J. Rockett Audio Designs Phil X Signature (PXO) Boost & Overdrive Demo
The PXO was created as a live or studio tool. When we sent Phil the overdrive sample he found that it saved him in backline situations and provided him a drive that plays well with others.
The PXO is an overdrive/boost where you can select pre or post giving you variety in how you want to boost, EQ and overdrive. We have provided standard controls on the overdrive side such as Volume/Gain/Overdrive and EQ but on the boost side you have a separate Tilt EQ that allows you to EQ with simplicity. You can experiment by cascading in a pre or post situation and experiment from there. The PXO has a lush, thick feel to the bottom end and a smooth top end that begs you to dig into the note.
J. Rockett Audio Designs PXO Phil X Signature Overdrive Pedal
In this promotional photo of the Waikiki Trio, the standing guitarist is playing a Martin 0-42, and the seated guitarist is playing a Martin 0-18K.
Pacific Island pluckers had a hand in developing the beloved dreadnought acoustics, and changed the course of American guitar music.
In 1906, a devastating earthquake and three days of raging fires leveled 80 percent of San Francisco. Nine years later, to honor the opening of the Panama Canal and signal that San Francisco was back, the city held the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
More than 18 million people visited. One of the most popular attractions was the Hawaiian Pavilion. Live music and hula dancing, integral parts of Hawaiian culture, were in the show, where they could be experienced on a large scale on the mainland for one of the first times.
That was the beginning of the Hawaiian music craze that had a good run in the U.S. until the Great Depression. Hawaiian musicians had already embraced the ukulele and steel-string guitar, originating the slide-based lap style (versus the typical, so-called Spanish-style playing orientation). Both instruments saw unprecedented demand on Hawaii and the mainland. The story of the ukulele is well-told, but in doing research for this article, I came across a funny comment that caught my eye: “It could be said that in the mid-1920s, Martin was a ukulele company that also made guitars!”
In early 1916, we made a large-body custom guitar for Hawaiian musician Major Kealakai. He ordered it through our largest distributor, Ditson. It was kind of a 0000-size, 12-fret, steel-string guitar with an extra-deep body. The Major and his band were touring the U.S. mainland, and he felt he needed a bigger, louder guitar.
Shortly after that, Ditson commissioned a new larger, pear-shaped steel-string guitar from us to capitalize on the growing interest in Hawaiian music. It was called the dreadnought. It had just 12 frets, a slotted headstock, and a sizable, resonant body. Initially, the dreadnought didn’t sell very well. We did find success, however, making many of our smaller-bodied guitars with steel strings set up for “Hawaiian-style” playing. These were often made with a koa-wood back and sides, and occasionally tops as well. Additionally, if players wanted to use our other guitars lap-style with a slide, Martin manufactured a nut extender to raise the strings far enough above the frets so they wouldn’t interfere.
“It could be said that in the mid-1920s, Martin was a ukulele company that also made guitars!”
While steel strings were available in the late 1800s, the quality was inconsistent. Thanks to the popularity of the banjo and the mandolin, steel-string quality improved. The steel string provided the extra volume many players were looking for.
During the Great Depression, Ditson suffered financial difficulties and was sold. We kept the dreadnought in the line and put the Martin name on it, but sales still remained low. In 1929, we made a one-off, 14-fret steel-string version of our 000-size guitar for a well-known vaudeville banjo player, Perry Bechtel. We squared off the shoulders to accommodate the 14-fret neck. He loved it—and we thought we were onto something.
Gibson also saw opportunity in larger-bodied guitars with steel strings and 14-fret necks. They introduced three new models in 1932: the HG-20, HG-22, and HG-24. The first two were slightly smaller than our dreadnought, and the third was slightly bigger. They realized the value of a 14-fret neck for modern playing styles with steel strings. But instead of squaring off the shoulders, they moved the bridge down and attached the neck to the slope-shouldered bodies.
Not only did those models have a traditional round soundhole, but they also had four f-holes and a sound baffle to try to compete with the newfangled resophonic guitars that were quite loud. But the Gibsons were not well received by consumers, and were eventually discontinued.
In 1934, we redesigned our dreadnought with square shoulders to accommodate a 14-fret neck. That same year, Gibson reintroduced the HG-24 body size with a single round soundhole—no more f-holes or sound baffle—and called it the Jumbo. The Martin Dreadnought and the Gibson J Series guitars are still wildly popular.
I do wonder if they would even exist today if Hawaiian music hadn’t entered the American-pop music sphere in the 1920s?
Featuring a slim Headlock system, water-resistant shell, and spacious front pocket. Available in classic Black and Ash, as well as new colors Moonlight Blue, Amazon Green, and Burnt Orange.
This brand new design reimagines and elevates the original to new heights, featuring a fresh range of colors and a refined slim Headlock system. The enhanced MONO Sleeve is engineered for durability, featuring industrial-grade webbing handles reinforced with steel rivets and bar-tack stitching, a water-resistant 420D shell, and plush interior lining. A spacious front pocket offers easy access to essentials like cables, tuners, and other gear, while the ergonomic shoulder straps ensure comfort during long-distance commutes. Sleek and compact, the MONO M80 Sleeve 2.0 is the perfect choice for guitarists on the go.
To bring the MONO M80 Sleeve 2.0 to life in the launch campaign, MONO collaborated with renowned guitarist Rock Choi from Seoul, South Korea, known for his bold and precise playing style, and Susannah Joffe, an emerging indie-pop musician from Austin, Texas, USA. Together, the artists showcase the M80 Sleeve 2.0 in a dynamic video set in New York City, demonstrating how effortlessly the case integrates into the urban lifestyle while offering superior protection for their instruments.
The updated Sleeve 2.0 is available in classic Black and Ash, and for the first time in MONO’s history, debuts a range of new colors: Moonlight Blue, Amazon Green, and Burnt Orange, giving artists fresh avenues to express themselves through their gear.
The MONO M80 Sleeve 2.0 features include:
- An ergonomically designed case that is sleek and suited for urban travel, along with comfortable shoulder straps and a tactile side handle for easy carrying.
- A water-resistant 420D shell and plush interior lining, built to military specs and extreme resistance to abrasion and the elements.
- A slim Headlock system, made from shock-absorbing EVA rubber, secures the guitar's neck and headstock, while the EVA insole protects the body and strap pin from impact.
- A spacious front pocket for essentials like laptops and cables, and a small interior mesh pocket for critical items.
- Side-release chest buckles provide added security and a construction reinforced with steel rivets for extra durability.
- Rock-solid, industrial webbing handles that are standard in MONO cases. Bar-tack stitching and steel rivets reinforce strength, while high-grade webbing offers a comfortable grip.
- String guard protection to safeguard your guitar’s strings.
Despite his early personal history in elementary school orchestra, Bohlinger says, “Classical musicians are a bit of a mystery to me, and probably most guitarists.”
Does the guitar player’s mind have the patience and focus of a classical musician, or are we on another tip altogether?
The first time I really played music was in fourth grade in my elementary school orchestra. Although I played terribly and was just one tiny cog in a huge musical machine—second to last chair in the second violin section out of 30 kids—being part of these incredible, interwoven melodies was a genuinely moving experience, regardless of how bad it must have sounded. But despite the personal history, classical musicians are a bit of a mystery to me, and probably most guitarists.
Firstly, classical music is too much work.
Great guitarists all have worked their asses off to master their instrument. But the most dedicated guitarists probably won’t put in half as much hard practice time as classical players. I first noticed this when I was touring with my friend and former bandmate Robert Martin—who’s worked with Frank Zappa, Stevie Nicks, Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, and lots of others. We could be in Venice with a free day to explore, and Robert would lock himself in a room with his French horn to practice. On the gig, he wasn’t even playing French horn, just piano and sax, but he carried that thing with him around the world because he had to get his lips on that horn daily. It was somewhere between a compulsion and rigid dedication. Robert told me he had been on this schedule since 1969, when he entered the Curtis Institute of Music, where he undertook intensive classical studies.
On Quora, I found a conversation around the question, “How much do professional musicians practice every day, or does performing take the place of practice?” Only classical musicians responded. The consensus was that orchestral musicians need to practice all the time to play at their absolute best. For symphonic violinists, the practice minimum seems to be three hours daily, but it’s not uncommon for violinists to practice eight hours per day and they rarely take a day off.
Sasha Romero, the principal trombonist in the MET Opera Orchestra, posted on the forum about her typical day. “I usually warm up/practice fundamentals for 30–60 minutes before starting a 2.5-hour rehearsal. Depending on the rep, I may play 5 minutes of that or pretty much every measure (trombones still have far fewer notes than string players). There’s often a second 2.5-hour rehearsal after lunch. After I get home, I might have one more hour-long practice session where I work on an upcoming rep or a recital or whatever is in the near future.”
On her lightest weeks, she posted that she practices about one-and-a-half hours minimum, and four hours max, every day. I could not imagine the misery of four hours alone in a room playing trombone scores. Lots of counting, a bit of monophonic blowing. Torture.
Ever notice when you walk into a venue to see an orchestra, they are all seated practicing right up until the conductor walks out? I always think, “The curtain is up. We can see you. If you don’t have it by now, just go with what you’ve got.” Meanwhile in the world of guitar, half the band is joking around or slugging down drinks right until curtain.
“I could not imagine the misery of four hours alone in a room playing trombone scores.”
Guitarists play what we want when we want. Yes, hard practice is part of the guitar journey, but even a raw guitarist, only playing for a short time with no formal training can play something that connects on the deepest level.
Second: Classical music limits your expression.
Classical players color in the lines. Their contribution to a composition, as one player on the forum put it, is that “the depth of color is up to you.… If Beethoven wants pianissimo, I must play the softest, most spine-tingling pianissimo anyone ever heard!”
Guitarists outside the classical world have carte blanche to do whatever they want. As Eddie Van Halen said: “You’ve only got 12 notes, and however you mix them up is your thing.” In our world, the most revered guitarists are players like Django Reinhardt, Wes Montgomery, Jeff Beck, and EVH. They are celebrated because they went where no one had gone before.
Guitar is a very personal instrument. We are all influenced by others, but ultimately, all guitarists have their own thing. If 10 guitar players lay down a track for a new song, you will get 10 wildly different interpretations.
The vast majority of my 10,000-plus hours were spent having fun, or, as SRV put it, “trying to pray through my guitar.” Guitar remains my therapist, entertainment, companion, and an expression of self. Classical musicianship feels more like servitude to me. Guitar feels like freedom. Classical feels like religion. Guitar feels like spirituality. I’m not knocking either one, but we know who our tribe is.
Your esteemed hosts of the 100 Guitarists podcast have been listening to Randy Rhoads’s body of work since they learned the word “pentatonic.” His short discography with Ozzy Osbourne has been emblazoned on both of our fingertips, and we’ve each put in our hours working out everything from the “Crazy Train” riff to the fingerpicked intro to “Diary of a Madman.” But in our extended Premier Guitar fam, we have an expert who’s been studying Randy’s licks since longer than either of us have been alive.
On this episode, we’re thrilled to be joined by Chris Shiflett—best known to you as the host of Shred with Shifty or as the Foo Fighters’s foremost expert on Randy Rhoads. Since growing up with these riffs in his ears, Shifty’s been making tokens of tribute to the later guitar slinger, from bespoke t-shirts to stuffed guitars.
Join us for Shiflett’s Randy Rhoads primer, learn why you should crank the outro to “S.A.T.O.” as loud as you can, and what Ozzy song makes this Foo cry.
