Demeter brought the new VTBP-M-800D head to NAMM. Based on the VTBP-201 preamp used by bass legend Lee Sklar for many, many years, the 800D uses a 280V power supply, an 800-watt, class D amp, and full-voiced preamp with input mode switch, bass and presence voicing toggles, DI and line outputs, and two Speakon speaker jacks. All in a 10.5-pound head with options starting at $1,359.
Diamond Tactical debuted their modular guitar bag system at this year's NAMM show. They utilize the MOLLE system (the same used by a number of NATO forces) for their gig bags, which allows players to customize and deck out their bags with modular pouches for everything from dedicated repair kits to cable pouches to pedal pouches to chart pouches and more.
Mayones was at the show with an array of stunning handcrafted instruments. Shown here is the Patriot Classic V-Fret with a "transparent black jeans" finish. It has an American ash body with flamed maple top, a wenge/padouk neck, and an ebony fan-fretted board. For pickups, this axe is decked out with a Bartolini xxP46C set.
Michael Anthony with one of his battered ol' Yamaha BB series basses at the company's NAMM room.
While certainly best known for his basses, Michael Tobias Designs came to NAMM with a new guitar in tow—the MTD Kingston Rubicon. Starting at $999, the Rubicon has a carved alder body with a flame maple top, an asymmetrical one-piece maple neck, choice of rosewood or maple fretboard, and custom-wound humbuckers with onboard series/parallel switches.
Fanned-fret pioneer Ralph Novak brought two 25th-anniversary Novax Guitars models to the show this year. The Sweet Annie (pictured) has a mahogany body and neck, ebony fretboard, two custom-voiced, passive Bartolini soapbar pickups, and innovative 5-way switching for a variety of warm tones. Meanwhile, the Sassy Annie has three single-coils, a 5-way selector, a contoured swamp-ash body, and an ebony-topped maple neck. Both go for an anniversary price of $2,500.
Phil Jones Bass just unveiled the 300-watt Suitcase Compact bass combo. This small yet powerful 2-channel amp houses four of Jones' 5" PJB Piranha speakers and weighs in at a back-friendly 40 pounds.
Sonuus' new Voluum features an all-analog signal path and multiple effects—LFO, compressor, limiter, gate/expander, and volume—that can be extensively tweaked with the included editing software (Mac and PC). It comes with 30 factory presets and has 100 user memory slots. Street price is $319.
Yamaha’s new TRBX304 4-string has a sculpted, solid mahogany body, a 5-ply maple-and-mahogany bolt-on neck with a rosewood fretboard, and M3 ceramic-magnet pickups with thumb rests. Controls include master volume, pickup balance, 2-band active EQ, and a 5-position "performance EQ" switch with preset EQ curves for on-the-fly adjustments.
TC Electronic's Ditto X2 Looper is the follow up to their uber-popular Ditto Looper. It has a dedicated stop/clear switch, a button for reverse/half-speed looping, stereo I/O, and the ability to import and export loops.
Diamond Amplification's new 100-watt F-4 has two independent channels (clean and crunch), each with a 3-band EQ, as well as volume, gain, and presence controls. A footswitch is included and the street price for this all-tube rig is just $999.
Former Nirvana tech Earnie Bailey is building absolutely beautiful guitars under the Wire Instruments name. These instruments are inspired takes on the old Gretsch Astro Jet profile called the Supercollider. The one on the left is a Korina bodied specimen with Lindy Fralin Pickups Plus P-92s. On the right, an Alder body with Railhammers.
Empress Effects reinvented its famous Tremolo pedal. The Tremolo2 has an all-analog signal path with incredibly powerful digital controls, including an innovative new multi-colored LED system for identifying up to eight presets. Also new is the control port which can be used with an external tap-tempo footswitch, an expression pedal (to control almost any function), or even with Empress' MIDI Box to recall presets or sync the pedal with time code. $249 street.
The new 100-watt Invader II from Engl features two clean channels and two overdrive channels that are all switchable between a hi/lo gain mode, and each channel has a dedicated 3-band EQ. As an add-on option for the Invader II, Engl offers the Sound Wizard Module Z16 for ultimate tone-tweaking hi-jinx.
Fano Guitars' newest, beautiful Alt De Facto RB6 mutation unites Rickenbacker, Kay, and Jazzmaster cues including Gold Foil pickups, Mastery bridge and vibrato, and checkerboard binding. Definitely one of the most fun guitars at Winter NAMM 2014.
Lehle introduced a trio of new bass pedals including the two shown here: the Basswitch Sonic Spark and the Basswitch Classic Boost. The Sonic Spark is an acoustic flavor enhancer pedal that's able to really fatten up bass tone. The Classic Boost is a booster pedal with voicing specifically developed for passive JJ, P, and P/J type basses.
Seymour Duncan's new Vapor Trail delay feature 600ms of completely analog delay with two mini pots for modulation, a transparent delay knob with an embedded rate LED, and a cool wet insert that you can use with an expression pedal to control volume of repeats or to use with a y-cable to loop in any other effect and have it only affect repeats. It goes for $149 street.
Glorious resurrection!!! Travis Bean Guitars is back! This particular all-metal marvel is Buzz Osborne's signature model, loaded with EGC humbuckers.
Universal Audio's new Apollo Twin recording interface features two high-quality XLR preamps, a 1/4" guitar input, a suite of 14 included plug-ins—from guitar amp and effects to reverbs and models of classic UA studio units—as well as available plug-ins from partnerships with Boss, ENGL, and more. Most notably, all plug-in processing happens with SHARC chips built into the unit itself, which translates to low-latency tracking. The one-processor Solo goes for $699, and the Duo goes for $899.
Z.Vex Effects put their Fat Fuzz circuit into the new Fat Fuzz Probe. The theremin control governs the stab parameter, and there are also drive, comp, gate, and volume knobs, as well as a 3-position voicing toggle for standard Fuzz Factory sounds, and "deep" and "deeper" subharmonic modes. It'll be available in late summer for $369 street.
Among their numerous new offerings at NAMM, DBZ Guitars introduced a new vintage-inspired body shape to their line with the Maverick. The Maverick SM variation shown here has a mahogany body topped with spalted maple, and a mahogany neck capped with a rosewood fretboard. For electronics, the Maverick SM is packed with a Pearly Gates/'59 Seymour Duncan combo.
Brubaker Musical Instruments brought bass No. 1 of a brand new series called the JXB Standard. This J-style, handcrafted axe has an alder body, maple neck, and East Indian rosewood fretboard. Outfitted with a traditional JJ configuration, Brubaker chose Aguilar AG 4J-HC hum-canceling pups for the JXB.
Decibel Eleven's new Loop Expander is a four-relay unit that adds true-bypass loop switching to any MIDI setup. The fourth loop can function as an amp switcher, you can connect multiple units in series for large pedalboards, and it works with MIDI program or control changes. There's also a switchable class A buffer. $189 street.
Diezel’s new 100-watt Lil Fokker is its simplest design to date. Powered by a quartet of KT77s, it features clean and dirty channels, a series effects loop, and a two-button footswitch for switching channels or between two different master volumes. $2,499 street.
Fargen Amplification debuted its first-ever combo to street for under two grand. At $1,699, the 6V6-powered Townhouse 20 has two circuits—tweed '50s style and '60s brownface—and external bias points for using 6L6 output tubes.
Majik Box new Body Blow Jake E. Lee Mod overdrive is similar to the existing Body Blow, but it's missing the two toggles because this box has more low end than the original, and Lee prefers the original's diode-clipping vintage mode. Unlike many overdrives, it accentuates low-mids to give more oomph to solos.
Walrus Audio's new Descent reverb goes from lush, dreamy soundscapes to twisted and trippy. Modes include hall, reverse, and shimmer, and -1 and +1 knobs add low and high octaves to the reverberations. There are three available presets, plus manual mode. Jacks include a mono input, stereo outs, and an expression-pedal input that lets you control reverb time or wet mix. $300 street
After 40+ years of making his instruments by hand, luthier Joe Veillette announced at NAMM that he is beginning production on an import line. The 18 1/2"-scale Avante by Veillette Gryphon short-scale 12-string is tuned D to D (above standard) and features solid-mahogany back and sides, solid maple top, piezo bridge pickup, and volume and treble-rolloff controls for $1,399 street.
MXR Rockman X100 Recreates Tom Scholz's Iconic Boston Guitar Sound | First Look
But just as decades of advances in listening technology make the Walkman now seem clunky and dated, modern guitar tech makes the Rockman look like old news. Multi-effects units, modelers, and portable interfaces all surpass the convenience of the Rockman in form factor as well as in sheer number of sonic options. But while there are any number of ways to dial up an ’80s-style guitar tone these days, nothing’s better than the real thing. The Rockman’s analog tones are still as legit as it gets. Though Dunlop continues to produce the Guitar Ace, Metal Ace, and Bass Ace headphone amps (for a cool $99 street), a pedal version with the functionality of the original would be the ultimate modern package for ’80s fetishists, right? Enter the MXR Rockman X100.
With Tones Like These, Who Needs Options
After the release of the original Rockman, Scholz continued to develop the product, spawning a whole line. But for its pedal resurrection, the MXR team set their sights on the Rockman X100, which used hard-clipping LED diodes for its two distorted settings. The new stompbox version recreates all four modes from the original: cln2 is the default setting, cln1 in the second position is EQ’d with a mid-boost, edge delivers moderate clipping, and dist is high-gain. All are switchable via a small LED-lit mode button, and a control input allows for external mode switching. Another button activates an analog chorus circuit using MN3007 bucket brigade chips, as in the original.
To drive home the ’80s aesthetic, MXR used sliders for volume and input gain controls. Volume determines output, while input gain is tied to compression. Higher input gain means more compression, which is tuned for slower release on the two clean modes, and a fast release on both dirty modes. The X100 works in both mono and stereo, but to change between them, you have to pop off the back to access an internal switch. Just make sure a TRS cable is used for stereo mode, or else the output will be muted while the pedal is bypassed.
The only things I noticed that are missing from the original’s simple set of features is the headphone output and the echo settings. I don’t know how many players would find value in the headphone jack, and considering that would add circuitry, it’s probably best for cost and space savings that it was excluded. As for the echo, you can argue that it’s canon, but I find it to be the least essential feature and don’t miss it, personally.
(Much) More Than a Feeling
Since I do not have an original Scholz X100 sitting on my desk, I’m using YouTube videos and records—Def Leppard’s Hysteria, Huey Lewis and the News’ Sports, and Joe Satriani’s Surfing with the Alien, for example—as my reference points. Those are high bars to clear, and the MXR gets there.
The default cln2 setting delivers instant gratification, with a full-bodied, sparkly tone, no matter what guitar I played through it. And though it provides loads of ’80s fun, it’s much more versatile than that, offering a great all-round clean tone that requires no additional processing. Though it might seem odd that cln2 is the default, switching to cln1’s thinner, more mid-focused sound makes the design decision clear. I can imagine situations where I’d need to cut through a mix and cln1 would be preferred, but I found myself sticking with the default mode for all my clean needs.
The distorted modes are differentiated mostly by how much gain they offer. Edge tones live just beyond the point of overdrive, and the input gain control adds a range of extra texture. The dist mode is full-on, pick-squeal-inducing high-gain saturation, with loads of everlasting sustain. These modes lean into the aesthetic much harder than the clean modes, making it a less versatile tool, but for ’80s rock excess, I can’t imagine a better option.
On a couple recording sessions, I plugged the X100 right into an interface and board to deliver spanky direct clean tones as well as tight, saturated distortion. In doing so, I discovered that direct recording is my preferred use for the X100. That’s not to say it doesn’t sound great through an amp—it does. But plugging into a front end of an amp yields less classic and authentic Rockman sounds, as the amplifier’s preamp colors the tone. Plugged through a few Fenders, I found that the treble needed taming, a problem I didn’t have when forgoing the amp. For live playing, I might explore plugging the X100 into the return input on an amp’s effects loop or right into a powered speaker to deliver an unadulterated Rockman sound more in line with the original.
The Verdict
MXR nailed it with the Rockman X100 pedal by focusing on the limited options of the original unit and getting them just right. For $229, you not only get a great ’80s rock tone, you get what is arguably the ’80s rock tone, with no other gear required, unless you want to add a little ’80s-vintage reverb too. As a performance tool, it’s probably best to think less like you’re using a pedal and more like you’re using the original in a different form, which is to say that plugging straight into an amp isn’t the only way to get the sound you want—and, in fact, it’s probably not even the best way. For recording, it’s a perfect tool. PG
My Morning Jacket’s Is, their 10th album, released on March 21, and as we reported in our feature on the band in our May print issue, it showcased a band exercising their classic strengths as well as newfound vision and curiosity. Helmed by superstar producer Brendan O’Brien, Is finds MMJ at their anthemic, psychedelic best.
We caught up with Carl Broemel for a Rig Rundown back in 2015, but on this year’s tour, PG’s John Bohlinger checked in with all three axemen—Jim James, Broemel, and bassist Tom Blankenship—to hear about their road rigs. In Broemel’s estimation, they’re lazy—they just like to bring everything.
Brought to you by D’Addario.
Three's a Crowd
This gorgeous Gibson Jimi Hendrix 1967 SG Custom, aged by Murphy Labs, initially had three humbuckers, but James kept hitting his pick on the middle pickup, so it got the yank—as did the hefty bridge and Maestro Vibrola system, which were replaced with a simple stopbar tailpiece.
Mirror Image
James picked up this 1998 Gibson Flying V right around when My Morning Jacket got started. He traced and ordered the flashy mirror pickguard himself. It’s got Gibson pickups, though James isn’t sure of the models.
Jim James' Jimmy
James plucked this one-of-a-kind from Scott Baxendale’s collection of restored vintage guitars. He guesses it’s either an old Kay or Harmony guitar, but the decorations, including the custom plastic headstock plaque, make exact identification difficult. But it was clear this one was meant for James, since it has his name on it.
Elsewhere backstage is James’ Epiphone Jim James ES-335, a custom shop Fender Telecaster and Strat, a 1967 Gretsch Chet Atkins Country Gentleman, and a Gibson Barney Kessel.
Make Love, Not War
James loves repurposing old military equipment for creative, peaceful purposes, which is how this old radar system came to be a part of his live amplification kit. Along with the old tech, James runs two 3 Monkeys Orangutan heads through a 3 Monkeys cab.
Jim James' Pedalboard
James’ board is built around a pair of GigRig QuarterMaster switching systems, which lets him navigate the stomps you see here: a Devi Ever US Fuzz, Boss BD-2w, SoloDallas Schaffer Boost, Boss OC-2, EarthQuaker Devices Spatial Delivery, Strymon blueSky, EQD Ghost Echo, Malekko Spring Chicken, ISP Deci-Mate, Electro-Harmonix Mel9, UA Starlight Echo Station, and UA Astra Modulation Machine. A D’Addario Chromatic Pedal Tuner duo keep things on pitch, a Strymon Zuma and Ojai pair handle the power, and a Radial SGI-44 line driver maintains clarity.
Arts and Crafts Night
One night while a bit tipsy, Broemel took out his paint pens and set to work on this Gibson Les Paul Standard Faded, resulting in this masterpiece. He also removed the pickup selector switch; even though the neck pickup remains, it never gets used.
Relic By Broemel
This 1988 Les Paul Standard predates the band, and Broemel has given it its aged finish over the years—on one occasion, it fell out of a truck. It’s been treated to a Seymour Duncan pickup upgrade and occasional refrets when required.
Carl's Creston
This Creston Lea offset has two Novak lipstick pickups in the neck, with a switch to engage just one or both, plus a low-end roll-off control. It’s finished in the same blue-black color as Broemel’s house and sports a basil leaf on the headstock in tribute to Broemel’s son, Basil.
Also in the wardrobe are a shiny new Duesenberg tuned to open G, and a custom shop Fender Telecaster with a fattened neck and Bigsby to swing it closer to Broemel’s beloved LPs.
Milk Route
Broemel routes his GFI Ultra pedal steel, which is tuned to E9, through a board which includes a Milkman The Amp, which is projected through the speaker of a Fender Princeton Reissue combo. Operated with another GigRig QuarterMaster, the board also includes an Eventide H9, Moog MF Delay, Fender The Pelt, MXR Phase 90, EHX Nano POG, Xotic Effects EP Booster, Source Audio C4, and a Peterson StroboStomp HD.
Side-Carr
This time out, Broemel is running two Carr Slant 6V heads in stereo.
Carl Broemel's Pedalboard
Broemel commissioned XAct Tone Solutions to build this double-decker board, which depends on a GigRig G3S switching system. From top to bottom (literally), it includes a Boss TU-3, Durham Electronics Sex Drive, JAM Pedals Tubedreamer, Source Audio Spectrum, JAM Retrovibe, MXR Phase 100, Fender The Pelt, Origin Effects SlideRIG, 29 Pedals EUNA, two Eventide H9s, Kingsley Harlot V3, JAM Delay Llama, Merix LVX, Hologram Chroma Console, and EHX POGIII. A wah and Mission Engineering expression pedal sit on the left side, while a Lehle volume pedal and Gamechanger Audio Plus hold down the right edge.
Utility units include two SGI TX interfaces, two Strymon Ojais and a Strymon Zuma, and a Cioks Crux.
More From the Creston Crew
Blankenship, too, has brought along a few guitars from Lea, including these Precision-bass and Jazz-bass models. The dark-sparkle P-style rocks with GHS flatwound strings, while the natural-finish J-style has roundwounds.
Emperor's New Groove
Blankenship just got these brand-new Emperor cabinets, through which he cranks his Mesa Boogie WD-800 Subway heads.
Tom Blankenship’s Pedalboard
Like James, Blankenship uses a GigRig QuarterMaster to jump between his effects. After his Boss TU-3, that includes an Origin Effects Cali76, DigiTech Whammy Ricochet, Pepers’ Pedals Humongous Fuzz, MXR Bass Octave Deluxe, Tronographic Rusty Box, and EHX Bassballs Nano. A Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2 Plus lights things up, and a Radial SGI TX keeps the signal squeaky clean.
Shop My Morning Jacket's Rig
EarthQuaker Devices host Echo Reverb Pedal
ISP Technologies DECI-MATE Micro Noise Reduction Pedal
Electro-Harmonix Mel9 Tape Replay Machine Pedal
EarthQuaker Devices Spatial Delivery Envelope Filter Pedal
Universal Audio UAFX Starlight Echo Station Delay Pedal
Universal Audio UAFX Astra Modulation Machine Pedal
Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster
