Tag: features

Twelve years ago, Janglebox founder Steve Lasko set out to create effects pedals that capture the sparkling clean chime made famous by bands like The Beatles and The Byrds. Since then, his company has evolved to offer more ways to enhance the electric guitar’s sonic capabilities.

The J-Boost Non-Compression Clean Boost is the perfect companion to the JangleBox compressor line (or any compressor pedal). Designed to offset the lack of output when dialing in low-level compression settings, the J-Boost allows the player to maintain a desired flavor of compression without sacrificing volume. The J-Boost also lets the user lower their compressor’s attack to a lighter setting. Once engaged, the J-Boost serves opulent output with all the squish intact.

Made in the U.S., the true-bypass J-Boost has four knobs offering simplicity and flexibility; its Master, Treble, Mid, and Bass controls are accompanied by an input for a 9-volt adapter, all in a small enclosure.

The J-Boost is an EQ boost as well as a volume boost, providing lots of shaping and control. The output is immaculate and can be used as a treble booster, a mid boost, or for cranking up the bass. In testing, it added vitality to flabby lows and warmed up screechy highs. It’ll push an amp to slight breakup with a sharp richness and clarity and add a new dimension to distortion pedals.

With a compressor’s settings fine-tuned at a gig, the J-Boost goosed the compressor’s personality, making it much more prominent. Once thought too subtle to make an audible difference amid the wash of frequencies and chaos of club noise, the compressor’s unique qualities came to life, with the J-Boost pushing it to shine in all its taut, strangled glory.

Indeed, the JangleBox J-Boost is a fine pedal that provides a seamless volume increase and sheen to any rig.

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This article originally appeared in VG February 2017 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

For guitarists whose lives are dedicated to replicating the echo effects heard on songs like Hank Marvin’s “Apache,” Hall & Collins Signature Echo is at their service.

Combining analog and digital technologies, it re-creates multihead echoes emulating a range of vintage sounds that would leave one broke and alone if they had to find and buy the real thing. The Signature has 64 preset patches and 64 editable user patches along with Dry Level, Echo Drive, Echo Level, Feedback, and Wow/Flutter controls. It’s a big, rock-solid mono effects pedal that’ll take a lickin’ and is powered by a 12-volt adapter. It also allows the owner to scroll through preset patches using the Patch Down and Patch Up buttons and the LCD display (these also double as Minus and Plus buttons in Edit Mode).

This U.K.-constructed analog-digital hybrid was engineered to summon the soughtafter old-school sounds heard from the fingertips of Marvin and others, and the unit’s preset titles are aptly named to prove it. The controls are easy to suss, but editing requires less-than-intuitive combinations of switch pushing; once they hear the results, though, players won’t mind the required extra effort.

The Signature Echo colors an amp’s tone even when bypassed, but that’s a good thing. Its preamp emulates the editable sounds of the Meazzi Echomatic (1, 2, and Model J), the Binson Echorec 2, Meazzi’s Factotum Special, the Vox Long Tom, Roland’s RE-301, the Pearl Echo Orbit EO-301, and Klemt’s NG51 tape-echo machines.

Yes, the Hall & Collins Signature Echo is pricey, and it might be too big or clunky for a lot of pedalboards, but it’a a no-brainer addition to the rig of any fan of beautifully lush vintage echo sounds.

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This article originally appeared in VG February 2017 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Producer George Martin was so fond of John Lennon’s tape-relay keyboard that he described it “as if a Neanderthal piano had impregnated a primitive electronic keyboard, and they’d named their deformed, dwarfish offspring ‘Mellotron.’” Finicky, phased, and frequently out of tune, the Mellotron really is something of a problem child – but a well-loved one. Electro-Harmonix has put its sounds (and some of its finickiness) within reach of guitarists by way of the Mel9.

Imagine a keyboard made up of Play buttons froxm 35 cassette answering machines and you’ll have an idea of how a Mellotron works. Depressed, a key produces a short and wonderfully imperfect tape recording of an instrument (or section of instruments). Nine of the most widely used Mellotron sounds – Orchestra, Cello, Strings, Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Brass, Low Choir, and High Choir – are re-created in the Mel9. Best known is the Flute as heard on “Strawberry Fields Forever.” The Cello sound, too, with its yawning bottom and fixed vibrato, is spot-on Mellotron as heard on Radiohead’s “Airbag” and Oasis’ “Wonderwall.”

Also true to the original, the Mel9 can be temperamental. Attack and Sustain dials control how rapidly the wet signal enters and decays, but notes can still swell unexpectedly or drop off in steps, and nuanced playing (e.g., a light trill or fingerpicked pattern) can go unregistered. Keeping an audible amount of dry signal in the mix helps, and EHX acknowledges the need to “pay attention to performance gestures.” EHX also recommends putting the Mel9 first in an effects chain, as it’s sensitive to incoming levels, though a compressor stabilizes its response.

The Mel9 requires some coddling but the genuine Mellotron tones it produces can be worth the work. “That is you can’t you know tune in. But it’s all right.”

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This article originally appeared in VG February 2017 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

It’s not uncommon for novice guitarists to seek out stompboxes with zillions of features. As guitarists mature, however, they learn to chase something more important – sounding good. Crucial Audio’s DUB-1 is a direct box that does just that, with minimal controls, high-grade components, and a Ruby 12AU7 preamp tube.

Better still, the DUB-1 can be used in several ways. Guitarists might put it on their pedalboard to warm and fatten their guitar’s output signal, especially if they’re using a solidstate modeling amp or a straight-to-PA setup. For that, simply plug into the Hi-Z jacks (with the Pre/Post switch acting as a bypass or on) or run the XLR balanced output to the mixer. The Hi-Z input also has a 15dB pad and there’s a Ground/Lift switch to control extraneous noise. Hit the mini switch to choose Instrument (guitar or bass) or Line inputs (like a keyboard). Funkadelic four-string hero Bootsy Collins uses a DUB-1 to make his bass sound huge and clean, while an acoustic-electric guitarist might deploy it to smooth out the harsh treble that can plague piezo-pickup systems.

The unit’s wide frequency response (30Hz to 110KHz) contributes to the sonic accuracy of a picked note, and military-grade construction is ideal for live work.

The DUB-1 was tested with a Tele-style guitar and electric bass, both through a generic solidstate modeling amp. The results were dramatic. Thanks to the 12AU7 and circuits, all the harsh, trebly transients were smoothed out, giving warm, silkier sounds. For those wanting an amp or PA to sound more tube-like, this is an excellent tool. The DUB-1 doesn’t have a lot of “features,” but it does the single most important job any gizmo can – make a rig sound better. That’s why pro players are all over this box.

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This article originally appeared in VG February 2017 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Thanks to the digital revolution, guitarists can plug into a small box and access a world of sounds unimaginable a generation ago. And the digital bar keeps rising, with outfits like Fractal Audio pushing the pace with serious sonic tools. Evidence their powerful AX8 amp modeler and multi-effects floor unit.

Unlike consumer-grade boxes that cost a few hundred bucks and contain a good variety of sounds, the AX8 purports to offer pro-grade audio and flexibility, which accounts for its price tag (it’s also built like a tank).

The AX8 offers 512 presets, each an entire virtual guitar rig – amp, speaker cab, and effects. Fractal Audio particularly prides itself on its Quantum amp models and Ultra-Res speaker cab sims, and for good reason; many of these presets sound great out of the box with no tweaking.

The sounds are accessed with eight footswitches and three Function switches. Each amp, cab, and effect can be edited within any preset, so if a Recto-type amp yields the monster crunch desired but not quite the right delay, dive into the menu via the screen and buttons. There’s also an onscreen editor – plug the AX8 into a computer via USB and edit to the heart’s content. Ultimately, the AX8 can be as simple or as complex as desired.

Once a certain preset is loaded, the eight main footswitches turn into individual effect on/offs, controlling goodies like overdrive, chorus, reverb, delay, compression, rotary, tremolo, flanger, phaser, gate, EQ, looper, scenes, and more. The sounds can be put in the desired order for gigs and many of the sounds can be manipulated with an external expression pedal. Other units have similar effects and features, but again, the name of the game is the supreme richness of these sounds. This is not a unit with thin digital models, frying-bacon distortion, or cheap housing and hardware.

The AX8 impressed with its beefy sounds, including super-fat simulations of vintage Fender and Vox, numerous Marshall amps, and saturated Mesa/Boogie and Friedman crunch. Specifically, Fractal Audio’s presets have that big low-end and midrange response, which are the X factors in any great tube amp. Most players want to feel that chunk, that speaker moving air, which can be achieved by plugging the AX8 into a PA system or an acoustic-guitar amplifier. Sure, it can be used for effects only through a traditional guitar amplifier, but half the fun is hearing the AX8’s killer amp and cab sims through full-range speakers and making the room shake like a big tube stack. Better yet, hook up both systems simultaneously – a PA for full-range roar and an amp for kickass stage volume.

Some users will point out that the AX8 doesn’t have as many digital ins/outs as other units (is an AES/EBU jack really necessary on a floor unit?). Others might fret that the AX8 isn’t a full-on digital interface for recording, but again, that’s not the endgame (the company positions the AX8 below its flagship Axe-Fx).

This floor unit contains some fantastic sounds. It’s not inexpensive, but boxes at more than half the price aren’t anywhere close to this good. No doubt someone could play a stadium gig with only a six-string and the AX8, plugging straight into the PA and blowing fans away with great sound. With that kind of firepower under the hood, think what it could deliver at your next gig.

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This article originally appeared in VG February 2017 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

In a nutshell, the Effectrode Blackbird is a tube amp’s entire preamp section in a floor unit. And just why the heck would someone want that?

The Blackbird is housed in a heavy metal chassis with a Daka-ware knobs and high-grade components. It’s no accident that the box’s tubes are accessible on top, allowing the user to easily switch valves to fit their tonal needs, even on the fly. An external switch on the rear allows rebiasing for 12AX7, 12AU7, and 12AY7 preamp tubes, while an internal trim will accommodate other tube types such as dual-stage miniature B9A tubes like 12AV7s and 12AT7s.

Arriving outfitted with three 12AX7 tubes, the Blackbird has two channels with a three-band EQ on each. The first channel is a replica of a vintage Fender blackface circuit, covering sonic territory from clean to nicely overdriven with warm textures galore. The second channel picks up from there with an additional Gain control, going from mid-gain Marshall plexi to Dumble-style heavy saturation. Using the tube-buffered output, the Blackbird was tested with a small tube combo, resulting in serious “stack tone.” The transformation was shocking and delightful – with the Effectrode smacking its front end, the 15-watt 1×10 sounded more like a 50-watt 2×12.

In addition, the Blackbird can be sent into a mixer, PA, power amp, or digital interface for gigs or recording, using the Transformer Balanced Out function. The Blackbird was also tested into a Line 6 home-studio interface and cut cool, usable tracks in GarageBand via the buffered output. Even on tracks using Apple’s software amp simulations, the Blackbird yielded a huge difference – these sounded much more organic, convincing, and indeed tube-like than typical.

In all, the tones here won’t disappoint. Big, glassy cleans and naturally compressed crunch are but a few of the highlights and, again, the Blackbird made that small tube combo rage against the machine. There’s also a voicing switch on the back that goes from Classic to Creamy for even more high-gain textures.

This is the entire front end of a seriously good tube amp, but in a floor unit that can be tossed into a gig bag. 

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This article originally appeared in VG February 2017 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Dean Zelinsky’s history as a guitar builder includes unique designs that are toneful and eyecatching. To many, he might be best known for his early designs inspired by Gibson’s futuristic models of the late ’50s; others remember him for his ads in the 1980s co-starring what came to be known as “Dean Girls.”

Zelinsky’s a new line of import guitars are budget-friendly, professional, and striking with their high level of playability, fit, and finish. Because Zelinsky offers instruments factory-direct, buyers can customize many features including pickup configuration, hardware, and colors. He also added unique options including engraved hardware, engraved bodies, and his Z-glide neck with carved impressions to reduce hand-on-neck friction.

We recently received one of Zelinsky’s Dellatera Custom single-cutaways for review with the optional Z-Glide feature, SideKick pickup, and Tejas engraved hardware. A beautiful instrument, it sported a flame-maple top, pearloid pickguard, and engraved bridge and control plate. Controls included a five-way switch along with a Volume and push/pull Tone knob to control the neck pickup.

Besides the SideKick in the neck position, this Dellatera came with single-coils in the middle and bridge positions. Its modern 1 ¹¹⁄₁₆"-wide neck was medium depth, with a bend-friendly compound-radius fingerboard with 22 medium-jumbo frets.

Spinning the instrument around, it’s hard not to be taken aback by the Z-glide neck, whose unique etchings are quite out of the norm and proved extremely comfortable to play while never exhibiting the “sticky neck” syndrome common on all levels of new instruments. The headstock was adorned with a set of easy-to-string locking tuners.

Using a reissue ’65 Deluxe Reverb and a smattering of basic pedals, this flame-topped beauty was plugged in to see what it could do. The SideKick neck pickup was robust yet clear in humbucking mode, and in single-coil mode made for even clearer tones with only slightly reduced mids and bass response. In fact, it was amazing how close the output was in both single-coil and humbucking modes.

Keeping the coil tap on and switching to position two elicited the classic “notched number-two” position. Going back to humbucker mode in this position made for a bigger sound with more bass and reduced trebles. The middle single-coil on its own was also quite clear, but had a little more attack and punch, being closer to the bridge. Moving to position four made for a great implementation of one of the most used electric guitar tones of the last 40 years. The bridge pickup had just enough twang and grind to cover a wide variety of clean to overdriven tones.

Perhaps most impressive was how the Dellatera’s flame top, engraved hardware, playability, and tonal versatility were all delivered at a down-to-earth price. The Z-Glide neck is highly recommended and well worth the upcharge, creating a much more comfortable playing area.

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This article originally appeared in VG February 2017 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Blackstar’s Artist 15 is a British amp with an American accent. Though designed and built around good ol’ American-flavored 6L6 tubes, its sonic qualities feature that glorious jangly, chimey sound of classic British Class A amps.

Best of all, the amp’s unique ISF control lets the user dial between the two voices – or set it in the middle for the best of both worlds.

The Artist series (which also includes a 30-watt big brother) runs the 6L6s in an open-loop circuit designed to provide that lovely treble while also accentuating the bass response. In addition, the configuration results in more gain, pushing the power amp’s distortion into a creamy grind when needed.

The amp has two channels. Channel 1 offers stripped-down drive with no frills – just Volume and Tone controls for an honest, straight-to-the-heart sound.

Channel 2 is all about options. Along with a Gain knob and Equalisation (using the British spelling), there’s Blackstar’s aforementioned patented ISF control. Spun to the U.S. tones, this channel yields a tightened lower end and emphasis on the treble with plenty of in-your-face presence. Dial it clockwise and head for English waters with lows and mids beefed up for warmth. Or go clean or crunchy (think vintage Vox or Marshall).

The Blackstar’s capabilities were probed with a ’65 Rickenbacker 360, a guitar well-known for providing both classic American and British sounds. The 15-watter immediately boosted the guitar’s voice and magnified its clarity.

On the Brit ISF setting, the tone was solid Beatles; a warm shimmer overdriving slightly as the Loud knob was turned up. Wonderful. On the Yank setting, the amp did a fine CCR impression with plenty of bluesy growl when the 360 was attacked hard.

The Artist 15 has nice gain for front-ending pedals as well, especially vintage stompboxes that need a helping hand. A dual-level loop on the back allows players to run effects in a return-and-send. The amp also has a built-in digital reverb with Dark and Light switches for more flexibility than most spring units.

The only suggestions? A standby switch would be lovely (the Artist 30 does have one). And the amp’s not lightweight, though this weight is quality heft – the cabinet and componentry feel rock-solid. And that stealthy black-leather styling is way cool, like a Hiwatt dressed in an Armani suit.

As an all ’rounder, the Artist will have your back.

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This article originally appeared in VG February 2017 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Fuzz and octavers are among the hottest pedals around, with some builders even melding them to great effect. The Red Witch Zeus Bass Fuzz Suboctave is one such box. It’s designed for bass players, but guitar players will crave it, too.

An all-analog design featuring silicon-based fuzz (fueled by two BC109 transistors, same as the Red Witch Fuzzgod), the Zeus Bass has four controls arranged like a mixer. An Octave Mix control brings in the dry-to-wet octave sound; “Off” is full off/bypass, or turn it full up for an entirely processed tone. The Fuzz knob sets the fuzz-tone level while Fuzz Mix brings in just the right amount.

Sputter is another feature showing up more these days, imitating the staccato, farting sounds of 8-bit audio or a battery crapping out. On the surface, it seems like a negative, but on the job it’s one of the coolest effects in town. The Sputter knob makes a fair amount of crackling, but that’s the circuit adjusting the DC bias, which is normal.

Used with a Relic Guitars Hague model, a Musicvox MI-6 bass, and a 1×10 Class A tube amp, the Zeus Bass Fuzz delivered massively fat tones. The fuzz is musical and warm, unlike some brash, nasty square waves. Dial in the gigantic suboctave effect for lo-fi, psychedelic city, perfect for everything from Jefferson Airplane to Sonic Youth. Ladle on some Sputter that harkens back to early-’70s Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, and Stevie Wonder. Playing the greasy riff from “Superstition” on the Zeus resulted in pure sonic ecstasy.

The Schaffer Replica by SoloDallas is an out-of-left-field unit based on the monster tone of AC/DC’s Angus Young. One of Angus’ secret weapons was the Schaffer-Vega Diversity System wireless unit, the first of its kind to gain a toehold among players of the late ’70s. The curious thing is that the old SVDS had such a great preamp and unique gain character that Angus also used it in the studio just a few feet away from his Marshalls.

The Schaffer Replica is an authentic recreation of that unique circuit, giving a powerful boost in front of a tube amp. The pedal just has three controls: an on/off footswitch, input, and output. Basically, turn the effect on and decide how much you want.

The Schaffer Replica uses the two-step “companding” process to smack the front of a tube amp, much like an overdrive pedal. “Companding” is a telecommunications term indicating a signal is compressed on one end and then expanded on the other end – sort of the audio equivalent of a compressed .ZIP folder. The unique SVDS circuit takes the input signal and proceeds to warm, fatten, and generally pump it up. Whether used with a Strat into a clean Fender amp or an SG into a plexi Marshall, tone becomes more exciting and lively.

The Schaffer Replica is such a simple pedal that it needs to be heard for one to understand its cool factor. Plug it in, step on the footswitch, and marvel at its killer tone. Angus knew it was a great circuit 40 years ago. Now you can hear it for yourself.

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This article originally appeared in VG February 2017 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Joe Gore’s career path has been multilayered and includes “guitar effects builder.” Two of his pedals are Cult and Filth – effects capable of great and varied tones that belie their simple layouts and designs.

One of the simplest pedal layouts ever created, The Cult has just one control knob, which increases gain. Don’t let that simplicity fool you, though – it’s one of the most flexible fuzz units imaginable. Running a ’65 Strat through the Cult and into a ’65 AC30 then playing with a variety of fuzz levels revealed that the more the Gain knob was turned up, the more responsive and dynamic the guitar’s Volume knob became, almost serving as an extension of the pedal itself.

With the Cult’s control at 3 o’clock and the guitar’s Volume on 7, the setup yielded a great rhythm sound with enough clarity to allow open chords to bloom. Turning the guitar’s Volume all the way up produced a rich-yet-natural harmonic distortion that jumped from the amp, unlike some fuzz units that sort of compress the entire signal – very important in a live setting with a band.

Like its little brother, the Filth pedal is also easy to use, though it has four controls; Level and Drive knobs increase the volume and the amount of fuzz, respectively, but what sets the Filth apart are two big sliders on the top and right of the unit. According to Gore, these alter the voltages through the pedal’s transistors, changing not only the tone but the response, attack, and compression notes.

Running the Filth through a small-box Marshall 50-watt rig, the pedal produced an amazing assortment of sounds with simple adjustments of the sliders, which interacted nicely with each other. From a ’60s “Psychotic Reaction” type of fuzz to a Santana-smooth overdrive and on to end-of-the-world Black Sabbath heaviness, the Cult pedal displayed an incredible amount of flexibility most guitarists would have no problem employing as the sole fuzz in their signal chain.

Gore’s Cult and Filth pedals are notably different from other designs in that they don’t squash the signal, but rather boost note dynamics. They are solidly built, easy to operate, and could be welcome additions to any electric guitarist’s pedalboard. 

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This article originally appeared in VG February 2017 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.