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$0It wasn’t long after learning my first arpeggio that I started thinking about what my rock ’n’ roll life was going to look like. When I first opened up Van Halen’s Diver Down and saw that photo of a packed stadium and a happy band, I knew it was for me. And as I got a little older, learned a few songs, and watched countless videos on MTV of bands playing to thousands of adoring fans, I realized I had to have a proper bass rig to satisfy my eventual fandom. I knew I needed an SVT.$0
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$0Fast-forward to three days after my 23rd birthday when, in a freak accident, I crushed a vertebra in my back. Not long after recovering from the accident, I was determined as ever to buy my first “real” bass rig. But as soon as I tried to lift the SVT I was checking out, I knew I would never actually own any gear that weighed that much. I’ve heard many musicians joke that they are only paid to move equipment back-and-forth, and that playing is just a bonus. With that thought in mind, I’ve always purchased gear I could move without the help of a forklift. My dreams of owning that SVT sound were unfortunately dashed with the constraints of my lingering injury.$0
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But with the cut switch flipped on, the tones evened out and the highs rang out loud and clear, giving my fills and arpeggios more life and vibrancy. $0
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$0Fortunately, those dreams were recently reignited. With the release of the new B-Peg V3 overdrive from Swell Pedals, I found that getting that SVT-esque sound was possible while still being easily transportable.$0
$0The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of$0
Similar to Swell’s other pedal offerings, the B-Peg V3 Overdrive is housed in a sturdy, powder-coated metal encasement and its die-cast aluminum construction and interlocking lid ensure complete RF shielding. Even with the pedal’s internal 12AX7 tube, the rugged design of this 100 percent analog unit left me little to worry about when transporting and handling it from gig to gig. With a Fender Jazz through a Trace Elliot GP12 SMX 4001 head and an SWR 4x10 cab, I used the B-Peg right out of the box and ran it through its paces at four live shows—two small clubs and twice in festival settings. $0
$0Remember, This Is a Teenage Fantasy, So Make it Easy$0
For anyone who’s always wanted the big sound of an SVT, but not wanted to pay for it, or in my case, heft the “bigness” of it, the B-Peg V3 pedal delivers in both tone and ease-of-use. And within seconds of plugging it in, I knew exactly what it could do. Alongside the gold-plated Switchcraft jacks for the input and output is a record-out jack with speaker simulation, all of which are top-mounted. And though the B-Peg V3 does come with a power adaptor—often a bonus when it comes to effects pedals—it does not run on battery power. That’s not a deal breaker for me, but a small disappointment nonetheless.
A great feature of the B-Peg V3 is the pair of separate gains that are selectable via true-bypass footswitching. Need one sound when playing the verse, and something a bit more aggressive for the chorus? Done. And the dual gains can be switched back and forth quickly and easily with the clearly marked controls. The on/off footswitch illuminates in red indicating the pedal is powered up, while the Gain-2 footswitch lights up in green when the second gain’s settings are engaged. Am I easily impressed? Maybe. But there is beauty in simplicity, and as a gigging musician, I love when something is engineered to be “idiot proof.” Amidst the confusion of a poorly lit stage, it can be easy to forget which stomp does what. Using a pedal I wasn’t familiar with in a live setting, it was nice to have my options be so clear. $0
$0I Sound Like Me, But Awesome$0
Using the Gain-1 control knob for settings below 12 o’clock and the Gain-2 for anything above noon, the B-Peg V3 filled up and rounded out the pickups on my Jazz with a fuller and warmer tone. The gain settings below 12 o’clock amplified my entire sound and filled out the low end nicely, while higher-level settings on the second gain gave me a similar feel with an added aggressive nature—excellent for driving lines. $0
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$0Ratings$0
$0Pros:$0
Great tone with plenty of control. Easy to use and well constructed.$0
$0Cons:$0
No 9V battery option. Priced for the professional player.$0
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$0Street: $0
$349$0
$0SWELL Pedals$0
swellpedals.com$0
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$0Along with control knobs for tone and master volume, the B-Peg’s pair of 2-position toggle switches for fat and cut allow for some additional tonal variety. While the fat switch is onboard to add low end, I found it to be unnecessary for the most part. The pedal provided such depth and a definitive thud to my sound that the fat switch seemed to be just a step too far. However, I imagine it would be a great asset for someone with cheaper pickups or in need of a huge boost. Because the pedal already adds so much roundness and phatness to the tone, it would be easy to imagine that the higher frequencies would have difficulty cutting through. That said, I was impressed with the way the highs performed before I even touched the cut switch. But with the cut switch flipped on, the tones evened out and the highs rang out loud and clear, giving my fills and arpeggios more life and vibrancy. $0
$0Though I kept the pedal’s master volume dialed back at smaller club gigs, the festival environment allowed me the flexibility to crank up the master and really hear what the pedal could do. With each note, walking line, or driving line, the tone cut through everything else going on. I was going through a Trace, but my huge sound was reminiscent of a mid-’70s SVT. The thud of the drummer’s kick with my bass tone was enough to make us both look at each other and smile right when I first plugged in. Always conscious of the job the sound engineer has to do, I asked the engineer at the first gig if I was too loud. “Nope,” he said, “you sound better than I’ve ever heard you.” $0
$0The Verdict$0
Am I going to be playing at a baseball stadium filled with fans dying to hear my greatest hits? It’s not likely for me or the other 99.99 percent of people that pick up an instrument. With the Swell B-Peg V3, I felt like I could get some of that tone that’s fit for an arena with its unrefined, dreamlike warmth—the SVT tone of my adolescent dreams, but without breaking my back. And that was awesome. So if you are looking for a simpler way to get to that classic overdriven sound, with plenty of control on tap, Swell’s B-Peg V3 pedal just find a home on your pedalboard. $0
The LR Baggs AEG-1 represents a highly versatile, forward-thinking approach to acoustic guitar luthierie. It sports a streamlined body shape with built-in electronics and pickup/microphone settings, providing a wide range of tones suitable for different playing environments and musical styles.
"The reason for AEG-1’s groundbreaking performance is its patent pending integrated neck support system that frees the guitar’s top and back from the need to support the neck. This allows Baggs unprecedented freedom to voice the top and back of each guitar to maximize the acoustic response, achieving a full-bodied sound from a slim and comfortable design. With greater structural integrity, more string energy is driven into the top, resulting in a wider dynamic range, greater tonal depth, enhanced low-frequency response, and improved tuning stability."
The AEG-1’s electronics feature an all-discrete studio grade preamp with a multi-pole crossover system that seamlessly blends the HiFi Pickups and Silo Mic for an inspiring feel and sound in any position – ranging between direct and natural to open and airy,and everywhere in between. As with all LR Baggs electronics, you can expect wonderful warmth, purity, low noise, and long battery life. The system’s three-knob side-mounted controls offer quick access to master volume, pickup/mic blend, tone shaping, phase inversion, and a battery life indicator.
Features
- Three different gloss-finished options for top wood: Torrefied Sitka Spruce, Natural Engelmann Spruce, or Sunburst Sitka Spruce
- Indian Rosewood back, with composite poplar frame body
- African Mahogany neck wood carved in a slim “C” shape
- Indian Rosewood fretboard with 16” radius, 25-5/8” (651mm) scale length and 20 frets
- Indian Rosewood bridge with composite saddle
- Nut width is 1.7” (43mm)made of composite material, with closed back tuners
- Onboard electronics/pickup system: Custom HiFi Duet with HiFi Pickups and Silo Microphone
- Full-sized body similar to a dreadnought-style guitar with scalloped X bracing, slim profile 2-1/2” body depth, and carved beveled armrest for extra comfort
- Utilizes single 9-volt with approximately 120-hour life
The Baggs AEG-1 Acoustic Electric Guitar is the culmination of a lifetime dedicated to high-performance acoustic amplification, all rooted in the craftsmanship of a luthier. Our founder and master luthier, Lloyd Baggs, began his journey as a guitar maker, creating instruments for artists like Ry Cooder, Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, and Janis Ian. His deep respect for the guitar evolved into a quest to faithfully amplify his own instruments for live performance.
After years of studying the physics of acoustic instruments and pioneering advancements in pickups and electronics, the Baggs AEG-1 is the realization of everything we’ve learned about acoustic sound and amplification. Lloyd’s dual expertise as a luthier and a pickup designer allowed us to craft a guitar and its electronics in harmony, finely tuning the system for this instrument.
Lloyd Baggs, founder of LR Baggs and Baggs Guitars, describes the journey that has led to his newest creation: “My desire to faithfully amplify the acoustic guitars I was building as a luthier led to the creation of our pickup company. It became my life’s work to eliminate every obstacle to playing live acoustic guitar easy, inspiring, and fun. The AEG-1 is the realization of this philosophy and I’m incredibly proud of this instrument. I hope it brings you inspiration and joy for years to come!”
Designed in California and manufactured in South Korea, the Baggs AEG-1 carries a street price of $1599.
For more information, please visit lrbaggs.com.
Trey Hensley | Baggs AEG-1 First Listen - YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.LR Baggs AEG-1 Acoustic-electric Guitar - Torrefied Spruce Top
Or you can check out the Reverend Billy Corgan Drop Z. At a glance, the Drop Z may not look like much of a cure for the 6-string doldrums. But pick it up and you’ll feel the difference fast. The Drop Z is built around a 26 1/4" scale and a 24-fret neck that makes this Reverend feel like a very different instrument. Designed and optimized for use with drop tunings, it opens the doors to whole palace ballrooms full of new musical possibilities.
Beastly Blue and Easy To Use
If the feel of the Drop Z alone doesn’t dislodge you from a guitar rut, there’s a good chance that its pretty profile would compel you to pick it up and play. It’s a handsome instrument. The conservatively chambered alder body (it’s routed at the bass and treble horns) is clad in a very pretty twilight-blue-meets-ocean-turquoise glossy finish, which is complimented perfectly by the brushed-aluminum pickguard. The chambered body definitely helps with the weight; the Drop Z is a little less than eight pounds. It also helps the guitar feel very balanced. There’s not a hint of neck dive. And if it weren’t for the discernibly longer stretch you make to reach the first fret, it would feel as familiar and comfortable as a nice Stratocaster.
The medium-oval neck, which is satin-finished maple with a maple fretboard, is a pleasure. It feels substantial and fast, and getting around its expanse is facilitated by a perfect setup. The 12" fretboard radius and jumbo frets also add to the Drop Z’s easy-breezy feel. Big bends require little more effort than they would on a normal scale, and I never felt the urge to squeeze a note to compensate for the weird intonation issues big frets and long scales can cause. From first fret to 24th, playing the Drop Z is an easy glide.
The Drop-Z pickups are a modified version of the Railhammer Billy Corgan Z-One pickups in his other Billy Corgan signature Reverends. The pickups’ impedance is rated at 14.5 ohms, which suggests a pretty hot unit. In this incarnation, the Z-One pickups are tuned for even more output and smoother treble. That’s a good idea for a pickup designed with heavy musical settings in mind.
Fangs on Cue, but Mellon Collie, Too
Though the Drop Z is easy to play in a getting-around-the-fretboard sense, plugging and turning up may take adjustments in approach and attitude. As the pickups’ impedance rating suggests, the Railhammer Z-Ones have a lot of hop, and as the expansive lengths of string resonate impressively, you’ll hear a lot of very present treble overtones. I spent most of my time with the instrument in a C# modal tuning or C–G–D–G–B–B, and in each tuning the Drop Z rumbled impressively (particularly through a late-’60s Fender Bassman head, which is a beautiful, burly match for this instrument). But unless I wanted to linger among the peaky resonances of the highest two strings (and I often did), I needed to attenuate both tone controls.
The good thing is that each of these controls has a very nice range. And while the guitar can start to feel stripped of its essence with too much tone or volume attenuation, there is wiggle room for softening transients and taming unwanted overtone blooms. These pronounced peaks are easy to hear in both the neck and bridge pickup, depending on your approach. I worked a lot more with open strings and drones than Billy Corgan might on songs like “Zero,” which the guitar was tailored for. But for those keen to explore the mellower side of the Drop Z’s personality, the combined pickup setting is a magic bullet. It’s airy, open, and makes it easy and rewarding to navigate slow-moving chord changes with strong bass foundations. It’s also fun to take advantage of the fretboard’s whole expanse in this setting—darting and dashing from toppy treble-note clusters to growling bass harmony notes—and enjoying the detail and string-to-string balance. By the way, the Drop Z, as you might guess, sounds positively massive with distortion, though you should be careful to choose your gain device carefully. The pickup’s midrange emphasis will make a similarly mid-heavy distortion sound harsh. A Sovtek-style Big Muff, with its scooped midrange and round low-end resonance, is an ideal fit if you want to get extra large.
The Verdict
The Korea-made Drop Z is a beautifully crafted instrument and a silky, easy, balanced player that will make you forget, in moments, about the expansive fretboard and extra scale length. It feels completely natural and effortless. How you relate to the tones here will depend on your musical mission. The hot pickups make it a perfect fit for outsized, aggressive tones. I, for one, would prefer to explore the wealth of overtones this well-constructed instrument generates via less aggressive pickups. But players like me will still find much to love in the combined pickup settings and the pickups’ impressive capacity for detail, which, depending on the tuning you use, can highlight harmonic interplay between notes and chords that would be much less prominent and less fun to explore in a more conventional guitar.
Reverend Billy Corgan Drop Z Signature Electric Guitar - Pearl White
