Designed in collaboration with Blu DeTiger, this limited-edition bass guitar features a Sky Burst Sparkle finish, custom electronics, and a chambered lightweight ash body.
"This bass is a reflection of everything I love about playing," said Blu DeTiger. "I wanted an instrument that could handle the diversity of sounds I create, from deep, funky grooves to melodic lines that cut through the mix. Fender and I worked closely together to make sure this bass not only looks amazing but sounds incredible in any setting."
Featured as the cover of the Forbes 30 Under 30 music list, Blu, who defines her musical style in the "groovy Indie” genre blending elements of Pop, Rock, and Funk, represents the next generation of pop music, earning accolades and a dedicated global fanbase with her work alongside top artists and successful solo releases. Bringing her signature sound and style, Blu marks a new milestone in her storied partnership with Fender and solidifying her influence on the future of music in creating the Limited Edition Blu DeTiger x Player Plus Jazz Bass.
Limited Edition Blu DeTiger x Player Plus Jazz Bass ($1,599.99) - From the Sky Burst Sparkle to the chrome hardware and mirrored pickguard, every detail on this Jazz Bass echoes Blu’s artistic vision. The offset ash body is chambered to keep this bass as lightweight and comfortable as possible. The satin finished maple neck, bound 9.5” rosewood fingerboard and vintage tall frets provide smooth playability. The Custom Blu DeTiger Fireball bass humbucker and Player Plus Noiseless Jazz Bass Pickups fuse vintage charm with modern punch. The bass also includes an 18V Player Plus preamp with 3-band EQ and active/passive toggle, great for sculpting your tone and ideal for capturing the funky snap and growl that defines Blu’s sound. With its inspired aesthetics, signature sonics and Blu-approved features, the Limited Edition Blu DeTiger x Player Plus Jazz Bass lets you tap into the infectious pop energy that keeps this star shining!
Her successful releases including "Figure It Out,” "Vintage," and recent album “All I Ever Want is Everything” have earned her accolades and sent her on the road to tour across the world to perform for her dedicated fanbase. Her distinct style of playing has also seen her play live with top tier artists such as Olivia Rodrigo, Bleachers, Dominic Fike, Caroline Polachek, Chromeo, and more.
Exploring the Limited Player Plus x Blu DeTiger Jazz Bass® | Fender Artist Signature | Fender - YouTube
The majestic Roland Space Echo is having a bit of a resurgence. Here’s a breakdown on what makes it tick, and whether or not it’s right for you.
In this article, we delve into one of the most cherished gadgets in my guitar collection, the Roland Space Echo RE-201. This iconic piece of equipment has been used by legendary musicians like Jonny Greenwood, Brian Setzer, and Wata from Boris, which only heightened my desire to own one. A few years ago, I was fortunate to acquire a vintage RE-201 in good condition and at a reasonable price.
Using the RE-201 today has its advantages and disadvantages, particularly due to its size, which is comparable to an amplifier head. When compared to modern equivalents like delay pedals or software plugins that closely emulate the original, the vintage RE-201 can seem inefficient. Here, I share my personal and subjective experience with it.
The RE-201 is a tape echo/delay effect that gained popularity in the 1970s and ’80s. Unlike the more complex analog BBD delays or digital delays, tape delays use magnetic tape to simultaneously record and play back sound via a magnetic tape head (similar to a guitar or bass pickup). Because the recording head and playback head are in different physical locations, there is a time gap during the recording and playback process, creating the “delay” effect. This concept was first discovered by Les Paul in the 1950s using two tape machines simultaneously.
However, this method has a drawback: The magnetic tape used as a storage medium has a limited lifespan. Over time, the quality of the tape degrades, especially with continuous use. This degradation is marked by muddy, wavy sounds and unavoidable noise. Yet, this is precisely where the magic of real tape echo lies! New tapes produce clearer, hi-fi sounds, while older tapes tend to produce wavy sounds known as “modulated delay.” Additionally, increasing the number of tape-head readers extends the gap time/delay time of the output, and activating multiple tape-head readers simultaneously creates unique echo/delay patterns.
“This degradation is marked by muddy, wavy sounds and unavoidable noise. Yet, this is precisely where the magic of real tape echo/delay lies!”
Just as how fuzz and distortion effects were discovered, the “imperfections” of tape also represent a historical fact about how the creative process in music follows an absurd, non-linear, and unique pattern. In everyday practical life, signal delay is something typically avoided; however, in a musical context, delay adds a deeper dimension. Today, it’s hard to imagine a pedalboard without a delay effect at the end of the chain.
This uniqueness inspired me to create Masjidil Echo, embracing the “imperfection” of a vintage tape echo/delay with magnetic tape that hasn’t been replaced for years. Many newer pedals, such as the Boss RE-20, Strymon El Capistan, and the Catalinbread Echorec and Belle Epoch, draw inspiration from vintage tape repeat machines. Each has its unique interpretation of emulating tape echo, all in a more compact and maintenance-free format. Real tape delay requires periodic maintenance and has mostly been discontinued since the mid 1980s, with Roland ceasing production of the Space Echo entirely in 1985.
However, in recent years, interest in real tape echo has surged, perhaps due to nostalgia for past technology. As a result, many vintage delay units have appeared on marketplaces at increasingly gargantuan prices! If you’re considering acquiring one, I recommend thinking it over carefully. Are you prepared for the maintenance? Will you use it for regular performances? Are you ready for the fact that magnetic tape will become increasingly difficult to find, potentially turning your machine into a mere display piece? I don’t mean to instill fear, but the real deal, in my opinion, still can’t be fully emulated into a more practical and future-proof digital format.
So, I’ll leave you with one final question for consideration: What if the genealogy of technology were reversed chronologically, with multihead/multitap delay discovered digitally in the 1950s, and in the 2000s, a technological disruption led to the invention of mechanical tape echo to replace digital technology? Which would you choose?
Win the complete Electro-Harmonix Pico Pedal Collection and transform your sound with pitch-shifting, reverb, delay, and more. Enter now for your chance to level up your pedalboard with these compact, tone-shaping powerhouses! Ends September 26, 2024
NYC DSP Pico Series
The Electro-Harmonix Pico pedal series offers a range of compact, powerful effects suitable for various musical styles. The Pico Pitch Fork provides pitch shifting, while the Pico Oceans 3-Verb delivers three versatile reverb modes. The Pico Canyon Echo offers lush delay effects, and the Pico Deep Freeze gives dynamic freeze and shimmer sounds. The Pico Attack Decay allows for vintage envelope control, and the Pico Triboro Bridge produces rich, harmonic tremolo. The Pico Rerun emulates the warm, nostalgic sound of lo-fi tape echo, while the Pico Platform is a compressor/limiter with precise control. Lastly, the Pico POG offers polyphonic octave generation, all in small, pedalboard-friendly sizes.
EHX Pico Attack Decay - Tape Reverse Simulator
Create volume swells and decays, both in Mono mode—one volume envelope for all notes you play—or in Poly mode where each note to has its own volume envelope creating cascading swell effects and leads with agile attack smoothing.
EHX Pico Canyon Echo – Digital Delay
Pristine digital delay featuring up to 3 seconds of delay, Filter control, and tap tempo with 3 tap division modes.
EHX Pico Deep Freeze – Sound Retainer
Classic EHX Freeze effect with added auto mode, glissando, individual DRY and EFFECT level controls, and adaptive layering.
EHX Pico Oceans 3 Verb – Multi-mode Reverb
Packed with 30 polyphonic pitch modes, latching/momentary functionality, and adjustable pitch bend sweep for whammy-style effects.
EHX Pico Platform – Studio-style Compressor
Studio-style compressor / limiter to precisely tune dynamics with adjustable attack and sustain, hard/soft knee compression curves, and blend knob for parallel compression magic.
EHX Pico POG – Polyphonic Octave Generator
World famous octave effect in a pico package featuring octave up and down plus new Tone knob with tilt-shift EQ, Low Pass, and High Pass filtering options.
EHX Pico Rerun - Tape Delay
Vintage-style tape delay sounds with adjustable saturation and flutter to achieve a variety of warm, crunchy, warbly delay tones.
EHX Pico Tribobo Bridge – OD/Dist/Fuzz
Bridging the worlds of overdrive, distortion, and fuzz in a sub-compact pico chassis with selectable input contouring eq, active EQ on OD and DIST, and LPF and Gate on Fuzz.
EHX Pico Pitch Fork – Polyphonic Pitch Shifter
Packed with 30 polyphonic pitch modes, latching/momentary functionality, and adjustable pitch bend sweep for whammy-style effects.