PG's Jordan Wagner walks us through his latest review of Orange Amps' OR50 guitar amplifier head. https://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2012/Jun/Orange_OR50H_Reissue_Amp_Review.aspx
PG's Jordan Wagner walks us through his latest review of Orange Amps' OR50 guitar amplifier head. https://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2012/Jun/Orange_OR50H_Reissue_Amp_Review.aspx
Carlos Santana will hit the road for additional dates of the Oneness Tour in 2025.
Santana will perform songs from their fifty-year career, including fan favorites from Abraxas to Woodstock to Supernatural,and beyond.
The US portion of the tour kicks off in Highland, CA at Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at San Manuel on April 16 making stops in Phoenix, AZ; Albuquerque, NM; San Antonio, TX; Sugar Land, TX; Thackerville, OK; Tulsa, OK; and Nashville, TN.
The Europe and UK portion of the tour begins on June 9 in Lodz, Poland with stops throughout Europe and the UK, ending in Copenhagen, Denmark on August 11. Full tour dates are below.
Tickets will be available starting with a fan presale beginning on Wednesday, December 11 at Santana.com. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general on sale beginning on Friday, December 13 at 10am local time at Santana.com.
The tour will also offer a variety of different VIP packages and experiences for fans to take their concert experience to the next level. Packages vary but include premium tickets, exclusive merchandise item & collectible laminate.
For more information, please visit santana.com.
2025 Oneness Tour North American Dates:
- Wednesday, April 16, 2025 - Highland, CA - Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at San Manuel
- Friday, April 18, 2025 - Phoenix, AZ - Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
- Saturday, April 19, 2025 - Albuquerque, NM - Isleta Amphitheater
- Tuesday, April 22, 2025 - San Antonio, TX - Majestic Theatre
- Wednesday, April 23, 2025 - Sugar Land, TX - Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land
- Friday, April 25, 2025 - Thackerville, OK - Lucas Oil Live at WinStar
- Saturday, April 26, 2025 - Tulsa, OK - River Spirit Casino Resort *ON SALE 2/18/25
- Tuesday, April 29, 2025 - Nashville, TN - The Pinnacle
2025 Oneness Tour Europe & UK Dates:
- Monday, June 9, 2025 - Lodz, Poland - Atlas Arena
- Wednesday, June 11, 2025 - Budapest, Hungary - MVM Dome *ON SALE 2/13/25 AT 1PM
- Friday, June 13, 2025 - Berlin, Germany - Uber Arena
- Sunday, June 15, 2025 - Hamburg, Germany - Barclays Arena
- Wednesday, June 18, 2025 - Glasgow, UK - OVO Hydro
- Thursday, June 19, 2025 - Manchester, UK - Co-op Live
- Saturday, June 21, 2025 - London, UK - The O2
- Monday, June 23, 2025 - Paris, France - Accor Arena Paris *ON SALE 1/10/25
- Tuesday, June 24, 2025 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Ziggo Dome
- Thursday, June 26, 2025 - Antwerp, Belgium - Sportpaleis
- Saturday, June 28, 2025 - Zurich, Switzerland - Hallenstadion Zürich *ON SALE 4/11/25
- Monday, June 30, 2025 - Vienna, Austria - Wiener Stadthalle
- Wednesday, July 2, 2025 - Mantua, Italy - Piazza Sordello – Mantova
- Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - Rosenheim, Germany - ROSENHEIM SOMMERFESTIVAL 2025, Mangfall Park
- Friday, July 18, 2025 - Montreux, Switzerland - Montreux Jazz Festival
- Saturday, July 19, 2025 - St. Julien, France - Guitare en Scène *ON SALE 12/19/25
- Monday, July 21, 2025 - Nimes, France - Festival de Nîmes
- Wednesday, July 23, 2025 - Monte-Carlo, Monte-Carlo Summer Festival *ON SALE 12/18/25
- Friday, July 25, 2025 - Marciac, France - Jazz à Marciac Festival
- Sunday, August 3, 2025 - Marbella, Spain - Starlite Occident Festival
- Friday, August 8, 2025 - Cologne, Germany - Lanxess Arena
- Saturday, August 9, 2025 - Hanover, Germany - ZAG Arena
- Monday, August 11, 2025 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Royal Arena
A menu of vintage-voiced, modulated, harmonic, and reverse delays makes an intriguing smorgasbord of echo textures.
An imaginative array of wild to rich and familiar echo textures. Darker EQ profile lends authenticity to tape-like effects. Smart, if somewhat cramped, control layout.
Harmonic delay mode can be cloying at most settings.
$249
Diamond Dark Cloud
diamondpedals.com
The art of using and building delays is, at this point, a discipline populated by a thousand little cults. Vintage-minded analogists, digital micromanagers, and seekers of chaos all live under this strange umbrella. What’s refreshing about Diamond’s Dark Cloud is the way it spans so many points on the echo spectrum without 30 push-buttons and an enclosure the size of a cigar box.
It does many of the things detail-minded sound crafters demand of their delays, like tap tempo and creating precise subdivisions fast. And while it’s a digital delay, it seems very carefully designed and EQ’d to feel very analog, vintage, patinated, and moody. Indeed, in many situations it proves worthy of its name.
Crafted for Controlled Chaos
The sturdy, Canada-built Dark Cloud is a nice study in design efficiency. While there are enough tightly packed controls and switches to make some players nervous, the Dark Cloud does a lot with four knobs, a mini-toggle, and two footswitches. The toggle doubles as a mode selector when you click down and a subdivision switch when you click up. Footswitches serve the function of tapping out tempo, instantaneously or momentarily doubling delay rate, or setting up the harmonic delay mode for octaves or fifths. And though the four knobs for delay time, mix, feedback, and modulation rate are ordinarily enough, each functions quite differently depending on the mode, making the Dark Cloud deceptively simple.
Softly Spoken Expansiveness
Tape mode is, needless to say, well suited for the Dark Cloud’s darkish tone profile. Repeats drift and dissolve into mist as the echo signal degrades, and in traditional sorts of tape delay settings (short-to-medium-length delays, a 50/50 mix, and anywhere from two to five repeats), the Dark Cloud maintains a responsiveness and a not-too-overbearing presence that are simultaneously spacey and subdued. But the tape setting is also fantastic at more extreme settings. Fast repeats mated to speedy modulations and maxed-out feedback levels yield results that sound like Joe Meek wrestling a Space Echo, and you can create many accelerating/decelerating oscillation effects that suggest the old Roland tape delay standard-bearer if you engage actively and in real time with the controls.
“Fast repeats mated to speedy modulations and maxed-out feedback levels yield results that sound like Joe Meek wrestling a Space Echo.”
Harmonic and octave-up effects paired with reverbs and delay have a way of generating polarizing effects. I am generally on the side of those who find that a little goes a long way, and that too much is a saccharine tone nightmare that evokes being eaten alive by Smurfs. If you want to be devoured by wee cannibals, that’s your business, and the Dark Cloud will go there, particularly if you run wild with the feedback control. But the pedal also makes space for mellower applications. I had great luck with slapback delay times, fast decay, moderate mix levels and modulation rates in the ballpark of a Leslie’s whirl. In this setting, the harmonic delay took on the feel of an old Vox or Farfisa organ tracking my chord melody. If you stray from the Duane Eddy zone on the fretboard, single-note melodies tend to bring out the harmonic delay’s more cloying side. However, if you dig the shimmering qualities associated with these effects, you’ll find the Dark Cloud is a rich source for them, especially if you tinker with the harmonizing fifth setting on the pedal.
The Dark Cloud’s reverse delay mode is the one where the dark and cloudy facets of its personality become really intriguing. Like the tape mode, it’s a great match for drive effects from mellow boosts to gnarly fuzz—whether you situate it upstream or downstream from the pedal. But using the effect in clean settings reveals a lot about how the pedal’s EQ emphasis and duskier repeats make reverse echoes more seamless, organic, and something closer to the effect of reverse tape, especially when you keep the modulation and feedback to a minimum. In this way, the Dark Cloud’s reverse delay betters that of many of its peers and makes echoes sound less like they were grafted on as an afterthought. The reverse-echo textures can also range to more mangled extremes. If you’re a fan of Daniel Lanois’ warped-echo-and-melting-tweed-Deluxe sounds, adding fuzzy gain and attenuating your guitar tone generates a spiraling, hazy distorted signal that sounds a little like a reel of 2" coated in dust and molasses. (There’s an audio sample of that kind of thing attached to the online version of this review.)
The Verdict
If I’d had my way, I would have nixed the Dark Cloud’s harmonic delay mode, stuck with the very nice tape and reverse modes, and charged a little less. Still, a lot of players will love the many strange high-pitched and pixilated sounds available via the harmonic mode. And together, the three modes add up to a uniquely varied echo unit that can see a player through many moods—from deeply psychedelic to hyperactively effervescent.
Keith Urban's new tour fires up in May 2025 and will feature Chase Matthew, Alana Springsteen and Karley Scott Collins.
Dates will go on sale starting this Friday, December 13th at 10:00AM local time. Information about the “HIGH AND ALIVE WORLD TOUR” is available at www.keithurban.com with more North American dates to be announced in the coming months.
“Playing live is what I live to do,” said Urban. “Looking out from a stage and seeing people singing, forgetting about all the stress in their lives, cutting loose, and feeling ALIVE - that’s what it’s about for me. Lots of hits, new songs, things we won’t even think about until we’re onstage - and loads of guitar. We’re gonna make this tour the best night of your life!”
Twenty-four #1 songs to choose from, hits like “Long Hot Summer,” “Days Go By,” “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” “Somewhere In My Car,” “The Fighter,” “Wasted Time,” “Somebody Like You,” “One Too Many,” and new songs from his just released 11th studio album HIGH, and a night of music becomes not only celebratory, but communal.
KEITH URBAN’S HIGH AND ALIVE WORLD TOUR (U.S.)
May 22nd Orange Beach, AL - The Wharf Amphitheater
May 23rd Alpharetta, GA - Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
May 24th Charleston, SC - Credit One Stadium
May 30th Charlotte, NC - PNC Music Pavilion
May 31st Raleigh, NC - Coastal Credit Union Music Park Raleigh
June 12th Gilford, NH - BankNH Pavilion
June 13th Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
June 14th Wantagh, NY - Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
June 19thColumbia, MD -Merriweather Post Pavilion
June 22nd Clarkston, MI - Pine Knob Music Theatre
June 26th Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center
June 27th Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Blossom Music Center
June 28th Noblesville, IN - Ruoff Music Center
July 17th Denver, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
July 18th Salt Lake City, UT - Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
July 19th Nampa, ID - Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater
July 24th TBA
July 26th Inglewood, CA - Intuit Dome
September 25th Chicago, IL - United Center
September 26th TBA
September 27th Omaha, NE - CHI Health Center
October 2nd Hershey, PA - Giant Center
October 3rd Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
October 4th Bristow, VA - Jiffy Lube Live
October 9th Fort Worth, TX - Dickies Arena
October 11th Houston, TX - The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by
Huntsman
October 16th Greenville, SC - Bon Secours Wellness Arena
October 17th Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
Balance: producer, hip-hop artist, movie sound designer, modular synth player, and member of Jogja Hip Hop Foundation.
While the pedal builders at Sehat Effectors are in the game for their love of the 6-string, they’ve since begun exploring what effects pedals mean to other kinds of instrumentalists.
This time, I’d like to share my perspective as a pedal builder on how our effects pedals—originally crafted with guitarists in mind—are experiencing an exciting evolution in use. Our customer base spans around the globe, and as it turns out, many of them aren’t guitarists. Instead, our pedals are finding their way into the hands of non-guitarist musicians like DJs, synth players, movie sound directors, and even drummers. Yes, a drummer once used one of my fuzz pedals in a drum miking setup—quite an extreme yet bold experiment! This made me wonder: How did such a phenomenon come about?
Most of the pedals I build are fuzz effects and other experimental types, all primarily tested within guitar setups. But then I visited a friend’s studio; he goes by “Balance” onstage. He’s a well-known musician and producer here in Indonesia, and a member of the hip-hop group JHF (Jogja Hip Hop Foundation). Now, here’s the kicker—Balance doesn’t play guitar! Yet, he’s one of my customers, having asked for a fuzz and modulation pedal for his modular synthesizer rig. Initially, I was skeptical when he mentioned his plans. Neither my team nor I are familiar with synthesizers, let alone Eurorack or modular formats. I know guitars and, at best, bass guitar. My colleague has dabbled with effects experimentation, but only within the guitar framework.
So, my visit to his studio was a chance to study and research how guitar effects pedals could be adapted to a fundamentally different instrument ecosystem. The following is an interview I did with Balance to get a deeper understanding of his perspective.
As a modular synthesizer user, aren’t all kinds of sounds already achievable with a synth? Why mix one with guitar effects?
Balance: Some unique sounds, like those from Hologram Effects’ Microcosm or the eccentric pedals from Sehat Effectors, are hard to replicate with just a synth. Also, for sound design, I find it more intuitive to tweak knobs in real-time than rely on a computer—direct knob control feels more human for me.
Are there challenges in integrating guitar pedals with a modular synthesizer setup? After all, their ecosystems are quite different.
Balance: There are indeed significant differences, like jack types, power supplies, and physical format. Modular synthesizers are designed to sit on a table or stand, while guitar pedals are meant for the floor and foot control. However, they share a common thread in the goal of manipulating signals, eventually amplified through a mixing board and amplifier. The workaround is using converters/adapters to bridge the connection.“If you’re a saxophonist who buys a guitar pedal, it’s yours to use however you like.”
Are you the only modular synth user combining them with guitar pedals?
Balance: Actually, I got the idea after seeing other musicians experiment this way. Effects like fuzz or distortion are iconic to guitar but absent in synthesizer sound options. I believe signal manipulation with fuzz or distortion is a universal idea that appeals to musicians creating music, regardless of their instrument.
This brief chat gave me new insight and sparked my curiosity about different frameworks in music-making. While I’m not yet tempted to dive into modular synths myself, I now have a clearer picture of how fuzz and distortion transcend guitar. Imagine a saxophonist at a live show using a pedalboard with a DigiTech Whammy and Boss Metal Zone—absurd, maybe, but why not? If you’re a saxophonist who buys a guitar pedal, it’s yours to use however you like. Because, in the end, all musicians create music based on their inner concerns—whether it’s about romance, friendship, political situations, war, or anger. Eventually, they will explore how best to express those concerns from many angles, and of course, “sound” and “tone” are fundamental aspects of the music itself. Good thing my partner and I named our company Sehat Effectors and not Sehat Guitar Works. Haha!