Building on the success of MTD’s USA Norm Stockton Signature Saratoga, the new KNSJ5 brings high end appointments and renowned playability to a more affordable price range.
Built to Norm Stockton’s specs for a service life equally at in the studio and on the road, the KNSJ5 marries USA Bartolini pickups and a new USA Bartolini Preamp to MTD Kingston Saratoga’s signature neck profile, fretwork, iconic body shape and hardware. The new preamp designed in conjunction with Bartolini gives players an unparalleled playing experience.
Features include:
35” Scale Maple neck with Maple fingerboard for a more focused B string
MTD Asymmetrical neck profile for less fatigue and a more comfortable grip
Custom NSJ Preamp from Bartolini with Shiftable 250/450hz Mid band and Active/Passive switch
“I had high expectations for the Kingston NS,” says Norm Stockton, “and it absolutely blew them away! Gorgeous looks, spectacular playability, and TONE for days. Everyone who’s played it has been floored.”
This new model represents a shift in how MTD Kingston basses are assembled. While every single Kingston model received a full setup – including a fret level/dress, intonation, and action adjustments – moving forward all Kingston series instruments equipped with Bartolini electronics will have those electronics installed in company’s Kingston, NY facility by the MTD team.
The KNSJ5 is available in Satin Blue Burst and has a street price of $2099. For more information visit mtdbass.com.
Tom Butwin is back with round two of Pedalmania 2025!
First, he demos the versatile Chase Bliss Brothers AM, a collaboration with Analog Man that packs the beloved King of Tone sound into a compact powerhouse. Next, experience the unique and wild sounds of Eventide's Knife Drop, a collaboration with Third Man that delivers crushing distortion and synth tones. Finally, explore the simple but effective Rock N Roll Relics Stinger Overdrive, an old-school pedal with new old stock parts that offers a wide range of usable tones—from a clean boost to searing leads.
Continuing the company’s 40th anniversary celebrations, Heritage Guitars has introduced the Standard II Collection, a refinement of its original Standard Series, starting with the updated H-150 model.
With the Standard II Collection, Heritage Guitars reaffirms its commitment to continual improvement and refining every detail to deliver meaningful upgrades for today’s players, while staying true to its American-made legacy. The all-new H-150 under the Standard II Collection introduces several key enhancements in construction, tone, and versatility.
Key features include:
Updated Headstock: A new headstock veneer featuring the ‘Heritage’ logo lends a more
Weight Relief: The body is crafted from genuine mahogany with weight relief, offering greater playing comfort without compromising tonal integrity
New Heritage Custom Shop 225 Standard Humbuckers: Designed and wound in-house, these pickups deliver a broad and expressive tonal range. Built with 42 AWG plain enamel wire (neck) or 43 AWG poly wire (bridge) on Butyrate unpotted bobbins, and 2.5” roughcast Alnico 5 magnets, they feature potted covers to minimize unwanted feedback at higher volumes
Modern Wiring: Equipped with series/parallel switching via push/pull tone pots, this setup provides expanded tonal flexibility, capturing the brightness and clarity of a “single-coil” voice without the typical volume loss of traditional coil-splitting
’60s Neck Profile: A slim, comfortable profile that maintains ample grip for a familiar, vintage-inspired feel
New Finishes: Offered in striking new colorways Wine Red, Bourbon Burst, and Chestnut Burst, alongside existing favorites Dirty Lemon Burst and Ebony
Made in the USA: Crafted at 225 Parsons Street, Kalamazoo, Michigan
The Standard II H-150 launch marks another milestone in a landmark year for the brand, which also saw the debut of the critically acclaimed Custom Shop H-717 archtop and the Ascent Collection, a line of accessible instruments designed to bring Heritage’s renowned craftsmanship to a wider audience.
The Heritage Standard II H-150 is priced at $2,599 (US MAP). For more information, visit heritageguitars.com or contact select authorized Heritage dealers.
Tubesteader releases the Gainlord™, a dual-channel preamp/overdrive inspired by British amps from the late ’60s through the ’80s, the amps that defined hard rock.
Built on real high-voltage tube circuitry, it delivers the same punch, harmonic richness, and touch-sensitive response as the original amps — all in a compact pedal format.
The low-gain channel is open and gritty, breaking up around 9 o’clock. Push it harder, and it develops a grainy crunch with sagging lows that add warmth and body. The high-gain channel is tighter and more aggressive, with defined notes and extra top-end bite, yet cleans up naturally when the guitar’s volume is rolled back. Both channels include a Bright switch for added presence; on the high-gain channel, it can also provide a subtle gain boost. A 3.5mm TRS jack allows remote control of channel switching and the high-gain Bright switch. The Tone Cut switch offers two modes: a full-output preamp for power amps or cab simulators, or a lower-level overdrive mode with scooped high-mids for front-of-amp use. Power is supplied via the included AC/DC adapter or any 12V DC, 500mA pedalboard supply.
The Gainlord can be used in front of an amp, into a power amp, or directly with a cab simulator. It comes with a wall-mount power supply and a country-specific plug. The Gainlord street price is $349 USD. Available at select retailers or directly from the Tubesteader online store www.tubesteader.com.
Strymon Engineering (www.strymon.net), theLos Angeles-based manufacturer of premium guitar, plugin and Eurorack products, today announced the arrival of their newest compact effects pedal, named Olivera. Based upon extensive research into what truly makes vintage oil can echo units tick, Olivera represents the most accurate reproduction of these devices ever offered in a compact form factor.
Oil can echoes like the classic Tel Rey® units actually used a motorized rotating can andlubricating oil to generate the murky repeats that they’re known for, creating a mountain oforganic variables that make recreating their behavior in software a major challenge. The resultof all of this research is a brand-new algorithm that has never before appeared in a Strymonproduct, capable of generating all of the organic chaos and vibe of the original units.All of the vintage flavor also comes with modern features like independent stereo processing of
the left and right inputs, full MIDI and expression control, stereo TRS ins and outs with multipleaudio routing modes and USB-C for firmware updates and computer control.
“This was a fun project to dig into and get right”, said Pete Celi, Strymon co-founder and DSPguru. “The sheer number of organic variations and interactions makes recreating the behaviorof a device like this pretty daunting, but that makes it even more rewarding when it all comestogether.” Celi continues, “I imagine that many folks would say that these units are simply filtered anddark, but it goes way beyond that. The way that these systems record and play back the signalresults in a really unique and magical ambience that doesn’t sound like anything else.”Olivera is available now directly from Strymon and from dealers worldwide for $259 US.For additional information visit https://www.strymon.net.
