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Gibson Pickups: P-94, Angus Young Signature, 490R
Gibson's Hank Ettel demonstrates Gibson's pickups in a unique double-neck Epiphone guitar at GearFest '08 on May 31.
For more information:
Gibson Pickups
Aguilar has announced the Octamizer DLX, an expanded evolution of its long-running Octamizer bass octave pedal. Designed to preserve the musical feel and tone that made the original a staple for over a decade, the DLX adds new voices, enhanced performance, and greater flexibility for modern bass players.
Rather than reworking the Octamizer’s foundation, Aguilar focused on extending it. Powered by the company’s in-house DSP engine, the Octamizer DLX delivers faster, more natural tracking that responds directly to playing dynamics and remains stable even on extended-range basses.
“When we set out to design the Octamizer DLX, the goal wasn’t to fix the original Octamizer — it was already doing what bass players needed,” says Aguilar Amplification. “We wanted to keep that familiar feel intact while giving players more creative space, better tracking, and new voices they could access instantly in real musical situations.”
The octave-down section retains the familiar Octamizer control set—Octave Volume, Octave Filter, Clean Level, and Clean EQ—while introducing new flexibility. The clean signal can now be fully muted for pure sub-octave tones, and two distinct filter modes expand the sonic range. A Mode delivers the classic Octamizer sweep, from smooth and round to sharper, more synth-forward textures, while B Mode draws inspiration from vintage octave divider circuits, offering added grit and character.
For the first time in the Octamizer lineup, the DLX introduces a dedicated octave-up engine. Tuned specifically for bass, this new voice avoids the harshness and latency often associated with octave-up effects. Simple volume and filter controls allow players to shape tones ranging from subtle octave doubling to a more pronounced, guitar-like presence.
Three independent footswitches provide direct control over the clean signal, octave down, and octave up, allowing players to stack voices instantly without adjusting controls. This layout makes it easy to move between foundational octave tones, harmonic layering, and more synth-like textures in both live and studio settings.
For more information, visit NAMM Booth #6802 or online at www.aguilaramp.com
The Aguilar Octamizer DLX is available with a street price of $329.99.
Signal Chain Audio Labs, maker of professional tour-grade instrument and microphone cables, today announced a limited edition Tie-Dyed Braided Guitar Cable honoring the legacy of Bob Weir, legendary guitarist and founding member of the Grateful Dead, who passed away earlier this year.
All proceeds from the cable sales will go to the Furthur Foundation a non-profit founded by Bob Weir that provides funding for environmental and social change initiatives in the San Francisco Bay area and around the world. To learn more about the Furthur Foundation and the many programs it supports, visit https://furthur.org.
Each cable features a hand-dyed multifilament nylon overbraid in vibrant tie-dye patterns - no two are alike. Beneath the distinctive exterior lies tour-proven Mogami 2524 instrument cable terminated with G&H High Clarity Profile plugs and protected by SignalCoat®, the company's dielectric seal that guards against moisture and oxidation. Every cable is individually numbered and soldered and assembled by hand in Alexandria, VA. Only 500 cables will be produced for this series.
The cables are available in four colors options:
Spectrum: Blue, Purple, Red, Orange, Yellow
Red/Purple
Blue/Purple
Red/Blue
The cables are available in three different lengths and street prices:
10ft - $79.00 street price
15ft - $89.00 street price
20ft - $99.00 street price
"Bob Weir's artistry and innovation shaped generations of musicians," said Rob Haralson, Founder of Signal Chain Audio Labs. "Creating something as unique and handcrafted as his music felt like the right way to honor his legacy - and directing proceeds to the Furthur Foundation ensures this tribute supports the causes he championed throughout his life."
Haralson added, "We've engineered these cables to be as distinctive as the music that inspired them. Each one is truly one-of-a-kind and built with the same premium components our professional clients depend on. To our knowledge, this is the only hand-dyed professional guitar cable currently offered by any company. It's a functional work of art that musicians can actually use."
At NAMM 2026, Ashdown Engineering proudly announces Phase 2 of its return to UK manufacturing, following the successful September 2025 launch of the UK-built ABM EVO IV heads and UK-ABM and Classic cabinet ranges.
This next stage represents a continued, long-term commitment to British design, engineering, and production, building on the momentum established by Ashdown’s flagship UK-made products.
For NAMM 2026, Ashdown unveils five brand-new UK-built amplifier ranges, all scheduled to ship in 2026.
Every new model is designed, engineered, and handcrafted in Britain. These launches expand Ashdown’s renewed UK manufacturing focus into a complete, multi-tier amplifier ecosystem, delivering British-built solutions for musicians at every level.
UK-RBM
The UK-RBM Series is designed for professional bassists who demand maximum power, tonal control, and flexibility. Delivering Ashdown’s most recognisable sound in a modern, lightweight format, the range includes amplifier heads and newly designed UK-RBM cabinets, creating a complete, performance-ready system.
The UK-RBM amplifier heads combine powerful output with advanced tone-shaping tools to deliver deep, authoritative low end, articulate mids, and controlled high-frequency detail. Features such as Ashdown’s Sub-Harmonic Generator, onboard compression, valve-emulated overdrive, and Analogue Cab Sim allow players to shape everything from tight, punchy modern tones to rich, harmonically complex sounds with confidence.
The matching UK-RBM cabinets have been newly designed, tuned, sized, and ported to deliver optimal performance in lightweight plywood enclosures. Equipped with high-performance Italian Sica NEO speakers and adjustable high-frequency tweeters, they provide fast response, clarity, and controlled projection across a wide range of playing styles and stage environments.
Finished in a striking new heavy-duty Charcoal Tweed covering and custom grill cloth, the UK-RBM cabinets combine durability with a bold, modern aesthetic.
Handcrafted in the UK using premium components, the UK-RBM Series is built for demanding live stages, professional touring rigs, and bassists who want total command over their sound.
UK-OBM
The UK-OBM Series is designed for bassists who value clarity, simplicity, and reliability. Built in the UK, the range delivers clean, articulate tone with minimal fuss and maximum usability, making it ideal for players who want dependable performance without unnecessary complexity.
The UK-OBM lineup includes newly updated combo amplifiers featuring high-powered models and new Italian Sica NEO drivers, delivering improved efficiency, punch, and clarity. These combos are house in reengineered lightweight plywood cabinets, newly sized and optimised for balanced projection and portability.
Finished in Ice Blue and a new heavy-duty Charcoal Tweed covering with custom grill cloth, the UK-OBM combos combine durability with a modern, professional aesthetic.
With a refined features set and intuitive controls, the UK-OBM amplifiers are designed for musicians who want to plug in, dial in quickly, and get straight to playing. An open, balanced sound makes the series equally well suited to rehearsals, live performances, and studio work.
UK-SBM
The UK-SBM Series brings Ashdown’s studio-focused tonal philosophy into a range of compact, UK-built bass combo amplifiers. Designed for clarity, responsiveness, and musical transparency, the series prioritises clean tone and dynamic response in lightweight, portable enclosures.
Inspired by Ashdown’s Studio range, UK-SBM combos deliver a refined, natural sound that translates seamlessly in recording environments while remaining powerful enough for rehearsals and small live stages. Newly ported and structurally strengthened cabinets are engineered to handle higher power levels, ensuring confidence and control at increased volumes.
The cabinets are equipped with new, highly efficient Italian Sica NEO drivers, and articulate low-end performance. Finished in a heavy-duty Charcoal Tweed covering with custom grill cloth, the UK-SBM combos combine durability with a modern professional aesthetic.
Featuring DI outputs, FX loops, and onboard overdrive across the range, the UK-SBM Series offers practical versatility for practice, recording, songwriting, and intimate performance spaces.
UK-PBM
The UK-PBM Series is Ashdown’s answer to the modern bassist’s need for extreme portability without compromise. Designed and built in the UK, the range delivers genuine Ashdown tone in an ultra-compact, travel-friendly format.
Launching with the UK-PBM-200 “Pocket Bass Magnifier" AKA The ANT, the series delivers a surprising amount of real-world power from a palm-sized chassis. Despite its minimal footprint, its produces clean, articulate output with impressive low-end authority and ample headroom for rehearsals, smaller stages, and professional monitoring setups.
The UK-PBM is solidly built by design, retaining a touch of added weight to ensure stability and resonance. This robust construction helps generate real bass response while preventing excessive cabinet vibration, keeping amplifiers securely in place even when the low end is working hard.
With essential tone shaping, DI output, headphone out, line input, and auto-voltage operation, the UK-PBM Series is ideal for fly rigs, touring backups, studio use, IEM-based setups, and bassists who need reliable tone wherever they play.
UK-PEACMAKER
The UK-Peacemaker Series marks the return of one of Ashdown’s most iconic amplifier names, celebrating Dave Green’s formidable and widely respected valve amplifier design expertise. Handcrafted in the UK and refined for today’s players, the range revisits and updates legendary designs from Ashdown’s past.
Built for musicians who value feel, dynamics, and harmonic richness, the UK-Peacemaker delivers expressive British valve tone with depth, warmth, and authority. At its core, the series showcases Dave Green’s unmistakable valve amp philosophy, brought forward with modern reliability while preserving the character that made the originals so highly regarded.
The UK-Peacemaker Series is built using premium components throughout, included JJ valves, UK hand-wound transformers, and lightweight plywood cabinets loaded with UK-made Celestion Creamback speakers.
Hand-built in Essex, England, the UK-Peacemaker Series stands as a statement range - honouring Ashdown’s heritage while delivering timeless British valve tone for the modern guitarist.
From cabinets to flagship heads, and now a complete amplifier ecosystem, Ashdown’s UK manufacturing programme continues to grow with clarity and intent.
Every new range launching at NAMM 2026 is designed, engineered, and built in Britain.
After more than a decade of collaboration, Stringjoy has collaborated with guitar virtuoso and frontman of the Bros. Landreth, Joey Landreth, to release the Stringjoy Joey Landreth Artist Signature set.
Joey Landreth is a Canadian guitarist, songwriter, and producer known for his soulful voice and slide guitar virtuosity. As a founding member of Bros. Landreth, his playing and songwriting blends blues, rock, and Americana styles, and his stunning tone and penchant for first-rate gear have made him a modern guitar hero to players all over the world.
Stringjoy’s Joey Landreth Signature Set features:
Gauges: .019 - .022p - .024w - .032 - .044 - .056
Nickel wound Stringjoy Signatures
Wound 3rd string
Ideal for Open C and other dropped or open tunings on a standard scale-length guitar
Optimal for both slide and fretted/hybrid playing
As with all Stringjoy offerings, Joey Landreth Signatures are produced at Stringjoy HQ in Nashville, TN, with domestically sourced materials of the highest quality
Stringjoy Signatures are wound at tension with high compression winds, increasing their output and naturally maximizing durability and lifespan
Stringjoy Joey Landreth Artist Signature strings were born of a decade-long collaboration between Stringjoy’s Scott Marquart and Landreth in which the two sought to formulate the perfect set for Landreth’s use of open tunings and hybrid slide technique.
“Long before anyone was paying attention to what my band was doing or what I was doing as a guitar player, [Stringjoy] were supporters of what we were doing,” says Landreth. “We landed on 56 on the bottom with 19 on top, which supports lower tuning really, really nicely and opens up the possibility for some really clean playing, whether I’m playing slide or fretted. This set has helped me get to the places I want to get as a player, and it also celebrates my friendship and collaboration with Scott [Marquart] and Stringjoy. I’m really proud of it
“I still remember the first time Joey told me he played 19s,” says Stringjoy’s Scott Marquart. “Nineteens!? I couldn’t wrap my head around it. But once I saw his full specs and understood how he plays—and especially after hearing him play in person—it all clicked. Joey and I have spent the better part of the last decade refining this set together, and it represents years of friendship & experimentation. I couldn’t be more proud to have both of our names on it.”
Stringjoy Joey Landreth Artist Signature strings carry a street price of $13.99. For more information visit stringjoy.com.
Laney has launched the DB-EAST-PRE Nathan East Signature bass preamp pedal.
What separates the DB-EAST-PRE from generic bass preamps is simple: Nathan East didn’t just approve it. He designed it around the exact problems he encounters every week as a working musician, and it’s designed with enormous flexibility in mind.
Nathan doesn’t play one bass, in one style, in one context. He moves between acoustic and electric basses. Four-string and five-string instruments. Active and passive electronics. Sometimes all within the same set, on the same stage. Most preamps make this painful. Switching instruments means stopping to re-dial input trims and levels. That’s not realistic in a professional environment.
The DB-EAST-PRE solves this with dual inputs, including independent trim control on Input 2. Switch instruments and your levels are instantly matched. No volume jumps. No tone shifts. Just seamless transitions.
The DB-EAST-PRE ships with Nathan East’s favourite LA·IR impulse responses pre-loaded. These aren’t generic cabinet simulations—they’re IRs taken directly from the rigs that have defined his touring and studio sound.
Even better, the system is intelligent. Select Input 1 and the corresponding IRs load automatically. Switch to Input 2 and the cabinet responses adapt to match. It’s fast, musical, and invisible in use.
Run the DI output straight to a front-of-house console, into a DAW, or into a powered speaker system. Using the companion app, you can manage real-time parametric EQ and store cabinet IRs tailored to specific venues or recording situations.
Every control on the DB-EAST-PRE exists for a reason. The master volume lets you shape the preamp’s character while maintaining precise control over overall output. The TUBE channel includes dedicated EQ voicing for players who want to refine the drive characteristics of their tone.
The RANGE control reinforces low-end weight within the drive section, while selectable mid pre-shapes allow you to fine-tune presence, punch, and articulation.
This isn’t complexity for its own sake. It’s acknowledgement that professional bass players need precision, adaptability, and control—night after night.
Key Specifications
Signature Dual-Input Bass Preamp – Designed with Nathan East for seamless switching between multiple basses, active and passive
Independent Input Trim Control – Automatic level matching between instruments for uninterrupted live performance
LA·IR Advanced Impulse Response Technology – Pre-loaded with Nathan East’s personal touring and session cabinet IRs
Professional DI & Recording Ready – Optimised outputs for live consoles, DAWs, powered speakers, and silent practice
Precision Tone Shaping – Tube channel voicing, selectable mid pre-shapes, RANGE low-end control, and master output control
Handcrafted in England – Built at Laney’s Black Country Customs workshop; compact, pedalboard-ready
Handcrafted in the UK the DB-EAST-PRE is pedalboard friendly and robust enough for demanding session and touring work.