Underachiever

Steve Pritchard of Maple Grove has a massive troop of Ibanez guitars to recruit from when it comes time to select an axe for a bombastic battle of guitar mayhem. This one is a RG570 custom, & the JAWS shark fin inlays pop right out at you. I've got one of these RG570's, & the necks are ultra slim for fast playing. The pick-ups have tone & sustain like the JEM. Everything gets locked down on these before battle, so you're assured great pitch when returning from a deadly dive bomb mission with your squadron. Don't be deceived by the title of this post. This guitar is definately a overachiever. Check out Steve's cool band: The Underachievers on Facebook, or find him through the theunderachieversband.com website.

Rock with me & the Rockittes Friday February 17th at G B Leighton's Pickle Park in Fridley.

Attitude

This guitar is a Yamaha Attitude Billy Sheehan signature series, in sea foam green. It has a Hipshot range extender key, & custom gauge Rogue strings. Brett Ahlgren, bassist with metal giants Eternal Voyager plays this through a Hartke HA 3000,the Hartke 410 transporter series cab with aluminum cone speakers. Nady 1001 MK2 wireless system allows the necessary freedom of movement to rock. Boss HM-3 Hyper Metal distortion, Boss CH-1 Super Chorus, & Dunlop Crybaby Wah for the studio, & Morley Maverick wah for stage provide all the variants to keep him happy while laying it down. Check out their cool live videos on YouTube.

Vee is for:

Freak of the Week
Gibson Reverse Flying Vee. For as cool as these are, you'd expect to frequently see a local player rocking one of these classic axes around town. But alas, they're priced out of the practical range by Gibson, making them somewhat of a spectacle for a sideshow attraction. Unfortunate, considering their beauty... These really should be shown off.

Three; It's a Magic Number

Here's a example of just how right El KaBong was when he chose his three stringer to be his occasional weapon of choice. Rafael Atijas is revisiting the trio philosophy with his new design of the Loog. These exciting new kid's guitar kits are the perfect solution to getting your children interested in the guitar while bonding & helping them build their first instrument of their very own. Equally interesting is how he got the funding to start this company. Need more proof on why three is a magic number? Let YouTube provide the evidence with Bob Dorough's video of Multiplacation Rock.

DEAN releases TOMIKAZI Guitar

Just in from the winter NAMM show, here's one of the coolest things form the DEAN guitars booth. Dean has released the "Tomikazi" Tommy Bolin tribute guitar, being held here by brother & fellow rocker Johnie Bolin. The Tomikazi is based on Tommy's Ibanez Destroyer guitar. Designed by artist Nick Simmons, it features custom graphics inspired by the Private Eyes album. Specs include: Mahogany top and body, 24.75" scale, 1-11/16" nut, set mahogany “C” neck, rosewood fingerboard, pearl “Tomikazi” inlays, Grover tuners, chrome hardware, Tune-O-Matic bridge and USA DMT “Time Capsule” pickups. Check it out on the Dean Guitars website.

Paul Bunyon's Axe

Freak of the Week
This would be the golden chalice of most collections, & we'd all love to show it off. Believe it or not, it's real, & works just like a normal sized guitar. Check out the video on
YouTube. If I walked up to this thing I'd immediately have to play Iron Man or Smoke on the Water; after all, it's tradition. }:-D-

EPIC

Classic Epics from Alembic. I wish I owned even one of these. Mmmmm. This guy could be a walking billboard for Alembic. These sweet Al's are really fine axe's, & twin cities rock legend Kenner Siegrist really lays it down right in the local clubs on the weekends with his band ROCKFIST. Kenner's a great player, & one hell of a nice guy with a very impressive collection. I think I see his guild pilot case in the background... More from Kenner here in the future. Hey Kenner, have Bender send me a few guitar pictures & I'll post em'. Click here for the official Rockfist website, & check them out on YouTube also.

Wall of Gibson

When the Highlander heard there can only be one he knew they weren't talking about the Gibson selection at Maple Grove's premier guitar retailer American Guitar & Band. With selection this good, why limit yourself to picking just one? AGB owner Cory Lake has dedicated himself to ensuring his customers the most pleasurable guitar shopping experience around. Don't take my word for it. Stop in & get ready to be blown away by great gear & friendly helpful staff. Talk to John Lockner, the best guitar & accessory salesman in the twin cities. He'll greet you at the front counter, find out what your after, & amaze you with his knowledge of modern & vintage gear! Visit the store at 13777 Grove Drive North Maple Grove, Mn 55311, or call 763 424-4888 for info on how they can help you with your quest for Rock & Roll stardom.

Emperor's New Clothes

1997 Epiphone Emperor Regent archtop jazz guitar, fondly dubbed "Goldfingers" by owner George Paulos of Little Canada. This is a true hollow body guitar with a laminated spruce top & stunning sparkle gold finish. Once again George has reworked this axe to taste by refitting with a lot of new hardware, including an ebony bridge, Kent Armstrong pickup, Wilkinson Keystone tuners, and a harp trapeze tailpiece to replace the traditional Epiphone "Frequensator" tailpiece which would not fit his strings. George loves freaking out stuck-up jazz snobs with this ultra gaudy glitter axe. Although it is primarily a jazz guitar, it can get a real gnarly sound when run into a rock amp, just don't get too close! Check out George's band Rhythm Engine to see this axe, along with his other unique guitars performing live locally in the twin cities.

Holy Grail

Freak of the Week
I talked with Don Greenwald of HeadlessUSA yesterday & he told me about the quest of how he finally acquired this, the holy grail of all things STEINBERGER, the original prototype! Having this is like owning the the first Rickenbacker electric frying pan or the original electric log from Les Paul. Holy cow. If you ever needed motivation to explore new worlds & seek seek out long lost axes, Don's story will provide the inspiration. Read the full article in the January issue of Premiere Guitar. Thanks for everything Don. Nice doing business with you.

Wham !

George Michael in the house? Hardly... The Rock it Science show typically features several costumed impersonations through out the evening. Raven is pictured here dressed as the troubled WHAM singer to perform her rendition of "Faith". She's holding a very cool full scale 335 style semi-hollow Aria Pro with cream binding & factory trem bridge. It's pretty authentic looking for the bit. It's also a great playing axe & was really economically priced as well. Tune back in soon for pics of the pink strat she uses in the Chrissie Hynde featured bit. It's always a great show when Raven Hits the stage along with the whole Rock it Science crew.

What's New?

Perhaps Gibson’s most unexpected release at NAMM 2012 is the new Les Paul Junior Special with; yes that’s right, B-Bender. Turning a guitar infamous for its rock ‘n’ roll contributions and making it a little bit country, we can safely say we didn’t see this coming! However it could prove a quite promising concept and has already got people talking about it.

The junior has been played by names such as John Lennon, Johnny Thunders and Bob Marley so judging by its impressive credentials there is no compromise in sound for its size. The new Les Paul Special has a second pickup but keeps its pared-back ethic. So clearly adding a B-Bender was a bold and surprising move; and to those of you unsure of what it is, basically it is a device, usually a spring-loaded strap-button, that is used to bend the ‘B’ string via a lever mechanism within the guitar. Therefore when the guitar is angle towards the floor the button moves and bends the guitar to a full semitone. The effect is very similar to a lap-steel hence its popularity with country music. This feature can also be change to the ‘G’ string so a fair bit of experimentation can be done with this guitar.

The thing I like about the Gibson Les Paul Junior Special is it takes two aspects from very different styles of music and combines them in one instrument. With its versatile p90 pickups it can be used for both genres of music and it is capable of really unique things and will appeal to fans of both types. The guitar is expected to be on sale in summer 2012 so if you’re interested check out this site for more information or sign up to the newsletter and be kept posted.

Squishy Cake

Happy Birthday to me. This isn't my first guitar cake, but I still remember my first guitar cake 30 years ago. It's the kind of memory that lives on for a lifetime. Already I can't wait for another guitar cake on my next birthday. I'll say it again:
"Happy Birthday to Me".
Come & rock with me Saturday at the Blue Fox in Arden Hills. It's gonna be a great show with the whole Rock it Science crew. See you there.

Doom

One of a kind bass made by Doomedelic Guitars in Coon Rapids. This ultra unique axe is from the Scott Montgomery collection. He's sent more pictures of his customs, & I'll be posting them in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. In the mean time you can check out many of his other axes by visiting his shop Rocks n Roll Emporium in Crosby MN when you get a chance.

Orchids o' Warwick

This ultra cool Warwick Thumb NT is ergonomically adapted to the human body for maximum comfort. Crafted from selected bubinga, pommele, ovangkol, & tigerstripe ebony, you'd be hard pressed to find a nicer bass on stage in this town. Rob Awe of local group "Steel Orchid" digs this 26 fret, on-board eq, neck-through tone monger. He's been rocking this axe for six years! Check it out live in action. Hit the official Steel Orchid website for future scheduled Minneapolis appearances.

R.I P. Paul Manske

This post tributes & marks the passing of St. Paul's Paul Manske of Music Man Productions. His exit from the twin cities music scene ends a 40 year career promoting & contributing to the twin cities local music scene. Paul was was most famous for his work in the band Raggs, & also formed the Boogiemen & Hillbilly Voodoo Dolls. I'll always remember Paul as a Fender man, but this most recent pic from a gig at Neumanns bar shows Paul playing a classic Danelectro Bass. R.I.P. Paul. Your contribution to Minneapolis music was great. You will be missed. Click here for the full story in the Trib.

King of the Hill

This custom bass body is made with a maple center block & basswood bouts. The valve and the shroud taken from a propane tank were modified for fitment. The output jack is on the valve where the propane hose would connect! This has a Moses solid graphite neck with Hipshot ultra light tuning machines and an EMG HZ pickup. Thanks to Tim Reede's Custom Guitars for constructing this world class axe & submitting the picture & info. Watch for more of his fine guitars here, as he's promised to send other fantastic unique freaky creations & finely crafted instruments.

Dean V

Congrats to Chad Speck of Minneapolis on his latest guitar purchase. A beautiful 1980 Dean V will be the newest addition to the massive arsenal in his assemblage. These beautifully crafted classics were once very plentiful in these parts, but to have one come available these days is a mighty rare occurrence. If you ever had one of these in your collection you would be more than hesitant to part with it as well

Rock with me tonight at Neisen's in Savage.

It's a bird, it's a plane. . .

Freak of the Week
Don Kadair Skitz bass Keytar.
Lots more info HERE.

ESP-ecially fine

I love a good cocktail party, & my good fortune brought me a return invitation to the social event of the sticks last night. The annual south side musicians party was a huge success, & allowed me the opportunity visit with long time colleagues, talk shop, & view a portion of the vast collection of Cary Havlicek, current resident of New Prague. I snapped several pics, but this ESP purchased at Rhapsody Music in Mankato stood out as a particularly prime example for my site. The beautifully finished highly figured carved maple cap is the apex of this axe, but the recess mounted Floyd trem is world class, as is the fully bound neck & body! Check out more of his axes at Downtown Sound where he is the full time instructor to all the upcoming guitar heroes. Thanks for everything, Cary. I look forward to working with you again one day soon.