Cost: $275 new from Reverb This guitar was generously lent for review by Alex from Orangewood Guitars. Overview and Final Score: 8.0 The Oliver Mahogany Live is one of many fantastic and affordable acoustics from Orangewood Guitars. The grand concert sized body features a mahogany top, back, and sides and Fishman Sonitone pickups. The neckContinue reading “Orangewood Oliver Mahogany Live Acoustic Guitar Review”
Author Archives: Matt Dunn
How Easy are the GFS Kwik-Plug Pickups to Install?
If you’ve ever bought after market pickups, you’ve likely heard of GFS, or Guitarfetish.com’s name brand pickups. These have been a bit of a controversial pickup option in the sense that you either love them or hate them. Many guitar modification gurus claim they are the best pickups dollar for dollar, as they are incrediblyContinue reading “How Easy are the GFS Kwik-Plug Pickups to Install?”
Blackstar Studio 10 6L6 10W 1x12W Review
Cost: $549.99 new, find yours HERE Generously sent for review by Blackstar, huge thanks to Jennifer for the help! How it Works and Final Score: 8.7 The Studio 10 6L6 from Blackstar is a fairly stripped down, affordable tube amp that is the perfect size for bedroom players and small stage players alike. The ampContinue reading “Blackstar Studio 10 6L6 10W 1x12W Review”
Dean Modern 24 Review
Cost: $649.00 new, check Reverb for even lower prices! Generously lent for review thanks to John from Armadillo Enterprises, Dean’s parent company! Overview and Final Score: 7.8 Dean’s Modern 24 is a mixed bag of luxury features and missing parts. While the tones you can get of the guitar are superb, and the playability isContinue reading “Dean Modern 24 Review”
5 Quick Ways to Upgrade a Cheap Stratocaster (Without Soldering)
Recently, we took a look at the uber affordable Glarry GST3, a $60 Stratocaster alternative available online through Amazon.com. While a functional guitar at that price is a great deal, let’s take a look at a few ways we can make the guitar more playable and hopefully better sounding. Without doing any soldering or drillingContinue reading “5 Quick Ways to Upgrade a Cheap Stratocaster (Without Soldering)”
Glarry GST3 Electric Guitar Review
Cost: $56.99 new from Glarrymusic.com or Amazon.com! Thanks to Glarry Music for sending this beautiful, affordable instrument over for review! Overview and Final Score: 3.9 Glarry Music’s GST3 is an affordable, Strat-style guitar meant to be an alternative to the thousands of Squier and Yamaha copies sold every year. While the guitar has an unbeatableContinue reading “Glarry GST3 Electric Guitar Review”
A Detailed Look Into Inexpensive Instruments Used by the Pros
As much as you may convince yourself that it takes perfect skill matched with perfect gear to achieve professional level performance, that’s not the whole story. More often than not, the guitar heroes you idolize today practiced, played, or wrote their hits on cheap instruments. In fact, many of today’s modern musicians still rely onContinue reading “A Detailed Look Into Inexpensive Instruments Used by the Pros”
Dr. J D-55 Aerolite Compressor Pedal Review
Cost: $99.00 new, find one of these awesome pedals on Amazon! How it Works and Final Score: 8.3 The Dr. J Aerolite Compressor pedal offers great compression while adding a few new dimensions to your tone such as sustain or boost when used correctly. With 4 knobs and one switch, there are plenty of parametersContinue reading “Dr. J D-55 Aerolite Compressor Pedal Review”
DR J Emerald Overdriver Pedal Review
Cost: $99.00 new, find one on Amazon! How it Works and Final Score: 7.7 For a $99 pedal, this thing sure has a lot of controls, helping give your overdriven tone an injection of variety not normally seen. First off, the two foot switches activate the overdrive itself and then an additional boost feature thatContinue reading “DR J Emerald Overdriver Pedal Review”
Orange Amplifiers Crush 20 Review
Cost: $139.00 new, find yours on Reverb.com or Amazon.com! How it Works and Final Score: 8.6 The Orange Crush 20 is a stripped down and straightforward solid state combo amp. While solid state amps often get a bad rap, most gear snobs will be impressed by the bruising crunch of the dirty channel that reallyContinue reading “Orange Amplifiers Crush 20 Review”
