A CREEM GUIDE TO ELECTRIC GUITARS

A CREEM GUIDE TO ELECTRIC GUITARS

OUT OF THE WOODWORK

by J. Kordosh

Since the salad days, the electric guitar has gone from jazz to hillbilly music to rock, where it has certainly undergone its most exhaustive—you might even say ridiculous — refinement. Even as you read these very words, or have a big person read them to you, the electric guitar is still being refined! And no one can stop it! Which is why we have to keep running this crazy feature every year.

What follows are some of the 1983's more monumental twists and turns in the never-ending e.g. saga. Manufacturers are listed alphabetically; addresses are included so you can pick up more info on the instrument of your choice. Now we've gotta run to start working on our guide to Bundt cake mixes for backstage deli plates.

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ARIA (1201 John Reed Ct., City of Industry, CA 91745). Latest from Aria is a line of low-to-mid priced guitars that—-in their words—satisfy "the need for a solid body electric guitar with a versatile sound." The series (RS) includes quite a variety of names, from the budget-priced Bobcat ($299) through the Wildcat, Special, Inazuma, Deluxe, Classic, Elite, and—whew—the top of the RS line, the Esprit ($569). All except the Bobcat and Wildcat have stock Tremolo, and all are shaped along the double-cutaway Strat style. As you'd expect, the electronics get better as the price gets higher, going from the Bobcat's single-coil pickups to the Esprit's humbucker sound.

Aria's also introduced a couple of moderately-priced basses to complement the guitar line. These are TSB basses, with the Standard model listing at $349 and the Special II (two-coil pickup) going for $449. CARVIN (1155 Industrial Ave., Escondido, CA 92025). A new Carvin should be available by November of '83: the V220. The body will look something like a Z-type, only upside down, with a V-shaped head plate. Carvin M22 double-coil pickups will be standard, as will Schaller tuning keys. Available in five attractive finishes (white, red, black, natural koa and natural maple), the V220 will list for $519 with a Kahler tremolo and $369 with a standard tailpiece.

CHARVEL/JACKSON (2001 E Gladstone Unit C, Glendora, CA 91740). Charvel is becoming two companies: one (Charvel) will continue in their tradition of manufacturing to customer specification. The other (Jackson) will market their first standardized guitar, the long-awaited Randy Rhoads model. The Rhoads, delayed over a year after Randy's accidental death, comes in two models, the Custom (ebony fingerboard, special custom inlay, brass hardware, $1,500) and the Student Model (rosewood fingerboard, dot inlay, black hardware, $1,100 and named by Randy Rhoads's mother). The model being marketed is actually the

second guitar Charvel made for Randy; the first looked too much like a Flying V to suit his taste. The Custom model is the same instrument he finally approved.

As for Charvel: "Custom stuff to other people is standard stuff to us, we're so used to doing it," according to JoAnn Jackson of sales & marketing. They've made instruments for Kiss, Heart, Pink Floyd, the Bus Boys, and Journey, among others, so they'll no doubt continue to custom on.

DEAN (6417 North Ravenswood, Chicago, IL 60626). The Bel Aire is Dean's prime newcomer for 1983. This double-cutaway comes with two single coil and one humbucker, a maple or rosewood fingerboard, and a standard vibrato system. Kahler tremelo is optional. In addition, it features three-on-a-side Gotoh machine heads, a five-position tone selector switch, and two volume and one tone control switch. It lists at $799.

Dean has revamped their finishes and now offers a selection of 18 different lacquer coatings. Particularly eye-catching is the zebra-finished Bel Aire. Kahler tremelo is also now available on all Dean instruments. A Billy Gibbons-designed guitar is in the works (Billy has the prototype) but probably won't be available until early next year.

ELECTRA (1400 Ferguson Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63133). The new Electra Phoenix line—available as of October 1 or so—bespeaks of a new trend in the guitar industry. "The bodies range in shape from a very angular type of V-body to a real smooth, almost Stratocasterish type of body. The direction is to appeal to the technology people that are out there," says Electra designer Tom Presley. "People who are looking for a combination of traditional building techniques and some of the technological advances that have become possible during the last couple of years. It's (also) a combination of the cosmetics that would give you a high-technology feel along with the actual function and application of the instrument."

The line—consisting of eight models—all have beveled backs to prevent the guitar from digging into your ribs, and beveled tops to allow a more natural arm swing. The range of body shapes really is as weird as Mr. Presley says, ranging from the trad-style X185 to the cutaway XV-2RD. The cutaway style gives the player easier access to the upper frets, but this baby's so cutaway that the upper frets would have to be on your pick to be any more accessible.

The Phoenix bunch also come in just about every finish ever seen, plus a few finishes bordering on the

ultraviolet. They also have a special finish on the neck that gives a very smooth playing surface. The basic pick-up configuration is dual-coil on the bridge and neck, single-coil in the middle.

FENDER (1300 East Valencia Drive, Fullerton, CA 92634). Not content to rest on their laurels, Fender is introducing two new lines of guitars during 1983.

First up is the Elite series (two Telecasters, three Strats, and five Pbasses) that aim to replace the company's previous premium instruments (e.g., the Precision Special, the Walnut Strat). A whole slew of changes have ensued (14 patents are pending), starting with (electronically) a new active discrete preamp circuit that features low battery drain while retaining the warmth of passive electronics. What this means in English is you get longer sustain and truer intonation, but all those big words are fun to write. Other changes include, the use of jumbo frets, a wider nut (1.700 ) and a larger (12") fretboard radius. These changes should help out players who bend their strings extensively, according to Fender.

What else? Well, they've ixnayed "through the body" stringing in favor of "drop-in" loading, which is a lot simpler. The Strat bridges have a new tremolo with a knife-edge pivot, screw-adjustable spring tension and snap-on tremolo arm. Pickup selection on the Strats is now done via three separate on/off pushbuttons, while the Tellys keep their threeposition selector with separate volume controls. Listen, when these guys change a line, they change a line. "Our goal with Elite was to retain the legendary Fender sound, expand the repertoire of available sounds and cure some of the nagging little problems of past Fenders," says marketing director Dan Smith. Retail prices range from $895 to $1,295, by the way, but—according to Smith—"It took a considerable financial commitment to develop the Elite series. The tooling costs alone were the highest in Fender's history."

The Standard series makes use of some of these refinements at a lower cost to the consumer. (The Standards also include Jazz Basses.) Like the Elites, they include the new neckprofile (the wider nut, jumbo frets and flatter radius, the (patentpending) Biflex truss rod which allows for adjusting neck-curvature, improved tuning machines with diecast housings, "through the body" stringing and (optionally) the same Freeflyte tremolo as the Elites. In addition, the Jazz Bass has a redesigned heavy-duty bridge for more accurate string spacing. The Standards range from $585 (Strat, no tremolo) to $750 (Jazz Bass). If you're lefthanded, you can buy it too, but it'll cost a bit more.

GIBSON (P.O. Box 100087, Nashville, TN 37210). Things have been happening over at Gibson, long respected as one of America's premier manufacturers. First off, they've introduced the low-priced American Series (starting at $299), which includes two different shaped instruments...a traditional cutaway and a rather unusually-shaped thing described as "a smaller, lighter flying V-type." Hmm, must be a hovering V. The Corvus Three has (deceptively enough) three single-coil pick-ups, while the Challenger comes with either one or two pick-ups which are basically humbuckings.

In other news, Gibson's reintroduced the Flying V (this one's called the Flying V '83) and the Explorer (marketed as the Explorer '83). Last year's Heritage V was an attempt to remarket the original 1958 model whereas this year's axe is aimed at a more moderate price range. The 1983 Explorer is also more affordable, going for about $649, but still every bit as angular a body shape as in days of yore. All this price-slashing has been possible by what Gibson calls the value of engineering. In the case of the '83 V, it means—as an example—going from korina wood (comes from Africa and is enormously expensive) to alder, which grows right out of the ground. What it all boils down to is that you get (basically) the same features for less money. This is a great country.

Last year was the 30th anniversary of the Les Paul and Gibson commemorated the event with a limited edition based on the '52 model. Since this is the 31st anniversary, they got another Les Paul reissue available and it's not a limited edition. Rene Brzezniak explains that the company's had numerous requests for the classic two-piece piper stripe maple top model over the last several years, so they've built the new model based on the '58-'59-'60 series guidelines. "It has the most desired features of those three years," Ms. Brzezniak says, so everybody should be happy with this turn of events. The reissue should be available in October at a list of $1,598.

If that's a bit out of your range, you might consider the new Les Paul Studio guitar ($699), a slightly lighter copy of the standard with no binding on the top of fingerboard.

GUILD (P.O. Box 203, Elizabeth, NJ 07207). Hot on the heels on the X-79—the guitar with a body so futuristic it shocked the industry and so on—come the X-82, nicknamed the "Nova."

The X-82 isn't quite as Neptunianlooking as the X-79, but its cutaway crippled-V look is certainly eyecatching. Like its predecessor, it features Guild's XR-7 pickups (which'll give you either a single-coil or humbucking sound) and the SP-6 quick-change tailpiece. It comes in a variety of colors, including a "Black Sparkle" look, which comes to life under the stage lights. Unlike a few bands I could name.

Since the X-79 proved to be a big smash last year, the son of X-79 has also made it bow. This one's got three pick-ups, so it's called the X-79-3. Guild says that—due to a special switching setup—the X-79-3 has more tonal combinations than other three-pickup axes. In fact, it has 13 tonal combinations.

HAMER (835 University, Arlington Heights, IL 60004). "We're like BMW," laughs Jol Dantzig of Hamer, "We don't put out a new model just because the year changed." Still, Hamer's Blitz and Blitzbass and the Phantom A5 are new for '83. The Blitz is a zippy-looking number equipped with the new Hamer Slammer pickups and a rosewood fingerboard. The Phantom A5 (built with considerable input from Andy Summers, who owns the first one off the line) is constructed from Honduras mahogany and also features the double-coil Slammers. Other specs incude a rosewood fingerboard with genuine mother of pearl inlays, 22 wide oval frets on a 243/t" scale, compensated volume control, and two pickup selector switches. An easy-playing, good-sounding instrument.

IBANEZ (P.O. Box 886, Bethlehem, PA 79020) For the record, at the beginning of 1983, Ibanez began producing their RS (Road Star) series. By June, the line had been streamlined to two models: the RX335 and the RS1010SL. The RS335, which Ibanez is hoping will become its "vintage rock classic" model, features a strat-type body, rosewood fingerboard, one singlecoil and one humbucking pick-up, and Ibanez's ubiquitous Hard Rocker Pro Tremolo tailpiece. It's available in black or white and will follow you home for about $425.

More exotic is the RS1010SL, which was made to the specification's of Toto's Steve Lukather. It has two pick-ups, one a Super 58, the other a variation. The RS1010SL is exceptionally clean-sounding; Lukather is reportedly using it in the studio nowadays. It also features duo sound control knobs (makes it easy to play punch the pick-up), an ebony fingerboard and comes in the alwayspopular marine sunburst finish. Make that check out for $645 and it's yours.

Else-wise, a new guitar in Ibanez's Artist line is the AR-150, for the picker who wants a solid-body with a built-in tailpiece. The AR150 comes stock with two Super 58s, duo sound control knobs and a black finish. Six bills at guitar stores near you.

Meanwhile, the semi-acoustic line at Ibanez continues to grow with the introduction of the AM255, from the Freedom series. Its main feature is its size, sort of like a smaller Gibson 335. However, it's the only semiacoustic in the Western World with the Hard Rocker Pro Tremolo system, and its Super 58s give it that vintage sound the old solid bodies used to deliver. The AM255 comes only in the antique violin finish, giving it a highly grained and designed look. This one lists at $795.

IMC (1316 E. Lancaster St., P.O. Box 2344, Fort Worth, TX 76113). IMC—distributed by Hondo—has released a real grab-bag of guitars during 1983. Their Artist & Designer series has seemingly caught on pretty well, particularly models like the H-l (their biggest seller, with a cutaway body), the Coyote (Billy Gibbons owns one) and the Paul Dean Guitar, designed by the guitarist of the same name in Loverboy. Also of interest shape-wise (believe me, IMC

has some of the neatest looking guitars around) is the leadless Lazer (weighing in at under six pounds) and the also-headless Alien bass, which is practically all neck.

KRAMER (1111 Green Grove Road, Neptune, NJ 07753). In June, Kramer presented the Pacer Deluxe—an improved version of last year's Pacer. How is it improved? Well, Kramer's dropped the TruTone Tremolo in favor of the Floyd Rose Tremolo system, a patented get-up that locks at the nut and bridge and has a set of fine tuners as well. Where the Pacer had two humbuckers, the Deluxe version has one to go along with two single coil pickups. Like the Pacer, Mr. Deluxe is your basic double cutaway body style, and is priced to sell at $799 list. PEAVEY (711 A Street, Meridian, Mississippi 39301). Peavey's just made three totally new guitars available. The new axes are the Mystic, the Horizon and the Milestone. They're similar in design, although the Milestone features three pick-ups (double-coil at the bridge and neck and single-coil in the middle) for superior tone control. The Mystic and Horizon have more in common mechanically; the former has a "rock 'n' roll body shape" while the latter has a more conventional body shape. Both have a relatively long scale (243/4") and maple neck. Pat House says the Mystic is also available in "a whole line of rock 'n' roll colors."

In any case, all of the above are available with Peavey's Octave Plus tremelo system, which allows you to raise or lower the strings almost an entire octave. Now that's rock 'n' roll. B.C. RICH (P.O. Box 60119, Los Angeles, CA 94103). Three or four items in the news here for 1983. First off, they've introduced a low-priced ($300 to $600) line called the NJ series. Typical in the line is the RB Guitar 07BG-0, a 24-fret axe with rosewood fingerboard and two humbuckers. Its shape is the Rich body first offered in 1981. Top of the NJ line is a through-the-neck Mockingbird (the RMG-2). B.C. Rich is strong on this type of body construction for better sustain and sound.

In the higher price range, they've put out the Warlock standard, which features Kahler tremelo, two humbuckers, rosewood fingerboard and Schaller machine heads ($1,200 list). Also new is the Stealth, designed by Rick Derringer. The Stealth is a lightweight guitar and somewhat smaller than the standard models (Derringer himself is physically small). It has a two-octave neck and duo sound and out-of-phase switches and also lists for $1,299. A less expensive ($399) version of the Stealth is planned for 1984.

WASHBURN (1415 Waukegan Rd., Northbrook, IL 60062). 1983's push at Washburn has been in the moderate price range. Particularly successful has been the G-2 ($299), which comes with two humbuckers,

a rosewood or maple fingerboard and standard Washburn Sealed Deluxe Tuners. The G-2 incorporates much of the hardware from Washburn's more expensive instruments.

They're also offering an array of vibrato options: their standard Dive Bomber II (with fine tuners and a locking system) and, after the new year, a Kramer-like tremelo system. Washburn also began marketing Flying V's in 1983 ($429-$749) and are now offering a new array of metallic finishes.

WESTHEIMER (3451 West Commercial Avenue, Northbrook, IL 60062). New from Westheimer is its Effector Guitar, a neat little package that offers the player a substantial number of options and hopefully not confusion. There are six different effects including phase, delay, vibrato, wah-wah, chorus, and the everpresent distortion. In addition, the Effector comes with a pre-amp and fixed neck that is equipped with two power sound pickups. The Effector body shape is similar to the Explorer and comes in black, white, red, antique sunburst and silverburst. And as if this wasn't enough, the handy people at Westheimer have made these effects available to the most clumsy of us by a simple push of a button. Although the Effector is not the same household word as larger companies, this instrument shouldn't be overlooked.

YAMAHA (P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622). "Our dealer input told us that there are basically two markets right now.. .the $300 range and the $800 and up," says Phil Moon of Yamaha. With that in mind,

they wiped out their mid-ranges and kept their tweeters and woofers.

Yamaha's latest are two low-priced rhodels, the SGB200 and SC300T. the SGB200 (double-coil sound, rosewood fingerboard, 14:1 tuners) is more or less along the classic lines; the SC300T (with three single-coil pickups, a five-position pickup switch, and a fulcrum-type vibrato) is hotter-sounding, but also shaped along trad lines. The SGB1000 is still available for you shoppers in a higher price range, and the lefty line is still around for you southpaws, both guitarists and bassists.