People, and by people I mean non-guitarists, wonder about the amount of overdrive pedals on the market, seemingly growing like mushrooms after a wet winter. Ah, but like mushrooms, each type has a distinctive flavor and effect. Earthquaker Devices new Special Cranker sounds like no other, so if you feel like there is a particular piquancy missing from your tone palette, this might be the answer. For specs, click on the ad to the right.
The 2022 Guthman Musical Instrument Competition started with 26 semifinalists from 16 different countries. After an online showcase of the semifinalists, a committee of Georgia Tech faculty and public voting decided which creators would compete at the final stage. Nine advanced to the competition’s final round. They met on the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 11 and 12, 2022, to compete for $10,000 in prizes. While none of these won, they do indicate some possible future directions for making music with guitar skills.
Shahzad Ismaily is a multi-instrumentalist perhaps best known for his bass work with Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog. He has also worked with Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed, Tom Waits, John Zorn, Shelley Hirsch, Nels Cline, Graham Haynes, Billy Martin (of Medeski Martin and Wood), and Burnt Sugar, among many others. Thanks to Jam Pedals we have this fascinating interview.
With acoustic guitars largely still based in centuries-old technology, there is rarely an opportunity to talk about them in Guitar Moderne. Thus, I was happy to feature the Lava guitar in my NAMM report a couple of years ago. The Asian-based manufacturer Lava presents more like a technology company than a luthier-based enterprise, but either in spite of that or because of it I find them intriguing.
It is great to hear these two old friends talk. Sharp elicits a different set of answers and bon mots than the ones that appeared in the Guitar Moderne interview, from a better rested Ribot.