Mass Resonator

Art House Studio

There’s a new joint venture between Mass Street Music’s own John Flynn, Isaac Flynn, Matt C and studio engineer Jim Barnes  -  The Art House. It’s  an innovative recording studio located near the heart of downtown Lawrence.  The Art House is much more than just a recording studio however, it’s an arts collective housing visual artists, filmmakers and music teachers, including veteran Mass St Musician Eric Mardis.  So far the reviews have been outstanding. › Continue reading

Fender American Special Strat in classic Candy Apple Red

The Facts Jack

There was a lot of hype when we first heard about the new Fender American Special Strats and Teles - the series sounded good: American made, classic design, Texas Special pickups and less expensive - so what’s the catch? We set our own Jason Jones, Matt Christenot, and Matthew Khomsi to the task of checking these out from stem to stern.  Here’s what they had to say:

Jason: Aesthetically pleasing, the American Special series was a sensible move for Fender. These give you  many pro features with cost effective attributes that, all in all, create a great instrument for a reasonable price.  Borrowing the gloss Urethane finish from the American Standard series, and incorporating Fender’s most popular pickups, the Texas › Continue reading

Jakob rocking his Martin

I went to see The Wallflowers in Kansas City the other night, and the show was amazing!  Yes, they made music after ‘One Head Light’ and most of it was just as good.  Check out these pics, notice the Super Reverb behind the electric player?  We’ve got two vintage Supers in stock right now, including a real 65 that sounds incredible, plus the new Fender Super 65 Reissue.

I couldn’t tell what kind of › Continue reading

Keeley Compressor - 4 Knob

The Keeley 4 Knob Compressor and the Pigtronix Philosopher’s Tone represent two entirely different “philosophies” if you will,  on what a compression pedal should do. The Keeley is all about subtlety and nuance.  While playing soft, the Keeley gives you room to add the subtle nuance that makes guitar playing great without squashing your signal to death.  It’s not until you really dig in… and dig in hard, that you start to hear the “ceiling” of Keeley’s compression.   You might not even really appreciate the pedal until you turn it off and realize how much it was improving your tone. I shall label this › Continue reading

Matt C, Jason, Eric and Matthew K rockin' the special Groshes

Tuesday morning Brent and Yoshi from Don Grosh Guitars stopped by Mass St. Music and brought some very cool one-off guitars and prototypes for show and tell (and some bagels). What a morning…more than anything else it just confirmed why we love these guitars – not only do they have incredible playability and tone but they are some of the coolest looking guitars around. In the photo below, John checks out the 293 – fully hollow. We’ve got a 193 in the store right now, and it’s phenomenal – come check it out while it’s still here.

John checks out the exquisite fully hollow Grosh 293

We also got a chance to check out the very first ElectraJet – › Continue reading

Ah spring! Incessant rain, purty flowers, hay fever and some cool new gear in the store. Here’s what we’ve been drooling over lately:

John Flynn - Don Grosh Retro Classic S Shape

This is a fantastic instrument and now that Birdseye necks are going to skyrocket in price, this is a great time to get one at the old price. This guitar plays and sounds amazing. Definitely a brighter “Robert Cray” type tone. The neck is super stiff and just has a great vintage feel about it and Don’s new pickups are just as amazing.

This Grosh has been taunting John - he can see it from his office

Isaac Flynn - Don Grosh Retro Classic S Shape

Like father, like son…Isaac had this to say on the RC, “It’s so easy to play, the Grosh pickups are the best I’ve heard, and the guitar just looks awesome!”

Eric Mardis - Ome Sweetgrass Banjo

This banjo is so gorgeous. The fit and finish are second to none, but the real payoff is when you put on some picks and let loose on this thing. Â The tone is bright without being an “icepick in the forehead.” Bright yes, but also full and pleasant at the same time. Â I’m truly impressed with this, our › Continue reading

Billions of pedals out there in the naked city - but what do musicians really use? In this new series we’ll take a look at what our own staff uses when gigging. First up, our accessory and guitar expert Matt Christenot:

The innards of Matt C's pedal board

I like a clean pedal board. It took a while to achieve, but with the help of a One Spot chain and custom cut George L cables, I was able to make it happen. I love the combo of the RC Booster and AC Booster - the RC is a perfect clean boost and light overdrive while the AC gives you great moderate to heavy gain - BUT used together, leaving the RC on, the AC sounds really phenomenal. They go together like peas and carrots. For a wah I’m using the Fulltone Clyde Wah that has had an LED light added by Keeley. Fortunately for me, they finished modding it before their workshop burned down. Speaking of Keeley, I also use their great Keeley Compressor - it’s one of the most subtle yet effective compressors - you almost don’t realize how much it’s doing for you til you turn it off.
› Continue reading