The GB54P has vintage-style features including an alder body, VTB-P pickup, and 9.45” fretboard radius.
Seoul, South Korea (October 25, 2018) -- Whether a teacher wants to impart the fundamentals to a student or a gigging musician wants to add a workhorse, the new GB54P electric bass guitar from Cort delivers classic tone with high-quality materials, all at a superb value. Like other models in Cort’s GB Series, this homage to the classic P-style bass is an excellent choice for players who lean towards a more traditional look and feel but appreciate modern appointments and features that improve the overall performance of the instrument.
The vintage features of the GB54P begin with the alder body, one of the ideal tone woods for bass guitar. Used by many guitar makers since the 1950s, alder provides a perfectly balanced tone with a slight boost on the high midrange. The high-mids are further supported by the jatoba fingerboard, which has strong volume projection and is a very dense, stiff wood for good playability. The vintage-style 9.45” fretboard radius on the 20-fret hard maple neck (34’’ scale) is a classic feature that’s ideal for both single-note playing or for chording. The 1.625” nut width provides easy fingering and tapers smoothly up the range of the fingerboard. These playability features are supported by Cort’s new ergonomic neck joint, which increases comfort while reducing tendon stress and awkward wrist and finger positions. Players can easily reach the highest notes with confidence, whether they’re a beginner or an experienced soloist.
The GB54P’s vintage-style VTB-P pickup produces the timeless P-style bass sound that launched a musical revolution. The resulting tone is warm and punchy, but also has the growl to suit almost any musical style. The pickup corresponds to a no-frills vintage-style bridge with ¾-inch string spacing.
The controls of the GB54P are simple, with one volume pot and one tone pot with output jack, allowing the player to focus on the music. Along with die-cast tuners, the chrome hardware on either a 2-Tone Sunburst or Sea Foam Pearl Green finish completes the look.
Retail $379.00 USD
For more information:
Cort Guitars
Nineties-style high-gain heaviness that can be surgically tailored with a powerful EQ.
Excellent variations on high-gain modern distortion tones. Powerful EQ.
Not many low- or mid-gain sounds here.
$199
JHS Hard Drive
jhspedals.com
JHS makes many great and varied overdrive stomps. Their Pack Rat is a staple on one of my boards, and I can personally attest to the quality of their builds. The new Hard Drive has been in the works since as far back as 2016, when Josh Scott and his staff were finishing off workdays by jamming on ’90s hard rock riffs.
During these sessions, Scott’s go-to pedal was the Ibanez SM7 Smash Box. He realized that JHS had never offered anything along those lines, conferred with his then lead engineer, Cliff Smith, and the wheels were set in motion. Over several years of design, the Hard Drive evolved from an SM7 homage to a unique, original circuit.
JHS’ Hardest to Date
The Hard Drive’s control panel is streamlined, consisting of knobs for volume, mid frequency, drive, bass, middle, and treble. Driven by cascading gain stages, the Hard Drive can cop a wide range of modern distorted tones. Even at the lowest drive settings, the Hard Drive simmers, delivering massive bottom end on muted power chords. Nudging the drive up very slightly transforms the Hard Drive into a roaring Marshall JCM 900. And if you bring the drive all the way up, you’re in for all out chaos. Even with an amp set just louder than bedroom levels, the Hard Drive, with its volume at just 11 o’clock, is very loud and in-your-face. You don’t have to work hard to imagine how this could sound and feel like multiple stacks raging at Madison Square Garden in the context of a recorded track.
Even at the lowest drive settings, the Hard Drive simmers, delivering massive bottom end.
Zoning the Frequencies
Unlike some heavy pedals that concern themselves with mega-gain and little else, the Hard Drive’s EQ controls are very effective and powerful. Moving the treble knob from 11 o’clock to 1 o’clock changes the pedal’s tone and response characteristics completely, opening up and transforming the naturally relatively dark sound of my Fender Super Sonic amp. Turning the treble knob all the way off with the bass and mid knobs at noon gives me a vocal lead tone that’s creamy, warm, and still immediate and responsive.
The middle and mid frequency controls work in tandem. The mid control itself works as a cut or boost. The mid frequency control, however, lets you choose the specific frequency you cut or boost. I found these controls invaluable for sculpting tones that could leverage the copious gain without being abrasive. Meanwhile, adding more high midrange lends clarity to complex chords.
The Verdict
The Hard Drive is an unapologetically heavy pedal—if you’re looking for a dirt box that can double as a clean boost, well, the Hard Drive is not that. It’s meant to slay with gain, and it performs this task well and with a vengeance. There are countless dirt boxes on the market that deliver hot rodded, ’80s-style brown sound. Fewer cater to the subsequent generations of high-gain players that used the ’80s as a mere jumping-off point. The Hard Drive is very much voiced for this strain of heavy music. If that’s your jam, the Hard Drive is hard to beat.
Tailored for Yngwie Malmsteen's signature sound, the MXR Yngwie Malmsteen Overdrive is designd to offer simple controls for maximum impact.
Working closely alongside Yngwie, the MXR design team created a circuit that delivers clarity, expressive dynamics, and rich harmonics—all perfectly tailored for his light-speed arpeggios, expressive vibrato, and big, bold riffs. The control setup is simple, with just Level and Gain knobs.
"Want to sound like Yngwie? Crank both knobs to the max."
“This pedal is the culmination of 45+ years developing a sound that’s perfect in every possible way,” Yngwie says. “I present to you: the MXR Yngwie Malmsteen Overdrive. Prepare to be amazed.”
MXR Yngwie Malmsteen Overdrive highlights:
- Perfectly tailored for Yngwie Malmsteen's signature sound and style
- Simple control setup tuned for maximum impact
- Boost every nuance with superior clarity, expressive dynamics, and rich harmonics
- Dig into light-speed arpeggios, expressive vibrato, and big, bold riffs
The MXR Yngwie Malmsteen Overdrive is available now at $129.99 street/$185.70 MSRP from your favorite retailer.
For more information, please visit jimdunlop.com.
Featuring dual-engine processing, dynamic room modeling, and classic mic/speaker pairings, this pedal delivers complete album-ready tones for rock and metal players.
Built on powerful dual‑engine processing and world‑class UAD modeling, ANTI 1992 High Gain Amp gives guitarists the unmistakable sound of an original "block letter" Peavey 5150 amplifier* – the notorious 120‑watt tube amp monster that fueled more than three decades of modern metal music, from Thrash and Death Metal, to Grunge, Black Metal, and more.
"With UAFX Dream, Ruby, Woodrow, and Lion amp emulators, we recreated four of the most famous guitar amps ever made," says UA Sr. Product Manager Tore Mogensen. "Now with ANTI, we're giving rock and metal players an authentic emulation of this punishing high gain amp – with the exact mic/speaker pairings and boost/noise gate effects that were responsible for some of the most groundbreaking modern metal tones ever captured."
Key Features:
- A complete emulation of the early '90s 120‑watt tone monster that defined new genres of modern metal
- Powerful UAFX dual-engine delivers the most authentic emulation of the amp ever placed in a stompbox
- Complete album‑ready sounds with built‑in noise gate, TS‑style overdrive, and TC‑style preamp boost
- Groundbreaking Dynamic Room Modeling derived from UA's award-winning OX Amp Top Box
- Six classic mic/speaker pairings used on decades of iconic metal and hard rock records
- Professional presets designed by the guitarists of Tetrarch, Jeff Loomis, and The Black Dahlia Murder
- UAFX mobile app lets you access hidden amp tweaks and mods, choose overdrive/boost, tweak noise gate, recall and archive your presets, download artist presets, and more
- Timeless UA design and craftsmanship, built to last decades
For more information, please visit uaudio.com.
- YouTube
The Memphis-born avant-funk bassist keeps it simple on the road with a signature 5-string, a tried-and-true stack, and just four stomps.
MonoNeon, aka Dywane Thomas Jr., came up learning the bass from his father in Memphis, Tennessee, but for some reason, he decided to flip his dad’s 4-string bass around and play it with the string order inverted—E string closest to the ground and the G on top. That’s how MonoNeon still plays today, coming up through a rich, inspiring gauntlet of family and community traditions. “I guess my whole style came from just being around my grandma at an early age,” says Thomas.His path has led him to collaborate with dozens of artists, including Nas, Ne-Yo, Mac Miller, and even Prince, and MonoNeon’s solo output is dizzying—trying to count up his solo releases isn’t an easy feat. Premier Guitar’s Chris Kies caught up with the bassist before his show at Nashville’s Exit/In, where he got the scoop on his signature 5-string, Ampeg rig, and simple stomp layout, as well as some choice stories about influences, his brain-melting playing style, and how Prince changed his rig.
Brought to you by D’Addario.
Orange You Glad to See Me?
This Fender MonoNeon Jazz Bass V was created after a rep messaged Thomas on Instagram to set up the signature model, over which Thomas had complete creative control. Naturally, the bass is finished in neon yellow urethane with a neon orange headstock and pickguard, and the roasted maple neck has a 10"–14" compound radius. It’s loaded with custom-wound Fireball 5-string Bass humbuckers and an active, 18V preamp complete with 3-band EQ controls. Thomas’ own has been spruced up with some custom tape jobs, too. All of MonoNeon's connections are handled by Sorry Cables.
Fade to Black
MonoNeon’s Ampeg SVT stack isn’t a choice of passion. “That’s what they had for me, so I just plugged in,” he says. “That’s what I have on my rider. As long as it has good headroom and the cones don’t break up, I’m cool.”
Box Art
MonoNeon’s bass isn’t the only piece of kit treated to custom color jobs. Almost all of his stomps have been zhuzhed up with his eye-popping palette.
Thomas had used a pitch-shifting DigiTech Whammy for a while, but after working with Paisley Park royalty, the pedal became a bigger part of his playing. “When I started playing with Prince, he put the Whammy on my pedalboard,” Thomas explains. “After he passed, I realized how special that moment was.”
Alongside the Whammy, MonoNeon runs a Fairfield Circuitry Randy’s Revenge (for any time he wants to “feel weird”), a literal Fart Pedal (in case the ring mod isn’t weird enough, we guess), and a JAM Pedals Red Muck covers fuzz and dirt needs. A CIOKS SOL powers the whole affair.
Shop MonoNeon's Rig
Fender MonoNeon Jazz Bass V
Ampeg SVT
DigiTech Whammy
CIOKS SOL