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Archive for the ‘gear reviews’ Category

First Impressions: Reason Amps Bambino

Posted in 6AQ5, amplifiers, amps, Amps/Amplification, announcements, buying gear, GAS, gear, gear announcements, gear reviews, guitar, guitar gear, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new gear, reason amps, reason bambino, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 24, 2009| 1 Comment »

Reason Amps BambinoWhat three word phrase begins with an “O” and ends with an exclamation mark (!)? You guessed it, OH MY GOD! That was my reaction when I first turned on the Reason Bambino I got for review today. For the unfamiliar, the Bambino is Reason’s brand-new entry into the sub-10 Watt amp market, and if this little monster doesn’t make a big splash, I’ll be very disappointed!

I won’t go in-depth into the features since I covered those in my recent pre-release announcement, but the Bambino is simply a miniaturized version of the Reason family of amps, sporting three modes: Normal, Bright, and Stack. Stack Mode ROCKS folks, as it runs the Normal and Bright channels in series, adds an extra gain stage, while retaining full EQ control over the individual channels. Can you say, “High Gain?” 🙂 The volume knob on Channel 1 is a push-pull fat booster, while the volume knob on Channel 2 is a treble booster to add top-end sparkle. And of course, the Bambino is powered by two 6AQ5 power tubes. But enough of the features…

I opened up the shipping box and pulled out the amp to find a Navy Blue Levant tolex-covered amp. I just smiled as that is the exact color of my Aracom Amps! Talk about matching a set (though I don’t get to keep this eval model)! I’ve been so excited to get this amp as I’ve known about it for months, and couldn’t say a word about it. So despite the fact that I just finished a 4-hour solo gig tonight, how could I not open it up and try it out!

So I checked the tubes to see if they got unseated during shipping (they were fine), hooked it up, plugged in my Strat, and being that it was 10:30pm, switched the amp to 1 Watt mode (it’s switchable between 7 Watts and 1 Watt). I put the amp in Stack Mode, cranked the two channel volumes, turned the amp on, and got the Stack Mode volume to a reasonable level; that is, loud enough to move a bit of air but soft enough so as not to wake the neighbors (my studio is in my garage).

I struck an A chord on the fifth fret, and almost jumped out of my shoes! I could not believe what I was hearing! As expected, like all Reason amps, the Bambino is brightly voiced. But the 6AQ5 has a sound all its own. The overdrive tone is sizzling, with a nice, open character, incredible touch-sensitivity and dynamics, but it’s amazingly smooth at the same time. I liken that type of overdrive to the way 6V6’s break up, but the Bambino with its 6AQ5’s has a tone that is wholly unique! I LOVE IT!!! I did a few legato runs, and tested out the sustain and feedback. All I can say is that I was totally blown away! And I got this tone running the amp at bedroom levels in ONE FREAKIN’ WATT MODE!!!

Now, before you go thinking that 1 Watt doesn’t seem like a lot. In amp vernacular, it’s not much at all. But from an audio perspective, a 1 Watt amp running through a 1 X 12 speaker is as loud as a jack-hammer! That’s where the Stack Mode Volume comes into play as it is a PPIMV (Post Phase Inverter Master Volume), which effectively controls the amount of signal going into the power amp. At the volume I was running at, I was probably down to 1/2 or maybe even a 1/4 Watt, and that was at about loud conversation level.

But the gain that I was getting in Stack Mode was plenty for my needs, and as a home studio recording amp, being able to get that kind of tone without needing an attenuator, is incredible! I do have to say, that if I really want to take advantage of the third gain stage, I’d have to run the amp through an attenuator. Even at 1 Watt, with Stack volume cranked, it’s very loud, and that’s a testament to Obeid Kahn’s genius with power management.

As far as cleans are concerned, from what I can perceive with my Strat, the tone sits between an EL-84 and a 6V6 clean tone. It’s not as glassy as an EL-84 clean, and not as rich as a 6V6 clean. But what I like is that the clean tone has a real nice three-dimensional quality about it. There’s nothing flat about the cleans this amp produces. Adding just a touch of reverb accentuates this quality. It’s pure ear candy. While I love high-gain, to me, the real test of the amp is how it sounds clean. From that perspective, the Bambino totally delivers!

It’s almost midnight, I’m incredibly exhausted, but I have to play a little more before I turn in. So, in summary, my first impression of this amp is that it KICKS F-IN ASS! I haven’t even begun to explore all its features like its balanced line out (can’t wait to re-amp this with my Aracom VRX22 or do direct recording). All I know is that this is one special amp, and one that I am definitely adding to my collection! It’s a no-brainer at $699 for a hand-wired, US-made amp. Like the Aracoms amps that I love so dearly, I’ll take this amp over any name brand boutique amp out there!

Check out my review of the Reason Amps Bambino

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Gear Review: IK Multimedia Amplitube Fender Studio

Posted in AmpliTube, amplitube fender, amps, Amps/Amplification, announcements, buying gear, fender, GAS, gear, gear announcements, gear reviews, guitar, guitar gear, guitar reviews, guitarists, Guitars, IK Multimedia, Music, musicians, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 14, 2009| 3 Comments »

5 Tone Bones - Gear has stellar performance, value, and quality. This is definitely top of the class, best of breed, and it's a no-brainer to add this to your gear lineup!
fenderstudio		 IK Multimedia Amplitube Fender Studio

Summary: Need a quick, portable way to get your guitar ideas down on track, with an incredibly easy-to-use USB interface for performing live through software models? Look no further. Amplitube Fender Studio will get you rocking in minutes!

Pros: The inclusion of Fender Studio SE, RiffWorks T4 and Amplitube X-Gear, provide you with a full-featured experience to develop and track your song ideas, and are well worth the price of admission!

Cons: None.

Amplitube Fender Studio Package:

StealthPlug Features:

  • 9’/2,5m length cable with integrated audio interface
  • 1/4” jack connector MONO IN
  • 1/8” mini-jack Headphone STEREO OUT (suitable also for Amp/Powered Speaker OUT)
  • USB 1.0/2.0 connector
  • Activity LED
  • Volume UP/DOWN buttons
  • USB bus powered
  • 16 bit A/D -D/A converter
  • 44KHz/48KHz Sampling Frequency
  • Ultra-low latency ASIO and Core Audio Drivers
  • Hi-Z direct Guitar and Bass-IN (suitable for any instrument with line out also)

Price: $99.99 (street)

Tone Bone Score: 5.0. Being constantly on the go as I am it can get frustrating having to wait all day to get a riff or song idea down. With the Amplitube Fender Studio, I can quickly hook up my axe, switch on my laptop, and get an idea down before I lose it!

I’ve been getting some pretty cool gear and software from IK Multimedia as of late, and so far, I’ve been nothing short of impressed with what I’ve evaluated. I totally dug AmpliTube Fender, and the StealthPedal blew me away with its high-fidelity signal processing. So it was with great anticipation that I’d do a review of Amplitube Fender Studio with the StealthPlug. I wasn’t disappointed in the least!

Amplitube Fender Studio: Be Anywhere, Record Your Axe Anywhere

I received AmpliTube Fender Studio with the included StealthPlug a few days ago (it’s always nice to come home to find a delivery box), immediately opened the box, plugged the StealthPlug into the USB port of my laptop, plugged my headset into the StealthPlug, fired up AmpliTube X-Gear, chose an amp, and started to play. Just as I expected, the device worked as advertised; and also as I expected, it worked with practically no latency. I immediately thought, “Man, I could gig with this…” But I’m jumping ahead… As fortune would have it, I could only spend a few minutes playing as I had to leave, so I unhooked everything and placed the StealthPlug in the pocket of my gig bag.

This morning, I loaded up my axe into my car, wanting to practice a little at lunchtime, as my work has kept me from playing regularly for the last several days. As I was driving into work, just letting my mind wander as I traveled down the freeway, out of nowhere I got a song idea. I played it over in my head for a few minutes, then anguished a bit because like many song ideas I’ve had in the past, I would have to wait until I got home to get the idea tracked; more often than not, by the time I got home, I’d lose the idea. Then I remembered that I had put the StealthPlug in my gig bag!

I immediately exited at the next exit and found a good place to park. I jumped out of the car, with laptop in hand, opened up my rear hatch, pulled my axe and the StealthPlug out of my gig bag, hooked up to my laptop, opened up GarageBand, created a new track, and hit record. I had the song idea down in less than five minutes. Sorry, I’m still working on the song, so I don’t have a clip. But the point of this is that the StealthPlug enabled me to get my song idea down soon after I got the idea. It meant that the idea didn’t get relegated to another “one that got away.”

Performance

I needn’t go into any diatribe of the StealthPlug’s fit and finish nor how it sounds. How it sounds is based upon what amp and effect models you apply in your software. But here’s one thing I did notice, and it’s a huge thing: I could barely detect any latency at all while I played through the StealthPlug, even when recording in GarageBand, which can be a real resource pig. That kind of instantaneous response is absolutely to die for! I suppose the near-zero latency of the StealthPlug probably has a lot to do with the simplicity of the signal route. It’s a USB cable, for goodness’ sake! But that bodes well for using the StealthPlug in a live situation. I’ve often wanted to use my computer in a live situation using nothing but software models for amps; especially in my church gig where controlling output volume is essential. The only thing that has kept me from doing this is latency. Even tiny amounts of latency can throw you off while you’re playing. But with the StealthPlug’s near-zero latency, I think I’m going to have to give it a go.

Funny thing, I perused the web for other reviews, and all seemed to have a much more tepid response to this wonderful piece of gear; especially with respect to latency. Mind you, I have 4 GB RAM in my Mac, so that probably has a lot to do with my lack of latency, since the computer rarely has to go to the hard drive once things are loaded.

Another thing I tried with the StealthPlug was running it from my pedal board, to see how it would react, and see how the amp models I have on my laptop would react. After tweaking some levels, I was amazed at how well it worked! Admittedly, the tone produced seemed a little thin in the highs, but a little EQ to boost the highs remedied that right quick. But there are other ways to employ the StealthPlug. Here a few ways you can use it.

Amplitube Fender Studio: It Simply KICKS ASS!

So I’ve established that I dig the StealthPlug… On a standalone basis, I’d give it a 5.0 Tone Bone score by itself because of the effect it had on my songwriting, but used within the context of the included Fender Studio software well, the whole package gets a 5.0! And it’s due to a little software package called Riffworks T4 that’s included with Fender Studio. I had heard of Riffworks by following Todd Rundgren who recorded his latest “Arena” album using the full version of this software.

Basically, Riffworks, as the name implies, is a software where you can create layered riff loops. Unlike programs like GarageBand or Ableton or the like, you construct songs in Riffworks by linking together riff loops that you can create. I won’t go into a lot of detail about it here, but I will say that it makes songwriting very very easy. For those of you familiar with digital recording, riffs are built using a “loop recording” methodology; that is, a phrase is played over and over again with a new “layer” added with each iteration of the loop. It’Add to the fact that Fender Studio and X-Gear or whatever amp plug-in you have on your computer is readily available in the software, and creating music is absolute freakin’ breeze. Here’s a clip that I recorded just a few minutes ago using Riffworks with Fender Studio:

For the rhythm part, I used ’59 Bassman model, then applied a Riffworks Filter and Shaper to it to give it that “vibey” sound. For the lead, I used driven ’57 Deluxe model. But for this, I ran my guitar into my pedalboard first, then into the StealthPlug. I only used a single pedal, and that’s my beloved Tone Freak Effects Abunai 2 to add some slightly compressed and sustaining overdrive to the signal. The result was magnificent!

Once I was done with recording in RiffWorks, I outputted the clip to a WAV file, then imported it into GarageBand, so I could add a bassline. If I had a bass handy, I could’ve done everything in RiffWorks, but alas, I can only use MIDI for now. But here’s the cool thing: The StealthPlug was my only audio interface into my computer! How incredible is that? And I just had my headphone attached to the StealthPlug, and it all worked amazingly well. Talk about having a portable studio! All I need is a couple of guitars, the StealthPlug and my laptop! Save the guitars, all I need will fit into my laptop bag. Granted, I wouldn’t have access to my pedalboard if I was on the road, but adding effect plug-ins to Amplitube if I need them is not a problem.

Overall Impressions

Amazingly enough, response to the StealthPlug has been just okay… Not sure what that’s all about. But for me, I have a recording solution wherever I go. I don’t need to bring amps, just my laptop and a couple of guitars when I want to get away for a remote songwriting adventure. And RiffWorks plus Amplitube gives me everything I need!

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Gear Review: Peterson VS-R StroboRack

Posted in buying gear, DigiTech, distortion, effect pedals, fender, GarageBand, GAS, gear, gear announcements, gear reviews, guitar, guitar gear, guitar reviews, guitarists, Guitars, Miscellaneous, modes, Music, music theory, musicians, new gear, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on June 24, 2009| 2 Comments »

5 Tone Bones - Gear has stellar performance, value, and quality. This is definitely top of the class, best of breed, and it's a no-brainer to add this to your gear lineup!
stroborack		 Peterson VS-R StroboRack

Summary: Super-accurate, super-sophisticated, yet super-easy-to-use. With point-one cent accuracy and built-in temperament and sweeteners, plus a huge display, accurate tuning is a breeze with this unit!

Pros: The big display makes tuning extremely easy, and the built-in sweeteners (I’ll get into that in a bit) ensure that once you’re tuned you sound great.

Cons: None, at least from the standpoint of features and capabilities. But as I’m not really a rackmount guy, lugging this around would mean having to get an enclosure. But in the studio, IT IS THE BOMB!!!

Features:

  • 0.1 Cent Accuracy
  • Large, Backlit Virtual Strobe™ Display
  • Exclusive Sweetened™ Tunings For Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Dobro®, Baritone, Steel Guitar, Electric Violin- total of 34
  • Buzz Feiten Tuning System® Presets
  • 8 User-Programmable Sweeteners
  • 25 Presets
  • Built-In Mic
  • Mute Button & Remote Jack
  • Tone Out Jack
  • All Metal Construction
  • Neutrik® Jacks
  • 12V BNC Output For Gooseneck Light (not included)
  • Built-In Power Supply (No Wall Wart.)

Price: $359 (street)

Tone Bone Score: 5.0. I’ve used a lot of tuners, and this by far is the most accurate I’ve ever used. Despite it being a rackmount, my use of it in the studio has proven

I used to never be into rackmount gear, let alone sophisticated tuning equipment. But the Peterson StroboRack has me reconsidering both those things, especially in my workshop/studio where tuning accuracy is incredibly important.

I received the StroboRack a few days ago, and since I set it up (which required all of two minutes to plug in the cords), I can see why so many people love these tuners. It’s a completely different way to tune an instrument. Instead of lining up a needle or LED, or even using the “strobe” effect on a TU-2, you tune by making the “checkerboard” pattern on the LCD stop moving. If it moves the left, you’re flat. If it moves to the right, you’re sharp.

Tuning with one of these things does take a little getting used to. First off, I had to really lighten my touch with the tuning keys, and also had to make sure I didn’t put any pressure on the neck. At .1 cent accuracy, even a slight pressure throws off the tuning. But once I got used to it, tuning was a breeze!

Do you take sugar with that?

The StroboRack includes what are called “sweeteners” for specific types of instruments. I’m not sure I understand this idea completely, but it has to do with setting the right intervals between notes – compensating for the type of instrument – so that the tuned instrument doesn’t just sound great tuned up, but when you actually chords, the chords are much more tonally accurate. Apparently a lot of math goes into calculating these sweeteners.

All I can say is that my guitars tuned up with the StroboRack, actually sound better than when tuned up with my little TU-2. It probably has a lot to do with the high degree of accuracy, but I have a feeling it has a lot to do with the “GTR” sweetener. For instance, I did an A/B comparison of tuning with the StroboRack vs. my TU-2. I took my time to get the most accurate tuning I could with both tuners. When I struck an E chord after tuning up with my TU-2, I had to make a couple of minor adjustments to my G and B strings – it wasn’t that the chord sounded bad, it just seemed to sound a bit “off.”

On the other hand, the E chord struck after tuning with the StroboRack with the GTR sweetener engaged sounded absolutely right on!

Fit and Finish

The StroboRack is encased in a nice, heavy-duty aluminum casing. It is really built like a tank, so I have no doubts that it could survive the rigors of the road. But I do advise getting an enclosure for it. It’s still a precision instrument, and should be handled with some care.

Overall Impressions

To say The Dawg digs this unit is an absolute understatement! Last night, I used it to set the intonation on a new guitar I got, and I have to tell you, the big display and scrolling checkerboard really made it easy. I know, a lot of folks would say, “But it’s just a tuner.” Well yeah… but the accuracy it affords you – especially you tone freaks out there – just can’t be beat. This is a unit that I will definitely be adding to my rig!

At $359 street, it’s not a cheap proposition by any means, but hell! We gear sluts spend tons of money each year on gadgets to make us sound better. One would think that sounding better also means being in tune. Of course, Peterson has several other tuners, like the StroboStomp that doesn’t have all the features of the rack unit, but it uses the same “Virtual Strobe Technology” as the StroboRack, so you know you’ll get the accuracy you need.

Mind you, I didn’t try out all the other features like outputting to two outputs, which is pretty cool, or using the XLR jack to go into a board. Those are great features, but frankly, they’re secondary to what’s important with this unit: Accurate tuning.

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SCORE!!! A Fernandes Late 80’s MIJ for $100!

Posted in buying gear, GAS, gear, gear find, gear reviews, guitar, guitar gear, guitar reviews, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new gear, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 22, 2009| 15 Comments »

There are some things in life that you just can’t pass up. About a week ago, my friend Jeff Aragaki of Aracom Amps mentioned people finding great vintage gear in pawn shops. I kind of stored that tidbit away for future reference, mainly because there aren’t any pawn shops really close to where I live. But today, I happened to park in front of a pawn shop (I work about 20 miles from where I live), and after lunch, on a whim, decided to go in. This was a little pawn shop that mostly specialized in jewelry, but they had a number of amps and guitars as well.

I wasn’t overwhelmed by the selection of gear; mostly no-name brands that I had never heard of, and as far amps were concerned, cheapo solid-state practice amps. But tucked in behind some guitars was a Fernandes Strat-copy that caught my eye. It had a nice, white finish with a maple neck (I LOVE maple necks), and it was obviously well-used from where I could see it. The shop owner walked up, and I asked to inspect the guitar. I was really impressed by the workmanship. I had heard of Fernandes guitars being very high-quality for a great price, but upon seeing the workmanship up close for the first time, I was very impressed. And even though this guitar was well-used, I could tell it was taken care of because of only minor scratches and dings on the body.

The tag on the guitar said it was for sale for $115 (sorry… if you came from the gear page, I mistakenly listed it at $125), and I asked if she’d take $100 including tax, and she agreed. Unfortunately, they didn’t take plastic in any form, so I had to decline on the guitar. But that was a good thing because it gave me some time to do some research. From what I could glean, this Strat-copy is a late-80’s (’86 and later) model of this guitar. What’s ultra-cool about this one is that it’s pure white. Almost all the pictures I saw today of late-80’s Fernandes Strat-copies were either tobacco burst or a solid that was other than white. This made the guitar a bit more unique. This was confirmed by a former Fernandes endorser that I hooked up with on The Gear Page.

In any case, I got this guitar for a steal!!! I’m going to fix it up, swap out pickups, give it a good cleaning and setup. Don’t know if I’m going to keep it, but no matter. It was a great deal!

So if you have a chance, take a peak into a pawn shop sometime. Oh wait! Another place you could look is at estate sales. A few years ago, I met an older gentleman and acoustic guitarist who SCORED a 1940’s Martin for a couple of hundred bucks at an estate sale, and had it appraised at around forty-grand! Amazing! Talk about a steal!

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A Great Roland Cube 80x Demo

Posted in amps, Amps/Amplification, announcements, gear reviews, guitar gear, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new gear, Roland Cube 80x, Tone, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 9, 2009| 1 Comment »

I was sniffing around the Internet for some juicy tidbits of information, and ran across a great demo by Johnny Demarco demonstrating the various capabilities of this awesome amp! I have a Cube 60, and this amp totally kicks its ass with built-in tap tempo delay, a looper, and 10 amp models. I’ve always contended that the Cubes are just fantastic amps, and the Cube 80x is simply a great amp. And at $349 street, you just can’t beat it for the price. Here’s the video:

That video was a great demo of the amp’s capabilities, but I really dig this one done by Alex Hutchings at Musikmesse 2009. He’s a great player!

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Low-wattage fun with the Fender Champ 600

Posted in 6V6, amplifiers, amps, effect pedals, Effects, fender, GAS, gear, gear reviews, guitar, guitar effects, guitar gear, guitar pedals, guitar picks, guitarists, Guitars, Hardwire, Music, musicians, overdrive, pedals, picks, plectrum, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 4, 2009| 7 Comments »

Fender Champion 600 Re-issueI forgot how much fun this little 5 watter is to play! I just put in new tubes to make it have more headroom, as this is an incredibly pedal-friendly amp. The tubes I got were as follows: NOS JAN-Philips 12AT7 and a JJ 6V6. The idea behind this is that the 12AT7 has about half the gain of a regular 12AX7, so it won’t push the power tube as hard as a 12AX7. The JJ 6V6 has tons of gain, and is much harder to break up; thus, I hoped to attain more clean headroom with this combination.

While I like the breakup of the Champ 600, it’s a little weak, but the clean tone is spectacular with this amp. And hooking it up to a 1 X 12 extension cab really expands the depth of the tone it produces. Combine that with a couple of pedals, and the result is like candy to the ears.

Some people might frown upon this diminutive amp, but I used it throughout my first album, and for good reason: It’s so damn versatile! I can play pretty much any style with this amp, and miked properly, can make it sound much bigger than it actually is. And at $200 bucks (that’s what I paid for it), it was a total steal!

Here’s a simple clip I recorded using one of GarageBand’s “Magic Garage Band” backing tracks. It’s a slow blues in E. The first part of the song is played with the neck pickup of my Prestige Heritage Elite, into my Tone Freak Effects Abunai 2, into my Hardwire RV-7 Reverb, then into the Champ and out my custom Aracom 1 X 12 extension cab with a Jensen P12N (damn! that totally sounds like name dropping! Yikes!). In second half of the song, I switch to my bridge pickup and stack my Tube Screamer on top of the Abunai 2. Oh my freakin’ gawd! This was fun. In any case, here’s the clip:

Sorry for the mistakes. I actually didn’t care because I was having so much fun! And by the way, I played the lead parts with my brand-spankin’-new V-Picks Psycho pick, a 1 3/4″ wide, 5.85 mm thick monster of a pick. I’m in tone heaven right now! You just gotta check this pick out!

And I almost forgot! I just can’t believe who incredibly awesome these Wyres strings sound and play. They’re so pliable, so resonant, and they sustain so well that they send my inspiration through the roof! Like the Psycho pick, I just can’t enough of these absolutely wonderful strings!

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Gear Review: V-Picks Psycho

Posted in GAS, gear, gear reviews, guitar, guitar gear, guitar picks, guitarists, Guitars, picks, plectrum, V-Picks, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 4, 2009| 1 Comment »

5 Tone Bones - Gear has stellar performance, value, and quality. This is definitely top of the class, best of breed, and it's a no-brainer to add this to your gear lineup!

V-Picks Psycho

 V-Picks Psycho

Summary: It’s big. It’s fat. It’s humongoid! And it has TONS of tone!

Pros: Just a joy to play with! You can get big fat tones out of this, but its slightly pointy tip and sharp edges produce subtle harmonics that make notes ring.

Cons: None

Price: $20 (but it’s $10 right now as the June special!)

Specs:

  • 1 3/4″ wide
  • 5.85 mm thick
  • Slightly pointed tips and sharp edges

Tone Bone Score: 5.0 – With each new V-Pick I play, I fall more in love with them. This is by far my most favorite V-Pick to date – I even dig this one over my beloved Snake! That says a lot!

Just when I thought I found the perfect pick in the V-Pick Snake for playing electric guitar, I tried out the V-Pick Psycho. I must be psycho myself for loving a pick this big and fat, but I do! I’ve only played with it for a very short time, but I’m a believer! The big but ringing tones this pick produces are amazing. This is just perfect for playing leads, with incredible note articulation and clarity due to it’s pointy tips and sharp edges. Now you might think that would produce a fairly bright tone; it does, but the thickness of the pick also brings out the bottom end to bolster that brightness. The net result is a very balanced tone.

I’ve gotten used to playing super-thick picks, but this pick is a completely different story. It’s thicker than anything I’ve ever played before! But the pointy tip makes precision an absolute breeze. I’ve only clocked a couple of hours with this pick, and I only stopped because I had to write this review to share how much I just LOVE this pick!

The Psycho is CRAZY HUGE, but it’s by far the best pick I’ve ever played! I never thought I’d say that, considering I said the same thing about the Snake, but it looks like I’ve got a new favorite.

Yeah, I must be psycho to love a pick this huge, but I am after all, GoofyDawg, and I just dig goofy, crazy things! 🙂 And when it’s crazy, insane tone we’re talkin’ about, no way can I avoid it! I’m going back to playing right now!

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Gear Review and Announcement: IK Multimedia Releases the new StealthPedal!

Posted in buying gear, effect pedals, Effects, GAS, gear, gear announcements, gear reviews, guitar, guitar effects, guitar gear, guitarists, Guitars, IK Multimedia, mac, Music, musicians, new gear, pedals, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 4, 2009| 10 Comments »

5 Tone Bones - Gear has stellar performance, value, and quality. This is definitely top of the class, best of breed, and it's a no-brainer to add this to your gear lineup!

IK Multimedia Stealth Pedal

 IK Multimedia Stealth Pedal

Summary: It’s official, IK Multimedia’s StealthPedal has just been released! The new StealthPedal is a lesson in packaging up familiar components to produce something totally unique. This is the first of its kind: A USB-powered guitar audio interface/software controller that you can use for recording or playing live as well as controlling any “Powered By Amplitube” software (or any MIDI-controllable software). With the StealthPedal, IK Multimedia completes the picture in providing an end-to-end computer-based guitar performance and recording solution.

Pros: Truly plug and play, it is automatically recognized by “Powered By Amplitube” software, and requires very little configuration.

Cons: None

Price: $199 Standard Bundle / $399 Deluxe Bundle

Specs:

• USB powered audio interface and pedal controller
• 2 balanced / unbalanced audio inputs (hi-Z or line level)
• 24 bit A/D and D/A conversion
• 44.1/48 kHz operation
• 2 balanced audio outputs
• Headphones output
• Volume control
• Built-in expression pedal and MIDI foot-switch
• Multiple LEDs can operate as Tuner or Level indicators with AmpliTube
• External double switch and expression pedal inputs
• Classic, rugged metal Wah-style construction
• High-quality, low-noise input stage (109dBA /104dB RMS S/N ratio)
• Control all “Powered by AmpliTube” software/plug-ins

• Control any MIDI controllable software/plug-ins

• Standard Bundle includes AmpliTube 2 Live standalone and plug-in, AmpliTube X-GEAR, Ampeg® SVX UNO standalone and plug-in, Sonoma WireWorks Riffworks™ T4, and AmpliGrooves Loops by Sonic Reality
• Deluxe Bundle: AmpliTube 2, Ampeg SVX, AmpliTube X-GEAR, Sonoma WireWorks RiffWorks t4, AmpliGrooves
• Compatible with all the most popular DAW software supporting ASIO and Core Audio drivers on PC and Mac
• Endless software expandability with AmpliTube modules

Tone Bone Score: 5.0 – I love enabling technologies that make anything that I do easier, but also add a ton of value. That can definitely be said of the new StealthPedal from IK Multimedia. A quick glance at picture of the unit, and you may think: Okay, just another pedal-style software controller. It is that, but it is also so very much more!

The StealthPedal is also an extremely easy-to-use, full-functioning analog-digital audio interface that you can use for recording or running modeling software live through your computer. And with 24-bit analog-digital, digital-analog conversion, and 44.1/48 kHz operation, you can count on the SteathPedal to produce high-fidelity sound in the studio an on the stage.

The StealthPedal looks just like a mere expression pedal from the top view. But look at the sides and the input and output jacks belie its humble appearance. On the left side of the pedal are ¼” jacks for right and left output, an 1/8” for headphones, another ¼” jack for a dual-switch external switching unit (extra), and the USB jack. On the right side of the pedal are ¼” jacks for inputs, a volume control knob, and a ¼” jack for plugging in another expression pedal. In other words, this “pedal” packs a punch and is so much more than what it appears!

Wah, wah, wah

It took me awhile to figure out that I had too early versions of X-Gear / Amplitube Fender to be automatically recognized the StealthPedal. My bad entirely. But once I had the right versions installed, adding software stomp effects and controlling them via the StealthPedal was a total breeze! The software automatically assigns the StealthPedal to control the first effect with some default behavior. For instance, with a wah effect plugin, the foot pedal is assigned to the wah effect and the switch is assigned to bypass. But you can change behavior simply by clicking the “setup” button at the top-right of the application window. It can’t get much simpler than that!

In the Studio

But before I even tried using it to control the included Amplitube software, I wanted to see how it performed as an audio interface. In this usage, I was totally blown away! Whereas other audio units such as those from DigiDesign require a software driver to operate (yes, even on the Mac), at least on the Mac, the StealthPedal follows Apple’s lead in design: Plug it in and it just works! So in a very real way the StealthPedal is aptly named as it just does what it does without you knowing how – or having to know how it works! Note that you do need a driver for Windows. But on my Mac, the process to be up and running took less than 5 minutes! That’s incredible!

Launching GarageBand, I just went into the preferences, and selected the StealthPedal as my input and output devices. I ran an unbalanced line from my mic pre-amp into the first input jack of the StealthPedal, added and setup a new track, hit record and started jamming on my guitar that was plugged into my amp. The StealthPedal worked as expected – actually a lot better than I expected because I was expecting only “okay” signal quality, considering the price point of this unit. Boy, was I wrong. The recorded signal was just as clean as my MBox 2, with no apparent shading of any kind. That put a smile on my face. And another thing that really blew me away was that lag was virtually non-existent. There was tiny bit, but nowhere in the realm of the lag that I normally get with my MBox 2. Amazing!

Then plugging my guitar directly into the StealthPedal, I fired up the Amplitube Fender plug-in, selected an amp, and started playing. This was truly the first time I could switch on track monitoring and not get thrown off from the lag!

What’s Not Obvious Is Usually Where the True Power Lays

Think about this carefully because it’s important: The real impact of the StealthPedal is not necessarily in its features, but in what it provides as a solution. As I mentioned above, the StealthPedal completes the picture for IK Multimedia to provide an end-to-end computer-based guitar performance and recording solution. I don’t say this lightly. Not only do they have totally kickass amp and effects modeling, with the StealthPedal, they now have a high-quality, high-fidelity guitar audio interface and software controller! Add to the fact that the StealthPedal requires ZERO setup to use (Mac only, sorry folks), and you’ve got a complete solution for all your computer-based guitar audio. And because the StealthPedal was built to work specifically for “Powered By Amplitube” products, you never have to worry about compatibility problems! I don’t know about you, but that’s just incredible to me. But wait there’s more!

Because it is a MIDI controller, the StealthPedal can also be used with other amp sim software via MIDI. So this just isn’t a solution for the AmpliTube user, it can be used by virtually all recording guitarists, and other musicians as well!

Overall Impressions

What can I say? I dig the StealthPedal! In the next couple of weeks, I’m going on a trip. Guess what’s coming with me? A guitar, the StealthPedal, a mic pre-amp, a mic, and a couple of cords. That’ll be enough to record any song, and besides the guitar, all that will fit into my computer bag!

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The Best Guitar Strings I’ve Ever Played!

Posted in buying gear, GAS, gear, gear find, gear reviews, guitar, guitar gear, guitar strings, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new gear, strings, wyres, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 1, 2009| 4 Comments »

Wyres Strings

5 Tone Bones - Gear has stellar performance, value, and quality. This is definitely top of the class, best of breed, and it's a no-brainer to add this to your gear lineup!Up until recently, I had never heard of Wyres Strings until I was in a nostaligic mood, and looked up the great French acoustic guitarist, Pierre Bensusan, went to his site, and saw this page, where he was endorsing Wyres Strings. Intrigued, I looked up the Wyres string company on the web, and looked at the various pros who are using them to get an idea of what kind of musicians have used these strings. What I discovered is that the range of musical styles where these strings are used is very wide, ranging from acoustic to hard rock. That was a good sign. I’ve found other “specialized” string companies who only have appeal in a specific genre of music. Not so with Wyres.

Emboldened with this knowledge (and my incessant curiosity), I contacted Nick Walton, owner of Wyres strings to get his story and to see if I could review some strings. I already believed them to be great strings if the great Pierre Bensusan was endorsing them (and according to Nick, this wasn’t due to some “pay me and I’ll endorse your strings” type of deal. Here’s Pierre’s testimony:

Dealing with strings has generally been for me a source of compromise and often frustration. For more than 30 years, I have been waiting for the right medium, embracing top quality but also longevity, fluidity, touch and beauty of-sound. I came across Wyres Strings and found the answers to all my concerns. These strings are just phenomenal, they are handmade, sound extremely well, feel great under the fingers, allow for an extensive use of their sustain to “work” the touch, the tone and the history of the note, they do not break and, icing on the cake, thanks to a very subtle coating which doesn’t not take any harmonics away, they last for ever ! I feel completely relieved and will always remain really impressed with this performance.

Wyres Strings surpass any other brand on the market today! I am proud and honored to collaborate to a Signature set with Nick Walton and his company. A dream came true.

Note that Pierre wasn’t prompted or coached to say what he said. Coming from a master composer and guitarist such as Bensusan, that is quite and endorsement! Okay, let’s get into details, but first, let me say this:

These are hands-down the best guitar strings I have ever played!!! The sound, feel, and playability are amazing! Like Bensusan, I will never use another string manufacturer. I love these! I know, people swear by pure nickel, and admittedly, they are fine strings, but they are also expensive. As a gigging musician with a family to feed, pure nickels are a luxury I can’t afford, but I can afford to spend a few bucks more on high performance strings. And the fact that they’re coated and will last longer than a normal string makes them even more economical. But that’s not my main motivation. These strings sustain for days, and they have tons of tone – but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Handmade and Coated, And They Feel FANTASTIC!!!

All Wyres strings are handmade and hand-wound by skilled craftsmen. They come in both coated and uncoated versions, but the coated are by far their best sellers. Coating is done with a special process that actually lubricates the string as you play, which apparently results in a longer lasting string from both a mechanical and tonal perspective.

Personally, I’ve never been a fan of coated strings. I’ve always found them to be very brittle feeling and over-bright. I tried Elixirs a few times, and couldn’t stand the sound, plus, I felt as if they were cutting into my fingertips because they feel sticky. Wyres feel that way at first, but after a just a short while, the coating starts working into the pores of the strings, and your fingers just glide.

I gigged with these strings last night for the first time, actually playing a bit of roulette by stringing up with these never-before-played strings right before I left for my gig. As expected, when I first put them on, they were as bright-sounding as any new string. But the thing I immediately noticed was that they were very full-sounding as well. I knew that these were very special strings. I was very excited to play with them.

I strung the strings tighter than standard tuning so they’d be stretched by the time I started my gig. By the way, the strings I played are the 12 – 54 version, hence the model TP1254 – they’re equivalent to “lights”). And once I got to my gig and tuned up, and struck my first chord, a huge smile just formed on my face. They sounded absolutely incredible (which I’ll get into), but almost more importantly, they had a great feel, despite the fact that I could still feel the coating. After a few numbers – I set up my opening set list so that I’d play songs that ensured I’d play up and down the fretboard, either with a capo or barre chords – the strings started to settle, and feel really good. I found that I didn’t have to dig in hardly at all to get notes to resound, and doing little runs with subtle microtonal bends was a breeze! The strings felt almost like electric guitar strings. They were pliable and incredibly resonant – the feel of these strings really got me into a groove!

How They Sound

I guess the proof is in the pudding. I’ve played great feeling strings that just sounded dead. But these strings produce gorgeous tones, and as I mentioned they’re incredibly resonant. The sustain from these strings is like nothing I’ve experienced, short of really expensive sets I’ve tried in the past that cost an arm and a leg. In my solo gig, I play a variety of styles from jazz standards to claw-and-hammer fingerstyle songs. No matter what style I played, these Wyres were the best sounding guitar strings I’ve ever played. It’s no small wonder why Pierre Bensusan endorses these strings (though he plays with a set of 13’s, which I’ll review once I wear this current set of 12’s out).

Overall Impression

Obviously, the 5 Tone Bones I assigned to these strings speaks to how much I love them! For me, I won’t be using any other strings from now on. Like Bensusan, I’ve found my string of choice. Now get this: These strings go for $14.95 to $17.95; about the same as what you can get a set of Elixirs for. But these strings kick the shit out of Elixirs, hands down – at least for me. And considering that these strings are nowhere near the brittleness of Elixirs, and they’re handmade, I’ll go with these, thank you. No more machined strings for me!

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New Gear: IK Multimedia Stealth Pedal

Posted in AmpliTube, amplitube fender, amps, announcements, buying gear, Effects, GAS, gear, gear announcements, gear reviews, guitar, guitar effects, guitar gear, guitar pedals, guitarists, Guitars, IK Multimedia, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 27, 2009| Leave a Comment »

IK Multimedia Stealth Pedal

For those computer-based DAW jockeys, you know about IK Multimedia’s Amplitube software. I recently wrote a review of Amplitube Fender Edition, and loved it. Now I have an even bigger reason to love it, and that’s IK Multimedia’s StealthPedal which looks like an expression pedal but is actually a fully-functional, USB-powered audio interface WITH a built-in expression pedal. How friggin’ cool is that?

Folks, this thing works, and it works well, as my full review, which will be released in a few days will bear out. As an audio interface, it may not have a lot of bells and whistles, but for the home recording studio buff, this is a great, affordable, high-res audio device that can take a direct in from your guitar or pedal board, or a line out from a pre-amp to use for layering tracks.

But because the pedal has the ability to act as a controller for any “Powered by Amplitube” software or plug-in, you may not even need an amp to record your guitar parts! There are enough fantastic-sounding amp models packed into the various Amplitube packages that you’ll be sure to find a model that works for you. Plus the software effect plug-ins that the StealthPedal can control give you added tone shaping abilities.

In my impending review, I’ll have more clips to share, but here’s a “torch song” that I’ve been working on that features the StealthPedal in action as an audio interface:

Except for the drum loop, all the instruments were recorded using the StealthPedal as the audio interface. I did a line-in directly for the electric piano. For the guitar parts, the amps are both software amps! For the rhythm part I used a Fender Champ 600 with a virtual compressor rack plug-in and my Strat plugged directly into the StealthPedal. For the lead part, I plugged into my pedal board and used my Tone Freak Effects Abunai 2 overdrive, and a Hardwire RV-7 Reverb. For the amp, I used a ’59 Bassman model. Imagine that! Software that sounds this good!

I know, nothing sounds like or feels like a real amp, but the convenience and the general sound quality of these models, plus the high-fidelity of the StealthPedal isn’t lost on me. It’s a nice, compact audio solution that combined with the software, will definitely make a difference in how you approach recording guitars.

Stay tuned for my full review!

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