
A familiar-feeling looper occupies a sweet spot between intuitive and capable.
Intuitive operation. Forgiving footswitch feel. Extra features on top of basic looping feel like creative assets instead of overkill.
Embedded rhythm tracks can sneak up on you if youāre not careful about the rhythm level.
$249
DigiTech JamMan Solo HD
digitech.com
Maybe every guitaristās first pedal should be a looper. There are few more engaging ways to learn than playing along to your own ideasāor programmed rhythms, for that matter, which are a component of the new DigiTech JamMan Solo HDās makeup. Beyond practicing, though, the Solo HD facilitates creation and fuels the rush that comes from instant composition and arrangement or jamming with a very like-minded partner in a two-man band.
Loopers can be complex enough to make beginners cry. They are fun if you have time to venture for whole weeks down a rabbit hole. But a looper that bridges the functionality and ease-of-use gap between the simplest and most maniacal ones can be a sweet spot for newbies and seasoned performers both. The JamMan Solo HD lives squarely in that zone. It also offers super-high sound quality and storage options, and capacity that would fit the needs of most prosāall in a stomp just millimeters larger than a Boss pedal.
Fast Out of the Blocks
Assuming youāve used some kind of rudimentary looper before, thereās pretty decent odds youāll sort out the basic functionality of this one with a couple of exploratory clicks of the footswitch. Thatās unless youāve failed to turn down the rhythm-level knob, in which case youāll be scrambling for the quick start guide to figure out why there is a drum machine blaring from your amp. The Solo HD comes loaded with rhythm tracks that are actually really fun to use and invaluable for practice. In the course of casually exploring these, I found them engaging and vibey enough to be lured into crafting expansive dub reggae jams, thrashing punk riffs, and lo-fi cumbias. Removing these tracks from a given loop is just a matter of turning the rhythm volume to zero. You can also create your own guide rhythms with various percussion sounds.
Backing tracks aside, creating loops on the Solo HD involves a common single-click-to-record, double-click-to-stop footswitch sequence. Recording an overdub takes another single click, and you hold the footswitch down to erase a loop. Storing a loop requires a simple press-and-hold of the store switch. The sizable latching footswitch, which looks and feels quite like those on Boss pedals, is forgiving and accurate. This has always been a strength of JamMan loopers, and though Iām not completely certain why, it means I screw up the timing of my loops a lot less.
Many players will be satisfied with how easy this functionality is and explore little more of the Solo HDās capabilities. And why not? The storage capacityāup to 35 minutes of loops and 10 minutes for individual loopsāis enough that you can craft a minor prog-rock suite from these humble beginnings. Depending on how economical your loops are, you can use all or most of the 200 available memory locations built into the Solo HD. But you can also add another 200 with an SD/SDHC card.Deeper into Dubs
Loopers have always been more than performance and practice tools for me. I have old multitrack demos that still live in the memory banks of my oldest loopers. And just as with any demos, the sounds you create with the Solo HD may be tough to top or duplicate, which can mean a loop becomes the foundation of a whole recorded song. The Solo HDās tempo and reverse features, which can completely mutate a loop, make this situation even more likely. The tempo function raises or lowers the BPM without changing the pitch of the loop. As a practice tool, this is invaluable for learning a solo at a slower clip. But drastically altered tempos can also help create entirely new moods for a musical passage without altering a favorite key to sing or play in. Some of these alterations reveal riffs and hooks within riffs and hooks, from which I would happily build a whole finished work. The reverse function is similarly inspiring and a source of unusual textures that can be the foundation for a more complex piece.
HD, of course, stands for high definition. And the Solo HDās capacity for accurate, dense, and detail-rich stacks of loops means you can build complex musical weaves highlighting the interaction between overtones or timbre differences among other effects in your chain. I canāt remember the last time I felt like a looperās audio resolution was really lacking. But the improved quality here lends itself to using the Solo HD as a song-arranging toolāand, again, as a recording asset, if you want a looped idea to form the backbone of a recording.
The Verdict
With a looper, smooth workflow is everything. And though it takes practice and some concentration in the early going to extract the most from the Solo HDās substantial feature set, it is, ultimately, a very intuitive instrument that will not just smooth the use of loops in performance, but extend and enhance its ability as a right-brain-oriented driver of composition and creation.
Marcus King will return to the road on the Marcus King Band Goes To School: The Tour across North America.
This headline jaunt kicks off on April 2 at Durham Performing Arts Center in Durham, NC, canvases the country, and concludes on May 11 at The Cotillion Ballroom in Wichita, KS. A special artist presale launches at 9am local time on December 17 followed by venue presales on December 18 at 9am local time. General on-sale commences on December 19 at 9am local time. Tickets will be available on marcuskingofficial.com.
He's in the midst of a thrilling creative run. Earlier this fall, he and The Marcus King Band appeared on CBS Saturday Morning, performing āF*ck My Life Up Again,ā āHero,ā āSave Me.ā In addition, his Howard Stern session is now available where he performed the same tracks as well as the Allman Brothers classic āRamblin Man.ā
Not to mention, he recently served up two new renditions of āHeroā (from Mood Swings) and ā8 A.M.ā (from The Marcus King Bandās Carolina Confessions) featuring Drew Smithers on guitar and recorded live at the legendary Bluebird CafĆ©.
King is a Grammy nominated fourth generation musician from Greenville, SC, who started playing guitar at 8 years old following in the footsteps of his guitarist Father and Grandpa. Logging thousands of miles on the road as āThe Marcus King Band,ā he established himself with unparalleled performance prowess and a dynamic live show. His solo debut El Dorado, garnering a Grammy Award nomination in the category of āBest Americana Album.ā In between packing venues on his own, he performed alongside Chris Stapleton (he opens for him once again at U.S. Bank Stadium - Minneapolis), Greta Van Fleet, and Nathanial Rateliff in addition to gracing the bills of Stagecoach and more with one seismic show after the next. He has been open about his challenges with mental health in his songs and throughout his career, and earlier this year, Marcus launched the Curfew Fellowship Fund and partnered with MusiCares and Stand Together Music that will help build a more mentally health aware touring community for himself and other artists to follow. King has also released a mastercourse on in-depth song performances, guitar techniques & styles, songwriting insights and much more
Marcus Kingās latest album, Mood Swings takes us in a very different sonic direction to his considerable catalog of studio albums. Combining elements as diverse as modern pop, R&B, aughts hip hop, piano driven classic rock and the warm production and symphonic instrumentation of classic era soul, R&B and jazz. Previously released song āF*ck My Life Up Againā is a considerable departure stadium sized rock, with strings that accent over a smoky jazz beat, while his soulful delivery booms, āCome f*ck my life up again, donāt deserve to live without pain.ā A guitar solo āplayed backwardsā channels stark confusion offset by the unshakable hook. On āHero,ā his croon rises over acoustic guitar towards a fluttering crescendo. The same naked emotion defines āDelilahā where over piano led pop rock and innovative tracks such as āInglewood Motel (Halestorm)ā are an alt R&B masterpiece. The album closes with āCadillac,ā steeped in psychedelic symphonic soul it is an arresting tale of dark desires and suicidal ideation.
Despite its often bleak subject matter, Mood Swings is an album with a message of hope. Legendary producer Rick Rubin who has worked with everyone from Adele to Johnny Cash, was instantly drawn to Kingās guitar playing, singular voice and songwriting, and after witnessing a King live performance, one day randomly cold-called him to float the idea of working together. Rubin helped King find a new personal and sonic approach and instead of crumbling under the weight of his anxiety, Rubin inspired him to shift his perspective. āHe helped me view mental health as a writing partner in a way,ā recalls Marcus. āIāve learned it can give me that creative spark.ā
For more information, please visit marcuskingofficial.com.
MOOD SWINGS THE WORLD TOUR DATES
*new Marcus King: An Intimate Acoustic Evening Featuring Drew Smithers acoustic dates
+supporting Chris Stapleton
*December 17, 2024 - Duling Hall - Jackson, MS
*December 19, 2024 - Louisiana Grandstand - Shreveport, LA
*December 20, 2024 - The Hall - Little Rock, AR
*December 21, 2024 - The Caverns - Pelham, TN
December 27, 2024 - Hard Rock Live - Bristol, VA
December 28 ā Hard Rock Casino - Cincinatti, OH
December 29 ā Victory Theater - Evansville, IN
*January, 23, 2025 - Sheridan Opera House - Telluride, CO
*January, 24, 2025 - Vilar Performing Arts Center - Beaver Creek, CO
*January, 25, 2025 - Strings Pavilion - Steamboat Springs, CO
*January 27, 2025 - Center for the Arts - Jackson, WY
+February 25, 2025 - Rod Laver Arena - Melbourne, Australia
+February 26, 2025 - Rod Laver Arena - Melbourne, Australia
+February 28, 2025 - Brisbane Entertainment Centre - Brisbane, Australia
+March 1, 2025 - Brisbane Entertainment Centre - Brisbane, Australia
+March 4, 2025 - Qudos Bank Arena - Sydney, Australia
+March 5, 2025 - Qudos Bank Arena - Sydney, Australia
+March 7, 2025 - Spark Arena - Auckland, New Zealand
+March 8, 2025 - Spark Arena - Auckland, New Zealand
September 15-21, 2025 - Keeping The Blues Alive At Sea - Seattle, WA
āMARCUS KIND BAND GOES TO SCHOOL: THE TOURā DATES
April 2, 2025 - Durham Performing Arts Center - Durham, NC
April 3, 2025 - Savannah Music Festival - Savannah, GA
April 4, 2025 - Tortuga Music Festival - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
April 6, 2025 - Florida Theater - Jacksonville, FL
April 8, 2025 - Saenger Theater - Pensacola, FL
April 11, 2025 - Ting Pavilion - Charlottesville, VA
April 12, 2025 - Schaefer Center - Boone, NC
April 13, 2025 - Renfro Valley The New Barn Theater - Mount Vernon, KY
April 17, 2025 - Immersive Media PAC - Gulfport, MS
April 18, 2025 - Sweetwater 420 Festival - Atlanta, GA
April 19, 2025 - Greenfield Lake Amphitheater - Wilmington, NC
April 24, 2025 - The Lyric - Oxford, MS
April 26, 2025 - Billy Bobs - Ft. Worth, TX
April 29, 2025 - Montgomery PAC - Montgomery, AL
May 9, 2025 - Avalon Theater - Grand Junction, CO
May 11, 2025 - The Cotillion Ballroom - Wichita, KS
The range of clean, dirty, and complex tones available from this high-quality, carefully crafted Dumble modeler make it a formidable studio and performance device.
Fantastic variation in many delicious sounds makes it a bargain. High-quality. Easy to use and customize. Killer studio path to lively, responsive guitar sounds.
Price may be hard for some to swallow if they donāt leverage the whole of its potential.
$399
UAFX Enigmatic ā82 Overdrive Special
uaudio.com
Iāve never played a realDumble. Iād venture most of us havenāt. But given my experiences with James Santiagoās UAFX modeling pedals, most recently theUAFX Lion, I plugged in the new Dumble-inspired UAFX Enigmatic confident Iād taste at least the essence of that very rare elixir. You could argue there is no definitive Dumble sound. Each was customized to some extent for the customer, and they are renowned nearly as much for dynamic responsiveness and flexibility as their singing, complex, clean-to-dirty palettes.
The Enigmatic nails the flexibility, for sure. To my ears, its tone foundation lives somewhere on a sliver of Venn diagram where a black-panel Fender and a 50-watt Hiwatt intersect. Itās alive, dimensional, snappy, sparkly, massive, and, at the right EQ settings, hot and excitable. But the Enigmaticās powerful EQ and gain controls, multiple virtual cab and mic pairings, rock, jazz, and custom voices, plus additional deep, bright, and presence controls enable you to travel many leagues from that fundamental tone. The customization work you can do in the app enables significant changes in the Enigmaticās tone profile and responsiveness, too. All these observations are made tracking the Enigmatic straight to a DAWāmaking the breadth of its personality even more impressive. But the Enigmatic sounds every bit as lively at the front end of an amp, and black-panel Fenders are a primo pairing for its saturation and sparkly attributes. The Enigmatic is nearly $400, which is an investment. But considering the ground I covered in just a few days with it, and the quality and variety of sounds I could conjure with the unit just sitting on my desk, the performance-to-price ratio struck me as very favorable indeed.
The legendary string-glider shows Chris Shiflett how he orchestrated one of his most powerful leads.
Break out your glass, steel, or beer bottle: This time on Shred With Shifty, weāre sliding into glory with southern-rock great Derek Trucks, leader of the Derek Trucks Band, co-leader (along with wife Susan Tedeschi) of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, and, from 1999 to 2014, member of the Allman Brothers Band.
Reared in Jacksonville, Florida, Trucks was born into rock ānā roll: His uncle, Butch Trucks, was a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, and from the time he was nine years old, Derek was playing and touring with blues and rock royalty, from Buddy Guy to Bob Dylan. Early on, he established himself as a prodigy on slide guitar, and in this interview from backstage in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Trucks explains why heās always stuck with his trusty Gibson SGs, and how he sets them up for both slide and regular playing. (He also details his custom string gauges.)
Trucks analyzes and demonstrates his subtle but scorching solo on āMidnight in Harlem,ā off of Tedeschi Trucks Bandās acclaimed 2011 record, Revelator. In it, he highlights the influence of Indian classical music, and particularly sarod player Ali Akbar Khan, on his own playing. The lead is āmelodic but with Indian-classical inflections,ā flourishes that Trucks says are integral to his playing: Itās a jazz and jam-band mentality of ādangling your feet over the edge of the cliff,ā says Trucks, and going outside whatever mode youāre playing in.
Throughout the episode, Trucks details his live and studio set ups (āAs direct as I can get itā), shares advice for learning slide and why he never uses a pick, and ponders what the future holds for collaborations with Warren Haynes.
Credits
Producer: Jason Shadrick
Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis
Engineering Support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudion
Video Editor: Addison Sauvan
Graphic Design: Megan Pralle
Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.
A 6L6 power section, tube-driven spring reverb, and a versatile array of line outs make this 1x10 combo an appealing and unique 15-watt alternative.