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11 Jun

Mixdown's Picks: Vox Cambridge 50 Modelling Amplifier

Bedroom Amplifier Special

The world of audio and musical equipment can be a tricky one to navigate at the best of times. With so many different products, conflicting opinions and confusing reviews, it’s hard to know what’s actually the best product for your needs. Luckily, the team at Mixdown have put in the legwork for you, sifting through the spec-sheets and putting the products through their paces to bring you Mixdown’s Picks - a new series of expansive, category defining product guides across our digital channels. Anything that has made the cut has rated highly across the board with the Mixdown staff, garnering a unanimous tick of approval from our staunch critics.

11 Jun

24 Mar

Gretsch G2210 Streamliner Junior Jet Club

Gretsch Guitars Australia | gretsch.com.au | RRP: $699

The history of the Gretsch company stretches back over one hundred and thirty five years, which is a long time in any business, let alone instrument making. What started out as a small company making drums and banjos eventually became an industry giant that was synonymous with country music and rock ‘n roll, with early users including Chet Atkins, Duane Eddy and Eddie Cochran in the fifties, George Harrison and Stephen Stills in the sixties, Malcolm Young in the seventies and Brian Setzer from the eighties all the way to today.

24 Mar

24 Mar

Reviewed: Fender 70th Anniversary Broadcaster

Fender Music Australia | fender.com.au | RRP: $3,999

Early on in 1950, the revolutionary Broadcaster first rolled off the line of Fender’s Fullerton factory. In the post-war era of America, it was nothing short of innovation both in design and manufacturing: to put it simply, the world had not seen anything like it. It was the first mass- produced solid body electric guitar, and pretty soon it was a hit with guitar players ranging in style from country, blues, RnB and more. Rock ‘n roll was a good five years away, and a vital element of some of the earliest recordings of this new rebellious and downright dangerous kind of music was the Broadcaster.

24 Mar

24 Mar

Reviewed: Fender Player Series Stratocaster & Stratocaster HSS

Fender Music Australia | fender.com.au | RRP: $1,299

Fender’s Player Series have become the new standard for affordable yet professional level guitars in recent history. They sit just above Classic Vibe series from Squier and below Fender’s American Performers, while the Mexican-made Vintera series features similar build quality to Players, but with vintage appointments to appeal to those seeking some classic builds to nail the sounds of yesterday.

24 Mar

24 Mar

Reviewed: Fender Player Series Duo-Sonic SS & HS

Fender Music Australia | fender.com.au | RRP: $1,199

The Fender Duo-Sonic is one of the rarer gems on Fender’s extensive catalogue. First introduced in 1956, these slightly offset axes were originally intended for students and amateur musicians. Their main calling cards included a shorter scale length and a relatively cheaper price point compared to the Stratocaster and Telecaster, which were targeted at professional and touring musicians.

24 Mar

28 Feb

Reviewed: Gretsch G5222 Electromatic Double Jet

Gretsch Guitars Australia | gretsch.com.au | RRP: $1,149

Just a few weeks ago, Gretsch unveiled a huge range of new products at NAMM, and are including additions to every range, including this double-cut Jet, the G5222. Gretsch Jets are synonymous with a bunch of players, including George Harrison and Malcolm Young, who is maybe the most famous double-cut Gretsch player in history. The G5222 is classic Gretsch, with a chambered mahogany body and maple top that provide traditional rock tones with that great Gretsch midrange that somehow amplifies everything.

28 Feb

28 Feb

Reviewed: Fender American Original '70s Telecaster Custom

Fender Music Australia | fender.com.au | RRP: $3599

The Fender Telecaster is, without doubt, one of the most widely used guitars of the last half-century. It has undergone many incarnations over these years — none as creatively retrograde as this one, however. The Original ‘70s Telecaster Custom harks back to the custom model released in that said decade when renowned humbucking pickup designer Seth Lover engineered a distinctive, wide-ranging humbucker for the Fender Custom. The magnets that Lover had used in his humbucking pickups were manufactured with copper, iron, and nickel (known as CuNiFe). The combination of these elements made for a warm, full sound that was simply not obtainable on any other electric guitar at the time. The Custom was discontinued in 1979, as were the authentic CuNiFe-magnet pickups that came with it.

28 Feb

28 Jan

Reviewed: Fender Player Series Lead II & III

Fender Music Australia | fender.com.au | RRP: $1,119

Take a look back into Fender’s annals and you’ll eventually find an esoteric collection of guitars entitled the Lead Series. These guitars aesthetically sat somewhere between a Fender Telecaster and a Stratocaster and were primarily created to rival the lower prices and rising build quality of guitars hailing from Japan and Korea.

28 Jan

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