Bugera’s Trirec Infinium amp head is a three-channel amp with a Varipower dial that scales output power from 1 to 100 watts and allows the player can access its solidstate or tube-based rectifiers, or a combination of the two. The amp ships with a six-button footswitch for channel selection, Boost, Reverb and FX Loop, which doubles as MIDI in/thru for remote switching. Learn more at bugera-amps.com.
Eric Clapton announced today the release of his 21st studio album, Old Sock. Produced by Clapton, Doyle Bramhall II, Justin Stanley, and Simon Climie, it includes two new original songs “Every Little Thing” and “Gotta Get Over” and will be released March 12 on Clapton’s Bushbranch label.
The album is a collection of favorite Clapton songs spanning from his childhood to present day that highlights his appreciation and knowledge of music. From Leadbelly to J.J. Cale; Peter Tosh to George Gershwin; Hank Snow to Gary Moore and Taj Mahal, this record is a celebration of so many who have inspired Clapton’s rich musical life. Clapton has always had a remarkable ability to recognize great songs and a gift for knowing how to uniquely interpret them, as he does on Old Sock. The album explores romantic standards of the 30’s, reggae, soul, rock, and includes a stand out playful collaboration with Paul McCartney, to create an experience that is quintessential Clapton.
Clapton assembled a band for the recordings consisting of longtime collaborators Steve Gadd (drums), Willie Weeks (bass) and Chris Stainton (keyboards) along with some surprise guest additions. JJ Cale joins the song “Angel” for backing vocals and guitar, Chaka Khan joins as backing vocalist for “Get On Over,” Steve Winwood on the Hammond B3 Organ on “Still Got The Blues,” Paul McCartney on bass/vocals on “All of Me,” Jim Keltner on drums for “Our Love is Here To Stay”.
The Chaosound Anti-Effect guitar pedal “destroys” a guitar’s sound by imitating electroacoustic track damage, allowing the player to imitate an amplifier that is shorting out or about to fail, or a mulfunctioning guitar cable. The company says it also renders other effects, including thunder, lighting, bombing, and crushing. Check it out at chaosound.com
Ovation’s 2098 and 1798 Figured Koa Elite acoustic/electric guitars have flame-koa tops with Ovation quintad T-shaped spruce top bracing. The 2098 has a deep-contour cutaway Lyrachord body, while the 1798 has a deep-bowl cutaway body. Appointments include a 10″-radius ebony fingerboard with a koa oval inlay at the 12th fret, tortoiseshell body binding, and a gloss black headstock with gold tuners. The Ovation OCP-1K Compensated pickup and OP-PRO preamplifier feature convenient ¼” and XLR outputs for live and studio applications. Visit ovationguitars.com.
Blackstar Amplification’s ID series of programmable guitar amplifiers includes six amps ranging from 15 through 100 watts. Each has a control set like a traditional amp, coupled with programmability and USB connectivity. Blackstar’s True Valve Power mode is designed to reproduce six power-tube responses – EL84, 6V6, EL34, KT66, 6L6, KT88. The amp’s Voice control offers a selection of six channels – Clean Warm, Clean Bright, Crunch, Super Crunch, OD1, OD2. The effects section delivers modulation, delay, and reverb that can be used simultaneously and stored with user sounds. Visit www.blackstaramps.com.
Orange Amplification’s VT1000 is a fully automatic valve tester that allows users to quickly match and test valves, plus check whether their valves are good, bad, or worn. The unit has one octal and two nine-pin valve sockets, and displays results using LEDs. It tests for a range of fault conditions. Learn more at orangeusa.com.
The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art is preparing an exhibit titled “Guitars! Roundups to Rockers,” which will feature more than 130 guitars owned by Roy Rogers, Charlie Christian, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Woody Guthrie, Buddy Holly, Les Paul and others. Opening March 9, the exhibit explores the Western connections of guitars and artists. The experience, including interactive content, will appeal to guitar fans, musicians, and music lovers of genres from Western swing to rock, punk, and jazz. The exhibit is supported by ongoing programming, including films, guitar instruction, a guitar “corral” that offers guests a chance to pluck and strum, live performances, and more. Learn more at eiteljorg.org.
Rounder Records has set a March 5 release date for its ambitious retrospective on the career of guitarist Duane Allman. Titled Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective, the seven-disc collection contains the guitarist’s best-known and most commercially successful recordings with the Allman Brothers Band and Derek & the Dominos, as well as session work with Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Boz Scaggs, Clarence Carter, King Curtis, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, Ronnie Hawkins, Otis Rush, Laura Nyro, Lulu, the Sweet Inspirations, Laura Lee, Spencer Wiggins, Arthur Conley, Willie Walker, the Lovelles, the Soul Survivors, Johnny Jenkins, John Hammond, Doris Duke, Eric Quincy Tate, Herbie Mann, and more. The set was produced by Galadrielle Allman (Duane’s daughter) and two-time Grammy winning producer Bill Levenson. Rounder Records’ Scott Billington served as executive producer. Scott Schinder contributed comprehensive historical liner notes, complemented by additional notes by Galadrielle Allman.
ESP LTD Viper 256P
Price: $399 (street)
Info: espguitars.com.
In the protoplasmic days of heavy metal, Tony Iommi slashed away at classics like “War Pigs” and “Iron Man” with a ’65 SG Special, creating a look, sound, and vibe that has lasted decades. Today, this earth-crunching tone is echoed in the ESP LTD Viper 256P, a rather Iommi-inspired axe with enough metal attitude to bring an end to the world.
The LTD Viper 256P’s specs are standard metal-issue. There’s a mahogany body with a set mahogany neck and rosewood board. A 24.75″ neck scale offers 24 extra-jumbo frets, for maximum reach and speed. A tune-o-matic-style bridge and stopbar tailpiece help make intonation adjustments and string changes easy, and electronics include ESP stacked pickups that look like P-90s, a master volume and tone, and a three-way pickup toggle. The guitar is available in black with a white pickguard and see-through black cherry with a blackguard, either of which further conjures that Iommi aura. The black option has gold-finished hardware and the cherry features chrome, while inlays on both include ESP’s popular “flags” on the fingerboard and a mother-of-pearl LTD in the headstock. Other details include a 42mm composite nut and ESP tuners.
The LTD Viper 256P’s weight is along the lines of a Les Paul – hefty, but not bothersome. All told, the Viper is a sleek, simple rock and roll machine. Another interesting fact: the guitar is made in Vietnam and its construction and finish are as good as most other fine axes from Asia.
With a digital modeling amp and half-stack at the ready, the LTD Viper 256P was tough to put down. Just about anything can be played on it, from blues to twang, but it screams for heavy riffing. Ladle on as little or as much gain as you want, it handles all the curves easily but sounds best with a goodly amount of distortion on top. The stacked hum-canceling pickups are quiet, and whether in standard tuning or drop-D, the Viper offers deep chunks and screaming highs to satisfy any crunch-hungry guitarist.
The LTD Viper 256P has a thin, fast neck, yet it’s also wide, evoking a California superstrat. Its setup is on the money and there are no neck or fret issues. Its only debits are the aforementioned body weight and a slight tendency toward neck-diving, but both are part and parcel of just about any SG-style guitar.
In all, the LTD Viper 256P is an affordable hard-rock machine, ready for your most bruising chords and terrifying solos. Strapped into this guitar, it’s difficult not to search your soul for the darkest riffs imaginable and then let them run free on its fast neck and rippin’ pickups. It’s the sound on which heavy metal was built.
This article originally appeared in VG April 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Blackstar Amplification’s limited edition Arctic White HT amps have a white covering with black piping and black grillecloth, with complementary white front panel with black metal knobs and chrome corners. The two-channel HT-5R has reverb, and an Tone control on the clean channel. Its Infinite Shape Feature (ISF) works with the three-band EQ, and its effects loop is equipped with a level switch to match the signal of nearly any external effect processor. Visit blackstaramps.com.