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Koll Guitar Company: The Superior
Designed in 1995 as a departure from the Glide series, the Superior features a solid alder body with a striking double cutaway. Also included is a set maple neck with
MusicPro ’26, a conference collecting music industry sponsors and over 50 speakers, begins this Friday at Musicians Institute in Hollywood and continues through the weekend, providing artists and those who support them with information, interaction and inspiration. And, after posting 30+ conference sessions, receptions and special events to musicpro26.com, an array of special events-within-the-event have been announced, including:
The MusicPro Networking Reception
BMI’s “Speed Dating for Songwriters”
The MusicPro Insurance Showcase and Pandora AMP After-Party
The Music Matters Challenges
The event has previously announced sessions with Neil Giraldo (Giraldo-Benatar), RIAA CEO Mitch Glazier, former Jonas Entertainment CEO Phil Guerini, American Idol’s Peter Cohen, The Voice’s Dory Lobel, Gregg Bissonette, and many others.
Hosted by Give A Note Foundation – the 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to nurturing, growing, and strengthening music education opportunities – and with premier sponsors MusicPro Insurance and Pandora AMP, MusicPro ‘26 features panels, workshops, live interviews, keynotes and more about achieving success in today’s music industry. The conference will also give artists the opportunity to network with fellow musicians and industry leaders. The full list of sessions, speakers, and sponsors can be found here. To register for MusicPro ’26, go to musicpro26.com. MusicPro ‘26 is produced by Westchester Media.
Cory Wong sits down with the legendary bassist Oteil Burbridge (Allman Brothers Band, Dead & Company, Tedeschi Trucks Band) for a deep dive into musical philosophy, Col. Bruce, and more.
Burbridge has been driven by a simple, radical lesson he learned from Col. Bruce Hampton: Intention comes first, the instrument is last. He tells Cory how he learned to channel his entire life—including the “mirror of embarrassment”—into his playing to develop a singular voice—scat singing and all.
Burbridge also breaks down how he maintains deep groove while adding melodic freedom, and the power a bassist has to drive a soloist to “40,000 feet.” Plus, you’ll hear behind-the-scenes stories from the Allman Brothers Band, advice on dealing with creative pushback, and details on his upcoming album recorded in Iceland.
Genzler® Amplification has introduced the next generation of the company’s 800-watt professional, tour-class bass guitar amplifier: the new Magellan® 800+.
Carrying forward the legacy of night-after-night reliability, the new Magellan® 800+ delivers higher performance and several new features – including improved preamp circuitry, an expanded EQ network, and same rugged chassis and stringent design for which Genzler is well known.
The Magellan® 800+ delivers the most powerful, feature-laden, compact bass amplifier available in its class. This new model offers improved dynamic response and feel; along with superior low-noise thresholds and increased dynamic headroom.
The MG-800+® is a solid-state, all analog design and provides a simple, musical interface, and the tonal palette needed to cover all of the bassist’s amplifier requirements; from natural, pristine, transparent reproduction of the bass instrument to classic, vintage harmonic textures with “weighted feel to the notes”. This is packaged within the classic Magellan styling and all-aluminum chassis, weighing only 6.25 lbs.
The Magellan® 800+ is equipped with an expanded list of features:
Updated input circuitry for increased dynamics
All-new foot switchable Drive circuitry delivering a wide range of tube-like harmonics
New HPF (High Pass Filter) multi-slope, frequency dependent and adjustable between 25-120Hz
Genzler’s unique Dual Contour Circuit – now foot switchable and separately adjustable
New 4 Band Active EQ with two Sweepable midrange frequencies
New high-grade op-amps for lower noise threshold and higher dynamic headroom, throughout the preamp
Optional dual function footswitch for Drive and Contour functions
Light weight @ 6.25 Lbs
The Magellan® 800+ design is a dramatic departure from Genzler® Amplification’s current lineup of popular bass heads, the Kinetix® 800 and Magellan® 350. All Genzler bass heads are an ideal match to their line of speaker enclosures, like the Bass Array® Series 2, Nu Classic® and new Magellan® ULV series of bass cabinets.
The Magellan® 800+ amp carries a street price of $1,199.99. For more information visit www.genzleramplification.com.
This 1948 230K doesn’t look like it’s been in service for nearly 80 years
In the early 1900s, Hawaiian music captivated America. With the advent of electric amplification, the electric lap-steel guitar fit right in with the sound of Hawaiian music in the 1930s and ’40s. The guitar amplifiers you heard on these early electric recordings were straightforward and low-wattage, designed to simply project the sound of the instrument.
This 1948 Oahu 230K is a great example of the warm, natural sounding amps that were produced during the first half of the 20th century. The Oahu Publishing Company was founded around 1930 in Cleveland, Ohio. The company published primarily Hawaiian sheet music and music lessons, and eventually also sold lap steels and accompanying amplifiers. This is a beautiful example of the 230K, with very little work done on it previously.
There are a few versions of the “Tonemaster” 230K, coming in different shapes and colorways. Amplifiers from this era often have memorable designs with rich color schemes and textures. This amp is one of my favorite versions of the 230K, with caramel and cream colored Tolex. The grill is velvety soft, with sentimental lettering and a classic music note design. One of the very first amps I ever took apart and studied on my own was the slightly later version of the 230K, which had a shield-shaped grill. Talk about nostalgia!
The inside of the 230K shows a simple, straightforward circuit.
This “Tonemaster” amp sports a 12" Rola field-coil speaker, date stamped for September of 1948. It has an instrument channel with two inputs, a microphone channel with one input, and a tone control. In this version of the circuit, the amp uses a 6SC7 for the first gain stage and a 6SL7 driving the pair of 6V6 output tubes. The amp also has a 5Y3 rectifier tube.
The amp came to me with a 2-prong power cord and no modern components in sight. Someone may have replaced some of the main filter capacitors in the ’60s or ’70s. The filter capacitor can was disconnected and individual orange Astron capacitors took their place in the power supply. This amp must have been well kept, as the outer Tolex and inner circuitry is extremely clean for its age. The grill is impeccable with virtually no blemishes. I find myself wondering about life in 1948 when this amp was built—almost 80 years ago.
As is typical for amps of this age, I needed to install a 3-prong power cord. The hot and neutral wires literally disintegrated when I cut them out! I also needed to replace the electrolytic capacitors for safety and reliability. For me, there is no question—the power supply needs to be refurbished if the amp is going to be used. Once this preliminary work was done, I tested the amp for a while. During this time, I listened for any abnormal hissing, crackling, or other noises. Unsurprisingly, the idle noise of the amp turned into sporadic crackling and popping, which led me into phase two of the repair.
To track down noise issues like this, I will pull one tube at a time, starting with the first preamp tube in the circuit. When I pulled the first tube, the 6SC7, the noise was eliminated. This told me that the noise was being amplified by this first gain stage, and the cause lies either before or within that first tube position. I grabbed a NOS 6SC7, installed it, and no more noise! In this case, the issue was simply the tube itself. If there was still crackle with the new 6SC7 installed, I would suspect another component in the circuit.
I noticed that the microphone channel’s volume pot was totally frozen, and it was difficult to turn the control in either direction. This was likely caused by oxidation or corrosion over time. Sometimes, treating and cleaning the potentiometer will help to get it moving, but this one was pretty extreme. I grabbed a new 1M potentiometer and replaced the seized pot. Good as new!
With the amp fully functioning, I was finally able to enjoy some quality time playing through it. This amp was built shortly after the end of World War II, when America was gaining an optimistic spirit and the popular music of the time was emotive. Simply strumming the guitar through this amp at low volumes felt cozy and nostalgic, like wrapping the guitar sound in a warm hug. This is a roughly 10-watt amp, and when the volume gets cranked, the amp growls with that natural tube overdrive. While music at the time did not call for distortion in the guitar tone, it is a welcomed characteristic that is prevalent in many amps of the era.
Boutique pedal mastermind Mr. Black has launched the Stereo Vintage Ensemble Pro Chorus pedal.
Building upon the legacy of the original 2015 Vintage Ensemble, the Stereo Vintage Ensemble Pro re-defines what a true-stereo chorus is capable of, delivering classic 70’s chorus tones plus a magical spatial-enhancement algorithm which builds a three-dimensional modulation field that emerges everywhere as it elegantly glides about the room.
Modern amenities like tap-tempo, external expression pedal input, a suite of presets and full MIDI support round out this vintage-voiced powerhouse.
Hand built one-at-a-time in Portland, Oregon, the Stereo Vintage Ensemble Pro doles out truly vintage vibes in a compact and handsome package.
Key features include:
Stereo vintage-chorus with spatial expansion
Very wide range of LFO speeds with Tap-Tempo
Stereo inputs and outputs
Expression-pedal input
Nine total presets
Full MIDI support (MIDI Type-A)
Powered by “Industry Standard” 9VDC
The Mr. Black Stereo Vintage Ensemble Pro carries a street price of $299.95. For more information visit www.mrblackpedals.com.
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