About Cal
I am Cal Whitaker, a guitarist and guitar teacher in Asheville, North Carolina. I bought my first electric at sixteen with money from a summer of mowing lawns, and I still have it, refretted twice and wearing a third set of tuners. Since then I have played in bar bands up and down the Blue Ridge, done a fair amount of session and pit work, and spent most weeknights of the last twenty years teaching lessons in the back room of a small music store downtown.
That back room is where this site happens. There is a bench along the wall where I set up and repair guitars for my students: fret levels, nut slots, pickup swaps, the works. Anything I review I read through with a repairer's eye: what is built in, what tends to fail, and what it costs to fix. I write down what the specs and the buyers tell me, not what the brochure says. Ratings cover six areas, and the overall score always takes the price and the intended player into account.
There is no shop and no brand behind me, and nobody touches a rating or a verdict but me.
How I work
Every piece of gear takes the same route: the build and setup from the specs, then what buyers report about the sound with a clean amp and with some gain, then how it holds up in lessons and gigs according to the people who own it. I take notes from the specs and the buyer feedback, not from the brochure. Scores cover six areas: tone, playability, build quality, versatility, hardware and value for money. The overall score weighs what the gear costs and who it is meant for. A $300 guitar is not held to the standard of a $3,000 one, but both have to deliver on their own promise.
Manufacturers and stores do not read anything before it is published.
Guitar Gear Reviews