The Mastotron and Distortron are two light-on-the-wallet, heavy-on-the-fx additions to Z.Vex''s lineup
The history of Zachary Vex Effects clearly illustrates how far unique ideas and personality can take an upstart company. His product line is mainly known for eccentric presentation with wildly creative paint jobs, the almost obsessive attention to offering minute control, and the ability to produce outlandish, unique tones that often inspire users to craft entire songs around them. His innovative designs (such as the Fuzz Factory, Wah Probe and Lo-Fi Loop Junky) have already achieved legendary status in the music world, and have influenced countless others to create designs that toil beyond the realm of normal convention.
One of the first three Fuzz Factories was snapped up by David Sylvian, and two Fuzz Factory pedals can be heard on 1999 on Semisonicās hit āClosing Time." Vexās work caught on quickly after that, when such legends as Billy Gibbons and Steve Albini promptly acquired his pieces as well. The Z.Vex name has since spread like wildfire, being featured on records and performances by Dinosaur Jr., Nine Inch Nails, Matte Henderson, Portishead, Johnny Lang and The Smashing Pumpkins, just to name a small handful.
In a world chock full of Tube Screamer clones, Z.Vexās mission has always been to push the envelope of what an effect is capable of. However, as the company has developed over the years, more conservative entries have popped up for those who just want to rock. Both the Box of Metal (high-gain distortion and gate) and Box of Rock (moderate overdrive with boost) have been tremendously popular. While both fall into the well-populated distortion pedal category, they still exhibit the tremendous attention to detail and unique voice that the company has become known for. Joining these two moderately-priced pedals are two more, the Distortron distortion and Mastotron silicon fuzz. These two creations are not only the newest members of the Z.Vex family, but inaugural members of the new Vextron Seriesādesigned for players with a smaller budget who still want to have a piece of the Z.Vex pie.
Download Example 1 Distortron: Vol 10 o'clock, Tone 1 o'cl, Drive 12:30; Subs 2, Gain Lo; | |
Download Example 2 Vol and Drive max, Tone 10 o'clock; Subs 3, Gain Hi; | |
Ā Egnater Tourmaster ch. 2 through Egnater 4x12" with Celestion Vintage 30's; Duesenberg MC Signature bridge humbucker; recorded in Sound Studio on an iMac using Digidesign MBox 2 (2 SM57s). |
Hot on the heels of the supremely successful Box of Rock, the Distortron is a classic rock powerhouse in a compact pedal form. Vex describes it as āhighly specialized to simulate the everything-on-ten sound of a classic Marshall JTM45 amplifier.ā Like the Box of Rock, the Distortron is a different kind of departure for Z.Vex. It aims at achieving a time-honored guitar tone rather than a wild, off-the-wall sound. The decision to design this pedal shows off Vexās love of the non-master volume Marshall heads of the past (beneath the mad scientist persona is a guitarist with a love of roaring British guitar tone). Achieving that sound with a classic Marshall is a relatively easy task; itās also easy with the Distortron. The pedal consists of only three knobs: Volume, Tone and Drive. A tiny three-way switch to control the amount of Subs (subharmonics) sits between the Volume and Tone controls. This switch alters the amount of low end the pedal provides. In normal Z.Vex fashion, this control greatly affects the overall tone of the pedal. Position 3 is full-bore, representing the Box of Rockās maximum Sub amount. Switching through 2 to 1 causes the tone to become noticeably thinner. This is especially helpful for amplifiers that naturally have large amounts of bass response, such as the 1973 Marshall Super Bass head that I tested the pedal with. In position 2, with a 2006 Gibson Flying V, it surrenders thick, articulate chords and a comfortable attack that is easy on the ears. Z.Vex suggests starting with the Drive control at the one oāclock position and adjusting to taste. The pickups in the Flying V are rather hot, but even at higher drive settings, the tone never muddied up and lost its articulate nature. One noticeable trait of the Drive is that when itās maxed, the tone takes on an interesting nasal quality, but itās not too overbearing to be annoying (at this point, it was practically begging for some classic Scorpions riffs).
After switching to a mid-90s Gibson Les Paul Studio with a Seymour Duncan ā59 in the bridge position, I dropped the gain control to 11 oāclock. Just like the Marshalls of yesteryear, the Distortron clearly shines with lower output pickups. Pick attack is much more evident, and sustain and decay are considerably more natural and smooth, with a great punch in the mids. Lowering the guitarās volume control gives a terrific rhythm tone, with a clean upper register and growly midrange. Running the Distortron like this is really shows off how receptive it can be to pick attack, as it becomes highly sensitive to how hard the player smacks the strings.
The drive section also includes another mini-switch that sets the pedal to low- or high-gain modes with a simple flip. The āLoā position is the standard Box of Rock level, and āHiā gooses the gain stages for a slightly higher level. On lower drive settings, the effect of this switch is more noticeable; higher drive settings donāt offer as perceptible a dissimilarity, except when digging in harder with the pick to produce pinch harmonics and the like. Using the Distortron in high-gain situations sounds really, really good, but it sounds fantastic in low- to mid-gain applications.
Buy if...
you want classic rock tones in a touch-sensitive, articulate drive.
Skip if...
you need a more modern distortion sound.
Rating...
MSRP $149 - Z.Vex Effects - zvex.com |
Hit page 2 for the Mastotron review...
Download Example 1 Vol 10:30, Tone 10 o'clock, PW max, Fuzz 4, Relax/Push max push; Subs 3 o'cl; | |
Download Example 2 Vol. 10 o'clock, Tone 1 o'cl, PW 12 o'cl, Fuzz 11 o'cl, Relax/Push 11 o'cl; Subs 2; | |
Egnater Tourmaster ch. 2 through Egnater 4x12" with Celestion Vintage 30s; Fender Road Worn Tele, bridge then neck pups; recorded in Sound Studio on an iMac using Digidesign |
Stampeding through the speakers like the prehistoric animal its namesake implies is the aptly-titled Mastotron, Z.Vexās powerful and rowdy silicon fuzz generator. The Mastotron has more in common with some of Vexās classic creations, such as the Fuzz Factory and Wooly Mammoth, in that the tones it can produce range from a monstrous wall-of-fuzz to the soundtrack of a favorite 8-bit video game of yesteryear. A total of six controls shape the output of this beast: Volume, Subs (like the Distortron), PW (Pulse Width), Fuzz, and Relax/Push (source impedance). The three-way Subs control runs the gamut from huge, window-rattling low-end to a thin, reedy chirp. Itās a very dramatic difference.
Unusual and creative controls are one thing that has made Z.Vexās products stand out in the past, and itās nice to see that the Mastotron continues this tradition with two unique additions to its front panel. The first of these is a Pulse Width knob: a twist of this control allows the player to smoothly change the waveform from a full square wave (on the left) to narrow pulses (on the right). The last knob is labeled Relax/Push, and it adjusts the source impedance. Players with active pickups in their instruments often run into problems with over-compressed and unresponsive tones when using distortion and fuzz pedals. This is sometimes caused by active pickups producing a much hotter signal or a flatter frequency response than a passive pickup, which can lead to dull, squashed sounds. The Relax/Push control lowers the impedance as it is turned left, which Z.Vex says āsoftensā the input for active pickups. Those using the Mastotron with passive pickups are encouraged to max this control all the way to the right. With bass, this pedal is a certifiable monster. The low end stays super-tight and focused, and is somewhat reminiscent of Z.Vexās bass creation, the Woolly Mammoth. Z.Vex also suggests that players try putting some odd effects in front of the Mastotron and playing around with the Relax/Push control to get unique sounds.
Buy if...
an inexpensive, tight fuzz with signature tone and lots of control is the name of the game. Bass players looking for a big fuzz tone should give it a whirl, too.
Skip if...
you need a more subtle, classic fuzz tone.
Rating...
MSRP $149.99 - Z.Vex Effects - zvex.com |
The Final Mojo
As the introductory members of the new Vextron Series from Z.Vex Effects, the Distortron and Mastotron offer plenty of tonal options. For players whoāve been craving Z.Vexās Woolly Mammoth bass fuzz, the Mastotron should provide more than enough punch, power and versatility for either bass or guitar players. For those leaning towards the classic rock side, the Distortron is an extraordinary tool for shaping the more articulate, nuanced guitar tones that genre commands, and itās easy on the wallet at the same time.
This Japan-made Guyatone brings back memories of hitchinā rides around the U.S.
This oddball vintage Guyatone has a streak of Jack Kerouacās adventurous, thumbing spirit.
The other day, I saw something I hadnāt noticed in quite some time. Driving home from work, I saw an interesting-looking fellow hitchhiking. When I was a kid, āhitchersā seemed much more common, but, then again, the world didnāt seem as dangerous as today. Heck, I can remember hitching to my uncleās cabin in Bradford, Pennsylvaniaāhome of Zippo lightersāand riding almost 200 miles while I sat in a spare tire in the open bed of a pickup truck! Yes, safety wasnāt a big concern for kids back in the day.
So, as Iām prone to do, I started digging around hitchhiking culture and stories. Surprisingly, there are organized groups that embrace the hitching life, but the practice remains on the fringe in the U.S. Back in the 1950s, writer Jack Kerouac wrote the novel On the Road, which celebrated hitchhiking and exposed readers to the thrill of maverick travel. Heck, even Mike Dugan (the guitarist in all my videos) hitched his way to California in the 1960s. But seeing that fellow on the side of the road also sparked another image in my brain: Yep, it always comes back to guitars.
Let me present to you a guitar thatās ready to go hitching: the Guyatone LG-180T, hailing from 1966. The āthumbs-upā headstock and the big āthumbā on the upper bout always made me think of thumbing a ride, and I bought and sold this guitar so long ago that I had forgotten about it, until I saw that hitchhiking dude. Guyatone was an interesting Japanese company because they were primarily an electronics company, and most of their guitars had their wooden parts produced by other factories. In the case of the LG-180T, the bodies were made by Yamaha in Hamamatsu, Japan. At that time, Yamaha was arguably making the finest Japanese guitars, and the wood on this Guyatone model is outstanding. We donāt often see Guyatone-branded guitars here in the U.S., but a lot of players recognize the early ā60s label Kentāa brand name used by an American importer for Guyatone guitars.
With a bit of imagination, the LG-180Tās āthumbs upā headstock seems to be looking for a roadside ride.
Kent guitars were extremely popular from the early ā60s until around 1966. The U.S. importer B&J fed the American need for electric guitars with several nice Kent models, but when the Guyatone contract ended, so did most of the Kent guitars. After that, Guyatone primarily sold guitars in Japan, so this example is a rare model in the U.S.
āUnless you are a master at guitar setups, this would be a difficult player.ā
This headstock is either the ugliest or the coolest of the Guyatone designs. I canāt decide which. I will say, no other Japanese guitar company ever put out anything like this. You have to give the Guyatone designers a thumbs up for trying to stand out in the crowd! Guyatone decided to forgo an adjustable truss rod in this model, opting instead for a light alloy non-adjustable core to reinforce the neck. Speaking of the neck, this instrument features the most odd-feeling neck. Itās very thin but has a deep shoulder (if that makes any sense). Totally strange!
Another strange feature is the bridge, which offers very little adjustment because of the three large saddles, which sort of rock back and forth with the tremolo. Itās a shame because these pickups sound great! Theyāre very crisp and have plenty of zing, but unless you are a master at guitar set-ups, this would be a difficult player.
This could be why the LG-180T only appeared in the 1966 and 1967 catalogs. After that, it disappeared along with all the other Yamaha-made Guyatone electrics. By 1969, Guyatone had gone bankrupt for the first time, and thus ended guitar production for a few decades. At least we were blessed with some wacky guitar designs we can marvel at while remembering the days when you could play in the back end of an explosive 1973 AMC Gremlin while your mom raced around town. Two thumbs up for surviving our childhoods! PG
Building upon the foundation of the beloved Core Collection H-535, this versatile instrument is designed to serve as a masterpiece in tone.
The new model features striking aesthetic updates and refined tonal enhancements. Crafted at the iconic 225 Parsons Street factory, home to other world-famous models like the H-150, H-157, and H-575 - the H-555 continues to exemplify the very best of American craftsmanship.
The Core Collection H-555 features a set of Custom Shop 225 Hot Classic Humbuckers, meticulously wound in-house with carefully selected components, and voiced to deliver added punch and richness while preserving exceptional dynamics and touch sensitivity. Seamlessly complementing the H-555ās semi-hollow construction, they blend warmth and woodiness with refined, articulate clarity.
The Core Collection H-555ās aesthetic has been elevated with multi-ply binding on the body, headstock, and pickguard. Its neck, sculpted in a classic ā50s profile, delivers effortless comfort and is adorned with elegant block inlays, seamlessly blending style with playability. Gold hardware complements the aesthetic, exuding elegance while presenting the H-555 as a truly premium and versatile instrument for the discerning player.
Available in Ebony and Trans Cherry, each Core Collection H-555 is beautifully finished with a nitrocellulose vintage gloss that features a subtle shine and gracefully ages over time. An Artisan Aged option is also available for those seeking an authentically well-loved look and feel, achieved through a meticulous, entirely hand-finished aging process. The new Core Collection continues Heritageās tradition of world-class craftsmanship, offering a true masterpiece in tone and design for discerning players. Each guitar is shipped in a premium Heritage Custom Shop hard case.
Key Features
- Finest Tonewoods: Laminated highly figured Curly Maple (Top & Back) with solid Curly Maple sides
- Heritage Custom Shop 225 Hot Classic Humbuckers: Designed and wound in-house
- Headstock: Multi-ply bound headstock, featuring a Kite inlay, 3Ć3 tuners laser-etched with Heritage graphics
- Neck Profile: Comfortable ā50s C-shape for a vintage feel
- Bridge: Tune-O-Matic with aluminum stopbar tailpiece for enhanced sustain
- Made in the USA: Crafted at 225 Parsons Street
For more information, please visit heritageguitars.com.
Ariel Posen and the Heritage Custom Shop Core Collection H-555 - YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.Fifteen watts that sits in a unique tone space and offers modern signal routing options.
A distinct alternative to the most popular 1x10 combos. Muscular and thick for a 1x10 at many settings. Pairs easily with single-coils and humbuckers. Cool looks.
Tone stack could be more rangeful.
$999
Supro Montauk
supro.com
When you imagine an ideal creative space, what do you see? A loft? A barn? A cabin far from distraction? Reveling in such visions is inspiration and a beautiful escape. Reality for most of us, though, is different. Weāre lucky to have a corner in the kitchen or a converted closet to make music in. Still, thereās a romance and sense of possibility in these modest spaces, and the 15-watt, 1x10, all-tubeSupro Montauk is an amplifier well suited to this kind of place. It enlivens cramped corners with its classy, colorful appearance. Itās compact. Itās also potent enough to sound and respond like a bigger amp in a small room.
The Montauk works in tight quarters for reasons other than size, thoughāwith three pre-power-section outputs that can route dry signal, all-wet signal from the ampās spring reverb, or a mixture of both to a DAW or power amplifier.
Different Stripes and Spacious Places
Vintage Supro amps are modestly lovely things. The China-made Montauk doesnāt adhere toold Supro style motifs in the strictest sense. Its white skunk stripe is more commonly seen on black Supro combos from the late 1950s, while the blue ārhino hideā vinyl evokes Supros from the following decade. But the Montaukās handsome looks make a cramped corner look a lot less dour. It looks pretty cool on a stage, too, but the Montauk attribute most likely to please performing guitarists is the small size (17.75" x 16.5" x 7.5") and light weight (29 pounds), which, if you tote your guitar in a gig bag and keep your other stuff to a minimum, facilitates magical one-trip load ins.
Keen-eyed Supro-spotters noting the Montaukās weight and dimensions might spy the similarities to another 1x10 Supro combo,the Amulet. A casual comparison of the two amps might suggest that the Montauk is, more-or-less, an Amulet without tremolo and power scaling. They share the same tube complement, including a relatively uncommon 1x6L6 power section. But while the Montauk lacks the Amuletās tremolo, the Montaukās spring reverb features level and dwell controls rather than the Amuletās single reverb-level knob.
āHigh reverb levels and low dwell settings evoke a small, reflective room with metallic overtones from the spring sprinkled on topāleaving ghostly ambience in the wake of strong, defined transient tones.ā
If you use reverb a lot and in varying levels of intensity, youāll appreciate the extra flexibility. High reverb levels and low dwell settings evoke a small, reflective room with metallic overtones from the spring sprinkled on topāleaving ghostly ambience in the wake of strong, defined transient tones. There are many shades of this subtle texture to explore, and itās a great sound and solution for those who find the spring reverbs in Fender amps (which feature no dwell control) an all-or-nothing proposition. For those who like to get deep in the pipeline, though, the dwell offers room to roam. Mixing high level and dwell settings blunts the ampās touch sensitivity a bit, and at 15 watts you trade headroom for natural compression, compounding the fogginess of these aggressive settings. A Twin Reverb it aināt. But there is texture aplenty to play with.
A Long, Wide Strand
Admirably, the Montauk speaks in many voices when paired with a guitar alone. The EQ sits most naturally and alive with treble and bass in the noon-to-2-oāclock region, and a slight midrange lean adds welcome punch. Even the ampās trebliest realms afford you a lot of expressive headroom if you have enough range and sensitivity in your guitar volume and tone pots. Interactions between the gain and master output controls yield scads of different tone color, too. Generally, I preferred high gain settings, which add a firecracker edge to maximum guitar volume settings and preserve touch and pick response at attenuated guitar volume and tone levels.
If working with the Montauk in this fashion feels natural, youāll need very few pedals. But itās a good fit for many effects. A Fuzz Face sounded nasty without collapsing into spitty junk, and the Klon-ish Electro-Harmonix Soul Food added muscle and character in its clean-boost guise and at grittier gain levels. Thereās plenty of headroom for exploring nuance and complexity in delays and modulations. It also pairs happily with a wide range of guitars and pickups: Every time I thought a Telecaster was a perfect fit, Iād plug in an SG with PAFs and drift away in Mick Taylor/Stones bliss.
The Verdict
Because the gain, master, tone, and reverb controls are fairly interactive, it took me a minute to suss out the Montaukās best and sweetest tones. But by the time I was through with this review, I found many sweet spots that fill the spaces between Vox and Fender templates. Thereās also raunch in abundance when you turn it up. Itās tempting to view the Montauk as a competitor to the Fender Princeton and Vox AC15. At a thousand bucks, itās $400 dollars less than the Mexico-made Princeton ā68 Custom and $170 more than the AC15, also made in China. In purely tone terms, though, it represents a real alternative to those stalwarts. Iād be more than happy to see one in a backline, provided I wasnāt trying to rise above a Geezer Butler/Bill Ward rhythm section. And with its capacity for routing to other amps and recording consoles in many intriguing configurations, it succeeds in being a genuinely interesting combination of vintage style and sound and home-studio utilityāall without adding a single digital or solid-state component to the mix.
Watch the official video documenting the sold-out event at House of Blues in Anaheim. Join Paul Reed Smith and special guests as they toast to quality and excellence in guitar craftsmanship.
PRS Guitars today released the official video documenting the full night of performances at their 40th Anniversary celebration, held January 24th in conjunction with the 2025 NAMM (The National Association of Music Merchants) Show. The sold-out, private event took place at House of Blues in Anaheim, California and featured performances by PRS artists Randy Bowland, Curt Chambers, David Grissom, Jon Jourdan, Howard Leese, Mark Lettieri Group, Herman Li, John Mayer, Orianthi, Tim Pierce, Noah Robertson, Shantaia, Philip Sayce, and Dany Villarreal, along with Paul Reed Smith and his Eightlock band.
āWhat a night! Big thanks to everyone who came out to support us: retailers, distributors, vendors, content creators, industry friends, and especially the artists. I loved every second. We are so pleased to share the whole night now on this video,ā said Paul Reed Smith, Founder & Managing General Partner of PRS Guitars. āI couldnāt be more proud to still be here 40 years later.ā
With nearly 1,400 of the whoās who in the musical instrument industry in attendance, the night ended with a thoughtful toast from PRS Signature Artist John Mayer, who reflected on 40 years of PRS Guitars and the quality that sets the brand apart. āThe guitars are great. You canāt last 40 years if the guitars arenāt great,ā said Mayer. āMany of you started hearing about PRS the same way I did, which is you would talk about PRS and someone would say āTheyāre too nice.ā Whatās too nice for a guitar? What, you want that special vibe that only tuning every song can give you on stage? You want that grit just like your heroes ā¦ bad intonation? The product is incredible.ā