American Songwriter

New Musical Products Unveiled This Week At NAMM

This week in Anaheim, California, the musical products industry will gather at the annual National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) trade show. Practically every major and minor player in the industry will be represented, with many companies unveiling new 2011 products at the show. Stay tuned this week for updates from the show. Here’s a [...]

Jensen P-12Q and Electric Lightning Speakers

Jensen Speakers P-12Q, List Price: $173.00 C-12/70 Electric Lightning, List Price: $153.70 www.jensentone.com The guitarist’s quest for tone is never ending. And it’s well documented that he’ll spend hours trying to match up guitars with amps, pickups with guitars, and even strings with pickups…but tonal gratification may be as simple as swapping out the speaker [...]

Summer NAMM News Roundup

Demoing Yamaha’s new electronic drums at Summer NAMM [Photo: Courtesy of NAMM.org] On Sunday in Nashville, with the temperature reaching 94 degrees on Broadway, over 1,000 people found sanctuary in the air-conditioned convention center for Summer NAMM’s Wanna Play Music Sunday. Summer NAMM has traditionally presented a strong opportunity for new exhibitors to break products [...]

Test Drive: The Fender G-DEC 3 Amp

FENDER G-DEC 3 15 LIST PRICE: $399.00 WWW.FENDER.COM Shopping for a new amp can be a lot like trying to find that special someone. In both cases, there are a few key questions you should ask yourself before you make a commitment. Are you searching for a new partner that challenges you intellectually? Or are [...]

Fender American Special Telecaster

FENDER AMERICAN SPECIAL TELECASTER The American Special line marks an important milestone in Fender’s guitar evolution. While many guitarists begin with a classic Mexican Strat (definitely my first guitar; age 16), most players come to demand that small stamp of authenticity: “American-made.” There was the Highway One series of bare-bones American-made models; then came Road [...]