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Blog
NEKTAR GX, LX+ AND PANORAMA MIDI CONTROLLERS
Nektar makes controller products that integrate tightly with established DAWs. They have been passionate about their mission to bridge the gap between powerful music software and controller hardware, creating the best keyboard controller instrument in its class. The Impact GX series is compact, powerful and very affordable. They require NO set up. The work is done for you, just download the installer on our website and you are ready to go. The Impact LX+ series offer performance and DAW control not even found on many controllers at twice the price. The Flagship Panorama series offers a level of control and feedback from your DAW that is unsurpassed. Everything that you want to control in your software can be done from the unit, giving you the freedom to create music when inspiration strikes without slowing you down. GX and LX+ DAW Integration: Nektar DAW Integration custom designed for Bitwig, Cubase, Digital Performer, FL Studio, GarageBand, Logic, Nuendo, Reaper, Reason, Sonar and Studio One. GX and LX+ series Includes Bitwig 8-Track DAW. “We do the work for you.”Once you download the installer your Nektar controller is ready to go. No need to figure how to set up your controller or assign any Midi CC's. Whatever knob, button, pad or slider you touch on the GX or LX+ has been mapped to control your DAW. More info here >
Which Fender Princeton Reverb Amp Is Your Favorite?
Fender Princeton Amps were introduced in 1947 but were discontinued in 1979. In 2006, Fender revived the Princeton name, and reissued the Princeton Reverb in 2008. Check out the current Princeton Reverb amps available today. Fender 65 Princeton Reverb Guitar Combo Amp A historically significant amp used on countless hit songs for decades. Today, the ’65 Princeton Reverb is as phenomenal looking, sounding and performing as ever, and is easily versatile enough to go from the living room to the recording studio to the gig with the great sound, style, reliability and authentic vintage vibe that Fender players know and love. One of the coolest amps around, period, it’s ideal for anyone who demands top-notch tube tone naturally dynamic clean and overdriven sound and unmistakable long-spring Fender reverb and tube vibrato. Fender 68 Custom Princeton Reverb 1x10, 12-Watt Tube ComboThe guitarist with an eye and ear for late-’60s Fender “silverface” style will love the ’68 Custom Princeton Reverb, which honors the classic look and great sound of that era’s amps. Small, light and moderately powered, longtime recording and gigging favorite the Princeton Reverb received a fresh new face in 1968—a silver-and-turquoise front panel with aluminum grille cloth trim, with tone, reverb and tremolo that was still pure Fender. The ’68 Custom Princeton Reverb also has modified tone circuitry for greater tonal flexibility with pedals and reduced negative feedback for greater touch sensitivity and quicker overdrive onset. Fender Limited Edition 68 Custom Princeton Even classic amplifiers sometimes get the blues! This 68 Custom Princeton Reverb amp is covered in stealthy black lacquered tweed with the black grille cloth for a look that is both traditional and yet modern. Combine that with the iconic sound of a 12" Celestion Blue alnico speaker and you've got the perfect amp for your living room or studio! Small, light and moderately powered, longtime recording and gigging favorite the Princeton Reverb has tone, reverb and tremolo that is still pure Fender. The '68 Custom Princeton Reverb also has modified tone circuitry for greater tonal flexibility with pedals and reduced negative feedback for greater touch sensitivity and quicker overdrive onset. Shop all Fender Princeton Reverb Amps here
What is a guitar setup and why you need it?
Written by Teresa Topaz So, what is a guitar setup? A guitar setup is a series of adjustments made to an electric or an acoustic guitar to ensure proper health and playability, and is considered “basic maintenance”. Performing a setup addresses changes a guitar goes through over time and returns it to its proper condition. We offer re-string and setup services here at Bananas at Large. If you bring your guitar in, please let us know a bit about your playing style and preference of tunings so we can tailor the instrument setup specifically for you. There are many steps involved in performing a setup, let’s review what those steps are. 1. What is a truss rod and what does it do? Most acoustic and electric steel string guitars built after late 1970's - 1980 have a truss rod in the neck of the guitar. Most nylon string guitars, however, do not have a truss rod. The truss rod is a long rod that runs down inside the neck of the guitar. Adjusting it will either give or take relief away from the neck, causing the strings to raise or lower off the fretboard. Depending on whether you have an electric or acoustic guitar, the truss rod can either be accessed where the headstock meets the nut and fretboard (most electric guitars and bass guitars), or under the neck accessed through the sound hole (most acoustic guitars). The truss rod's nut style will determine whether you need a hex key, nut driver, screwdriver, box wrench or mini screwdriver. If you’re not sure which one you need, it's always a good idea to refer to the manufacturer's website to ensure the right fit. On an electric guitar, the truss rod is accessible at the base of the headstock. To tighten the truss rod, turn your tool to the right, and to the left to loosen. Make sure you make small quarter turns each time, as a small adjustment can sometimes be all you need. To adjust the truss rod on an acoustic guitar, find the hex shape located at the bottom of the neck through the sound hole. Turn your 90 degree angle hex key to the right to tighten, and to the left to loosen. Adjust, check and tune. Repeat these steps as needed. 2. What is 'action' on a guitar? Action is how high the strings sit off the fretboard. If the guitar’s truss rod is tightened, the action becomes lower. If the truss rod is loosened, the action becomes higher. Now what is the difference, and why would you want high or low action? If you are beginning to play the guitar or are an advanced player but mainly play in standard tuning then you will probably want to have a low action set on your guitar. If you play in alternate tunings and slide, you will want to have a slightly higher action set on the guitar. Playing a slide on the guitar causes more pressure to be applied to the frets, potentially causing fret buzz if the action is too low. Once you have adjusted the truss rod to achieve a straight neck, well will check the action. It's always a good idea to measure the action height with a 1.0 hard pick at the 12th fret. If it fits perfectly between the fret and the low E string with little to no room on either side then you have achieved a low action. If there seems to be quite a bit of space on either side of your pick, your bridge will have to be adjusted which we will cover in the next step. 3. Adjusting the bridge & nut Adjusting the bridge allows us to manipulate the action, as well as intonation. There are several different types of bridges for an electric guitar. For instance, a Tune-O-Matic bridge that we would find on a Les Paul style guitar has the option to be raised or lowered by adjusting the thumbwheels. There are several different heights we can place the bridge in and each setting will create a different feel. Finding the sweet spot of proper bridge height, action and intonation can require finesse and patience. On an acoustic guitar, there are no screws to raise and lower to adjust the height, so we have to file down the saddle by hand to the appropriate height. Filing down the saddle requires the precision of a trained eye and is best left to a professional. Next we'll look at the nut of the guitar (*nut: most commonly bone or composite, a nut is placed where the headstock meets the fingerboard which has filed slots to hold each individual gauged string in place). If you’re experiencing fret buzz, a good place to look is the nut. If a string is sitting to low in the slot, it will cause fret buzz. To fix this, we either need to add bone dust and glue to raise the slot or replace the nut all together. Note: Do not change the gauge of strings on your guitar without making the necessary modifications to support it. Guitars come stock with certain gauge strings so be sure to look that up on the manufacturer’s website to continue using the correct strings and avoid issues. 4. Cleaning your frets Frets get dirty over time and buildup can collect on the sides of the fret wire. To clean this, grab your fret cleaner, a pick or toothpick and a few paper towels. Drizzle a few drops of the fretboard cleaner on the frets, and take your pick or toothpick and start to scrape the buildup off the frets and fretboard, wiping with a paper towel. Repeat these steps until your fretboard is clean. To polish the nickel silver frets on your guitar, I use Nevr-Dull. Grab a small amount and gently buff the discoloration off of your frets. Repeat this step all the way up the fretboard. If your frets are too tarnished and the Nevr-Dull is not working, you may need a Crown and Polish. *Nickel silver frets: Composed of 18% Nickel, 80% Copper and small trace amounts of Zinc, Lead and Cadmium. High grade Fret Wire consist of more Zinc and less Copper. 5. Hydrate, polish & re-string One of the most important steps of a setup is hydration. Trees need hydration to survive and the same rule of thumb applies even after parts of that tree have been transformed into a guitar. Absence of moisture and heat are a guitar's worst enemy and can cause irreversible damage of cracking and splitting (*Picture seen below of a dried out soundboard with cracks through the wood). Using a fretboard conditioner along with an overall guitar polish and a micro fiber cloth to hydrate your guitar, along with changing the strings every 4-6 weeks (sooner if you’re playing more often) will help keep the guitar in good health. 6. Intonation Now that we have all of the strings back on the guitar and have tuned it to standard tuning (E A D G B E), our next step is to intonate the guitar. Intonation means that the instrument is in tune with itself and all the open strings and every note on the fretboard rings at the correct pitch. If you have ever tuned your guitar and noticed when you play a chord it sounds out of tune it probably means that your intonation is off. Guitars can be affected by the elements of weather which can affect the intonation requiring periodic intonation. To intonate your guitar, we need to first start with tuning it to pitch, preferably with a strobe tuner. Once it's in tune, check the same string’s pitch at the 12th fret. If the pitch matches open to the 12th fret, then you can move on to the next string. If it’s sharp, the string must be slightly lengthened at the bridge until both pitches (open and at the 12th fret) are in tune with each other. If the string’s pitch at the 12th fret is flat, we need to shorten the string length at the bridge. Remember, less is more with small quarter turns. Repeat these steps on each string until the guitar is fully intoned. If you own a Floyd Rose, this can be a much more difficult setup so please have a professional tech or luthier perform this action for you. 7. Buff and polish Now that we have completed the setup on the guitar, the last step is to buff the guitar using a high quality micro fiber cloth and a guitar polish and conditioner. Spray your polish on several spots of the guitar and use your cloth to buff out any smudge or finger marks. I tend to polish the entire guitar, front and back and after a set up the guitar should look as good as new. Hope this article help you to understand how to practice the best techniques to ensure your guitar’s health. We do offer re-string and setup services here at Bananas At Large so please feel free to contact us for more information. Please leave any questions in the comments below and we will get back to you as soon as possible!
The new 2017 Fender American Professional Series
Buy now In-stores and Online. Welcome to the next chapter! At Fender, they live and breathe electric instruments. They never rest—pushing craftsmanship to its limits, they design, test and endlessly experiment to create the best instruments on the planet. Built in Corona, CA, the American Professional Series is for players who are constantly pushing their artistic boundaries. Fender’s American-made instruments are the standards by which all others are judged. As musical styles evolve, driven by visionary artists, Fender is, and has always been, at the heart of it—crafting premium instruments to unlock every player’s creative potential. What Is the American Professional Series? Fender launched the American Standard Series of guitars and basses in 1987, and the collection has been Fender's flagship line for serious artists and players for nearly 30 years, but beginning December 7, 2016—Fender has replaced the venerable line with the new American Professional Series. Combining Fender's longstanding history of quality, handmade craftsmanship and industry innovation, the American Professional Series features 92 different guitars and basses and offers a number of unique enhancements. American Professional Series instruments are available in a variety of ash and alder body styles, including newly designed Stratocasters, Telecasters, Jazzmasters, Jaguar, Precision Basses and Jazz Basses. Each guitar features rosewood and maple fretboards, and the series introduces three new colorways: Sonic Gray, Mystic Seafoam and Antique Olive. Other colors included in the series are Olympic White, Black, 3-Color Sunburst, Sienna Sunburst and the return of classic Butterscotch Blonde available only on Telecaster models. How Is The American Professional Series Different From The American Standard Series? To create the American Professional Series, Fender revisited a number of elements on each instrument. Here is a quick overview of the key differentiating features: New Pickups Simply put, pickups are the heart and soul of an electric instrument’s voice. The American Professional series features their newest pickup offering: V-Mod single-coil pickups. Updated versions of our classic designs, modified for modern performance, V-Mod pickups are packed with authentic Fender tone. V-Mod pickups, and the newly redesigned ShawBuckerTM humbucking pickups are voiced specifically for each position, bringing out the nuances of your playing. New Models They’re excited to add three new models to the American Professional Series: the Tele® Deluxe, Jazzmaster® and Jaguar® guitars. The left-of-center Jazzmaster and Jaguar models are particularly prized for their unique style, feel and flexible control schemes. New Colors Three new colors—Sonic Gray, Mystic Seafoam, Antique Olive—are joined by the revival of a true classic, our instantly recognizable Butterscotch Blonde (available only on Tele models). Shop Now!
New for 2017! Taylor "The Academy Series" Shop Now!
Designed to make a full-featured Taylor playing experience more accessible than ever, these guitars distill all the essential elements of a great guitar into a more affordable option. With the Academy Series, Taylor cleared a path to the most inviting guitar experience an entry-level player or anyone on a budget could ask for, from a comfortable feel to pleasing tone to performance reliability, all at an affordable price. The combination of a narrower 1-11/16-inch nut width, 24-7/8-inch scale length, and light gauge strings serves up a buttery string feel that fingers will love. And on the guitar body, an armrest improves the playing comfort. These guitars deliver the best playing experience a customer could ask for in this price range. Choose from the Dreadnought Academy 10e, Grand Concert Academy 12e, or nylon-string Grand Concert Academy 12e-N. Browse Models
A New Generation of Rock Royalty
From MESA® comes a departure from Boogie® and a new bloodline aimed at the Rock Throne. Gorgeous Cleans, Classic Crunch and Gain Beyond (our highest ever), housed in a small, light, 50 Watt package with total flexibility. The New Triple Crown™ TC-50. We are excited to share this video featuring Tal Morris trying out the MESA/Boogie 1TC‑BBPF Triple Crown TC-50. 3-channel, 50-watt and EL-34 powered, this new amplifier captures the essence of Rock with endless ability to inspire new genres. Emanating from the “other side of MESA” that spawned Rock’s iconic Dual Rectifier, this new platform features a bold and unapologetic set of new circuits unlike anything else in Mesa’s line. They’ve also heightened the appeal by making the overall value even more undeniable with arguably their best pricing versus features/performance. From bubbly, sparkling clean sounds, rarely heard in this type of amp, to an amazingly tight and aggressive wall of Rock Crunch, to one of their most lyrical, harmonically rich and gain-laden high-gain channels ever, the Triple Crown’s aim is to reclaim Rock’s high-gain throne. Experience the new King of Rock – The Triple Crown TC-50! Shop now >
Ibanez Limited Edition Joe Satriani JSART2 Guitar
The JSART2 SIGNATURE MODEL: EXPANDING THE CONCEPT Last year, to commemorate 25 years of Joe Satriani's celebrated JS signature guitar, Joe illustrated 50 black JS guitars with his unique and colorful graphic style. Each instrument was transformed into a one-of-a kind work of art and became known as the JS25ART guitars. The success of these guitars has inspired a 2nd release—the Limited Edition JSART2 guitars. Shop Now Check out our exclusive Joe Satriani collection
Fender Limited Edition American Standard Offset Telecasters
Be the first to play a new Fender Limited Edition American Standard Offset Telecaster We saw these new Fender Limited Edition American Standard Offset Telecasters at Winter NAMM 2016, and couldn't wait for them to be released! This idea of blending a Jazzmaster and a Telecaster was born at the Fender Custom Shop, and we love the result. It's amazing to have all the access the upper frets with a Jazzmaster style body, but with a telecaster neck, controls, and brass saddle bridge. Even better, they are loaded with Custom Shop pickups. Specifically, a Twisted single-coil neck pickup and a vintage-style Custom Shop single-coil Telecaster bridge pickup. The limited production run ensures these unique guitars will continue to be sought after for years to come.
Supro 1695T Black Magick 25 Watt Combo Amp
Black Magick, a recreation of one of Rock & Roll music’s holy-grail amplifiers. This all-tube, high-gain blues machine hearkens back to the dimensions, cosmetics and circuitry of the Supro amps from 1959, just like the one loaned by Jimmy Page to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. In tribute to this legendary and extensively modified Supro combo, they’ve used the cabinet dimensions from a ‘59 Supro 2×10 and replaced the baffle with a 1×12 and armed this 25-watt combo, with a custom, British voiced speaker that was specially developed for the Black Magick amp. See All Supro Amps
Another trip to Fender Custom shop to hand select new instruments
Another trip to Fender Custom shop to hand select new instruments for our customs, have meetings on new designs, talk about new product develop, and get first look at new products not available for order by any other dealer. We combed thru over 500 guitars to hand pick you the very best of the best. No other music store offers this level of curating and we bring it to you at the very best prices guaranteed. Fender Custom Shop 1970s Stratocaster - Vintage White. Master built by Dale Wilson Heavy Relic Lacquer Finish Alder Body Quartersawn Maple Neck and Fretboard 3 Bolt Neck Plate Bullet Truss Rod Mid 60's Oval "C" Shape 9.5" Radius 6105 Frets Bone Nut Schaller Elite Keys with Pearl Buttons Handwound '69 Strat Neck Pickup Handwound 50's Middle Pickup Handwound Texas Special Bridge Pickup 5-Way Switch 4-Ply Tortoise Shell Pickguard SOLD Fender Custom Shop 1960s Stratocaster - Aged Daphne Blue. Master Built by Yuriy Shishkov Journey Man Relic Lacquer Finish Alder Body AA Flame Maple Neck with Rosewood Fingerboard No Finish on Back of Neck 9.5" Radius Vintage Frets Mic 60's Oval "C" Neck Shape Bone Neck 1960 Start Pickups 3-Ply Mint Green Pickguard 5-Way Switch Vintage Hardtail Bridge Vintage Tuners More Info Fender Custom Shop Limited 50s Telecaster - Aged Black. 2016 Custom Collection Limited Edition Series Journeyman Relic Lacquer Finish Lightweight Ash body 1-Piece AAA Flame Tinted Maple neck 52 style "U" Neck Shape 9.5 Radius 6105 Frets Bone nut Handwound Texas Special neck pickp Handwound 51 Nocaster Bridge Pickup Modern Tele Wiring with Greasebucket Closet Classic Vintage Hardware 1-Ply Parchment Pickguard Limited Neckplate Limited Case SOLD Fender Custom Shop 1958 Stratocaster - Faded 2 Tone Sunburst. 2016 Custom Collection Relic Lacquer Finish Lightweight Alder Body with Deep Contours Tinted 1-piece Quartersawn Maple Neck Large "C" Back-Shape and a 9.5" Radius 6105 Frets Handwound Fat '50s Strat® Pickups with Reverse-wound Reverse-Polarity Middle Pickup 5-Way Switch Vintage Modified Wiring #1 - Vol/Tone 1 (Neck and Mid)/Tone 2 (Bridge) Single-Ply Eggshell Pickguard Vintage-Style Hardware Bone Nut Fender Custom Shop Journeyman Relic Bass VI - Aged Black. 2016 Custom Collection Journeyman Relic Lacquer Finish Lightweight Alder Body Tinted Quartersawn Maple Neck 60's Bass VI Neck Shape Vintage Frets 9.5 Radius Micarta Nut '62 Jaguar Pickups 3-Ply Mint Green Pickguard Relic Knobs and Pickup Covers Shop all Fender Custom Shop guitars here.
Bananas is proud to support the Narada Michael Walden Foundation
Bananas At Large is proud to be supporting the Narada Michael Walden Foundation in donating 30 Ukes to San Pedro Elementary School and helping create a new Uke Lab Class for the kids. Your support of Bananas helps us continue to give back to our community.
New pedals from Caroline Guitar Company just arrived!
Looking for the next awesome pedal to fill that spot on your board? Check out these new arrivals from Caroline Guitar Company. These pedals are hand-wired in the USA with the spirit and craftsmanship of the classics that inspired the legends to push the boundaries of rock-n-roll. Stop by today to plug-in, turn some knobs, and have a blast! Wave Cannon mkII Superdistorter Distortion So, what IS the story on Wave Cannon version 2.0, or as Caroline decided to call it, the Wave Cannon MKII Superdistorter? The long story short is that this thing is an unrepentant, unapologetic distortion pedal that is totally nasty and fun. This Cannon comes pre-loaded with balls (pun alert!) and is capable of going from cranked, lightly dirty amp tones to the sound of a furry Godzilla devouring a junkyard full of broken a/c window units. Meteore Reverb Pedal Imagine taking the ice bucket challenge, but you’re dunking yourself in dreams! Inspired by the ultra-modern line 14 of the Paris Métro and its sleek platforms of glass, steel and tile that add all kinds of cool sonic artifacts to the space, the MÉTÉORE™ (pronounced may-tay-or) is Caroline's take on reverb. Haymaker Overdrive Pedal Prepare to be shocked at its character, range, versatility, and power. Easily capable of going from open, glassy flavors of boost to classic crunch sounds that sound like an extension of your amplifier’s character, Haymaker can go even further into high gain territory. A three-way mode switch lets you choose soft-clipped overdrive, open uncompressed drive, or harder clipped distortion textures, allowing you to decide how the pedal will respond to the wide range of control settings and changes with your pick attack and volume control. These responsive changes in dynamic range are why we call this a “dynamic drive”. Kilobyte Delay Pedal If you’re reading this, you must be getting ready to party like it’s 1983. Caroline kept your original, dry signal path analog and pure, then given you a +21db boost/overdrive preamp to smash a low fidelity digital delay chip designed for karaoke machines and kids’ toys into smeared, repeated glory. Yeah, we’re going back in time – back to when they measured data in KILOBYTES!
