Jensen Silverbird 1050
Jensen Speakers introduces the Jensen Silverbird line, consisting in two brand new ceramic speakers: the Silverbird 12 and the Silverbird 10.
Jensen Silverbird 1270
Following up to the recent introduction of the highly successful Blackbird 40 “Reinforced AlNiCo” 12” and 10” speakers, Jensen developed the Silverbird line, aiming to transfer the unique voicing of the BB40 in a more affordable platform, with a specific attention to the top end response, carefully tailored to make the Silverbird speakers greatly suited to overdrive and high-gain applications.
Both the SB12and the SB10 share a new 1 ½” (38mm) aluminum-wound voice coil with a Kapton former, designed to retain the trademark clarity of the Jensen clean tones, paired with a smooth, progressive contour of the top end response, so critical to achieve a detailed yet controlled tone with lead tones. The medium-sized Ceramic magnets provide the necessary strength to have generous yet tight bass, while the new cone membranes, with a specific treatment on the paper surrounds, deliver a balanced response in the midrange and “presence” zone.
The SB12-70 is of course fatter and fuller sounding, while the SB10-50 has a more focused and present response with the typical immediacy of the best 10” speakers. Versatile enough to deliver an open, airy response in open back cabinets, both models can morph into powerful rock’n roll tone machines in closed back enclosures.
The Silverbird line will be available worldwide in the sprinf of 2024, and the prices will be:
Silverbird 12 - C12/70 SB: MAP $93.95, MSRP $144.50
Silverbird 10 - C10/50 SB: MAP $117.95, MSRP $181.50
Ted’s favorite gear guru, Dolly, has a nose finding the worthwhile.
How many guitars, pedals, and amps do you need? Enough to make you happy. But window shopping alone has its own benefits.
I just got back from the NAMM show, and I am suppressing the nervous twitch of desire. My eyes and ears were flooded with all kinds of great gear, from cutting edge software plugins to microphones to—my favorites—pedals, amps, and guitars. With so much new gear around, G.A.S. was so abundant you could almost smell it hanging over the show floor. (Sorry, I could not resist.)
As you all know, I’m talking about Gear Acquisition Syndrome, the disease for which there is no cure. I have 15 guitars—17, if you count a cigar box and a diddley bow—that cover the sonic waterfront for me and then some. So why would I want more? My tube and solid-state amps are carefully curated so I can recreate all the classic tones I love, and with my quirky playing approach and equally carefully assembled pedalboard, I can put my own spin on every one of them.
And yet … I return with a pocketful of maybes. Maybe that new semi-hollow with the sleek neck and coil-splitting would get me another tone I can’t quite access now? Maybe that pedal would make it easier to accommodate pitch shifting while I solo? Maybe it’s time to add a bona fide high-gain amp, or dive into modeling?
I used to think these impulses were unhealthy. Especially when I was a touring indie musician and had no money to spend on gear. (One of musical life’s great ironies is that club-level working musicians often earn so little that they can’t afford to increase or upgrade the tools of their craft.) But I’ve changed my mind, thanks to my dog.
“You should never pick up interesting things with your mouth.”
Dolly, who is going on 17, is slow … or perhaps methodical … when we go on walks. But every inch of the way she is sniffing, her ears are up, and she stops to spend time looking at and smelling anything that captures her interest, even for a moment. That’s a great way to spend NAMM and to examine gear, with senses and imagination open, considering the potential of everything for your music, prepared to evaluate impulses without prejudice. (But, unlike Dolly, you should never pick up interesting things with your mouth.)
Considering a piece of gear is not the same as buying it, or I’d be broke. And evaluating these flirtations can lead to something good. Let’s say you’re smitten with a brand-new $250 modulation pedal. But after careful consideration and inspection, you realize you can get a similar sound with the chorus or vibrato you already own, and a delay or reverb pedal. The tempting new gear has led you down a path of finding a new, purposeful sound in your current gear. Same with a drive pedal. It’s fresh, it’s raw, it’s low and singing—and maybe with a bit of compression it isn’t very far from the sound you can get with your current overdrive if you just roll back the tone controls on your 6-string. And what about that semi-hollow? Maybe what I really need is a 10-band EQ pedal so I can approximate semi-hollow and hollowbody tones on all my guitars at whim, which would certainly inject a different voice into the solos or choruses of songs in my repertoire. Sometimes looking at new gear reminds us of the full range of our current musical real estate holdings. And that’s great. It’s easy to get in a rut and overlook the potential of gear you already own. (Parallel question: How many of you really make full use of the tone and volume controls on your instruments? I find this to be an oddly neglected zone of exploration, even this many years beyond Eric Clapton’s unfortunately dubbed “woman tone.”)
That said, there’s also not a damn thing wrong with buying some new gear. In fact, it’s great. Guitars, pedals, amps, microphones, plugins, and even accessories seem to get better all the time, which means we probably all have some room for upgrades if we’re able to make them. Same with the tones produced by modern emulations of vintage gear, which ideally get more on the nose with every iteration, while adding improvements to tonality and performance. In terms of consistency and playability, today’s well-made guitars are perhaps the finest ever built, in some cases outperforming the templates that inspired them at much lower cost. And, as the saying goes, every guitar—or pedal, or amp—has new songs inside of it, waiting to be discovered.
Hopefully you’ve gorged on the videos and reports from the NAMM floor that we’ve shared at premierguitar.com with you this month. There was a lot to see, hear, and smell. Well, maybe not smell, but I think you know what I mean. Never be afraid to chase gear temptation, because it can often lead you to interesting places.
Coppersound’s booth at NAMM 2019 in Anaheim, California.
Our columnist shares his thoughts on the potential benefits of music stores organizing small-scale alternative trade shows.
“Are you guys going to NAMM this year?” This is a question I’ll receive from industry friends as soon as the next NAMM show is remotely out of view. For the uninitiated, NAMM is the National Association of Music Merchants—the largest U.S.-based trade show for any company or person involved in the music industry. It’s a trade show attended by a full range of “anybody who is anybody.” At least, it used to be….
Vendor attendance at the big show has changed over the last few years. There are several factors for discussion here—cost, logistics, booth preparation, return on investment (ROI). ROI is the main concern that I come across when chatting with friends in the industry. Networking is one of the biggest factors that NAMM had going for it. Now, in the age of the internet, that NAMM-only value has diminished. Top that off with a Covid shutdown and major companies finding out that they can prosper without the NAMM show, and you get the current state of the show.
I’d like to make it clear that this is in no way meant to disparage NAMM, its employees, or its attendees. My company has presented at both the summer and winter shows over a five-year lifespan. Those outings were overall positive experiences that created lovely memories and relationships. However, I’m highly skeptical that the cost was worth those experiences and relationships. Herein lies the main discussion. Not, “Do we really need NAMM anymore?” but, “What else can companies do besides NAMM?” This topic instantly gives me David vs. Goliath imagery.
“Nothing that I’ve mentioned here is new, revolutionary thinking by any stretch. It’s simply a call to attention.”
Much like how we appreciate and seek out small music stores because of the unique inventory offered and customer services rendered, I believe these stores can offer those very things in the form of mini trade shows—small stores hosting live, in-store events consisting of small builders, specially curated for local musicians and enthusiasts. I’ve had the pleasure of attending these expos around New England, to the degree that I’ve been inspired to encourage and help music stores host events just like this.
These small shows aren’t uncommon or unheard of. Even Reverb sponsored a small-builders expo at Chicago Music Exchange last August, so these events are definitely on the radar. Likewise, the Brooklyn Stompbox Exhibit is a recurring show that has become quite popular with guitar and synth players over the years.
So, what can we do to assist in this NAMM-alternative era? I’d break it down into three sections: create, organize, and attend. I’m actively working towards creating and organizing small expos that would be hosted by music retailers. The core model is pretty straightforward:
Step 1: A music store invites brands that they already carry (and possibly some that they don’t).
Step 2: Those brands attend the show with demo stations to display their product line.
Step 3: The store and attending brands promote the event through any and all channels available.
Step 4: People attend the show and try out gear while getting to chat and engage with the builders.
Some expos like to incentivise their events with giveaways and the like. These stores also have a propensity to tailor the show to their specific/local community or customer demographic. All of these things help give the shows their own character and vibe.
Nothing that I’ve mentioned here is revolutionary thinking by any stretch. It’s simply a call to attention. So, let these closing remarks be my plea to music store owners, their employees, boutique builders, and members of the community: I encourage you to start the conversation about hosting your very own in-store gear expo and inviting brands to attend, even if it’s focused solely around the brands that are local and semi-local to your store. I would love to see “mini NAMM” shows all around the country throughout the year. As we’ve witnessed with NAMM, these events have great potential, but they have to start somewhere. The very first Academy Awards ceremony had an attendance of 270 people and was hosted on a Thursday.