Check out our special coverage of Amps to go along with the August 2016 issue of PG.
Hughes & Kettner
TubeMeister Deluxe 20
Small enough to comfortably carry on a plane as hand luggage, TubeMeister Deluxe 20 takes you from pure, pristine clean tones to an authentic brown sound and devastatingly powerful modern-day high gain at the tap of a footswitch. Other groundbreaking made-in-Germany Hughes & Kettner features ā like a power soak for enjoying amazing tube sounds at any volume, and the FRFR-ready Red Box AE DI that lets you connect your guitar direct to your recording setup or the PA ā make the Deluxe 20 your ideal amp partner whether you Rock on Stage, Play at Home or Record at Night!
CHANNELS Two: Clean and Lead (+ Boost)
POWER 20 Watts
POWER SOAK 5, 1, 0 Watts
TUBES 2 x EL84 (power amp), 2 x 12AX7(preamp)
EFFECTS LOOP Serial
DI OUTPUT Red Box AE
SPEAKER OUTPUTS 1 x 8-16 Ī©
DIMENSIONS 14.02 x 6.14 x 5.91ā
WEIGHT 11lbs
PROTECTIVE COVER Included
Street Price: $699
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Two-Rock Amplification
Cardiff
A 15-watt EL84 amp with minimal compression and a fuller/fatter midrange and stout low end, Cardiff reflects the perfect marriage of British heritage and Two-Rock performance. Cardiff lets you dial in your own tone via a single input jack, bass, treble and volume control, a Contour Control, and a passive effects loop. Cardiff is available as a head with a matching 1 x 12 cabinet loaded with a Two-Rock 12-65B Speaker or 1x12 Combo.
Street Price: $1595 Head, $595 1x12 Cabinet
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Tone King Amplifiers
Royalist 45 MK II Combo
The Royalist MKII captures the essence of early British tones ranging from JTM45 to Plexi/Super Lead. It features a single channel preamp, an all-tube signal path with three 12AX7A preamp tubes, and two EL34 output tubes. Its series-wired effects loop is tube buffered for superb transparency. A built-in Ironman-II power attenuator uses a reactive load circuit and sophisticated compensation circuitry to deliver the genuine tone and feel of a "raging stack", even at bedroom volume.
Street Price: $2,995
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Fishman
Loudbox Acoustic Instrument Amplifiers
The industryās best-selling acoustic instrument amplifiers, Fishmanās Loudbox series offers the power and features that musicians demand. Each model provides ultra-clean acoustic power, two channels featuring Fishmanās legendary preamp and tone control designs, digital reverb, feedback-fighting Phase control, ¼ā and XLR inputs, and balanced XLR D.I. outputs. Loudbox acoustic instrument amplifiers deliver the tonal quality that has made the Fishman name the standard for great acoustic sound.
Starting at: $329.95
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Henriksen Amplifiers
The Bud
If you play, you need a Bud.
The Bud is the without question the smallest, TRULY GIGABLE guitar amplifier on the market with unmatched tone quality! At 9x9x9 inches, 17 pounds and 120 watts of analog power, you won't believe the volume and tone coming from either your electric or acoustic guitar, or any stringed instrument with a pickup for that matter, and with a feature set that allows you the versatility to cover almost any kind of gig, this is a MUST HAVE piece of gear for the working musician.
Starting at: $1,099
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Fryette Amplification
ValvulatorĀ® GP/DI
Introducing The Fryette ValvulatorĀ® GP/DI, Desktop Recording Amplifier. This is is an ALL-TUBE low-power guitar amplifier, pre-amplifier, direct box, and all-around low-volume-playing solution. The GP/DI is specifically designed to work in situations where you can't or donāt need to play loud, such as late-night playing and recording, headphone practicing, and recording straight into the board live. It is the first all-tube guitar amplifier designed to do that without any additional equipment and a minimum of trouble.
⢠One Watt all-tube Amplifier with integrated reactive load.
⢠Extremely broad tonal range, from clean to high gain.
⢠Analog Speaker Sim "Cab + Mic" section for direct recording.
⢠Built-in tube Direct Injection output, usable separately as a Tube Direct box , or together with the amplifier.Ā
⢠Balanced XLR outputs for amp out or tube buffered D.I.
⢠Fully functional self-contained "Re-Amping" solution.
⢠Can drive a 1-12ā cabinet
⢠Made in the USA
Starting at: $799
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Fryette Amplification
Pittbull UltraLead Head
The Fryette PittbullĀ® Ultra-Lead is a powerful, versatile channel switching amplifier suited for players of any style. Uncompromising personality makes it the choice of world-class players from all genres of music. The Ultra-Lead's KT88 power section provides stunning clarity and definition whether playing ultra-clean or maximum gain.
The FatBottom 212 low-profile cabinets feature Fane F70G speakers and mono/stereo input capability. Front mounted speakers produce a tight, focused low end and extended projection.
Starting at:
$3,799 (Ultra-Lead head);
$999 (FatBottom 212 F70G)
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Fryette Amplification
Power StationĀ®
The Fryette Power StationĀ® PS-2 is a reactive load coupled to a dual 6L6 vacuum tube power amplifier that allows you to attenuate a high powered guitar amp, or boost a low powered guitar amp.
⢠Perfectly preserves the tone of the attenuated amplifier.
⢠Maintains dynamic feel at any volume.
⢠Provides an effects loop.
⢠New Input Level sensitivity switch, rear panel Low Pass Filter Bypass switch, and Balanced XLR Line Output.
Street Price: $699
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Fane USA
Ascension F70
"FANEāS NEW ASCENSION RANGE OF 12" speakers was developed with input from Southern California amp designer Steven Fryette, and aims to capture the punchy, bold, yet harmonically complex and responsive performance that people love in the classic late-ā60s and early-ā70s speakers from this under-appreciated British maker. The Fane sound became legendary due to their use in certain Hiwatt guitar cabinets of the era, and Faneās new models provide added versatility for the contemporary player." (Guitar Player, March 2016)
The Fane Ascension F70 offers a stunningly detailed top-end, rich mid-range and warm low-end with an intricate three-dimensional vintage crunch. The beauty of the F70 is that you need not even change your amplifier's setting to appreciate its ability to articulate delicate passages or manage pummeling abuse with ease. Whether your application is a head and cab or an open back combo, the F70 adds a welcome new dimension to existing rigs.
Street Price: $199
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Radial Engineering ltd.
Radial JDX Direct-Driveā¢
Emulates the sound of a guitar amplifier while doubling as a direct box. Unlike a typical DI that merely transfers the sound from guitar/pedals to the PA, the Direct-Drive simulates the tone and feel of an amp, producing much more realistic sound. With the Direct-Drive on your pedalboard, you can do a gig without an amp! A passive thru-put feeds a stage amp (if you want one) and a dedicated tuner output is buffered to eliminate pickup loading and tuner noise. Guitar signal goes through a series of carefully sculpted filters to create Radialās signature 'Shure-SM57ā¢-on-a-Marshallā¢- 4x12-cabinet' tone. 'Vintage Marshallā¢' and 'early Fender Twinā¢' alternate voicings can be further tailored with the 'presence' switch for extra sparkle. Output via ¼ā guitar-level and balanced XLR to feed the PA. A 180° polarity reverse phase-aligns monitors/PA sound with stage amp and a 'Lift' switch eliminates hum and buzz caused by ground loops.
Street Price: $899.99
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Tube Amp Doctor
TAD STR-SERIES Premium Quality Tubes
Tube Amp Doctor's STR-TUBES are inspired by the most wanted NOS tubes of the golden age of tube manufacturing. They are produced to our exclusive designs and strict specifications.Ā
A unique sequence of tests, our burn-in process and our sophisticated and genuine bias-matching, carried out by our highly experienced staff, make TAD's STR-TUBES the finest and best selected premium quality tubes currently in the market. Here are only some of the benefits - everything for the one and only goal ā the ultimate tone:Ā
⢠Better overall responseĀ
⢠Increased, dynamic headroomĀ
⢠Superior tone and performanceĀ
⢠Maximum reliability, consistency and sturdinessĀ
⢠Designed and tested in Germany
⢠All tubes tested individually
⢠Power Tubes are matched by Ia (PC) and Gm (TC) with lowest tolerances
Street Price: varies
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Tube Amp Doctor
TAD CAPACITORS
Handmade TAD MUSTARD CAPS produced with the authentic film-to-foil alu/PE design, exclusively for TAD!
TAD Audio Caps feature the authentic flat-foil design and will refine tone with excellent overtones and rich details.
TAD Gold Caps are available in radial and axial shape - high temperature resistant, vintage correct sizes and specifications.
TAD Vintage Oil Caps complete our premium line of foil capacitors, vintage correct specs and values, for a smooth, natural and harmonically delightful tone.
Street Price: varies
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Tube Amp Doctor
TAD Reverb Cans
Our high-quality, classic TAD REVERB CANS bring back the stunning reverb sound of the 60s. The ideal drop-in replacement and upgrade for vintage and modern amps!
Street Price: varies
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ProCo Sound
Evolution Silent Instrument Cable 20ft
We could say that evolution cables are the best sounding cables on the market....except they don't sound at all. An unnoticeable, uninhibited link in an audio chain so often bound by the constraints of inadequate cables. A Sonically Superior design combined with the truly evolutionary Softtouch jacket, Evolution will change how you feel about cables and revolutionize the way you connect to YOUR world.
Pro Co EVOLUTION Instrument Cable Features:
100% oxygen-free wire for long life and great sound
Noiseless dual-shielded design rejects outside noise
Neutrik black and gold connectors for a solid, clean connection
Silent Switch eliminates amp pops when removing cable
Supple soft touch jacket
Street Price: $73.99
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Bergantino Audio Systems
Bergantino B|Amp
The B|Amp is an incredibly flexible, easy to use, state-of-the-art Bass Amplifier, delivering maximum performance in a compact package. The B|Amp takes a new approach by including the speaker cabinetās response as part of the signal path. No other bass amplifier on the market has the ability to manage speakers and overall system performance like the B|AMP. This is accomplished through our Proprietary Profile EQ system. The B|Amp is a game changer in Bass Amplification!
Street Price: $1,399 ProNet
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Swart Amplifier Co.
MOD84
The MOD84, Swartās first EL-84 offering, is 15w of 100% hand-wired, turret board construction, USA made with 3-way interactive EQ, top controls, tube reverb, tremolo, and rectification. It has some of the most soulful cleans with the ability to intertwine some fur and angst with push/attack. It's got that Swart harmonic richness while still being open and transparent, featuring excellent touch sensitivity. This is really a do it all amp that can cross musical genres.
Street Price: $1,750 w/Celestion Creamback
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GURUS Amps
5015 Head
5015 is our Single Channel + iChannel⢠50W head in a lunchbox size. Thanks to its easy 3 controls you can sculpt your tone to reach best performances in every situations, from your home to a big stage. You can obtain a totally clean sound with lot of headroom to use as a platform for your pedals rig, and/or choose to get it to compression of both stages, preamp or power section using its separate controls volume and master to obtain stunning vintage or modern tone.
With the SexyToneā¢, you can manage the EQ curve of your amp simply with a single knob which works on 3filters simultaneously, moving the entire tone-stack curve for best result and as a fine tuning of your final tone, matching the right cab etc..
It is equipped by a tube buffered Serial loop and has 3 out on 4,8 and 16Ohms.
Street Price: $900
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Roland
Blues Cube Hot
GIG-READY BLUES CUBE āTUBE LOGICā TONE IN A PORTABLE COMBO AMP
⢠Performance-ready 30-watt compact combo guitar amplifier with authentic tube tone and touch response
⢠Rolandās comprehensive Tube Logic design delivers the interactive tonal behaviors of famous fine-tuned vintage tube amps, including preamp and output tube saturation characteristics, power supply compression, and much more
⢠Master volume, three-band EQ, and onboard reverb, plus footswitchable Boost for natural crunch and Tone for bright presence
⢠Four-way Power Control (0.5 W, 5 W, 15 W, Max) allows for cranked-up tones at any volume
⢠Classic open-back design with custom 12-inch speaker and poplar cabinet for enhanced presence on stage
⢠Stylish, modern look with a vintage vibe
⢠Efficient, lightweight design provides easy portability without sacrificing tone quality
⢠USB output for high-quality direct recording to a computer
⢠Available in two color variations: Vintage Blond and Black
Street Price: $499
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Friedman Amplification
Runt-50 Combo
⢠50-Watt all tube amplifier / Two channels
⢠2 x EL-34 power tubes / 4 x 12AX7 preamp tubes
⢠Clean channel with Volume, Bass, Treble and ? Bright switch
⢠Lead channel with Volume, Gain, three-band EQ ? and a boost switch.
⢠XLR Cab Simulated output with Ground Lift, Axis ? and Level switches.
⢠Ultra transparent series FX loop
⢠4, 8 and 16 ohm impedance selector
⢠Single button footswitch
Street Price: $1,999.99
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Morgan Amplification
MVP23 combo
⢠Power: ¼ - 23w variable (tube)
⢠Hand-wired in the USA
⢠2x EL-84 power tubes
⢠2x 12AX7 preamp tubes
⢠Celestion G12H75 Creamback
⢠Power Level control
⢠Gain
⢠Volume
⢠Treble
⢠Mid
⢠Bass
⢠2x8 ohm 1x16 ohm outputs
⢠Limited lifetime warranty
Street Price: $1,749.00
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Celestion
Neo Creamback
The Neo Creamback delivers all the magical tone youād expect from a traditional Creamback. The difference is the neodymium magnet, which makes this speaker around half the weight of a traditional guitar speaker. You still get the low end punch, warm midrange and sweet highs the Creamback is famous for: push it hard and enjoy the ārace-car growlā. But pick up a cab loaded with Neo Creambacks and see what makes this speaker truly different.
Street Price: $169
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MESA/BoogieĀ®
JP-2Cā¢
Inspired by their long-standing relationship with John Petrucci, MESA/BoogieĀ® is proud to introduce the JP-2Cā¢. The model is MESAās first unlimited-build signature amplifier and joins the MARK Series as a next generation re-issue of the legendary MARK IIC+ā¢. With modernized features, benefitting from over three decades of R&D, the JP-2C delivers three channels, two assignable EQs, 60/100 watts, MIDI, Cabclone⢠DI and the legendary IIC+ tone that so many recording artists and MESA enthusiasts covet.
Street Price: $2,499
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Revv Amplification Inc
Generator 120
The Generator 120 watt amplifier, is a 4 channel variable gain, all tube amplifier designed to be everything the touring musician, or the weekend warrior, will need in an amplifier. From beautiful warm sparkling cleans, vintage style crunch, to deep metal rhythm or searing leads, this amplifier does it all and more.
Street Price: $2,499
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Park Amplifiers
Park Little Rock 18
The Park Little Rock 18 a finely tuned classic rock amp. It features the same preamp as higher powered Park amps plus switchable cascaded channels for higher gain and a power amp capable of using a number of power tubes (6V6, 6L6, EL34 for 14 to 24 watts). The amp produces beautiful clean tones plus overdriven blues and classic rock tones all at playing levels that are suitable for the bedroom, studio or small club.
Street Price: $2,499
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TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik
Black Diamond Series Vaccuum Tubes
TELEFUNKEN vacuum tubes have been the benchmark of excellence in all audio applications for many decades. This rich history continues with the introduction of new production tubes from TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik.
Each tube is meticulously measured for all critical parameters of performance including transconductance, gain, noise, and microphonics. In addition to the rigorous testing procedure, all new TELEFUNKEN tubes are cryogenically treated to ensure durability, and subjected to an extended burn-in period to ensure superior stability.
Street Price: varies
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Goodsell Amplifiers
Mark IV Series Custom Amplifiers
Goodsell's Custom Mark IV Series amps feature a cathode-follower 3-way tone stack, offering more control over Goodell's sumptuous tube-driven sonics. Available with reverb and award-winning bias-vary tremolo. Configurations include 1x12 combo shown here; 2x10, 2x12 and 1x15 combos; and head-only versions built to order. Call Richard Goodsell today to discuss your next custom build.
Street Price: $1,499
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Dusky Electronics
DāO Amplifier
The Dusky Electronics DāO Amplifier is an all new, original design, vacuum tube musical instrument amplifier. The DāO combines a classic, short signal path architecture with modern refinements for low noise and high reliability, to produce an amplifier that feels like an extension of yourselfāan exquisite tool for seamlessly conveying your artistic intent. This is no clone. The DāO delivers enormous clean sounds or wicked breakup with a musical feel you must try for yourself.
Street Price: $1,500
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3 Monkeys Amps
Nashville Howler
Designed in conjunction with Grammy Award winning songwriter, musician, and producer Gordon Kennedy, The Nashville Howler has plenty of clean headroom and a Marshallesque tone stack making it the ideal bedroom and small venue amp.Ā
Described by Gordon as a "Tweed Deluxe with a British accent!"
Controls are VOLUME, TREBLE, MIDDLE, BASS, and PRESENCE. Two cathode biased 6V6 power tubes and three 12AX7 preamp tubes combine for about 15 watts of power.
Street Price: $1,849
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Ethnomusicologist Frances Densmore records the song of Mountain Chief, head of the Blackfeet Tribe, on a phonograph for the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1916.
Once used as a way to preserve American indigenous culture, field recording isnāt just for seasoned pros. Here, our columnist breaks down a few methods for you to try it yourself.
The picture associated with this monthās Dojo is one of my all-time favorites. Taken in 1916, it marks the collision of two diverging cultural epochs. Mountain Chief, the head of the Piegan Blackfeet Tribe, sings into a phonograph powered solely by spring-loaded tension outside the Smithsonian. Across from him sits whom I consider the patron saint of American ethnomusicologistsāthe great Frances Densmore.
You can feel the scope and weight of theancient culture of the indigenous American West, and the presence of the then-ongoing womenās suffrage movement, which was three years from succeeding at getting the 19th Amendment passed by Congress. That would later happen on June 4, 1919āthe initiative towards granting all women of this country the right to vote. (All American citizens, including Black women, were not granted suffrage until 1965.)
Densmore traversed the entire breadth of the country, hauling her gramophone wax cylinder recorders into remote tribal lands, capturing songs by the Seminole in southern Florida, the Yuma in California, the Chippewa in Wisconsin, Quinailet songs in Northern Washington, and, of course, Mountain Chief outside the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. Author of more than 20 books and 200 articles, she carefully preserved the rich cultural diversity of Native Americans with over 2,500 field recordings.
Why am I writing about this? Firstly, to pay homage! Secondly, because it serves as a great reminder to seek and cultivate sound outside the studio as well. We live in a time of great technological power and convenience. Every week a new sample pack, plugin, pedal, or software instrument hits the market. For all the joy that these offerings bring, they deprive us of the joy of creating our own instruments from scratch.
This month, Iām advocating for you to make some field recordings of your ownānature, urban, indoor, outdoor, specific locations, animals, or anything that piques your interest! Bring the material back to the studio and make music with it! Iāll show you how to make your own sample libraries to use in your music. Tighten up your belts, a multipart Dojo is now open.
What do you need to get started? Quite simply, you just need any device that is capable of recording. This can range from your cell phone to a dedicated field recorder. The real question is: Do you want to use mics housed in handheld units or have more robust mic pres with the ability to power larger live/studio microphones using XLR connectors found with the larger units? Letās look at three scenarios.
The Cellular Approach
The absolute easiest way to get started is with your cell phone. Take advantage of a voice-memo recording app, or use an app that records multitrack audio like GarageBand on iOS. Phone recordings tend to sound very compressed and slightly lo-fiāwhich might be exactly what you want. However, the method can also introduce unwanted noise artifacts like low-end rumble (from handling the phone) and phasing (moving the mic while recording). I recommend using a tripod to hold your phone still while recording. You might also want to consider using an external mic and some software to edit your sample recordings on the phone. I like using a Koala Sampler ($4.99) on iOS devices.
Upgrade Me
The next step up is to use a portable recorder. These have much better mic pres, and offer true stereo recording with pivoting mic heads. This can give you the added benefit of controlling the width of your stereo image when recording or helping isolate two sound sources that are apart from each other. You sacrifice the ability to easily edit your recordings. You simply import them into your computer and edit the recording(s) from there.
Pro-Level Quality
I would recommend this scenario if you want to record multiple sources at once. These devices also have SMPTE time code, 60+ dB of gain, phantom power (+48 volts), advanced routing, and a 32-bit/192 kHz sampling rate, so youāll never have a distorted recording even when the meter gets unexpectedly pegged into the red from a loud sound source. I recommend the Zoom F8n Pro ($1099). Now you can use your microphones!
Best Practices
Try to safely record as close to the sound source as you can to minimize ambient noise and really scrub through your recordings to find little snippets and sound ānuggetsā that can make great material for creating your own instrument and sample libraryāwhich weāll explore next month! Namaste.
Need more firepower? Hereās a collection of high-powered stomps that pack plenty of torque.
Thereās a visceral feeling that goes along with really cranking the gain. Whether youāre using a clean amp or an already dirty setup, adding more gain can inspire you to play in an entirely different way. Below are a handful of pedals that can take you from classic crunch to death metal doomāand beyond.
Universal Audio UAFX Anti 1992 High Gain Amp Pedal
Early 1990s metal tones were iconic. The Anti 1992 offers that unique mix of overdrive and distortion in a feature-packed pedal. You get a 3-band EQ, noise gate, multiple cab and speaker combos, presets, and full control through the mobile app.
Revv G4 Red Channel Preamp/Overdrive/Distortion Pedal - Anniversary Edition
Based upon the red channel of the companyās Generator 120, this finely tuned circuit offers gain variation with its 3-position aggression switch.
MXR Yngwie Malmsteen Overdrive Pedal - Red
The Viking king of shred guitar has distilled his high-octane tone into a simple, two-knob overdrive. Designed for going into an already dirty amp, this stomp offers clarity, harmonics, and more.
Empress Effects Heavy Menace Distortion Pedal
Arguably the companyās most versatile dirt box, this iteration is all about EQ. Itās loaded with an immensely powerful 3-band EQ with a sweepable mid control, footswitchable noise gate, a low-end sculpting control, and three different distortion modes.
JHS Hard Drive Distortion Pedal - Tan
Designed by late JHS R&D engineer Cliff Smith, the Hard Drive is a powerful and heavy ode to the post-grunge sounds of the late ā90s and early ā00s. This original circuit takes inspiration from many places by including cascading gain stages and Baxandall bass and treble controls.
Boss HM-2W Waza Craft Heavy Metal Distortion Pedal
Few pedals captured the sound of Swedish death metal like the HM-2. The go-to setting is simpleāall knobs maxed out. Flip over to the custom mode for more tonal range, higher gain, and thicker low end.
Electro-Harmonix Nano Metal Muff Distortion Pedal
Voiced with an aggressive, heavy tone with a tight low end, this pedal offers +/- 14 dB of bass, a powerful noise gate, and an LED to let you know when the gate is on.
Soldano Super Lead Overdrive Plus Pedal
Aimed to capture the sound of Mike Soldanoās flagship tube amp, the SLO uses the same cascading gain stages as the 100-watt head. It also has a side-mounted deep switch to add low-end punch.
Paul Reed Smith shows John Bohlinger how to detect the grain in a guitar-body blank, in a scene from PGās PRS Factory Tour video.
Paul Reed Smith says being a guitar builder requires code-cracking, historical perspective, and an eclectic knowledge base. Mostly, it asks that we remain perpetual students and remain willing to become teachers.
I love to learn, and I donāt enjoy history kicking my ass. In other words, if my instrument-making predecessorsāTed McCarty, Leo Fender, Christian Martin, John Heiss, Antonio de Torres, G.B. Guadagnini, and Antonio Stradivari, to name a fewāmade an instrument that took my breath away when I played it, and it sounded better than what I had made, I wanted to know not just what they had done, but what they understood that I didnāt understand yet. And because it was clear to me that these masters understood some things that I didnāt, I would go down rabbit holes.
I am not a violin maker, but Iāve had my hands on some of Guadagniniās and Stradivariās instruments. While these instruments sounded wildly different, they had an unusual quality: the harder you plucked them the louder they got. That was enough to push me further down the rabbit hole of physics in instrument making. What made them special is a combination of deep understanding and an ability to tune the instrument and its vibrating surfaces so that it produced an extraordinary sound, full of harmonics and very little compression. It was the beginning of a document we live by at PRS Guitars called The Rules of Tone.
My art is electric and acoustic guitars, amplifiers, and speaker cabinets. So, I study bridge materials and designs, wood species and drying, tuning pegs, truss rods, pickups, finishes, neck shapes, inlays, electronics, Fender/Marshall/Dumble amp theories, schematics, parts, and overall aesthetics. I canāt tell you how much better I feel when I come to an understanding about what these masters knew, in combination with what we can manufacture in our facilities today.
One of my favorite popular beliefs is, āThe reason Stradivari violins sound good is because of the sheepās uric acid they soaked the wood in.ā (I, too, have believed that to be true.) The truth is, itās never just one thing: itās a combination of complicated things. The problem I have is that I never hear anyone say the reason Stradivari violins sound good is because he really knew what he was doing. You donāt become a master of your craft by happenstance; you stay deeply curious and have an insatiable will to learn, apply what you learn, and progress.
āAcoustic and electric guitars, violins, drums, amplifiers, speaker cabinetsāthey will all talk to you if you listen.ā
Whatās interesting to me is, if a master passes away, everything they believed on the day they finished an instrument is still in that instrument. These acoustic and electric guitars, violins, drums, amplifiers, speaker cabinetsāthey will all talk to you if you listen. They will tell you what their maker believed the day they were made. In my world, you have to be a detective. I love that process.
Iāve had a chance to speak to the master himself. Leo Fender, who was not a direct teacher of mine but did teach me through his instruments, used to come by our booth at NAMM to pay his respects to the ānew guitar maker.ā I thought that was beautiful. I also got a chance to talk to Forrest White, who was Leoās production manager, right before he passed away. What he wanted to know was, āHowād I do?ā I said, āForrest, you did great.ā They wanted to know their careers and contributions were appreciated and would continue.
In my experience, great teachers throw a piece of meat over the fence to see if the dog will bite it. They donāt want to teach someone who doesnāt really want to learn and wonāt continue their legacy and/or the art they were involved in. While I have learned so much from the masters who were gone before my time, I have also found that the best teaching is done one-on-one. Along my journey from high school bedroom to the worldās stages, I enrolled scores of teachers to help me. I didnāt justenroll them. I tackled them. I went after their knowledge and experience, which I needed for my own knowledge base to do this jack-of-all-trades job called guitar making and to lead a company without going out of business.
Iāve spent most of my career going down rabbit holes. Whether itās wood, pickups, designs, metals, finishes, etc., I pay attention to all of it. Mostly, Iām looking backward to see how to go forward. Recently, weāve been going more and more forward, and I canāt tell you how good that feels. For me, being a detective and learning is lifesaving for the companyās products and my own well-being.
Sometimes it takes a few days to come to what I believe. The majority of the time itās 12 months. Occasionally, Iāll study something for a decade before I make up my mind in a strong way, and someone will then challenge that with another point of view. Iāll change my mind again, but mostly the decade decisions stick. I believe the lesson Iām hitting is ābe very curious!ā Find teachers. Stay a student. Become a teacher. Go down all the rabbit holes.
Featuring the SansAmp section, Reverb/Delay/Roto effects, and OMG overdrive, with new additions like a switchable Pre/Post Boost and Effect Loop. Pre-configured for the RK Killer Wail wah, this pedal offers versatile tones and unmatched flexibility.
Since the debut of the original RK5 in 2014, Richieās needs have changed, both on and off the road. The RK5 v3 retains the same SansAmp section, Reverb/Delay/Roto section, and RichieāsSignature OMG overdrive. New features include a switchable Pre/Post Boost to beef up drive and distortion or increase the overall volume to punch up fills and solos, along with the addition of an Effect Loop. It has also been pre-configured to provide phantom power for Richieās Tech21 Signature RK Killer Wail wah.
The all-analog SansAmp section of the RK5 focuses on clean tones within the tube amplifier sound spectrum. It includes 3-band active EQ, and Level and Drive controls. To dirty things up, you have the flexibility of using the Drive control, and the Boost function, or you can add overdrive from the OMG section. Or all three. Each method achieves different tones. The OMG section is based upon the Richie Kotzen Signature OMG pedal, which provides a wide range of overdrive, from clean to aggressive. You can add personality to a clean amp or use it for extra punch with a dirty amp tone. Controls include Drive for the overall amount of gain and overdrive and Tone with specialized voicing for adjusting the high-end and mid-range. A Fuzz switch changes the character and attack of the overdrive to a fuzz-style tone, making it thicker and woolier.
Other features include an independent foot-switchable Reverb witha choice of large and smallāroom sizes;ā Tap Tempo Delay, which can be transformed into a rotating speaker effect; included Tech 21 Model #DC9 universal self-adjusting 9V DC power supply, with interchangeable international prong assemblies for use anywhere in the world. Anticipated availability: January 2025
For more information, please visit tech21nyc.com.