With well over 45 exhibitors filling the halls of an Embassy Suites, the second running of the New York Amp Show was an unqualified success. With each exhibitor setting up
With well over 45 exhibitors filling the halls of an Embassy Suites, the second running of the New York Amp Show was an unqualified success. With each exhibitor setting up shop in their suites, adventurous tone junkies filtered from room to room, taking turns plugging into everything from easy-going tweed combos to fire-breathing stacks. In-between product demos, attendees enjoyed rubbing elbows with industry insiders during the Tone Wizards forum discussion and GoodTone’s amp biasing clinic. If there’s a better way to get face-to-face with the people behind the boutique movement, we can’t think of it.
Premier Guitar headed east to check out the show, and came back home with loads of juicy info. From our interview with the man behind the curtain, Loni Specter, to our complete listing of all the companies in attendance, we’ve got the best roundup you’ll find. And the fun doesn’t end here – make sure to head online to premierguitar.com, where you can find exclusive video interviews with the companies in attendance. We hope you’ll find something suitable for your relentless pursuit of tone.
Andy Lackow tests out the stacks of amps in Bob Reinhardt''s room. Among the choices available for playing were the SV18 (2xEL84), MI-6 (2x6V6), a Vintage 50 (2xEL34), the Sentinel (2xKT66) and a JKC 33 combo (2xEL34).
Bill Holter plays a Strat through Ark Amp’s Model A, featuring 60 watts through two EL34 power tubes – with an unique mix of British and American flavors available at the twist of a knob, these were quite possibly the most versatile amps of the day. Featuring some intricate woodwork (talk about organic) that’ll be sure to stand out at your next gig, the Model A starts at $4000.
The New York Amp Show had something for everybody, including the uniquely styled Tupelo Honey from dAAb Amps. Featuring 30 watts produced by four EL84s and a GZ34 rectifier, this amp provides a Class A-style sound with rich harmonics and gorgeous distortion. The company proved to passing amp nuts that you can have style and substance in one package.
Jeff McErlain lays down some tasty blues licks through a Bogner Duende combo. Behind him is Bogner’s new Alchemist head and cab, featuring two channels and a switchable power section from 20 to 40 watts.
Led by moderator Michael Ross (R), this year’s Tone Wizards panel discussed everything from where tone originates to the best way to hook your effects up to an amp. The panel was followed by a short Q&A, allowing several lucky guitarists to receive personalized tone tips from the builders themselves. From L to R, Obeid Kahn of Reason Amplifier Co., Moss Hudson of Brown Note, Richard Goodsell of Goodsell Amps and Alfonso Hermida of Hermida Audio Technology.
With Snake Skin Tolex and a black grill cloth, Retro-King’s 18-Watt Combo definitely turned heads. A replica of Marshall’s 1966 18-watt lead combo, this amp is completely custom built and sounds amazing. Featuring two channels/four inputs, EL84 power tubes and 1 NOS EZ81 preamp tube, this combo will take you back in time.
A player stomps his way through 33 pedals from a wide variety of manufacturers, including Analog Man, Zvex, Mad Professor, Keeley, HipKitty and Voodoo Lab. The entire run was powered by two 1-Spots from Visual Sound. Completely wired with Solid Cables and using as many true bypass pedals as possible, the Pedalboard from Hell produced relatively little tone suck.
Kick off the holiday season by shopping for the guitar player in your life at Guitar Center! Now through December 24th 2022, save on exclusive instruments, accessories, apparel, and more with hundreds of items at their lowest prices of the year.
We’ve compiled this year’s best deals in the 2022 Holiday Gift Guide presented by Guitar Center.
<p>The newest addition to Gibson’s Traditional series, the Trad Pro V electric shares the same DNA as a Les Paul—mahogany body and neck, carved maple top—but adds modern advancements. It’s super comfortable thanks to its weight-relieved body, and it feels awesome in your left hand with its asymmetrical neck shape. Playability is paramount: the compound radius rosewood fretboard makes it easy to bend strings cleanly high on the neck. You'll hear the difference, too: With its dual Tradbucker pickups and advanced electronics – allowing coil splitting and tapping – this versatile tone machine can handle almost any musical style. If you’re looking for a guitar that combines the best elements of classic Gibson mojo and modern features, you’ll find it here.</p>
<p>It might be tiny, but Positive Grid’s Spark MINI delivers a huge quantity of tones…and fun. This 10-watt practice amp sounds great with electric, acoustic and bass. It’s battery-powered and easily recharged via USB, and is barely larger than the palm of your hand. It contains four onboard guitar tones (Custom, Solo, Lead, Rhythm) and access to 33 amps and 43 effects via the free Spark app. The app also offers educational and play-along tools, and makes it simple to post your performances to social media. It’s rare to find a product that has so many potential uses: sidewalk busking, songwriting, practicing, home recording and more. No matter what style you play or your level of experience, you’ll find a lot to like in this amp.</p>
<p>Looking for a flexible amp that’s equally at home for practice, rehearsal, or live gigs? Check out the GAMMA G50 and take advantage of its special holiday pricing. This 50-watt, dual-channel 1x12 combo amp delivers all-analog tone in a lightweight package – a perfect grab-and-go companion. It’s loaded with features like Bluetooth connectivity and multiple amp voices, so it can cover any music style or genre. With its premium quality True Blue High Headroom speakers, the GAMMA G50 also provides clear, punchy clean tones, making it a great choice as a pedal platform too. If you’re in the hunt for a portable, powerful and affordable amp this holiday season, be sure to include the GAMMA G50 on your wishlist.</p>
<p>Here’s a guitar stand that’s as eye-grabbing as the instruments it’s holding! The Fender Classic Series 5 Guitar Case Stand boasts a classic vibe, from its tweed exterior to its rich red plush lining. And it’s great for gigging. The Classic Series 5 looks like a traditional case, but easily turns into a roadworthy, super stable guitar stand. Rugged features include a 3-ply hardshell wooden case, vinyl-wrapped steel carry handle and steel latches. The interior plush lining ensures that your guitars are protected from scratches and dents. If you want a great-looking way to display your guitars at home, or if you’re looking for a backstage/onstage solution to safely hold multiple guitars, here’s a handsome option.</p>
Here’s the perfect stocking stuffer for every guitarist and bassist: grab a bunch of these Fender Pluginz Guitar Plug Keychains and spread the holiday cheer with your friends and fellow musicians. This cool keychain features a genuine Fender guitar plug. If you already have a Pluginz Jack Rack key holder, this will fit right in. By the way, you can also use these as tree ornaments if you’re looking to add a dash of rock ‘n’ roll to your holiday spirit.
It’s an annual tradition: each year the folks at Fender reveal their newest limited edition holiday sweater, and it’s a smash hit. This year’s model is particularly sharp looking: black sleeves emblazoned with the famed Fender logo, and a torso adorned by red, white and green seasonal graphics. Don’t miss out: grab your sweater while supplies last, because this limited edition item will sell out faster than you can say “winter wonderland.”
<p>The Harbinger MLS1000 Personal Line Array offers a professional PA solution with big sound and a wonderfully compact footprint. Acoustic musicians, DJs and bands will find it a great choice when performing in small venues, coffeehouses and practice spaces. But don’t be fooled by its modest size: the MLS1000 delivers the perfect blend of mobility, robust sound and full-featured electronics. Its built-in mixer supports up to five sources at once, including Bluetooth audio. You can go from the car to the stage in a single trip, set up in two minutes and give your audience a well-balanced sound that evenly fills an entire room. Built-in reverb, chorus and 2-knob EQ per input allow an ideal mix for vocals and instruments, while a 10" subwoofer and a six-speaker vertical array cover the full frequency range with high-quality sound. Comes with a column bag and sub cover to protect the system for transport and storage, and Smart Stereo capability gives you the option to link two units for unified sound, control and signal routing. </p>
If you’re looking for an affordable microphone for acoustic guitars, amps, snare drums, and more, meet the P10. Sterling Audio’s dynamic instrument mic is an all-purpose champ, ideal for live shows, practice spaces and home recording. It complements acoustic and electric instruments alike: Its custom-tuned microphone capsule focuses on bringing your sound to front-of-house, with crafted mid-range and high-frequency detail. The cardioid polar pattern provides superior off-axis noise rejection on stage, ensuring that your instrument is heard, while an isolated custom capsule suspension system minimizes stage noise and rumble. And it’s rugged: the reinforced grille and die-cast head assembly and body are designed to survive the rigors of the road. Includes protective microphone pouch and mic stand adapter – a complete, road-ready package.
The Sterling Harmony H224 audio interface is a dynamite choice for recording in a home/project studio or mobile sound environment. Compatible with popular recording apps, it offers studio-grade circuitry and flexible monitoring, all optimized for desktop recording. With the H224 it’s easy to achieve clear, transparent sound. Its class-leading NXS mic preamps deliver less noise and a cleaner signal for all your recordings, while its front panel instrument inputs have their own optimized circuitry that makes the H224 one of the best interfaces for recording guitar or bass. The advanced flexibility of its four (4) output design allows for two separate stereo output mixes at once, so you can easily have a separate mix for performers, route tracks for re-amping or run separate A/B studio monitors or other independent audio outputs. Plus, the H224 is fully USB-powered, so you can record without a separate power supply, and the included MIDI I/O connections allow your hardware to perform as a MIDI interface too, so you can layer your projects with specialty instruments, MIDI controllers and synths alike.
Whether you’re a musician, podcaster, content creator or livestreamer, you can now get legendary Apogee sound with ease. The BOOM 2x2 allows you to capture high-quality audio in your bedroom or on the go with a streamlined and user-friendly interface. The two input / two output format makes it simple: just connect your mic and guitar or synth to your inputs on the front, and your speakers or headphones to your outputs on the back. BOOM features Apogee’s legendary AD/DA conversion and preamps, so you’ll get world-class audio quality. And it’s powered by your computer — no separate power supply required. Apogee BOOM is compatible with any iOS device. If you’ve got the urge to create, you don’t need to wait: get Apogee BOOM and you’re on your way.
Looking for a compact, “noiseless” way to plug in and play guitar? Check out the brand-new Gibson Digital Amp, available only in the Gibson App.
The new Gibson App simplifies the learning process and brings guitar playing to life for the current and next generation of guitarists in a modern, comprehensive, and intuitive way. The Gibson App is the place to take your guitar playing to the next level. New to the Gibson App is the Gibson Digital Amp, the ultimate starting amplifier for beginners and a flexible amp on-the-go for intermediate players and pros to get their sound anywhere. The Gibson Digital Amp is an accessible amplifier for both acoustic and electric guitars, and is currently available for Apple/iOS users--an Android version will debut next year.
Use the Gibson Digital Amp’s jamming guide to get started and transform your sound with built-in effects and pedals, jam to backing tracks, or use it in lessons and songs. The Gibson Digital Amp only requires your phone, and wired headphones for the best playing experience, no cables are needed. The amp features 3 acoustic mic presets, 4 electric amp presets, and 6 effects pedals.
The Gibson Digital Amp is the ultimate starting amplifier for beginners and a flexible amp on-the-go for intermediates and pros.
The Gibson App uses a unique two-way, interactive platform to teach guitar students how to do everything from playing their first note to shredding loads of songs. The Gibson App features interactive lessons with thousands of lessons and songs. Learn the songs step-by-step with video tutorials from superstar artists and pro guitarists in the “Gibson App Guide.” The Gibson App also includes the new Digital Amp, a built-in tuner, a metronome, Gibson TV, and new songs are added every week. New Gibson App Guides are added regularly and include Tommy “Spaceman” Thayer’s favorite iconic KISS guitar solos, Richie Faulkner’s (Judas Priest) “Guide to Metal,” Jared James Nichols’ “Guide to Blues,” CELISSE’s “Guide to Songwriting,” and more.
The Gibson App uses “audio augmented reality” to provide dynamic feedback to students as they learn and play. As you pluck a note or strum a chord, the Gibson App listens to your guitar and gives you real-time feedback on your playing. It also gives students a more contextual learning experience: Instead of learning chords and scales in a vacuum, you’re able to practice on a scrolling tablature that lets you hear how you sound with the backing of a virtual band. That means you can load up “Hurt” by Johnny Cash, “Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison, “American Girl" by Tom Petty, “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica, “Where is My Mind" by Pixies, “Country Roads” by John Denver, “I Hate Myself For Loving You" by Joan Jett, “Heaven” by Kane Brown, “Shape Of You” by Ed Sheeran, “Killer Queen” by Queen,“ Sweet Child O’ Mine,” by Guns ‘N Roses, “Run to the Hills” by Iron Maiden, “Roxanne” by The Police, and “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “The Man Who Sold the World” by Nirvana, “Are You Gonna Go My Way” by Lenny Kravitz, and “Don't Look Back In Anger” by Oasis and hundreds more songs in a wide range of genres, to see how your play matches up with such seminal tracks.
As you’re playing, the Gibson App gives you feedback on timing and tone, ensuring that students are getting active input on how their play is developing. The Gibson App appeals to players of all levels, it’s not just for beginners looking to learn a few chords; the app can assist seasoned guitarists who are working their way through difficult riffs, want to learn their favorite songs, or polish their advanced techniques.
Players can also challenge themselves by speeding up or slowing the tabs. Like having a full-time guitar teacher, the Gibson App keeps track of all your progress and adjusts lesson plans accordingly. The Gibson App released a “backing track mode” which supports both lesson and song playback without headphones, so users can self-select what works best for their current environment. And that’s not all: the Gibson App also packs in a fully-featured digital tuner for guitar first-timers, there’s even a detailed lesson on how to tune your instrument, a multi-function metronome, players can connect to free one-on-one consultations with Gibson’s Virtual Guitar Tech team, and to direct links to the Gibson, Epiphone, and Kramer online stores for easy shopping for guitars, gear, apparel, and accessories.
Learn Guitar With The Gibson App
The Gibson App is more than a pocket-sized guitar teacher, it’s loaded with an archive of exclusive content and original programming from its premium and accessible award-winning online network, Gibson TV, featuring music icons telling their best guitar stories, with more episodes and installments added regularly. Users can watch Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi share insights and tales from his decades-long career on the series “Icons,” dive into Joe Bonamassa’s assortment of legendary Les Paul guitars on “The Collection,” or see how Gibson’s iconic instruments are made in their Nashville factory from body to binding on “The Process.” There’s even a series called “The Scene” that focuses on backstage stories from hallowed music venues from coast to coast like The Troubadour and Grand Ole Opry.
The Gibson App free version features a few lessons a day; the premium version of the Gibson App offers full access and a 14-day free trial, then costs $19.99/£16.49 monthly or $119.99/£98.99 yearly.
This pickup captures the clear, bell-like single-coil chime of a classic P-90 when played clean and retains the tight mids and articulate low-end vintage growl and smooth sustain saturation when pushed into overdrive.
Belltone Guitars, as part of their Custom-Select System curated offering of pickups, has partnered McNelly pickups to create a one-of-a-kind retro-vibe P-90 pickup in the standard Filtertron size format. This pickup captures the clear, bell-like single-coil chime of a classic P-90 when played clean and retains the tight mids and articulate low-end vintage growl, and smooth sustain saturation when pushed into overdrive.
The McNelly P-90 Foil-Coil comes housed in a ‘raw’ nickel outer casing with a dull nickel foil face with metal mount screw gromets to complete the ‘new-vintage’ aesthetic, making it a perfect choice for your signature Belltone custom build. Available exclusively through Belltone Guitars.
Check out the Custom-Select System belltoneguitars.com to preview the McNelly P-90 Foil-Trons and all our standard and selectable components available to create your own signature Belltone. Then visit the Dream Lab on our website and select either model B-Classic ONE with its top binding or B-Classic TWO with its arm and body contours select your body color from our wide range of offerings, select your neck profile of either standard ‘C’ or thicker ’59 Round Back and either Maple or Rosewood fingerboard followed by your tuners, pickguard, and strings. Finally, review our curated custom-designed, and unique pickup selection to locate the McNelly P-90 Foil-Trons to complete your signature build.
Builds start at just over $2,300.00 with a custom case and shipping included.
DiMarzio, Inc. announces the Relentless P (DP299), the Relentless J Bridge (DP301), Relentless J Neck (DP300), and the Relentless J Pair (DP302) for 4 string basses.
DiMarzio, Inc. announces the release of the Relentless P (DP299), the Relentless J Bridge (DP301), Relentless J Neck (DP300), and the Relentless J Pair (DP302) for 4 string basses. The new Relentless P and Relentless J series pickups feature the Relentless cover designed in collaboration with Billy Sheehan.
As with the Relentless pickups, we removed all the hard edges from the standard P Bass and standard J Basspickups, and added an arch to the top of the pickups to bring the sensing coils and pole pieces closer to the strings. These improvements increase the dynamic range and make active circuitry unnecessary.
The Relentless P and Relentless J pickups incorporate Neodymium magnets and produce 70 percent more output than traditional passive pickups, and they’re dead quiet due to the incorporation of metal covers and foil-shielded cables. To dial in (or fine-tune) the individual string output, the Relentless P and Relentless J include eight adjustable pole pieces. These pickups also have a broad magnetic field so you can even bend notes without volume dropout.
DiMarzio’s extra shielding makes the Relentless P and Relentless J better for both recording and stage performances. We’ve mounted them onto robust .09375” thick circuit board base plates to eliminate the annoying protruding mounting screws — ultimately creating a more comfortable and consistent foundation to rest your fingers on.
The new Relentless P steps beyond the traditional P-Bass sound and can only be described as massive. It has more of everything: more volume, beefier lows, a growling midrange, and crispy highs with better individual string definition.
The Relentless J incorporates a new invention, (patent pending) parallelogram-shaped coils, offering an expanded mid-range punch, snappy highs, precise lows, and a new dimension to the sound of the Relentless series pickups.
Relentless P and Relentless J pickups will breathe new life into any bass, increase playability, and work well for any style of music from Motown to metal.
DiMarzio’s Relentless P, Relentless J Bridge, Relentless J Neck, and Relentless J pair are made in the U.S.A. and may now be ordered for immediate delivery.
Suggested List Price for the Relentless P is $169.00 (MAP $119.99).
Suggested List Price for the Relentless J Bridge and Relentless J neck is $155.00 (MAP $109.99).
Suggested List Price for the Relentless J Pair is $296.00 (MAP 209.99).
For more information, please visit our website at dimarzio.com.
