ToneQuest Report: October 2021 – Vol. 22, No. 12

What's Inside This Issue:

Meet the Honeydripper… Our Quest to create inspired and inspiring Teles continues unabated, and we hit the motherload with our latest Tele. Loaded with Fralin/RS Guitarworks pickups in the mirror image of JD Simo’s Tele, this guitar turned out so much better than we could have anticipated. Bill Hatcher assembled it with his expert hand, and the sounds emanating from our tweed Deluxe are simply gorgeous, taught, and willin’.

The Kansas Tornado – There is nothing like a great old classic amp to chase the Covid craziness away, and our ’59 Gibson GA-8 has launched us into a new and exciting place that only an old amp can provide. Loaded with all the original Tung-Sol and RCA tubes still pumping the good thang, this amp adds character and raw excitement to any guitar you plug into it. It is a miracle of low-tech, ’50s muscle, with far more clean headroom than you might imagine.

The Goodsell 5881 – The genius of Richard Goodsell is pretty well settled by now, and this one-off 1×12 combo he built may be his best yet. His use of 5881 power tubes imbues this amp with plenty of clean headroom, yet the notes charm with an authentic wooliness and strident, silky treble that creates a tone for the ages. And of course, it loves pedals. In many respects, it is the perfect amplifier, portable, and launched at the perfect volume level. We can only hope as the Covid veil lifts he builds more.

The Animal – Thanks to Phil Brown, who knows something about the dulcet sound of an overdriven guitar, we dove into the Animal again and man, were we impressed. There are way too many pedals for you to ever wrap your mind around, but it would be well worth your while to chase an Animal down.

The Ass Bite Overdrive – Here’s another gizmo that is guaranteed to light your fire… Forget the goofy name… the Ass Bite rocks, planting a heavy luv bomb on yer tone.

Down to Cases… the Lifton – Old guitars often come in old cases if you’re lucky, and every old case tells a story of honky-tonks, six-banger sedans, and winding blue highways. Never mind that an old Lifton Gibson case for a Les Paul can cost $4,000 today. We restored our old Lifton to great effect, and it made our 1952 J45 that much better.

The Essence of Slide – Do you slide? Well, you can if you want to, and we give you some tips on slides and how to achieve the fine balance between strings and the essential weight of the slide.