Elan Audio Lab has released the SoundBakery, a passive analog reactive attenuator, load box, and DI designed to let players run tube amps at high output while controlling speaker volume. Handmade in the USA, SoundBakery builds on the design legacy of MetalHead Electronics.
SoundBakery uses a reactive load designed to mimic a speaker cabinet’s changing impedance. Its attenuation knob adjusts speaker output from approximately 25 percent of full level down to silence. A dedicated Attenuator Bypass switch connects the amplifier directly to the speaker cabinet for full, unattenuated output. The balanced XLR and 1/4-inch line outputs remain connected even in bypass mode.
With the reactive load engaged, SoundBakery operates without a speaker cabinet for silent recording, direct-to-PA use, and in-ear monitoring. The line outputs can also feed another amplifier. They carry the amp’s signal without cabinet simulation or EQ, allowing players to add impulse responses or cabinet simulation in their recording software. One level control adjusts both line outputs.
SoundBakery requires no batteries or power supply.
Features:
Reactive load for tube amplifiers up to 100 watts
Three dedicated 4-, 8-, and 16-ohm amplifier inputs
Speaker attenuation knob
Dedicated Attenuator Bypass switch
One 1/4-inch speaker output
Balanced XLR and unbalanced 1/4-inch line outputs
Shared line-out level control
Silent load-box operation
Aluminum chassis, approximately 4 lb.
Dimensions: 5.9 x 7.9 x 2.75 inches (150 x 200 x 70 mm)
SoundBakery is available directly from Elan Audio Lab for $479. For more information, visit elanaudiolab.com.
Elan Audio Lab
SoundBakery
Elan Audio Lab has released the SoundBakery, a passive analog reactive attenuator, load box and DI designed to let players run tube amps at high output while controlling speaker volume. Handmade in the USA, SoundBakery builds on the design legacy of MetalHead Electronics.
Boss has introduced the Katana-25, the latest addition to the company’s popular amplifier lineup for guitar and bass. Offering the Katana sound in a compact 25-watt amp for home playing, Katana-25 is designed for new and returning guitarists. It offers six unique amp characters and over 60 onboard Boss effects provide studio-grade sounds, while onboard Bluetooth and the companion Boss Tone Studio app enhance daily sessions with support for song streaming, effects editing, playing with YouTube videos, and downloading new sounds on Boss Tone Exchange.
Epiphone has introduced a redesigned Prophecy Series, its line of performance-oriented electric guitars. The series includes five sleek-looking models: the Prophecy Les Paul, Les Paul Baritone, SG, Victory FR, and Flying V. The new models feature Hyperglide necks, stainless steel frets, and custom-voiced Fishman Fluence pickups, and each comes with a Protector Ultralite case.
The Prophecy’s stealth-style visual aesthetic is a tip-off to an expansive feature set designed to enhance playability and performance. Every Prophecy guitar has a thermally aged one-piece maple neck with graphite reinforcement and a Hyperglide profile. The neck carries a bound ebony fretboard with a 10"–14" compound radius and 24 stainless steel frets. The models use extended scale lengths meant to keep lower tunings tight and defined, and each has its own hardware and ergonomic changes. Locking Grover tuners come on every model. All five have black nickel hardware and satin finishes.
Each of the new models has a pair of Fishman Fluence pickups voiced specifically for the series. They offer three voices: a high-output modern active humbucker, a vintage PAF-style humbucker, and a single-coil-style sound. The switching gives players quick access to all three. The pickups are mounted using DAPS (Dual-Axis Pickup Stabilization), Epiphone’s own body-anchored mounting system. DAPS keeps the pickups aligned and parallel to the strings while still allowing height adjustment. Stabilization wings and precision-machined pockets hold string-to-magnet spacing steady. The system also does away with conventional pickup rings.
“The Prophecy Series is built for players who expect more from their instruments,” said Aljon Go, Epiphone’s product development manager. “By pairing our iconic designs with modern performance features like custom-voiced Fishman Fluence pickups, Hyperglide necks, and stainless-steel frets, we’ve built a lineup that’s fast, versatile, reliable, and built for today’s players. Every detail was engineered to help musicians focus less on their gear and more on their performance.”
“Heavy music comes in more than one shape, and the players pushing it forward aren’t coming from just one scene,” said Lewis McKinney III, Epiphone’s marketing manager. “The rebuilt Prophecy Series gives guitarists across metal, hardcore, and beyond an instrument they can count on gig after gig, with the range to turn the sound in their heads into something you can feel in the room.”
The Prophecy models are available for a street price of $1,499 each and come with a Protector Ultralite case. Here are key details for each model.
Prophecy Victory FR: Victory body shape in mahogany with a flamed maple veneer, a 25.5" scale, and an Explorer-style headstock. Hardware is a Floyd Rose 1000 Series locking tremolo, a Floyd Rose R3 locking nut, and locking Grover Mini Rotomatic tuners. Finishes are Obsidian Storm Satin and Aqua Smoke Satin.
Prophecy Les Paul Baritone: 27" scale, strung at the factory with .012–.060 strings for baritone tunings such as B to B. It has an Ultra Modern weight-relieved mahogany body with a maple top and flamed maple veneer. A Modern Contoured Heel and rear belly carve make the upper frets easier to reach and the guitar more comfortable to hold. The tailpiece is a through-body design inspired by the Frequensator, meant to balance string tension and help with low-end definition and sustain. The only finish is Obsidian Storm Satin.
Prophecy Les Paul: Ultra Modern weight-relieved mahogany body with a maple cap, flamed maple veneer, rear belly carve, and Modern Contoured Heel. Its 25.5" scale adds tension for drop tunings. Hardware is a LockTone Modern bridge and a through-body, Frequensator-inspired tailpiece. Finishes are Obsidian Storm Satin, Forest Phantom Satin, and Crimson Fog Satin.
Prophecy SG: Mahogany SG Modern body with a maple cap, flamed maple veneer, and a 25.5" scale. It shares the series’ Hyperglide neck, compound-radius ebony fretboard, and 24 stainless steel frets. Finishes are Obsidian Storm Satin and Crimson Fog Satin.
Prophecy Flying V: Flamed maple veneer, multi-ply binding, and a 25.5" scale. It has a bound ebony fretboard, locking Grover Rotomatic tuners, a Graph Tech nut, a LockTone Modern bridge, and a through-body tailpiece. Finishes are Obsidian Storm Satin and Orchid Bloom Satin.
Epiphone’s Prophecy guitars are accompanied by new apparel line with two pieces: the “Fulfill the Prophecy” hoodie and a matching T-shirt. The black hoodie has a distressed Epiphone logo on the chest and a large two-color “Fulfill the Prophecy” guitar graphic on the back. The T-shirt uses the same artwork. For more information visit Epiphone.com.
Epiphone
Prophecy Series
Epiphone has introduced a redesigned Prophecy Series, its line of performance-oriented electric guitars. The series includes five sleek-looking models: the Prophecy Les Paul, Les Paul Baritone, SG, Victory FR and Flying V. The new models feature Hyperglide necks, stainless steel frets, and custom-voiced Fishman Fluence pickups, and each comes with a Protector Ultralite case.
There’s a little button on nearly every modern mixing console marked +48V. On a live sound desk, it may be tucked into the channel settings; on a small recording interface, it might be the only button besides gain and monitor controls. This is phantom power: a clever way to run a microphone’s electronics without a separate power cable. Its name may sound mysterious, but its engineering is beautifully practical.
Life Before +48V
Remember, there are many different types of microphones. But by far the three most common are ribbon, dynamic, and condenser. It is the latter of these that really drove the development of phantom power. As transistorized microphones arrived in the 1960s, designers found they could supply power over ordinary balanced microphone wiring. From there, through a process of simple evolution, the various designs and voltage schemes gradually coalesced into the +48V standard we know today.
Put simply, condenser microphones require electrical power. Their capsules and internal electronics cannot just be plugged into a passive input and expected to work. Early condenser designs, which often used vacuum tubes, required an external power supply. This meant—and still means—connecting a specialized cable from the mic to the power supply, then running a standard XLR cable from the power supply to the equipment receiving the signal. This is still the case today with both vintage and modern professional large-diaphragm condenser mics, such as the U47, 251, or C12.
That said, certain modern active ribbon microphones, as well as some dynamic microphones with built-in electronics, also need external power, so each microphone’s manual is the final authority.
Caution: Passive ribbon mics deserve special care. A properly wired connection should not put DC across the ribbon, but faulty cables, mis-wired adapters, or making connection changes while phantom power is already on can remove that protection. Hence the old safety-first guideline: Never use +48V with a passive ribbon mic, and leave phantom power off whenever the microphone does not require it. Active ribbon mics, on the other hand, are designed to use phantom power.
What is +48V?
In short, it’s 48 volts of direct current. The + describes the positive DC voltage applied to both audio conductors—pins 2 and 3 of a conventional three-pin XLR connection, with pin 1 serving as the ground and completing the electrical circuit. Interestingly, the audio signal effectively ignores this voltage, allowing +48V and the audio signal to share the same cable. It does not mean that the audio signal itself is 48 volts, and it has nothing to do with a mic’s output level or the gain setting on a preamp. The power is there on the cable, but because the same voltage is applied to both audio conductors, it is effectively invisible to the differential audio signal. Hence the term “phantom” power.
“Never use +48V with a passive ribbon mic, and leave phantom power off whenever the microphone does not require it.”
Where the Power Comes From
In a live PA, the mixing console or stage box commonly sends phantom power to condenser microphones onstage. In a studio, the recording console or microphone preamp does the same. In a desktop setup, an audio interface with a phantom-capable XLR mic input usually supplies it.
Keep in mind that controls vary by device. One console may offer a separate +48V switch for every channel, while another may switch a group of inputs together. On an interface, a single button may cover multiple mic inputs. Know which inputs the control affects before turning it on, especially in a setup that mixes condensers, passive ribbons, and other equipment.
Best Practice
When connecting mics, make sure your monitors and headphone levels are completely down and/or muted. This helps avoid loud pops that can damage your speakers and your ears. Bring each channel’s gain all the way down, and connect all mics before switching phantom power on or off.
If a condenser is silent, +48V is one of the first things to check. If an unfamiliar ribbon, adapter, or vintage microphone is on the stand, identify its power requirements before pressing the button.
Phantom power made the condenser microphone easier to use just about everywhere: on a vocal in a bedroom, above a drum kit, at a broadcast desk, or across a stage full of microphones.
Melofty is a new name for most guitar players, and the Axom Max is a big first statement. The company calls it a hybrid audio processor, which in practice means an amp modeler, effects unit, guitar synth and audio interface sharing one floorboard.