This Premier Guitar Web Site (the "Web Site") is provided to you by Gearhead Communications, LLC ("Gearhead Communications"). Access to and use of the Web Site and the services available on the Web Site are subject to the following terms and conditions in this Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. By accessing or using the Web Site, you agree to be legally bound by the terms and conditions set forth below without any modification. Please review them carefully.
© Gearhead Communications, LLC
2024
All Rights Reserved
The copyright on this entire Web Site is held by Gearhead Communications. All material provided on the Web Site is protected under United States copyright laws and international copyright laws and treaty provisions. Except as expressly provided herein, none of the material provided on the Web Site may be copied, distributed, republished, reproduced, downloaded, displayed or transmitted in any form for commercial use without prior written permission of Gearhead Communications. Individual visitors of the Web Site are permitted personal, non-commercial use, provided that they do not modify the materials on the Web Site and that the materials retain all copyright and other proprietary notices contained therein. The permission terminates automatically if you breach any of the terms and conditions contained in this notice. Gearhead Communications does not grant any express or implied right to you under any patents, trademarks, copyrights, or trade secret laws.
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DMCA NOTICE
Gearhead Communications respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our content partners and those posting to this Web Site to do the same. If you believe that your copyrighted work has been copied and is accessible on this Web Site in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, you may notify us by providing our copyright agent with sufficient information to allow us to locate the material, including the following information:
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Our agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement on this Web Site can be reached as follows:
By Mail:
Gearhead Communications, LLC
Patti Erenberger
3 Research Center
Marion, IA 52302
By Phone: (319) 447-5550
By Fax: (319) 447-5599
By Email: patti [at] premierguitar.com
DISCLAIMER
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Gearhead Communications is constantly improving its products and services and reserves the right to make such improvements or changes to this Web Site, the materials, products, services, or prices posted on this Web Site without prior notice, as it deems necessary.
PRIVACY
Gearhead Communications is committed to protecting your privacy. Gearhead Communications and its affiliates collect personal information from its users in limited situations as set forth in this Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Unless otherwise indicated, Gearhead Communications and its affiliates will only disclose personally identifiable information to third parties when required by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary in order to conform to the edicts of the law or comply with the legal process served on this Web Site. Unless otherwise stated in this Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, Gearhead Communications and its affiliates will not rent, sell or give your personally identifiable information to any outside party without your prior permission. Gearhead Communications and its affiliates may now or in the future use personally identifiable information, such as email addresses submitted by users, to contact users and third parties and provide information on internal promotions of Premier Guitar and its affiliates. If and when this feature becomes available, users will be given the option to opt out of receiving such promotions.
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PUBLIC AREAS
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- Engaging in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits any other person from using or enjoying the public areas or the Web Site, or which in the judgment of Gearhead Communications exposes Gearhead Communications, its affiliates or licensors to any liability or detriment of any type.
Gearhead Communications reserves the right to record the dialogue in any public areas. Gearhead Communications does not screen communications in advance and is not responsible for screening or monitoring material posted by any user. If notified by a user of communications which are alleged not to conform to this Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, Gearhead Communications may investigate the allegation and determine in its sole discretion to remove or request the removal of communications. Gearhead Communications reserves the right to remove communications which are abusive, illegal, disruptive or that otherwise fail to conform to this Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. In addition to the removal rights described above, Gearhead Communications reserves the right to terminate any user access to any or all public areas upon user's breach of this Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Gearhead Communications reserves the right (but is not obligated) to edit or delete any communications posted on any public area, regardless of whether such communications violate these standards for conduct.
Gearhead Communications reserves the right to take any action it deems necessary to protect the personal safety of its users or the public. Gearhead Communications has no liability or responsibility to users of the Web Site or any other person or entity for performance or non-performance of the aforementioned activities.
CHILDREN'S PRIVACY
We are committed to protecting the privacy of children. You should be aware that the Web Site is not intended or designed to attract children under the age of thirteen (13). We do not collect personally identifiable information from any person we actually know is a child under the age of thirteen (13).
INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY USER
You agree that you will not upload or transmit any type of communication or content to any public area that infringes or violates any rights of any party. By submitting any communication or content, including any business information, ideas, concepts or inventions to Gearhead Communications by e-mail or any other manner, you agree that such submission is non-confidential for all purposes. By submitting any such information to a public area or via e-mail, you automatically grant, or warrant that the owner of such content or intellectual property has expressly granted to Gearhead Communications and its affiliates a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, create derivative works from, modify, publish, edit, translate, distribute, perform and display the communication or content in any media or medium or any form, format or forum now known or hereafter developed. If you wish to keep any business information, ideas, concepts or inventions private or proprietary, do not submit them to the public areas or to Gearhead Communications by e-mail.
LINKS
Gearhead Communications may provide links to third party web sites. Gearhead Communications and its affiliates do not recommend and do not endorse the content on any third party web site and are not responsible for the content of linked third party sites, sites framed within the Web Site, third party sites provided as search results, or third party advertisements, and does not make any representations regarding their content or accuracy. Your use of third party web sites is at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such sites.
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Cookies are files that contain information created by a web server that can be stored on a user's hard disk for use either during a particular session or for future use. Gearhead Communications uses cookies for maintaining user account information, to help administer the Web Site, to measure the use of the Web Site and to improve the content of the Web Site. Users may set their computers to refuse cookies. Most browsers are initially set to accept cookies.
The Web Site may also use cookies and/or log files to collect information such as date and time of use, users' IP address and links and pages viewed by users of the Web Site. Such information is gathered for the purposes of maintaining user account information and is not used to disseminate significant information about users over the Internet or to analyze any information that users have knowingly or unknowingly provided. Such information will be accessible only by Gearhead Communications and its internet Web Site service provider.
INDEMNITY
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold Gearhead Communications and its affiliates and their respective officers, members, employees, agents, licensors and suppliers harmless from and against any claims, actions or demands, liabilities and settlements, including, without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees resulting from or alleged to result from your violation of this Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
GENERAL
Gearhead Communications, LLC is an Iowa limited liability company. Gearhead Communications makes no claims that the content provided in the Web Site is appropriate or may be downloaded outside of the United States. Access to the content in the Web Site may not be legal by certain persons or in certain countries. If you access the Web Site from outside the United States, you do so at your own risk and are responsible for compliance with the laws of your jurisdiction.
In the event all or a portion of the assets owned or controlled by Gearhead Communications or any parent, subsidiary or affiliated entity are sold, assigned, transferred or acquired by another company, information from or about Web Site users may be among the transferred assets.
JURISDICTION
You expressly agree that the exclusive jurisdiction for any dispute with Gearhead Communications, or in any way relating to your use of the Web Site, resides in the courts of the State of Iowa and you further agree and expressly consent to the exercise of personal jurisdiction in the courts of the State of Iowa in connection with any such dispute, including any claim involving Gearhead Communications or its affiliates, subsidiaries, employees, officers, members, telecommunication providers, licensors and suppliers. This Terms of Use and Privacy Policy is governed by the internal substantive laws of the State of Iowa without respect to its conflict of law principles. If any provision of this Terms of Use and Privacy Policy is found to be invalid by any court having competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of such provisions shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which shall remain in full force and effect. No waiver of the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or condition or any other term or condition.
COMPLETE AGREEMENT
This Terms of Use and Privacy Policy constitutes the entire agreement between you and Gearhead Communications with respect to the use of the Web Site and content.
Thank you for your cooperation. We hope you find the Web Site helpful and convenient. Questions or comments regarding the Web Site should be directed by electronic mail to patti [at] premierguitar.comor via U.S. Mail to Gearhead Communications, LLC, Three Research Center Marion, IA 52302.
PG contributor Tom Butwin demos the AirSonic W. Reverend Founder Joe Naylor has been on a quest to meld a solidbody’s sustain and attack with the rich, big tone of a semi-hollow. Naylor’s sonic dream is now a reality.
Reverend Airsonic W Solidbody Electric Guitar with Rosewood Fingerboard - Periwinkle Burst
Radically thinner wings and thru-body f-holes allow the body to resonate intensely, while a thick center ridge establishes solid sustain. Harmonics shimmer, single notes sing, and power chords ring like a bell at stage volume. Add in overdrive, and the controllable feedback is a thing of beauty. With the forearm and stomach contours, this guitar is light and comfortable. The Airsonic W has Railhammer Humcutters that capture the clarity and dynamics of a P-90 without the hum. A Wilkinson WVS50 IIK Tremolo in the bridge rounds out the package. If you’re ready to make a unique visual and sonic statement, the Airsonic W is for you!
Three brawny, chiming British amp voices, and a million colors in between, shine in an immaculately conceived and constructed 16-watt, EL84 combo that roars and sweetly sings.
Oodles of Brit tones that sound fantastic at low, or shockingly loud, volumes. Built like an old Benz. Touch-responsive and dynamic. Deep, addictive tremolo.
Expensive!
$3,240
Carr Bel-Ray
carramps.com
Playing the 16-watt, EL84-driven Carr Bel-Ray is, at times, flat-out, ecstatic fun. It’s alive, reactive, responsive, dynamic, and barks and chimes with a voice that spans a siren’s song and a firecracker. It lends snap and top-end energy to humbuckers, can turn a Telecaster bridge pickup lethal, or make a Rickenbacker 12-string brash and beautiful at once. It can also make you forget stompboxes exist. Most of my time with the Bel-Ray was spent without a pedal in sight.
Carr Bel-Ray Amp Demo | First Look
As the EL84 power section suggests, the Bel-Ray offers many paths to British amp tonalities. Three different voices—V66, H73, and M68, accessed via a 3-way switch—approximate Vox, Hiwatt, and Marshall sounds, respectively, and each genuinely, sometimes uncannily, evokes its inspiration. The three voices are only jumping-off points, though. The superb onboard attenuator enables huge sounds at civilized volumes, and the creative preamp section and volume-taper toggle can recast each voice profoundly. So can the flexible EQ, which shifts and morphs the Bel-Ray’s many tone colors in elegant and painterly ways. The tremolo, by the way, is rich, thick, and luxurious.
The Bel-Ray’s delectable tone-tasting menu is high-end stuff. Prices start at $3,240 for the combo and $3,150 for the head. But the Bel-Ray’s bold palette is unusually expansive, which can make a lot of amps very redundant. Compact, handsome, lovingly crafted, multifaceted, and way louder than its dimensions suggest—the longer you delve into the Bel-Ray’s potential the more the price tag makes sense.
Immaculately Executed
The Bel-Ray isn’t expensive for its hip sounds alone. We’ve raved about Carr quality before in Premier Guitar, and the Bel-Ray suggests Steve Carr’s standards are as high as ever. I’ve seen pricey custom furniture put together much less exactingly. And the substantial amp chassis and the circuit, handwired on terminal strip, almost suggest a kind of virtuous overbuilding—the variety that makes old Volvo and Mercedes-Benz engines go a half-million miles.
The Bel-Ray’s tube complement is nearly identical to those found in 18-watt Marshalls, AC15s, and Watkins Dominators, which are the Bel-Ray’s most obvious design touchstones. But rather than use three 12AX7 preamp tubes like those circuits, the Bel-Ray trades one 12AX7 for a pentode EF86. It adds a lot of pop and kinetic energy to the basic voice. It also works with a partial master volume, situated just after it, to lighten the load on the power tubes when you use the amp in the volume-taper toggle’s less-aggressive low position. An EZ81-based tube rectifier adds a welcome touch of contour to the Bel-Ray’s often hot and toppy response and widens the amp’s touch responsiveness spectrum. The Fane F25 12" ceramic speaker also helps broadcast the Bel-Ray’s fiery side while smoothing the toppiest peaks. Carr’s excellent attenuator enables operation between zero and 2 watts, or you can use the wide-open 16-watt mode. In both modes, and at virtually any setting, the Bel-Ray dazzles with its power, many personalities, and electric presence.
Warning! Explosives on Board
If you’re accustomed to vintage Fender, Gibson, Ampeg, and other American amps in this low-mid-wattage power category, you might be startled at how loud and feral the Bel-Ray can be. At 16 watts, it sounds and feels as loud and feisty as some 30- and 50-watt combos. At 2 watts it sounds just as full bodied and full of fangs, just quieter. Only when you spin the attenuator to the noon position (presumably about 1 watt) does the amp start to sound considerably thinner.
“There aren’t many guitars the Bel-Ray won’t love or illuminate in the most flattering light.”
Each setting on the voice switch, which affects the EQ section only, effectively reroutes the tone stack through three completely different sets of circuit values, shifting frequency emphasis and pass-through gain. The individual voices vary in gain (the Vox-y V68 is lowest, the Marshall-y M66 is highest) and can sound completely distinctive with many, many tone shades between them. As a result, there aren’t many guitars the Bel-Ray won’t love or illuminate in the most flattering light. PAF humbuckers, and their thick overtone profile, predictably blur some differences between the voices, but also generate dynamite, white-hot, and throaty tones and push the Carr to bellowing volumes that sound nothing like 16 watts. Good humbuckers are also a great vehicle for exploring the Bel-Ray’s superb dynamism and touch sensitivity. I rarely used a pick with my SG and the Bel-Ray, because I could coax such clear-and-sweet-to-searing extremes via touch dynamics and my guitar’s volume knob alone.
Telecasters, which are a particularly tasty match for the Bel-Ray, come alive with the same dynamism, sensitivity, responsiveness to volume and tone attenuation techniques, and varied touch intensity—enabling travel between dew-drop-delicate bell tones and screaming, edgy Jimmy Page daggers. A Rickenbacker 12-string with toaster tops was among the most revelatory pairings. With a little extra midrange kick, overtones danced in kaleidoscopic light. Turn up the gain, though, and the Rick will roar.
While the Bel-Ray could happily live its long life without ever meeting a pedal, it sounds fantastic with them. There is plenty of air in the Bel-Ray’s many voices to accommodate and communicate overtone intricacies in reverbs and complex modulation effects. And fuzz paired with the Bel Ray is a psychotically hot combination that cannot be missed.
The Verdict
The Bel-Ray is an impressive and handsome piece of kit. It’s also a reminder that an amplifier is arguably the most important piece of your signal chain. Everything sounds awesome through this amp. Technical pickers will love its sharp precision, but it overflows with slashing punk energy and dynamism, has enough headroom to communicate the details of alternate tunings and odd effects, and sounds spectral, full, and fantastic at both ends of its impressive volume range. About the only thing you won’t get from the Bel-Ray is a wide range of blonde and black-panel Fender sounds, though you can get really close, if extra-zingy, approximations in a pinch.
The price is hefty. But depending on your music and the settings and spaces you create it in, the Bel-Ray opens up many more possibilities than any AC15 or 18-watt Marshall would offer on its own. Also, the sense of craft in this amp offers its own kind of enjoyment. It’s a thoughtful, clever, beautifully built thing to behold. It’s also fun. Fun enough to make you fall asleep at night smiling and giddy, grateful that electrified, amplified music exists.
Precision machined from solid brass, these saddles offer enhanced density and tonal qualities, delivering a sharper attack, extended sustain, and a warmer tone compared to stock thin pressed-steel or zinc block-style saddles.
Moreover, the roller mechanisms significantly minimize friction and binding, allowing the strings to effortlessly glide over the saddle surface. Not only does this advancement ensure a more precise string return during bends, but it also effectively minimizes the occurrence of string breakage on tremolo-equipped instruments.
The String Surfer kits come with brass roller saddles, height adjustment set screws, intonation screws, and intonation springs. Available now at AxLabsHardware.com and other online outlets!
Street price: $96 - $103
For more information, please visit axlabshardware.com.