Gibson Traveling Songwriter Guitar
An aptly named ax, the Traveling Songwriter’s thin body makes it compact and portable for a musician on the move. But Gibson didn’t skimp on this one, giving it a Sitka spruce top with a classic, scalloped bracing pattern for true acoustic tone. A rear soundhole provides a player with enhanced acoustic volume, and the pickup, onboard four-band EQ and volume controls provide for live performance capability. Gibson.com
Mel Bay Guitar Journals
Part of a new instructional book series, Mel Bay’s Guitar Journals: Jazz includes a collection of arrangements by Joe Diorio, Johnny Smith, Gene Bertoncini, Bucky Pizzarelli and more. A companion CD of audio examples helps guide the way through a range of areas including Latin, comping, rhythm changes and the blues. Melbay.com
Tech 21 XXL Pedals
Tech 21’s XXL distortion stomp box was retired from production in 2000, but it has returned as two pedals-one for guitar, one for bass. The guitar edition readjusts the original pedal’s high-cut frequency, resulting in more defined midrange sound; the bass version compensates for dropout via a level-compensated tone control. And each sports a “warp” control that can deliver traditional distortion, tube amp overdrive and vintage fuzz tones. tech21nyc.com
Vater Slick Nut Cymbal Fastener
Unlike the traditional cymbal-fastening wing nut, the Vater Slick Nut doesn’t need to be threaded and won’t loosen or fall off while you play. Simply hold in the fastening button, put Slick Nut on cymbal stand to desired tightness and release the button. Tightening the hex set screw on the side makes the Slick Nut nonremovable without the right tool, a great, theft-deterring feature for drummers who have to leave their drum kits in a club overnight. Vater.com
Maxon Real Tube Series Pedals
Maxon’s latest stomp boxes use real tubes in attempt to bring true tube amp tone out of any rig. The ROD880 works like an additional preamp with gain, master volume and EQ controls to provide a diverse palette of overdrives. A bit more aggressive, the ROD881 adds a switchable distortion mode to the 880 for searing leads and also features a boost mode that effectively adds another channel to an amplifier. Finally, the RCP660 offers tube compression with a switchable boost mode, and can be used with guitar and bass. Maxonfx.com
Bossa Nova Guitar Licksamples
In this hour-long instructional DVD, guitarist Romero Lubambo demonstrates 33 guitar patterns essential to the mastery of Brazilian bossa nova style. The disc features one-on-one instruction as well as performance footage of Lubambo with a band. Complete transcriptions of the music are included in both musical notation and TAB. musicdispatch.com
