N EWS
The new Del Fuego 21-watt head. It will also be available in 1x12 and 2x12 combos with Celestion G12H 30s or Blues.
Industry Pioneer George Lewis Dies
Premier Guitar is sad to announce that George
L. Lewis, industry pioneer and founder of
George L’s, has passed away. He died Friday,
May 22 at age 87 with his family by his side.
Lewis founded George L’s more than 30
years ago, introducing the world to the
notion that high-quality cables are an important part of good tone. A pioneer in making
high-end instrument cables available to a
broad range of musicians, George L’s was
one of the first companies to offer low-capacitance, easy-to-use cable kits. Lewis
had also been part-owner of GHS String Co.
and Sho-Bud Steel Guitar. He was a great
influence in the steel guitar community.
Lewis kept George L’s a family business
with the help of wife Mona and daughters
Kimberly and Lisa. The company is known
for a warm, family-style ethos that imbues all
aspects of its operations; anyone who visits
the company’s NAMM booth or telephones
the office is greeted with gracious hospitality.
Prior to his work in the musical instruments
industry, Lewis was a World War II veteran
who served his country on the USS West
Virginia and survived the Pearl Harbor attack.
Services were held on May 26 in Madison,
TN. The Lewis family asks that any donations be made to the Metro Christian School
Band Department: 730 Neely’s Bend Road,
Madison, TN 37115; phone number 615-868-
6674, extension 10. – RD & JC
George Lewis
Diamond Teams Up With
Blankenship Amps
Diamond Amplification has teamed with
Blankenship Amps to create a new line
of handwired class A Diamond amps.
Diamond will also take over production
of Blankenship’s line, which will retain the
Blankenship name.
Roy Blankenship will oversee the production
of the Blankenship line, as well as the new
Diamond line in Houston. Diamond owner
Jeff Diamant is quick to point out that they
have not changed anything on Blankenship
amps; all of the tubes, wiring and components will stay the same. Diamond’s line
will include “sister” products to existing
Blankenship amps.
The partnership began at Winter NAMM
this year and was announced exclusively
to Premier Guitar during our tour of the
Diamond factory in May. “I was a one man
operation. I had a wiring guy who worked
for me part time, and wearing all of the hats
was starting to get old,” said Blankenship.
Blankenship and Diamant were hooked up
through mutual acquaintances who suggested they meet. After sharing ideas at NAMM,
the partnership came to fruition. – RD
