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:

John

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Ed

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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!

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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 the present day, the Victory has been reissued! We dove under the hood to see what we could see. Enjoy!

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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!

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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!

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Once upon a time, Fender created jazz guitars based on the designs of master luthier Jimmy D’Aquisto. Jimmy had learned his craft from John D’Angelico, father of the handmade jazz box. Admittedly, these kinds of instruments were a bit outside of Fender’s usual offerings, but they charged ahead anyway. How did they do? We got our hands on a Fender D’Aquisto Standard and gave it a whirl. Enjoy!

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Shortly after Gibson introduced the Les Paul solidbody, it became clear that the more traditional jazz cats might also enjoy an instrument with an easier to handle profile. They certainly loved their big ol’ jazz boxes, but why couldn’t they also have something a little more…manageable? So began the thinline series of guitars, available to this day in many incarnations. But the first was the ES-225, introduced in the 1950s, and we’ve got one. Enjoy!

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Lzzy Hale has been ripping off faces with her guitar and vocals since she was 14 years old. Her band Halestorm is a force unto itself. Is it any wonder, then, that Gibson has just released their third Lzzy Hale signature guitar? Nope. We tried one on for size, and John demonstrated his singular lack of shredding skill. Enjoy!

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In 1967 Gretsch was bought by the Baldwin Piano Company. Like CBS-era Fenders before them, and Norlin-era Gibsons after them, expectations for continued quality were….measured. Of the guitars produced during the Baldwin-era, sure enough, there were some questionable moves. This week, however, we’re playing the Roc Jet 7611, and it is a ripper. Enjoy!

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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!

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Sigma Guitars, pedals, beverages, and more!

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!

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