Rowbinet – Rowbi's Guitar & Recording Blog

Along come Line 6, and give us some more free updates.  This time some extra features for the modelling of the acoustic guitar models in the JTV, as well v2.0 for the higher end POD HD devices.

Soon to be downloadable for free on line6.com, JTV firmware v1.8 for the James Tyler Variax series features spectacular updates to the guitar’s five acoustic models and enhanced functionality when the guitar is connected to a POD HD500 or POD HD Pro multi-effect processor.

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Welcome to the 4th part of my ‘Guitar Wiring 101′ series of blogs. If you’ve missed the previous blogs, check them out here: Rowbinet’s Guitar Wiring 101 Series

Just like in a previous blog where I talked about volume and tone controls, pickup selector switches are also not essential, yet they are widely used and accepted as the norm.  For example, if you only have a single guitar pickup then you wont really need a selector switch (unless you have a humbucker and want to run the coils in parallel or series at different times).
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Whether you need a MIDI keyboard for your PC, MAC, iPhone, iPOD Touch or iPad… You now have a single option that can do all those things. Introducing Line 6 Mobile Keys.

Here’s the official Press Release from Line 6 from earlier today:

Line 6 Mobile Keys™ Premium Keyboard Controllers Move Seamlessly Between iPad®, iPhone®, Mac® and PC

– Available in 25- and 49-key models, each with full-size keys, iOS and USB connectivity, and compatibility with iPhone^®, iPad^® and iPod touch^® –

ANAHEIM, Calif. – January 19, 2012 – Line 6 (room 212A/B) is showing Mobile Keys™ premium keyboard controller for iPad^®, iPhone^®, Mac^® and PC at Winter NAMM 2012.

Mobile Keys 25 and Mobile Keys 49 are a pair of new, lightweight, ultraportable keyboards designed to control iOS music apps and do double duty as USB MIDI controllers for Mac^® and Windows^® computers. Both models have full-size keys and solid keyboard action. The keys are velocity sensitive, allowing them to accurately interpret the nuances and subtleties of a keyboardist’s playing. Both Mobile Keys models are compatible with any iOS app that supports the CoreMIDI standard for input, including GarageBand^® and numerous drum machines, synthesizers and virtual instruments.

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Well Well! Here’s a little taster of what’s going to be released by Marshall to start their Golden Jubilee celebrations at NAMM.  The pictures above show the JTM-1H, JTM-1C, JMP-1H, JMP-1C, JCM-1H, JCM-1C, DSL-1H, DSL-1C, JVM-1H and finally the JVM-1C.  Obvioulsy they are respectively H and C for head and combo, and then based on a JTM, JMP, JCM800, DSL and JVM.  All are 1 watt, but details have yet to be released on the exact poweramp specs.  Most people are assuming they will be tube based, with something like 12AX7, or something similar (like some other popular 1 watt tube amps).  The combo’s feature 10″ speakers, which means they will be good for some home jamming or recording… But unless you mic them, will likely be too quiet for any gigs.

It is said they will be released one every 10-12 weeks throughout 2012, and these versions will not be released again… Although the sensible consumer would take a guess that some slightly modified versions will be put into production in a year or two for less money…  But there’s no guaranteeing that… So if you want one, you should place an order as soon as they’re officially released at NAMM (which is when you will be able to order one).

Zakk Wylde and Black Label Society need to introduction to any guitarist who keeps their eyes and ears open to modern music.  From those crazy pinched harmonics, to the crushing phat guitar tone, most metal axe slingers would love to have Zakk’s sound in our arsenal.  Well if you missed out on the first Marshall Zakk Wylde signature amp, the 2203ZW, then you might be able to get your hands on a 2203BLS, the new Zakk Wylde signature which may well be released in 2012.  There’s very little info out about this amp yet, I just hope this is going to be a production amp eventually

There’s some hints in a recent interview Zakk did, that perhaps may hint at what this amp will be based on.  Check it out here.

I remember the first effects pedal I ever bought when I was an angry teenager at 15 years old – The Zoom 3030.  I didn’t really need such a large box of tricks, and a Zoom 505 would have likely done the job well enough.  However a friend of mine (who was also a better guitarist than me) had the 505, and so felt getting a bigger FX pedal would make me a better player… Well FX pedals do have an instant talent switch, don’t they!?

Roll forward 15 years and there’s far more processing power available in my iPhone and iPad than in pedals even from a few years ago, as well as many tens of millions of users of iPhones and iPads globally.  So it’s a sensible way forward for any amp modeling and FX software company to design an interface and iPhone/iPad App that can give guitarists the amp and FX tones they crave for, any time and in any place they can hook up their iPhone/iPad…
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It’s not surprising that Line 6 and James Tyler’s love child, the James Tyler Variax, won the MIA Electric Guitar of the Year 2011 award.  They are really well constructed guitars, with some very smart Line 6 black magic thrown in too.  If only there was an instant talent switch for us wannabe rock stars… Well there’s certainly not much else this guitar can’t do
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Before you get too excited, the image above is a fake from marshallforum.com and so is very unlikely to look anything like the real Golden Jubilee when it finally arrives.

BUT there is some info filtering through… in Total Guitar edition 214 Zakk Wylde mentions the following: “Nick Bowcott from Marshall’s coming out to my studio in April [2011] and I’m taking my best amp, The Golden Child, and some other heads with me. They’re gonna model the new one after the best-sounding head I own. We wanna have that out for the next NAMM show, because that will be the 50th anniversary for Marshall.”  Now take note that I’m not suggesting the Golden Jub amp will be a Zakk Wylde signature, it’s just that Zakk has a lot of vintage Marshalls for Marshall to pick from to find a great example to copy.  Also note that although Zakk has a new signature 2203BLS amp might be out in 2012, the Golden Jub amp is a totally seperate amp and is NOT a Zakk Wylde signature.  I do know that I saw Zakk play with Black Label Society in Feb 2011 and he had some 2203BLS (his new signature amp) on stage, although from other reports he would have been using his previous signature for the actual sound… With all that in mind, are Marshall listening to the Golden Child and his other amps to model the sound of his new 2203BLS or the Golden Jubilee…

Now take a look at the following article where Zakk is quoted for Tweeting about Van Halen’s original Plexi, and calls it the ‘Holy Grail’…. I wonder if this then means that the Marshall Golden Jubilee (50th Anniversary) will basically be a clone of Eddie’s original Plexi.

Obviously I’m thinking his golden child and Holy Grail references are talking about the same amp… I mean how many amps can one person have that all are the best amp Marshall made…???

Holy grail reference: http://www.vhnd.com/2010/08/18/zakk-wylde-with-eddie-van-halens-original-marshall/

With 2011 fast becoming a distant memory, and a haze of turkey and beer (well the last week of 2011 at least), it’s time to gather around the camp fire and sing a few verses of some vomit worthy acoustic cheesey pop song from the days when my gran was my age…  Or alternatively, crack open another beer (hair of the dog and all that) and let’s review the most viewed posts on my blog in 2011, and also look at the exciting products I think we will see very soon in 2012.
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Welcome to the 3rd part of my ‘Guitar Wiring 101′ series of blogs. If you’ve missed the previous blogs, check them out here: Rowbinet’s Guitar Wiring 101 Series

Let’s kick off with an interesting question: Who invented the guitar pickup? It’s certainly an important question, but more so would be: ‘Who invented the humbucking/humbucker pickup?’.
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