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Review: RJL Carbon Fiber Guitar Picks

August 25, 2022December 23, 2011

A quick review of some interesting boutique picks from RJL Guitars. These unique plectrums are 100% made from carbon fiber!

Warwick : Left Handed Bass Guitars

January 18, 2022December 21, 2011

Take a look at the left handed bass guitars available from German brand Warwick. Almost all Warwick basses are available left handed!

National Reso-Phonic : Left Handed Resonator Guitars

February 8, 2023December 16, 2011

National Reso-Phonic Guitars was founded in California, USA in 1989 by Don Young and McGregor Gaines. They are a builder of resonator guitars, including other resonater instruments such as mandolins and ukuleles.

In 1990 the company opened a factory in San Luis Obispo, California which currently churns out over 1000 guitars per year. They also offer a repair service which is capable of restoring almost any National guitar to its original condition.

National Reso-Phonic Left Handed Guitars

All National guitars are available to order left handed at no extra charge. The exceptions are the Resolectric, Resotone and RA3 models. Take a look at a very small sample of the guitars available from National below, but be sure to take a look at their website to view the full range.

national reso-phonic left handed resonator guitars lefty

A small sample of left handed National guitars

National Website

The National website is quite basic in design, but I like the fact that it displays every guitar on a single page, making it very easy to quickly see what is available. Each product page includes a series of beautiful high-resolution images of the guitar.

Information on left handed models is very well hidden on the site. To find out if a guitar is available lefty you’ll need to click the ‘specs’ icon on the guitar’s individual page. It would be nice to have this information a little more visible, or perhaps as an entry in a FAQ.

Review : Slick Grip Guitar Picks

January 2, 2020December 7, 2011

I seem to be on a never-ending quest to find my ideal guitar pick lately, and this month has been no different. Recently I picked up some interesting plectrums from a new UK based company called Slick Grip…

These six picks utilise a unique design which is supposed to help wick away moisture and keep the surface nice and grippy. As grip is something I have trouble with I was only too eager to give these innovative Slick Grip picks a good test run.

What’s In the Box?

As soon as I received the package in the mail I could tell that this was a company who put a lot of thought into how they present their product. The picks arrived in a black branded envelope, and the bright pink Slick Grip logo instantly alerted me to what the package contained.

Inside the envelope the attention to small details continued as each pick was safely nestled inside its very own individual packaging! A thick piece of foam houses each pick, which is then cradled by a piece of card and then finally wrapped in a sheet of plastic. It’s a very neat little design and instantly gives the impression that these are more than your average-joe picks.

The range comes in a variety of sizes from 0.45mm all the way up to 2.0mm. The different thicknesses are color coded which makes them very easy to distinguish from each other. Take a look at the close-up image at the end of this article to see exactly what pick sizes are available.

The Design

If you take a look at the image below you will see a detailed graphic of the pick design, which is displayed on the back of the packaging.

Sandberg : Left Handed Guitars and Basses

January 2, 2020November 16, 2011

Sandberg Guitars is a manufacturer of guitars and basses and was founded in 1986 in Germany by Holger Stonjek and Gerd Gorzelke. The company is named after their first workshop which was located on Am Sandberg – a street in Ehmen, Germany.

In 2010 Sandberg started to produce their own electric guitars, however they are mainly known for their range of bass guitars. They are also famous for their innovative product design and unusual building materials.

Sandberg produce all of their guitars in a left handed version, with the exception of the Panther bass series which is a righty exclusive for the moment. Take a look at a few examples below…

Sandberg Left Handed Guitars and Basses

The image above shows a small sample of a few left handed Sandberg guitars and basses. Various different finishes and other options are available, so make sure to take a look at the Sandberg website to see exactly what is offered.

Sandberg Website

The Sandberg website employs a clean but functional design. There is no mention of left handed models on the individual model pages, however they do state in their FAQ which models are available to order left handed – good times.

Tokai : Left Handed Guitars and Basses

December 15, 2023November 11, 2011

Tokai is a Japanese manufacturer of guitars, founded in 1947 by Tadayouki Adachi. They produce a variety of different guitars and basses for all price ranges, and also currently build all of the solid body guitars for Fender Japan.

Tokai are famous for coming under fire from some of the bigger USA brands after making their own replica guitar designs which were said to be every bit as good as (if not better than) the guitars they were modelled after. These guitars, such as the ‘Love Rock’ models are now widely referred to as ‘lawsuit models’ and are very highly sought after.

Luckily us left handed guitarists aren’t left out of the loop as Tokai offer every single one of their guitars in a left handed version at no extra charge! You will need to most likely special order your guitar however.

Tokai Left Handed Guitars and Basses

This image represents a small sample selection of Tokai guitars and basses, so make sure to take a look at their website to see the full range of available guitars.

Tokai Website

As far as I can see, Tokai have two main websites – the Japanese one and a UK one. Neither make much mention of left handed options, so I was surprised to discover that they in fact offered all of their guitars in a lefty model. Customer service at the UK website was incredible, I absolutely recommend getting in touch with them if you have interest in their guitars.

Hamer : Left Handed Guitars and Basses

January 2, 2020October 21, 2011

Hamer Guitars was founded in 1973 by Jol Dantzig and Paul Hamer, and is based in the United States. They are considered by many as being the first boutique guitar brand who catered specifically to professional musicians.

Hamer was acquired by Fender on December 31^st 2007 and continue to concentrate on their range of high-end USA made guitars and basses. Dantzig left the company in 2010 to build his own guitar company – Dantzig Guitars

Hamer Left Handed Guitars and Basses

So what do Hamer offer to the left handed guitarists and bassists of the world? You can in fact order any of the models from the Hamer USA range in a left handed version upon request. Guitars will need to be ordered through your dealer, however there is no extra charge for most of the range to be produced left handed.

Take a look at the Hamer website (link below) to see exactly what the USA range consists of.

Hamer Custom Shop

Hamer also has a custom shop based in the USA, so for a little extra expense you can take any of these USA models and put your own unique spin on them.

Hamer Website

The Hamer website makes no mention of left handed options anywhere. This is particularly disappointing as I actually emailed Hamer 6 months ago about this, so they clearly haven’t taken this idea on board. It would be a simple 2 minute fix to make a quick addition to their FAQ…

Review : Planet Waves NS Mini Headstock Tuner

December 11, 2022October 19, 2011

Recently Planet Waves were kind enough to send over one of their brand new NS Mini Headstock Tuners for us to investigate. As always we were only too happy to test out their new and always innovative little products. Here’s our review…

The NS Mini Headstock Tuner is a little different to most other similar products in that it is tiny, and is also virtually invisible from the front of your guitar. It tunes by vibration via its highly sensitive piezo transducer and clearly presents tuning information on its two-color backlit display.

What’s In the Box?

Inside the surprisingly small box you’ll find the tuner itself, the instruction manual and a battery.

The tuner itself is made of plastic and feels solid enough in your hand. It is easily the smallest tuner I have personally ever seen. I’m not sure why you’d want to do it, but the clip can be removed.

In order to keep things simple, there are only two buttons on the tuner: one to switch the unit on and off, and the other to switch between tuning frequencies (A430 to A450). If you take a look at the image above you’ll notice the two buttons which are located on the underside of the unit. Also notice the battery compartment door.

Installation

The tuner clamps onto your headstock using the adjustable clip. The tab at the rear allows you to alter the height of the clip, making it suitable for surfaces of between roughly 1.2cm to 2.25cm. Once clamped onto your headstock the display will move through a full 360 degree rotation, allowing you to achieve the perfect viewing angle.

Theoretically you can place the tuner anywhere you would like on the guitar, although the idea behind its design is that it should be virtually invisible, so it should generally be positioned with the display behind the headstock. Since the audience can only see a tiny portion of the clamp they will most likely assume that you are able to tune perfectly by ear!

Review : Pick Punch – Make Your Own Customized Plectrums!

November 30, 2022October 7, 2011

The Pick Punch looks just like any old paper punch at first glance, however upon closer inspection you’ll notice the great big plectrum-shaped hole in the bottom. With this little gadget you can take almost any piece of flat plastic material and turn it into some custom guitar picks!

We featured the Pick Punch in our Xmas Stocking Fillers article last year and I have to admit that I almost instantly wrote it off as a fun, novelty item. But once you start to see the possibilities for custom pick creations it quickly becomes a very useful (and incredibly addictive!) tool. Read on to find out how…

What’s In the Box?

Inside the attractively designed box you’ll find the Pick Punch, ready to start pumping out custom plectrums. I also picked up a small selection of plastic sheets from the Pick Punch website to get started with, as well as a sanding block for shaping and buffing the picks – these are an extra purchase, but very inexpensive.

The punch itself is very heavy and feels incredibly well built and solid in your hand. When you first see the size of the hole on the bottom you really wonder how on earth it manages to cut such a large area from your material.

The plastic sheets are all of a similar thickness, but are of varying colors and opacities. Pick Punch sell a variety of different plastic sheets directly from their website should you need a good supply.

Review: RJL Carbon Fiber Guitar Picks

Warwick : Left Handed Bass Guitars