Tag: features

Part of the success behind J. Rockett Audio Designs lies in the fact that, like any player who might tackle building a pedal for themselves, Chris Van Tassel and Jay Rockett design stompboxes that they love to play. Their effects attract some of the finest players in the world, so the formula is working.

The company’s Archer overdrive is a tribute to the fabled Klon Centaur, which for years has starred on the pedalboards of top guitarists who love its sweet, transparent, germanium richness. Using a Les Paul Standard through a Fender Deluxe Reverb, the J. Rockett version captured the charismatic personality of the Klon, with a smidge more grit, bite, and glorious clean headroom – at a fraction of the cost of an original.

The Dude is another overdrive favorite. J. Rockett’s take on the Dumble Overdrive Special amp, plugged in between a Telecaster and a Bassman reissue, delivered rich harmonic clarity, opulent bass, touch sensitivity, and noiseless footswitching whether running as a clean boost or applying more-complex grit. Transparent clean boost escalates into snarling low mids, singing neck-pickup leads, and delicious overtones.

New from J. Rockett is the El Hombre, which leans heavily into the sounds of that “Little ol’ band from Texas.” With a Strat plugged into a Marshall DSL40, it offered a range of overdriven sizzle; the Bite knob works like an EQ, delivering punchy, plexi-like aggression, Van Halen harmonics, and Texas teeth. It goes from chill to kill, instantly supplying warmth, sustain, feel, and fierce clarity. It’s also fun to play.

J. Rockett pedals take up minimal real estate, are built like a Sherman tank, and employ simple knob layouts that allow users to quickly get down to business. J. Rockett Audio Designs builds effects pedals that make guitarists want to play the guitar, and that’s the crux of the biscuit.

This article originally appeared in VG’s February 2023 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Donner has been making a name delivering import gear at absurdly low prices while maintaining solid quality. The Arena 2000 is another triumph, this one going up against multi-effects floor units with color screens – a feature that typically drives the price to around $400. This box lists for substantially less, yet contains a universe of sounds – 278 effects, 150 effects presets, 80 amp models, and 50 cabinet impulse response (IR) models, plus a (very) small pedal for wah, volume, and other effects. Oh yeah – there’s also a looper and drum machine with 40 patterns.

Using what Donner calls FVACM technology (the company’s proprietary 24-bit/44.1 kHz audio processing), the 2000 is designed to reduce the canned/processed sound of multi-effects. In fact, the unit has serious earthy vibe for a digital box.

The acid test of today’s digital multi-effects units is user-friendliness, and the Donner earns top marks. Even without the manual, it’s easy to navigate and adjust the many “scenes,” which is a grouping of effects and models visualized on the 3.5″ screen. One big knob controls myriad features, scrolling through models of sounds, amps, and cabs. Pushing it in jumps to another level of menus. It’s absurdly simple to navigate and save new sounds, thanks to a handy bank of touch controls (Cab, Amp, Drive, Reverb, Compressor, etc.). USB connectivity lets you download more IR simulations, so can you pick the virtual “space” of an amp in the studio.

Powered up, the Arena 2000 offers convincing sounds, from metal crunch (with super-ambient cabinet sims) to echo-laden cleans that defy description. Better yet, they’re easy to edit and save as new presets. It’s hard to gauge the Arena 2000’s gig-durability, but for its price, Donner brings jaw-dropping value here. Step on it!

This article originally appeared in VG’s February 2023 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Need the perfect stutter effect or killswitch in a pedal? Massachusetts-based CopperSound Pedals’ latest iteration of its popular Telegraph Stutter box was recently launched, with a nice dash of increased versatility.

Kill and Activate modes carried over from the previous version, while a new adjustable Burst mode adds tremolo effect to the stuttering sounds ranging from 110 BPM on up. Built for the stage or studio with an all-metal enclosure, the Telegraph Stutter runs on a 9-volt adapter and allows users to control its effects using latching and momentary options. In addition, an internal dip switch allows latching to be turned off.

A three-way toggle engages Kill, Bust, and Activate modes; Kill and Activate cut or pass signal when pressed, while Burst can be set to Kill or Activate using the two-way polarity toggle. When polarity is set to Kill, clean signal will pass until the key is pressed, engaging the Burst. When set to Activate, no sound is heard until the key is pressed, creating stuttering bursts of sonic glory.

It slices, it dices, and again, it’s versatile – just the thing for rhythmic experimentation; Morse code, turntable scratching, or rapid-fire signal cutting a la Tom Morello can be had, with seamless connecting to other instruments, including vocals. It’s also expression-pedal friendly. For the forward-thinking musician, the Telegraph Stutter can be a fun, funky addition.

This article originally appeared in VG’s February 2023 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

In the quest for tone, the secret is a combination of pickups, wood, construction, and the magic in a player’s fingers. Aiming for a tone like a P-90 with hot midrange, Railhammer is now offering the humbuckers previously available only in Reverend’s Billy Corgan signature guitar (“Approved Gear,” May ’22).

Part of the company’s Humcutter line, the ceramic-magnet Z-Ones have a single rail under the wound strings (for tightness) and three slugs under the top three (for clarity). The overall sound blends poppin’ midrange with big bottom and balanced highs – without the dreaded hum of single-coil pickups.

A critical piece of any replacement-pickup puzzle is wood. Install the Corgans in a mahogany body/neck guitar (like a Gibson or many PRS models), and they’ll sound warmer and mellower than in an alder body with a bolt-on maple neck (like a typical Fender). In our A/B comparisons with mahogany-bodied axes, they sounded brighter and funkier in an alder plank; with mahogany, one would expect a clearer tone than PAF-style humbuckers – again, more like a P-90. In our tests, they were always noise-free. And, Railhammer ups the ante with etched covers in chrome, gold, and black.

In all, the Railhammer Billy Corgan Z-One Humcutters are about delivering humbucker clarity with punchy midrange, along with the joy of quiet design.

This article originally appeared in VG’s February 2023 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

The Roland Corporation was born in 1972 and just a few years later introduced its landmark Jazz Chorus JC-120 amplifier. To celebrate the half-century mark, the company has reissued a 350-piece run of the amp with an elegant cherry-wood veneer cabinet.

In contrast to the muscular overdrive of Marshalls or bark of Fender Twins, the JC-120 promised a clean, high-tech future for guitarists, thanks to its stereo wiring, ample wattage, and groundbreaking built-in chorus (the effect was later ported to the Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble pedal).

If you’ve ever plugged into a JC-120, you know it’s a memorable experience, and the Anniversary version nicely aids in flashing back. A 2×12 combo, it’s the size of a large suitcase and packs considerable heft at just over 63 pounds – obviously, this is no lightweight transistor box. The front panel has two channels, the first with just a Volume knob, three-band EQ, and Bright button. The other is the stereo JC experience, with EQ, distortion, reverb, and a vibrato/chorus section called Dimensional Space Chorus. Today, chorus is a garden-variety effect, but 45 years ago, putting it inside an amp was seriously radical.

As on the original, the JC-120’s channels are not footswitchable. While you can turn distortion, reverb, and chorus/vibrato on and off with third-party switches, you can’t jump between channels 1 and 2. Think of it as having two guitar amps in one; as a workaround, you can use an external A/B switch to activate each channel, along with different pedals or EQ settings (an effects loop is also provided).

Cranked up, the JC-120 sounds big and beautiful; plug into the High input jack and it’s loud! With 60 watts pumping into each speaker, it’s stage-ready and will cut through the muddiest mix, with sparkling top frequencies and tight bass, all the more gorgeous with a splash of stereo chorus on top. The so-called Distortion knob adds only a smidge of grit instead of true dirt; tested with a Boss SD-1 Overdrive pedal in front, the JC-120 conjured simply glorious distortion.

All told, Roland’s JC-120 Jazz Chorus 50th Anniversary is a big, bold amplifier with clean tones reminiscent of The Police, Rush, and a million ’80s albums. Dial in that magical chorus and the stompboxes of your choice, and you’ll own the stage.

This article originally appeared in VG’s February 2023 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Hot on the heels of its Ages Five-State Overdrive and Eras Five-State Distortion, Walrus Audio has unleashed the Eons Five-State Fuzz.

Multi-voiced dirt pedals are the latest thing, and the new Walrus brings five fuzzy tones in one small, convenient package along with (like the other two) cool graphics, a sturdy build, and simple functionality via controls for Volume, Gain, Bass, and Treble; a Voltage knob controls the degree of current, allowing the user to achieve that sought-after “dying battery” tone at three volts, or adding low-end and compression when cranked to a full 18 volts.

Mode I on its rotary dial produces a big, smooth, compressed, silicon-fuzz sound. Mode II also includes silicon clipping with more bass, compression, and crunch. Mode III switches to germanium yielding more dynamics and added distortion. Mode IV is darker, producing more high-end cut using LED clipping diodes – great for offsetting thinner-sounding single-coil pickups. Finally, Mode V yields hard-clipping silicon transistors combined with soft-clipping diodes for brutal saturation.

All Modes are malleable, with the Gain, EQ, Voltage, and Volume controls allowing users to tailor a range of gainy, ear-friendly sounds. It’s a sweet buffet for fuzz freaks, ranging from light, volume-boosted peach fuzz to all-out adolescent garage mayhem. It uses a 9-volt power supply and will make a sonically handy addition to any studio.

This article originally appeared in VG’s February 2023 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Baritone guitars have been around for decades, traditionally featured in Nashville and Hollywood studios and elsewhere to “sweeten” a track or for some other “special” application; to hear an example, take a listen to Glen Campbell’s solo on “Wichita Lineman.”

Baritones have experienced a resurgence in popularity across genres and especially gained traction amongst modern hard-rock and metal acts because they’re typically tuned a fifth lower than standard six-strings. So it makes sense that more builders are jumping into the fray. One is D’Angelico, with its new solidbody Deluxe Atlantic Baritone.

A visually beautiful instrument, the company’s goal was to offer maximum player comfort with a medium-weight alder body, slim C-shaped set neck with 26.75″ scale, and a deep cutaway. Other details include 22 frets, two Volume and two Tone controls with coil splitters, nickel pickup covers, and a nickel tune-o-matic-style bridge. Gold Grover 509 Super Rotomatic tuners complete a classy package. Strapped on, the Deluxe Atlantic feels as good as it looks, hanging very comfortably with no neck dive.

Plugged into a Class A tube amp, the Deluxe Atlantic’s two Seymour Duncan Seth Lover A4 pickups provided clear tones with a thick midrange and low-end. The coil splitters helped coax an array of sounds suitable for almost any musical situation, while the bridge pickup rendered chime, clarity, and excellent single-note and chord definition. With the splitter engaged, highs were accentuated. The neck pickup offered copious amounts of thick, sometimes gnarly low-end that with added overdrive or fuzz, would work well in a dropped-tune grunge, ambient, or metal situation.

Available is Satin Black and Walnut finishes, the Deluxe Atlantic may not be a budget instrument in the eyes of some, but it is competitively priced given its quality.

This article originally appeared in VG’s February 2023 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.