With a tone vocabulary that spans clean, smoky, grinding, and growlingâplus a Two notes speaker simulatorâthe 25-watt Airwave is a ferociously fun, potentially formidable amp for any size stage or studio.
Needless to say, the splashy news about Suproâs Airwave is its onboard Two notes cab sim that expands the ampâs studio and live capabilities, not to mention a playerâs creative options. Having Two notes cab simulations onboard is a cool thing. It takes many of the cab sim tailoring capabilities of, say, the Universal Audio OX or Bossâ WAZA Tube Expander, and makes them part of the Airwaveâs amp architecture, which is no small victory for convenience.
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But the 2x6V6 Airwave is a very cool stage and studio amp before you ever touch the cabinet simulation capabilities. At 25 watts, with tube-driven tremolo and spring reverb, itâs a cool alternative for players considering a tweed Deluxe, Deluxe Reverb, Princeton Reverb, or, for that matter, any of Suproâs excellent low- to mid-power combos. But while itâs not quite the blank slate a Deluxe Reverb is (the Airwaveâs voice is generally more compressed, with lower headroom), if I had to record or play a show with the Airwave, a delay pedal, and a guitar, Iâd do so confident that I had about 4-zillion awesome, tender-to-gnarly textures to work with.
Little Basher
The Airwave is a handsome amp, designed with lots of vintage Supro motifs, a wide aluminum control panel, rocker switches, and a control layout that are more than a little evocative of the Rolling Stonesâ early Ampegs. Thereâs also a little Stones swagger in its voice. For while it can do a very convincing approximation of bright, almost-cleanish Princeton Reverb or Deluxe Reverb sounds, itâs basically grittier than either of those. Not in a way that confines the Airwave to garage-rock trash realms, but which hints at sepia-tone speaker sounds and a loud, rowdy vintage Supro or tweed Fender edge when you dig in with a flatpick. These savage-around-the-edges facets of the Airwaveâs personality are tempered, perhaps, by the 12'' speaker, which adds thickening counterpoint to the barky midrange growl and enhances bass frequencies. It helps make the 3-band EQ section feel more sensitive and interactive, too.
The tone variations available between just the EQ and master volume/gain control interplay are plentiful. But all those sounds can be dramatically recast and even made electrifyingly aggressive with the onboard, switchable boost and drive, which are activated by the two rocker switches on the front panel or optional footswitches.
Alternate Realities
To interface with the Airwaveâs Two notes capabilities, you download the Torpedo Remote app. But you can obtain excellent sounds without going deep, thanks in part to the ampâs onboard boost and drive switches. They feel like pedals perfectly selected to work with the amp and each other. The drive in particular is tough and snarling. And though your results may differ, to me the effects feel organically enmeshed in the fabric of the ampâs output. Both effects can be gritty, punchy, and explosive extensions of the amp, and together they can make it sound huge for 25 watts. The Torpedo Remote app calls up more-or-less photorealistic representations of several studios and live spaces (ancient temples included!), microphones, and cabinets. As in many other cab sim applications, you can readily and easily change microphones, slide microphone positions back and forth, switch between virtual cabinets of various sizes, as well as add preamps and reverbs with easy-to-use analog-style interfaces. If the wealth of sounds here isnât already everything you need to get a great recorded sound, they get you off to a great start. Whatâs important, though, is how seamlessly they function with the whole range of the ampâs tones.
The Verdict
Although $1.5K might seem like a lot to pay for an Indonesia-built tube amp, itâs noteworthy that amps like the Fender â65 Deluxe Reverb reissue are now pushing the $1.8K barrier. But the Airwave includes a useful and well-integrated Two notes Torpedo cab sim solution worth several hundred dollars by itself. Most impressively, Airwave excels in both the purely analog and digital cab sim realms without compromising capabilities in either. The amp has loads of personality and range. Itâs up for a punky Kinks/Ramones rumble or Alvin Lee rippage, but just as eager to please as a clean-cut extra in a Jaguar-and-spring-reverb surf party flick or vintage soul session. If youâre the kind of artist inclined to do a little of all that in your recording and performing life, the Airwave satisfies on every count.
A Canada-built, tastefully styled mini jumbo serves up comfort, a unique and expansive tone profile, and addictive playability.
Godin may be a Canadian company that skews modern in its design approach. But staring across the room at the new Godin Connaisseur MJ, glowing in soft spring sunlight, I kept thinking about two very classic American guitar companies. Martin and Rickenbacker are famous for very different things, and one of them rarely made acoustic instruments. But check out the Godinâs sunburst finishâit sure reminds me of Rickenbacker fireglo. The herringbone-patterned purling evokes that found on a D-28 as well as Rickenbackerâs checkerboard binding. The split-hexagon fretboard inlay? It conjures thoughts of a D-45, and Rickenbackerâs shark-fins. There are practical reasons that this Godin feels like an alternate-universe offspring from the two American companiesâmost notably the super-satisfying playability. Hermann Rorschach might have told me Iâm more inclined to see and feel these likenesses in the Connaisseur MJ (Iâm genuinely captivated by the beauty of Rickenbackers and Martins). But style is a big part of what sets the Connaisseur MJ apart, and you donât need an inkblot test to know that the Godin Connaisseur MJ is a handsome, well-built, and fine-playing flattop. Itâs a guitar that reveals its virtues quickly and easily.
Maple Leaf Rag
Consider another unorthodox melding of concepts: âminiâ and âjumbo.â Obviously, they are a contradiction in terms. But as an acoustic guitar design guideline, the combination can yield pure gold. The jumbo in mini jumbo (MJ in Godin nomenclature) alludes to the bodyâs basic shape which, in its fluid curvaceousness, echoes Gibsonâs SJ-200. But while the Connaisseur MJ isnât a behemoth like the SJ-200, itâs not exactly mini either, and feels much more like a shapelier Martin OM. Itâs a very comfortable profile that does much to alleviate the arm fatigue that can come from wrestling a dreadnought or genuinely jumbo jumbo.
At $2,499 the Canada-built Connaisseur MJ is Godinâs most expensive flattop by several hundred dollars. And at that price it has to tussle with giants like Martin, Gibson, and Taylorâall of whom sell very established and well-known models in a crowded market segment that most of us could call âgetting expensive enough to hurt.â So, what distinguishes the Godin in a densely populated field? Well, itâs certainly pretty, and the melding of classic flattop design touchstones and contemporary styling moves achieves a unique, attractive result rather than an uncomfortable, incohesive mash up of influences.
Golden Glow
In the sonic sphere, the Connaisseur MJ exhibits many classic spruce-and-mahogany characteristics. The warm, concise fundamentals, sunset-hued, softly decaying overtones, and lack of brashness are all hallmarks of this tonewood combination. But the Godin definitely doesnât live on the dusty, dry, and antique end of the mahogany-and-spruce spectrum. Itâs alive and dynamic and responsive in ways you might even categorize as âmodern,â and has ample headroom that leaves space for shifts in mood and intensity without shedding its essential voice. Itâs easy to be struck by the Connaisseur MJâs sparkle, especially when you use a light fingerstyle touch. But as I got to know the guitar, I grew to love the balance and resonance in the low end. I suspect that the mini jumbo body, and perhaps the 25.5" scale, have a lot to do with the Godinâs even, inviting voice and range. There is a beautiful combination of energy and air, even in the most softly plucked notes, and itâs easy to see how the extra expanse of spruce aft of the bridge might have a lot to do with how lively and rich the Godin sounds.
âThe Godin definitely doesnât live on the dusty, dry, antique end of the mahogany-and-spruce spectrum. Itâs alive and dynamic and responsive in ways you might even categorize as âmodern.ââ
All the tone in the world doesnât mean much if a guitar plays like a log. But the Connaisseur MJ shines in the playability realm. A few less-than-perfectly-dressed fret ends aside, the neck is addictively comfortable. If thereâs a lot of Richard Thompson hammer-ons and pull-offs in your own playing vernacular, youâll love the snappy touch responsiveness.
The Verdict
The biggest compliment I can offer the Connaisseur MJ is the considerable time I spent with it in a meditative musical stateâthinking not about a review, just basking in its warm, sprightly resonance and inviting touch response. At $2,499, the Godin arguably offers more personality than a satin-finished instrument at the same price with a more famous name. Itâs well built and feels like a guitar thatâs in it for the long haul. And when it comes to tone and a pure playing experience, the Connaisseur MJ shines.
Billed as a practice amp, this 40-watt, solid-state combo with reverb and tremolo is clean, pedal- and stage-friendly, and affordable.
Orange O 40
I enjoy that back-of-the-throat, big cat growl that starts happening when you turn up the preamp of an Orange amplifier. But the companyâs new O Tone 40 is a different breed of feline. With no gain control and a 1x12 made-in-Poland Voice of the World speaker that doesnât break up until you start cranking it past noon, the O Tone 40 is designed to purr rather than snarlâunless lashed to an overdrive or fuzz pedal. It adds a different, more American-vintage flavor to the companyâs lineup of versatile, low-priced new-generation amps and a voice shaped, in many respects,by the number and character of the stomps on your pedalboard.
Practice Schmactis
The solid-state O Tone 40 is billed as a practice amp, but Iâd feel comfortable taking it onstage anywhere Iâd use, say, a Deluxe Reverb or Blues Junior. Itâs a 40-watt, class-AB build with 3-band EQ, digital reverb, and footswitchable JFET-driven tremolo. Thereâs an effects loop, too, and the combo clocks in at a light 26 pounds. In the modern practice-amp spirit, the O Tone has a 1/4'' headphone out and an unbalanced line-out to run into a DAW. Thereâs also an auxiliary input for, say, pumping in rhythm tracks or plugging in a metronome. The cabinet is medium-density fiberboard, versus the birch plywood of the 35-watt, 1x10 Orange Crush, which has no reverb or tremolo. And itâs tagged at a very reasonable $399, given its overall functionality.
With its classic control setâreverb, depth, speed, bass, midrange, treble, and volume, from left to rightâthe O Tone 40 is easy to use, and dialing up a host of good sounds with single-coil and humbucking pickups was a snap. The closed-back design and overall sonic profile tends to make the amp a bit bass heavy, especially with humbuckers, so itâs important to watch the EQ settings. I found a set-it-and-forget-it location with the bass at 9 oâclock, the mids floored, and the treble at 11 oâclock. This is a matter of taste, of course, and mine runs toward the mid-heavy with tempered treble. After all, Orange ampsâ strength has always been the harmonic richness of their mids, and the O Tone 40 hits that mark. Plus, adding a little more treble pulled things toward Marshall territory, too.
Another aspect I loved was the breakup I started to hear working the volume up past noon. Itâs more subtle than snarling, and reminded me of the organic dirty sounds that can be achieved by cranking up old Valco and Gibson amps from the â50s and â60s. So vintage tone hunters may find the O Tone 40 a great lower-priced alternative to an actual period piece. But the quiet effects loop also makes the amp ready for sonic futurism, if thatâs oneâs goal.
Finally, the reverb is deliciously spring-like, and the dial will travel from dry to surf to the supernatural. The tremolo has plenty of vintage character, too, although I would like to see a little more response in the lower range of the depth control, like that Iâve experienced with old Supros and Gibsons, which can get pretty radical right out of the box.
The Verdict
The super-affordable Orange O Tone 40 is versatile and pedal-friendly, with vibe-y reverb and tremolo as well as an effects loop, so stomp OD fans likely wonât miss the amp-makerâs usual appealing gain profile. Thereâs enough headroom for clean stage and rehearsal sounds at substantial volume, and pushing the volume past noon yields a very vintage-amp-like breakup profile, which make the O Tone a dependable work-pony with much more than a single trick.
The Icelandic rockers roll with semi-hollows for their hard-hitting blues.
Iceland-born, Nashville-based blues rockers Kaleo released their fourth full-length LP, Mixed Emotions, on May 9 via Elektra. To celebrate the album in their adopted hometown, they threw a party at American Legion Post 82 in East Nashville.
Some of the bandâs gear had already been shipped to Red Rocks Amphitheatre, where the official release show took place on May 10, but âKentucky Fried Scandinavianâ lead guitarist Rubin Pollock gave PGâs Chris Kies a look at the must-haves loaded in for the legion gig.
Pollock bought this 1967 Gibson ES-345 at Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville, and since then, it has been his closest friend, used on all tours and recordings. He favors its out-of-phase sounds brought on by using both pickups, and though it's equipped with a Varitone knob system, Pollock almost never uses it. He hasnât changed the strings in years.
The Kustomer is Always Right
It was almost closing time when Pollock saw this Kustom K-200 hanging on a wall in a New York City guitar shop. The shop clerk said there was no time to try it, so Pollock bought it on the spot. It has a darker tone than his 345, which he brightens with a wah pedal. Its strings havenât been changed since he bought it.
A Fender Mustang, bought in 2016, was treated to new strings recently by Pollockâs tech. He didnât seem stoked.
Projector Project
With his black-panel Fender Deluxe already making its way to Red Rocks, Pollock opted for this Austen Hooks-built projector amp. Hooks built him one after Pollock fell in love with another of his builds at a Los Angeles studio.
Rubin Pollockâs Pedalboard
Pollock packs light, configuring his board to fit in a shoulder bag that he can carry himself wherever he needs to go. His pedals include a Strymon El Capistan and Flint, JHS Colour Box, DigiTech Whammy Ricochet, Boss TU-3, Fulltone Octafuzz, Chase Bliss Preamp Mark II, and an Isle of Tone âCookie Monsterâ fuzz.
Jökull JĂșlĂussonâs Guitars
Jökull âJ.J.â JĂșlĂusson couldnât make it for the Rundown, but Pollock gave us a look at his Gibson ES-330 and his signature resonator, built by English luthier Pete Turner. Behind them sits J.J.âs long-time go-to amp, his Orange AD30, which ran through an Orange 1x12 cab.
Jökull JĂșlĂussonâs Board
JĂșlĂussonâs board includes a Strymon Flint and El Capistan, Boss TU-3, a custom Sounds of Shelby drive pedal, Vemuram Shanks ODS-1, MXR Ten Band EQ, and Radial StageBug DI box, plus a channel switcher for the AD30.