Archive
Musikmesse 2011 – Marshall Gary Moore Tribute
Following the death recently, of the amazingly talented Gary Moore: It seems Marshall Amplification had this tribute to the late guitarist at Musikmesse 2011. As far as I know, these are just a one off tribute painted pair of cabs, and not a signature stack though.
Spider Valve Combo to Head Conversion
100watts sounds like a lot, 40-50watts sounds like a lot less. It’s the same argument that countless generations of young boys have with eachother, uttering the phrase “My dad’s better than your dad”. Then we grow up a bit, and we’re still just as redicously competitive, but now we’re budding guitarists and want a better guoitar and a louder amp than our peers.
Of course there is a real and practicle reason for buying a 100 watt stack, and that’s for playing a stadium. I wonder what percentage of guitarists actually do that? I’m sure it’s well under 0.1%. But how many guitarists own a 100 watt combo or stack… I’m sure it’s a lot more!
In reality the audible difference between 50 and 100 watts isn’t as different as most people think, and often a 50 watter can get to that sweet spot at lower volumes making it more useable. This simple fact is likely why some people feel the need to convery lower wattage combos into equally lower wattage heads. Check the photos above of som Line 6 Spider Valve’s that have been converted into heads.
Line 6 @ Musikmesse 2011 (JTV)
What a stand Line 6 had at Musikmesse! They also had a few demonstration James Tyler Variax Guitars on show, and I took the chance to have a play on all 3 models (including some US Custom Shop JTVs). The only thing I noticed was how similar the US and Korean versions felt to play. Which is obviously a plus to all the Korean JTV owners out there, as their guitars are so well made they will play as well as the USA Custom Shop versions.
Also if you look carefully at the last photo, you can see Rich Renken giving us a demonstration of the Line 6 ‘Dream Rig’ (POD HD500, DT50 stack and JTV69US).
For more information visit www.tylervariax.com
Orange Amp Wall & Dark Terror @ Musikmesse 2011
Here are some photos of the hugh Orange wall of stacks, and the new Orange Dark Terror. I heard someone demoing the Dark Terror, and it sounded good, so if you’re thinking about buying one, it’s certainly worth a trip to your local guitar store to give one a test drive.
For more info visit www.orangeamps.com
Marshall AFD100 and YJM100 @ Musikmesse 2011
Above you can see a couple of pics I took on my iPhone, in the Marshall demo booth at Musikmesse 2011 in Frankfurt.
In one photo you can clearly see the Slash AFD100 on the far left, then the JYM100 to the right of it. Then on the far right the JMD100. There’s also a pic of The Chris George band actually playing, and I was lucky enough to shake Chris by the hand and have a discussion about how good the new Slash and Malsteem heads sound.
You know the drill. For more info visit www.marshallamps.com
Boss – Largest Pedalboard Ever!
I thought this was an interesting Front for the Boss stand at Musikmesse 2011. OK, so it’s not the largest pedalboard ever, but it sure does have a lot of pedals on it… 198 to be exact!
For more info on Boss FX pedals, check out www.roland.co.uk or www.bossus.com
Cioks Pussy Power – FX Pedal Power Supply
Well what can I say about this FX pedal pwoer supply which I saw at Musikmesse 2011. Cioks have been making power supplies for FX pedals for 20 years, and as it’s their only business they cater for all users and all FX pedals. This differs from som other power supply manufacturers, as they often lean towards making their power supplies fit their own FX pedals more than to be truely universal. That’s where Cioks fill the gap.
Check out all their products: www.cioks.com
Line 6 POD HD ‘Bean’ Available in May
A new era in desktop amplifier and FX modeling has arrived. 12 years after Line 6 released their legendary POD, it’s had a facelift that leaves it looking and sounding the best it ever has… Enter the POD HD ‘Bean’.
Read more…
Line 6 M5
Sharing its name with some awesome machines (the BMW M5 and the M5 anti tank gun) Line 6 adds the M5 Stompbox Modeler box to the foray, which nicely fills the gap for users needing simple single FX tones and the ease of use that comes from a stomp box.
With some amazing specs, this little box of tricks may just be the only stomp box you ever need. It’s very similar to a multi FX unit, except that you can only run 1 effect at once (+ a noise gate too if you need it). Obviously if you want the same FX selection but the ability to run more than one, the M9 or M13 are for you (or maybe a pair of these M5′s). But if you like to travel light or you only need 1 FX at once, but would like the choice of different FX sometimes, then this is what you need!
- Over 100 stereo FX (the same selection you find in Line 6′s other stompbox modellers, the M9 and flagship M13).
- Stereo input and output.
- MIDI In/OUT (on the side of the unit).
- Built in tuner and noise gate.
- 24 fully customisable preset locations.
- Expression pedal input for the Line 6 EX1, or Mission.
- Simple control layout with clear labelling on the unit.
Line 6 Need You
Line 6 are looking for guitarists of all ages and abilities to get involved, and tell Line 6 what you need and want as a guitarist.
Check it out here: http://www.facebook.com/line6 and you could get to visit Line 6, and talk ‘shop’.
