Guitarsite News
TC Electronic Flashback X4 Delay and Looper
Flashback X4 is the big brother of TC Electronic’s popular delay pedal, now with 12 delay types, four TonePrint slots and looper functionality. While maintaining its original color scheme and look, this bigger pedal brings requested features like preset handling and tap tempo. When a product is successful, manufacturers usually just stick with what is working. However TC Electronic thinks otherwise and continues to improve on the Flashback delay pedal, releasing various alterations to the original. The Flashback Delay X4 builds on the original design by adding more features that were requested. One obvious improvement of the X4 is its wide selection of studio quality delay, carrying 12 recreations of classic delay sounds including the popular 2290 Dynamic Digital delay and emulations of analog tape and tube delays. Another important change to the pedal is the addition of the requested feature – preset storage. This pedal lets you store your settings into three independent patches which you can quickly recall. With over 70 TonePrints available for the Flashback delay pedal, it was only natural that the X4 comes with more TonePrint storage. The pedal can handle up to 4 of these Artist created patches giving you real-time ability to switch
EHX 22500 Dual Stereo Looper – Summer NAMM 2015
EHX introduces the 22500 Dual Stereo Looper, a versatile looper with two independent loop tracks and built-in rhythm tracks. Related Feature:EHX NanoLooper 360 Thisl expands the company’s looper pedal lineup, giving you flexible control over two uncompressed audio tracks and modern versatility packed in the usual tank tough exterior expected from Electro-Harmonix. The EHX 22500 Dual Stereo Looper is a compact and more pedalboard friendly version of their 45000 looper, which retains the same mixer like appearance but with more knobs and footswitches for handsfree control. A notable feature of this pedal is the ability to play two recorded tracks in parallel or series, which you can toggle in real time. This will let you build your sonic textures with more control over the details as well as disengage a loop when no longer needed. This allows for more harmony and rhythm possibilities that can be changed in realtime to accommodate every section of your song. And with up to 12 hours of recording via the supplied 8GB SD card, the looping possibilities that you can do with this pedal is quite staggering. Because of its mixer like appearance, the 22500’s user interface is easy to understand and use. This
Roland Mobile AC – Acoustic Chorus Amp
The Roland Mobile AC is the smallest amplifier in Roland’s Acoustic Chorus series, it is a portable three channel amp for acoustic guitars. This mobile amp is around the same size as a regular lunchbox and its 5 Watt amplifier conveniently runs for 15 hours on 6 AA alkaline batteries. Being part of Roland’s Acoustic Chorus series, the Mobile AC is fine tuned for acoustic guitars and features the same Chorus effect found on its bigger amplifier siblings. Once you activate the built-in stereo chorus effect, it will make its two 4″ stereo speakers produce Roland’s famous swirling stereo chorus sound. You can Its small and compact form leaves very little room for controls, however Roland was able to put some essential effects and tone shaping knobs for beginners and even professionals to play with. Aside from the built-in chorus, the Mobile AC has a built-in reverb with a dedicated control knob, and it has a wide effect button that enhances the “stereo” image of your audio signal. Tone shaping is achieved by adjusting the Tone knob. While bigger practice amps come with just one input, this humble amp provides you with three inputs – one for your acoustic guitar,
Zexcoil T-bucker
The Zexcoil T-Bucker pickup is a noiseless bridge pickup for Telecaster style guitars, featuring PAF and single coil voicing. This versatile pickup can produce PAF and single coil tones, and it features Zexcoil’s unique one coil per string design. The T-Bucker expands Lawing Musical Products’ line of noise-free pickups. It is based on the “Juicy Bucker” pickup, with both single coil and humbucker tones in one easy to install single coil package. This pickup is straightforward drop-in replacement for the bridge pickups found on Telecaster style guitars. By default, this single-coil looking pickup will give PAF humbucker like tones. If you have a push/pull pot, you can utilize the pickups “Silent Split” feature, which gives you single coil sounds without the noise. The T-Bucker is essentially a T-style friendly version of the Juicy Bucker, featuring the same tone voicing technology. It reproduces the classic PAF sound without the unwanted noise, thanks to its efficient hum-cancelling design technology. The pickup does not utilize dummy coils or excessive shielding like others, instead it utilizes Zexcoil’s patent pending tone engineering technology to keep the noise at bay. Another cool feature of this pickup is that it has a very minimal, almost negligible string
New from BG Pups: Strat-Sized ‘S90’ P90 pickups in white
BG Pups Handwound Pickups and Bryan Gunsher, a Northern California maker of handmade-handwound electric guitar pickups, has announced the addition of white S90s to the lineup. Due to the overwelming response of the S90s the option to have the pickup made in white has been added. The “S90” pickup offers great authentic P90 tones in a strat sized package while still retaining some classic strat sounds. Great for rock, southern rock, blues, jazz and country. The tones are fat and full when clean and dirty up nicely under gain. The S90 is a very versatile pickup and covers quite a bit of ground tonally. This pickup uses top quality components and features dual ceramic 8 magnets, adjustable nickel pole screws, forbon fiber baseplate and is wax potted. This pickup now comes in black and white. This is a Press Release Related Article: Mojotone Quiet Coil Pickups
DiMarzio Mo’ Joe and Satch Track – Satriani Signature Pickups
DiMarzio latest demo video features guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani’s two signature pickups, the Mo’ Joe and Satch Track. DiMarzio Mo’ Joe Related Feature:John Petrucci Signature Pickups In this video, Satch showcased his two main pickups as installed on his signature guitar, and he also shared the stories behind their design and tone. The two pickups that shared the spotlight with Joe Satriani are the Satch Track singlecoil that he had positioned on the neck, and the Mo’ Joe humbucker that handles bridge position duties. As expected, the popular guitar teacher/wizard effortlessly put the two pickups into action, and masterfully explained in detail how the two pickups behave and sound like. Mo’ Joe After using the Fred bridge pickup for years, Joe asked DiMarzio for a hotter and bigger version to be used on his new Ibanez signature guitar. This resulted in the humbucker called Mo’ Joe which is tweaked to satisfy the tone and definition requirements of its namesake artist. As the name aptly suggests, it has more mojo and power than the Fred pickup while retaining clarity, dynamics, and harmonics. And since harmonics is a very big part of Joe’s playing style, this pickup have become a staple in
Mojotone Quiet Coil Pickups
Mojotone releases Quiet Coil, a new Strat style pickup that has the same look and tone without the noise. Related Feature:Guitar Pickups Explained This noise-canceling pickup features the exact same materials used on vintage single coils, so it does not have any modern PC boards and batteries, also it does not have stacked coils and other designs found on humbuckers. Quiet coil is an interesting approach to noiseless single coil pickups, aiming to stay true to classic single coil pickups in terms of look, feel and sound, and it does so without unwanted noise and 60-cycle hum. There are currently two available models, ’58 Quiet Coil and ’67 Quiet Coil, and as the name suggests, each one are based on vintage pickups built on the specific years mentioned. This means that the ’58 Quiet Coil, is a noiseless reproduction of the pickups found on old late ’50s era Stratocasters, while the ’67 Quiet Coil follow the late ’60s design and sound. Late ’50s era Strats are known for having a bright and airy tone, a popular example of this is Eric Johnson’s iconic sunburst Strat, which exhibits bell like clean tones that have become his signature sound. On the other
Guitar Pickups Explained
by Kurt Prange Passive (i.e. battery-free) electric guitar circuits are relatively simple and the possibilities for customization are endless. A basic understanding of pickups, potentiometers, capacitors and switches is all you need to get creative and take more control of your instrument’s voice on an electronic level. Where does the electric guitar signal come from? Pickups are transducers that convert the mechanical energy of a vibrating guitar string into electrical energy by way of electromagnetic induction. It is a fundamental concept studied in physics and electronics that a changing magnetic field will generate a current through a coil of wire. The electric guitar pickup uses permanent magnets and pole pieces to form a steady magnetic field in the vicinity of each individual guitar string. An opposite magnetic polarity is induced in the metallic (steel core) guitar string when mounted above its respective pole piece and when the string moves, the otherwise steady magnetic field changes accordingly. Wire is wrapped around the poles thousands of times to form a coil within the magnetic field to pick up an induced current and voltage. The output signal from the pickups is AC (alternating current) because the direction of the current alternates, producing a
Keeley DynaTrem
The Keeley Electronics Dynatrem is a new tremolo pedal that is designed to be dynamic and responsive to your playing. Related Feature:Keeley Sojourner Fuzz Verb This pedal has three modes that expand the sonic possibilities that you can get from a tremolo pedal, one of the modes even allow you to change effect settings by simply playing hard or soft. Keeley Electronics designed the DynaTrem to be more than just a conventional pedal, and describes it as a creative tool for shaping your sound in a way that’s natural. According to the press release, “The Keeley team has created a neo-vintage voiced tremolo that has two dynamic modes of operation. No longer are guitar players stuck with setting a fixed rate or depth, they now have the ability to control the pedal with just their playing style.” It’s most notable feature is the three mode switch that lets you vary the way the pedal behaves depending on your playing. The first mode is called Dynamic Depth, and this is where the pedal becomes input sensitive to your playing, adjusting the depth setting based on the volume changes of your guitar signal. This can be controlled by adjusting attack strength and
Blackstar ID:Core Guitar Amplifiers
Blackstar targets the entry level market with their new ID:Core series, featuring built-in amp and effects modeling plus stereo sound for music playback. Related Feature:Blackstar LT Pedals Three models are currently available – the ID:Core 10, ID:Core 20, and ID:Core 40 – all packed with features and priced competitively. At first glance, the top mounted controls look simplistic and straightforward, but closer inspection will show that the knobs and buttons were designed to allow for a wide range of tones and effects. The controls are designed to be intuitive to make tone shaping a pleasing experience for both beginners, while offering enough depth for experienced players. Tone shaping is achieved via two knobs, the Voice, ISF and Gain knob. The Voice control lets you sweep between six different voices that include Clean Warm, Clean Bright, Crunch, Super Crunch, OD 1, OD 2. This works in conjunction with Blackstar’s patented ISF (Infinite Shape Feature) knob, that provides pre-configured EQ as you turn the knob. When used together, the two knobs will help you find the sound you want, be it American or British style tones. The Gain knob lets you control the amount of gain which varies depending on your Voice
Blackstar is now shipping the HT-1 Tube Amp
The HT-1 series is Available in a 1 x 8″ combo, either with or without stereo digital reverb, or head with reverb configuration. [HT-1RH Stack – Click to Enlarge] Here’s the official announcement: It packs all the tone and innovative features of the award-winning HT-5 tube amp into a 1-Watt format. The patent-applied-for ISF (Infinite Shape Feature) circuit offers infinite adjustment over the characteristics of the tone control network, enabling players to design their own tone to fit “the sound in their head” — taking them from the U.S.A. to the U.K. and anywhere in between. For home and studio use, this new amp delivers a full, toneful sound even at the lowest volume level, via Blackstar’s brand new tube power amplifier topology. The HT-1 power amplifier features a low powered push-pull design, which produces the crunch and break-up characteristics of a traditional 100-Watt output stage but at a much lower volume. This is achieved by the use of an ECC82 dual triode in push-pull configuration producing 1-Watt output, which is rich in tube harmonics and compression. The HT-1 also has a state-of-the-art speaker emulated output for studio use, providing desirable tube tone straight to tape or disk, or through
Blackstar Tone:Link Bluetooth Dongle
Blackstar introduces Tone:Link, a Bluetooth audio receiver that adds wireless connectivity to amps with line-in ports. Related Feature:Guitar Amps for Under $200 This device plugs into line-in ports conveniently, upgrading any amplifier to have Bluetooth audio compatibility. It gives your amp the ability to have up to 65 feet of wireless range so you can play your favorite tracks untethered without the need for any modifications. This Bluetooth dongle was designed by Blackstar with modern convenience in mind, specially since guitar amplifier manufacturers have not been quick enough to adapt Bluetooth technology into their designs. Tone:Link is especially useful if you have older amps, specifically if you want the convenience of wireless technology but you don’t want to part with your favorite old school tube amplifier. Because you can just plug-it in and out, it offers a modular solution that gives you wireless audio connectivity without interfering with original design and form of your existing amplifier. If you’re familiar with Bluetooth technology, you can appreciate its impressive data transfer capability which translates to great and clear sounding audio. And since this technology comes standard with modern day computers, you can wirelessly connect your amp to your phone, tablet, laptop or
Jam with Tom Petty double DVD and CD set from Lick Library
This is the latest guitar tuition DVD from Lick Library. This is a Press Release: Lick Library continues to launch a wide and varied range of Guitar Tuition DVDs and their latest product further extends their catalogue with the new Jam with Tom Petty double DVD and CD set. The new DVD features over three hours of guitar workshop tutorials in a collection of classic Tom Petty tracks that covers a period of over fifteen years of solo and Heartbreakers music brought to you by top guitar tutor Danny Gill. Also included is a CD of professionally recorded guitar jam tracks for each song allowing you to play along with a full session band! Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers are acknowledged as a world-class outfit whose members are able to blend an array of musical styles and create their own distinctive sound in the process. The bands virtuoso guitarist Mike Campbell has been the back bone of these magical pieces of music. He is noted for his ability to play incredibly melodic tunes whilst never wasting a note, often using two or three strings at a time instead of the more conventional one string at a time. Jam with Tom
Tom Petty is offering $7500 for Stolen Guitars
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are hoping to retrieve their five stolen guitars with the reward money. Tom’s 1967 Rickenbacker 360/12 (Serial GH 3747) The $7500 reward is offered with no questions asked to anyone with information leading to the recovery of their precious instruments. The theft happened at a soundstage at the Culver Studios in Los Angeles. They have been rehearsing at the said studio in preparation for their 2012 North America-Europe tour which is to begin within this week. The most prominent among the stolen guitars is Tom’s 12 string Rickenbacker – a guitar brand that he himself helped made popular. To help out Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, we have put up identifying pictures (the one posted as Ron’s broadcaster is actually Mike’s – just for reference) as displayed on his webite. Do keep your eyes out for these stolen guitars: Scott’s 1967 Epiphone Sheridan Dusenberg Mike Campbell Tom’s 1965 Gibson SG TV Junior Ron’s Fender Broadcaster Should you find these guitars or have any information that may lead to their recovery, you can contact Tom and his band by sending an e-mail to [email protected]. Update: Guitars were recovered! After a few days, the Culver City Police
Tips for Beginning With Slide Guitar
If you’re having trouble getting into slide guitar then these tips will prove useful… Related Feature:Guide to the Best Guitar Slides Question: Do you have any suggestions for playing slide guitar? I’ve tried over and over, but I’m just not getting it! Answer: There are a few very important guidelines to work with. First, be aware that the heavier your strings are, the easier it will be to get a good slide sound. Playing slide with super-light strings is not impossible, but it is much more difficult to get a good sound, and also harder to prevent the slide from knocking onto the fingerboard. It’s also easier to play slide on a guitar with higher action. You’ll notice that pros usually have one guitar specifically set up for playing slide. Next, make sure your slide is the right size for you. It should feel comfortable, not too tight, not too loose. If you can start out learning with the slide on your pinkie finger, you will still have playability from the rest of your hand while wearing the slide. Some players prefer their ring finger, as it has more strength and better aim, but if you start with your pinkie,
Catalinbread Galileo Pedal – Brian May Sound?
Galileo is Catalinbread’s latest overdrive pedal, combining the CB30 and Naga Viper pedal into a unit aims to churn out Brian May’s modified Vox AC30 tone. This pedal was born out of the combined idea of Pro Guitar Shop and Catalinbread, which ended up aiming to mimic the classic tone of Queen’s iconic guitarist. The Galileo pedal takes the best elements from Catalinbread’s popular pedals. It is comparable to a hot-rodded version of the CB30 pedal, with an additional fine tuned treble boost, based on the circuitry of their Naga Viper pedal. According to Catalinbread, the combined overdrive and treble boost aims to provide you with a tone that is similar to that of Brian May’s wall of modified Vox AC30 amps. Instead of just describing the tone, Catalinbread has uploaded a couple of demo videos so you can judge the tone for yourself. Does it capture Brian May’s sought after tone? You be the judge: The Galileo pedal provides you with simple controls knobs so you won’t get lost in setting up. You get basic equalizer control via the Treble and Bass knobs, and you also get to control the output via the Volume knob. Further tone shaping is
Catalinbread Callisto Chorus/Vibrato
Catalinbread unveils the Callisto Chorus/Vibrato pedal, a compact pedal with MN3007 Bucket Brigade chip at its core. Bucket brigade design implies that your guitar signal passes along a chain of capacitors instead of being digitally processed, this lets the Callisto produce a warmer analog tone. Catalinbread designed this pedal to be simple and intuitive while still being flexible enough to provide various chorus and vibrato sounds. It is said that you can produce a wide range of chorus effects, from subtle and shimmery to rotary speaker-like, up to exaggerated warble sounds. The pedals flexibility is controlled by its Density knob, it lets you adjust the delay line time into your preferred setting. Another important control parameter is the Mix knob, which lets you dial in your chorus or pitch vibrato settings from dry to completely wet. Other controls are the Width knob, which controls the sweep depth of the chorus effect, and the Rate knob which can go from syrupy slow to ring-mod like intensity. Catalinbread assures that the Callisto has true bypass and is built using quality components. They used old school MN3007 bucket brigade chip, the same ones found on early chorus pedals, and they used an audiophile
Catalinbread Karma Suture Pedal
Catalinbread unveils the new Karma Suture, a pedal that sustains as it generates even-order harmonic distortion. Related Feature:Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret This versatile harmonic generator utilizes a NOS Russian PNP germanium transistor, an NPN silicon transistor, a germanium diode and a silicon diode, allowing for a wide range of harmonically rich overdriven tones. Because of its harmonic properties, you can use the new Karma Suture as a fuzz, overdrive, or booster pedal. You can plug it straight to your amp or chain it to your existing set of effects. This pedal is inspired by the famous Harmonic Percolator and Catalinbread didn’t just settle for a clone. They expanded the potential of the Percolator circuit by equipping the pedal with Density and Diodes control knobs, which took them months of fine-tuning to finally get the sound they wanted – “a drive pedal that generates predominantly even-order harmonic distortion that sustains while harmonics bubble up”. According to the brand, the resulting tone features improved note clarity compared to regular dirt and boost pedals, even at high-gain settings. With the Karma Suture, complex chords will ring articulately regardless of dirt applied. This means that you can use the pedal as your main effect
Catalinbread Echorec
Catalinbread introduces its latest pedal, the Echorec, giving you the sound of analog magnetic drum echo in a compact and modern package. The pedal is based on the Binson Echorec, a tube echo with 4 playback heads and a spinning magnetic drum made famous by Pink Floyd. The Catalinbread Echorec is designed to faithfully emulate the effect that was used on Pink Floyd hits like Echoes, Time and Interstellar Overdrive. Catalinbread did not stop at just mimicking, they improved on the original by giving it a modern and reliable build as well as a Delay Time control that gives you a full second of sweep compared to the original’s 300 milliseconds. A wealth of front panel controls offer detailed contouring of your sound. You can adjust the Mix, Swell, Tone, Delay Time and pick from different preset Programs. The mix knob lets you set the dry/effect ratio, the swell knob gives you control over feedback repeats and the tone control lets you shape the sound. The 12-way program select control lets you pick the sound of playback head 1 and all the possible combinations of playback head 2, 3 and 4. Aside from these controls, the Echorec features an internal
Catalinbread Adineko Oil Can Delay
Catalinbread introduces the new Adineko Oil Can Delay pedal, based on oil can echo units from the ’60s. Related Feature:Catalinbread Topanga Spring Reverb This delay pedal comes with an artificially aged look, complete with weathering effects and stains, all of which match the murky warble of its vintage echo tone. This pedal mimics the unique behavior of old “oil can” echo units, specifically how their echo characteristics seem to change at random, where every unit has a subtly different echo, and even the same unit seem to change over time. The story goes that Catalinbread started working on an oil can delay pedal back in the summer of 2012, around the same time when they were working on the Echorec. Now years after, they finally got the bright yet dark sounding echo with vibrato modulation packed inside the Adineko Oil Can Delay pedal. Catalinbread says, “As we always strive to do when making something old, new again, we want to honor the old experience and expand upon it.” Instead of being stuck to just one setting, you get varying levels of murky warble as found on old echo units, all you have to do is tweak the Viscosity knob. Being