Premier Guitar features affiliate links to help support our content. We may earn a commission on any affiliated purchases.

Source Audio Announces the Soundblox Hub

It has the power to unite up to five Soundblox 2 pedals into one thoroughly integrated, MIDI controlled, multi-effect machine.

Woburn, MA (April 10, 2014) -- Source Audio, creators of the award-winning Soundblox line of guitar and bass effects pedals and the Hot Hand 3 Wireless Effects Controller, have released the Soundblox Hub v1: MIDI Interface / Port Expander / Multi-Pedal Scene Saver. The Hub introduces an entirely new "modular" approach to multi-effect systems. It has the power to unite up to five Soundblox 2 pedals into one thoroughly integrated, MIDI controlled, multi-effect machine.

"We're very excited about what the Hub can do for musicians," said Jesse Remignanti, Source Audio's Chief Technical Officer and creator of the Hub. "It introduces a powerful new way to use effects pedals. For the first time, you can save the state of your entire pedal board as a single recallable scene. You get the flexibility and power of a complex multi-effects unit, but with the simplicity of using individual stompboxes. If you want to tweak something, just turn a knob - you don't need to deal with the old hassle of navigating through complicated menus."

With its ability to send and receive MIDI Program Change and Control Change messages, the Soundblox Hub unlocks the range of MIDI options in the entire line of Soundblox 2 pedals. Users can edit pedal parameters and save up to 128 pedal "scenes" easily recalled with an external MIDI foot-controller or computer MIDI interface. Recalling a saved scene activates the corresponding pedals used in the scene, complete with assigned external controllers like a passive expression pedal or the Hot Hand 3 Wireless Effects Controller.

The Hub dramatically expands the preset storage capabilities of each Soundblox 2 pedal, but it also allows users to keep their favorite "go-to" presets saved directly within each pedal. This approach gives musicians the option of interacting with their pedal board in the traditional way or with simple one-step MIDI switching.

Via the Hub's USB port, the Hub Manager Software and latest pedal software and firmware can be downloaded directly from the Source Audio website. It is available for Mac or PC operating systems and can be used to edit saved presets and customize parameters within the Hub. As Source Audio continues to offer new features and custom arrangements, the Hub will enable users to upgrade their own equipment without the expense of purchasing an entire new setup.

Widely acclaimed for bringing innovation into the world of guitar effects pedals, Source Audio was founded in January 2005 by former engineers, scientists, and executives of Analog Devices, Kurzweil Music Systems, and Thomas H. Lee Partners. In 2006, Source Audio released its flagship product, the Hot Hand Motion-Sensing Ring. Since that time, Source Audio's distortion, filter, modulation, and Hot Hand products have found their way onto the stages and recordings of David Bowie, Phish, My Morning Jacket, The Cure, Victor Wooten and Adrian Belew, to name a few. Source Audio was also recognized through multiple awards from Guitar Player, Guitar World, Bass Player, Premier Guitar, and Electronic Musician Magazines.

The street price of the Soundblox Hub is $99.

Watch the company's video demo:

For more information:
Source Audio

Tone Tweaks Made Easy: Beginner's Guide to Tubes
- YouTube

Want to know how tubes shape your tone? Join PG contributor Tom Butwin as he breaks down preamp vs. power tubes, tone tweaks, and biasing, in this ultimate beginner's guide to tube amps. From Fender cleans to Marshall grit, learn how to unlock the full potential of your amp!

Read MoreShow less

Gator Cases offers custom cases for Flying V and Explorer style guitars in their Traditional Deluxe Series.

Read MoreShow less

The Smiths’ 1984 press shot. From left to right: Andy Rourke, Morrissey, Johnny Marr, and Mike Joyce.

Bassists from California’s finest Smiths tribute bands weigh-in on Andy Rourke’s most fun-to-play parts.

Listen to the Smiths, the iconic 1980s indie-rock band from Manchester, and you’ll hear Andy Rourke’s well-crafted bass lines snaking around Johnny Marr’s intricate guitar work, Mike Joyce’s energetic drumming, and singer Morrissey’s wry vocal delivery.

Read MoreShow less

Guitarist Brandon Seabrook, architect of fretboard chaos, and his trusty HMT Tele.

Photo by Reuben Radding

With a modified and well-worn heavy metal Tele, a Jerry Jones 12-string, a couple banjos, some tape sounds, and a mountain of fast-picking chops, New York’s master of guitar mayhem delivers Object of Unknown Function.

“It’s like time travel,” says Brandon Seabrook, reflecting on the sonic whiplash of “Object of Unknown Function.” The piece, which opens the composer’s solo album of the same name, journeys jarringly from aggressive “early banjo stuff” up through “more 21st-century classical music,” combined with electronic found sounds from a TASCAM 4-track cassette recorder. The end result approaches the disorientation of musique concréte.

“The structure is kind of like hopping centuries or epochs,” he adds. “I [wanted] all these different worlds to collide. It’s like a choose-your-own-adventure.”

Read MoreShow less