Vol. 24, No. 12
October 2023
Players, Gear & Sound — The Inside
Embark on a Southern Jazzmaster Adventure, exploring the allure of the Jazzmaster guitar. Dive into custom builds, speaker design insights from George Alessandro, Eminence GA-SC59 reviews, Jeff Bolin's EJ Fuzz Experiment, and revelations about Evidence Audio cables.
PLAYERS, GEAR & SOUND
The Inside
The Southern Jazzmaster Adventures
ToneQuest embarks on a dual Jazzmaster adventure — upgrading a Squier J. Mascis model and building a custom TQ Jazzmaster from the finest parts on earth — with deep dives into Mastery Bridge, luthier Cody Gleason's finishing artistry, and a wide-ranging conversation with John Woodland on guitars, history, and the birth of the Mastery Bridge.
JM REVIEWS
Heavenly Pickup Truckin' Tailgate Party
By Riverhorse. A hands-on roundup of Jazzmaster pickups — from Fralin and Lollar standards to rare Fred Stuart customs and April 1964 vintage originals — with insights from legendary builders Jason Lollar and Lindy Fralin on what makes the JM pickup unique.
EVIDENCE AUDIO
The Siren Speaker Cable & Source AC Power Cable
By Riverhorse. Evidence Audio's Siren Speaker Cable and Source AC Power Cable bring Tony Farinella's single-strand, low-distortion design philosophy to bear on power and speaker connections, with audibly cleaner tone, improved sustain, and enhanced harmonic complexity. TQR puts both cables to the test and gets the technical breakdown straight from the maker.
GEORGE ALESSANDRO
The Eminence Alessandro GA-SC59
By Riverhorse. George Alessandro discusses his collaboration with Eminence on the Alnico GA-SC59 speaker — tracing its design lineage from vintage Alnico Blues and Jensen P12Ns to a modern speaker built for the tones of 1959. Alessandro explains wattage ratings, edge treatments, compression differences between ceramic and Alnico, and how the SC59 bridges the best of both worlds.
JEFF BOLIN
EJ Fuzz Experiment
By Riverhorse. When a bare EJ Fuzz Face circuit board turned up on Reverb, ToneQuest sent it to Analog Pedals' Jeff Bolin for a custom housing, true-bypass wiring, and a SAG circuit — then asked him to explain the fuzz pedals he builds himself.
When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.
— John Muir
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