Walrus Audio is excited to announce the release of their highly ambitious and highly anticipated MAKO MkII series. With the original MAKO line, players were offered premium all-in-one, multi-algorithm models for with the D1 Delay, R1 Reverb, and M1 Modulation, as well as top-of-the-line amp and cabinet simulation with the ACS1. After four years of real-world use and experience with the first generation, the team went to work applying everything they learned and heard from players to make the next generation of MAKO pedals even better.
Each pedal in the MAKO Series has been redesigned and rebuilt for vast improvements in tonality, new UI with the addition of an OLED navigation menu screen, and added secondary controls for even greater versatility. Dialing in these inspiring studio grade tones has never been easier and has never sounded better.
The ACS1 MkII features three new amplifier models to go with the three existing models, all inspired by high-gain amps for heavy-style players to get people moving:
- The distinctively raw and punchy Peavey 5150.
- The warm, rich, and harmonically complex Orange Rockerverb.
- The world-famous, in-your-face Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier.
Additional updates on the series are as follows:
- OLED navigation screen menu for improved UI.
- Increased headroom and lowered noise floor for tonal improvement.
- Rebuilt and fine tuned programs based on user feedback.
- All six R1 programs completely rebuilt from the ground up.
- All new Grain Delay algorithm on the D1.
- Six additional cabinet models for the ACS1, designed by Justin York at York Audio.
- Total BPM Control and BPM Readout on screen for time-based effects.
- Now 128 on-board presets.
- Many new program controls (ex. size control on R1, noise gate on ACS1).
- Flanger sound added to the Chorus algorithm on M1.
MAKO MkII Series pedals are packaged in custom anodized aluminum enclosures. Exact sizes for all four pedals is 4.9” x2.52” x 2.64”. Power requirement for all four pedals is 9VDC (300mA minimum).
Walrus Audio is offering the R1 MkII, D1 MkII, and M1 MkII for $399.99. The ACS1 MkII is offered at $449.99. All are available for preorder now at walrusaudio.com and through authorized dealers with expected shipment starting in mid-October.
For more information, please visit walrusaudio.com.
Metal Gems is an exclusive collection of 100 high-gain Tone Models, meticulously captured to deliver both classic and contemporary metal tones, giving users instant access to 4 legendary amps: a Diezel Herbert, Bogner Uberschall, Soldano SLO-100 and a Peavey 5150.
The essence of these high-gain jewels has been preserved in stunning high-definition using IK's cutting-edge AI Machine Modeling Technology in conjunction with a sonically perfect environment to produce the incredible guitar tones available today.
Collection Overview
- 100 Tone Models based on legendary high-gain amps including with and without cab
- A Premium Tone Model collection for use across the entire TONEX ecosystem
- Compatible with all TONEX versions including the free TONEX CS and TONEX App
- Captured at a professional studio with ideal acoustics and the perfect gear
- Created using cutting-edge AI Machine Modeling technology with advanced training
- All Tone Models can easily be loaded to TONEX Pedal and used for live performance
The Featured Models
Diezel Herbert
The Diezel Herbert is a 180-watt fire breather that can go from dynamic cleans to ultra-tight distortion. 30 Tone Models deliver that Diezel signature definition and tightness perfect for modern and classic metal tones. The collection includes all 3 distinctly voiced channels captured with different cabs, mics and outboard gear.
Bogner Uberschall
The Bogner Uberschall is a renowned high-gain guitar amp prized for its all-tube distortion and clear string separation. 25 Tone Models deliver searing lead and rhythm tones with tight and powerful bass, ideal for players of extended-range and drop-tuned guitars. The collection includes clean and high-gain Tone Models using multiple stomps to tighten and drive the amp into brutal territory.
Soldano SLO-100
The SLO-100 redefined high-gain amplification in 1987 as one of the first amp heads to feature powerful harmonics and impeccable gain, sustain and responsiveness. 25 Tone Models feature clean, drive and high-gain tones with several using a TS-9 and Furman PQ-3, captured with a variety of settings, speakers and other outboard gear to achieve a wide range of tones for hard rock to modern metal.
Peavey 5150 Block Letter
The Peavey 5150 is one of history's most iconic high-gain amps, instantly recognizable on any stage. Renowned for its bloom and juicy harmonic saturation, the 5150 was quickly adopted by many top metal guitar players. 20 Tone Models feature a variety of captures including some with stomps and with 6 different cabs to deliver a wide range of skull-crushing, gig-ready tones.
A New Tuner for TONEX Pedal
The release of Metal Gems coincides with a free firmware update for TONEX Pedal featuring a game-changing chromatic tuner. The new tuner inside TONEX Pedal can replace any tuner currently used with its easy-to-read display, selectable reference frequency and three operating modes: Mute, Thru, and Off.
To update to firmware 1.2.3, connect TONEX Pedal to a Mac or PC with an internet connection and launch TONEX. Navigate to the librarian section and select "Update Firmware." Once complete, the pedal will restart automatically with the new firmware installed and the tuner ready.
This update and future improvements represent IK’s commitment to ongoing TONEX hardware improvements, software refinements and additional Tone Models.
Metal Gems Signature Collection is available now to purchase via ToneNET and within any version of TONEX for Mac/PC for $/€49.99.* For a limited time, Metal Gems is included free with new purchases of TONEX Pedal and TONEX MAX.
For more information, please visit ikmultimedia.com.
IK Multimedia TONEX Pedal Amplifier/Cabinet/Pedal Modeler with Z-Tone Active Direct Box
The new Corpse (left to right): guitarist Rob Barrett, bassist Alex Webster, vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, guitarist Erik Rutan, and drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz.
With the release of their skull-shatteringly heavy 15th studio album, Violence Unimagined—and now boasting over 30 years of parent-terrifying music—Cannibal Corpse have proven yet again that they're more than just innovators within a subgenre. They're an institution. Essentially, Cannibal Corpse is the AC/DC of death-metal: a band that's created a distinct sound and consistently progressed within that idiom despite several lineup changes, including a lead vocalist—again like AC/DC—without sacrificing the elements that made that sound so enthralling in the first place.
Violence Unimagined is a dynamic and bloody disgusting journey through a hectic mix of Cannibal Corpse's signature breakneck blasters and hulking mid-tempo groovers. It's an album that has everything fans love and expect from the Florida-based squad. It's also an album that benefits tremendously from an injection of fresh creative blood via the contributions of longtime producer Erik Rutan, who not only produced the recordings, but officially joined the quintet as a guitarist and songwriter just before starting pre-production.
"I think he did a really good job of adapting and Cannibalizing his riffs to make it sound like us." —Rob Barrett
Best known for fronting his own band, Hate Eternal, and for the multiple long stints he's served on guitar with Morbid Angel, Rutan has spent the lion's share of the past decade producing a laundry list of diverse and critically acclaimed heavy albums from his MANA Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida. This isn't the first time that Rutan has played guitar with the band, though. When Pat O'Brien took leave in 2019, the producer was the obvious choice to step in as his touring replacement. O'Brien and the band have since parted ways entirely, and with Rutan on board as an official member of the group, Violence Unimagined is Cannibal Corpse's first release to feature his song contributions.
A lineup shift can throw a serious wrench in the works for a band with a sound as well-defined as that of Cannibal Corpse, but Rutan's integration into the fold for Violence Unimagined was seamless—something he and guitarist Rob Barrett credit to his deep ties with the group. Rutan details just how deep that history really goes, saying, "I remember Alex [Webster, bass] and Paul [Mazurkiewicz, drums] handing me the first Cannibal record before it even came out! I've known Rob and George ["Corpsegrinder" Fisher, vocals] since 1990, and having recorded the band so many times, I have a really clear understanding of their music. And as guitarists, Rob and I have always worked great together on getting tones and I've always had so much respect for the kind of player and writer he is."
For years now, Cannibal Corpse's songs have been penned by individual band members. Even though Rutan was asked to join just three months before entering the studio, "they welcomed me with open arms when it came to contributing songs," he says. "A lot of Alex's and Rob's songs had been formulated already when I started to write, so I was able to see what would help fill in some gaps to help make it an even bigger album dynamically. I had a very loose thought process going into it because there had been songs presented to me already, and I was working around those, though when I typically start writing, thinking kind of goes out the window. The songwriting is more about instinct and trying to preserve the things that make this band what it is, while still creating fresh ideas. I think that's why this band has had the success and longevity it has, and I love every record this band has done because they all offer something unique."
Rob Barrett's Gear
"It's crazy to think, but we're almost classic death metal now," says Rob Barrett, seen here playing his Dean Cadillac onstage with Cannibal Corpse in 2018.
Photo by Alex Morgan
Guitars
- 1989 Gibson Les Paul Standard with EMG 81 pickups
- Dean Custom Shop Cadillac with 25 ¾" scale and Fishman Fluence Modern Active Humbuckers
- Charvel Pro-Mod So-Cal Style 1 HH with maple fretboard and Seymour Duncan JB pickups (used for solos)
Strings and Picks
- D'Addario NYXL (.011–.064 7-string sets, without the .011, for guitars tuned to G# and C#)
- D'Addario NYXL (.013-.056, for guitars tuned to A# and D#)
- Dunlop Tortex 1.5 mm Sharp
Amps
- Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier
- Peavey 5150 (block letter era)
- Vintage Marshall JCM800
- Marshall 4x12 cab with Celestion Greenbacks
Effects
- Ibanez 30th Anniversary TS9 Tube Screamer
- Maxon OD-9 Overdrive
- Maxon ST-9 Pro+ Super Tube
Despite their longstanding rapport and mutual respect, Barrett admits he was a bit apprehensive about adding Rutan to the mix as a songwriter. "I was worried his songs were going to sound too much like Hate Eternal, but when he started playing me his stuff, it was like, 'Wow! This does sound like Cannibal Corpse!' You could just tell Erik Rutan wrote them. He did a really good job of adapting and Cannibalizing his riffs to make it sound like us." To Rutan's credit, he says writing tunes for Violence Unimagined felt "very natural," not only because of his long history with the group, but as a fan the guitarist felt confident he could apply his own feel and musical stamp to Cannibal Corpse's songs.
The major pivot point from past Cannibal Corpse releases comes from Rutan's unique vocabulary as a soloist. While Barrett's more traditionally stout shredding remains an immediately recognizable part of the Cannibal Corpse sound, Rutan's slithering melodic playing is worlds away from the chaotic chromatics of predecessor O'Brien. Rutan says, "Some of my earliest memories are hearing different composers, like Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi.... I really feel like listening to classical music as a child influenced how I approach songwriting. Even the stuff that's more dissonant has a classical background that I personally hear really clearly. The solo on 'Follow the Blood' is one of those moments. I created a melody, and halfway in it goes into a harmonized counterpoint melody, and in the center of the stereo spread is a full-on solo lead. That solo has a real classical music approach."
"Some of my earliest memories are hearing different composers, like Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi …" —Erik Rutan
The guitarist also looks well beyond Western classical music, and adds, "Turkish music and Middle Eastern stuff has been a huge inspiration to me! Listening to a lot of Middle Eastern music inspires a lot of my solos, even in 'Inhumane Harvest,' where there's slides and half-tone things that have a Middle Eastern flavor. And I do like to do a little shred here and rippin' there, but the song has to call for that."
Drawing from such a wide range of source material provides Rutan with the substance required to fulfill his own mission as a soloist. "I've always looked at solos as a journey within songs, and they have to take a path," he says. "It's all about the solo feeling natural within a song, and I want them to make an impact. If you look back at everything I've done, from Ripping Corpse to Morbid Angel and Hate Eternal, my approach to soloing has always been about substance over flash. It's never been about technique as much as it's been about feel, but with complexity. To me, complexity and technique are very different things."
Erik Rutan's Gear
Here's Erik Rutan onstage with his B.C. Rich Ironbird, back when Hate Eternal toured as an opening act for Cannibal Corpse in 2018.
Photo by Alex Morgan
Guitars
- 1989 Gibson Les Paul Standard w/ EMG 81 pickups
- B.C. Rich Custom Shop Ironbird w/Gibson Dirty Fingers bridge pickup and Lawrence L-500 neck pickup (used for solos)
Strings and Picks
- D'Addario NYXL (.11–.64 7-string sets, without the .011, for guitars tuned to G sharp and C sharp)
- D'Addario NYXL (.13-.56, for guitars tuned to A sharp and D sharp)
- Dunlop Jazz III XL Tortex 1.35 mm
Amps
- Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier
- Peavey 5150 (block letter era)
- Vintage Marshall JCM800
- Marshall 4x12 cab with Celestion Greenbacks
Effects
- Ibanez 30th Anniversary TS9 Tube Screamer
- Maxon OD-9 Overdrive
- Maxon ST-9 Pro+ Super Tube
While Violence Unimagined certainly marks a new era in many ways for Cannibal Corpse, it's business as usual for Barrett, who reflects on the band's legacy: "It's crazy to think, but we're almost classic death-metal now! We, as a band, have tried really hard to stay on the track we started on while moving forward. We never want to be stuck in the past and just keep trying to copy what we already did."
Meanwhile, Rutan ruminates on the process a bit more sentimentally. "Everyone's contributions and the accumulation of everyone's unique approach has allowed this band to keep progressing over the course of 15 albums, but those albums all keep true to the essence and spirit of what Cannibal Corpse is. From the riffs to the solos to the song structures to the album flow, it's all a journey.
Stacking Up Corpses: Building the Band’s Rhythm Guitar Sound
Longtime producer Erik Rutan stepped into the guitar chair on Violence Unimagined, marking his first time as a songwriter for the band.
After working on five albums with the band, Rutan may have mastered the clandestine art of recording Cannibal Corpse, but that doesn't mean it's an easy gig. The producer is adamant about quad-tracking rhythm guitars, a technique he says is key to creating the brutal wall of chainsaw axes that is Cannibal Corpse's calling card. Rather than reamping a single performance or splitting the guitar signal to multiple amps to capture several sources in one take, the two guitarists each had to provide four individual performances of every one of the new album's challenging, often tremolo-picked, rhythm parts.
Rutan breaks down the madness behind the method: "Part of what I like to do is color the four tracks with multiple amps, so we'll start with a defining tone, which will be the main tone panned left and right. Then we find a second tone to add in for the third and fourth tracks, and that tone is not really about how it sounds on its own, but what it contributes to the overall sound when combined with the main tone. We'll have guitar tracks three and four around 5 to 7 dB lower in the mix than the main tracks. You get a different character and dynamic in the overall tone that you don't even know is missing until you add that second amp in."
From Barrett's perspective, the hardest part about the quad tracking process is simply getting through the first track. "As soon as you get to the second track, it gets smoother and you can keep going," he says. "We try to play through each track as far as we can without doing punches, but this stuff isn't easy and we do punch in when it's a tricky part."
Rutan adds, "Rob and I are very proficient at duplicating our performances tightly and that really adds to that wall of sound. When you play a part four times, the little idiosyncrasies and inconsistencies—as long as you're a really tight player—add another layer of dynamics to the guitars."
"If you'd asked me a year ago what I saw coming, I'd have never envisioned how this whole thing unfolded. I've done a lot in my career and I've always felt really grateful for all the opportunities I've had, but this record, especially, is one of my proudest moments. After all these years, to join Cannibal Corpse—a band that means so much to my life, my career, and, personally, as friends—to be a part of it after 30-plus years of playing death-metal … it still blows my mind! It feels great and it feels so natural. I can't help but feel gratitude about it while also reflecting on the ups and downs and the work I've put into everything I do, and to be able to continue that while being a part of Cannibal Corpse is really special for me."
CANNIBAL CORPSE - Live in Bucharest, Romania 13.06.2019 [Full Show]
This raging concert performance from Bucharest, Romania, in 2019 was part of Erik Rutan's first tour with the band, before he became an official full-time member.
