Category Archives: Gear

A Visit to Strobel Guitars

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Last week I traveled to Fort Lauderdale for business. I travel fairly frequently now, and you may have read the post I wrote recently on travel electric guitars. I had been torn between getting the Strobel and the Stewart, but Stewart was having availability issues. Plus, since I go to Florida fairly often, I could visit Russ’s shop up in Boca Raton as see where these cool guitars come from. So that settled that.

Russ used to travel for business a lot, too–which is how he came up with the idea for the Rambler. If you travel frequently for business, you are going to want something that will fit in your carry on, and the Rambler is one of the few guitars out there that will do that.

Russ has a small workshop in Boca Raton, Florida. He currently offers three models: the hand-built Rambler Custom which he builds himself in his shop to your specifications, the Ramber Classic, which he has built to his specifications in Asia, and the Rambler Bass. However, he is adding a “Strat” style Strobel to the mix for the single coil fans. Here he is playing the “Strat” style Rambler, and yes, it really has that true Strat squawk.

I plan to publish a more thorough review with sound clips and how the disassembly and re-assembly works. But for now enjoy more pics of his shop and guitars after the jump! Oh, and be sure to check out StrobelGuitars.com!

Russ-Strobel

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Fender Mini ’57 Twin Amp

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I’ve been meaning to write something on this little amp for a while now. I have a weird fascination with mini amps, and I’m also a fan of pretty much anything Fender. So the minute I saw this little Mini ’57 Twin Amp, I pretty much had to have it.

Now, if you go to the Fender website, you will see that the mini amps are listed under accessories. That should be a tip off right there. Fender is not trying to market these as amps. Yes, it does amplify sound from your guitar. But… it’s really just a toy. If you are thinking of using one of these for a practice amp, I’d spend a few more bucks and get something real–like a Mustang 1. However, if you want a toy, something that looks cool and is kind of fun to play with every once in a while, this is pretty neat. It would also make a great gift for that Fender fanatic who has everything.

Now, I’m kind of curious to try the Orange Micro Crush. Sounds like it might be a bit more than just a toy. Maybe I’ll put it on my Christmas list.

Anyway, more pics of the little ’57 Twin after the jump!

Fender-Mini-57-Twin-Amp

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Kurt Cobain: Mustangs and DS-1s

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Cool article dredged up by Guitar World in honor of the release of the 20th anniversary edition of Nirvana’s ‘In Utero’–The Definitive Kurt Cobain Gear Guide. I started playing guitar (again) a year or so before Bleach came out, and really, that’s what you bought back then if you were a punk rocker kid–cause they were cheap and crunchy sounding–a Mustang, a DS-1 and a crappy solid state amp. Well, that’s what I bought anyway.

Kurt-cobain-Mustang-ds1

Flying Y Guitar

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Trek Y bikes were an early attempt at mountain bike full suspension. They didn’t work too well. So now people (or a guy named Jacob Chapman anyway) are turning them into guitars. I saw this flying Y guitar in the back of the November issue of Guitar Magazine and then found the image below at bikearoundbend.com. Pretty hilarious.

Flying-Y-Guitar

The Guitar Idiot Guide to Buying Your First Guitar and Amp

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1. Don’t be intimidated. It doesn’t matter that you can’t play. No one cares that you can’t play. Everyone was beginner at some point. So don’t worry.

2. Don’t buy a new cheap junk guitar. Just don’t. If you stay with guitar for more than three months you will outgrow it and it will literally be worthless. Ok, not worthless. Someone might give you $20 for it.

3. If you do buy a new cheap junk guitar, don’t go any lower than Squire. And don’t buy the very cheapest Squire, either. Definitely don’t buy a random no name junk guitar. And don’t buy one of those stupid combo kits, either.

4. The best thing to buy is used Made in Mexico Fender Stratocaster or Telecaster off Craigslist. You can buy them all day long for $300 or less, and if you end up not playing it you can turn around and sell it for $300. If you do end up playing, you’ll probably keep it as a backup or mod it til you like it better or you might just keep playing it as is forever, cause they are darn nice guitars. They are also bombproof.

5. You can buy a used amp if you want for cheap but I don’t know how you can beat a new Fender Mustang 1 amp for $100. They rock. If you end up not playing you can sell it for $50 or give it to the kid down the street and make his day.

The pic below is my used MIM Strat which I got for $200 off Craigslist and my Fender Mustang 1 Amp which I bought new at American Music for $100.

That’s it. That’s my guide. Any questions? Oh, and get lessons. Well worth it.

Strat-and-Mustang-amp

New Amp Day: Yamaha THR10C

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Ok, so I got it yesterday. Guitar Center was having one of their revolving $50 off $299 or more sales so this thing was $250. Not too bad. And I have to say I was really impressed with Guitar Center. I placed the order on their website with the discount code provided by one of their online chat people–this was Friday. It shipped the same day (free shipping) and arrived at my house on Wednesday. Cool.

Ok, so how’s the amp? Well, it’s great. I can’t really add too much to this great review on Gizmag. A few random notes.

Sound. So far I’m mostly playing on the Deluxe setting, which is modeled after the Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb. It sounds awesome. So clean and precise. It also sounds awesome at low volume, which is what I wanted because I have tinnitus and neighbors and kids and I like to play at night. But I like all the models and have only just begun to play with them a bit. And I haven’t even cracked the owner’s manual yet. I also tried it with my Ibanez Tube Screamer, which seemed to go well.

Size. The size is great. I like to put it on the coffee table when I play and then put it back on the bookshelf when I’m done. The cord is kind of annoying so I may get some rechargable batteries, though it takes 8 AAs which seems like a lot.

Color. I decided I wanted the THR10C for the clean tones but I was kind of bummed about not getting the cool cream color of the orginal THR5 and THR10. But while the THR10C color looked weird and industrial online, it looks great in person.