ESP Guitars announces 43 new LTD and LTD Deluxe guitar models to kick off the new year.
A new Camo finish has been made available for the LTD and ESP James Hetfield Snakebyte. The Snakebyte features set-neck construction at 24.75" scale, 22 extra-jumbo frets, a TonePros locking TOM bridge and tailpiece, and James' own EMG JH SET active pickups.
The LTD Arrow Series has expanded with four new additions. The LTD Deluxe Arrow-1000 offers a quilted maple top in a Charcoal Burst Satin finish. It features neck-thru-body construction, a reverse headstock with matching finish, Macassar ebony fingerboard with stainless steel frets, a set of direct mount Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker active pickups, and a Floyd Rose 1000SE bridge with stainless steel screws. The LTD Deluxe Arrow-1000NT (Charcoal Metallic Satin) offers a recessed TonePros TOM bridge with string-thru-body, neck-thru-body construction, stainless steel frets, and direct mount Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker active pickups. The LTD Deluxe Arrow-1000 EverTune includes the innovative EverTune constant tension bridge system, and comes in Black. All Arrow 1000 models have compound radius fingerboards. The LTD Arrow-200 (Military Green Satin) offers a more affordable version of the Arrow Series with a set-neck design, an LTD Floyd Rose tremolo, and a set of high output ESP LH-301 pickups with black covers.
Seven new guitars have joined ESP’s popular LTD EC Series. The LTD Deluxe EC-1000 Baritone comes in a 27” baritone scale, with a Charcoal Metallic Satin finish and black single-ply binding. Features include 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, glow-in-the-dark Luminlay side dots, a TonePros locking TOM bridge with string-thru-body, and a set of direct-mount Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker active pickups with black nickel covers. The new LTD Deluxe EC-1000 in See Thru Purple Sunburst offers 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, and a set of EMG 60TW-R (neck) and EMG 81 (bridge) pickups. The LTD Deluxe EC-1000T CTM EverTune has a traditional full-thickness body, custom multi-ply binding on the guitar’s front and back, and the EverTune constant tension bridge system. It also features Fishman Fluence Classic Humbucker pickups and 22 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets.
The new LTD Deluxe EC-1000T CTM in Violet Shadow has a gorgeous flamed maple top, traditional thickness body and multi-ply binding. This guitar includes a set of direct-mount Fishman Fluence Open Core Classic Humbucker pickups with multiple voicings, 22 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, and a TonePro locking TOM bridge and tailpiece. The LTD Deluxe EC-1000T CTM in Charcoal Burst combines an elegant quilted maple top and a traditional full-thickness mahogany body (with no waist cut). It features a TonePros locking TOM bridge and tailpiece, matching headstock finish, 22 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, and a set of direct-mount Fishman Fluence Open Core Classic Humbucker pickups. Another new EC Series guitar is the LTD Deluxe EC-1000T CTM Vintage Gold Satin, which features a traditional full-thickness mahogany body, multi-ply binding, a TonePros locking TOM bridge and tailpiece, 22 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, and a set of direct-mount Fishman Fluence Open Core Classic Humbucker pickups with multiple voicings. Finally, a more affordable version of the EC Series has been announced with the LTD EC-201, which offers set-neck construction, 24 extra-jumbo frets, and a single ESP LH-150B pickup with antique nickel cover, which can be split for single-coil sounds with a push-pull volume knob.
ESP’s EX Series has two new models for 2022. The LTD EX-7 Baritone Black Metal is a seven-string guitar at 27” baritone scale. It offers the Black Metal design theme of all-black finish, components, and hardware, and a Macassar ebony fingerboard with no inlays and glow-in-the-dark side markers. It features a set-thru maple neck, 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, a TonePros locking bridge and tailpiece, and a single direct-mount EMG 81-7H pickup with black logo. The LTD EX-201 is an affordable way to get into the extreme EX shape, and offers a reverse matching headstock and a single direct-mount ESP LH-150B pickup with antique nickel cover, which can be split for single-coil sounds with a push pull volume knob. A high output pickup, the LH-150B is great for rock and metal, and has an antique nickel cover. ESP also made an addition to their F Series with the LTD Deluxe F-1001, which comes in the multihued, iridescent Violet Andromeda Satin finish. It features set-thru construction, an extra-thin maple neck that has a compound radius for maximum speed and comfort, 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, a Floyd Rose 1000SE bridge with stainless steel screws, and a single direct-mount EMG 81TW active pickup with a brushed black chrome cover.
New models in the H Series and H3 Series include the new LTD Deluxe H-1000 EverTune in See Thru Purple Sunburst, featuring the EverTune constant tension bridge, 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, and a set of Fishman Fluence Modern Humbuckers. Available in Snow White finish, the LTD Deluxe H3-1000FR has an extra-thin maple neck with a compound radius, 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, a Floyd Rose 1000SE bridge with stainless steel screws, and EMG 66TW (neck) and EMG 57 (bridge) pickups in brushed gold covers. The LTD Deluxe H3-1000 in See Thru Black Cherry has a quilted maple top, and features a compound neck radius, 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, a TonePros locking TOM bridge with string-thru-body, and a set of direct-mount Seymour Duncan Sentient (neck) and Pegasus (bridge) pickups. The LTD Deluxe H3-1007 Baritone is a 7-string, 27” baritone scale extended range guitar with a flamed maple top in See Thru Black Sunburst finish. It includes a set of direct-mount Seymour Duncan Sentient (neck) and Pegasus (bridge) pickups.
ESP has added new finishes for its popular ’87 Series guitars. The LTD M-1 Custom ’87 offers neck-thru body construction, a top-mounted Floyd Rose 1000 bridge, a single Seymour Duncan Distortion TB-6 pickup with a push-pull control for coil splitting, and an EMG PA-2 boost switch for when you need that extra push of raw power. For 2022, it is being made available in Dark Metallic Purple and Metallic Gold finishes. The LTD Mirage Deluxe ’87 features a Floyd Rose 1000 bridge and a pickup set that includes a Seymour Duncan Distortion TB-6 in the bridge and Hot Rail single coil in the neck. Its new finishes for 2022 include Snow White and Metallic Gold.
Available in Black Satin finish, the LTD Deluxe MH-1000 Baritone offers the extended range of a 27” baritone scale. It features neck-thru-body construction, a compound neck radius, 24 extra jumbo stainless steel frets, a TonePros locking TOM bridge with string-thru-body, and direct-mount EMG 81 and EMG 60TW-R pickups with brushed black chrome covers. The LTD Deluxe MH-1000 comes in the beautiful new Black Ocean finish on its quilted maple top, and includes 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, a Floyd Rose 1000SE bridge with stainless steel screws, and a set of direct-mount Fishman Fluence Modern Humbuckers with brushed stainless steel covers.
Three new models are being added to the Phoenix Series. The LTD Phoenix-7 Baritone Black Metal is an extended-range version of the Phoenix with seven strings and 27” baritone scale. It features neck-thru body construction, a Fishman Modern 7-String Humbucker pickup, and 22 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, and a TonePros locking TOM bridge with string-thru-body. The LTD Deluxe Phoenix-1000 EverTune is the first Phoenix model to offer the EverTune constant tension bridge. Finished in Silver Sunburst Satin, it features neck-thru-body construction, 22 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, and a set of Fishman Fluence Modern Humbuckers with black nickel covers. The LTD Deluxe Phoenix-1000 has a quilted maple top in a See Thru Black Sunburst finish. Features include neck-thru-body construction, a reversed headstock with matching finish, 22 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, a TonePros locking TOM bridge and tailpiece, and a set of Seymour Duncan Phat Cat (neck) and Custom (bridge) pickups.
The SN Series is expanding with four new models. The LTD Deluxe SN-1000 EverTune is the first SN Series guitar to include the innovative EverTune constant tension bridge. Available in Charcoal Metallic Satin finish, it comes in an H/S/S pickup configuration with two Seymour Duncan Hot Strat single coils in the neck and middle positions, and a high-output Pegasus in the bridge. Other features include a roasted maple neck with compound radius, 22 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets (scalloped from frets 17-24), a matching-finish headstock, and a special mini toggle switch (same as found on the ESP Snapper models) provides even more tonal options. The LTD Deluxe SN-1007 Baritone HT is the first SN Series model with the extended range of seven strings and a 27” baritone scale. Offered in the textured Black Blast finish, it has a roasted maple neck with a compound radius, 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets (scalloped from frets 17-24), a black bone nut, a Hipshot hardtail bridge with string thru body, and a set of Fishman Fluence Modern Humbuckers.
The LTD Deluxe SN-1000HT Fire Blast has a textured, sandblasted Fire Blast finish over a swamp ash body, a roasted maple neck with a compound radius, 22 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, a black bone nut, a Hipshot hardtail bridge with string thru body, and a set of Fishman Fluence Modern Humbuckers. The LTD Deluxe SN-1000FR (Snow White finish) includes a double-locking Floyd Rose 1000SE bridge with stainless steel screws, a roasted maple neck with a compound radius, 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets (scalloped from frets 17-24), a matching-finish headstock, and an H/S/S pickup configuration with two Fishman Fluence Single Width pickups in the neck and middle positions and a Fishman Fluence Classic Humbucker in the bridge.
Three new models are also joining the TE Series. The LTD Deluxe TE-1000 Snow White offers set-thru construction, 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, a Hipshot hardtail bridge with string thru body, and a set of Fishman Fluence Modern Humbuckers. Two new lower-priced TE models join the series with the LTD TE-200 (Black finish, LTD fixed bridge with string-thru-body and a set of ESP LH-150 pickups) and the LTD TE-201 (Black Satin finish, LTD fixed bridge with string-thru-body, and a single ESP LH-150B pickup with antique nickel cover).
A new finish comes to the LTD TL-6. Now in Purple Sparkle Burst, the TL-6 is a chambered transducer electric guitar with a Graphtech NuBone-XB nut and saddle, a Fishman SONICORE pickup, and TL-3 preamp with onboard tuner.
Finally, three new guitars have been added to the Viper Series. The LTD Deluxe Viper-1000 Baritone is a 27” baritone scale guitar with 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, a TonePros locking TOM bridge and tailpiece, and a set of EMG 60TW-R (neck) and EMG 81 (bridge) pickups. The LTD Deluxe Viper-1000 EverTune includes the innovative EverTune constant tension bridge, 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, and a set of EMG 60TW-R (neck) and EMG 81 (bridge) pickups. The LTD Deluxe Viper-1000M offers a mahogany body in See Thru Black Cherry finish, 24 extra-jumbo stainless steel frets, a TonePros locking TOM bridge with string-thru-body, and a set of direct-mount Fishman Open Core Humbucker pickups.
Detailed information and specifications for all “New for 2022” ESP and LTD guitar models is available at the ESP web site at espguitars.com
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“Practice Loud”! How Duane Denison Preps for a New Jesus Lizard Record
After 26 years, the seminal noisy rockers return to the studio to create Rack, a master class of pummeling, machine-like grooves, raving vocals, and knotty, dissonant, and incisive guitar mayhem.
The last time the Jesus Lizard released an album, the world was different. The year was 1998: Most people counted themselves lucky to have a cell phone, Seinfeld finished its final season, Total Request Live was just hitting MTV, and among the year’s No. 1 albums were Dave Matthews Band’s Before These Crowded Streets, Beastie Boys’ Hello Nasty, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Korn’s Follow the Leader, and the Armageddonsoundtrack. These were the early days of mp3 culture—Napster didn’t come along until 1999—so if you wanted to hear those albums, you’d have to go to the store and buy a copy.
The Jesus Lizard’s sixth album, Blue, served as the band’s final statement from the frontlines of noisy rock for the next 26 years. By the time of their dissolution in 1999, they’d earned a reputation for extreme performances chock full of hard-hitting, machine-like grooves delivered by bassist David Wm. Sims and, at their conclusion, drummer Mac McNeilly, at times aided and at other times punctured by the frontline of guitarist Duane Denison’s incisive, dissonant riffing, and presided over by the cantankerous howl of vocalist David Yow. In the years since, performative, thrilling bands such as Pissed Jeans, METZ, and Idles have built upon the Lizard’s musical foundation.
Denison has kept himself plenty busy over the last couple decades, forming the avant-rock supergroup Tomahawk—with vocalist Mike Patton, bassist Trevor Dunn (both from Mr. Bungle), and drummer John Stanier of Helmet—and alongside various other projects including Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers and Hank Williams III. The Jesus Lizard eventually reunited, but until now have only celebrated their catalog, never releasing new jams.
The Jesus Lizard, from left: bassist David Wm. Sims, singer David Yow, drummer Mac McNeilly, and guitarist Duane Denison.
Photo by Joshua Black Wilkins
Back in 2018, Denison, hanging in a hotel room with Yow, played a riff on his unplugged electric guitar that caught the singer’s ear. That song, called “West Side,” will remain unreleased for now, but Denison explains: “He said, ‘Wow, that’s really good. What is that?’ And I said, ‘It’s just some new thing. Why don’t we do an album?’” From those unassuming beginnings, the Jesus Lizard’s creative juices started flowing.
So, how does a band—especially one who so indelibly captured the ineffable energy of live rock performance—prepare to get a new record together 26 years after their last? Back in their earlier days, the members all lived together in a band house, collectively tending to the creative fire when inspiration struck. All these years later, they reside in different cities, so their process requires sending files back and forth and only meeting up for occasional demo sessions over the course of “three or four years.”
“When the time comes to get more in performance mode, I have a practice space. I go there by myself and crank it up. I turn that amp up and turn the metronome up and play loud.” —Duane Denison
the Jesus Lizard "Alexis Feels Sick"
Distance creates an obstacle to striking while the proverbial iron is hot, but Denison has a method to keep things energized: “Practice loud.” The guitarist professes the importance of practice, in general, and especially with a metronome. “We keep very detailed records of what the beats per minute of these songs are,” he explains. “To me, the way to do it is to run it to a Bluetooth speaker and crank it, and then crank your amp. I play a little at home, but when the time comes to get more in performance mode, I have a practice space. I go there by myself and crank it up. I turn that amp up and turn the metronome up and play loud.”
It’s a proven solution. On Rack—recorded at Patrick Carney’s Audio Eagle studio with producer Paul Allen—the band sound as vigorous as ever, proving they’ve not only remained in step with their younger selves, but they may have surpassed it with faders cranked. “Duane’s approach, both as a guitarist and writer, has an angular and menacing fingerprint that is his own unique style,” explains Allen. “The conviction in his playing that he is known for from his recordings in the ’80s and ’90s is still 100-percent intact and still driving full throttle today.”
“I try to be really, really precise,” he says. “I think we all do when it comes to the basic tracks, especially the rhythm parts. The band has always been this machine-like thing.” Together, they build a tension with Yow’s careening voice. “The vocals tend to be all over the place—in and out of tune, in and out of time,” he points out. “You’ve got this very free thing moving around in the foreground, and then you’ve got this very precise, detailed band playing behind it. That’s why it works.”
Before Rack, the Jesus Lizard hadn’t released a new record since 1998’s Blue.
Denison’s guitar also serves as the foreground foil to Yow’s unhinged raving, as on “Alexis Feels Sick,” where they form a demented harmony, or on the midnight creep of “What If,” where his vibrato-laden melodies bolster the singer’s unsettled, maniacal display. As precise as his riffs might be, his playing doesn’t stay strictly on the grid. On the slow, skulking “Armistice Day,” his percussive chording goes off the rails, giving way to a solo that slices that groove like a chef’s knife through warm butter as he reorganizes rock ’n’ roll histrionics into his own cut-up vocabulary.
“During recording sessions, his first solo takes are usually what we decide to keep,” explains Allen. “Listen to Duane’s guitar solos on Jack White’s ‘Morning, Noon, and Night,’ Tomahawk’s ‘Fatback,’ and ‘Grind’ off Rack. There’s a common ‘contained chaos’ thread among them that sounds like a harmonic Rubik’s cube that could only be solved by Duane.”
“Duane’s approach, both as a guitarist and writer, has an angular and menacing fingerprint that is his own unique style.” —Rack producer Paul Allen
To encapsulate just the right amount of intensity, “I don’t over practice everything,” the guitarist says. Instead, once he’s created a part, “I set it aside and don’t wear it out.” On Rack, it’s obvious not a single kilowatt of musical energy was lost in the rehearsal process.
Denison issues his noisy masterclass with assertive, overdriven tones supporting his dissonant voicings like barbed wire on top of an electric fence. The occasional application of slapback delay adds a threatening aura to his exacting riffage. His tones were just as carefully crafted as the parts he plays, and he relied mostly on his signature Electrical Guitar Company Chessie for the sessions, though a Fender Uptown Strat also appears, as well as a Taylor T5Z, which he chose for its “cleaner, hyper-articulated sound” on “Swan the Dog.” Though he’s been spotted at recent Jesus Lizard shows with a brand-new Powers Electric—he points out he played a demo model and says, “I just couldn’t let go of it,” so he ordered his own—that wasn’t until tracking was complete.
Duane Denison's Gear
Denison wields his Powers Electric at the Blue Room in Nashville last June.
Photo by Doug Coombe
Guitars
- Electrical Guitar Company Chessie
- Fender Uptown Strat
- Taylor T5Z
- Gibson ES-135
- Powers Electric
Amps
- Hiwatt Little J
- Hiwatt 2x12 cab with Fane F75 speakers
- Fender Super-Sonic combo
- Early ’60s Fender Bassman
- Marshall 1987X Plexi Reissue
- Victory Super Sheriff head
- Blackstar HT Stage 60—2 combos in stereo with Celestion Neo Creamback speakers and Mullard tubes
Effects
- Line 6 Helix
- Mantic Flex Pro
- TC Electronic G-Force
- Menatone Red Snapper
Strings and Picks
- Stringjoy Orbiters .0105 and .011 sets
- Dunlop celluloid white medium
- Sun Studios yellow picks
He ran through various amps—Marshalls, a Fender Bassman, two Fender Super-Sonic combos, and a Hiwatt Little J—at Audio Eagle. Live, if he’s not on backline gear, you’ll catch him mostly using 60-watt Blackstar HT Stage 60s loaded with Celestion Neo Creambacks. And while some boxes were stomped, he got most of his effects from a Line 6 Helix. “All of those sounds [in the Helix] are modeled on analog sounds, and you can tweak them endlessly,” he explains. “It’s just so practical and easy.”
The tools have only changed slightly since the band’s earlier days, when he favored Travis Beans and Hiwatts. Though he’s started to prefer higher gain sounds, Allen points out that “his guitar sound has always had teeth with a slightly bright sheen, and still does.”
“Honestly, I don’t think my tone has changed much over the past 30-something years,” Denison says. “I tend to favor a brighter, sharper sound with articulation. Someone sent me a video I had never seen of myself playing in the ’80s. I had a band called Cargo Cult in Austin, Texas. What struck me about it is it didn’t sound terribly different than what I sound like right now as far as the guitar sound and the approach. I don’t know what that tells you—I’m consistent?”
YouTube It
The Jesus Lizard take off at Nashville’s Blue Room this past June with “Hide & Seek” from Rack.
Metallica's M72 World Tour will be extended into a third year with 21 North American shows spanning April, May, and June 2025.
The M72 World Tour’s 2025 itinerary will continue the hallowed No Repeat Weekend tradition, with each night of the two-show stands featuring entirely different setlists and support lineups. These will include the band’s first Nashville shows in five years on May 1 and 3 at Nissan Stadium, as well as Metallica’s return to Tampa after 15 years on June 6 and 8 at Raymond James Stadium. M72 has also confirmed its much anticipated Bay Area hometown play, to take place June 20 and 22 with the band’s debut performances at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.
In a new twist, M72 2025 will feature several single shows bringing the tour’s full production, with its massive in-the-round stage, to venues including two college football stadiums: JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, New York on April 19, and Metallica's first ever visit to Blacksburg, Virginia, home of the Virginia Tech Hokies. The May 7 show at Lane Stadium will mark the culmination of 20+ years of “Enter Sandman” playing as the Hokies take the field.
In addition to playing football stadiums across the nation, the M72 World Tour’s 2025 itinerary will also include two festival headlines—the first being the opening night of the run April 12 at Sick New World at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds. May 9 and 11 will then mark a festival/No Repeat Weekend combo as Metallica plays two headline sets at Sonic Temple at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
Support on M72’s 2025 North American run will come from Pantera, Limp Bizkit, Suicidal Tendencies and Ice Nine Kills. See below for specifics.
Additionally, M72 2025 will see Metallica’s long-awaited return to Australia and New Zealand.
M72’s 2025 North American leg is produced by Live Nation and presented by new sponsor inKind. inKind rewards diners with special offers and credit back when they use the app to pay at 2,000+ top-rated restaurants nationwide. The company provides innovative financing to participating restaurants in a way that enables new levels of sustainability and success. Metallica fans can learn more at inkind.com.
Citi is the official card of the M72 tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning Tuesday, September 24 at 10am local time until Thursday, September 26 at 10pm local time through the Citi Entertainment program.
Verizon will offer an exclusive presale for the M72 tour in the U.S through Verizon Access, just for being a customer. Verizon Access Presale tickets for select shows will begin Tuesday, September 24 at 10am local time until Thursday, September 26 at 10pm local time.
* Citi and Verizon presales will not be available for Sick New World, Sonic Temple or the Toronto dates. Verizon presale will not be available for the Nashville, Blacksburg or Landover shows.
As always, a portion of proceeds from every ticket sold will go to local charities via the band’s All Within My Hands foundation. Established in 2017 as a way to give back to communities that have supported Metallica over the years, All Within My Hands has raised over $15 million – providing $8.2 million in grants to career and technical education programs including the ground-breaking Metallica Scholars Initiative, now in its sixth year, over $3.6 million to combat food insecurity, more than $3.5 million to disaster relief efforts.
For more information, please visit metallica.com.
Metallica M72 North America 2025 Tour Dates
April 12 Las Vegas, NV Sick New World @ Las Vegas Festival Grounds
April 19 Syracuse, NY JMA Wireless Dome *
April 24 Toronto, ON Rogers Centre *
April 26 Toronto, ON Rogers Centre +
May 1 Nashville, TN Nissan Stadium *
May 3 Nashville, TN Nissan Stadium +
May 7 Blacksburg, VA Lane Stadium *
May 9 Columbus, OH Sonic Temple @ Historic Crew Stadium
May 11 Columbus, OH Sonic Temple @ Historic Crew Stadium
May 23 Philadelphia, PA Lincoln Financial Field +
May 25 Philadelphia, PA Lincoln Financial Field *
May 28 Landover, MD Northwest Stadium *
May 31 Charlotte, NC Bank of America Stadium *
June 3 Atlanta, GA Mercedes-Benz Stadium *
June 6 Tampa, FL Raymond James Stadium +
June 8 Tampa, FL Raymond James Stadium *
June 14 Houston, TX NRG Stadium *
June 20 Santa Clara, CA Levi's Stadium +
June 22 Santa Clara, CA Levi's Stadium *
June 27 Denver, CO Empower Field at Mile High +
June 29 Denver, CO Empower Field at Mile High *
* Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies support
+ Limp Bizkit and Ice Nine Kills supp
Fender’s Jack White Collection dropped this week, and it includes what might be the most exciting tube amp design in decades. Fender’s Stan Cotey shares some firsthand insight into this unique amp’s design.
This week, Fender and Jack White dropped a new line that spun heads across the guitar-gear universe, proving that the Third Man’s brain knows no bounds. White has been blowing minds with Third Man Hardware’s line of collaboratively conceived gear. Working with makers of all sizes, each yellow-and-black piece is as unique as White himself.
Hooking up with Fender for the Jack White Signature Collection—which includes the Signature model hot-rod Jack White TripleCaster Telecaster and the stunning Jack White TripleSonic Acoustasonic—is as big as it gets, and this week’s announcement is proportionately epic.
The all-new Jack White Pano Verb amp looks to be one of the most forward-thinking advances in tube amps we’ve seen in … well, a very long time! Although it’s roughly inspired by three vintage Fender models—a 1964 Vibroverb, a 1960 Vibrasonic, and a 1993 Vibro-King—the Pano Verb is a rare all-new design that is poised to thrill. The single-channel stereo amp delivers 70 watts of combined power and features stereo harmonic tremolo and stereo reverb circuits, with unique routing options through the hip pair of 15" and 10" speakers. If you haven’t checked out Fender’s video announcing the amp, prepare to have your mind blown by the possibilities.
“It wasn’t based on what we could or couldn’t do, or what even was or wasn’t possible. It was just what Jack was looking to accomplish.”
Fender Vice President of Research and Development Stan Cotey, who worked closely with White to develop the prototypes for the Pano Verb, says, “There were no restrictions as far as how wild something could be. It wasn’t based on what we could or couldn’t do or what even was or wasn’t possible. It was just what Jack was looking to accomplish.” Putting those goals into action was a kick for Cotey. “I love the fact that we’re still pushing the idea of vacuum tubes and that there are things remaining to be done,” he says. “And [the Pano Verb] is a really crazy thing. It’s fun when one of the larger companies tackles a big crazy thing and releases it in a bold manner.”
We rang up Cotey to get the scoop on designing the amp as we wait to get our hands on one.
Cotey calls the Pano Verb “a really crazy thing,” and says, “It’s fun when one of the larger companies tackles a big crazy thing and releases it in a bold manner.”
The Pano Verb has a refreshingly unique and adventurous set of features.
Stan Cotey: There’s two separate power amps, there’s two separate preamps, there’s a reverb circuit. There are two separate harmonic vibrato circuits. There’s two full, separate amps in it—there’s one power supply, but everything else, there’s at least two of.
There are several different kinds of stereo interaction that could happen. The harmonic vibrato could be stereo. The reverb, even though it’s a mono tank, could be steered to the speakers differently, which kind of gives a stereo-imaging thing. So, that opens up myriad possibilities for how things could work.
How involved was Jack in the design?
Cotey: He was completely hardcore. He cared in great detail, exactly down to fine decimal points, how it worked. He was very particular about the voicing. He was very particular about the features he knew. He’s pretty studio savvy, so he had a sense of routing, how he wanted the stereo interaction of the sections to work together. He very much had an idea of stereo-ness for the amp at the outset of it. He talked early on about miking both speakers and panning them—he wanted to be able to do sort of startling things with each speaker’s content.
I think my role was to take the stuff that he wanted to do and figure out how we could do it. So, the stereo-ness of the amp, the 10" speaker versus the 15" speaker, the routing stuff you could do where the reverb goes to one speaker or both, all that stuff came from Jack.
Jack’s Vibrasonic was a touchstone for the Pano Verb.
Cotey: That amp lived with me for quite a while. He knew that he liked the harmonic tremolo.
The stereo harmonic tremolo, that’s a fairly part-intensive circuit, even in a normal brown amp. In this amp, there’s two full circuits in it, so it is literally double the parts of one of the more complicated earlier ’60s amps, just for that part of the amp. I worked out how that works. That’s two harmonic tremolos that are in sync, but opposite polarity. So, when one’s going up, the other is going down, and vice versa.
Stan Cotey is Fender’s Vice President of Guitar Research and Development and worked with White to design the prototypes for the Pano Verb.
The reverb mix on the Pano Verb is rooted in some vintage designs, but it’s handled a little differently here.
Cotey: In the video, he talked about the reverb tank in front of the amp, which forms the Vibro-King, and that he liked the idea. I think he liked the idea of having a more comprehensive, dedicated reverb circuit in an amp, not where it’s just kind of spread on the top, like margarine or something.
In a traditional Fender amp, there’s a feed that comes off the preamp circuit that goes to a driver, which is a tube and a little transformer, and that drives the reverb tank. Then, the output of the reverb tank goes into a recovery amp, a little gain stage with a tube, and that gets mixed with the output of the channel and shoved into the power amp. So, the reverb kind of occurs between the preamp and the power amp. It largely takes the tonality of the preamp on because the tone controls are upstream of it.
Jack has an old Fender amp from the early ’60s that had reverb added. I don’t know who modified it, but they actually used the second channel of the amp as the reverb return, which I think is really super clever. Then you get tone controls for the reverb. So that’s where that idea came from. He didn’t necessarily want the reverb circuit in front. He liked it between the preamp and the power amp, but he wanted to have it be more comprehensive than what would be on a typical mid-’60s Fender amplifier.
What was the most exciting feature for you to create?
The stereo harmonic tremolo was really fun, and the journey that we went on to get there was really cool. I have a tweed amp from the late ’50s from Guild that has tremolo in it, and it’s a stereo amp. It has two separate everythings. The tremolo only works on one side, and that gives the apparent sound that it’s kind of going back and forth between the speakers. We tried having just the harmonic tremolo on one side of this, and it really wanted to have two complete full circuits. So that was one of the changes that got made.
Getting the power amps to work well together was fun too. That was more about transformer and tube selection and working the power supply parts out, getting the amps where they would distort in the right way at the right times or right level. But the harmonic tremolo was definitely the elephant dancing on the bucket with the streamers going off.
Beetronics FX Tuna Fuzz pedal offers vintage-style fuzz in a quirky tuna can enclosure.
With a single "Stinker" knob for volume control and adjustable fuzz gain from your guitar's volume knob, this pedal is both unique and versatile.
"The unique tuna can format embodies the creative spirit that has always been the heart of Beetronics, but don’t let the unusual package fool you: the Tuna Fuzz is a serious pedal with great tone. It offers a preset level of vintage-style fuzz in a super simple single-knob format. Its “Stinker” knob controls the amount of volume boost. You can control the amount of fuzz with your guitar’s volume knob, and the Tuna Fuzz cleans up amazingly well when you roll back the volume on your guitar. To top it off, Beetronics has added a cool Tunabee design on the PCB, visible through the plastic back cover."
The Tuna Fuzz draws inspiration from Beetronics founder Filipe's early days of tinkering, when limitedfunds led him to repurpose tuna cans as pedal enclosures. Filipe even shared his ingenuity by teachingclasses in Brazil, showing kids how to build pedals using these unconventional housings. Although Filipe eventually stopped making pedals with tuna cans, the early units were a hit on social media whenever photos were posted.
Tuna Fuzz features include:
- Single knob control – “Stinker” – for controlling output volume
- Preset fuzz gain, adjustable from your guitar’s volume knob
- 9-volt DC operation using standard external power supply – no battery compartment
- True bypass switching
One of the goals of this project was to offer an affordable price so that everyone could own a Beetronicspedal. For that reason, the pedal will be sold exclusively on beetronicsfx.com for a sweet $99.99.
For more information, please visit beetronicsfx.com.