Here is another quick roundup of a few stories I have starred in my trusty Google Reader.
GuitarSite.com has posted the top 10 Seymour Duncan pickups in 2007. This information was obtained through the Seymour Duncan newsletter. I have EMG pickups in my Epi right now, but I have always wanted to give some Seymour Duncans a go. This list should help me make my pick.
Musicnotes Inc. has reported that it has reached agreements with several thousand music publishers to allow the digital sheet music provider to offer free tab downloads online. MXTabs.net was a huge tab archive that was taken down by the MPA in June 2006. If you visit the site now you have a message that states they will be returning summer 2007, so I’ll be excited to see what kind of music is available when it is relaunched.
Yet again Lori Linstruth has put together another great tool for guitarists. This time it is in the form of blank tab sheets for noting down your riffs. Great work Lori!
A good friend of mine has been bit by the bug and is looking at buying a Fernandes Ravelle Elite as a second electric guitar. It is a really nice guitar at the higher end of the Ravelle line. When I was reading the specs I see that the Elite comes with a Fernandes Sustainer pickup set. I had never heard of this before so I did a bit of research and was quite intrigued with what I found.
Sustain is your guitar’s ability to hold a note after it has been picked. If you can pluck a note and it rings out for a long time you would generally say the guitar has good sustain. Every factor in a guitar’s physical construction goes to determining the amount of natural sustain it will have. Components like active pickups can also artificially increase your sustain by amplifying the signal. I never really considered the idea of using electronics to physically increase sustain though. This is exactly what the Fernandes Sustainer system does. Using magnets and an active electronics system the sustain is increased by magnetically influencing the vibration of the strings. As a result Fernandes claims you can get infinite sustain and even feedback if you want.
Here is an excerpt from the Fernandes website about the Sustainer pickup:
How the Fernandes Sustainer works:
The patented Fernandes Sustainer is powered by a 9-volt alkaline battery, and works with the Driver in the neck position, the Bridge pickup, and the Sustainer circuitry to give you infinite sustain. The driver sends magnetic pulses to the strings, which makes them vibrate. (The driver also functions as a great sounding neck pickup when the Fernandes Sustainer is switched off.)
Standard Mode: In the Standard mode, the Fernandes Sustainer will hold any note you play.
Harmonic Mode: In the Harmonic mode the Fernandes Sustainer creates string vibration similar to that when you’re getting feedback at extreme volume, generating the 5th harmonic of the note being played.
Mix Mode (FSK-401 only): The Mix mode is a blend of Standard and Harmonic sustain.
Being a geek I am all about using electronics and technology to advance guitars. Although, I should add that I think there is a limit to the role technology should play in guitar. I think this device is just wonderful and I will be looking to try one out at my next guitar store visit. It is a genius idea and from the videos on the Fernandes website it looks like it works very well.
In addition to the release of their new micro stack, Krank has also released a new overdrive pedal. From the Krank website Krank says:
Designed for those guitarists who like to add that extra gain to their amps or simply want a classic overdriven tone for their clean channel, the Krankshaft delivers. Featuring a heavy-duty chassis and true bypass circuitry, the Krankshaft can help you achieve screaming leads or smooth country rock-blues tones.
I cant say that I see anything specifically special about this pedal, but the Krank fanboys out there will probably love it. The only feature information I could find was that it has true bypass and a heavy duty chassis. It’s a simple pedal that has only three controls including output, tone, and gain. There is a true bypass switch and thats about it.
Online retailers are listing the unit at $129USD and it should be available for purchase by tomorrow.
Krank showed off their new micro versions of the Rev 1 heads and amps at this years NAMM. Well they have gone retail this month and you should be able to pick one up at your local or online Krank retailer soon. The Krank Rev Jr. 20W Full Stack Guitar Amp is based on the Rev 1 line, but obviously the focus is on putting it into a smaller package.
Marshall also has two micro stacks, the MG15MSII and a Zakk Wylde branded one that was released this year, the MG15MSZW. The major difference between Marshall’s micro stack and Krank’s is Krank’s setup comes with a tube head (and the associated price tag) and Marshall’s is all solid state.
Information is still a little scarce and I was unable to find an actual hands on review for this product, but I do have a few specs. The Krank Rev Jr. is a 20 watt micro amp available as either a full stack or half stack. The unit is essentially the exact same as the full size Rev, but is meant for people who dont want to pay the full price because they aren’t going to use all that power. The head is all tube, has 2 channels, a boost switch, and an active tube-driven effects loop. If you get the full stack it comes with two 1×12 speakers, the half stack comes with one. The cabs are made out of solid poplar wood and come with the signature Krank metal grill.
Online stores are listing the price as $899USD for the full stack and $699USD for the half. It’s a pretty steep price, but remember it’s a tube amp, and it’s Krank.
If I get any more information from Krank or if I find a hands on review, I’ll post that as well.
Line 6 has released an entry level option in their POD line of modeling units. The Pocket POD is about the size of a digital guitar tuner and runs off of either 4 AAA batteries or an optional (sold seperately) AC adapter.
On their official website Line 6 states that “Pocket POD® exhibits all the celebrated features and pro tone that makes POD a standard in recording studios everywhere”. I’m obviously skeptical of that statement since why would the release a lower end version if it has all the same features. So I decided to take a closer look.
Has anyone else seen this commercial for the new Dodge Avenger and does anyone else want to smash their tv every time they see it? no? oh…
Why does Matt hate it so much you ask? Well it’s simple. I’m going to forget the fact that it essentially looks like the QA guy is “grinding the gears” on these 3 cars and skip to the point. As he’s going along with his tests he does something we have all done as guitarists, he is working on something and stumbles upon a familiar riff. In this case it happens to be Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple. The riff is simple, it has three chords. The guy has 3 cars that happen to be growling at G, A#, and C respectively. So he starts playing the song triggering each car in the order of the chords in the song. Ok, so here is my beef. He plays cars 1-2-3 and then 1-2-3-3. It’s like he did an up-strum on the last chord. Didja see that? It should be 1-2-3 1-2-3-2! Am I the only one who noticed this? Every time… pisses me off… yeah it sounds right because it’s just dubbed, but it’s musically wrong. Didn’t anybody on the set catch that?
Anyway, thanks for putting up with my little rant.
I just got an email from Justin Baker who let me know that he won the custom Gears of War ESP guitar and Xbox360 from the contest that I posted about on on April 28th. In the contest hopeful winners needed to send ESP a picture of themselves air-fragging on their new Xbox.
Justin was kind enough to send me a picture of him and his prize. You can also look below to see Justin’s winning pose. If you want to see all of the entries you can visit the contest page on the ESP website.
The Prize
The Winning Entry
Justin came out of it with a brand new ESP LTD Standard AX-50 guitar and an Xbox360 shipped to him at his home in Canada.
Thanks for the tip Justin and congrats on your win!
A good friend of mine has been bit by the bug and is looking at buying a Fernandes Ravelle Elite as a second electric guitar. It is a really nice guitar at the higher end of the Ravelle line. When I was reading the specs I see that the Elite comes with a Fernandes Sustainer pickup set. I had never heard of this before so I did a bit of research and was quite intrigued with what I found.
