The High Gain

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Episode 340 - Gibson Victory Nov 13, 2024

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In 1981 Gibson introduced one of its pointiest guitars yet. With an Explorer headstock and a slightly offset superstrat-style body, the team in Kalamazoo was ready to meet hair metal head-on. So they marketed the new instrument to - country musicians… It’s hard to say exactly what contributed to its poor showing, but the Victory was gone almost as quickly as it had arrived. Lucky for all of us in the present day, the Victory has been reissued! We dove under the hood to see what we could see. Enjoy!

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Episode 339 - ESP E-II Horizon-II Nov 06, 2024

Show notes

Once a major provider of parts, bodies and necks to brands like Kramer and Schecter (which it ended up buying), ESP now occupies valuable territory in the metal world of guitars. Admittedly, we are less-than-familiar with these beasts, but we gave it our best shot this Horizon, which ticked all the boxes. Enjoy!

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Episode 338 - Squier Mami Sasazaki Jazzmaster Oct 30, 2024

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Scandal is a Japanese band that holds the Guinness World Record for longest-active all-female band that still has all its original members. So it’s no wonder that they’ve all got signature guitars, including this 2014 Mami Sasazaki Jazzmaster, affectionately known as the “Stratomaster” - Enjoy!

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Episode 337 - Fender Jack White Triplecaster Telecaster Oct 23, 2024

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Jack White has carved out a place of distinction for himself. His approach to music is at once considered and no-holds barred. He knows what he wants to hear, and has never stopped looking for it. We’re big fans over here at High Gain HQ. So when we got our hands on the new Fender Jack White Triplecaster Telecaster, we had to take it for a ride. Enjoy!

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Episode 336 - Greco Shrike Oct 16, 2024

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Greco was among the many brands created to capitalize on the guitar boom of the 1960s. These instruments were mostly copies of well-known American brands, and were made in Japan by a variety of manufacturers, including Teisco and Kandai. The Shrike, however much it might have owed to Rickenbacker, was an original design. Enjoy!

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Episode 335 - Ampeg Dan Armstrong Lucite Bass Oct 09, 2024

Show notes

Dan Armstrong was an original thinker. As a musician he toured with Van Morrison. He was one of the creative forces behind the Ampog SVT amplifier. Who else, then, in the late 1960s, could come up with the idea of a guitar made out of Lucite? Enjoy!

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Episode 334 - Yamaha Revstar Oct 02, 2024

Show notes

In 2013, Yamaha was looking to make a splash with a new guitar design. They wanted something that looked both old and new, but not too out there. Taking cues from their own past designs, as well as Cafe motorcycle culture, the came up with the Revstar series. Enjoy!

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Episode 333 - Fender Contemporary Stratocaster Sep 25, 2024

Show notes

When CBS sold Fender to a consortium of employees, the US factory was not included in the sale. So, while the new owners figured out where their new home would be built, production moved to Japan. That was when the Contemporary Series of Stratocasters and Telecasters was introduced - the first set of Japanese instruments to bear the Fender name on the headstock, instead of Squier. Enjoy!

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Episode 332 - Guild S-50 Jet-Star Sep 18, 2024

Show notes

When Guild decided to enter the solidbody guitar game, in 1963, they did it by introducing a series of instruments with funny headstocks and curves cut into the bottoms; some even had built-in kickstands. The least of these was the S-50 Jet-Star, a single-pickup affair targeted at the student market. It boasted a single pickup, a volume and a tone. That’s it. To our modern eyes, it is a triumph. But how does it sound? Enjoy!

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Episode 331 - Riggio Tango Sep 11, 2024

Show notes

The Pacific NW is proud to call itself home to some amazing makers of guitars, pickups, effects and more - they grow well in the rain up here. For 30 years Joe Riggio has crafted guitars of singular distinction. And for those in the know, his refinish work is impeccable. We’ve seen guitars that Joe has brought back to life, and we are amazed every time. We got a hold of a Tango in black, and enjoyed the hell out of it. Hope you do, too!

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