NAMM '12 - Carvin Allan Holdsworth Signature HH2 & Steve Vai Legacy 3 Amp Demos
PG's Rich Osweiler is On Location in Anaheim, CA, for the 2012 NAMM Show where he visits the Carvin booth. In this segment, we get to see and hear demos of the Allan Holdsworth Signature HH2 & Steve Vai Legacy III amp.
PG's Rich Osweiler is On Location in Anaheim, CA, for the 2012 NAMM Show where he visits the Carvin booth. In this segment, we get to see and hear demos of the Allan Holdsworth Signature HH2 & Steve Vai Legacy III amp.
Shure introduces the Nexadyne line of dynamic instrument microphones.
Each Nexadyne super cardioid microphone boasts Shureās patented Revonic Dual-Engine Transducer Technology. While typical instrument microphones use a single transducer, Nexadyne microphones feature two precisely calibrated transducers working together to achieve optimal performance that delivers natural, authentic clarity while minimizing unwanted noise.
Nexadyneās combination of acoustic signal processing and exceptional polar pattern linearity, enables the microphoneline to deliver a stronger and clearer output. This output is more authentic to the performer and reduces audio engineersā need to apply typical EQ corrections.
Featuring compact industrial designs and a discreet, black finish for low-profile visibility, Nexadyne Instrument Microphones provide exceptional sound quality, industry-leading durability, and stage-friendly functionality. Each Nexadyne microphone surpasses real-world reliability requirements show after show and stands as the road-ready choice for modern touring.
Nexadyne 5 Dynamic Guitar Amp Microphone
Capture the full detail and power of your signature amplified guitar tone. The Nexadyne 5 ensures the full range of your guitar tone is captured and ready for the mix every time. The incredibly small dynamic cartridge design enables a side-address form factor for improved placement. It can be positioned by hanging off any amp or used with a standard mic clip and stand.
Nexadyne 2 Dynamic Bass Amp / Kick Drum Microphone
Kick drums will just sound bigger. The Nexadyne 2 delivers true, low-end clarity and fullness on every stage, with contoured EQ, protection from stage rumble, and improved high-frequency extension and attack definition. The microphone is designed with its swivel joint separated from the XLR output source for secure placement without strain on output cables.
Nexadyne Instrument Microphones carry these street prices: The Nexadyne 5 is available for $219. The Nexadyne 2 is available for $249.
Each microphone includes a zippered bag and brass adapter. The Nexadyne 5 includes the A25E mic clip.
For more information please visit shure.com.
An overdrive boost that takes cues from a Klon but goes beyond by adding useful tone-sculpting features.
A large range of wide-open tones to explore in the overdrive/boost family. Easy to voice with various types of gear. Might free up space on your pedalboard.
Potentially a little more expensive than alternatives.
$249
Walrus Audio Voyager MkII
walrusaudio.com
When it comes toKlon-style pedals, I like to think I have my bases covered. Iāve done too much research, I own a few, and I have some personal methodology for deciding which ones go on the board for which gig. (Not even I always understand that methodology, but it seems to work!) Iād like to put a check mark next to boost/overdrive in my mental notebook, but things donāt always go according to plan, so, on occasion, I find myself wooed by new offerings.
I promised myself Iād approach the Walrus Voyager MkII with a steely resolve. āIām not going to fall for this pedal,ā I whispered to my current klone-du-jour as I swapped stomps, confident that Iād never feel the need to add more options to a perfect pedal formula, as the Voyager does with its six knobs. But I guess thereās always room to grow.
More Knobs!?
In spite of the many similarities, you canāt really call the Voyager MkII aklone. It has germanium 1N34A diodes like a klone does. When I ABād with myJHS Notaklƶnāwhich sounds exactly like my Klon KTR and has become my go-to thanks to its sturdier buildāI was able to dial them in to sound quite close. I wasnāt able to set the controls to identical positions and I had to use my ear to tune the Walrus to get them. But with a baseline established, it was time to explore.
The Voyager MkII features five modes, which include the 1N34A diodes with a bass boost (mode 2), symmetric silicon diodes (mode 3), asymmetric silicon diodes (mode 4), and asymmetric silicon diodes with a bass boost (mode 5). If youāre familiar with what that all means, you know what to expect. If youāve never tinkered with pedal design or dug into the finer details of your overdrives, distortions, and fuzzes deeply enough to understand those things, this is an excellent way to learn with your ears.
A 2-knob EQ, controlled by a footswitch, opens up the voicing of the Voyager. The mid control determines the amount of boost or cut from clockwise, and the freq knob selects the frequency that is cut or boosted, ranging from 350 Hz to 2 kHz.
Modes and Mids
I jumped around the modes to taste, finding each suitable in different scenarios. As much as I love the warm, compressed sound of the germanium diodesāand the bass boost option is a welcomed touchāthe silicon diodes are more open, dynamic, and even feel a little grittier. That creates a lot of sonic variety. I always keep another boost/overdrive on my board along with my Klon or klone, but the Voyager would be a fine way to replace both.
The mid boost turned out to be my favorite feature on the Voyager. This would be a super-handy thing for kicking on between one section of a song and another, perhaps changing color for a lead or single-string part after heavy strums.
As I switched guitars, it was handy to hone in on some frequencies. After reveling in the higher side of the gain knob with a Powers Electric A-Type into my Deluxe Reverb, I had a hankering for some Strat-like bridge pickup sounds. Grabbing my G&L Legacy, I fine-tuned the high-mid cut, taming some of that guitarās spanky quack and adding some saturation by using just the slightest touch of gain. Moving to my Creston JM, with the Voyager MkII set to moderate gain, I cranked the boost in the lower mid frequencies, where I discovered a cocked-wah sound that lent a ā70s Zappa flair to some off-kilter leads.
The mid boost proved especially useful when getting my existing gear to sit well with the Mk II. In front of my Mattoverse Just-a-Phase, cranking the high mids lent noticeably more attack to a particularly gooey phaser setting in a useful way. And when I plugged into my Champ, I was able to beef-up that ampās thinner sound in the same way I might otherwise use an EQ pedal.
The Verdict
The Voyager MkII is built from a Klon-style foundation. But its well-considered features make it a much more versatile tight boost and overdrive thatās easy to voice for different guitars, amps, and pedal pairings. With a wide range of tones on hand, it also allows me to stay āin the zoneā when looking for a sound instead of going on a pedal-swapping hunt for tone. At $249, the Voyager is priced competitively with other pedals in its class but offers more room to roam.
Walrus Audio Voyager MKII Overdrive Pedal - Seafoam Green
Voyager Pre-Amp/Overdrive mkII - Seafoam GreenBassist Scott Thunes first started with Frank Zappaās band when he was 21 years old.
The idiosyncratic musician has gone from Zappa to the classroom, even though he says āI canāt write a bass line to save my life.ā
I was surprised, intrigued, and thrilled to encounter some rather audacious bass playing at an outdoor school benefit show I played this past fall in Lagunitas, California. I was nowhere near the stage (instead, I was waiting in line for my benefit show compensationāa free meal), but I could still hear the emergence of busy, angular lines and unusual chords rumbling across the hillside venue. When I started setting up for my bandās set and the earlier band was packing up, I spotted the responsible bassist, and it all made sense.
It was Scott Thunes, the low-end raconteur who started playing with Frank Zappa at age 21. He spent the better part of the ā80s in Zappaās band, appearing on numerous live albums and a couple of studio recordings, including the bandleaderās 1982 Top 40 single, āValley Girl.ā His career resume includes stints with Steve Vai, Mike Keneally, the Waterboys, the Mother Hips, and Fear, among others.
In recent years, Thunes (pronounced ātoo-nessā) has toured with the re-formed Zappa Band, Banned from Utopia, which plays a few times a year at the venerable Los Angeles venue the Baked Potato. Catch one of these shows and youāll see how Scottās tremendous facility on his instrument and unusual creative approach add a level of complexity to Zappaās famously challenging music.
āI canāt write a bass line to save my life,ā he claims, striking a tone that seems less like a reluctant confession and more like a bold stylistic declaration. āFor 99 percent of bass players, the job is to be the intermediary between the drums and the guitarāto be both harmonic and rhythmic. And a lot of bass parts have that really great element. Thatās wonderful, but people who know my playing donāt hire me to do that,ā he says.
āIām not big on laying down a bass part and then just sitting on it. Iām not a groove monster, and I never have been. Thatās not why Frank hired me. I need to have space to express myself, and unfortunately that makes me fall very drastically into the overplaying bass player type. I have absolutely no problem with that because Frank didnāt have a problem with that.ā
Thunes describes his āmindful overplayingā as something heās not always been happy with. āIāve been fired from more bands than Iāve been hired by,ā he deadpans, before allowing a slight, sly grin.
Then thereās the Ramones. Thunes is a teaching artist for the rock band program at Marin School of the Arts at Novato High School in Novato, California. On the day we spoke, his six teenage bands performed medleys of the pioneering American punk bandās material as part of a final exam.
āI was really not expecting them to do well with the Ramones,ā he reveals, āespecially the more advanced kids, who think the Ramones are too simple. But they pulled it off. Iām very happy about it. The energy was really high, the percentage of downstrokes was up at around 85 or 90 percent, and they got tiredātheyāre supposed to. It was a great experience for me today, to have my kids not piss all over one of the greatest bands of all time.ā
As for his own approach to playing music. Scott says he doesnāt really think of himself as a bass player. āI think of myself as Scott Thunes, who has chosen the bass as the area in which I express myself,ā he says. āNow, I may not be able to write a melody or a bass line, but I can find my way through the intricacies of a harmonic system and ply my trade. Thatās really all I wanna do. I just want to find a space to put my stuff in.ā
For a more in-depth perspective on Scott Thunes, check out two books by Thomas Wictor: In Cold Sweat: Interviews with Really Scary Musicians and Ghosts and Ballyhoo: Memoirs of a Failed L.A. Music Journalist.
Eminence Speaker launches the Karnivore guitar speaker, developed in collaboration with metal producer Kristian Kohle.
Eminence Speaker, renowned for its high-performance speakers in the heart of Kentucky, is launching the Karnivore, a groundbreaking guitar speaker developed in collaboration with world-class metal producer Kristian Kohle.
Following their successful partnership on the Eminence / Orange Bass Guitar Cabinet ImpulseResponse Pack and the Kristian Kohle DV-77 IR Pack, this new venture takes the Kohle/Eminence collaboration to new heights, bringing the ultimate high-gain solution to guitarists everywhere.
Available in 8 ohm and 16 ohm models, the 12ā Karnivore is designed with a ceramic magnet to deliver everything heavy players need: a massive low end, a thick, vocal mid-range, and mid-range bite that effortlessly cuts through even the most demanding metal mixes ā all without becoming harsh or brittle. Whether it's crushing rhythm tones or searing leads, the Karnivore provides the perfect balance of power and precision, making it a must-have for modern guitarists pushing the boundaries of tone.
Kristian Kohle, a renowned producer and engineer known for his work with legendary metal bands like Powerwolf, Aborted, and Electric Callboy, has been instrumental in shaping the Karnivoreās sonic profile. With years of expertise refining tones for metal artists, Kohle's influence can be heard in every aspect of the speaker's design, ensuring that the Karnivore is not only a technical marvel but also an artistic tool for achieving unparalleled high-gain tones.
Key features of the Karnivore:
- 12ā speaker with ceramic magnet
- 8 and 16 ohm options available
The Karnivore carries a $159.99 street price.
For more information, please visit eminence.com.