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Live Gallery: Beach Bunny
August 25 2023
Despite the heat, Beach Bunny’s Pool Party was an epic fest. Here’s a creative recap of their show.
Live Gallery: Brent Faiyaz
August 4 2023
Check out FRET12’s recap of Brent Faiyaz’s two-night show at the Salt Shed.
From the Amp Room – Aluminati Guitars
August 3 2023
Welcoming a new world order in the manufacture of guitars.
Live Gallery: Real Estate
July 12 2023
A fitting end to a jam-packed weekend of live music, we were lucky enough to catch headliner Real Estate’s set to close out a stellar Square Roots festival. The Jersey-born indie rock band showed Chicago some love by performing several songs off of their 2014 record Atlas — an album partially recorded in Wilco’s Chicago studio, The Loft — as well as giving the hyped-up crowd an encore (festival curfews be damned).
Live Gallery: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard at The Salt Shed
June 13 2023
We felt the full force of the Aussie band during their three-day show at The Salt Shed. With face...
Live Gallery: Toro Y Moi at Pitchfork
June 5 2023
We got a chance to experience and document Toro Y Moi's good vibes at Pitchfork.
Live Gallery: Goth Babe
May 11 2023
Goth Babe and Yoke Lore gave us a taste of summer with their music and energy on stage. Here's a ...
Umbrella Vintage Grand Opening
May 8 2023
The new shop at The Salt Shed, the Umbrella Vintage, celebrated their Grand Opening Party last Thursday May 4th! We opened our shop and Amp Room to celebrate our vintage friends!! Check out the recap.
Live Gallery: Poppy Jean Crawford
April 28 2023
The L.A. musician, Poppy Jean Crawford, is on tour with Placebo. Here's a recap of her performance at The Salt Shed.
Live Gallery: Placebo
April 23 2023
The iconoclast British band Placebo took the Salt Shed by storm. Here's our live gallery recap.
Mark Tremonti Meet & Greet
March 7 2023
A day after the Alter Bridge show at the Riviera, Mark Tremonti joined us for a meet & greet at our FRET12 Shop. Here's a recap!
Live Gallery: Courtney Barnett
September 22 2022
Everyone loves Courtney Barnett. The crowd adores her, her opening acts gush over her kindn...
Live Gallery: Spirit of the Beehive
September 2 2022
We got a chance to shoot the always-amazing Spirit of the Beehive at Pitchfork Music Fest, and decided to treat the photos with an aesthetic that matches the band's uniquely destabilizing sound. They turned out great — see for yourself.
Live Gallery: Low At Pitchfork Fest
August 17 2022
With a discography that’s spanned decades and garnered universal acclaim, Low was alw...
Live Gallery: Dehd At Square Roots Fest
July 13 2022
Check out FRET12's photos of the killer three-piece Chicago band Dehd performing at Square Roots Fest in Lincoln Square.
5 Questions | A Radkey Interview
July 13 2022
Our full interview with Radkey at Chicago's Riot Fest. See what the Missouri punk band has to say about their influences, life on the road, and Regular Show.
OMG it’s an OMEC Teleport!
August 31 2021
Connect your guitar rig to your digital machines easier than ever before with this uniquely useful pedal that will “Teleport” a studio-quality audio interface into your rig!
Because your phone and computer don’t come with a ¼" jack.
Because your phone and computer don’t come with a ¼" jack.
O-la-la! Taking a look behind the scenes of where Ola Englund creates YouTube magic
May 18 2021
On this episode of Sonic Spaces, we’ll explore the ultimate heavy metal lair – the home of YouTube’s veritable viking: Ola Englund.
Weekly Riff from The Sound and The Story - Jacky Vincent playing "Good Girls, Bad Guys"
May 18 2021
This week seems to be flying by, so we thought it'd be fitting to showcase one of the fastest shredders in the world: Jacky Vincent performing his laser-precise solo from Falling In Reverse's "Good Girls Bad Guys"
Bridging (no pun intended) the gap between engineering and music
April 27 2021
This week, we’ll explore a wonderful relationship between Paul Reed Smith and John Mann- the man behind the hardware for the boutique guitars we know and love - it's a match that is ‘Mann-Made' in tone heaven!
Weekly Riff from The Sound and The Story - Alter Bridge - "Waters Rising"
April 22 2021
'Waters Rising' is the eighth song on Alter Bridge's fourth studio album "Fortress."
![This latest Mustang is a true micro [tone] machine!](http://stringthinglives.com/cdn/shop/articles/20210419_F12_StringThinkgs_00076_Fender_Mustang_Micro_Cover_R1_{width}x.jpg?v=1618860070)
![This latest Mustang is a true micro [tone] machine!](http://stringthinglives.com/cdn/shop/articles/20210419_F12_StringThinkgs_00076_Fender_Mustang_Micro_Cover_R1_1024x1024.jpg?v=1618860070)
This latest Mustang is a true micro [tone] machine!
April 19 2021
Let’s say you have the ultimate travel guitar, or perhaps you carry your #1 go-to guitar with you everywhere. That still begs the question: what amp can sound great, provide inspiring tones, and hopefully fit in your pocket or gig bag?
IN THE DARK with Jake Girton
April 16 2021
FRET12 proudly presents, the final episode of #InTheDark, filmed live at Pilsen's legendary Thalia Hall. This closing episode features pop punk guitarist and songwriter Jake Girton.
The PocketGuitar literally puts a guitar in your pocket!
April 9 2021
For years we’ve heard about travel guitars, folding guitars, portable guitars, and practice guitars. Is this new device from Aeroband the ultimate traveling guitar?
IN THE DARK with Brother John Kattke
April 2 2021
FRET12 proudly presents, the tenth episode of #InTheDark, at Pilsen's legendary Thalia Hall featuring blues guitarist Brother John Kattke from Chicago, IL.
Everything You Need To Know About EarthQuaker Pedals
March 30 2021
Love pedals? You’re going to love Earthquaker Devices!
Building boutique, artistic, and cutting-edge guitar effects pedals “one-at-a-time, by hand, the hard way, in the idyllic post-apocalyptic wasteland metropolis of Akron, Ohio, USA - where the soldering smoke blocks out the sun, and the fiery Cuyahoga River pumps white-hot liquid magma into the steam engine that powers our great riff factory in the sky.”
IN THE DARK with The Cold Gawd
March 26 2021
FRET12 proudly presents, the ninth episode of #InTheDark, at Pilsen's legendary Thalia Hall featuring Matt Wainwright aka COLD GAWD, from Rancho Cucamonga, CA.
Fender brings new meaning to the term acoustic/electric with their newest ACOUSTASONIC®!
March 22 2021
In a day and age where modelers let guitarists have countless combinations of amps and effects, Fender has put a new twist on combining the worlds of acoustic and electric guitar tones (and looks) with their all-new Acoustasonic Jazzmaster!
IN THE DARK with Shaun Kure
March 19 2021
FRET12 proudly presents, the eighth episode of #InTheDark, at Pilsen's legendary Thalia Hall featuring Shaun Kure - guitarist for pushpull from Chicago, IL.
Rest in Peace to one of the all-time greats - Henry Goldrich, gear purveyor to the rock gods
March 15 2021
When asked about playing music, Henry Goldrich (of Manny’s Music in NYC) often said: “I play cash register.” Learn more about one of the most beloved and well-known music stores in history in this week’s String Thing.
IN THE DARK with Julio Bonfante
March 12 2021
FRET12 proudly presents, the seventh episode of #InTheDark, at Pilsen's Thalia Hall featuring Julio Bonfante – lead guitarist of the up-and-coming band Cali Jewls, from Chicago IL.
A Half-Dozen NTS Episodes, Hand-Picked by FRET12 #02
March 9 2021
NTS Radio’s genre-agnostic approach to radio resonates deeply with our approach to the guitar and our belief that anyone can pick up a guitar and find their niche. We will continue to celebrate the broad range of styles and genres that the guitar can create, which is why we’ve hand-picked a half-dozen L.A.-based NTS episodes to share with you. 💥 ENJOY💥
IN THE DARK with Mike Zatezalo
March 5 2021
FRET12 proudly presents, the sixth episode of #InTheDark, filmed at Pilsen's legendary Thalia Hall featuring Mike Zatezalo from Chicago, IL - lead guitarist for Maiden Chicago (Iron Maiden Tribute), The Sam Cockrell Band, and Valius.
Give your guitar pedals the volts they need!
March 2 2021
Ernie Ball brings the power to your pedals in one of the lightest and smallest power supplies yet!
IN THE DARK with Dylan Lee
February 26 2021
FRET12 proudly presents, the fifth episode of IN THE DARK, at Pilsen's Thalia Hall featuring Dylan Lee-Fulcher from Chicago, IL.
FRET12 Reviews: Hughes & Kettner AMPMAN
February 23 2021
We’ve gone from PODs to AxeFXs to Kempers to Helix, all with a smattering of virtual amp sims and plug-ins. Hughes & Kettner is taking things to the next level by condensing the entire rig, speakers and all, into one small, flight-ready box.
Here’s a fresh new take on what may be the ultimate portable guitar rig — for only $400.
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