Fender has recently introduced their first take on a Cabronita bass. It features an alder body with forearm contour and a “C”-shaped maple neck with gloss urethane finish. A single Fideli’Tron humbucker is housed in a single-ply pickguard and there are knurled chrome knobs for the master volume and tone controls. The hardware department is rounded out with a High Mass bridge, vintage-style reverse tuners, and a side-mounted output jack. It’s an attractive package at $600.00 and as you can hear for yourself after the break, it sounds great.

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This week, Mike Gee’s showing off the Barncaster. This Tele has a true vintage look thanks to a body made of pine planks from a hundred-year-old barn. In addition to the one-of-a-kind body is a licensed, thin C, maple on maple neck and a lone 7k single-coil in the bridge. You may notice there’s still a pickup selector. This is to make use of the Eldred wiring mod (explained in the video after the break). Guitars like this are few and far between, so hurry over to the auction. Bidding starts at $275.00 and ends Sunday night.

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Most working musicians don’t usually have tons of excess cash, so it’s important (and awesome) that there are deals like the SX Ursa 2 from Rondo Music. First of all, this bass is ridiculously inexpensive. It retails for $169.95 direct from Rondo. Secondly, they’re built well and sound great. You get an ash body (alder is available for a discount), an all-maple neck with black binding and block inlays, two vintage-voiced passive pickups, and chrome hardware (other equally affordable pickup and hardware options are available on Rondo’s bass page). Lastly, they also look good. The described version of the Ursa 2 comes in a choice of red, green, or sunburst, all of which go very well with the bound neck. Whether you’re a bass beginner, a pro looking for a solid stage instrument, or a modder looking for a foundation to build in, this bass is a perfect choice.

Blue Frog Guitars are building quite the name for themselves as of late (even getting the Vince Gill rub), and this ’72 Telecaster Custom Deluxe will definitely help add to their reputation. Its surf green, solid alder body bound in black/white/black herringbone manages to catch the eye and still maintain a classy look. A pair of nickel-covered 4-wire humbuckers comes loaded in the black abalone pickguard and each is wired to its own individual tone and push-pull volume pot, allowing them to be split to single coils. This model is listed at $850.00 and will probably sell quickly, so check it out before it’s gone.

It was pinup week over at Mike Gee’s this week, and we have to say this beauty was our favorite showing. This custom Strat features a licensed neck and body (alder for the body, maple with a rosewood fretboard for the neck) with a sonic blue over cherry burst nitro finish. The aged white pickguard houses a trio of alnico V single coils and the controls have been modded a la Dick Dale. If you don’t know what a Dick Dale mod is, Mike was kind enough to explain it in the listing. If you don’t know who Dick Dale is, kindly get off our site (not really, but look him up). In addition to the mod, controls also feature full-size Alpha pots and an Orange Drop cap. This Strat’s priced to move with bidding starting at $229.00 and BIN of $299.00. You have until Sunday evening to decide on this one.

The Loar has announced a new archtop for 2013. For those not familiar, The Loar builds guitars and mandolins that harken back to the designs of early 20^th century Gibson luthier Lloyd Loar, and the LH-319 is a fine addition to the lineup. Inspired by the vintage jazz and blues boxes of yesteryear, the LH-319 consists of a sunburst spruce top carved and graduated by hand with a maple back and sides and a V-shaped mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard. Other features include a set of Loar P-90s with a master volume and tone, Grover Butterbean tuners, compensated ebony bridge, and a floating tailpiece. These guitars will handle jazz, blues, and rockabilly out of the box; but if you’re feeling adventurous, try running it through your favorite fuzz or distortion pedal for a thick, wooly tone. It’s a fairly priced guitar at $699.00, so continue on and give the demo a listen.

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With the array of great sounding, affordable, low-watt tube amps available these days, it’s no surprise many players have made the switch from their 100-watt beasts of old to something with a considerably smaller footprint. If you like the extra room to thrash around in, but you want some expandability for your sound, you may want to have a look at the Lopo Line 2x12 Vertical Extension Cabinet. These fine cabinets are assembled using ¾” birch plywood your choice of over fifty coverings and over twenty grill cloth options. They also sport switchcraft jacks, recessed bar handles, closed backs, and include all the wire you need to install your dream speakers. Some options will add to the base price of $268.80, but most options are available for under $20.00. Unless you’ve got that DIY spirit, this is probably the least expensive custom cab you’ll come across.

Mike Gee has added a new standard model to his lineup. Now you can have your own custom Les Paul made just for you in about two weeks. These LPs feature set necks and mahogany bodies, hardware from All Parts, Epiphone wiring harnesses, and your choice of either hot wound or PAF-style chrome covered Artec humbuckers. The base models come in black, white, transparent red or blue, or cherry or tobacco burst and go for $299.00, but Mike’s also offering some customizations for a small fee. We’ve detailed those options after the break or you can check out the listing yourself.

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Normally we try not to post gear off eBay unless it’s from a regular builder or independent shop, but this one-off pedal was too cool to pass up. This creation from Sergey Engel is a preamp designed to add some tube flavor to your sound. It uses an ECH83 tube housed in a metal car turned stompbox and includes volume and gain controls. If you’re not familiar with the ECH83, it’s probably because it was primarily used in car radios. It tends to boost mids and cut the low end just a bit, and it also produces some pretty decent overdrive which you can hear yourself after the break. The price tag of $239.90 might scare you off if you’ve already got a tube amp, but it’s great if you’re a solid state player wanting to warm up your sound without buying a whole new amp.

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We’ve found another worthy entry from Blue Frog Guitars. They didn’t skimp on this Tele as it features a nitro coated, amber burst, solid alder body with a belly cut, USA string-through bridge, Lace Telecaster bridge pickup, staggered pole piece Strat pickups in the neck and middle, CTS pots, and a Fender five-way pickup switch. The neck on this build is maple with a rosewood fretboard and has a 10” radius, big 6130 frets, and a width of 1 11/16” at the nut. This piece also comes with a hardshell case making its $695.00 BIN price a fair price. Of course, if this isn’t your dream guitar, they still do custom orders, too.

Teletown is currently offering a prototype named the Toucan. This tonal beast utilizes a trio of mini humbuckers along with the nine-switch Awesome Instruments Tone Multiplier you may remember from a previously featured guitar. This handy mod literally puts hundreds of options at your fingertips. Combined with the Bigsby-style tremolo and sweet yellow paint job, this could be the guitar for you. If you agree, head on over to the listing. Bids start at $600.00 or you can go a safer route and buy it for $795.00.

Rounding out our festivities is the Eastwood Airline Bighorn. Modeled after one of the original ’60s catalog models, the Bighorn has a uniquely shaped basswood body and a bolt-on maple neck with rosewood fretboard. This guitar is loaded with two Eastwood Diamond Argyle single coils capable of giving you those down and dirty, bluesy sounds you crave. Each pickup has a tone and volume control and they’re wired to a three-way switch. At $469.00, it’s a versatile guitar that won’t break the bank. You can watch gearmandude try out some of his favorite slides on his own Bighorn after the break.

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The fourth installment in our holiday celebration is a limited edition surf green Fender Super-Sonic 22 Combo. You probably already know about these, but for those who don’t, this dual-channel amp does anything from classic Fender cleans all the way down the line to your more modern, high-gain stuff and it pumps it out at a controllable 22 watts. The Vintage channel handles the clean side and gives you volume, treble, and bass controls as well as normal and fat voicing options. The Burn channel dirties things up and provides knobs for volume, two stages of gain, treble, bass, middle, and master reverb. The 22 runs on two 6V6 tubes in the power section and three 12AX7s and two 12AT7s in the preamp section and a 12” Eminence “Lightning Bolt” speaker. Not sold yet? Watch the demo after the break and get back to us. Bidding starts at a grand or you can buy it for $1,200.00.

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Up next we have a modified 1966 Gibson SG in teal green. It’s seen some serious playtime, but it’s definitely developed some character in the process. It still has the original neck and body, but Grover tuners, a pair of Fender Lace Sensor pickups, and a three-way switch have been installed. It’s a cool little vintage axe you won’t worry about beating up and you can make it yours for as little as $399.99, so be sure to check out the listing.

Our second entry for the holiday is the Italia Torino. This bass features a semi-hollow, bound maple body with bound F-holes and a set hardrock maple neck with rosewood fretboard. The dual humbucker setup utilizes a Wilkinson in the bridge and an ABR in the neck. The Torino comes in a bevy of solid and sparkle finishes in addition to the seafoam green pictured and the tailpiece helps finish off that retro vibe. These usually go for around $680.00, but the one above is available for a little less. Check it out here or keep going for a demo. It’s not in English, but we’re sure you’ll get what you need from it.

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