
ESP has debuted a number of new additions at the 2025 NAMM Show.
At the 2025 NAMM Show, ESP Guitars (NAMM Booth 210D) debuted 10 new guitars in their popular LTD Deluxe series. Used on recordings and tours worldwide, LTD Deluxe guitars provide professional-level components and build quality.
“It’s easy to see why LTD Deluxe represents ESP’s most popular guitar series,” says Blue Wilding, ESP Brand Manager. “These are high grade instruments that allow serious working musicians to have the performance and aesthetics they want without wiping out their wallet.”
Three new LTD Deluxe guitars are being offered in an exciting Silver Blast finish. The LTD Deluxe XJ-1 Baritone uses the offset XJ shape, offering bolt-on construction at 27” baritone scale and pairing a sandblasted swamp ash body to a three-piece roasted maple neck. Design features of the XJ-1 Baritone include a tiltback reverse headstock, a Macassar ebony fingerboard with block inlays and 22 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets. It also includes LTD locking tuners, a black bone nut, a brushed black pickguard, a Hipshot hardtail bridge with string-thru-body, and a single Fishman Fluence Modern 3-Voice Humbucker pickup with voice selection via push/pull control.
The LTD Deluxe SN-1000HT is another new model in the Silver Blast finish on a sandblasted swamp ash body. Built with bolt-on construction at 25.5” scale, it pairs a roasted maple neck and Macassar ebony fingerboard (scalloped from frets 17-22) with a compound radius, mother of pearl dot inlays, and 22 extra- jumbo stainless steel frets. Components on the SN-1000HT include LTD locking tuners, a black bone nut, a Hipshot hardtail bridge with string-thru-body, and a pair of Fishman Fluence Modern 3-Voice Humbucker pickups (ceramic in the bridge, alnico in the neck), with voice selection via push/pull controls.
Rounding out the new Silver Blast models is the new LTD Deluxe TE-1000. Also featuring a sandblasted swamp ash body with roasted maple neck and tiltback headstock, this guitar offers bolt-on construction at 25.5” scale, and a Macassar ebony fingerboard with offset dot inlays and 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets. Components on the TE-1000 Silver Blast include LTD locking tuners, a black bone nut, a Hipshot hardtail bridge with string-thru-body, and an outstanding set of Seymour Duncan pickups — the ESP- exclusive Custom-14 in the bridge, and the renowned APH-1N in the neck.
The TE Series got another new addition with the LTD Deluxe TE-1007 Baritone. This 7-string guitar, being offered in the Black Blast finish, has a sandblasted swamp ash body and roasted maple neck with a tiltback headstock. It has bolt-on construction at 27” baritone scale, and provides a Macassar ebony fingerboard with offset dot inlays and 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets. The TE-1007 Baritone has components that include a Hipshot hardtail bridge with string-thru-body, LTD locking tuners, a black bone nut, and a single Fishman Fluence Modern 7 String 3-Voice Humbucker (ceramic) in the bridge, with a push-pull control to activate its voicings.
The LTD Deluxe EC-01FT has been significantly updated for 2025. Now available in Charcoal Burst Satin Teardrop finish over a quilted maple top, the streamlined guitar also features white single-ply binding on the body, neck, and headstock. Like the previous versions of the EC-01FT, it offers set-thru construction at 24.75” scale with a single-cutaway mahogany body and three-piece mahogany neck. It includes a Macassar ebony fingerboard with block inlays and 22 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, a recessed bridge with string-thru-body design, LTD locking tuners, a brushed black pickguard, and the ESP-exclusive Seymour Duncan Custom-14 High Output Triple Ceramic Humbucker, splittable with push-pull control.
Another new addition for 2025 is the LTD Deluxe M-1000 Maple. Offering the iconic look of a Black Gloss finish along with a maple fingerboard, this guitar offers an alder body and a three-piece maple neck built with bolt-on construction at 25.5” scale. Black binding on the neck and headstock give it an even tougher look. It features 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, black offset dot inlays, and a compound fingerboard radius. Components on the new M-1000 Maple include a Floyd Rose 1000SE tremolo with stainless steel screws, Grover tuners, and a set of Fishman Fluence Modern 3-Voice Humbucker pickups — ceramic in the bridge, alnico in the neck position — with push-pull controls to activate their voicings.
Also new for 2025 is the LTD Deluxe M-1007 Baritone EverTune in Granite Sparkle finish. Designed for seriously extended low pitch ranges, it’s a 7-string guitar with neck-thru-body construction at 27” baritone scale, pairing an alder body with an extra-thin three-piece maple neck. Its Macassar ebony fingerboard features a compound radius, offset dot inlays and 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets. Components on this guitar include the innovative EverTune constant tension bridge, and a set of Fishman Fluence Modern 7 String 3-Voice Humbucker pickups with push-pull controls to select voicings.
A distinctive entry in the “New for 2025” collection, the LTD Deluxe MH-1000NT Bold Binding delivers what its name says: a Black Satin finish with double-thick silver painted binding on the body and headstock. It offers set-thru construction at 25.5” scale, using a mahogany body with maple cap, and a three-piece maple neck. Its Macassar ebony fingerboard has a compound radius, offset block inlays, and 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets. Components on the MH-1000NT Bold Binding include a TonePros locking bridge with string-thru-body, LTD locking tuners, and a pair of Fishman Fluence Modern 3-Voice Humbucker pickups with voice selection on a push-pull controls.
Two popular LTD Deluxe models are returning with significant updates. The LTD Deluxe SN-1 HT is now being offered with a Fishman Fluence Modern 3-Voice Humbucker (Ceramic) pickup, with voices selected via push-pull control. The LTD Deluxe Arrow-1000 in Candy Apple Red Satin now features a reverse headstock and a set of Fishman Fluence Modern 3-Voice Humbucker pickups, with voices selected via push-pull controls.
For more information, please visit espguitars.com.
Signature Series
The highly-anticipated Signature Series guitar for Mick Thomson of Slipknot, the LTD MT-I, makes its debut at NAMM 2025. Available in Obsidian Metallic finish, the MT-I is based on the MH-style body, with an arched top and an inline reverse headstock. This guitar features set-thru construction at 25.5” scale, pairing a mahogany body with white ash top to a three-piece maple neck with a Macassar ebony fingerboard with compound radius and 24 medium-jumbo stainless steel frets. Special features on the MT-I include a Graph Tech Black TUSQ XL nut, Hipshot Grip-Lock locking open gear tuners, an all-brass Hipshot Hi-Mass hardtail bridge, blue Luminlay side markers, and a Fishman Fluence Mick Thomson Signature pickup with a 3-way low profile toggle switch to select between Voice 1, Voice 1 with bass boost shift, and Voice 2, and a push/pull volume control to select Voice 3.
The LTD RZK-III is the newest signature model for Richard ZK of Rammstein. Beginning with the smooth flowing curves of the Phoenix body shape, the RZK-III comes in a classy Olympic White finish. It offers neck-thru-body construction at 25.5” scale, with alder body wings and a three-piece satin-finished maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. Features and components on the LTD RZK-III include a TonePros locking bridge and tailpiece that are both recessed, a brushed black pickguard, 22 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, a reversible arcade-stye kill switch, and a set of Fishman Fluence Richard Z Kruspe signature pickups with a push-pull control to select voicings.
With the LTD JM-I, ESP is introducing its second Signature Series model for Josh Middleton, the acclaimed guitarist for Sylosis. Available with a Deep Blood Moon finish over a quilted maple top, the JM-I offers an alder body and a three-piece roasted maple neck with bolt-on construction at 25.5” scale. This guitar features black binding on the body and headstock, a Macassar ebony fingerboard with 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, Luminlay side markers, and a single Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker, with voice selection on a push-pull control.
The new LTD ALR-II is the long-awaited Signature Series guitar for Andy LaRocque, influential guitarist/music producer and co-founder of the iconic heavy metal band King Diamond. Based on the Horizon body, the ALR-II offers neck-thru-body construction at 24.75” scale, and is distinctively finished in See Thru Purple over its figured quilted maple top with a classic teardrop headstock. It features a three-piece maple neck, a Macassar ebony fingerboard with a compound radius and 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, Luminlay side markers, a Floyd Rose 1000 double-locking tremolo, and a set of Seymour Duncan TB-4 JB Trembucker (bridge) and STK-S6 Custom Stack Plus (neck) passive pickups.
Caleb Shomo, the founder, songwriter, and producer of rock band Beartooth, has his first Signature Series guitar with the debut of the LTD CS-II. Based on the Phoenix shape, the CS-II is available with a figured quilted maple top in Vintage Natural finish. This neck-thru-body guitar is offered at 25.5” scale, and comes with mahogany body wings, a three-piece thin u-shaped mahogany neck, Macassar ebony fingerboard, and 22 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets. Components on the CS-II include gold hardware, black binding on body, neck, head, brushed black pickguard, a black bone nut, a locking bridge and tailpiece, and a pickup set that includes ESP’s exclusive Seymour Duncan Custom 14 humbucker in the bridge (splittable with push-pull control) and a Seymour Duncan STR-3 Quarter Pound pickup in the neck.
A new Signature Series guitar has been announced for Alex Wade of deathcore band Whitechapel. The LTD AW-XJ7 Baritone EverTune provides the LTD XJ shape in a 7-string, 27” scale baritone guitar that also features the innovative EverTune constant tension bridge. Available in a Black Open Grain Satin finish, the AW-XJ7 Baritone EverTune offers bolt-on construction, a resonant swamp ash body, and a five-piece maple/walnut/padauk neck with a Macassar ebony fingerboard. This guitar’s features include 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, a brushed black pickguard, LTD locking tuners, and a single DiMarzio D-Activator 7 passive pickup that can be split with a push/pull volume control.
A number of Signature Series guitar models for current ESP Signature artists have received fresh updates. Renowned guitarist Alex Skolnick of Testament has a new Lime Burst finish and new pickups for his LTD AS-1FR signature model. Based on the single-cutaway EC shape, this guitar features set-thru construction at 24.75” scale, a mahogany body with flamed maple top, three-piece maple neck, Macassar ebony fingerboard, a Floyd Rose 1000 double-locking tremolo, Dunlop Straploks, and a set of Seymour Duncan Alex Skolnick Signature Humbucker pickups, splittable with push-pull control.
50th Anniversary Series
From its humble beginnings in 1975 as a small Tokyo-based guitar repair shop to its current status as one of the world’s largest and most respected electric guitar and bass manufacturers, ESP Guitars (NAMM Booth 210D) has never been a brand to rest on its laurels. While celebrating its milestone 50th anniversary in 2025, the company is still far more focused on the future than looking back on its past.
To commemorate the major milestone, ESP has announced a special limited edition batch of guitars from the ESP Custom Shop in Japan. Just 15 pieces each of the ESP 50th Anniversary Horizon-CTM Flamed Maple and ESP 50th Anniversary Horizon-CTM Buckeye Burl are being handcrafted by the company’s expert luthiers using custom components and extraordinary tonewoods, and no two are identical.
A more widely available commemorative guitar is the LTD EC-2025 50th Anniversary. Based on the single-cutaway EC shape, it’s being offered in Metallic Gold finish with black hardware and black single-ply binding on the body, neck, ad headstock, appropriate for the company’s golden anniversary celebration. It features a special “50” graphic fingerboard inlay at frets 11-13, as well as a full 50th Anniversary logo on the guitar’s headstock. Built with set-thru construction at 24.75” scale, the guitar employs a mahogany body with maple cap, a three-piece mahogany neck, and a Macassar ebony fingerboard with 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets.
Features on the EC-2025 include LTD locking tuners, a TonePros locking bridge and tailpiece, and a set of Seymour Duncan humbucker pickups that includes the ESP-exclusive Custom 14 in the bridge, and the iconic APH-1N in the neck. Coil splitting is accessible with a push-pull control.
200 Series
The LTD EC-256 is now being offered in a Silver Sunburst Teardrop finish. This single-cutaway guitar includes unexpected details like white binding on the body, neck, and headstock. Built with set-neck construction at 24.75” scale using a mahogany body and three-piece mahogany neck, it also features a set of great-sounding, high-output ESP LH-150 bridge and neck pickups, splittable via push-pull control. The popular LTD EC-201 has also been updated to offer a Black Gloss finish.
The LTD M-201 Baritone HT offers an affordable solution for musicians getting into baritone guitar. Offered in Black Gloss finish, it’s built with bolt-on construction at 27” baritone scale, pairing a mahogany body and three-piece maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard. This guitar features an LTD fixed hardtail bridge with string-thru-body, and a single ESP LH-150B bridge pickup with an antique nickel cover, with coil splitting via push-pull control.
Another new model in this series is the LTD Phoenix-201, the first Phoenix model in this range. It offers set-neck construction at 25.5” scale with a mahogany body and three-piece mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard. It also includes a single ESP LH-150B bridge pickup with an antique nickel cover, and coil splitting via push-pull control.
It’s a similar story with the LTD SN-201HT, a new model in this affordable range. Available in Black Gloss, it offers bolt-on construction at 25.5” scale, with a mahogany body and three-piece maple neck with tiltback headstock. It also includes a single ESP LH-150B bridge pickup with an antique nickel cover, and coil splitting via push-pull control. The LTD TE-201 is also now offered in Black Gloss finish.
For more information, please visit espguitars.com.
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Blackberry Smoke will embark on a co-headline tour with Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs. Lead singer Charlie Starr shares, “What could be better than summertime rock and roll shows with Blackberry Smoke and the one and only Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs?”
Blackberry Smoke’s fan club will have early access to tickets with pre-sale beginning tomorrow, March 11 at 10:00am local time, with the public on-sale following this Friday, March 14 at 10:00am local time. Full details and ticket information can be found at blackberrysmoke.com.
In addition to the new dates, Blackberry Smoke is currently on the road with upcoming headline shows at New Orleans’ The Fillmore, Houston’s 713 Music Hall, Austin’s ACL Live at the Moody Theater, Dallas’ Majestic Theatre and Maryville’s The Shed (three nights) among others. They will also join Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Avett Brothers for select dates later this year. See below for complete tour itinerary.
Tour Dates
March 14—Douglas, GA—The Martin Theatre*
March 15—Douglas, GA—The Martin Theatre*
March 27—New Orleans, LA—The Fillmore†
March 28—Houston, TX—713 Music Hall†
March 29—Helotes, TX—John T. Floore’s Country Store‡
April 24—Montgomery, AL—Montgomery Performing Arts Centre§
April 25—Pensacola, FL—Pensacola Saenger Theatre§
April 26—Tampa, FL—Busch Gardens Tampa - Gwazi Field
May 8—Austin, TX—ACL Live at the Moody Theater#
May 9—Dallas, TX—Majestic Theatre#
May 10—Palestine, TX—Wiggly Thump Festival
May 15—Maryville, TN—The Shed~
May 16—Maryville, TN—The Shed%
May 17—Maryville, TN—The Shed§
May 31—Virginia Beach, VA—Veterans Band Aid Music Festival
June 1—Lexington, KY—Railbird Festival
July 10—Pistoia, Italy—Pistoia Blues
July 11—Milan, Italy—Comfort Festival
July 13—Weert, Limburg—Bospop
July 15—Manchester, U.K.—AO Arena**
July 16—Birmingham, U.K.—bp pulse LIVE**
July 18—Brighton, England—The Brighton Centre**
July 19—London, UK—OVO Arena Wembley**
July 25—Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium††
July 26—Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium††
July 31—Lewiston, NY—Artpark Amphitheater††
August 1—Pittsburgh, PA—Stage AE††
August 2—Columbus, OH—KEMBA Live! Outdoor††
August 3—Roanoke, VA—Berglund Performing Arts Theatre††
August 5—North Charleston, SC—Firefly Distillery††
August 7—Raleigh, NC—Red Hat Amphitheater††
August 8—Charlotte, NC—Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre††
August 9—Atlanta, GA—Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park††
August 10—Asheville, NC—Asheville Yards Amphitheater††
August 21—Bonner Springs, KS—Azura Amphitheater‡‡
August 22—Rogers, AR—Walmart AMP‡‡
August 23—El Dorado, AR—Murphy Arts District Amphitheater‡‡
August 30—Charlestown, RI—Rhythm and Roots Festival
*with special guest Parker Gispert
†with special guest Zach Person
‡with special guest Brent Cobb
§with special guest Bones Owens
#with special guest Jason Scott & The High Heat
~with special guest Rob Leines
%with special guest Taylor Hunnicutt
**supporting Lynard Skynyrd
††co-headline with co-headline with Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs
‡‡supporting The Avett Brothers
Guest columnist Dave Pomeroy, who is also president of Nashville’s musicians union, with some of his friends.
Dave Pomeroy, who’s played on over 500 albums with artists including Emmylou Harris, Elton John, Trisha Yearwood, Earl Scruggs, and Alison Krauss, shares his thoughts on bass playing—and a vision of the future.
From a very young age, I was captivated by music. Our military family was stationed in England from 1961 to 1964, so I got a two-year head start on the Beatles starting at age 6. When Cream came along, for the first time I was able to separate what the different players were doing, and my focus immediately landed on Jack Bruce. He wrote most of the songs, sang wonderfully, and drove the band with his bass. Playing along with Cream’s live recordings was a huge part of my initial self-training, and I never looked back.
The electric bass has a much shorter history than most instruments. I believe that this is a big reason why the evolution of bass playing continues in ways that were literally unimaginable when it began to replace the acoustic bass on pop and R&B recordings. Players like James Jamerson, Joe Osborn, Carol Kaye, Chuck Rainey, and David Hood made great songs even better with their bass lines, pocket, and tone. Playing in bands throughout my teenage years, I took every opportunity I could to learn from musicians who were more experienced than I was. Slowly, I began to understand the power of the bass to make everyone else sound better—or lead the way to a train wreck! That sense of responsibility was not lost on me. As I continued to play, listen, and learn, a gradual awareness of other elements came to the surface, including the three Ts: tone, timing, and taste.
I was ready to rock the world with busy lines and bass solos when I moved to Nashville in the late ’70s, and I was suddenly transported into the land of singer-songwriters. It was a huge awakening when I heard the lyrics of artists like Guy Clark, whose spare yet powerful stories and simple guitar changes opened up a whole new universe in reverse for me. It was a reset for sure, but gradually I found ways to combine my earlier energetic approach in different ways. Playing what’s right for a song is a very subjective thing.
“If the song calls for you to ramp up the energy and lead the way like Chris Squire, Bootsy Collins, Geddy Lee, Sting, Flea, Justin Chancellor, or so many others, trust yourself and go for it.”
Don Williams, whom I worked with for many years, was known as a man of few words, but he gave me some of the best musical advice I ever received. I had been with him for just a few months when he pulled me aside one night after a show, and quietly said, “Dave, you don’t have to play what’s on the records, just don’t throw me off when I’m singing.” In other words: It’s okay to be creative, but listen to what’s going on around you. I never forgot that lesson.
As I gradually got into recording work, in an environment where creativity is combined with efficiency and experimentation is sometimes, but not always, welcome, I focused on tone as a form of expression, trying to make every note count. As drum sounds got much bigger during the ’80s, string bass was pretty much off the table as an option in most situations. Inspired by German bassist Eberhard Weber, I bought an electric upright 5-string built by Harry Fleishman a few years earlier. That theoretically self-indulgent purchase gave me an opportunity to carve out a tone that would work with both big drums and acoustic instruments. It gave me an identifiable sound and led to me playing that bass on records with artists like Keith Whitley, Trisha Yearwood, Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, and the Chieftains.
In a world of constantly evolving and merging musical styles, the options can be almost overwhelming, so it’s important to trust yourself. Ultimately, you are making a series of choices every time you pick up the instrument. Whether it’s pick versus fingers versus thumb, or clean versus overdrive versus distortion, and so on … you are the boss of your role in the song you are playing. When the sonic surroundings you find yourself in change, so can you. It’s all about listening to what is going on around you and finding that sweet spot where you can bring the whole thing together while not attracting too much attention.
On the other hand, if the song calls for you to ramp up the energy and lead the way like Chris Squire, Bootsy Collins, Geddy Lee, Sting, Flea, Justin Chancellor, or so many others, trust yourself and go for it. Newer role models like Tal Wilkenfeld, Thundercat, and MonoNeon have raised the bar yet again. The beauty of it all is that the bass and its role keep evolving.
Right now, I guarantee there are young bassists of all descriptions we have not yet heard who are reinventing the bass and its role in new ways. That’s what bass players do—we are the glue that ties music together. Find your power and use it!
A reverb-based pedal for exploring the far reaches of sound.
Easy to use control set. Wide range of sounds. Crush control is fun to explore. Filter is versatile.
Works best as a stereo effect, which may limit some players.
$299
Old Blood Noise Endeavors Dark Star Stereo
oldbloodnoise.com
The Old Blood Dark Star Stereo (DSS) is one of those pedals that lives beyond simple effect categorization. Yes, it’s a digital reverb. But like other Old Blood designs, it’s such a feature-rich, creative take on that effect that to think of it as a reverb feels not only imprecise but unfair.
The Old Blood Dark Star Stereo (DSS) is one of those pedals that lives beyond simple effect categorization. Yes, it’s a digital reverb. But like other Old Blood designs, it’s such a feature-rich, creative take on that effect that to think of it as a reverb feels not only imprecise but unfair.
In this case, reverb describes how the DSS works more than how it sounds. I’ve come to think of this pedal as a reverb-based synthesizer, where reverb is the jumping-off point for sonic creation. As such, the sounds coming out of the Dark Star can be used as subtle sweetener or sound design textures, opening up worlds that might otherwise be unreachable.
Reverb and Beyond
Functionally speaking, the DSS starts with reverb and applies a high-/low-pass filter, two pitch shifters, each with a two-octave range in each direction, plus bit-crushing and distortion. Controls for lag (pre-delay), multiply (feedback), and decay follow, with mini knobs for volume, mix, and spread. Additional control features include presets, MIDI functionality, plus expression and aux control.
The DSS can be routed in mono, stereo, or mono-in/stereo-out. Both jacks are single TRS, and it’s easy to switch between settings by holding down the bypass switch and selecting via the preset button.
Although it sounds great in mono, stereo is where this iteration of the Dark Star—which follows the mono Dark Star and Dark Star V2—really comes alive. Starting with the filter, both pitch shifters, and crush knobs at noon—all have center detents—affords the most neutral settings. The result is a pad reverb, as synthetic as but less sparkly than a shimmer. The filter control is a fine way to distinguish clean and effect signals. In low-pass mode, the effect signal can easily get dark and spooky while maintaining fidelity and without getting murky. On the other end, high-pass settings are handy for refining those reverb pads and keeping them from washing out the clarity of the clean signal.
Lower fidelity is close at hand when you want it. The crush control, when turned counterclockwise, reduces the bit rate of the effect signal, evoking all kinds of digitally compromised sounds, from early samplers to cell phones, depending on how you flavor it. Counterclockwise applies distortion to the reverb signal. There’s a lot to explore within the wide ranges of the two pitch controls, too. With a four-octave range, quantized in half steps, the combinations can be extreme, and Dark Star takes on a life of its own.
Formless Reflections of Matter
The DSS is easy to get acquainted with, especially for a pedal with so many features, 10 knobs, and two footswitches. I quickly got a feel for the reverb itself at the most neutral filter and pitch settings, where I enjoyed the weight a responsive, textural pad lent to everything I played.
With just the filter and crush controls, there’s plenty to explore. Sitting in the sweet spot between a pair of vintage Fenders, I conjured a Twin Peaks-inspired hazy fog to accompany honeyed diatonic arpeggios, slowly filtering and crushing that sound into a dark, evil low-end whir as chords leaned toward dissonance. Eventually, I cranked the high-pass filter, producing an early MP3-in-a-good-way “shhh” that was fine accompaniment to sparser voicings along my fretboard. It was a true sonic journeyThe pitch controls increase possibilities for both ambience and dissonance. Simple tweaks push the boundaries of possibility in exponentially deeper directions. For more subtle thickening and accompaniment sounds, adding octaves, which are easy to tune by ear, offers precise tone sculpting, dimension, and a wider frequency range. Hearing simple harmonic ideas plucked against celeste- and organ-like reverberations kept me in the Harold Budd and Brian Eno space for long enough to consider new recording projects.
There is as much fun to be had at the highest feedback settings on the DSS. Be forewarned: Spend too much time there and you might need a name for your new ambient band. Cranking the multiply and decay knobs, I’d drop in a few notes, or maybe just a chord, and get to work scanning the pitch knobs and sculpting with the filter. Soon, I conjured bold Ligeti-inspired orchestral sounds fit for a guitar remix of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The Verdict
The Dark Star Stereo strikes a nice balance between deep control, a wide range of sonic rewards, playability, and an always-sounds-great vibe. The controls are easy to use, so it doesn’t take long to get in the zone, and once you do, there’s plenty to explore. Throughout my time with the DSS, I was impressed with its high-fidelity clarity. I attribute that to the filter, which allows clean and reverb signals to perform dry/wet balance and EQ functions. That alone encouraged more adventurous and creative exploration. Though not every player needs this kind of tone tool, the DSS is a must-check-out effect for anyone serious about wild reverb adventures, and it’s simple and intuitive enough to be a good fit for anyone just starting exploration of those zones. However you come to the Dark Star, it’s a unique-sounding pedal that deserves attention. PG
Introducing the new Firebird Platypus, a tribute to the rare transitional models of 1965.
In early 1965, the original Firebird design transitioned through several different iterations. One of the significant transitions that occurred flipped the headstock to the Non-Reverse shape. Unlike the original Reverse Firebird headstock design, which featured a two-layered headstock with a holly veneer, the new headstock was flat, like the bill of a platypus.
Mahogany body and glued-in mahogany neck
The Firebird Platypus has a mahogany body with the appearance of a traditional neck-through Reverse Firebird body for that classic Reverse Firebird appearance, while the neck of the Firebird Platypus uses glued-in, set neck construction like the Les Paul and SG and delivers outstanding sustain and resonance.
Platypus transitional headstock design
The headstock features the flat, transitional style “platypus” design that was found only on rare models from the 1965 transitional period when the Firebird was gradually switching over from the features found on the original models that were released in 1963 to the features that were used for the later Non-Reverse Firebird models.
Firebird humbucker pickups
It’s outfitted with two Firebird humbucker pickups. These pickups are equipped with Alnico 5 magnets and have a unique sound that is not quite like any other humbucking pickup, with unmatched clarity, chime, and bite. They sound great for both clean and overdriven tones.
Exclusive Cherry Sunburst finish
This exclusive Cherry Sunburst finish is available only on Gibson.com and at the Gibson Garage.
For more information, please visit gibson.com.