The Appalachia crew prove that ripping T-styles seasoned with effects-rich pedal steel can still be prominent in today’s country and Americana music.
Craig Burletic’s only other piece of gear is this Trace Elliot GP12 SMX head that ignites a matching 4x10 cab. (The Gallien-Krueger MB Fusion 500 is a precautionary reserve.)
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If you're gonna get caught in a mosh at an Anthrax show, you better bring your Frank Bello signature Spector NC-4! The powerhouse 4-string is constructed with an alder body, a one-piece maple neck, maple fingerboard, vintage-inspired chrome tuners and a modern adjustable bridge. This beast bites with Bello’s signature EMG P/J pickups. And the best part has to be the metallic purple finiish that was inspired by his mother and grandmother (their favorite color was purple) naming it the "Tina Rose" finish. It also has a matching headstock and purple acrylic block inlays.
Blackstar worked with Doug Aldrich — a man with a heart full of tone — to create the DA100 Ruby (named after his young daughter) that was unleashed this week at NAMM. A major highlight was the OD Voice function that delivers a vintage, hot-rodded Plexi-style punch with the flick of a switch. Additionally, they fine tuned the midrange to provide a chest-thumping resonance that makes every power chord hit with authority. The enhanced effects loop is now fully footswitchable, controlled by the included 5-way foot controller. The matching 4x12 is packed with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers. Here's what Doug had to say about the experience working with Blackstar: "It feels like I’ve spent my entire life chasing the perfect tone. Over the years, I’ve owned dozens of amps – from modern to boutique, modded to vintage classics. Most of them were tube amps, and each had something special, but I was always searching for more. I’ve been lucky to build great relationships with many amp companies and received several offers to create a signature amp. Yet, I never fully committed. I just wasn’t 100% sure… until now.”
Hotone brought their Ampero II Stage modeler to NAMM and let us test out its capabilities that include over 100 pedal models, 90 amp models, 68 cab models, 60 Hotone original effects models, 20 classic Celestion speaker IRs, and 300 presets. It has a built-in stereo looper with 60 seconds (max) recording time and undo/redo function. There are eight assignable footswitches with multicolor halo LEDs, with two working modes and customization support.