
The new models will be available in 6-, 7-, and 8-string versions.
Oakland, ME (March 27, 2015) -- Following the Oakland Axe Factory SS8 and SS7 models, the new headless guitar model, Falcon, is available with the same open selection as aforementioned models, which lets players put together their own ideal version of the instrument.
The goal behind the Falcon was to make a guitar that pushes the boundaries, yet feels familiar and comfortable, with a sleek shallow C-profile neck. With deep contours and rounded edges on the back, and a radiused top on the front, you won't feel any hard edges where the guitar meets your body or your forearm. With a belly cut that hugs your chest, unprecedented upper fret access, and perfect balance both when sitting and standing up, the compact and practically sized Falcon will be an excellent instrument for recording artists and touring musicians alike!
7-String Features:
- 26.5" scale, 20" fretboard radius. Dual acting truss rod.
- Your choice between several body, neck, and fretboard woods.
- Your choice between flamed or quilted maple radiused tops.
- Pickups from DiMarzio, Bare Knuckle Pickups, Fishman Fluence series, Instrumental Pickups, and Elysian-tuned Aperture pickups.
- Simple and clean choice of electronics with optional kill-switch!
- Optional Carbon Fibre reinforcement rods in the neck.
- Misc. Options like hardware and pickup colours, gig bag, straplocks, etc!
To launch of the Falcon, we are offering a limited discounted run of 21 guitars, starting off with the 7-string model with a discounted base price of $1799.
Watch the company's video demo:
For more information:
Oakland Axe Factory
This is perhaps the most rare Iwase guitar: one volume, one tone, and a quality adjustable bridge, plus a raised pickguard and some beautiful shading on the burst.
A 6-string found in the workshop of the late luthier Yukichi Iwase may be the only one of these small, nearly full-scale guitars. Our columnist tells the story.
Iāve been thinking a lot about snowflakes lately. We are getting some snowy weather up my way, but thereās a few other items rattling around in my mind. Like, I just got a car for my daughter (thanks to those who bought guitars from me recently), and itās so freakinā cool. I bought her a Mini Cooper, and this thing is so rad! I was doing research on these models, and each one is sorta different as far as colors, racing stripes, wheels, etc. Her friends say she has a āmain characterā car, but youāll probably have to ask a teenager whatthat means.
And then my mind wandered to my college days, when I was an English major. I got to read and write every day, and I thought I was getting good at it until a professor raked me over the proverbial coals for using the word āuniqueā incorrectly when describing a local bandās sound. He really tore me up, because if I describe something as unique, it should be like none otherālike a snowflake.
So, what about guitars? Is a custom-shop model unique if it has the same pickups and same scale as many others? Even if the body is shaped differently? Seriously, that professor would hand you your butt because, in his mind, you didnāt just choose words unless you understood their real meaning. Consider the super-rare Teisco T-60 ⦠the model that Glen Campbell loved and played for much of his early career. I know of only four in existence. There are some Japanese collectors who own hundreds of guitars but donāt have a T-60. Does that make the T-60 unique, or simply rare? I mean, they were all hand-made and featured that original hole-in-the-body āmonkey gripā ⦠but unique? Talk amongst yourselves for a hot minute.
āIn my waning days of collecting, I just want to have Voice stuff, because I met Iwase and connected with him immediately.ā
I recently wrote about the passing of the great Japanese luthier Yukichi Iwase, whose small company (basically just him) produced some of the finest guitars and amps and carried the āVoiceā label. A friend in Japan, along with his daughters, were in the process of clearing out his old workshop, and Iāve been trying to acquire everything from it that I can. I used to collect just Teisco stuff, and then I had a passion for the old Intermark/Pleasant guitars. Then I wanted to get all the old Yamaha stuff I could find. But now, in my waning days of collecting, I just want to have Voice stuff, because I met Iwase and connected with him immediately. He was a peach, and, yes, he was unique. Aside from being one of the earliest employees of Tesico, he was a brilliant fellow who could make just about anything from scratch, including guitars and amps. Left in his workshop were a few unfinished T-60s, some pedal steels, some amps, a really cool bass, an unfinished double-neck guitar, and a tiny guitar that is also truly worthy of the term āunique.ā
āI know these pickups well enough to understand they are loud, crisp, and offer a full range of sounds,ā our columnist says.
The latter is a small powerhouse of a guitar. It has one of his amazing pickups that looks like a big block engine stuffed into an AMC Gremlin. He somehow squeezed out a 23" scale, but the rest of the guitar is like a childās 6-string or a travel guitar. I believe he only made one of these. The body design has an ocean-wave type of flow, and the guitar is very balanced and not hard on the eyes, even with the exaggerated features. One volume, one tone, and a quality adjustable bridge plus a raised pickguardāthe only time Iāve seen this design on his guitars. His finish work was really nice, too, and he was able to get some beautiful shading on the burst. The headstock has a figured overlay and the neck profile is so sweetācurved perfectly with some fine wood.
To me, it seems to have been built around 1966, based on the tuners he used. I donāt have the heart yet to plug this into an amp, but I know these pickups well enough to understand they are loud, crisp, and offer a full range of sounds. So, what do you think? Rare? Truly unique?
In this episode of 100 Guitarists, weāre talking all things surf rock, from reverb to tremolo picking and much more. And while āMisirlouā is undisputedly his most influential work, maybe Daleās best records didnāt come until a few decades later.
āAll the kids in all L.A. / Come to hear Dick Dale play,ā or so goes the title track from Dick Daleās Wrecking Crew-heavy 1963 album, King of the Surf Guitar. Immodest though it might seem to proclaim such a status, he was indeed at the top of the heap.
For many, Daleās legend precedes him. His sound, first heard in a So Cal beach ballroom, created the surf guitar vocabulary and transformed the guitar universe, starting with the 1962 release of his take on the traditional song āMisrlou.ā Ever the showman, he worked closely with Leo Fender developing the right gear for the gig as he played his ripping instrumentals to larger and larger audiences. He also inspired a Hendrix lyric and had a late-career renaissance thanks to Quentin Tarantino.
In this episode of 100 Guitarists, weāre talking all things surf rock, from reverb to tremolo picking and much more. And while āMisrlouā is undisputedly his most influential work, maybe Daleās best records didnāt come until a few decades later.
This episode is sponsored byTraveler Guitar.
Tetrarch, from left: Ryan Lerner, Diamond Rowe, Josh Fore, and Ruben Limas.
The heavy quartet, led by shredders Diamond Rowe and Josh Fore, returns with a second full-length that advances the nu-metal revival.
In ancient Rome, a tetrarch was one of four joint governors in one of four divisions in a country or province. Tetrarchy, as opposed to monarchy, represents shared governance. If there is any question as to which contemporary band can rule the borders and expand the boundaries of nu metal 25 years after its initial peak, Georgiaās Tetrarch might just hold the answer. Their latest release, The Ugly Side of Me, forms a uniquely unified musical front from four individuals who honor nu metalās foundations with colossal choruses and maniacal guitar riffs, while also infusing the source material with post-modern industrial aggression and a healthy dose of socially conscious lyrical honesty. The Ugly Side of Meis a creative tour de force that should affirm Tetrarchās status as one of nu metalās most potent contemporaries, particularly among the genreās faithful constituents.
Tetrarch was formed in Atlanta in 2007 by lead guitarist Diamond Rowe and lead vocalist/guitarist Josh Fore. As of 2025, the band is rounded out by bassist Ryan āDoomā Lerner and drummer Ruben Limas. Rowe and Fore initially played traditional metalcore before making a notable shift towards a more melodic sound on their independently released 2017 debut, Freak. Blending elements of nu metal and thrash, along with their metalcore influences, they honed in on a distinct sonic amalgamation and style, combining their signature creepy sounding guitar motifs with bone-crushing rhythms, melodic vocal melodies, and sub hooks.Unstable, released in 2021, drew greater comparisons to nu-metal progenitors like Slipknot and Korn, further entrenching Tetrarch within the hierarchy of that lineage.
Tetrarchās third album, The Ugly Side of Me, features massive, needle-sharp production co-helmed by renowned producer Dave Otero, along with Rowe and Fore, and boasts a deftly executed combination of unrelenting brutality and undeniable charisma. The ā90s-industrial-infused single āLive Not Fantasizeā is a real banger, featuring intense electronic flourishes, fast riffs, and Roweās dynamic, tantalizing guitar solos. An anthemic second single, āNever Again (Parasite),ā balances monstrous grooves and massive atmosphere with incisive lyrics about facing our own darkest criticisms. The hypnotizing, metallic āAnything Like Myselfā opens the album, while āBest of Luckā highlights the rhythmically nuanced interplay between Lerner and Limas.
YouTube It
Lead shredder Diamond Rowe takes the spotlight for a playalong to āLive Not Fantastize,ā the first single off of Tetrarchās new record.
Rowe and Fore have known each other since they were about 11 or 12, so itās no surprise that they are musically so intimately compatible and completely in sync. āI feel like our playing styles melded into each other because we developed together,ā explains Rowe. āWe learned how to be in a band, how to play music, how to play shows, and how to play guitar together. When youāve been playing and practicing with someone for so long, you just lock in, and our playing styles really complement each other. It was a natural progression.ā Fore says that they would go to the library after school and instead of doing homework, they would play guitar. āWe would print off booksā worth of guitar tabs and learn songs together,ā he recalls. Theyād also go to Guitar Center and āturn amps up way too loud and play for hoursāālikely to the annoyance of the employees, he chuckles.
When it comes to their respective assignments within the band, Rowe plays more of the leads and single-note phrases while Fore, who is also the bandās frontman, plays more rhythm. āItās very much rhythm and lead player roles,ā affirms Rowe. āOn choruses when Josh is playing big fat chords, Iāll play octaves or some melody lines, or on verses, if heās playing some rhythm riff, Iāll do some weird creepy lead.ā If itās a riff-oriented rhythm part, they sometimes match up on those, but even then, Rowe often adds some kind of texture on top.
Fore and Rowe combine to create the bandās creative spark, and handle the bulk of the writing for new songs. For The Ugly Side of Me, they demoed material via their individual Pro Tools rigs and emailed files back and forth before jamming with the rest of the band. āTypically, it will start with me or Diamond coming up with a guitar riff,ā explains Fore. āSometimes one of us will come with a whole skeleton of a song and weāll get in the room together and take it from there. Every song has its own way of coming together, but me and Diamond usually see it through.ā
Tetrarchās third album cements them as flagbearers of the new nu.
Diamond Roweās Gear
Guitars
- Jackson Signature Diamond Rowe Monarkh w/EverTune bridge
- Jackson American Series Soloist
Amps
- EVH 5150III EL34 100-watt head
- EVH 4x12
- EVH 5150III 50-watt head (for backup)
Effects
- Boss CH-1 Super Chorus
- Boss DD-7 Digital Delay
- Boss ES-8 Effects Switching System
- Boss RC-1 Loop Station
- Boss RV-6 Reverb
- DigiTech Whammy 5 Pitch Shift
- Dunlop KH95 Kirk Hammett Signature Cry Baby Wah
- Dunlop Volume (X) Mini
- Electro-Harmonix Small Stone Analog Phase Shifter
- Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer
- ISP Decimator G String X Noise Reduction
- MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay
- Strymon blueSky V2
- Two notes Torpedo C.A.B. M+
Strings & Picks
- Ernie Ball Beefy Slinky (.011ā.054)
- Ernie Ball Skinny Top Beefy Bottom (.010ā.054)
- Dunlop Jazz III black 1.38 mm
- Dunlop Jazz III black 1.35 mm
Josh Foreās Gear
Guitars
- ESP E-II Eclipse
- ESP LTD EC-01FT
- ESP LTD AA-1 Alan Ashby Signature
- ESP LTD Eclipse
Amps
- EVH 5150III Stealth 100-watt head
- EVH 4x12
Effects
- Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer
- ISP Decimator G String X Noise Reduction
Strings & Picks
- Ernie Ball Mammoth Slinky (.012ā.062)
- InTuneGP GrippX 1.0 mm
For tracking, the guitarists mainly rely on plugins, āMostly because of how easily you can change things on the fly,ā explains Fore. For the new album, they leaned heavily on the Archetype: Gojira X by Neural DSP. The final product, what you hear on The Ugly Side of Me, was re-amped through the EVH 5150III. Thereās no ego when theyāre in the studio, so the decision of who plays which parts is simply a matter of who executes them the best. āDiamond will play some riffs, I will play some riffs,ā says Fore. āWe just swap the guitar back and forth. Weāre like, āWhatās the most efficient way? Who sounds better on this part?ā We just go with where the session takes us and try to get the best sounds and performances.ā
The eerie signature sonic element that runs throughout all Tetrarch albums courtesy of Roweās inventive guitar-effects palette has helped establish the bandās identity. āWhen we first found it, Josh and I were playing around with POD Farm on the computer and it was just a sine wave chorus that nobody makes in a pedal,ā recalls Rowe. āWe were writing the song āFreakā and looking for a weird sounding tone, and then it literally became a staple of our sound. For this album, we were like, āAlright, weāre not going to use that tone very much.ā We literally said that before making this record and yet here we are [laughter].ā
As for their newfound status as the torchbearers of nu metal, Rowe says itās not the label that matters most. āPeople could call us āprogressive country metal,ā but whatās important is weāre writing the music that we really enjoy,ā she attests. āSome of my favorite bands are Linkin Park, Slipknot, Disturbed, and Korn, but when I started playing guitar, Metallica was my all-time favorite band. And then, Zakk Wylde, Pantera, and Triviumāall of that was in there too, so I wouldnāt say nu metal was the only thing that I listened to, but it was a huge part of what I listened to.ā Fore concludes with a similar sentiment: āPeople are going to perceive us how theyāre going to perceive us. If they want to call us nu metal, then hell yeah, that sounds great.ā
Analog modulation guided by a digital brain willing to get weird.
Fun, fluid operation. Capable of vintage-thick textures at heavier gain settings. High headroom for accommodating other effects.
MIDI required to access more than one presetāwhich youāll probably long for, given the breadth of voices.
$369
Kernom Elipse
If you love modulationāand lots of itāyou can eat up a lot of pedalboard space fast. Modulation effects can be super-idiosyncratic and specialized, which leads to keeping many around, particularly if you favor the analog domain. TheKernom Elipse multi-modulator is pretty big and, at a glance, might not seem the best solution for real estate scarcity. Yet the Elipse is only about 1 1/4" wider than two standard-sized Boss pedals side by side. And by combining an analog signal path with digital control, it makes impressive, efficient use of its sizeāstuffing fine-sounding harmonic tremolo, phaser, rotary-style, chorus, vibrato, flanger, and Uni-Vibe-style effects into a single hefty enclosure. Many of the effects can also be blended and morphed into one another using a rotary control aptly called āmood.ā The Elipse, most certainly, has many of those.
Modulator With Many Masks
Anywhere pedal hounds meet and chat youāll encounter spirited talk about the way pedals sound relative to a certain gold standard. It makes sense. Benchmarks are useful for understanding anything. But one of the things I like best about the Kernom Elipse is how it eludes easy comparison to such standards, and how the fluidity of its controls make it sound unique. As with any review, I compared the Elipse to as many pedals as I have that are relevant. Here, that included an Ibanez analog chorus, Phase 90 and Small Stone phasers, an optical Uni-Vibe-style pedal, a Boss BF-2,Mu-Tron Phasor II clone, and more. But what made the Elipse stand out in this company was function as much as sound. Operating the Elipse with an open mind, rather than a quest to replicate another pedalās sound, leads to intriguing, unique, and unusual tones more specialized modulators donāt always offer.
āThe Elipse is pretty ambitious for an analog modulator, but doesnāt spread itself too thin.ā
Three of the Elipseās controlsāspeed, mix, and depthāfunction predictably. The latter two controls, however, change function depending on the pedalās mood (or mode). In tremolo mode, setting the mix at noon generates complex, warbly, and elastic harmonic tremolo-like textures. At maximum, it shifts to a more binary, on/off sound akin to optical or bias tremolo. In chorus/vibrato mode, the noon position marks a 50/50 wet/dry mix of pitch shift and dry signalāthe ingredients for any chorus. At maximum, the signal is 100 percent wet, yielding pure pitch-shift vibrato. The shape control, meanwhile, adjusts the LFO waveform. In tremolo mode that means moving between triangle- and sine-wave pulses. The swirl control is the wild card of the bunch. It adds big-time dimension to the Elipse in all modes. Through most of its range, it slathers slow phase on whatever modulation is already bubbling and burbling. In the latter third of its range, though, it also adds gain, and by the time you reach maximum, the output is discernibly thickened in the low-midrange zone. The gain and low-mid bump helps compensate for the perceived volume loss intrinsic to modulation. But they also excite different segments of the harmonic spectrum as you manipulate other modulation-shaping parametersāadding expansiveness as well as the thickness you might miss from vintage modulators.
Enunciation Modulation
Compared to many of the modulation pedals I used for contrast, the Elipse has a high-mid-forward voice. This frequency bias has advantages. It lends most of the Elipseās modulation textures a clear, airy essence that keeps their character present when adding fuzz or big delay and reverb effects. It makes some modulations less chewy, but itās also easy to imagine such textures slotting easily into a mix where some thicker analog modulators would gobble up harmonic space.
The basic EQ profile also makes it easier to probe the nuances in the āin-betweenā voices, living in the liminal spaces between pedal moods. When you start to play with these blended textures and various blends of drive, shape, mix, and depth, you encounter many sounds that veer from vintage templates in cool ways. Lathering on gain from the swirl control and lazy depth rates made the hybrid chorus/flange intense, dreamy, and enveloping. Similar blends of slow, heavy harmonic tremolo and rotary speaker sounded massive too.
The Verdict
The Elipse is pretty ambitious for an analog modulator, but doesnāt spread itself too thin. Players looking for one or two very specific modulation sounds might find the interrelationships between the Elipseās controls too complex. The inability to save more than a single onboard preset without a MIDI switcher might frustrate guitarists used to all-digital pedalsā preset capabilities. Players that already have MIDI switchers in their rigs, however, could fall hard for the ability to switch between Elipseās myriad, complex, analog-colored textures. With or without MIDI, it is an excellent analog modulator that offers colors galore.