An all-analog pedal that aims to capture the sound of a well-used classic.
Nice, France (February 7, 2019) -- Since 2017, at Anasounds we took the challenge to offer you a reverb with the tone of the legendary Fender Twin Reverb!
To do this, we worked on several technologies, including dedicated digital processors, FV-1s, Belton BTDR. We tried everything!
Then we finally made this observation. There are very few solutions of 100% analog reverb. We were surprised to see that this exceptional combination was so underused. The few competitors that started to do it, did not go deep into the concept, large boxes and fairly rudimentary settings. So with the aim of improving this situation, we’ve continued our research in order to propose a new approach of the spring Reverb. A Twin Reverb in a pedal and much more…
The Element is a pedal that takes back the very essence of the analog reverb, which is obtained by physically stimulating springs thanks to the guitar signal. Simply. No artificials. No calculations. From beautiful mechanical coupled to analog signal processing.
It’s still a classic pedal, same size as all of our other pedals. You scratch it (or not) on the pedalboard. It always has an input jack, an output jack and a 9V power jack.
What’s more? There’s a mini jack to plug on the back of the pedal. Then, it will be connected to the box full of springs (called a tank) via RCA connectors. This tank is mandatory because it is the one that allows to generate an analog effect of reverb.
Compared from other Spring Reverb that use huge boxes, the tank is detached from the pedal, and connected by a cable. Then the tank can be hidden under the pedalboard or kept on top of the board, this is up to you!
Self-drilling screws are supplied with the tank to help you attach the tank to the desired location on the pedalboard.
Controls
Before introducing you the various settings, we need to make a little reminder!
The Dry signal is the signal that enters into the pedal without any modifications. The Wet signal is the one that has been processed by the effect, hence the output, in a classic pedal.
These terms are often used when it comes to parallel sound processing. Because, we want to keep the dry signal and then, add a dose of wet signal to it, according to our taste.
So we got on the top of the pedal :
- Mix: A pot that set the Dry/Wet ratio of the signal. Primordial for dosing the amount of reverb. At min, there is no more reverb (100% dry, 0% wet) and at max, we only have reverb (0% dry, 100% wet).
- Out:, A pot that set volume of the Wet branch only. At min, there is no more reverb and at max, the reverb gains about +9dB. +18dB in SPRING SATURATION mode.
- Low: A pot playing on the 2 band active EQ, precisely on low frequency side. At min, we remove completely the basses, at max, we gain +6dB. This is very useful when you want to make big layers or just a tiny reverb on the back of the mix.
- High is the same setting but for the treble.
- Spring Saturation: A switch to put springs in saturation mode. When switched up, the spring is intact, the signal passes normally through. When switched down, the spring saturates and the output level increases significantly, you get a kind of fuzz/overdrive that comes from the spring!
Thanks to these advanced settings this pedal becomes really unique. Even for our old friends, fan of Surf Rock music but also for many guitarists of all kinds, modular geeks and MAO killer. The possibilities are very wide!
Tank variations
Le Bon, La Brute et Le Truand (The Good, The Bad and The Ugly). These acolytes are very well named, indeed :
- Le Bon, is the smallest of them, small in size but full of resources, it is amply enough for guitar and will save room to the point of leaving it scratched on top of the pedalboard, while admiring the beauty of moving springs!
- La Brute, well, that’s the middle choice! Big enough to offer a lot of shpouing and make most of musicians crazy. Its average size makes it possible to fit easily under a pedalboard, right next to the pedal power supply block or on the keyboard table. It provides much more harmonics than its friend Le Bon.
- Le Truand, is simply out of competition! This is the one that offers the richest sound! With endless shpouingwingwigouing! A monstrous cavity and an unusual resonance. You will have to find a place for him not far from the amp or near the pedalboard because his size is really big! This is the team’s favorite. That’s why we decided to propose it despite its size.
Shoot the tank!
Be careful not to shoot in it permanently, the public will simply move to the bar. Rubber tampons are also provided with the tank in order to secure it and to calm the brutalizing drummers with their big kicks.
For more information:
Anasounds
Metalocalypse creator Brendon Small has been a lifetime devotee and thrash-metal expert, so we invited him to help us break down what makes Slayer so great.
Slayer guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman formed the original searing 6-string front line of the most brutal band in the land. Together, they created an aggressive mood of malcontent with high-velocity thrash riffs and screeching solos that’ll slice your speaker cones. The only way to create a band more brutal than Slayer would be to animate them, and that’s exactly what Metalocalypse (and Home Movies) creator Brendon Small did.
From his first listen, Small has been a lifetime devotee and thrash-metal expert, so we invited him to help us break down what makes Slayer so great. Together, we dissect King and Hanneman’s guitar styles and list their angriest, most brutal songs, as well as those that create a mood of general horribleness.
This episode is sponsored by EMG Pickups.
Use code EMG100 for 15% off at checkout!
Learn more: emgpickups.com
The legendary German hard-rock guitarist deconstructs his expressive playing approach and recounts critical moments from his historic career.
This episode has three main ingredients: Shifty, Schenker, and shredding. What more do you need?
Chris Shiflett sits down with Michael Schenker, the German rock-guitar icon who helped launch his older brother Rudolf Schenker’s now-legendary band, Scorpions. Schenker was just 11 when he played his first gig with the band, and recorded on their debut LP, Lonesome Crow, when he was 16. He’s been playing a Gibson Flying V since those early days, so its only natural that both he and Shifty bust out the Vs for this occasion.
While gigging with Scorpions in Germany, Schenker met and was poached by British rockers UFO, with whom he recorded five studio records and one live release. (Schenker’s new record, released on September 20, celebrates this pivotal era with reworkings of the material from these albums with a cavalcade of high-profile guests like Axl Rose, Slash, Dee Snider, Adrian Vandenberg, and more.) On 1978’s Obsession, his last studio full-length with the band, Schenker cut the solo on “Only You Can Rock Me,” which Shifty thinks carries some of the greatest rock guitar tone of all time. Schenker details his approach to his other solos, but note-for-note recall isn’t always in the cards—he plays from a place of deep expression, which he says makes it difficult to replicate his leads.
Tune in to learn how the Flying V impacted Schenker’s vibrato, the German parallel to Page, Beck, and Clapton, and the twists and turns of his career from Scorpions, UFO, and MSG to brushes with the Rolling Stones.
Credits
Producer: Jason Shadrick
Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis
Engineering Support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudion
Video Editor: Addison Sauvan
Graphic Design: Megan Pralle
Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.
Katana-Mini X is designed to deliver acclaimed Katana tones in a fun and inspiring amp for daily practice and jamming.
Evolving on the features of the popular Katana-Mini model, it offers six versatile analog sound options, two simultaneous effects, and a robust cabinet for a bigger and fuller guitar experience. Katana-Mini X also provides many enhancements to energize playing sessions, including an onboard tuner, front-facing panel controls, an internal rechargeable battery, and onboard Bluetooth for streaming music from a smartphone.
While its footprint is small, the Katana-Mini X sound is anything but. The multi-stage analog gain circuit features a sophisticated, detailed design that produces highly expressive tones with immersive depth and dimension, supported by a sturdy wood cabinet and custom 5-inch speaker for a satisfying feel and rich low-end response. The no-compromise BOSS Tube Logic design approach offers full-bodied sounds for every genre, including searing high-gain solo sounds and tight metal rhythm tones dripping with saturation and harmonic complexity.
Katana-Mini X features versatile amp characters derived from the stage-class Katana amp series. Clean, Crunch, and Brown amp types are available, each with a tonal variation accessible with a panel switch. One variation is an uncolored clean sound for using Katana-Mini X with an acoustic-electric guitar or bass. Katana-Mini X comes packed with powerful tools to take music sessions to the next level. The onboard rechargeable battery provides easy mobility, while built-in Bluetooth lets users jam with music from a mobile device and use the amp as a portable speaker for casual music playback.
For quiet playing, it’s possible to plug in headphones and enjoy high-quality tones with built-in cabinet simulation and stereo effects. Katana-Mini X features a traditional analog tone stack for natural sound shaping using familiar bass, mid, and treble controls. MOD/FX and REV/DLY sections are also on hand, each with a diverse range of Boss effects and fast sound tweaks via single-knob controls that adjust multiple parameters at once. Both sections can be used simultaneously, letting players create combinations such as tremolo and spring reverb, phaser and delay, and many others.
Availability & Pricing The new BOSS Katana-Mini X will be available for purchase at authorized U.S. Boss retailers in December for $149.99. For the full press kit, including hi-res images, specs, and more, click here. To learn more about the Katana-Mini X Guitar Amplifier, visit www.boss.info.
Snark releases its most compact model ever: the Crazy Little Thing rechargeable clip-on headstock tuner.
Offering precise tuning accuracy and a super bright display screen, the Crazy Little Thing is approximately the size of your guitar pick – easy to use, unobtrusive and utterly dependable.
Housed in a sturdy shell, the Crazy Little Thing can be rotated for easy viewing from any angle, and its amazingly bright display makes it perfect for the sunniest outdoor stages or the darkest indoor studios. You can clip it to the front of your headstock or on the back of your headstock for extra-discreet usage – and you can easily adjust the display to accommodate your preference.
As the newest addition to Snark’s innovative line of headstock tuners, the Crazy Little Thing is rechargeable (no batteries!) and comes with a USB-C cable/adapter for easy charging. Its display screen includes a battery gauge, so you can easily tell when it’s time to recharge.
The Crazy Little Thing’s highly responsive tuning sensor works great with a broad range of instruments, including electric and acoustic guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin and more. It also offers adjustable pitch calibration: its default reference pitch is A440, but also offers pitch calibration at 432Hz and 442 Hz.
Snark’s Crazy Little Thing rechargeable headstock tuner carries a street price of $21.99. For more information visit snarktuners.com.