Campbell American Caledonian Guitar Review

Well, Dean and the boys at Campbell American have done it this time!!  This guitar has become my fast favorite in the store.  I bring you the Campbell American Caledonian.  Single cutaway, swamp ash body (option), Seymour Duncan JB and Jazz humbuckers (option) with coil tap (option) all set off with a glossy lacquer subtle cherry burst finish.  This sounds and looks awesome.

The Caledonian features a really contoured body unlike the more squared off UK 1 (see other review) which instantly gives this guitar a eye catching look and an even better feel.  I decided to go with a Swamp Ash body to have something different from the more expected mahogany/maple combination typically found on single cutaway designs.  I am very pleased with the results, instead of a dark, thick tone we get a nice spank out of the guitar with a pleasant midrange bite that can be darkened up if needed but has that clarity that is hard to achieve if it isn’t already in the guitar.  This combination is the perfect choice for a player that enjoys the Les Paul styling but needs a guitar that has some chime and bite.

Of course, the Seymour Duncan perform as you’d expect and the coil tap yields some very usable tones.  Sustain is no problem but not at the point what the notes thud and don’t ‘pop’.  As with all Campbell Americans the electronics are not only top notch but extremely useful.  I find myself setting up the amp with a fairly distorted tone and using the controls to achieve anywhere from that soupy (but still clear) ‘woman’ tone to full out scream to slightly dirty, Keith Richards friendly growl.  I really love this guitar and will most likely order one for myself in the near future.  It really is the type of guitar you can turn to again and again, a ‘go to’ kind of axe that covers all the basses.

Bob Campbell, Campbell’s Music Service

www.cmusicshop.com

Namm at Nashville 2008

Just came back from Summer Namm in Nashville, TN.  Namm stands for National Association of Music Merchants for those who don’t know.  Anyway, twice a year they hold shows where dealers, vendors, manufacturers and other industry folk get together to show or see new product.  We were there for 3 1/2 days and even though it was small by comparison to the winter shows, we barely got to see it all.

It was a lot of fun but I have to say I didn’t see much, especially from the larger manufacturers, really groundbreaking.  New colors, some new options but most of the innovative stuff was coming from the smaller companies.  I was excited by some of the models I saw at the Vintage (that’s the brand name) Guitar booth – relic versions of vintage guitars but much more affordable than the Fender Custom Shop stuff, revamped classic designs.  Michael Kelly guitars and Traben basses also had some great products with really cool options and woods.  There was lots of interesting new gear at the Digitech booth.  I was especially excited by the Hardwire series which are boutique style pedals with greater versatility and more reasonable pricing compared to a lot of the boutique stuff.  We should have some of those in pretty soon.

Some non product related highlights for me was meeting many members of our independent dealer group, the MSO (www.musicstoreowners.com) for the first time face to face.  This group is dedicated to preserving the independent dealer, you know, the ones that actually teach, repair, service, etc. your instruments.  Our group also got a lot of recognition from Namm, the vendors, the music press and people in general, so that was great.  Also, I can’t forget meeting Cousin Dean (Dean Campbell of Campbell American Guitars, no relation) in person.  Great guy.

We also got to see Muriel Anderson’s All Star Guitar Jam at the Ryman Theater.  Players included Muriel, Tom Bresh, Richard Gilewitz (who’s done clinics for us), Rick Vito, Larry Carlton, Victor Wooten, Ladd Smith, Rob Ickes and special guest, James Burton.

If I think of anything else….

Guitar Heroes wanted!

I hope someday soon we get some new, real guitar heroes.  Sure, the game is fun (my non musician wife is better than me, her ‘over 30 years as a musician’ husband) and not really a substitute for real playing but I’d love to see someone step up and turn the music world on their ear.  There are a ton of great, innovative guitar players out there but they aren’t getting any time in the spotlight.  We need a Hendrix badly.  Sure, Dimebag, Zakk, Eric Johnson, Steve Vai are tremendous players but the general public doesn’t know them well.  Hendrix and Van Halen came on the to scene and blew the minds of guitar players and non musicians alike and that’s what we need.

While 80’s hair band metal was never my cup of tea, guys like Randy Rhoads and Eddie Van Halen made the guitar exciting and challenging to young musicians.  They opened doors that let guys like Satriani and Vai, George Lynch and Yngwie come through and add to rock’s vocabulary.  People, because they were serious about their musicianship were serious about their gear as well, which of course, I was grateful for.  There was a general ‘craftsmanship’ in defining their signature tones or even trying to capture their heroes’ tones.

With all of the amazing gear we have at our disposal, getting any tone is far easier than ever before but are we using that to our advantage?

Microfrets, toneshed and CMusicShop

Some folks who know me know I have a fondness for Microfrets guitars. Microfrets were made in Frederick, MD and we’re originally sold by our store (and many others) in the late sixties to early seventies up until they closed shop. Quirky, weird and in many ways innovative, Microfrets were played by the likes of Carl Perkins (Blue Suede Shoes fame), Mark Farner of Grand Funk and Buddy Merrill of the Lawrence Welk Show to name a few. In any case, this appreciation grew into a website at www.toneshed.com where you can learn more about these strange beasts. Drop in and visit the site, you just might learn something cool!