This review was submitted by Guitar Jar contributor: Mark Angel

I saw Steve Marriott (Small Faces, Humble Pie) with his band Packet of Three in a pub in North London in 1985. As many folks will know his guitar for that era with a red Gibson 335. I’d always loved the 335 – I guess I first became really aware of them when I noticed it was also the main guitar of Alvin Lee of Ten Years After. Fast forward 20 or so years and I was on the lookout for something a little more mellow than my Strat, Tele and Ibanez.  I took a long look at the Epiphone 335 but didn’t really see one I liked and then I set my eyes upon the Washburn.

Continue reading “Washburn HB32-DM Review” »

This review was submitted by Guitar Jar contributor: Mark Angel

I bought this guitar in 1979 from ESS Music in Barnet High Street (London, UK).  I think it may well be a Digital Village shop now.  I was a spotty youth of 16/17 and I’d saved and saved to get this.  It was £229 and I still have the receipt. I didn’t even play it before I bought it; if it was good enough for Jimi, it was good enough for me.

Continue reading “1976 Fender Stratocaster Review” »

Inspired by the recent release of the new Yamaha SG guitars, I thought I’d write a review of my old Yamaha SG1500. The Yamaha SG range: known as the “Les Paul Killer”!

Continue reading “Yamaha SG1500 Review” »

I remember when I first started to play the guitar, walking into a guitar store in Poole and seeing a Gibson SG (not sure what model) hanging on the wall. It was love at first sight. It just looked so good. It is a simple yet mean looking instrument. I loved the fact it literally looked like a lump of wood with strings on it.

Around 2 years ago I finally discovered the joys of Black Sabbath (yeah, I know a bit late) and very quickly got really into Tony Iommi’s riffs. They sounded so huge! And so, my love affair with the SG was ignited.

Continue reading “Gibson SG Standard Review” »

I wasn’t even really aware of Duesenberg guitars when I acquired the Starplayer TV. I’d seen a few write ups in magazines for other models but other than that my knowledge and experience of them was limited. How I came to own the guitar was a similar situation to how I came to own the MXR Carbon Copy – I walked into a guitar shop for a completely different reason and walked out with a stunning Duesenberg Starplayer TV in my hand!

Continue reading “Duesenberg Starplayer TV Review” »

I’ve always loved the sound of a Fender Stratocaster. Years before I even started to learn to play the guitar, most of the artists and bands I listened to just so happened to play a Strat (not that I realised at the time). In fact one of my earliest memories is opening a present on my 5^th or 6^th birthday to receive my first album, Cliff Richard’s “Rock ‘n’ Roll Juvenile”. Seeing Cliff posing with a Strat-style guitar on the front cover made me think he was the coolest person in the world! Maybe I shouldn’t admit that but who cares, we all have a “first album” story and my guess is yours is as equally cringe worthy!

Continue reading “1979 Fender Antigua Stratocaster Review” »

This review was submitted by Guitar Jar contributor: Steve Coates

In the 7/8 years that I’ve been playing the guitar I have been through my fair share of guitars. With all the guitars I’ve owned I’ve been trying to find the guitar that would match the sound in my head.

Continue reading “Gibson Les Paul DC Faded Review” »

This review was submitted by Guitar Jar contributor: Steven Page

I’d been a fan of the Jim Root telecaster since I first saw it some years ago. I loved how it was a modern take on a classic model but I never really saw one in shops and when I did, I never thought to play one.

One day I was driving to every local guitar shop I could think of to see if I could part exchange one of my guitars. I had my heart set on an Ibanez Artist but there was too much UM and ARR from the guys in the shop so I went elsewhere.

Continue reading “Fender Jim Root Telecaster Review” »