Five Fender amps from the sixties and seventies, and 15 vintage and newer guitars make Lorne Sheaves'' collection.
Lorne Sheaves has only been collecting guitars for the past 4-5 years, and already has an impressive stash. Beginning with the black 1987 American Stratocaster -- a Christmas present from his parents -- the collection grew exponentially.
Says Lorne, "I got all this gear over time with a very understanding wife, but it does drive her crazy when I play it too loud."
To have your collection featured as a Premier Collector, send pictures and descriptions to rebecca@premierguitar.com.
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Left to right (amps): 1974 Fender Twin Reverb, 1974 Fender Bassman (back), 1965 Fender Bandmaster (middle), 1976 Fender Princeton (front), 1971 Fender Super Reverb
To join Lorne as a Premier Collector, send an e-mail with photos and a description of your gear to rebecca@premierguitar.com |
Premier Collector #2: Gibson Customs and Modded Marshalls
Premier Collector #1: Kramers, Coronados and More
Which guitarists are worthy of an artist-signature model? Rhett and Zach are on the case.
First off, letās be thankful for this episode of Dipped In Tone. Rhett survived a close brush with a tornado while on the road in Arkansas, and returns to the pod to analyze all things signature guitars with Zach, who continues his dogged campaign to own a ridiculous number of Tube Screamers. (They didnāt plan their near-matching shirts.)
The conversation-starter is the new Jason Isbell āRed Eye,ā a $21,999 collectorās version of the 1959 Gibson Les Paul that famously belonged to Ed King of Lynyrd Skynyrd. When King passed away in 2018, the story goes that Isbell wanted the guitar, but couldnāt afford it. Zach and Rhett explain how he accrued the capital to snag the axe, and the details behind the new artist edition.
But who gets signature guitars, anyway? Some iconic players, like John Fruscianteāso easily identified with his Stratsāstill donāt have their own model. Is he being snubbed, or choosing to keep his name off a mass-produced guitar? Maybe some guitarists feel signatures are too corporateāwhich could also explain why Jack White has, so far, not lent his name to a model. (Though pedals are a different story.) And what about massively popular YouTube guitar stars and influencersāhave they earned the right to be in the running for a signature 6-string?
Later, Zach and Rhett dig into the economics of siggysāhow much do their namesakes actually earn from the sale of their personal brand?āand debate Slashās bombshell move from Marshall to Magnatone.
From Page to Eddie to Gilmour, the comparatively impractical Maestro Echoplex has nonetheless served its masters well. And for some, like our 6-stringing contributor, it still does.
Feast your eyes on the missing link. I give you the coolest contraption to ever run between a guitar and an amplifier: the Maestro Echoplex.
The cool factor for this historic piece of gear is so off the chart that Iām always a bit shocked when players, young or old, are not familiar with this marvelous old-school tape-echo device. But no, Iām not writing this to copy and paste Wikipedia stats on this crown jewel of the guitar-pedal world. (However, if your inner nerdom is anything like mine, itās worthy of a snoop. All of the Echoplexes from 1959 to the late ā70s sound amazing!) Iām writing to profess to all my fellow guitar gear freaks my undying love for something that was used on so many historical recordings that itās mind-blowing. And while a big box with an analog tape loop might not be your idea of a great ride-along pal on tour, or even in the studio, truth is, there is nothing else exactly like an authentic Echoplex.
Do you remember the first time you heard that huge swelling repeat sound at the end of āEruptionā by Van Halen? Echoplex. How about the heaviness of Jimmy Pageās guitar on āMoby Dickā by Led Zeppelin? Thatās a cranked Echoplex preamp, mis amigos!
The Echoplex design is pretty simple, which is one reason why itās so iconic. It has actual tape that runs on the top of the unit, records your sound, then plays it back. Remember 8-track tape players? Yeah, kind of like thatāexcept for the recording part. You just crank the slide in the middleāat least on the solid-state EP-3 model that I ownāto make the delay effect go fast or slow. Itās not rocket science. But it does also work as a preamp and will enhance the tone of the guitar coming out of your amp like no other unit. Eric Johnson, for example, travels with one in a rack, sans tape, just so he can use the preamp for his classic tone. The Echoplex preamp basically boosts and compresses your signal, fattening it up and providing some EQ trickery that will have guitar players unfamiliar with the deviceās charms scratching their heads.
The original Echoplexes come in four flavors: the EP-1, EP-2, EP-3, and EP-4. The EP-1 is the O.G.āthe first tape delay ever, with a moving tape head that allows the delay time to be changed. It was made from ā59 to ā62, when the next generation of āPlex, called the EP-2, not only gave the tape head more mobility but protected the tape itself in a cartridge. The solid-state version was the EP-3, which was used by Van Halen, Page, Tommy Bolin, and Brian May, among others. The EP-4 offered an output buffer to improve impedance-matching with other gear. Today, you can find early generation Echoplexes for anywhere from $1,400 to nearly $2,000, and the EP-3 and EP-4 are in the $600 to $1,500 range, depending on condition.
āI have all kinds of analog delay pedals but none of them compare to the Echoplex.ā
There are related devices out there that some vintage-tone-inclined players, like Brian Setzer, prefer. The Roland Space Echo is one, and thereās the Binson Echorec. Theyāre easier for traveling because the Space Echo has a more efficient tape transport system and the Binson records on a drum rather than a length of tape. David Gilmour from Pink Floyd was a fan of the Echorec. But just remember, it is the original Echoplex sound those models were built to emulate. And both of those artists also used original Echoplex units on a few of their classic recordings.
Sure, you can buy some newfangled digital pedal that tries to recreate the Echoplex, but what fun is there in that? Whereās the potential for tape snarls or the manual cleaning required? After owning several EP-3 Echoplexes and using them in recording studios on countless tracks, touring all over the world with one in cars, vans, RVs, buses, and planes, I can tell you nothing replicates or enhances your tone like an EP-3. And if you do roll out with one, donāt forget Q-tips and a bottle of rubbing alcohol to clean the tape heads when they get dirty. If that doesnāt sound like a good time, then I guess you don't wanna get the sound that fattened up the guitars in power trios like Joe Walshās James Gang or on Billy Gibbonsā first five ZZ Top albums.
I have all kinds of analog delay pedals but none of them compare to the Echoplex. Remember, a cool thing about owning vintage gear is not that itās a piece of handcrafted history, but knowing that Leo Fender or Les Paul himself, or, in this case, Echoplex designer Mike Battle, is never making another one like the one that you own. Don't get overwhelmed or anxious by projecting what could go wrong with it. Get excited about having a piece of gear that can make your guitar sound like almost every classic-rock, blues, and country record ever made.Guest picker Mei Semones joins reader Jin J X and PGstaff in delving into the backgrounds behind their picking styles.
Question: What picking style have you devoted yourself to the most, and why does it work for you?
Guest Picker - Mei Semones
Meiās latest album, Kabutomushi.
A: The picking style Iāve practiced the most is alternate picking, but the picking style I usually end up using is economy picking. Alternate feels like a dependable way to achieve evenness when practicing scales and arpeggios, but when really playing, it doesnāt make sense to articulate every note in that way, and obviously itās not always the fastest.
Obsession: My current music-related obsession is my guitar, my PRS McCarty 594 Hollowbody II. I think it will always be an obsession for me. Itās so comfortable and light, has a lovely, warm, dynamic tone, and helps me play faster and cleaner. This guitar feels like my best friend and soulmate.
Reader of the Month - Jin J X
Photo by Ryan Fannin
A: For decades, the Eric Johnson-style āhybrid pickingā with a Jazz III for āpianisticā voicings. Great for electric, though not so much acoustic. Iāve been recently learning to use a flatpick, Ć la Brian Sutton, by driving the pick āintoā the string at an angleāwhich makes me think of Pat Metheny and George Benson, without irony.
Obsession: Iām still focused on understanding the concepts of jazz, neo-classical, and beyond, though Iām also becoming obsessed with George Van Epsā 7-string playing, flatpicking, hip-hop beats, the Hybrid Guitars Universal 6 guitar, and the secret life of the banjo.
Editorial Director - Ted Drozdowski
A: Decades ago, under the sway of Mississippi blues artists R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, and Jessie Mae Hemphill, I switched from plectrum to fingerstyle, developing my own non-traditional approach. Itās technically wrong, but watching R.L., in particular, freestyle, I learned there is no such thing as wrong if it works.
Obsession: Busting out of my songwriting patterns. With my band Coyote Motel, and earlier groups, Iāve always encouraged my talented bandmates to play what they want in context, but brought in complete, mapped-out songs. Now, Iām bringing in sketches and weāre jamming and hammering out the arrangements and melodies together. It takes more time, but feels rewarding and fun, and is opening new territory for me.
Managing Editor - Kate Koenig
A: I have always been drawn to fingerpicking on acoustic guitar, starting with classical music and prog-rock pieces (āMood for a Dayā by Steve Howe), and moving on to ā70s baroque-folk styles, basic Travis picking, and songs like āBack to the Old Houseā by the Smiths. I love the intricacy of those styles, and the challenge of learning to play different rhythms across different fingers at the same time. This is definitely influenced by my classical training on piano, which came before guitar.
Obsession: Writing and producing my fifth and sixth albums. My fifth album, Creature Comforts, was recorded over the past couple months, and features a bunch of songs I wrote in 2022 that I had previously sworn to never record or release. Turns out, upon revisiting, theyāre not half bad! While that oneās being wrapped, Iām trying to get music written for my sixth, for which I already have four songs done. And yes, this is a flex. šŖš
After the success of wiring up the dream stomp station for gigging in Music City, PG's video crew work with Scale Model Guitars' luthier Dave Johnson to construct a T-style partscaster with parts from StewMac, Lollar, Gotoh, VegaTrem, Hipshot, Gator, Art of Tone, and others. And afterwards John Bohlinger takes downtown to Layla's to test it out