The High Gain

It’s been our great pleasure to make this show for anyone who would listen, week after week, for 7 years. Knowing you were out there, and hearing from so many of you, really fed us as we pushed forward to that “next” guitar. This is the final episode of The High Gain Podcast. Enjoy! This website and our Instagram account will remain active. If you’d like to keep up with what John and Ed are up to:...

In 1963 Gibson introduced the Firebird series of guitars. It came in multiple variations, with several options. The “lowest” model was the Firebird I , so named because of its single pickup. Now, as part of its “Inspired by Gibson Custom” series, there is an Epiphone 1963 Firebird I . In our humble opinion, its simplicity makes it somehow cooler than the rest. Enjoy! Like the show? Follow us at th...

Hamer had a long history of making great guitars, especially for the metal crowd. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, then, that not only did Steve Stevens have a signature model named after him, but he played it in the Top Gun Anthem video. Double cool. Enjoy! Like the show? Follow us at these fine establishments: Patreon || https://www.patreon.com/thehighgain Instagram || @thehighgain Web || https:...

Yamaha was founded in 1887 by Torakusu Yamaha . Dealing primarily in keyboard instruments, it took a while to get around to designing electric guitars. But in the 1960s they did exactly that. One of the most unique shapes they came up with was known as the “ Flying Samurai ”. Enjoy! Like the show? Follow us at these fine establishments: Patreon || https://www.patreon.com/thehighgain Instagram || @...

Hello Kitty is perhaps the most recognizable character of Japan’s “cute” culture. The ubiquitous cat has appeared on just about every object you can imagine, and guitars are no exception. Having debuted in 2006, the Squier Hello Kitty Stratocaster is now being reissued, just in time for Hello Kitty’s 50th Anniversary. Enjoy! Like the show? Follow us at these fine establishments: Patreon || https:/...

When you grow up listening to classical music, and studying the violin pyrotechnics of Nicolo Paganini , you’re bound to emerge as one of the most unique shredders in the world. And if you’re Yngwie Malmsteen , you get your own signature Fender Stratocaster. Enjoy! Like the show? Follow us at these fine establishments: Patreon || https://www.patreon.com/thehighgain Instagram || @thehighgain Web ||...

Man, that Dwight guitar sure does look like an Epiphone Coronet , you might be thinking. You’ve got a sharp eye my friends - back in the day, the fine folk from Kalamazoo badged some Coronets for Sunny Shields Music in Illinois. Enjoy! Like the show? Follow us at these fine establishments: Patreon || https://www.patreon.com/thehighgain Instagram || @thehighgain Web || https://www.thehighgain.com

It was Danelectro that brought us the baritone electric guitar, but it’s Jackson that has now released what is perhaps the doomiest version of that instrument. We tried our hand at some death metal this week (glad that’s over). Enjoy! Like the show? Follow us at these fine establishments: Patreon || https://www.patreon.com/thehighgain Instagram || @thehighgain Web || https://www.thehighgain.com

We are truly living in a renaissance of custom guitar building. Just when you play one, another pops up to surprise and delight you. And the Doubleday Broadwing is no exception. Made in Austin, Texas by Walker Doubleday , we think these guitars would fit any bill, any place, any time. Special thanks to Superfan Alex for the gracious loan of this fantastic instrument. Enjoy! Like the show? Follow u...

Originally introduced in 1959, shortly after Gibson bought the brand, the Coronet was the first Epiphone solidbody guitar. What started out as a student model would eventually come to be regarded as the rock and roll machine it is today. So why did it take so long to reissue a US made version of the original? Who knows, but we’re sure glad it’s here. Enjoy! Like the show? Follow us at these fine e...

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...

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! Like the show? Follow us at these fine establishments: Patreon || https://www.patreon....

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! Like the show? Follow us at these fine establishments: Patreon || https://www.patreon.com/thehighgain I...

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! Like the show? Follow us at these fine estab...

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! Like the show? Follow us at these fine establishments: Patreon || h...

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! Like the show? Follow us at these fine establishments: Patreon || https://www.patreon.com/thehighgain Instagram || @thehighgain Web || https://www.th...

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! Like the show? Follow us at these fine establishments: Patreon || https://www.patreon.com/thehighgain Instagram || @thehighgain Web |...

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! Like the...

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. B...

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 enjoy...

When guitar builder Dennis Fano was looking to expand the reach of his designs, he partnered up with Eastwood Guitars to create Rivolta . Incorporating design elements from vintage guitars, these overseas guitars are still distinctly Fano, somehow. We got our hands on a Combinata , and found it to be a pleasure to play. Enjoy! Like the show? Follow us at these fine establishments: Patreon || https...

Justin Motander Jones is making some wonderfully inventive guitars down there in San Diego, CA. He’s been experimenting with creating effects by controlling the pickups themselves, as opposed to simply feeding their output through an effect. He calls this idea the Ardweirdo , since the brain behind all of this is the Arduino open-source electronics platform. The guitar we got to play around on was...

Gibson introduced both the J-45 and J-50 acoustic guitars in 1942. Wood was scarce, and production in Kalamazoo was severely curtailed in favor of war-related endeavors. A few “banner” J-45s were made, but the J-50 would not be reintroduced until 1947. At that time, the J-50 was little more than a J-45 without the paint job. Our example is from 1968, after many of the design “improvements” had bee...

Fortunately for all of us, impeccable, handmade boutique guitars are easy to find; no one is wanting for choice. We are truly in an instrument-building renaissance. Dan Strain of Danocaster Guitars is one such builder, and his focus is all about having a guitar feel like it’s been yours for years, even if you’ve only just picked it up. We were fortunate enough to pick up an Offset and give it a wh...

We are torn here at High Gain HQ about the Starcaster that Fender released in 1976. All these years later, it has experienced a rehabilitation of sorts in the indie crowd. Now that the Tom DeLonge Starcaster has been introduced, will those on either side of the great Starcaster debate find common ground? If so, we smell a Nobel Peace Prize for Tom Delonge. Enjoy! Like the show? Follow us at these...