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Gibson Releases "Updated" Les Paul & SG Robot Guitars

In December 2007 Gibson introduced the "Robot Guitar" with the release of a limited edition Les Paul model. The Robot Guitar was accepted with both excitement and skeptisism, yet was a hot seller. As promised Gibson has followed up with new Robot Guitar models that include both the Les Paul and SG models.

The "Robot Les Paul Studio" and the "Robot SG Special", are available in limited edition Purple Metallic and Green Metallic finishes. Check out pricing information, galleries and more on the Gibson USA Website.

Gibson Guitar Names Wal-Mart, Target in Guitar Hero 3 Lawsuit

They say "It's better to ask for forgiveness then to ask for permission". Sometimes this may be true, but this may not be the case in EA Games' choice to use various trademarks from Gibson Guitar extensively in the third installment of the popular Guitar Hero video game series.

Images of the legendary Gibson Les Paul and SG guitars adorn Guitar Hero 3 packaging and appear abundantly in advertisements for the popular game. It is no doubt that imagery including Gibson's currently highlighted signature artist, Slash is adding fuel to the fire as well.

In addition to the dispute with Electronic Arts and game publisher Activision, Gibson today filed a federal lawsuit naming Guitar Hero 3 vendors such as Toys “R” Us, GameStop Corp, Amazon.com, Kmart, Target and Wal-Mart requesting that sales of the game are halted until proper legal permissions and patents for use of the Gibson goodies are granted.

Hmm? Could it be that we'll see some Paul Reed Smith guitars in Guitar Hero 4?

Submission From EMEDIA MUSIC: New Version 4 Guitar Method CD-ROM

Seattle, WA - eMedia Music Corp., publisher of the world’s best-selling series of guitar tutorial CD-ROMs, announces the release of Version 4.0 of Guitar Method Vol. 1. The new version includes a more intuitive interface, improved high-quality audio and video, and new fretboard skins. With over 160 large-screen, easy-to-read lessons and more than 50 high-resolution large format videos, Version 4 proves to be a significant upgrade, making it a perfect starting point for the beginning guitarist.

The original eMedia Guitar Method Vol. 1 was a breakthrough in multimedia guitar instruction and was named a top 50 CD-ROM of the year by Newsweek and was critically acclaimed by more than 100 other sources. Ranked by Music & Sound Retailer as the best-selling music education CD-ROM for four consecutive years, eMedia Guitar Method is hailed as “the ultimate way to learn how to play guitar” by legendary guitarist Peter Frampton.

SRV

STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN FENDER CUSTOM SHOP TRIBUTE SERIES GUITAR BASED ON VAUGHAN'S OWN "LENNY" '65 STRATOCASTER TO BE LAUNCHED ON DEC. 12 AND OFFERED EXCLUSIVELY IN THE U.S. BY GUITAR CENTER

ORIGINAL "LENNY" ELECTRIC GUITAR AMONG MOST STORIED INSTRUMENTS IN MUSIC HISTORY

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona - In a historic collaboration among Fender, Guitar Center and the Stevie Ray Vaughan estate, the famous Stevie Ray Vaughan "Lenny" Stratocaster guitar has been commissioned by Guitar Center to be reproduced in a limited edition by the Fender Custom Shop. As part of Fender"s Tribute Series of guitars, "Lenny" will be produced in a limited quantity, with 185 guitars offered for sale in the United States, made available exclusively through Guitar Center. Guitar Center stores throughout the United States will introduce the guitar on Dec. 12, 2007, and will offer them to customers for $17,000 (U.S.).

This emotive addition to the Custom Shop Tribute Series will feature an intricate reproduction of "Lenny" down to the smallest of details; from the customized neck that was a gift from ZZ Top's Billy F Gibbons to the reflective "SRV" stickers on the body to the battered headstock, the autograph that Stevie himself etched into the neck plate, and even an autograph from legendary baseball great, Mickey Mantle.

Guitar Center, the world's largest musical instrument retailer, purchased the original guitar for $623,500 at a 2004 Christie's auction that benefited the Crossroads Centre, Antigua, a charitable organization founded by Eric Clapton.

"Guitar Center is both thrilled and privileged to be able to offer Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Lenny" Fender Stratocaster to the world," said Keith Brawley, Guitar Center vice president of merchandising for guitars and amplifiers. "Stevie Ray Vaughan's fans are among the most loyal and passionate guitar lovers in the world. The "˜Lenny" Stratocaster, Stevie's main instrument for his love songs, is a truly fascinating guitar that has, as part of its DNA, a tender, personal love story and an incredibly colorful and touching history."

The original "Lenny" guitar is a universally recognizable Fender Stratocaster, best known for its uniquely bright and powerful tone and known as one of Stevie Ray Vaughan's favorite instruments throughout his entire career. The guitar itself has an almost mystical heritage that can be traced back to the very beginning of Vaughan"s rise to stardom.

Stevie Ray Vaughan was just a struggling young guitarist in Austin, Texas, in 1980, when his wife, Lenora "Lenny" Vaughan, gave him a used Stratocaster that had recently caught his eye in a local pawnshop. It was a 1965 Fender Stratocaster guitar with the original pickups that, from the look of it, had seen better days. Although it began life as a three-color sunburst model, it had obviously been refinished (none too expertly) at some point, and now it had a dark natural finish bearing an elaborate inlay in the body behind the bridge. Nonetheless, there was something about it that clearly and immediately resonated deeply with Vaughan.

As Vaughan himself said during an interview published in the Feb. 1990 issue of Guitar Player magazine:

"It's called "˜Lenny." I found it at a pawnshop and didn't have the money to buy it, and my wife and several other friends of mine put a pool together and bought the guitar. It's always meant a lot to me. And I love what it sounds like. "Riviera Paradise" and "Lenny" (Texas Flood) are both played on the same guitar, and for some reason that guitar works for songs like that more than anything else." [Guitar Player, Feb. 1990]

Seven friends with $50 each pooled their money to buy the Stratocaster and gave it to Vaughan on his birthday during a celebration at a local Austin nightclub. He was thrilled. He took the guitar home and, sometime that night, as Lenora slept, wrote a new song on it. In the morning, Lenora Vaughan remembers, "He was sitting on the edge of the bed with the guitar and said, "Listen to this." He played her the song he had written that night, "Lenny." The song later became one of Vaughan"s most well-known instrumental pieces, and he continued to perform it exclusively on the "Lenny" guitar. Throughout the remainder of his career, the "Lenny" guitar traveled with Vaughan almost everywhere he went, and it was later autographed by baseball great Mickey Mantle during a chance meeting in Houston. On April 10, 1985, Vaughan had just performed the National Anthem at the season"s opening game for the Houston Astros where Mantle was also in attendance as a guest of honor. Without a baseball or bat nearby, Stevie offered up his beloved guitar to be touched with the magic of the American sporting legend. More information on the guitar"s journey, plus detailed images, can be found at www.fender.com/lenny and www.guitarcenter.com/lenny.

"This guitar had very special meaning to Stevie," said Mike Eldred, Fender Custom Division sales and marketing director. "He had it throughout his career; he took it everywhere, and during each show, he stopped, sat down on the stage, and played that song, on that guitar. It's like he was holding on to that very special time before he was a star, and just didn't want to let that part of his life go."

Fender Announces Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Lenny" Stratocaster Tribute Guitar

Available December 12th 2007 (Just in time for Christmas!)

Fender today announced the latest exciting guitar from it's Custom Shop Tribute Series. Stevie Ray Vaughan's famous "Lenny" named after SRV's wife Lenora who purchased the Stratocaster for him in 1980 is the newest addition to the series. The Fender Custom Shop has recreated this beauty in all it's glory complete with cigarette burns and stunning inlay work along side of the bridge.

Guitar Center could not quote a price as of today. The guitar will go on sale at exactly 10:00 A.M. Pacific Standard Time on December 12. 2007. Check back here on GuitarGearCentral.com for further information and the official press release as we receive it from Fender.

Yesterday�s Guitar Imports - Tomorrow�s Collectibles?

Yesterday’s Imports - Tomorrow’s Collectibles? – Part 1

By John Seetoo

(Editor's Note - Hold on to that Hondo! Don't give up on that ol' '80s Ibanez Roadstar guitar quite yet. Contributing author John Seetoo weighs in on the future values of yesterday's imported guitars.)

I was looking through some old issues of Guitar Player magazine from the 1970’s recently, and I was very surprised at a lot of the manufacturer names that advertised back in the time marketing “budget” instruments that have now developed a collector’s cache. Ibanez, Takamine, Hondo II, Aria Pro II, Vantage, Tokai, Fernandes, Tama (yes, they did make guitars once upon a time), Hohner, Yamaha, Westbury and others. While some of these names, such as Ibanez, Takamine and Yamaha, have now established themselves as guitar and amp makers on the pro and intermediate levels, I think it is quite amazing that some 30 years later, guitars that were marketed to the entry level player have developed an international following that is steadily elevating eBay prices...

Wired for Sound: How to Rewire Your 3-Pickup Electric Guitar

Ultra-Flexible Circuitry for Three-Pickup Guitars

(Editor's Note - So you got a new Strat and can't roll down the high's on your bridge pickup. Or better yet - how about firing up all three pickups at once? Contributing author Rich Leavitt explains how to rewire your 3-pickup axe and boast infinite sonic possibilities.)

For years it has been a matter of frustration to me that many of the three-pickup guitars sold by the major manufacturers have quite limited circuitry (e.g., Strats, three-pickup Les Pauls and Rickenbackers, etc.). Some of the two-pickup circuits are more flexible; one example is the Gibson L6S, which I had for a while in the 1970s. In this guitar there’s a six position selector switch; four of these positions allow the two pickups to be placed in series or in parallel, and in-phase or out-of-phase. But the three-pickup arrangements, for the most part, don’t even allow for all possible pickup combinations, let alone vary the way they are connected to each other.

I first got interested in this issue when I read about Brian May’s Red Special guitar, which he and his father constructed before Queen was formed. One unusual feature of that guitar was that the pickups are connected to each other in series rather than in parallel, as is the case in most guitars. His guitar also allowed each pickup to be phase-switched. Some of the more recognizable Queen sounds use these series and out-of-phase connections...

New Behringer TM300, PO300 Pedals, BVT4500H Bass Amplifier Head

Press Release

Behringer International

TM300 Tube Amp Modeling Effects Pedal

The new TM300 Tube Amp modeling effects pedal from Behringer packs 27 amp modeling configurations in a single low-cost package. Three amp styles, three gain modes and three mic placement options combine to achieve the most sought-after tube amp sounds. Dedicated controls for Output Level, Low & Hi EQ and Drive fine tune each of the possible configurations to create tube amp sounds from clean to crunch to super-fat distortion.

The TM300 features rugged construction, an effects status LES, electronic bypass switching and 9 V battery or optional DC power operation.

Features:

Three Amp modes: TWEED, BRIT(ISH), CALIF(ORNIAN)
Three Gain modes: HOT, HI G(AIN), CLN (CLEAN)
Three Mic placements: CLSIC (distant) CNTR (close center), OFF X (close off-axis)
Variable Output Level
Variable Low & Hi EQ
Variable Drive overdrive effect
Electronic bypass switching
Battery or optional DC power operation

US MSRP $44.99

PO300 Power Overdrive Effects Pedal

The new PO300 Power Overdrive effects pedal from Behringer features the classic overdrive sound and heavy low-end of a tube driven 4 x 12" half-stack. Dedicated controls for Output Level, Phat, Power and Drive tailor the pedal for big, full tone with near-endless sustain and compression.

The POM300 features rugged construction, an effects status LED, electronic bypass switching and 9 V battery or optional DC power operation.

Features:

Variable Output Level

Phat low-frequency boost
Power mid-frequency boost
Variable Drive distortion control
Electronic bypass switching
Battery or optional DC power operation

US MSRP $44.99

Submission from ORANGE AMPS: Ten Thousand Tiny Terrors

Launched to rave reviews at the Frankfurt show the Tiny Terror hit the streets in the summer of 2006 and it�s incredible to think in under a year the triumphant Tiny Terror has sold over 10,000 units. Manufactured by the award winning Orange Amps, the company has been constantly trying to keep up with the ever increasing demand.

With a unique design which is little over the size of a lunch box and weighs in at only a few pounds, Orange managed to squeeze every drop of their unique signature tone into the Tiny Terror to create 15 watts of unmistakeable Orange Class A Tone.

Combining portability, versatility and delivering most importantly a great sound, the Tiny Terror is already an iconic amp, which every guitarist can afford. It has already become an industry standard and is used as the reference amplifier by producers, studio engineers and literally thousands of guitar players worldwide. Like any iconic product it�s simplicity at it�s best.

Commenting on reaching the ten thousand sales mark Director, Damon Waller, said �We knew we were onto something �BIG� when we came up with the concept of the Tiny Terror. We are both pleased and proud of the Tiny Terror, it is truly a great amplifier and one that every Guitarist should own.�

For further details, contact;
info@omec.com
http://www.orangeamps.com/
Tel ; 0208 905 2828
Fax ; 0208 905 2868

Breaking News: Led Zeppelin London Concert November 26, 2007!

Yes, you heard it right! Led Zepplelin will perform live in London on November 26, 2007. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and the late John Bonham's son Jason Bonham will rejoin the three original members behind the drum kit. The concert will take place at London's majestic O2 Arena as a tribute to Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, recently deceased. For more information visit the Official Led Zeppelin Website...