Learn a Riff, Powers Electric Guitars, Benson The Amp

Guitar Practice

Let's Learn a Riff

Let's take a look at a way to navigate playing over iii vi ii V I Riff in the key of C.

Below, while a lot of the notes fit into the C Major Scale, we're really thinking about this on a chord-by-chord basis, and using some chromatic approach notes.

An approach note is typically a note a half step below or a half step above the note we're targeting.

For example if we're playing over G7, and want to target the G note, we could play a G# note that leads into (or resolves) to G.

Iii vii ii V I Riff

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Gear Showcase

Powers Electric Guitars A-Type

A fresh vision from Andy Powers, the mind behind Taylor Guitars.

Powers Electric Guitars is a boutique electric guitar company founded in 2023 by Andy Powers, the master builder and CEO of Taylor Guitars. After decades of designing some of the world’s most respected acoustic instruments, Powers set out to create something different—a new kind of electric guitar that combined craftsmanship, innovation, and a sense of individuality inspired by his Southern California roots. Influenced by surfboards, hot rods, and skate culture, Powers wanted his guitars to feel alive, modern, and personal, not just another take on a classic vintage design.

The company launched with a single model, the A-Type, which immediately stood out for its originality. Rather than using a traditional solid or semi-hollow construction, the A-Type features a trussed hollow-body design: a lightweight, fully enclosed body that resonates like an acoustic but resists feedback like a solid-body. The result is an instrument that feels responsive, open, and harmonically rich.

Every part of the A-Type was designed in-house at Powers Electric. The company created two original pickups—the PF42 (Partial Faraday) and FF42 (Full Faraday)—which deliver a wide tonal range from bright and articulate to warm and smooth. The unique CamTail vibrato system offers a fluid, natural feel that stays in tune, while other small details, like the knobs made from recycled surfboard resin and the custom bridge and hardware, use the same attention to design and character found in handmade instruments.

Playability was another major focus. The neck has a 24 7/8-inch scale length - very slightly longer than the traditional Gibson 24.75" scale length. The fretboard features an innovative split radius—rounder under the bass strings for comfortable chords and flatter under the treble strings for smoother leads. Together with contoured body edges and a balanced shape, the A-Type is built for both comfort and expression.

Each Powers Electric guitar is made in small batches in California, where Powers and his team oversee every detail. With its mix of modern engineering, thoughtful design, and handmade quality, Powers Electric represents a new chapter in the evolution of the electric guitar—one that celebrates creativity, craftsmanship, and a distinctly West Coast spirit.

Key Highlights

• The brand debuted in June 2023 with the model A-Type, a fully enclosed hollow-body electric guitar.
• Inspirations for the design come from Southern California’s surf, skate, car and music cultures—Andy Powers wanted a guitar “with a sound and feel that didn’t already exist.”
• Virtually every component on the A-Type is designed and made in-house: pickups, tailpiece (the “CamTail” vibrato system), knobs made from surf-board resin, etc.
• Construction features include reclaimed Urban Ash body wood, internal soundposts (to boost resonance & suppress feedback), an asymmetrical “split radius” fretboard, and bespoke hardware.
• Production is small-batch and limited; the instruments are positioned as premium, artisan-crafted guitars.

Check out Powers Electric

Website | Instagram | View Powers Electric guitars on Reverb

News & Notes 🗞️

• Benson Amps collaborated with Milkman Sound partnered with to create Benson The Amp. The amp which places the signature preamp from Chris' Chimera and Monarch amplifier models into a grab and go format.
• Heritage expanded it's Standard II collection to include updates the the H-535 and H-530 models. They feature a new slimmer neck, new pickups, a reworked headstock, and push/pull tone pots to enable series-parallel switching for single-coil brightness or full humbucker power on the H-535.
• Fender announced the California Standard Series of acoustic guitars. They feature a slim C-shaped neck, and Fender's classic 6-in-a-line headstock.
• Gibson announced a Noel Gallagher Signature Les Paul Standard in Ebony.
• Fender released a Johnny Marr Signature Jaguar. If features a maple neck based on Marr's 1965 Jaguar, with a custom profile, a 7.25"-radius rosewood fingerboard with 22 vintage-style frets, and dual custom-wound Bare Knuckle® Johnny Marr single-coil pickups.

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