"Vox's new Delay Lab is new for 2012. There's 30 delay voices, from vintage emulations to more modern types, a 20 second stereo looper, and an optional expression pedal that enables you to tweak parameters in the fly."
PG Editors Ted Drozdowski, Jason Shadrick, and Director of Video Content Chris Kies pick their favorite gear from day 2.
Ted Drozdowski - Editorial Director
Boss Tube Amp Expander
<p>If chasing big, bold tones is your thing–but you can’t do it at brain-crushing volumes–consider investigating Boss’ Tube Amp Expander. Highly compatible with amps and DAWs, the Expander is a power attenuator with deep controls and adaptability. It’s also easy to use. A dial on the front switches between two impedance settings, appropriate for a combo or a stack. There are 10 rig presents, and it’s easy to design and save your own, too. There’s an “air” dial for ambiance, and speaker, line out, and headphone options. If headphones is your thing, just plug in your amp and don’t worry about a cab. Running with a DAW, a wide world of IRs, effects, and more becomes available. At dealers now at a $699 street price.</p>
Chris Kies - Director of Video Content
Godin Connaisseur MJ Flattops
<p>Our North American neighbors at Godin Guitars brought the brand-new Connaisseur MJ flattops. A solid spruce top, solid rosewood back & sides, mahogany neck, and ebony fretboard make this a sturdy, stout ride. Each of these studs come with the <a href="http://lrbaggs.com/" target="_blank">LR Baggs</a> HiFi electronics, but we're not sure how much you're gonna want to plug in when this baby jumbo sings so well on its own.</p>
Jason Shadrick - Managing Editor
EVH Wolfgang Trans Amber
<p>EVH's custom shop was quite busy as well. As an unapologetic fan of '90s Van Halen, the finish on this Wolfgang Trans Amber brings back so many memories. Along with the basswood body and Quilt Maple arched top, it has 22 stainless steel frets, EVH Floyd Rose bridge, and Wolfgang Black and Creme Zebra humbuckers. Streets at $5,800.</p>
PG Editors Ted Drozdowski, Jason Shadrick, and Director of Video Content Chris Kies pick favorites for NAMM day 3. Gear from Dumble, Novo, Cream Guitars, Collings, EHX, and more.
Ted Drozdowski - Editorial Director
IK Multimedia TONEX Cab
<p>Audio creation specialists IK Multimedia showcased two strong new entries in their TONEX modeling and effects product line at NAMM: the powered TONEX Cab and the Joe Satriani Ltd. Edition TONEX One pedal. The lux-sounding cab, which ships in April but is available for preorder at $699 street–$100 less than the MAP–is full range, flat response with a custom 12" Celestion and a Lavoce 1" high-performance compression driver. It’s built to enhance the sonic vibe of amp modelers, and kicks out the jams at 350-watts via audiophile-grade power amps. The sound pressure level is 132 dB, so there’s plenty of punch, response, and definition. The control set includes a programmable 3-band EQ, a mike and live dial for tone, an easy-to-use preset dial, and a custom IR loader with 8 onboard presets. There are XLR and AUX outs, it’s MIDI controllable, has old-school tilt-back legs, wood construction, and swappable grille cloths. Plus, it comes with AmpliTube 5 SE, TONEX SE, and TONEX Cab Control Software.</p>
Jason Shadrick - Associate Editor
Dumble "Woody" Amp
<p><span style="background-color: initial;">Dumble</span> Amplification brought an impressive collection to the show, but this amp might be the most significant. Before <span style="background-color: initial;">Dumble</span> would agree to build you an amp you had to make the pilgrimage to see him and play for him. This amp, dubbed “<span style="background-color: initial;">Woody</span>”, would be what each player would plug into. It’s a single-channel design that has this beautiful, smooth compression. And like many of <span style="background-color: initial;">Dumble</span>’s amp designs, there’s nowhere to hide.</p>
Chris Kies - Director of Video Content
EHX POG3
<p>EHX always brings some fresh goodies to NAMM and this year they showed us a trio of tone twisters. The most impressive unit had to be the POG3 that builds off their stupendous previous iterations and put lightning-fast tracking and perfect polyphony over four octaves with smoother tone and performance than ever before. It has six voices including DRY, -2, -1, +5th, +1, & +2, you can mix each with individual sliders and create enveloping stereo effects with dedicated pan knobs and selectable LEFT/RIGHT/DIRECT outputs. The effects section has been expanded to offer envelope control and adjustable Q for the new multi-mode FILTER, enhanced DETUNE section with SPREAD, and individual DRY effect selection, plus the famous ATTACK slider for subtle or dramatic swell effects. It also includes expression effects like Freeze, Glissando, Volume, Filter, X-Fade, and Warp.</p>
The PG editors pick their favorite gear of NAMM day 3.
Ted Drozdowski - Editorial Director
Supro Delegate Custom
Supro enters the boutique amp market with the mighty 1x12 Delegate Custom, inspired by the Aristocrat amp Muddy Waters used for the Live at Newport album … but supercharged. With a custom-colored wraparound cabinet, it’s all hand-built in Ohio with Mercury Magnetics transformers, period-correct Mallory caps, a custom 12” Celestion Greenback, 3-band EQ, and master volume. It’s got a 12AT7 driving the spring reverb, two 6V6 power tubes, and three 12AX7s. The tag: $3,299, and there’s a 2x12 big sibling, too. It’s Supro mastermind David Koltai’s (in photo) latest pride and joy.
Nick Millevoi - Senior Editor
Godin Fifth Ave Guitars
<p>Godin’s stunning new hollowbodies will catch the eyes of rockers and jazz cats alike. These lightweight and comfortable thinline Fifth Avenue guitars are available with Godin P-90s for $1,299, and a sunburst model is equipped with Lollar gold-foils at $1,899.</p>
Jason Shadrick - Associate Editor
Divided by 13 FTR 37
Divided by 13 relaunched after their acquisition by Two-Rock at the show with this FTR 37. It's a muscular 6V6 circuit with two discreet channels, reverb, push/pull gain boost, and a half-power switch. If you're a fan of Fullerton-style sounds, than this might be just the setup for you. It has a full-bodied clean tone and a rich breakup sound that's dynamic with plenty of sparkle.
Gamechanger Audio Mod Series
Gamechanger Audio released an entire new line of pedals at NAMM. The Mod series combines their penchant for inventive, time-based effects with their love for modular synth-style controls. There are literally thousands of ways to control these effects including via pitch and dynamics. For example, you can set a target note and everything either above or below it can be affected by any parameter. Production will start in March and they will be $299 each.
The PG editors pick their favorite gear of NAMM day 2.
Ted Drozdowski - Editorial Director
Carr Bel-Ray
<p>Although Steve Carr wasn’t at NAMM 2024, his latest amp, the Carr Bel-Ray, was—at the Reverend booth. This one’s in a handsome emerald green, and sounds killer. Like all Carr amps, it’s hand-wired. What else? Custom U.S.-made transformers, Solen Fast Capacitors, carbon composition resistors, and Jupiter signal caps. Output is 16 watts, with two 12AX7s, one EF86, one EL84, and one EZ81 rectifier tube. The control set—with its distinctive hot-rod display—is level, 3-band EQ, tremolo speed and depth, and a power attenuator, down to 2 watts. The speaker is a Fane F25. It weighs in at 34 pounds and streets at $3,340.</p>
Nick Millevoi - Senior Editor
Iris/Circle Strings Guitars
<p>The Iris/Circle Strings booth had lots to offer. Built for the discerning working musician’s taste and price range, their acoustic line covers a range of options and the DF slope-shouldered dreadnought is a standout at $2,350. They also brought a pair of Paul Languedoc builds that Trey Anastasio fans were busy bugging out about! </p>
Eastman Henry James Signature Juliet
<p>Over at Eastman, guitarist Henry James dr used his signature model. His version of the popular Juliet is a solidbody beast with Goldo vibrato, <a href="https://seymourduncan.com" target="_blank">Seymour Duncan</a> Vintage Mini-Humbockers, and a reverse headstock. They’re coming spring 2024 at $2,099</p>
Red Panda Radius
Red Panda’s new Radius pedal has loads of deep tones to discover. Ostensibly a ring mod/frequency shifter, its unique controls will allow you to head to the outer limits with phase-shifting, tremolo sounds, and much, much more! Priced at $349, they’re available now.
Jason Shadrick - Associate Editor
Santa Cruz Vault Series
Santa Cruz’s Vault Series is built upon the idea of using very old reclaimed wood that master luthier Richard Hoover has been saving for decades. This D-style model uses Brazilian Rosewood from the Bryn Athena Cathedral for the back and sides and master grade Fort Ross Chapel redwood for the top. Nearly every part of this build is immaculate and the craftsmanship pushes the limits of modern lutherie. The price? $70,000.
Victory Amps MK Clean
<p>Victory Amps brought two new models to the show. The MK Clean is a monster clean machine with loads of headroom, spring reverb, bright switch, and selectable EQ voicings. On the other side, the MK Overdrive is a 3-channel setup with independent gain controls, switchable volume levels, presence, and more. Production begins in March and they will go for around $5k.</p>
And Alvarez has also updated its famed Yairi series—think Jerry Garcia—with slightly lighter bracing to increase resonance and projection, and gone all-in with its fine-tuned Yairi Masterworks Series. The FYM74 pictured, one of approximately 150 to be crafted, is a crown jewel. Company CEO Chris Meikle discovered the motherlode, a ration of California redwood that sat in the company’s manufactory for 40 years on a trip to Japan. And thus, this model. The top is redwood, of course, and the back and sides are solid East Indian rosewood. The bridge and fretboard are ebony, the bracing is Alvarez’s FST6 hard-carved, forward shifted system, and there’s an L.R. Baggs Hi-Fi pickup under the hood. This beautiful, limited edition runs in the neighborhood of $3,699.
Radial Nuance Select
Radial, whose products for studio and stage include the famed Tonebone preamp, has just released the Nuance Select studio monitor controller—in time for NAMM 2024. The aptly named Nuance allows you to silently switch between two sets of monitors and a subwoofer, has dual stereo inputs with an aux out, two independent headphone amps, and ultra-low distortion of transparency. The tag? $699.
Celestion Pulse XL
Celestion’s got the big bottom covered with their new line of bass speakers, the Pulse XL series in 15", 12", 10" and horn. Punchy, responsive, with rich full frequency sound and articulation, they boast long voice coils for a deeper bass sound and greater clarity, wound with round copper for the right taste of treble, formed on heat retardant polyimide. Hit celestion.com for more.
Nick Millevoi - Senior Editor
Huss & Dalton Electric Guitars
<p>You know Huss & Dalton from their rich history as a boutique acoustic builder, but their electric offerings are on display here at NAMM. With singlecut and doublecut options, they start around $5,000. To customize your own build, you’ll want to reach out to your dealer or direct to the company about wait times.</p>
Seymour Duncan Powerstage 100 Stereo
Seymour Duncan’s Powerstage 100 Stereo takes their portable—and lightweight!—line of power amps to the next level with more power, more EQ, and, of course, stereo capabilities! Priced at $599, they’re available now.
Aguilar AG Preamp
<p>Aguilar’s AG preamp delivers the high fidelity tone of their AG series amps straight to pedalboards, with its bright and deep voicing. A great pairing with their SL 110 cabs. And their range of pedal offerings got a facelift to match. For pricing and availability, contact your Aguilar dealer.</p>
Jason Shadrick - Associate Editor
Martin Inception Maple
Martin took a look at their recipe for making acoustic guitars and tweaked it a bit for their Inception Maple series. They come with a walnut neck and bridge, L.R. Baggs Anthem electronics, and an interesting new bracing system. They are available now for $3,999.
Revv G50
Revv was looking to create an amp that sits between their Generator 120 and the G20. The result was this feature-packed G50. It’s a 3-channel monster that includes many of the features found in the 120, but at a more affordable price. It dropped today for $2,099.
