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Posts Tagged ‘gear find’

New Gear: Maxon ST-9 Pro+ Overdrive

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 21, 2010| 8 Comments »

Click to enlarge

“Guitar Player” mag took a recent poll asking: If you could only have a single pedal in  your rig, what would it be? Overwhelmingly, and actually not too surprising to me, most pollsters chose an overdrive pedal. I personally didn’t take the poll, but I would definitely fall into the majority. You know me, I just can’t enough of overdrive pedals!

So much to my great pleasure, Maxon has released the new ST-9 Pro+ Super Tube Screamer Overdrive. Based upon Maxon’s classic “808” circuit, and building upon the original Ibanez ST-9 and its ability to control the amount of “midrange hump,” this “reissue” adds features that have the potential of making this a truly great Tube Screamer-class pedal.

  • First of all, the ST-9 Pro+ sports 9V or 18V operation. 18V mode adds more headroom and warmth. This is controlled by a slider switch in the battery compartment.
  • In addition to the Drive, Level, and Tone Knobs, the ST-9 Pro+ also has a “Mid-Enhance” knob which controls where the mids are boosted. Clockwise moves the boost towards the high mids, while counter-clockwise moves the boost to the lower mids. To me, this is probably the most useful feature, as you can dial in the mid boost to adapt the pedal to different amps.
  • The ST-9 Pro+ also has a switch that selects either “Classic” or “Low Boost.” Low Boost gives a 12dB boost at 100Hz and a 4dB boost a 500Hz. This can be quite useful for fattening up single coil guitars!
  • Finally, the ST-9 Pro+ has true-bypass switching.

OMG!!! I love the features on this pedal! Were I to consider getting another pedal in the Tube Screamer lineage, this pedal would be at the top of my list! However, with a street price of around $206, it’s not a cheap proposition. But with it’s features, it certainly warrants a close look; and based upon my experience with Maxon pedals, their build and sound quality is undeniable. While I don’t use it much any longer, my CP-9 Pro+ compressor is a testament to that quality (I paid $250 used for that pedal), and it’s a pedal I’ll always have. As for the ST-9 Pro+, I’ll see if I can find a place where I can audition it.

Finally, here’s a great demo video that shows off the ST-9 Pro+ quite nicely:

For more information, check out the Maxon ST-9 Pro+ page!

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Gear Find: Li’l Dawg Amps

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 2, 2010| 2 Comments »

Being “GoofyDawg,” it’s always cool to find gear with the “dawg” moniker. 🙂 So when I came across Li’l Dawg Amps on one of the forums, I had to check out their web site. All I can say is, “Wow!!!” The reason for that is because I was completely blown away by the prices of these handmade amps! For instance, a 5F1 Champster (based on the 5F1 circuit) in a metal lunchbox enclosure is only $399! After seeing the prices of his amps, I had to get the low-down on the low prices, so I called Jim Nickelson up.

The story of how Li’l Dawg started is actually really cool, and Jim tells the story well in his Story page. What started out as a labor of love turned into a full-on amp business. What a way to retire! This was “supposed” to be a hobby. 🙂 Well personally, I’m glad he took up the hobby because many people have benefited from it.

Jim’s approach to Li’l Dawg is no-nonsense. He can keep the price down because he does all the work himself. He doesn’t advertise, which is another cost saver, and he’s worked out a product system where he turn around an order within 2-3 weeks! That’s amazing as most single man shops typically take months to complete an order.

But what about the amps? Well, I haven’t played one – yet. But Jim specializes in classic Tweed circuit amps, like the Champ and Deluxe. The model that I’m particularly interested in is a hybrid amp that has a 5E3 preamp (replete with jumperable inputs – nice) and a 5F1 power section, called “The Mutt.”

Now, Jim could probably just stop there and produce reproductions, but he has some nice added touches with his amps, such as Mercury Magnetics or Heyboer trannys, Sprague caps, and choices of steel or aluminum chassis.

As Jim shares, he wants to create a “candy store” experience when people choose an amp, and provide a basic foundation from which options can be added. So very nice, indeed! Then when you see the prices well, how could you not consider one of these amps?!!!

In any case, here are a few clips of the Mutt to whet your whistle:

Bright Rock Style

Clean, Chords

Jumpered

I don’t know about you, but that has TONS of classic rock mojo going on! Can’t wait to try one out! Or maybe I shouldn’t – I just may leave with an amp. 🙂 Well, that’s NEVER a bad thing. 🙂

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I HATE Prestige Guitars!!!

Posted in GAS, gear, gear announcements, gear find, guitar, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new gear, prestige guitars, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 28, 2010| 5 Comments »

Why? Because every time I satisfy my GAS, they come out with new stuff that gets me GAS-ing all over again, dammit! 🙂 Here I was innocently reading my e-mail this morning when I got Prestige’s latest newsletter that said they were about to release a line of acoustic guitars! Knowing the fantastic stuff they produce, and given that they didn’t release anything more than announcement that they were releasing a new line, I had to give them a call to get more information. I shouldn’t’ve done that. I’m now GAS-ing so damn bad that it’s killing me!

But I got the scoop on these guitars, and before you start thinking, “Yeah, here we go, another import guitar… How good could it be?” Well, let me just say that a major publication already reviewed it and gave their top-of-the-line model a very – excuse the pun – prestigious award. And after I heard the details of these guitars, it’s not a surprise that even before their official release, they already won an award. So here’s at least some preliminary information that I found out…

They will have three guitars in various price ranges. I didn’t get model names, but I did get the makes of each model:

  • The top-of-the-line model has a koa body and koa top
  • The intermediate features a rosewood body and Adirondack spruce top
  • The lowest tier (and only by materials) features a mahogany body and Adirondack spruce top

Though not set, the guitars will range in price from about $1000 to $2100 street, so even the lowest-tier model isn’t anything to shake a stick at; and before you balk at the price, there’s a good reason for the pricing. Prestige didn’t skimp on the features that all three models share:

  • Adirondack spruce X-bracing designed in partnership with Balaz Prohaszka, a well-known European luthier
  • 12″ radius
  • 25.35″ scale length
  • 1 3/4″ nut width
  • D-shape neck
  • Split Bridge Saddles
  • Bone nut, Bone Saddles
  • Ebony Fingerboard, Ebony Bridge, Ebony Bridge Pins, Ebony Strap Pin.
  • Ebony Headstock face
  • Satin Mahogany Neck, Laser Etched Logo and Serial Number behind the headstock.
  • Beveled Cutaway with Paduck inlay, Mother of Pearl Logo, Mother of
  • Pearl Eclipse Fingerboard Inlay, Abalone Rosette
  • Gotoh 501 21:1 Tuners with Ebony Buttons.
  • Paduck/Abalone Body Binding, Paduck/Maple fingerboard binding.

An option for each guitar is the Fishman Ellipse Matrix Blend pickup system. This is a very non-invasive soundhole pickup system that combines an undersaddle pickup with a gooseneck condenser mic. I’ve heard one of these installed in a Taylor acoustic, and it sounds marvelous!

So the pricing is really a reflection in the difference in tone woods used; otherwise, they’re all the same. That is incredibly COOL!

I’d be remiss if I didn’t have pictures, so here are a couple of the Koa/Koa model. These aren’t the pro pics as you can see the reflections of background objects – that’s how glossy the bodies are! Freakin’ awesome!!!

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These are serious guitars, folks. Can’t you just DIG that beveled cutaway? Damn! I dig little things like that, and the outer bracing is absolutely superb! And another nice touch is the satin finish on the neck. I always prefer that because it allows me to polish it with my own body oils after time. For me, the ebony fretboard is a HUGE selling item! There is absolutely nothing like the feel of ebony; it’s smooth as silk and feels so nice to the touch!

I can’t wait to get a demo into my studio to give it a whirl! I TOTALLY DIG the Koa/Koa! Now do you see why I hate Prestige Guitars?!!! 🙂

For more information, please go to the Prestige Guitar web site!

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New Gear: Earthquaker Devices Zap Machine Fuzz

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 14, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Never really been into fuzz that much, but some of my latest stuff could really use some fuzz, so I was pleasantly surprised this morning to receive Fat Tone Guitars’ newsletter this morning that featured an announcement that they’re the exclusive sellers for Earthquake Devices’ new Zap Machine Fuzz. This is a brand-new pedal, released just this past Monday, and from what I can tell, it sounds VERY COOL! Here’s a video:

As I mentioned, it’s only available through Fat Tone Guitars, and this is a limited edition pedal, so get ’em while they’re hot! 🙂

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New Gear: Love Pedal Kalamazoo

Posted in GAS, gear, gear announcements, gear find, gear reviews, guitar, guitar effects, guitar gear, guitarists, Guitars, Music, musicians, new gear, overdrive, pedals, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 8, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Yup, you guessed it… yet another overdrive pedal. I came across this pedal while perusing the forums over at Mark Wein Guitar Lessons. Mark occasionally posts “Pedal of the Day” entries, and this was his latest. I know, lots of people complain about “yet another OD pedal.” But if you stop to think about it, there’s probably a great reason why there are so many OD’s on the market. What comes to mind for me is that no one overdrive can cover everything. Let’s face it, a Tube Screamer or TS-like OD can only take you so far tonally.

Don’t get me wrong: Not all OD’s are created equally. Admittedly, there’s lots of crap out there, which is a fallout of the boutique gear movement. I’ve suspected several boutique gear “manufacturers” of simply building gear based on kits, putting a nice paint job on them, then selling the pedal for hundreds of dollars; which is why I’ve always stressed to folks – try before you buy!

The LovePedal Kalamazoo is no exception to this rule. While it has some very cool features (I’ll list them below), you really never know how a pedal will work with your rig until you put it in your chain. But despite that, I’m really intrigued by LovePedal’s twist on the overdrive with the Kalamazoo.

So what’s to like? As you can see, there are two little knobs called Tone and Glass under the common Level and Drive knobs. I believe this is where the magic of the pedal lies. Tone is a treble content roll-off, while glass is a treble booster that doesn’t affect the lows. These are wired in series, so they interact with each other. From what I could gather from the demo from ProGuitarShops I’ve seen, these two knobs offer up a world of tonal possibilities.

Another thing that appeals to me is that I prefer a more “open” kind of overdrive to let my power tubes do the compression. To me, it sounds more natural that way. The Kalamazoo was designed to create an “open” type overdrive tone. With it, you can slam the front-end of your amp, and make that gain push the power tubes into compression.

And from what I could gather, the Kalamazoo is VERY responsive to input gain, which is demonstrated in the ProGuitarShops video.

Here are the pedal’s features (from the Love Pedal site):

9VDC Input
True Bypass LED Status
Compact Die cast Aluminum Case 4.37″ X 2.37″ X 1.07″

Controls:
DRIVE – Sets the amount of overdrive
LEVEL – Master volume control
TONE – Softens the treble content
GLASS – Increases treble without cutting bass response
STOMPSWITCH – Turns effect ON or OFF

Cost: $199

To top it off, the pedal has a mirror finish! I really dig that! My Creation Audio Labs Mk.4.23 booster has a mirror finish as well. Sweet! And at $199, this is a pedal that will not break the bank!

Here’s LovePedal’s Intro Video:

And here’s ProGuitarShop’s Demo:

For more information, visit the LovePedal site!

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Gear Find: Marble Amps

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 24, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I was perusing The Gear Page today, and while in a thread, happened upon a post where a guy mentioned he had recently purchased an amp made by a company called Marble Amps. He said they specialized in Fender-style reproductions with tweed covering, all hand-wired for a reasonable price. He wasn’t kidding. He got a used head for $800! Oh well… we all can’t be that lucky.

However, I did a little digging and found their web site. Talk about oozing classic Fender mojo! They apparently have a US distributor, the Alternative Guitar and Amp Company in Southern California, but they don’t have any information on them (although I left them a message).

Very cool stuff!

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Now for something totally weird… but cool… The Guitar Resonator

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 12, 2010| 2 Comments »

No, I’m not talking about a resonator guitar. This is an effect. It essentially adds tons of sustain and feedback kind of like one of those Moog guitars, but in a pedal connected to a gooseneck stand that appears to have an optical scanning device attached to the end that “reads” your strings, then processes the vibrations. It’s interesting to say the least, and Uli Jon Roth apparently uses it.

That said, I like the idea of having something like this to get super-sustain and feedback, and totally get that you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to get at least part of what the Moog guitar does, but it’s another piece of equipment to lug around. Don’t know how I feel about that.

Don’t know how practical it is, but I’ve seen worse things.

Check out the Vibesware site for more information!

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Gear for a Cause: The Wampler Underdog

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 9, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Man, I love it when gear manufacturers build stuff for a cause! Wampler has just re-released their limited run Underdog Overdrive (only 100 were originally made) to help out a friend who has breast cancer, as she can’t pay her doctor bills and apparently can’t get any insurance. All the profits from this re-release are going to help this woman out. It’s great to see this type of generosity!

Here’s a transcript of the press release:


Wampler Pedals has recently re-released their popular “Underdog Overdrive” pedal. Only 100 of the pedals were built originally.

According to Brian Wampler, owner of Wampler Pedals, “A close friend of mine has breast cancer and has no insurance, no family, and the government will not pay any medical costs for her to get the treatment she needs. Now, I’m not rich by any means, but I had to do something to help her. My wife and I came up with the idea of creating a pink pedal that is rich, dynamic, and very tweakable, and donate ALL the profits to her. Out of that limited run, famed country artist Brad Paisley bought one and loved it. A number of guitarists saw the pedal on Brad’s pedalboard and asked me to build one more for them, so I decided to start building more to keep up with demand. We are still donating all the profits to my friend, Ivy East, who is struggling to pay the doctor bills to combat this terrible disease.”

And here’s a video demo of the pedal. Apparently this is one of Brad Paisley’s favorite overdrive pedals:

For more information, visit the Wampler Pedals site!

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New Overdrive and HAO!!!

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 5, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The HAO OD-16, that is…. 🙂

Godlyke Distribution, which represents several boutique pedal manufactures has just released the HAO OD-16 overdrive pedal. Oh yeah… yet another overdrive pedal. But who cares? As the dean of my college once told me, “There’s room in this world for people who are good,” and as far as guitar gear is concerned, there’s certainly room in this world for good gear, and the HAO OD-16 (pr. “how”), promises to be a pedal that will make gear freaks make room for this pedal on their boards.

Designed and built by HAO in Japan, the OD-16 is a very cool take on the traditional overdrive. It’s ostensibly a Tube Screamer type of overdrive, which might ellicit a “so what” kind of reaction. However, with it’s internal voltage doubling circuit that takes a standard 9V and boosts it internally to 16V (hence the numeric designation), what the engineers were after was more headroom, and much more drive. And baby, this thing delivers all sorts of drive! Check out this demo video:

I dig the fact that you can bypass the internal tone pot to get more “bite” out of the pedal, and of course, true bypass is always appreciated. 🙂 Don’t know about you, but that video is causing me some SERIOUS GAS!!! Oy-Vay!!! Great tones – even out of low-res audio from the vid! I think I need to install a lock on my back pocket.

For more information, check out the Godlyke web site!

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New Pedal Company: Handwired-Effects

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 1, 2010| 1 Comment »

I’ve known about Handwired-Effects for a few weeks now, but didn’t really talk about it too much because their site didn’t have much on it, and they only had a single pedal. But now that they’ve got a few, I felt it was time to talk about them. Handwired-Effects has pretty much come out of nowhere with their pedals. Their initial offering is pretty straight-forward: a chorus, an overdrive, and a limited run “preamp overdrive” custom made for Dario Lorina.

I know… New pedal companies are started all the time so what has piqued my interest in Handwire-Effects? It’s actually not their products but their location that made me raise my eyebrows. Most new pedals seem to come primarily out of the US and Japan. Handwired-Effects is based in Switzerland. In all my years of buying gear, I’ve never used a guitar product made in Switzerland. No, I’m not thinking that these pedals may be better because of the “Swiss watch” thing. 🙂 But it sure is interesting that it’s located there…

Unfortunately, they don’t have any clips of their products, save a poor-quality video of Dario Lorina playing the Dario Lorina custom box at NAMM. We’ll just have to wait and see…

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