Designed by Obeid Khan, this amp is designed to offer versatile tone control for classic amp sounds.
Magnatone LLC has introduced the StarliteReverb, a 1x8” combo that offers 5 watts of sweet-toned Class A power.
This amp is designed to capture the sound of classic long-pan spring reverb authenticity, thanks to the use of an Accutronics Digi-Log Reverb. Carefully optimized gain stages ensure the reverb seamlessly integrates with the amp’s natural sound, preserving the true classic tone of Magnatone amps.
- Output wattage: 5 watts, Class A
- Three control knobs: Volume, Tone and Reverb
- Magnatone Custom 8" Ceramic Magnet, Made by WGS in the USA
- Street Price: $1799
Obeid Khan, Magnatone’s engineer and tube amp guru, designed this model based on the success of the original Starlite model, and it uses the same classic single-ended amp with a 6V6 power tube. Khan’s unique tone control knob enables players to achieve classic “black-panel or tweed” tones with just a single knob.
Ted Kornblum, President & CEO of Magnatone LLC says “The Starlite Reverb is an amp much bigger than its size and power rating. When you put a microphone on it, it’s all you need!” TheStarlite Reverb blends analog tube warmth and lush reverb resulting in a subtle depth and modulation that adds dimension to your tone.
The Starlite Reverb is available to pre-order now in a 1x8” combo or with the matching 1x12” or 2x10” extension speaker cabinet. Shipping begins mid-2025.
For more information, please visit magnatoneusa.com.
The latest multi-effect from Wampler is a dreamy if sometimes difficult-to-master delay/reverb combo.
Great, instantly useable reverb and delay tones. Impressive breadth of sounds in one box. Solid construction. Good value.
Controls and operation can feel confusing.
$299
Wampler Catacombs
wamplerpedals.com
“Modeling versus tube” might be the gear world title fight of the 2020s, but “LED menu versus none on multieffects” is a pretty riveting undercard. I have sympathies in both corners. The ocean-deep onscreen interface of theMeris Mercury X, for instance, was a bear to navigate, but it also yielded some of the most exciting and tweakable reverb I’ve ever heard. At the same time, I’ll always be partial to having every control I need at my fingertips, and every parameter a knob twirl away from just-right.In theory, the digitalWampler Catacombs fits into the second category, the one I prefer. It’s a super-loaded reverb and delay combo pedal, with seven delay algorithms and five reverb options that sound great. Though in practice, Catacombs sometimes turned out to be a bit more complicated to navigate than I expected.
Lost in the Catacombs
The Catacombs is one of those pedals that begs a dedicated read of the manual before you dive in. Wampler says that the interface enables users to “navigate effortlessly” without the use of onboard screens and menus. I was excited by this: Like I said, I don’t love getting lost down tiny LED display rabbit holes and would much rather have all I need at hand. The Catacombs technically satisfies that desire, but it also demonstrates tradeoffs involved with that design ethic. I’m alright with certain controls pulling double-duty, but when every single knob shares two functions, things can get hairy, and doing your preparation up front pays big dividends.
You have to press and hold the left footswitch for a second to access the alt controls (labeled in blue), including reverb selection on the main rotary knob. Though this doesn’t complicate matters too much when using a reverb or delay exclusively, it can be tricky when using a reverb and delay simultaneously. A few times, I scrambled to switch control modes to tame a super-loud runaway reverb or a self-oscillating delay, and the feeling of frantically spinning knobs with no impact because you’re not in the right control mode isn’t a good one. Additionally, you might not know where a given parameter is set because each knob is shared between the delay and reverb effect. The eight onboard preset slots take some of this guesswork away. And Catacombs would be a cinch in the studio once the control navigation becomes second-nature, but I got nervous thinking of trying to navigate any of these quirks during a set.
Entombed in Ambience
Catacombs’ operational challenges don’t take too much away from the whole experience because it sounds so great. Each of the six delay programs, and each of the five reverbs, were instantly useable and familiar. Side by side with my Walrus Fathom and EarthQuaker Avalanche Run, the plate, hall, and spring reverb modes held their own, and something about the pedal’s wet/dry mix made my playing feel especially alive, present, and cinematic at most settings. I was especially fond of the spring reverb with the decay maxed out—it was juicy and metallic in all the right ways.
The delay modules were just as satisfying. They include three algorithms for tape-style delays, two analog-style delays, and a single digital echo, and each mode offers a distinct texture and experience. The ability to quickly switch the effects from series to parallel offers fun and useful experimentation, letting you apply the reverb algorithm to just your dry signal, or to the repeats, too. I especially enjoyed sticking the plate reverb on my dry signal and leaving it off the delay, creating warped senses of space and continuity.
The Verdict
Though it sounds excellent, immersive, and inviting, I was flustered more than once while trying to bend Catacombs to my will. In some respects, I was reminded of a menu where you’re given three desirable options and have to pick just two. In this case, the options are affordability, sound quality, and user-friendliness. Catacombs is certainly reasonably priced and sounds excellent. But because it navigates a difficult middle path between skipping a cost-bumping digital menu and being more complex than more-straightforward, what-you-see-is-what-you-get units, you should make sure you’re comfortable with that compromise.
Think you’ve got what it takes to work on the Acoustic Music Works sales floor?
You’ve gotta have serious chops to toil in a music instrument store—but not the kind you’d think.
We’ve all heard those classic phrases: “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life!” or Elbert Hubbard’s “Work to become, not to acquire,” which is, I think, more zen than any of us have time to process these days. This column is about that little thing that every single guitarist has asked themselves: What if I worked in a guitar shop?
Here are some tips and insights from the first 13 years of a long career in the instrument game.
Home Base: If you live in an area with a great music store … congrats! You’re at an advantage! Big-box stores have muscled out a lot of brick-and-mortar shops over the last 20 years, and if you and your community have kept a small-to-large music business going, I applaud you! Even if you just go in for strings and picks, the folks at that shop know you, and they’re happier than you can imagine that you continue to choose them. This is, most likely, the shop that you are interested in working for.
Are You Guys Hiring? No. (Or Are We?): In 2010, I was a scrappy avant-folk fingerpicking guitarist who managed an art supply store about four blocks from Acoustic Music Works (now my forever home) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I would dip over on my lunch breaks, playing guitars from Collings and Huss & Dalton, instruments that I could only dream of owning. Steve Miklas, the store owner, acknowledged my used Larrivée OM as a solid purchase and encouraged me to play anything I wanted in the shop. He would occasionally ask me pointed questions about my art store gig, feeling out my retail chops—the chops that matter when the music instrument industry is how you make your living.
Believe it or not, you don’t have to be a great player! It’s about digging the instruments on a deep level, desperately wanting to know how they work. Let’s just call it “passion.” Steve could tell that I was way more into guitars than the average customer, plus we got along great and he knew that I could handle a retail environment. He hatched a plan to steal me from my art store job, and we’ve been at it together ever since!
Dealing with People: This is the worst and the best part. Customers are going to come at you from every direction and from all corners of the world. Having retail chops also means having a somewhat thick skin. When you get an email that just says “BEST PRICE?” you can’t spend a lot of time thinking, “Now that just sounds rude. Why didn’t they ask me about the guitar? Why didn’t they introduce themselves?” Tell them, and move on. There are more of these dispassionate interactions than ever, but you can’t let it break you, because you need to save up energy to answer the good questions, offer guidance, and transfer enthusiasm for the products that you’re selling.
Wearing All Those Hats: Some shops have bigger crews and a clear delineation of jobs, while many have smaller crews where employees do a number of jobs. My official title is shop manager but my jobs include lead luthier/tech, photographer, videographer, copywriter/copy editor, social media coordinator, web designer, shipping and receiving, graphic design, and lowly store clerk who rings up sales at the register. If you excel in any of those areas, let your skills be known to the powers that be. The majority of transactions occur online, and fan bases crop up around a shop's YouTube channel, so sharpen those Photoshop, Lightroom, and Premiere Pro skills and they will serve you very well.
“Believe it or not, you don’t have to be a great player! It’s about digging the instruments on a deep level, desperately wanting to know how they work.”
If you’re vying for a job on the tech/repair side of things, have a portfolio ready, including before/after pics, a log of the jobs you’ve done, instruments you’ve built, and whatever formal training you have. An applicant who says, “I’d love to learn to work on guitars,” means we have to devote a lot of attention to bringing them up to speed, versus getting an immediate contribution for the good of the shop. Like most jobs, the deeper the resume, the higher the paycheck.
That’s the crash course, but there’s so much more! This is a dream job in a lot of ways, but burnout is always over the horizon if one isn’t careful. Like any job, it’s important to keep a work/life balance and approach things with positivity. It definitely ain’t sitting around jamming with your buddies all day! Feel free to reach out with any questions, but sorry, we’re not hiring right now. Or are we?