I’ve long been an addict of live music and have been to my fair share of shows over the years. My teenage-hood involved waking on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings to a deathly screeching. It was a kind of invisible badge of honour among my friends, proof that you had indeed had a good night and seen a great band close up. Stand in front of the speakers? Sure! All the better to hear the band/destroy my young healthy eardrums with. By age 26 I was more often on stage myself, playing keys and for the last four years have been with Cobra Khan, averaging about 30 loud gigs (plus practices) a year. I don’t think I started using any ear protection until I was in my early to mid twenties. Better late than never? Here’s hoping. ...more

When it comes to music gear, retro is still what’s hot, and in the finest Fender tradition they’ve gone and done it again with their ’50s styled Bassman TV series. The range consists of 150 watt 1x10 and 1x12 models plus a 1x15 and 2x10, both of which are rated at 350 watts. I’ve been lucky enough to trial the 1x15 which has a single 15" Celestion 4-ohm speaker mounted behind a dark brown fabric screen – hence the TV appearance. ...more

Pacifica is an arm of the giant Yamaha brand, and according to their website, have been making guitars for 40 years. Originally designed in Yamaha’s custom shop as a test project, the Pacifica line was soon producing a variety of electric guitars from its Japanese factory. The two main body shapes that have become tried and true are (almost inevitably) the Telecaster and the Stratocaster, both originally designed by Leo Fender and co. Pacifica waves its hand of innovation over the latter here in the form of the 112V. ...more