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The NY Amp Show - Fractal Audio Systems
Here we see Fractal Audio Systems' baby, the Axe-FX Ultra, an effects processor and amp simulator featuring interactive control of a diverse array of sounds.
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Fractal Audio Systems
Here we see Fractal Audio Systems' baby, the Axe-FX Ultra, an effects processor and amp simulator featuring interactive control of a diverse array of sounds.
John Scofield is undeniably one of the preeminent forces in contemporary jazz guitar. Along with a few of his peers—see Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Mike Stern—he modernized the sound of our instrument and the genre. But there’s much more to Scofield than just jazz.
To break down the deepest of Scofield’s records and talk about the intricacies of his playing, we called up another great, Adam Levy. There’s a great chance you’ve heard Levy alongside artists such as Tracy Chapman or Norah Jones, and his solo discography is deep! Adam has a host of Scofield know-how, so we get right to it.
Attack—essentially the rate and intensity with which a note rises in volume from its point of creation—is one of the coolest musical expressions you can mess with. If you play an instrument from the violin family it’s a fundamental part of your vocabulary. It’s used frequently in synthesis to conjure spooky, low-gravity atmospherics, and it’s an essential tool for taking the front end off some psychotic Moog sound that might otherwise explode like a foghorn six inches from your ear.
Guitar players know the potential of this effect well too. Volume swells can drastically recast a guitar line—evokingreverse tape,pedal steel, and deep space. But doing it well is not easy. Even on guitars like theStratocaster that lend themselves to volume swells by design, it takes technique, practice, and usually a very flexible pinky finger to make it work right. Electro-Harmonix’s Swello, which has origins in the attack filter section of the POG2, can do a lot of that work for you. But it’s capable of more than simple swells, with the ability to generate envelope filter- and wah-like sounds, big synth-style pads that are ripe forlooping, and much stranger fare.
Swing in Smoothly
Though they can be mellowing, soft attack and volume swell effects aren’t always subtle. For many players that prize precise, immediate attack, they are anathema. Swello—especially in the sans-filter “green” mode—is great at backgrounding the effect and making it more subliminal. At the lowest attack levels, you can use Swello in a capacity similar to a compressor to soften picking irregularities. At slightly higher but still subtle settings, it imparts a beautiful legato quality to melodic lines—especially enchanting in understated or deeply ambient delay and reverb contexts. At much slower attack rates, it evokes lush pedal steel tones and remarkably natural volume pedal or cello-like effects. There’s a lot of range to explore in the attack control alone.
"Swello ’s capable of more than simple swells, with the ability to generate envelope filter- and wah-like sounds, big synth-style pads that are ripe for looping, and much stranger fare."
While the Swello’s control set is minimal, players without experience in synthesis or in using filters and envelopes with guitar may find them less than intuitive. This isn’t a shortcoming of the EHX design—it’s simply inherent to the complex interplay between filter and attack effects. If you start twisting knobs casually and with no particular intent you can end up with filter and attack combinations that make a guitar sound 30 feet underwater—if not altogether absent. So, it pays to move slowly though these controls, observe the sensitivities in their interactions and pay attention to how very small, incremental changes—as well as where you play on the fretboard—can alter the response and output. Though getting to your destination can be tricky and require patience, there are many surprises to find along the way.
Overtone Organizer
As a player that uses volume swells as both an expressive tool and crutch, I loved Swello’s very natural volume pedal and cello-like effects. But I also own a POG2 and treasure that pedal’s capacity to add -2-octave content to an upswelling tone. That can be a preposterously big sound with reverb (the low synth parts in Vangelis’ Blade Runner opening sequence and the Golden Gate Bridge foghorn at the distance of a couple miles are a couple handy points of reference). And there’s plenty of it here when you get a deep resonant peak, slow attack, and filter modulation working in sync, and hang out on the low strings.
As with the POG2, boosting the high frequencies can make the pedal sound less organic—and at times even a bit cloying. Some settings also introduce digital artifacts, most noticeable in the quackier, mid-forward envelope filter-style tones. These sounds can be fun, but they’re not the Swello’s strong suit (and may disappoint players that demand vintage Mu-Tron authenticity from envelope filters). That said, there are plenty of ways to use high-frequency emphasis for pleasant coloration and to shape the attack, and at many such settings the output is largely free of digital aftertaste.
The Verdict
Swello, as the name suggests, specializes in very cello-like volume swells that sound organic, and enable you to keep your fingers on the strings and your feet away from expression pedals. At less than $150, it’s a great value for the slow-attack effects alone. However, players who explore its compression-like dynamics and the vast, unconventional tones found at atypical filter frequency and modulation settings will discover that the Swello is far more than it appears—truly greater than the sum of its parts.
On November 14, 2025, I’ll be giving a presentation at the Royal College of Music in London. It’s in conjunction with a unique guitar they have on display: Kurt Cobain’s 1959 Martin D-18E, the one he played on MTV Unplugged. To honor the occasion, we’ve built a modern reproduction of that particular guitar for my friend Craig Thatcher to play at the event—because I don’t think they’ll let him play the original. (Yes, that one … the guitar that sold for $6 million at auction in 2020.)
MTV Unplugged: What a good idea that was! And talk about good timing. The 1980s were not a good time to be in the acoustic guitar business. My dad joined the family business in 1955, the year I was born. The mid-’50s were the era of the folk revival. Acoustic music was taking hold in coffeehouses and on college campuses. Thanks to bands like the Kingston Trio, folk music was becoming pop music.
By the early ’60s, demand for Martin guitars outstripped the capacity of our old factory on 10 West North Street in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. My dad convinced my grandfather that we needed a new factory to keep up with the boom. So in 1964 we opened the new plant at 510 Sycamore Street. What else happened in 1964? The British Invasion.
Yes, Bob Dylan went electric, but the acoustic guitar remained a mainstay on many folk-rock songs. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and others drove demand skyward. We couldn’t keep up. These were good times. Politics, the Vietnam War, and the fight for civil rights … it all gave the younger generation reasons to speak out and speak up, and the acoustic guitar became an integral part of that messaging.
By the late 1970s, music was changing. Disco was taking over. The Eagles were the last significant folk-rock supergroup. By the 1980s, it was tough going for acoustic guitars. Several of our smaller competitors closed their shops. Pointy electric guitars were flying off the shelves, thanks to hair metal. The Yamaha DX7 and other digital keyboards were everywhere.
“By the end of the 1990s, our production had increased fivefold compared to the start of the decade.”
Our business struggled. My dad retired and moved to Florida. I had just graduated from college and joined the family business full-time, at a difficult moment. My grandfather passed away in 1986, and at 31, I became CEO. I was scared. My dad had encumbered the company with a crushing level of debt. We were on the verge of bankruptcy. I wasn’t sure exactly what to do, but I was determined to not allow my multi-generational family business to disappear. We cut back expenses and focused on what we did best: flat-top acoustic guitars. One of my dad’s better decisions was to acquire a string company. String sales helped us survive those lean years.
One day, my friend and colleague Dick Boak walked into my office. “I got a call from MTV,” he said. “MTV? The rock video station?” I inquired. “Yes,” he replied. “Why did they call us?” I asked. “They have this idea,” Dick said. “They want to get rockers into the studio and have them play their famous songs on acoustic guitars.” Hmmm. Not a bad idea.
“Why did they call us?” “They weren’t sure if the rockers they were going to ask even had acoustic guitars,” he said. “And they’re going to film some shows in New York. Could they borrow some guitars from us if needed?” I looked at Dick and smiled. He took that as a “yes.”
MTV Unplugged launched in 1989. It started slowly. Initially, few people noticed. But it built momentum. In 1992, Eric Clapton recorded his Unplugged segment at Bray Studios in London, playing his 000-42 Martin. The subsequent album became a phenomenon, garnering multiple Grammys, selling millions of copies, and becoming the best-selling live album of all time.
In 1993, Nirvana performed one of Kurt Cobain’s last televised sets. After his death, MTV Unplugged in New York was released. It sold over 5 million copies and won a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance. As the momentum grew, our phones started to ring. And ring. Players were rediscovering how cool it is to hold a wooden box against their body and feel it vibrate as they played their favorite songs. The acoustic guitar was back. Thank you, MTV Unplugged. (Fun fact: Many of the guitars played on MTV Unplugged were actually plugged in!)
What started as a simple TV concept helped usher in a full-fledged acoustic revival. For Martin, it arrived just when we needed it most. By the end of the 1990s, our production had increased fivefold compared to the start of the decade. Sometimes, all it takes is a well-timed idea and a few beautifully-built guitars.
At just 26, the guitar-playing phenom has already netted a Grammy, earned a signature Telecaster, started his own label, and we think this is just the beginning. John Bohlinger checks in with the lovable Mississippi kid who always has a guitar nearby and continues finding inspiration in his church roots and new gear.
PG contributor Tom Butwin explores the new BOSS XS‑100 Poly Shifter—an 8-octave powerhouse that lets guitarists and bassists go from subtle drop-tuning to full-on pitch chaos with expression pedal and MIDI control. From transforming a standard guitar into a baritone to turning a 4-string bass into a five-string monster, this pedal offers both inspiring sounds and real gig-day utility.