The California Mini Series consists of the Redondo Mini and the Sonoran Mini each packing a big punch into a smaller-sized acoustic guitar. Delivering the tone of a full-sized guitar, they come with premium features such as a walnut fingerboard and bridge, Nubone nut and saddle, and a satin finish.
The new California Mini guitar packs a big punch into a smaller-sized acoustic guitar. Whether you're a young, aspiring player looking for a smaller instrument or simply looking for a top-notch guitar that's easy to travel with, the Sonoran Mini and Redondo Mini guitars have you covered. Delivering the tone of a full sized guitar, they come with premium features such as a walnut fingerboard and bridge, Nubone nut and saddle and a satin finish. Like all models in the California series, these mini guitars have the 6-in-line Strat headstock inspired by Fender's electric legacy. Available September 2021.
Redondo Mini
The Redondo Mini packs a big punch into a smaller sized acoustic guitar. Featuring a spruce top paired with mahogany back and sides, this guitar has a 22 3⁄4" scale length, but delivers the tone of a full-sized guitar. Like all models in the California Series, the Redondo Mini features a 6-in-line Strat® headstock inspired by Fender's electric legacy. Other premium features include a walnut fingerboard and bridge, Nubone nut and saddle. Whether you're a young, aspiring player looking for a smaller instrument, or simply looking for a top-notch guitar that's easy to travel with, the Redondo Mini has you covered.
Features
- 22 3⁄4" scale length
- 6-in-line Strat headstock
- Walnut fingerboard and bridge
- Nubone nut and saddle
- Gig bag included
FINISH OPTIONS
The Redondo Mini is offered in Sunburst and Natural.
PRICE
$199.99 USD, £179.99 GBP, €199.99 EUR, $399 AUD, ¥27,500 JPY
Exploring The California Mini Acoustics Series | Fender Acoustics | Fender
SONORAN MINI
The Sonoran Mini packs a big punch into a smaller sized acoustic guitar. Featuring the choice of a spruce or mahogany top paired with mahogany back and sides, this guitar has a 23.3" scale length, but delivers the tone of a full-sized guitar. Like all models in the California Series, the Sonoran Mini features a 6-in-line Strat headstock inspired by Fender's electric legacy. Other premium features include a walnut fingerboard and bridge, and Nubone nut and saddle. Whether you're a young, aspiring player looking for a smaller instrument, or simply looking for a top-notch guitar that's easy to travel with, the Sonoran Mini has you covered.
Features
• 23.3" scalelength
• 6-in-line Strat headstock
• Walnut fingerboard and bridge
• Nubone nut and saddle
• Gig bag included
FINISH OPTIONS
The Sonoran Mini is offered in All Mahogany and Natural.
PRICE
$199.99 USD, £179.99 GBP, €199.99 EUR, $399 AUD, ¥27,500 JPY
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I used to not care about using a compressor—unless I was in the studio and wanted to add a little zazz to a solo. The additional sustain and tightly focused mids that a compressor helped me achieve were inspiring. Eventually, I began to wonder if a compressor would help give my guitar the tone and response I typically enjoyed at louder stage volumes in smaller, quieter rooms. As I began hunting for a compressor for those gigs, I ran across the original, now discontinued, Origin Effects Cali76 Compact Deluxe. I was intrigued by its, um, origin.
The Cali76’s circuitry was inspired by the famed Urei 1176 outboard compressor, which has lived in the racks of some of the world’s finest studios and appeared on recordings by well, just about everyone. Although I was skeptical that so much squeeze-ability could fit in a 5 1/2" x 3" x 2" enclosure, the FET-based device proved to be a star—not only on my low-volume-gig board, but among many players in the world at large. Today, the Cali76 is recognized for getting about as close to a vintage rackmount 1176 as a stompbox gets.
Reduxed and Revamped
Over the years, the U.K.-made Cali76 has seen other iterations, but this new version is notably smaller—not nano- or mini-sized, but roughly the same size as a Boss pedal. The enclosure’s bedrock quality is the same as earlier Cali76s—a gleaming brick of brushed steel with six sturdy control dials that feels like it could be dropped from space and survive the impact. The controls remain dry, out, in, ratio, attack, and release. The dry function is crucial for tone hunters. It allows you to blend your guitar’s compressed and unprocessed signal—a technique often called parallel compression started at Motown for recording vocals that had a renaissance in New York City mix studios in the ’90s. There’s also a 9V DC input (sorry batteries, but you haven’t got the muscle or the room), a 200 mA draw, a solid and smooth on/off switch, and the usual mono in and out.
But the new, all-analog Cali76 FET Compressor also features a few important upgrades. The single flashing jewel light of previous models has been replaced with a 10-LED gain reduction meter, arranged in linear fashion, to present a more precise illustration of compression level as well as the duration and intensity of the gain reduction. There’s also a lot more headroom: The 9 volts flowing into the new pedal are increased internally to 24 volts, so you can let it rip while keeping your tone natural, responsive, and focused.
Side by Side
I thought it would be fun to place the Cali76 FET Compressor and its older sibling together in my pedal chain, after some overdrives and fuzzes, and before some delays and a trail-heavy reverb. Although both pedals functioned essentially the same, the more precise 10-LED meter was an immediate improvement over the flashing red (no compression), orange (activated compression), and yellow (heading toward maximum compression) colors of the single jewel light on my old Cali76 Compact Deluxe, which I’ve found confusing for its rapid changes of hue, as well as less-effective performance on colorfully lighted stages.
With its ability to internally step 9 volts up to 24, the extra headroom makes the new Cali76 FET sound much more organic and more like my guitar’s pure tone, and I even hear and feelimproved response to picking dynamics at low volume, which you don't always expect from a compressor. Tone is enhanced across the EQ spectrum. I heard richer mids and trebles and more sparkling presence than in my Compact Deluxe. I also heard more-singing sustain than with my older compressor engaged. It’s quite nice, but whether you prefer the potentially darker tone of the elder unit to the transparency of the new one is a matter of taste.
The rest of the control set still does exactly what you’d expect, and very well at that. The “in” dial increases the incoming signal and amount of compression, while the attack dial changes the setting from slow to fast by moving clockwise. Slow equals percussive and bright, while a fast attack time setting lets the compressor grab transients early on, making for a smooth, less percussive, and aurally soothing attack, which I prefer. Likewise, slower settings on the release dial provide more sustain. And the ratio control adjusts the amount of gain reduction on the compressed signal, ranging from a minimum ratio of 4:1 and a maximum of 20:1.
The Verdict
If you’ve never played with a studio compressor, you might experience a sharper learning curve with the Cali76 FET than with, say, a more affordable MXR Dyna Comp or Keeley 2-knob device. But if it fits your budget, it’s worth exploring the rich, complex, and essentially organic sounds that the new Cali76 FET Compressor can achieve.
Epiphone’s Joe Bonamassa 1955 Les Paul Standard features the same Copper Iridescent color, a pair of Epiphone P-90 PRO pickups wired to CTS potentiometers and Mallory capacitors, a Custom ’59 Rounded C neck profile, a long neck tenon, and a “Nerdville” graphic hardshell case. This Epiphone 1955 Les Paul Standard is a passionate testament to Bonamassa’s unwavering commitment to the blues and its profound influence on his music.
The Epiphone Joe Bonamassa 1955 Les Paul Standard release is a nod to a pivotal period in the evolution of the Gibson Les Paul, in a finish guaranteed to turn heads. Whether you’re a Joe Bonamassa fan, a Les Paul enthusiast, or a musician seeking an instrument that stands out in both tone and appearance, the Joe Bonamassa 1955 Les Paul Standard is the perfect addition to your collection.
This partnership with Epiphone celebrates the timeless synergy between the brand and Joe’s musical trajectory. Joe’s latest release Live At The Hollywood Bowl immortalizes Joe's first-ever performance at the iconic Hollywood Bowl in August 2023. Accompanied by an impressive ensemble of 40 orchestra members, Bonamassa delivered an unforgettable performance. Live At The Hollywood Bowl With Orchestra showcases Bonamassa’s virtuosic blend of blues and rock, but also elevates fan-favorite tracks with grandiose orchestral arrangements by some of Hollywood's finest – David Campbell, Trevor Rabin, and Jeff Bova. “Very few gigs represent my journey in music more than the Hollywood Bowl. I moved to Los Angeles in 2003 in search of opportunity and cheaper rent than New York City. My first gig at The Mint was attended by 5 of my friends. We have played The Greek Theatre many times since, but the Bowl has always been a dream. The orchestra and the sheer scale of the event and venue are something I will never forget. I am so grateful that we filmed this special event in my life,” reminisces Bonamassa.
For more information, please visit epiphone.com.
Joe Bonamassa Introduces the Epiphone 1955 Les Paul Standard - YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.Epiphone Joe Bonamassa 1955 Les Paul Standard Electric Guitar - Copper Iridescent
