
Week #3 is here! Enter below for your chance to WIN one of SIX pedals from All-Pedal, Carl Martin, Electro-Harmonix, Fortin Amplification, Hagerman, and Vidami!
All-Pedal Devil's Triad - Jeff Loomis Signature Pedal
In Collaboration with Jeff Loomis of Arch Enemy, we are proud to introduce the Devil's Triad™. Jeff Loomis Signature Guitar Pedal.
Carl Martin Axis Flanger
What’s more groovy than a flanger? A new, smaller flanger, loaded with features and painted a bold psychedelic purple….that’s what! Introducing the re-designed Carl Martin Axis Flanger. We simplified the controls to give you all the control you had with our Carl Martin Classic Flanger but reduced the size so you don’t have to worry about leaving the Axis Flanger on your pedalboard ‘cause you don’t have enough room’. Complete with a buffered Bypass footswitch for on and off control (indicated by an LED), Speed, Depth, Pre-delay and Feedback controls, the Axis Flanger comes in a machined aluminum case finished in psychedelic purple, and those cool Carl Martin graphics. The Axis Flanger must be powered by a regulated 9v Power Supply like the Carl Martin DC Factory, and like all the Carl Martin fx pedals, we use the best parts to make sure you get the best sound! Watch out baby…the flange is back!
Electro-Harmonix Lester G Rotary Speaker Pedal
DELUXE ROTARY SPEAKER EMULATOR - The ultimate rotary speaker emulator packed with goodies like a specially designed compression circuit to supercharge the rotating speaker effect on guitar!
The EHX Lester G uses the finest rotary speaker simulation available today, and comes with a variety of deluxe features. Stereo outputs provide a lush, realistic effect. Tube-emulated overdrive is available with the DRIVE knob, and speaker mix can be fine-tuned with the BALANCE knob. Switch between adjustable FAST and SLOW modes for an accurate reproduction of a classic rotary speaker cabinet’s speed adjustment. An expression pedal jack allows for fine tuning of the rotation speed with an expression pedal.
The Lester G also features a compression circuit that adds lush sustain to electric guitar. Using the compressor, the LESTER G provides guitarists with the fat, full sustain of an organ, to get the most out of the rotating speaker effect.
Fortin Amplification Zuul+
Within the modern guitar community, the Zuul has long been the industry standard for noise gate technology.
Hagerman Thermionic Reinforcer
The new Hagerman Thermionic Reinforcer is an all-tube guitar preamplifier showcasing a proprietary new tube clipping circuit, delivering a more aggressive, modern sound. Employing a pair of 12AX7 tubes running at high voltage, this pedal has enough output to directly feed a power amplifier via effects loop (or operate as a normal pedal). There are two clipping modes; classic tube overdrive, and the novel high-gain symmetrical clipping circuit, recently developed by Hagerman. Another interesting feature is the use of a Contour control, which is a tone circuit placed ahead of clipping stages, offering the ability to tighten the sound, akin to placing a Klon or TS ahead of the pedal. Bass and Treble controls post-clipping provide a wide range of tonality, from bright to dark.
Vidami Blue
The Vidami Blue is a revolutionary 3-in-1 foot pedal that gives you hands-free control of today’s most popular music and education technology, allowing you to Loop & Slow Videos, Turn Pages & Control your favorite DAWs.
Video Mode
Effortlessly Loop and Slow Down songs and riffs on YouTube and more than 55 compatible Online Video learning platforms including: FenderPlay, TrueFire, MartyMusic, JamPlay, Pickup Music and more. (Please note that YouTube, and all other compatible platforms must be used from within the Safari or Chrome browser on Desktop/laptop computers, or from within the Safari browser on iPad/iPhone)
Page Turning/TAB Mode
Easily Turn Pages, Scroll Tabs, Lyrics, and other functions on your favorite Digital Sheet Music apps and Tab sites like: OnSong, forScore, Ultimate Guitar Tab and others.
DAW Mode
Free your creative spirit as you Record, Loop, Add Tracks, Set Markers, and more on today’s most popular Digital Audio Workstations including: GarageBand, Logic Pro, Reaper, Pro Tools, Studio One, Cubase & Ableton Live.
The Vidami Blue is compatible with iPhone and iPad on iOS 15 and Desktop Computers, Laptops & ChromeBooks
Small spring, big splash—a pedal reverb that oozes surfy ambience and authenticity.
A vintage-cool sonic alternative to bigger tube-driven tanks and digital springs that emulate them.
Susceptible to vibration.
$199
Danelectro Spring King Junior
danelectro.com
Few pedal effects were transformed, enhanced, and reimagined by fast digital processors quite like reverb. This humble effect—readily available in your local parking garage or empty basketball gymnasium for free—evolved from organic sound phenomena to a very unnatural one. But while digital processing yields excellent reverb sounds of every type and style, I’d argue that the humble spring reverb still rules in its mechanical form.
Danelectro’s Spring King Junior, an evolution of the company’s Spring King from the ’aughts, is as mechanical as they come. It doesn’t feature a dwell control or the huge, haunted personality of a Fender Reverb unit. But the Spring King Junior has a vintage accent and personality and doesn’t cost as much as a whole amplifier like a Fender Reverb or reverb-equipped combo does. But it’s easy to imagine making awesome records and setting deep stage moods with this unit, especially if 1950s and 1960s atmospheres are the aim.
Looking Past Little
Size factors significantly into the way a spring reverb sounds. And while certain small spring tanks sound cool—the Roland RE-201 Space Echo’s small spring reverb for one—it’s plain hard to reproduce the clank and splash from a 17" Fender tank with springs a fraction of that length. Using three springs less than 3 1/2" long, the Accutronics/Belton BMN3AB3E module that powers the Spring King Junior is probably not what you want in a knife fight with Dick Dale. Even so, it imparts real character that splits the difference between lo-fi and garage-y and long-tank expansiveness.
In very practical and objective terms, the Danelectro can’t approach a Fender Reverb’s size and cavernousness. Matching the intensity of the Spring King Junior’s maximum reverb and tone settings to my own Fender Reverb’s means keeping dwell, mix, and tone controls between 25 to 30 percent of their max. Depending on your tastes, that might be a useful limitation. If you’ve used a Fender Reverb unit before, you know they can sound fantastically extreme. It’s overkill for a lot of folks, and the Spring King Junior inhabits spaces that don’t overpower a guitar or amplifier’s essence. Many players will find the Spring King Junior simply easier to manage and control.
There are ways to add size to the Spring King Junior’s output. An upstream, edgy clean boost will do much to puff up the Danelectro’s profile next to a Fender. The approach comes with risk: Too much drive excites certain frequencies to the point of feedback. But the Junior’s mellower sounds are abundant and interesting. Darker reverb tones sound awesome, and combined with modest reverb mixes they add a spooky aura to melancholy soul and spartan semi-hollow jazz phrasings—all in shades mostly distinct from Fender units.
Watch Your Step!
Spring reverbs come with operational challenges that you won’t experience in a digital emulation. And though the Spring King Junior is well built, its relative slightness compounds some of those challenges. The spring module, for instance, is affixed to the Spring King Junior’s back panel with two pieces of foam tape. And while kicking a spring reverb to punctuate a dub mix or surf epic is a gas, the Spring King Junior can be susceptible to less intentional applications of this effect. At extra-loud volumes, the unit picks up vibrations from the amplifier’s output when amp and effect are in tight proximity. And sometimes, merely clicking the bypass switch elicits an echo-y “clank”. This doesn’t happen in every performance setting. But it’s worth considering settings where you’ll use the Spring King Junior and how loud and vibration-resistant those spaces will be.
Though the Spring King Junior’s size makes it susceptible to vibration, many related ghost tones—taken in the right measure—are a cool and essential part of its voice. It’s an idiosyncratic effect, so evaluating its compatibility with specific instruments, amps, studio environments, and performance settings is a good idea. But for those that do find a place for the Spring King Junior, its combination of tone color, compact size, and hazy 1960s ambience could be a deep well of inspiration.
Blackstar Amplification unveils its new AIRWIRE i58 wireless instrument system for guitar and bass.
The AIRWIRE i58 enables wireless connection for guitars, basses and other musical instruments with ¼” audio outputs and delivers low noise and less dropouts. The majority of wireless systems on the market operate within the 2.4 GHz range whereas the AIRWIRE i58 operates within the 5.8 GHz which is a less crowded frequency band that is immune to WiFi interference.
The AIRWIRE i58 also has an optimised antenna design and anti-interference algorithm – this gives players a robust, reliable and most importantly worry-free performance. The low latency and accurate frequency response ensures authentic tone and feel without the need for cables.
Never worry about running out of battery or losing your signal; AIRWIRE i58 offers up to 9 hours play time at full charge and features a transmission distance of 35 metres. Up to four AIRWIRE i58s can be used simultaneously for a full band setup without interference.
AIRWIRE i58 offers wireless high-res signal transfer, so there is no treble loss which can occur when using a long cable. However, the system offers a switchable CABLE TONE feature to simulate the tonal effects of a traditional instrument cable if players desire that sound.
AIRWIRE i58 is the ideal wireless system for every musician – for cable-clutter-free home use or freely roaming on stage.
AIRWIRE i58 Wireless Instrument System
- Wireless Instrument System
- Frequency Band: 5.8GHz
- Transmission Channels: 4 independent channels
- Transmission Distance: Up to 35 metres (100 feet)
- Latency: <6ms
- Frequency Response: 20Hz~20kHz
- Output Impedance: 1kΩm
- Connectors: ¼” mono
- Power: Rechargeable lithium-ion battery
- Charging: USB-C 5V input (cable included)
- Charging Time: <2.5 hours
- Operation Time: 9 hours when fully charged
- Illuminated star logo
- Dimensions: L 67.0mm, W 37.2mm, H 20.5mm
- Weight: 45g (each transmitter or receiver, single unit)
Blackstar’s AIRWIRE i58 carries a street price of $169.99.
PG’sJohn Bohlinger caught up with Moak at his Nashville studio known affectionately as the Smoakstack.
Grammy-nominated session guitarist, producer, mixer, and engineer Paul Moak stays busy on multiple fronts. Over the years he’s written, played, produced and more for TV sessions (Pretty Little Liars, One Tree Hill) and artists including Third Day, Leeland, and the Blind Boys of Alabama. But most recently he’s worked with Heart and Ann Wilson and Tripsitter.
Time Traveler
Moak is most loyal to a 1963 Stratocaster body that’s mated to a 1980s-vintage, 3-bolt, maple, bullet-truss-rod, 1969-style Fender Japan neck. The bridge has been swapped as many as four times and the bridge and neck pickups are Lindy Fralins.
Cool Cat
If there’s one guitar Moak would grab in a fire, it’s the Jaguar he’s had since age 20 and used in his band DC Talk. When Moak bought the guitar at Music Go Round in Minneapolis, the olympic white finish was almost perfect. He remains impressed with the breadth of tones. He likes the low-output single-coils for use with more expansive reverb effects.
Mystery Message Les Paul
Moak’s 1970 L.P. Custom has a number of 1969 parts. It was traded to Moak by the band Feel. Interestingly, the back is carved with the words “cheat” and “liar,” telling a tale we can only speculate about.
Dad Rocker
Almost equally near and dear to Moak’s heart is this 1968 Vox Folk Twelve that belonged to his father. It has the original magnetic pickup at the neck as well as a piezo installed by Moak.
Flexi Plexis
This rare and precious trio of plexis can be routed in mix-and-match fashion to any of Moak’s extensive selection of cabs—all of which are miked and ready to roll.
Vintage Voices
Moak’s amps skew British, but ’60s Fender tone is here in plentitude courtesy of a blonde-and-oxblood Bassman and 1965 Bandmaster as well as a 2x6L6 Slivertone 1484 Twin Twelve.
Guess What?
The H-Zog, which is the second version of Canadian amp builder Garnet’s Herzog tube-driven overdrive, can work as an overdrive or an amp head, but it’s probably most famous for Randy Bachman’s fuzzy-as-heck “American Woman” tone.
Stomp Staff
While the Eventide H90 that helps anchor Moak’s pedalboard can handle the job of many pedals, he may have more amp heads on hand than stompboxes. But essentials include a JHS Pulp ‘N’ Peel compressor/preamp, a DigiTech Whammy II, DigiTech FreqOut natural feedback generator, a Pete Cornish SS-3 drive, Klon Centaur, and Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man.
PG Contributor Tom Butwin dives into three standout baritone guitars, each with its own approach to low-end power and playability. From PRS, Reverend, and Airline, these guitars offer different scale lengths, pickup configurations, and unique tonal options. Which one fits your style best? Watch and find out!