What's Inside This Issue:
Elliot Easton – Electrifying The Cars – Rock and Roll Hall Of Famer Elliot Easton is one of those rare guitarists whose singular focus has always been to play for the good of the song. Through his well-constructed guitar parts, this founding member of the Cars brought taste and melody to some of the finest written songs in popular music, in a similar fashion to what George Harrison brought to The Beatles. We recently caught up to Elliot as he was preparing to join the second leg of The Immediate Family tour. Easton shares his personal preferences in working with Gibson Guitars on a couple of Elliot Easton models, most notably the Tikibird Firebird. His insight into the band’s ongoing legacy, with new generations discovering The Cars— “In terms of why it’s been able to sustain popularity and have longevity, has something to do with Ric’s (Ocasek) lyrical content, which always sort of explores the dark side or the darker side of the human condition: ‘I guess you’re just what I needed, I needed someone to bleed.’ Universal topics that haven’t changed for young people today. It’s still just relationship stuff, but it’s darker. I always laugh when people put us in that ‘New Wave’ bag because I like to say we definitely weren’t ‘Walking On Sunshine.’”— Tom Guerra
Student Council – Grading A ’61 Gibson Melody Maker & ’62 Junior – We all drool over vintage Gibson guitars, many of which have reached astronomical prices, but there are also epic “student” guitars from back in the day. These are the budget-priced Gibsons that Mom and Dad could afford to give as holiday or birthday presents. Here, we’ll compare two JFK-era “student” solidbodies–a ’61 Gibson Melody Maker D and a ’62 Les Paul/SG Junior–costing roughly $150 each in the days of Camelot. Keep in mind that this was when the average working man might bring home a kingly $100 a week, so $150 for a student guitar was still an investment. Sometime in the past 20 years, these once-affordable axes have shot up in value, especially 1950s and early-1960s examples of the Les Paul Special and Junior in vaunted TV Yellow finish. Today, some of these student slabs command prices akin to someone’s entire annual salary from 1962. Okay, class is in session. — Pete Prown
Feature Interview – The Reggie Young Effect – Chris Leuzinger – As a Nashville session cat for over 40 years, Chris Leuzinger has played top-tier guitar for everyone, including Emmy Lou Harris, Randy Travis, Kenny Rogers, George Jones, Brooks & Dunn, George Strait, Hank Williams Jr, and Crystal Gayle. That’s the short list. With over 130 million albums sold playing with Garth Books, Leuzinger is a supreme guitar picker and artist in his field. Chris explains how his choice of gear has changed over the years. “When I moved to Nashville it was a couple of guitars and an amp. I remember the first time I saw somebody out in L.A. playing with one of those original big grey Boss Chorus units (Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble) going stereo. I bought one of those, and I showed up for a session with two amps, and the engineer said, “What!? You wanna go stereo with two amps!?” That was unheard of back then. Meet Mr. Leuzinger. — Oscar Jordan
Interview Robert Keeley Of Keeley Electronics – Inspiration Information – Robert Keeley needs no introduction, but just in case you’ve been hiding in a witness protection program, Keeley has been at the forefront of making musicians’ lives easier for the past 23 years. His compressors are ubiquitous, his pedal mods are a work of genius, and his line of multi-purpose effects pedals have found permanent residence on pedalboards all over the world. Over the years, Keeley has continued to unleash stomp box ecstasy, so The Tone Quest Report caught up with him to get an update and revelations of his latest inspiration. When we first heard about the new Octa Psi Pitch Shifter & Octave Fuzz, my first reaction was, “Oh no, not another fuzz pedal.” After playing it, I realized this isn’t your granddaddy’s fuzz pedal. It performs in living Technicolor! — Oscar Jordan
Keeley Octa Psi—Pitch Shifter & Octave Fuzz Transfigurating Fuzz Polyphonic Crunch – Just when guitarists thought the golden age of guitar gear couldn’t get any better, Robert Keeley mashed up three classic guitar sounds and added his indelible stamp. The Octa Psi Transfigurating Fuzz Pedal purports to be the ultimate intuitive combination of Pitch Shifter, Octave Generator, and Analog Fuzz. With user-friendly features galore, prepare to have your mind blown. Need to micro-manage the perfect fuzz tone on the fly? Want to strike fear into the hearts of guitar aficionados by unleashing the Devil’s Tritone? Look no further. — Oscar Jordan