For serious players who obsess about
everything in their signal chain, attending
the January NAMM show in Anaheim,
California—the year’s biggest US gear
show—is the stuff of dreams. It’s the guitarist’s
equivalent of stepping inside Willy
Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Everywhere
you look there are wonders to make you
gasp in awe or blanch in terror. Instead of
Oompa-Loompas, you’ve got hordes of mullet
wearers, goths, shred heads, aging hippies,
rockabilly dudes, and hair-metal survivors
and revivalists in their respective garb, all
intermingling with more “normal”-looking
people, all striding purposefully toward the
next piece of gear promising to revolutionize
their tone and/or how they play. Instead of
people inflating into giant human blueberries
or getting swept away by chocolate rivers,
you’ve got product guys doing their best to
hawk their wares—and sometimes employing
rather gratuitous hyperbole to inflate their
value—while sweep-picking maniacs wail
across the way in an attempt to lure you to
their booth. Instead of spoiled Veruca Salts
marching off to steal squirrels busily sorting
nuts, you’ve got buxom, scantily clad booth
candy leading vulnerable attendees around by
their . . . well, you get the idea. It’s madness.
Glorious, glorious madness.
This year’s NAMM was remarkably
busy, which was somewhat surprising, considering
the economy is still hurting pretty
badly. Unlike last Summer NAMM, which
had a public day to boost attendance, this
show didn’t have a public day, but you
never would’ve known it. Whether the
place was hopping because people knew
there would be so many cool new products
or whether that was just a lucky coincidence, the fact remains
that this was one of the most productive NAMMs in a while.
And that holds true for both exhibitors and Premier Guitar. As
usual, our entire editorial staff was there, keeping you up to
date with constant posts and pictures on Facebook and Twitter,
shooting more than 100 demo videos, sending e-newsletters
with our daily Editors’ Picks from the floor, and arranging for
gear to be sent in for reviews.
Here we’ve assembled a selection of electric, acoustic, and bass
gear that grabbed our ears and/or eyes. Look for reviews of many
of these in the coming months, and be sure to check out our
demo videos. Let us know
what you think via email and online posts. Enjoy!
Electric and Acoustic Guitars
Gretsch G6128T-GH George Harrison Tribute – This painstaking recreation of the Beatle’s ’57
Duo Jet has a mahogany back, 3-ply maple top,
1-piece mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard,
and Seymour Duncan-designed recreations of the
original DynaSonic pickups. Only 60 will be made.
MSRP $20,000 gretschguitars.com
Framus Vintage 5/131 Hollywood (LEFT) – This semi-hollow
looker had one of the best-playing necks
at the show and features a plywood body (like
an old department store guitar from the ’50s),
vintage-voiced single-coils, an aluminum pickguard,
a 4-position selector knob that includes
an “0” position for off, and Volume, Bass, and
Treble knobs. framus.de
Manuel Rodr’guez Sr. Nylon-String (RIGHT) –
This masterfully made classical instrument
features a solid Canadian cedar top, an
ebony fretboard, a Honduran cedar neck,
a cow-bone nut and saddle, and eye-popping
solid Brazilian rosewood back and
sides (inset). guitars-m-r-sons.com
AXL Badwater USA (LEFT)
– This 24 3/4"-scale single-cutaway features a mahogany
slab body, a set solid-mahogany neck with
a rosewood fretboard, a single P-90, and a wraparound
bridge/tailpiece. axlguitars.com
Sugi Guitars & Basses DS499R (RIGHT)
– Built by Makoto “Nick” Sugimoto—who built guitars for Fender and
Ibanez at Fujigen for 23 years—the DS499R has an alder body, an
aqua timber maple neck, 22-fret rosewood fretboard, Sugi pickups
(including a tappable humbucker), Gotoh SGS510 tuners, and a
Wilkinson VG300 tremolo. sugiguitars.com
B.C. Rich USA Gunslinger –
This shred machine has a bolt-on
maple neck, EMG 81 and 85 pickups,
Floyd Rose Special trem, and
a Mike Learn zombie graphic on
the basswood body. bcrich.com
James Trussart
Custom Guitars
SteelX (LEFT)
– The SteelX features
a ’59 Standard neck
shape and a korina
body with a recessed
metal top in “Antique
Silver Gator.”
National Reso-Phonic
ResoElectric Ra3 (MIDDLE)
– The new hollowbody ResoElectric
RA3 has a koa
top and mahogany back
and sides, and sports an
L.R. Baggs Hex pickup
in its biscuit bridge.
Fender Wayne Kramer
Stratocaster (RIGHT) –
The MC5 guitarist’s stars-and-stripes Strat features two
single-coils and a Duncan humbucker
for kicking out the jams.
Ernie Ball music man Game
Changer Reflex Guitar –
The 25 1/2"-scale Game Changer
features a chambered basswood body
with a maple top and mahogany tone
block. Its electronics let you combine the
custom DiMarzio humbuckers’ coils in
any order and save analog presets to the
5-way switch. Controls include push-pull
Volume (push restores factory defaults)
and Tone knobs (the latter selects between
banks A and B), and an optional
piezo Volume. With a USB cord and a
click of a mouse, the included software
lets you make real-time, analog circuit adjustment,
as well as access artist presets.
The Game Changer Reflex Bass with dual
ceramic-magnet humbucking pickups is
also available.
Floyd Rose for
Stop-Tail Guitars –
Itching to add locking-tremolo
action to your stop-tailpiece-equipped
guitar? This new
Floyd Rose model enables you
to do so without any sustain-robbing
routing. floydrose.com
Takamine TF87-PT Acoustic (LEFT) –
The TF87-PT has koa back and
sides, a cedar top, a 12AU7-driven
onboard preamp, and a 12th-fret
inlay of palm trees and a sunset.
Breedlove Cascade Series (MIDDLE) –
The J25/CRe has a western red cedar top,
rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck,
rosewood fretboard, Sitka spruce top bracing,
and L.R. Baggs Element active VTC
electronics. breedlovemusic.com
Santa Cruz Don Edwards
Signature Cowboy Singer (RIGHT) –
This immaculate, all-mahogany OO
sounds warm, alive, and sweetly
popping whether fingerpicked or
flatpicked. santacruzguitar.com
Guitar Amps
Dwarfcraft Love Buzz –
The quasi flower-power styling
of the two-channel, 50-watt
Love Buzz might not be everyone’s
cup o’ tea (for the record,
we love it), but its EL34-driven,
class AB tones are stellar.
(Using a Squier Classic Vibe
’50s Duo-Sonic, Dwarfcraft’s
Ben Hinz nailed the gritty, detuned
glory of Radiohead’s “I
Might Be Wrong.”) It features
turret-board construction
that aims for Bassman-about-to-explode tones, and its
controls include Fuyamater
(gain), Trebles, Mids, Bass,
Presence, and Master.
Bogner Panama (LEFT) –
The new 4-watt, 6V6-powered Panama offers ’80s-style high-gain
tones at bedroom levels and features Volume and Schizo
knobs—the latter has four EQ presets—a Mode toggle, and a
Hi/Standby/Low toggle that lets you power down to 1.5 watts.
3rd Power British Dream (RIGHT) –
This handwired, all-tube 45-watt combo offers two
channels—one inspired by a ’59 Vox AC30, the other
by a ’68 Marshall plexi—and a half-power switch.
The 12" Celestion Alnico Gold is housed in 3rd
Power’s proprietary Switchback triangular enclosure.
Rivera RockCrusher Power Attenuator –
The RockCrusher allows you to attenuate the
speaker output from any amp while controlling
equalization characteristics with Edge and Warm
switches. Ideal for capturing the full bloom of tube
amps at workable volumes, it also features a balanced
XLR out, a 1/4" unbalanced out, two 1/4"
speaker outs, variable Studio and Line Out controls,
8 or 16 ohm impedance control, and true bypass.
Vox Tony Bruno 1x12 Combo
– Boutique amp guru Tony Bruno helped design this classic-voiced, 6V6-
powered 35-watt combo that’s equally capable of super-high headroom and
chime and bruising brawn. It features a Master Volume, a Master Volume
bypass toggle, a 3-band EQ (Bass, Middle, and Treble knobs), Volume and
Reverb knobs, a Bass Boost toggle, a Macho gain boost switch (which is
also footswitchable), and a Celestion G12-65 speaker. Also available in 2x12
form. voxamps.com
Marshall AFD 100 –
The long-awaited 100-watt AFD100 Slash signature head is based on the
third prototype presented to Slash and features two gain structures—#34
and AFD. Marshall modeled the #34 side after Slash’s modded JCM800 and
added more gain to thicken up the tone for the AFD side. Only 2300 units will
be available worldwide. marshallamps.com
Mesa/Boogie RA-100 Royal Atlantic –
The 100-watt RA-100 Royal Atlantic can be powered by EL34s or 6L6s and runs on class
AB power. Tonally, the combo launches off the TransAtlantic platform and mixes both classic
and modified British sounds with Boogie’s trademark high-gain thump. It also has the
company’s proprietary new Multi-Soak feature, which lets you notch either channel down
16, 12, 8, or 4 dB. Front-panel Clean channel controls are Master, Bass, Middle, Treble, and
Gain, while the Hi/Lo channel has vintage high-gain and vintage low-gain modes and front-panel
Master Hi, Master Lo, Bass, Middle, Treble, and Gain knobs. mesaboogie.com
65amps Empire (LEFT) –
The 6V6-powered Empire features a trio of classic high-gain British
voices from different eras. The first offers early ’60s tones, the
second aims for ’68-’72 tones, and the third offers up hot-rodded
’80s tones. The amp is powered by 22 very loud watts, but it also
features a Master Voltage control for bringing the volume down to
bedroom levels. 65amps.com
Celestion G12H 30-Watt 75 Hz (RIGHT) –
The new addition to Celestion’s blockbuster
G12H30 series features a resonant bass
frequency of 75 Hz (the original’s is 55 Hz) to
offer players a tighter, more articulate low-end
response. professional. celestion.com
Effects, Etc.
Misa Digital Instruments Kitara
– Touch-screen devices are everywhere these days, so it’s no shock that a company
would decide to integrate one with a unit dedicated to creating music.
Adventurous players like Muse’s Matt Bellamy had electric guitars modified
with parameter-controlling devices like the Korg KAOSS Pad many years ago,
but the Kitara isn’t going for that—it has no strings, so it’s really not a guitar in
even the most lax interpretation of the word. Although its neck has 24 “frets,”
each with six buttons, the Kitara runs on a Linux operating system and has
more than 100 internal synth sounds that are activated via an 8" multi-touch
display. You can choose to display six lines representing strings if you wish,
and the touch screen also enables manipulation of up to six built-in effects
that you can assign to the screen’s X and Y axes.
The Kitara will never replace a serious guitarist’s real 6-strings—but it’s still
intriguing for several reasons. First, it may be the most affordable, most convenient,
and coolest-looking way for guitarists to play synth-generated music
using the same chord and scale shapes they’ve always used on their solidbody
and flattop guitars. Second, its form factor likely avoids the glitchy tracking
and latency issues that often plague traditional guitars outfitted with a MIDI
pickup. Though $2800 seems steep for the aluminum-bodied version, $800 for
the heavy-duty polycarbonate version seems quite reasonable. Connections
include MIDI, 1/4", and headphone outputs, and both designs can easily be
configured for left-handed players. misadigital.com
Kemper Profiling Amplifier –
Technically, it’s not an amp because it can’t power a cabinet
(though plans for that option are in the works), but this new unit
from Germany’s Christoph Kemper, designer of the Virus line
of acclaimed synthesizers, effectively takes amp modeling to
the next logical level. Yeah, it comes stocked with “profiles” of
venerated vintage and modern tube amps (as well as lots of additional
effects, cabinet simulations, and extensive EQ-ing capabilities),
but what’s revolutionary about the Profiling Amp is that
it enables you to capture the tone of any amp at your disposal.
Whether you’ve got your own killer collection of amps you wish
you could gig or record with more easily, or whether you know a
magnanimous dude who’ll let you Napster-ize his collection of
mind-boggling amps, there’s some pretty mouth-watering potential
here. Here’s how it works: Mic the source amp and connect
the Kemper to its input via 1/4" cable, and then wait about 30
seconds while the Kemper routes a series of test signals through
the source amp’s circuitry and captures the amplified tone as a
snapshot inside the Profiling Amp. kemper-amps.com
Tech 21 Roto Choir (LEFT) –
This rotary speaker simulator
emulates the entire signal chain of a
mic’d Leslie cabinet, from the tube
power amp to the low-frequency
speaker, high-frequency horn, and
XY stereo-mic setup. The pedal’s
Fast/Slow switch lets you slow
down, ramp up, or even pause the
simulated rotary speaker in a variety
of positions to create a cool “frozen
flange” effect. The Roto Choir has a
buffered bypass, a Bi-Amp switch,
a Drive control, and stereo outputs.
Source Audio Soundblox Guitar
Envelope Filter (RIGHT) –
Optimized for guitar and compatible
with the Hot Hand Motion Controller
Ring, this stompbox contains 21
different filter types—including 2-pole
low-pass, 4-pole low-pass, single
peak, triple peak, and phaser—and
you can adjust the direction and
speed of the filters. sourceaudio.net
Red Witch Seven Sisters
– This new line of diminutive pedals—the Lily Boost, Eve Tremolo, Ivy Distortion,
Scarlett Overdrive, Violet Delay, Grace Compressor, and Ruby Fuzz—
provides a lot of pedalboard convenience. For starters, each is powered by
a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, thus eliminating the need for outboard
power. Secondly, their jacks are located along the top edge, which means
they can be placed closer together to optimize pedalboard space.
Roland GR-55 Guitar Synthesizer
– Roland has long been a leader in the guitar-synth industry, but the new GR-55
goes a long way toward simplifying the process of getting a universe of sounds
out of your MIDI-pickup-equipped guitar. It’s housed in the smallest guitar-synth
housing we’ve seen, and has perhaps the cleanest, most uncluttered interface
on the market. It includes revamped pitch-detection technology, more than 900
editable PCM sounds, COSM modeling (23 guitar types and 17 bass types), two
multi-effect engines, looping capability, and 297 memory slots. rolandus.com
Visual Sound Dual
Tap Delay
– The Dual Tap features
two independent
delay circuits that
are identical except
for the Modulation
control that lets you
add some chorus-type
sounds to the
second circuit. The
Tap Tempo footswitch
locks both channels
into a single tempo,
or a metronome input
allows you to sync
delays with an outside
source. You can
also select quarter,
eighth, dotted-eighth,
and eighth-note-triplet
repeat values.
Eventide Space Reverb (LEFT) –
The Space is a pedal worthy of its name. With reverb modes ranging
from the super-cosmic Blackhole mode to settings that sound
like U2’s the Edge, it also offers a vast menu of tremolo and delay
effects. eventide.com
Shure PGXD14 Wireless System
(RIGHT) – This 24-bit, 48 kHz digital wireless system
includes the PGXD1 transmitter and PGXD4
receiver, which operates in the 900 MHz range.
The PGXD1 transmitter is sleek and has a tiny,
recessed pot for varying your output from line
level to +26 dB. shure.com
Bass Gear
Reverend Basses (LEFT) –
Left to right: the Mercali
5-FM 5-string, Decision,
Justice, Thunder Gun, and
short-scale Dub King have
solid korina bodies and new
Reverend pickups.
Noguera Yves Carbonne Signature 8-String Fretless
(RIGHT) – This 34"-scale, left-handed wonder features a chambered
mahogany body, spruce top, ebony fingerboard, ebony
bridge with brass saddles, thumb rest, and Volume, Bass,
Mid, and Treble knobs. noguera-basses.com
Henman Rolla Prototype –
The Rick Turner-built Rolla has ’60s
Hagstrom-style humbuckers, a Hipshot
bridge, a 5-piece African sapele
neck, 24-fret Makassar ebony fretboard,
a chambered African mahogany
body, and a figured-maple top.
Ken Bebensee Fretless
Semi-Hollow 4-String
(LEFT) – This earthy, elegant beauty features a
walnut top and back, a fl amed-maple body
core, a lined fretless fingerboard, Bartolini
humbuckers, a piezo-equipped bridge, and
Hipshot tuners. kbguitars.com
Fender Custom Shop
1960 Jazz and
P-Bass Pro (RIGHT) –
These basses both feature
an alder body with a
maple neck and a 1960
U-shaped carve. The
Jazz has a 7.25"-radius
rosewood fretboard with
vintage-size frets, vintage-voiced
J pickups, and
stacked controls. The PBass
Pro has a 10"-radius
rosewood fretboard with
medium-jumbo frets, a P
pickup under the chrome
cover, a J pickup in the
1970s P-bass position,
and a Badass bridge. fendercustomshop.com
Aquilina Shelby 5-String (LEFT) –
This 34.5"-scale tribute to the Ford Shelby
GT350 Mustang has a sycamore neck, alder
body, Indian rosewood fretboard, Delano
single-coils, and E-PRO BTB-01 electronics.
Danelectro Mid ’60s (MIDDLE) –
Dano’s latest has dramatically
curved horns, lipstick-tube pickups,
dual-concentric Volume/
Tone knobs, and a 3-position
pickup selector. danelectro.com
Brubaker MJX-4 Brute (RIGHT) –
Luthier Kevin Brubaker’s new import
line features his famous “bolt-on
neck-thru” design, a humbucker
and a single-coil, and Blend,
Volume, Bass, and Treble knobs.
Eden WTDI Direct Box/Preamp (LEFT) – The WTDI features a 3-band
EQ with Bass Boost and
Mid Shift switches, Gain,
Enhance (boosts low bass,
upper middle, and high frequencies),
Compressor, and
Volume knobs, and 1/4" and
XLR outs with a ground lift.
T.C. Electronic
Blacksmith (RIGHT) –
The Blacksmith
pumps out 1600
watts, and its TubeTone
control offers
vintage sounds while
the SpectraComp
knob offers 3-band
compression. tcelectronic.com
Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 –
This tiny, 500-watt head
weighs 4 pounds and its
Drive control features Aguilar’s
popular AGS (Adaptive
Gain Switching) circuitry.
Epifani Piccolo Head
and Prototype Cab
– The Piccolo can be picked up
with a pinky finger and pumps
out 600 watts of class AB
power at 4 ohms. Front-panel
controls include Active/Passive,
Mid-Cut, Mute, and Vintage
voice buttons, and Gain, Mid
Cut, Bas, Mid, and Treble
knobs. The incredibly light prototype
cab will be available later
this year. epifani.com
Ampeg Portaflex PF-500
(shown) and PF-350
– Compact and potent, the MOSFETdriven
PF-500 and PF-350 weigh
11 and eight pounds, respectively,
and, at $399 and $299 (street), drop
a lot of thump for the buck. Controls
include Ultra Hi/Lo boosts,
Bass, Mid, and Treble controls and
a -40 dB pad. ampeg.com
Gallien-Krueger MB800
– Driving 800 watts at 4
ohms, the MB800 weighs
4.9 pounds and features
a discreet FET preamp,
effects loop, pre/post XLR
out, defeatable limiter, dual
Speakon outs, Headphone/
Line out, and backlit front-panel
controls.
MXR M87
Bass Compressor
(LEFT) – With Release, Attack,
Ratio, Input, and Output
controls, and an LED
readout for gain-reduction
status, the M87 offers
bassists and guitarists
formidable tone-sculpting
capabilities.
Ibanez TS9B Bass
Tube Screamer (RIGHT) –
The venerated guitar
overdrive has been
customized for low-end
lovers. It features
Drive, Level, Mix, Bass,
and Treble knobs, and
can add up to 30 dB of
gain for everything from
warm, vintage growl to
all-out fuzz mayhem.
Walrus Audio Fundamental Series Distortion
- Controls: Gain, Tone, Volume
- Modes: Dark, Silicon, LED
- Power Requirements: 100mA minimum
Positive Grid Spark Mini 10W Portable Smart Guitar Amp & Bluetooth Speaker
- Portable guitar amp & Bluetooth speaker with powerful, multi-dimensional sound. Rechargeable battery delivers up to 8 hrs of listening or play time.
- Free accompanying smart app included (iOS or Android) with Auto Chords, video creation & access to 50,000+ tones and more for never-ending inspiration.
- A mini guitar amp that jams along with you: All-new Smart Jam Live uses machine learning technology to build bass and drum backing tracks based on your playing style.
D'Addario Guitar Strings - XL Nickel Electric Guitar Strings - 10-46 Regular Light, 5-Pack
- BESTSELLING SET – XL Nickel are our best-selling electric guitar strings, revered by players since 1974.
- VERSATILE, BRIGHT TONE – Nickel-plated steel wrap wire provides a bright, versatile electric guitar tone, great for a variety of musical genres.
- FOR THE ULTIMATE PERFORMANCE – Like all D’Addario electric guitar strings, XL Nickel are made with our proprietary Hex-Core, ensuring perfect intonation, consistent feel, and reliable durability.
Fender Squier 3/4-Size Kids Mini Strat Electric Guitar - Surf Green Bundle
- 3/4-size body; 22.75" scale length
- Ideal size for children ages 6 to 12 years
- Three single-coil Stratocaster pickups with five-way switching, and vintage-style hardtail Stratocaster bridge
- Bundle includes Guitar, Amplifier, Instrument Cable, Tuner, Strap, Picks, Fender Play Online Lessons, and Austin Bazaar Instructional DVD
Dunlop MXR Micro Chorus
- All analog circuitry with bucket brigade technology
- Rich chorus textures
- True bypass
Fender Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar - Sunburst Bundle
- This guitar also features scalloped "X"-bracing, mahogany neck.
- It features a durable dark-stained maple fingerboard to give you an instrument that looks as good as it sounds.
- With its slim, easy-to-play neck and full-bodied dreadnought tone, the SA-150 is an ideal choice for all rookie strummers.
STRICH TSUNAMI Overdrive
- WARM & HOT OVERDRIVE MODES: Easily switch between warm and hot overdrive tones. Warm mode delivers rich, bluesy overdrive, while Hot mode offers more aggressive drive.
- PRECISE CONTROL: Dial in your perfect sound with VOL, GAIN, and TONE knobs for volume, distortion level, and tone
- COMPACT & PRACTICAL: Utilizes an aluminum alloy sturdy, tough, and stable casing. The compact cigar-box design saves pedalboard space and facilitates portability for performances.
Fender Professional Series Tweed Instrument Cable, Daphne Blue, 18.6ft
- 8mm outer diameter wire jacket
- 22 AWG
- 95% OFC spiral shielding
- Nickel-plated connectors
Sennheiser Professional e 609 Silver Super-Cardioid Instrument Microphone
MOOER GE100 Multi-Effects Guitar Pedal
72PCS Guitar Tool Kit
- 【Multifunctional Use】Available for changing strings, setting intonation, adjusting action or checking string height, perfect for stringed instrument cleaning, maintenance and repair.Dedicated to the most common guitar repairs and adjustments.
- 【Widely Application Area】72 Pcs tool set is a superb choice for most guitar repairs.Ideal for electric guitars, basses, mandolins, banjos, Hawaiian ukuleles, and other stringed instruments for necessary measurements and adjustments.
- 【Tool Bag Included】 Assortment of necessary tools are in one bag. We not only provide a large package, we also provide each accessory with a small individual package. You can protect and store these tools well to prevent loss and mess.
LAVA ME AIR Portable Carbon Fiber Electric-Acoustic Guitar, Travel Guitar for Beginners
- htweight at 4.3 lb, thin and portable
- Capable magnetic pickup, clear sound & low feedback
- Customizable digital knobs and presets
Overall, they encompass the historic arc of stompbox technology from fuzz and overdrives, to loopers and samplers, to tools that warp the audio end of the space-time continuum. Click on each one to get the full review as well as audio and video demos.
DigiTech JamMan Solo HD Review
Maybe every guitarist’s first pedal should be a looper. There are few more engaging ways to learn than playing along to your own ideas—or programmed rhythms, for that matter, which are a component of the new DigiTech JamMan Solo HD’s 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.
Click here to read the review.
Warm Audio Warm Bender Review
In his excellent videoFuzz Detective, my former Premier Guitar colleague and pedal designer Joe Gore put forth the proposition that theSola Sound Tone Bender MkII marked the birth of metal. TakeWarm Audio’s Warm Bender for a spin and it’s easy to hear what he means. It’s nasty and it’s heavy—electrically awake with the high-mid buzz you associate with mid-’60s psych-punk, but supported with bottom-end ballast that can knock you flat (which may be where the metal bit comes in).
Click here to read the review.
Walrus Monumental Harmonic Stereo Tremolo Review
Among fellow psychedelic music-making chums in the ’90s, few tools were quite as essential as a Boss PN-2 Tremolo Pan. Few of us had two amplifiers with which we could make use of one. But if you could borrow an amp, you could make even the lamest riff sound mind-bending.
Click here to read the review.
MXR Layers Review
It’s unclear whether the unfortunate term “shoegaze” was coined to describe a certain English indie subculture’s proclivity for staring at pedals, or their sometimes embarrassed-at-performing demeanor. The MXR Layers will, no doubt, find favor among players that might make up this sect, as well as other ambience-oriented stylists. But it will probably leave players of all stripes staring floorward, too, at least while they learn the ropes with this addictive mashup of delay, modulation, harmonizer, and sustain effects.
Click here to read the review.
Wampler Mofetta Review
Wampler’s new Mofetta is a riff on Ibanez’s MT10 Mostortion, a long-ago discontinued pedal that’s now an in-demand cult classic. If you look at online listings for the MT10, you’ll see that asking prices have climbed up to $1k in extreme cases.
Click here to read the review.
Catalinbread StarCrash Fuzz Review
Although inspired by the classic Fuzz Face, this stomp brings more to the hair-growth game with wide-ranging bias and low-cut controls.
Red Panda Radius Review
Intrepid knob-tweakers can blend between ring mod and frequency shifting and shoot for the stars.
Electro-Harmonix LPB-3 Linear Power Booster and EQ Review
Descended from the first Electro-Harmonix pedal ever released, the LPB-1 Linear Power Booster, the new LPB-3 has come a long way from the simple, one-knob unit in a folded-metal enclosure that plugged straight into your amplifier. Now living in Electro-Harmonix’s compact Nano chassis, the LPB-3 Linear Power Booster and EQ boasts six control knobs, two switches, and more gain than ever before.
JFX Pedals Deluxe Modulation Ensemble Review
This four-in-one effects box is a one-stop shop for Frusciante fans, but it’s also loaded with classic-rock swagger.
Origin Effects Cali76 FET Review
The latest version of this popular boutique pedal adds improved metering and increased headroom for a more organic sound.
JAM Fuzz Phrase Si Review
Everyone has records and artists they indelibly associate with a specific stompbox. But if the subject is the silicon Fuzz Face, my first thought is always of David Gilmour and the Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii film. What you hear in Live at Pompeii is probably shaped by a little studio sweetening. Even still, the fuzz you hear in “Echoes” and “Careful With That Axe, Eugene”—well, that is how a fuzz blaring through a wall of WEM cabinets in an ancient amphitheater should sound, like the sky shredded by the wail of banshees.
Fishman EchoBack Mini Delay Review
As someone who was primarily an acoustic guitarist for the first 16 out of 17 years that I’ve been playing, I’m relatively new to the pedal game. That’s not saying I’m new to effects—I’ve employed a squadron of them generously on acoustic tracks in post-production, but rarely in performance. But I’m discovering that a pedalboard, particularly for my acoustic, offers the amenities and comforts of the hobbit hole I dream of architecting for myself one day in the distant future.
RJM Full English Programmable Overdrive Review
Programmability and preset storage aren’t generally concerns for the average overdrive user. But if expansive digital control for true analog drive pedals becomes commonplace, it will be because pedals like the Full English Programmable Overdrive from RJM Music Technology make it fun and musically satisfying.
Strymon BigSky MX Review
Strymon calls the BigSky MX pedal “one reverb to rule them all.” Yep, that’s a riff on something we’ve heard before, but in this case it might be hard to argue. In updating what was already one of the market’s most comprehensive and versatile reverbs, Strymon has created a reverb pedal that will take some players a lifetime to fully explore. That process is likely to be tons of fun, too.
JHS Hard Drive Review
JHS makes many great and varied overdrive stomps. Their Pack Rat is a staple on one of my boards, and I can personally attest to the quality of their builds. The new Hard Drive has been in the works since as far back as 2016, when Josh Scott and his staff were finishing off workdays by jamming on ’90s hard rock riffs.
Keeley I Get Around Review
A highly controllable, mid-priced rotary speaker simulator inspired by the Beach Boys that nails the essential character of a Leslie—in stereo.
Cusack Project 34 Selenium Rectifier Pre/Drive
The term “selenium rectifier” might be Greek to most guitarists, but if it rings a bell with any vintage-amp enthusiasts that’s likely because you pulled one of these green, sugar-cube-sized components out of your amp’s tube-biasing network to replace it with a silicon diode.
Vox Real McCoy VRM-1 Review
Some pedals are more fun than others. And on the fun spectrum, a new Vox wah is like getting a bike for Christmas. There’s gleaming chrome. It comes in a cool vinyl pouch that’s hipper than a stocking. Put the pedal on the floor and you feel the freedom of a marauding BMX delinquent off the leash, or a funk dandy cool-stepping through the hot New York City summertime. It’s musical motion. It’s one of the most stylish effects ever built. A good one will be among the coolest-sounding, too.
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 pros—all in a stomp just millimeters larger than a Boss pedal.
Fast Out of the Blocks
Assuming you’ve used some kind of rudimentary looper before, there’s pretty decent odds you’ll sort out the basic functionality of this one with a couple of exploratory clicks of the footswitch. That’s unless you’ve failed to turn down the rhythm-level knob, in which case you’ll 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 I’m 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 HD’s capabilities. And why not? The storage capacity—up to 35 minutes of loops and 10 minutes for individual loops—is 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 HD’s 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 HD’s 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 can’t remember the last time I felt like a looper’s audio resolution was really lacking. But the improved quality here lends itself to using the Solo HD as a song-arranging tool—and, 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 HD’s 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.
The Warm Bender dishes these sounds with ease and savage aplomb. Outwardly, it honors the original MkII—a good way to go given that the original Sola Sound unit is one the most stylish effects ever built. But the 3-transistor NOS 75 MkII is only one of the Warm Bender’s personalities. You can also switch to a 2-transistor NOS 76 circuit, aka the Tone Bender MkI. There’s also a silicon 3-transistor Tone Bender circuit, a twist explored by several modern boutique builders. Each of these three voices can be altered further by the crown-mounted sag switch, which starves the circuit of voltage, reducing power from 9 to 6 volts. From these three circuits, the Warm Bender conjures voices that are smooth, responsive, ragged, mean, mangled, clear, and positively fried.
The Compact Wedge Edge
Warm Audio, quite wisely, did not put the Warm Bender in an authentically, full-size Tone Bender enclosure, which would gobble a lot of floor space. But this smaller, approximately 2/3-scale version, complete with a Hammerite finish, looks nearly as hip. It’s sturdy, too. The footswitch and jacks are affixed directly to the substantial enclosure entirely apart from the independently mounted through-hole circuit board, which, for containing three circuits rather than one, is larger and more densely populated than the matchbox-sized circuit boards in a ’60s Tone Bender. Despite the more cramped quarters, there’s still room for a 9V battery if you choose to run it that way. Topside, there’s not much to the Warm Bender. There’s a chicken-head knob for output volume, another for gain, and a third that switches between the NOS 76, NOS 75, and silicon modes. Even the most boneheaded punk could figure this thing out.
A Fuzz Epic in Three Parts
Most Warm Bender customers will find their way to the pedal via MkII lust. If you arrive here by that route you won’t be disappointed. The Warm Bender’s NOS 75 setting delivers all the glam-y, proto-metal, heavy filth you could ask for. It sounded every bit as satisfying as my own favorite MkII clone save for a hint of extra compression that falls well within the bounds of normal vintage fuzz variation. My guess is that when you’re ripping through “Dazed and Confused” you won’t give a hoot.
“There’s more color and air in the NOS 76 mode.”
If the NOS 75 circuit suffers by comparison to anything, it’s the 2-transistor friend next door, the NOS 76. The lower-gain NOS 76 mode is, to my ears, the most appealing of the three. It’s the most dynamic in terms of touch response and guitar volume attenuation and delivers the clearest clean tones when you use either technique. There’s more color and air in the NOS 76 mode, too. Paired with a neck-position single-coil, it’s an excellent alternative for Hendrix and Eddie Hazel low-gain mellow fuzz that’s more like dirty overdrive. The silicon mode, meanwhile, lives on the modern borderlands of the ’60s-fuzz spectrum. It’s super-aggressive and focused, which can be really useful depending on the setting, but lo-fi, spitty, and weird when starved of voltage via the sag switch. It’s deviant-sounding stuff, but extends the Warm Bender’s performance envelope in useful ways, particularly if you hunt for unique fuzz tones in the studio.
There’s a widely accepted bit of wisdom that says most germanium fuzzes sound lousy unless you turn up everything all the way and use your guitar controls to tailor the tone. This is partly true, especially with a Fuzz Face. But in general, I respectfully disagree and present the Warm Bender as exhibit A in this defense. The gain and volume controls both have considerable range and fascinating shades of fuzz within that can still rise above the din of a raging band.
The Verdict
Some potential customers might balk at the notion of a $199 vintage-style fuzz made in China—no matter how cool it looks. But the Warm Bender looks and feels well made. The sound and tactile sensations in the three circuits are truly different enough to be three individual effects, and $199 for three fuzz pedals is a sweet deal—particularly when consolidated in a stompbox that looks this cool. There is a lot of variation in old Tone Benders, and how these takes on the circuits compare to your idea of true vintage Tone Bender sound will be subjective. But I heard the essence of both the MkI and MkII here very clearly and would have no qualms about using the Warm Bender in a session that called for an extra-authentic mid-’60s fuzz texture.
