Vintage Guitar - September 2017 - open - 127

Price: $4,500 (base)
Info: www.brownsguitarfactory.com

BEAST MODE
The Brown Guitar Factory
Chambered Electric

o use a slightly skewed metaphor, John
Brown builds guitars to the beat of a
different drummer. After all, who wants a
custom builder without vision, churning out
yet another version of a Strat or Les Paul?
Brown heads Brown's Guitar Factory in
suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul. He's a thirdgeneration instrument builder and repairer,
and his atelier has been a going concern since
1982. There, he makes a range of no-nonsense
electric basses, guitars, and lap steels that
you won't confuse with anyone else's wares.
Witness the BGF chambered electric. It's
built with a padauk-wood chambered body
core topped by stylish book-matched lacewood and highlighted by Brown's unique

signature f-shaped sound holes. Other exotic
woods are readily available.
The neck is crafted from quarter-sawn
two-piece Honduras mahogany with a
fingerboard of Madagascar ebony and a
headstock crowned by a lacewood faceplate
and cherry medallion. The body is finished
in a clear acrylic urethane while the neck is
hand-rubbed with a modified oil, making
for a fast, liquid action. In short, you needn't
worry that another shredder will show up
with anything similar.
So, the guitar is supermodel gorgeous.
But how does it sound?
It sounds uniquely itself. And for a variety
of good reasons. The two BGF special-

formulated Alnico II
humbuckers are easy
to spot, but not so the
individual piezo pickup saddles hidden
within the TonePros tune-o-matic bridge.
Controlling this array of pickups are
push/pull Volume knobs providing series
or parallel arrangements. Or use the Tone
control and three-way toggle to opt between the magnetic pickups. Alternately,
there are an Acousti-Phonic volume pot
and Mid Boost switch to choose from.
Finally, a Quick Switch "mini" can blend
the magnetic and Ghost signal. Should you
so desire, a Ghost Hexpander mod offers
synth/MIDI capabilities.
Going full open with all pickups blaring,
the BGF is pure beast. It can do crunch and
grind, but with a sharp edge to cut through
even the loudest, proudest rhythm section.
Or you can go for a warm, rich voice, then
switch over to sheer shriek for a solo. The
sounds this guitar can make - as you may
expect from the pickup array and that cool
chambered body - are near endless, from lullaby sweet to wake-the-neighbors rocking.
Should you want something a little more
special, Brown offers guitars in six- or sevenstring versions as well as his "Fretted/Less"
and fretless editions. - Michael Dregni

LOLLAR LOLLARTRON
TRADITIONAL MOUNT

Lollar's Lollartron Traditional Mount pickups
retrofit Gretsch and other guitars with
three mounting options; the Vintage model
is designed to offer the clarity and punch
of a classic Filter'Tron, while the Mod is
wound to give a sound similar to early
rock-and-roll. They are made in the U.S.
with gold, nickel, and chrome finishes.

ELECTRO-HARMONIX
BATTALION

HAMER IMPORT
SERIES REISSUES

Hamer Guitars is reissuing six models
from its Import Series, including the
Vector Flame (VECF-HB), Standard
Flame, Sunburst Archtop Flame Top,
Special Junior, and Monaco Flame.

The Electro-Harmonix Battalion bass
preamp/DI has all-analog circuitry, a
four-band equalizer, MOSFET distortion
section with controls for Level, Blend,
Drive, Tone and a dedicated footswitch,
compressor, noise gate with adjustable
threshold and three signal flow modes.

To be included in Gearin' Up, contact us at vguitar@vintageguitar.com.
September 2017

127

VINTAGE GUITAR

Vintage Guitar - September 2017 - open

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