Okay, I'm not a huge fan of "Christmas music" generally, but when I do listen to it I particularly enjoy the classics, such as Tchaikovsky's The Nutcraker Suite—and especially fingerstyle virtuoso Tim Sparks' amazing solo guitar (more accurately, a "Chema" Requinto made by Enrique Enriquez) version recorded in 1992.

What do you do when your lifeblood amps are getting raves from major stars for their ability to cop that Big-D tone, but you just can’t bring them in at a price that appeals to the pockets of the greater mass of working players? Simplify, reconfigure, consolidate! And voila, Fuchs’s new Casino Series—four U.S.-made amps designed to snuggle up in the lower end of the boutique range, while still delivering two footswitchable channels and the Dumble-esque overdrive tones that are Fuchs’s bread and butter.

 

The Four Aces Combo( $1,495 street) and Full House-50 head ($1,795 street)  complete a lineup aimed at a range of power requirements. All four are built using the same single circuit board in the same aluminum chassis, and therefore have more in common than not. As a result, these two boast the same controls and features, differing only in their output tubes and variously sized transformers.

 

The preamp is derived from Fuchs’s flagship, the Overdrive Supreme, and offers a versatile range...

Back in early 2011, I had the opportunity to participate in the $100 Guitar Project, initiated by Nick Didkovsky and Chuck O'Meara. As they put it:

"On Oct 20, 2010, Nick Didkovsky and Chuck O'Meara (that's us) bought a $100 electric guitar from Elderly Instruments. We did not know what it sounded like or if it even worked, but we were charmed by its no-name vibe and single bridge pickup that looks like an old radio."

Soon, dozens of guitarists had signed on to spend a week with the instrument, composing and recording a piece of music using it (see the list of 65 guitarists below).