it.ā
Equally devastating is the mental toll from the accident, which Stern is still coping with. āI was really nervous to do the record at all. I was trying to give myself every excuse to get out of it. I thought, āOh my hands are gonna cramp up because Iāll be nervous.ā My hands cramp up because of this injury,ā says Stern. āItās more in my mind. But thatās what Iām going through sometimes because of this. Itās really serious. Iām the only guitar player in the world thatās using glueāwig glueāto hold a pick. Everybody says they canāt hear the difference [in my playing] but I really feel it.ā
Despite his initial, anxiety-driven apprehension, Echoes and Other Songs might be Sternās best studio album yet. āI thought all the solos sucked and Iād have to go back and do everything again,ā confesses Stern. āThen I listened back and, first of all, I canāt change it because it was all recorded live with the band, and then I said, āThank God I donāt need to.āā
Sternās new record features a slate of impressive collaborators, who gathered to cut the album in New York City.
Hitting with the Heavyweights
As typical for a Mike Stern record, Echoes and Other Songs features a star-studded lineup of musicians. The luxury of recording with some of the worldās best musicians comes at a price. āThe problem was getting those guys to rehearse because everyoneās so busy,ā says Stern. āWe got one rehearsal with Jim [Beard, producer], myself, Antonio [Sanchez, drummer], and Chris Potter [saxophonist]. No Christian McBride [bassist]āso we ran the tunes without bass,ā says Stern. āWe finally got Christian to do it the very night before. He had some time and drove all the way in [from New Jersey], and there was a ton of traffic because there was a baseball game or something, and he was late, but he still made it. We got together for like an hour-and-a-half that night and went over everything. He already had it together.ā
The next day at BerkleeNYCās Power Station Studios, they recorded straight through without listening back. It was mostly one to three takes of a tuneāmaybe four at most, if something was tricky. Stern explains, āWe didnāt have that much timeāwe only had two days to do eight tunes! Thatās kind of a lot, especially because itās very live and we had never played together.ā
āIām the only guitar player in the world thatās using glueāwig glueāto hold a pick.ā
Stern did two days with that rhythm section, and the second session had Beard, Richard Bona on bass and vocals, Dennis Chambers on drums, and Bob Franceschini on sax. This was also intended to be a two-day session, but they finished the three tunes in one day, and were wise enough to leave it alone. (Later overdubs included Mikeās wife, Leni, on ngoni, a West African stringed instrument, and Arto TunƧboyacıyan on percussion.)
Over the years, Stern had worked with all of the musicians on the album, with the exception of Sanchez, who entered the picture at Beardās suggestion. He had just played a session with Sanchez, and Stern recalls, āJim said, āWow, that cat is playing his ass off.ā I was like, āNo shit, of course.ā Iām aware of him but we never played. Beard said, āIt would be a really good hookup because Antonioās such a great jazz player; he really follows you.ā And he did exactly that, he really followed me, especially on the first tune āConnections.ā All of it. He was right there for all the soloists.ā
Mike Stern's Gear
Improvising isnāt just for the fretboard: A 2016 accident permanently damaged Sternās right hand, forcing him to relearn how to play the instrumentāa process thatās still ongoing.
Photo by Sandrine Lee
Guitar
- Yamaha Pacifica 1511MS Mike Stern
Amp
- Fender ā65 Twin Reverb reissue
Effects
- Yamaha SPX90II
- Boss SD-1 (as boost with level all the way up, drive all the way off, and tone at 11:00)
- Boss SD-1W (as drive with level at 11:00, drive at 1:00, tone at 2:00, and mode switch set to C)
- Boss DD-3T
- Boss MO-2
- Boss TU-3
- Vemuram Jan Ray
- Truetone power supply with daisy chain cables
- Boss BCB-60 pedalboard
Strings and Picks
- DāAddario (.011ā.013ā.015ā.026ā.032ā.038)
- DāAddario heavy picks
Beauty in Simplicity
Like most accomplished jazz musicians, Stern has spent countless hours shedding complex tunes. Heāll regularly practice John Coltraneās ā26-2ā with Leni at home, and has recorded Coltraneās challenging āMomentās Noticeā on several jazz-oriented CDs. But unless Stern is specifically recording an acoustic-jazz album like his 1992 release, Standards (and Other Songs), he generally prefers to keep it simple for his studio albums.
āI like to write so you donāt have to have a slide ruler to figure it out. Thatās just my take,ā says Stern. āI mean, some of the stuff that I hear thatās more complex, itās gorgeous. Iām not taking that away. But when you have a limited amount of time for a band, you have to kind of keep it realistic. You have to make it kind of simple because most of the time theyāre not going to have time to really learn some hard shit. I like to do that anyway because itās more fun for me and for everybody else to play. Itās not so fun to show up and have to play āGiant Stepsā backwards and in three different keys.ā
āI like to write so you donāt have to have a slide ruler to figure it out.ā
Youāll often hear common forms like blues and minor blues disguised with the Stern touch on his albums. āCould Be,ā the closing track on Echoes and Other Songs, is a quirky contrafact on the very familiar jazz standard āIt Could Happen to You.ā
āConnections,ā another song in the collection, āhas a blowing section thatās easy so people can take off on it,ā says Stern. āItās almost got a McCoy Tyner vibe; I always think of āPassion Danceā in a way.ā Since āConnectionsā didnāt require extraneous brain power to calculate unexpected chord changes or odd meters, the musicians were a lot freer and more relaxed, and the results are astounding. Stern says, āMan, Chris Potter, whewāhe just tore it up on that track.ā
Sternās signature Yamaha electric has been his go-to for decades. Combined with a pair of Twin Reverbs, it takes him wherever he needs to go.
Photo by Chris Marroquin
āGospel Song,ā the second single from Echoes, is a ballad inspired by the down-to-earth music Stern heard growing up in Washington, D.C. āAll you heard there was soul music, basically. It was so cool to live there and hear that music and it got me right away,ā says Stern. āI used to listen to a lot of Motown and some church-y kind of stuff is in Motown or soul music.ā
āCurtis,ā which features Bona singing and Stern making an appearance on backing vocals, pays homage to a soul-music legend. āItās got the vibe of a Curtis Mayfield tune in a kind of loose way. Heās one of my favorite composers,ā says Stern. āYou didnāt have to think too hard. It would just get into your heart.ā
Fitting Farewell
Sadly, producer Jim Beard passed away in March 2024, several months before the albumās release. In addition to working with the likes of Steely Dan and Pat Metheny, among others, Beard had played an enormous role in Sternās studio albums over the past several decades. āHe played on āChromazone,āā recalls Stern, referencing his most famous tune from the 1988 album Time in Place. Beard also produced numerous Stern albums, starting with 1991ās Odds or Evens. āHe produced and mixed the stuff too, even though we had engineers. Heās amazing and had such an incredible ear. It was a shock to lose him,ā says Stern.
Fittingly, āCrumbles,ā Sternās most adventurous studio track to date, features Beard, who adds a hauntingly introspective touch to the songās mood. āThe tune is a little quirky and has some humor in it. I like some of the things I was trying to do writing-wise and Christian really dug it. We were in the studio and we said, āEverybodyās been playing here and there but Jim hasnāt really gotten any features, so letās just do that with him.ā He played this spacey thing and everybody just kind of played along, but we kind of knew we were going to go back in time and rock out in the end,ā says Stern, who pulled out his synth-like Boss MO-2 for the guitar solo. āIt just happened. I hadnāt used it for the whole record, so I said, āLet me use this with distortion.āā
Stern and his wife, musician Leni Stern, have always practiced as a duo at home, but they only started performing together recently. In this live shot, Leni presides in the background.
Photo by Chris Marroquin
The 55 Bar
Since roughly 1984, NYCās 55 Bar was Sternās home away from home. He had a weekly residency there for decades, playing every Monday and Wednesday when he was back in town. In stark contrast to a formal concert at a big-money venue, gigs at the 55 Barālovingly nicknamed āThe Dumpāāwere casual, low-key situations. For guitar geeks, it was the best deal around, especially in the early days when the $12 cover charge also included two drinks and popcorn.
At his 55 Bar gigs, Stern would tweak new compositions and arrangements, and stretch out on jazz standards. It wouldnāt be uncommon at the 55 Bar to hear Stern burn for 20 minutes on a very uptempo blues, exploring esoteric ideas that you might not hear him do on a more listener-friendly studio album. Or, he could morph a jazz standard into an endlessly building, extended-outro vamp where he would play ear-twisting lines.
āPlaying [at 55 Bar], sometimes I would come back that night and be inspired to try to write something.ā
Musicians as diverse as Hiromi Uehara, Paul Shaffer, and the late Roy Hargrove would often randomly show up and sit in with Stern. Countless magic moments happened at the 55 Bar, very often sparking new ideas for Stern. āPlaying there, sometimes I would come back that night and be inspired to try to write something,ā says Stern, who made his first public appearance after the accident at 55 Bar on October 10, 2016, and used subsequent gigs there as a rehab of sorts as he began relearning the instrument.
At the club, Stern created a culture that defined a New York movement in jazz guitar, and gave players like Wayne Krantz and Adam Rogers, among others, an opportunity to showcase their abilities and develop their craft.
Sadly, however, in 2022, the 55 Bar closed, striking a devastating blow to the Big Appleās creative community. āThat place was one in a million,ā says Stern.
āItās a total drag,ā he continues. āYou have to look around and hustle gigs. Itās a challenge for younger players to find clubs to play and keep going. Even as discouraging as it is, I tell people, whatever you do, just try to find time to practice. Find a couple of hours every day. Itās a corny phrase but just āwater the flowers.ā Otherwise, you got nothing.ā
YouTube It
After decades of gigging separately, Mike Stern and his wife Leni Stern decided to start performing together. Leniās ngoni playing can be heard on Echoes and Other Songs, and in this clip, the duo jam at home on one of Leniās West African-inspired songs.
You could throw a dart at a board of all the worldās music genres, and chances are fair that youād hit a sound that Melbourne band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have explored. King Gizz started life as a bluesy garage-rock outfit, but over the past 14 years, theyāve leapt into metal, jazz, folk, electronic, and even microtonal music. Theyāve spread their adventures over 26 LPsāfive of them released in 2022 alone.
On tour this summer in support of their latest, Flight b741, the band stopped at Nashvilleās Ascend Amphitheater, where Premier Guitarās Chris Kies caught up with guitarists Joey Walker and Stu Mackenzie for a look at how they navigate the Gizzverse onstage. Hereās a preview of some of the goods, but tune into the full Rundown to catch all the detailsāincluding Mackenzieās famed Flying Microtonal Banana, the namesake of their 2017 album.
Brought to you by DāAddario.Turkish Delight
Walkerās Godin Richmond Dorchester has been subjected to a few changes. When King Gizzard entered their āmicrotonal phase,ā influenced by Mackenzieās travels to Turkey, the guitar was modified by a luthier friend with a fret arrangement (identical to Mackenzieās Flying Banana) that permits microtonal intervals, like a Turkish baÄlama. Walker explains that itās like adding extra frets between the traditional 12 notes, so there are quarter-tone intervals rather than just semitone steps. It took some learning to figure out how to play, but at this point it feels like muscle memory for Walker.
Samurai Sword
Mackenzie admits that heās not picky with his guitars: He likes unpredictable gear, and heās prone to impulse-buying weirdo axes. He picked up this Yamaha SG-2 in 2013, and it sounds like no other guitar heās played. The weird, noisy pickups cause interesting microphonic glitches, and while itās a bit of a pain to keep in proper playing order, Mackenzie knows his way around the guitar and trusts it. The SG-2 is strung with .011s and handles standard-tuning numbers.
Stu Mackenzie's Pedalboard and Amp
While Mackenzieās guitar selections are rather offbeat, his pedalboard and amp setup are fairly straight-laced; in fact, 70 percent of the set is played with no effects on at all. His signal runs first into a Boss TU-3 tuner and DD-3T delay, then to a Devi Ever Aenima, a Jam Pedals Boomster, a Fender Tread-Light Wah, and a Dunlop Volume (X) Mini. His vocals run into a custom multi-effect pedal by EarthQuaker Devices, which features both overdrive and a gated echo, preventing ambient noise from triggering the effect. A VVco Pedals Time Box helps Mackenzie keep the set from running over.
From the board, his signal runs to a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, an amp he can pick up virtually anywhere in the world. He runs it fairly clean, but adjusts it between every song for varied gain-staging. A Mesa Boogie PowerHouse Attenuator keeps the stage volume in check.
