From the company’s inception, the folks at Meris have had their own take on pedal creation. Elegant packaging and interfaces have been a hallmark. They have outdone themselves with the LVX, however. In addition to the futuristic GUI, bit crushing and granular effects make this not your father’s delay pedal. They also include a tuner so you can take that pedal off your board help make room for this one.
FutureFret: Episode One is the first event in what Vernon Reid and Chris Buono hope to be an ongoing series. The event is this Saturday, May 14th, 2022 and will include a collective of panel discussions, masterclasses and live performances centered around forward-thinking concepts for the modern guitarist. Here is my interview with Vernon about the idea, its possibilities and many other things. Below that is an introductory video and the details.
Rafiq Bhatia is poised to become a force in modern guitar. His trio was the best guitar-based show at the last Big Ears Festival pre-Covid—and that festival included shows by David Torn and Bill Frisell! Check out his record “Breaking English.” He is also in a band called Son Lux that released a three record project in 2021: Tomorrows I,II,& III. If D’Angelo and Bowie had a baby, it might sound something like Son Lux. We talk about all this, and more. I suggest you go to here for his National Sawdust performance and our talk about it. I have posted the original interview I did with him for Electronic Musician below as well.
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.
It is getting hard to keep up with all the terrific new releases. Modern guitar continues to make inroads in places as far-flung as Argentina, Switzerland, and Tasmania. The pandemic has resulted in works that are largely solo or remote collaborations, but no less successful than the in person collabs.
