I think my one complaint is the size of the subwoofer. Although it’s size is nice for playing games because you get that rumble when things explode and whatnot, I find music sound quality is slightly diminished. Because I have the speakers above the desk and the sub below there is that separation of the sound. Also, because the speaker cables are only a few feet long your are limited with how far you can move the sub.

If I were to buy another high powered speaker set, I may consider looking into one of the more expensive Creative GigaWorks sets like the ProGamer G500. However, Like I said I like the simplicity of a 2 or 3 piece set, and the GigaWorks only come in 2.0, 5.1, or 7.1

With 200-watts of power these speakers are nothing to scoff at, and they have dropped below the $200 mark here in Canada over the past few months. If you are also a gamer or just prefer the 5.1 experience you can also check out the Logitech Z-5300e set. However strictly for music listening at my computer I just prefer the simplicity (less wires) of the 2.1 set.

The Specs
I always want to know what the specs are:

• 200-watt RMS Power (40-watt/satellite, 120-watt sub)
• 8-inch long-throw subwoofer distortion free bass
• Wired remote control with volume, bass, headphone, and power
• THX Certified
• 35Hz – 20kHz frequency response
• Included 8″ to stereo RCA adapter for consoles and TVs

Creative has a great product on their hands with the GigaWorks T20 speakers. To be a serious guitar player one thing is usually true… you have to love music. If you really love music then you’ll want it to sound as good as it can when you listen to it.

Now I know what you are thinking: “they don’t even have a sub”. Well it doesn’t matter. I bought these speakers for my girlfriend’s Mac Mini and they have better sound then my 200-Watt Logitech 2.1 THX-Cirtified Z-2300s. Creative has incorporated this new feature that they call BasXPort which basically puts a sub in both of the two speakers.

From the Creative website:
BasXPort™
Acoustically engineered to enhance the lower mid range tones. This is done by efficiently channeling sound waves from the inner chamber to the soundstage, for fuller, more encompassing sound.

This BasXPort technology means the speakers can produce better bass then possible with a 2.1 setup.

The Specs
Just for those of you who want all of the detailed specs, here they are:

• 2.0 28 Watt Powered Speakers (14 Watt/channel)
• Cloth Dome Tweeter
• Woven Glass Fibre Cone Driver
• BasXPort™ 2-Way Design for natural bass
• Front access treble, bass, and volume controls
• TV Adapter included (1/8th” jack to Stereo RCA)
• Front headphone and aux outputs

I’m the kind of guy who is always looking for the best quality for the best price. I cant stop telling people how much I love these speakers because they really are that good. If you are looking at getting a set of 2.1 speakers for your PC or maybe to hook to your iPod defiantly give these a try. The sound is very deep with a great range of highs and lows and it has the power to play with some volume too. I would have a really hard time buying another 2.1 set knowing these bad boys were out there.

There are many different guitar tuning tools out there ranging from chromatic tuners to self-tuning guitars. The String Master Robotic Guitar Tuner falls somewhere in between.

For the guitarist who doesn’t want to tune his guitar, but doesn’t want to buy a whole new bridge and nut system that’s required for a self-tuning guitar, the Robotic Tuner is here for you. The tuner acts the same way a standard chromatic tuner does, but comes with a tuning peg attachment that tightens your strings for you.

All you have to do is plug your guitar into the tuner, put the tuner over a tuning peg on your guitar. Then pluck the string and the tuner will do the rest. The tuner’s motor turns the tuning peg up to pitch and then will beep when it is in tune. The unit runs off of a 9-volt battery.

As we all know ESP is pretty much the guitar when it comes to metal. The company has 17 different signature models and most of them are for metal guitarists. The first thing that catches my eye about the Ninja is it has this classic flying-v look with an edge. The guitar was introduced like many others at 2006’s NAMM show. It comes in black and has chrome hardware and chrome pick guard.

Some of the features of the guitar include a set neck, 2 volume controls, a 3-way pickup switch, and Seymour Duncan pickups with a JB at the bridge and a 59 at the neck. For the shredder in us all the headstock sports Sperzel locking tuners and 22 XJ frets. To add that extra signature look the rosewood fingerboard has X shaped ninja star inlays.

In addition to the standard version there is also a lower end LTD model. From the specs on the ESP website the LTD only looses the Schaller Straplocks and the Gotoh tune-o-matic is replaced with a generic tune-o-matic bridge. However, there must be more to have a $2600 USD price difference.

To sum up the features of the ESP Ninja 600 Michael Amott Signature

• Set-neck construction
• 24.75” scale
• Mahogany body
• 3-piece mahogany neck with a rosewood fingerboard
• 22 XJ frets with custom “x” inlays
• Seymour duncan JB (b) / 59 (n) pickups
• 2 volume, controls w/3-way toggle
• Chrome hardware
• Sperzel locking tuners
• Bone nut
• Schaller straplocks
• Gotoh tune-o-matic bridge w/stop tailpiece

Check out the ESP Ninja Michael Amott Signature at the ESP website.

Read the other posts in this series:

1. Guitar Reviews: March Metal Madness
2. Fender Stratocaster Yngwie Malmsteen Signature Guitar
3. ESP KH-2 Kirk Hammett Signature Guitar
4. ESP Ninja 600 Michael Amott Signature Guitar
5. Gibson Les Paul Zakk Wylde CAMO Signature Guitar
6. Jackson RR1 Randy Rhoads Signature Guitar
7. Dean USA Razorback Tribute Dimebag Darrell Signature Guitar
8. ESP Alexi Laiho Signature Guitar

Yngwie Malmsteen is sort of in a genre of his own. To call his music metal is sort of a stretch by today’s standards. Regardless, the guy can shred better than 90 percent of the players today, and without him, shredding wouldn’t be the same.

Inspired by to pick up guitar by powerful footage of Jimi Hendrix sacrificing his axe, Yngwie (Ing-vay) started playing with Hendrix and Deep Purple as his influences. Later he would become interested in classical composers like Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, and Vivaldi. Studying classical music, Malmsteen developed his own style of neo-classical metal.

The Yngwie Malmsteen Signature Strat was designed by the man himself and had a lot to do with his signature sound. The guitar has an alder body, a maple neck, and a scalloped rosewood fingerboard lined with 21 super-jumbo frets. For sound the guitar houses two DiMarzio YJM Signature Pickups in the neck and middle positions and 1 DiMarzio HS-3 Stack at the bridge. The tone is controlled by 1 knob for the neck pickup, and 1 knob for the bridge and middle pickups. For pickup selection there is a three way switch, one position for each pickup.

The bridge is an American Vintage Synchronized Tremolo and the headstock has a brass nut, which gives the sharp tone Yngwie is known for. The guitar comes in three finishes, Candy Apple Red, Vintage White, and Sonic Blue, and has aged plastic parts and pickup covers.

Although I have never played a YJM Strat myself, I have heard one played. Let me tell you, even if you cant play like Yngwie, you can sound like him with this guitar. I did play a guitar once with a scalloped frettboard, and I have played jumbo fret fenders before, but never one with both. Both jumbo frets and scalloped fretboards I find strange to play on. It may also be the way the action was set on the guitars I played but I couldn’t get used to it in the short time I had. I found myself having to consciously remind myself that my fingers don’t have to touch the fretboard, so long as the string touches the fret.

Feature Summary

• Alder Body/Maple Neck/Rosewood or Maple Fingerboard
• 21 Dunlop 6000 Super-Jumbo Frets
• 2 DiMarzio YJM Pickups (Neck/Middle)
• 1 DiMarzio HS-3 Stack (Bridge)
• 1 Master Volume/1 Tone (Neck)/1 Tone (Bridge/Middle)
• 3-way Switch
• American Vintage Synchronized Tremolo
• Chrome Hardware
• Brass Nut
• 3 Finishes and Aged trim/pickup covers

Read the other posts in this series:

1. Guitar Reviews: March Metal Madness
2. Fender Stratocaster Yngwie Malmsteen Signature Guitar
3. ESP KH-2 Kirk Hammett Signature Guitar
4. ESP Ninja 600 Michael Amott Signature Guitar
5. Gibson Les Paul Zakk Wylde CAMO Signature Guitar
6. Jackson RR1 Randy Rhoads Signature Guitar
7. Dean USA Razorback Tribute Dimebag Darrell Signature Guitar
8. ESP Alexi Laiho Signature Guitar

All of the guitars I have ever owned have been fixed bridge guitars. I have always associated tremolo’s (wammy bars) with people like Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and John Petrucci. Since that is really not my style of playing, I have never really had much of an interest in using one.

However, lately I have been learning a lot of metal and there are more and more riffs which are hard to play a fixed bridge. Players like Alexi Laiho and the late Dimebag Darrel use them regularly in their leads. As a result I have been thinking about purchasing a guitar that can free me from the shackles of my fixed bridge.

The reintroduction of the Kahler 2300 tremolo was announced in March 2006’s Guitar World Magazine. The 2300 was popular in the 80’s, but as the hair metal music of the 90’s faded and the grunge movement took over, the bridges were in less of a demand. Kahler discontinued the bridge in the 90’s but interest lately has prompted them to reissue it.

The thing that sets the Kahler 2300 apart from other tremolo bridges is its bearing cam system. The result of using bearings as opposed to a fulcrum system is a much smoother feel. Some great things that stand out about this bridge are its solid construction providing great harmonics, and its consistent tension throughout the full range of the pull of the bar.

Kahler USA says: “The Kahler 2300 PROFESSIONAL flat mount series tremolo system is designed to drop into any flat top guitar. All 2300 series models include onboard fine tuners and 6 way adjustable saddles: side to side for perfect string spacing; front to back for accurate intonation and up or down for ultimate action and radius matching. Both, left handed and right handed configurations are available. Only top routing is required.”

Kahler 2300 Tremolo Bridge Features

• Smooth bearing/cam system
• Mount to any flat top guitar
• Onboard fine tuners
• 6 way adjustable saddles
• Left handed and right handed available
• Comes in Bright Chrome, Black Krome, or Gold
• Four models (2300, 2310, 2315, 2320) for different desired tone and harmonics
• Backed by Kerry King of Slayer

If I ever buy a guitar that supports a tremolo bridge, I’ll definitely have to test out one of these suckers.

It’s always fun to play with another guitarist. But what if you have the urge to jam but can’t find anyone to jam with? Sometimes when you are writing songs you need someone to play the rhythm part so you figure out a solo. Have you ever been the guy who has to play that rhythm over and over again?

The DigiTech JamMan Looper Phrase pedal is the solution to all of those problems. The JamMan is a 24-minute looper that allows you to record and play back up to 99 tracks. You can record your rhythm, record a lead, and then record a harmonizing solo on top of that.

This isn’t your ordinary looper though, it’s packed with tones of exciting features. The pedal supports compact flash cards up to 2GB to allow for 6 and a half hours of loops. It comes complete with a USB port for downloading your tracks to a computer. To help you get those loops just right it also has an auto record function to start when you start playing.

The pedal is a standard stomp box style floor unit. It has two switches, one to control playing and recording, and another to control the built-in rhythm and tempo features. If you have difficulty keeping your timing without a beat track the JamMan is for you. It has a simple percussion function that will have listening to a bass and cymbal track with a few simple toe taps. The JamMan isn’t limited to just 4/4 timing either.

In addition to the compact flash and USB ports the JamMan includes a mic Input, aux Input, and a port for an auxiliary footswitch for added live control.

ature Overview

• Compact Flash Slot supports up to 2GB of storage (128MB Included)
• 99 Loop Banks
• USB Port for downloading loops to a computer
• 44.1k Sampling rate
• Rhythm function with tap-tempo and multiple time signatures
• Sturdy stomp box metal casing
• Included power supply

For any guitarist who loves jamming this is the one pedal they should have in their setup. It is also an essential tool for the songwriter.

Ever want to take your electric guitar somewhere but hate lugging around your amp? Well the Marshall Micro Stack MS-2 Mini amp packs all the punch and tone of a Marshall half stack in a 14cmx11cmx6cm package. It sports the classic Marshall look yet is small enough to fit into your guitar case. The MS-2 includes 1-watt of raw output power, a volume knob, a tone knob, and a headphone output port. There is a switch for moving between clean and overdrive modes, but for independent gain control you’ll have to move up to the MS-4 full stack. The unit is powered by a single 9-volt battery and comes with a fancy belt clip.

There are three different versions of the amp available. All have the same technical specifications; the difference is in the look. The MS-2 has the standard Marshall look of white on black with a gold faceplate. The MS-2R is the same but bares a blood-red color. For a classic look the MS-2C is decorated with a checkered fret cloth and gold Marshall logo.

To sum up the features:

• 14cmx11cmx6cm size
• 1-watt output power
• Single tone knob for full treble to bass focus
• Single volume knob
• Switch for clean and overdriven
• Headphone jack
• Powered by a 9-volt battery
• 3 color schemes to choose from

For more power and a full stack look you can go with the MS-4. This amp also provides a gain control knob.

If it’s Marshall it’s usually black. Not the new Limited Edition DSL100SL Stack though. In response to artist and consumer requests for different colored amps Marshall has released this limited edition stack. In fact, it’s so limited there will only be 200 half stacks and 50 cabinets available in the US. This is the first time a modern Marshall amp has not had the signature gold faceplate since the Silver Jubilee models in 1987 when Marshall celebrated its 25 year anniversary.

The special edition amp includes a modified version of Marshall’s 100-watt Dual Super Lead head (JCM1960ASL) and straight (JCM1960BSL) cabinets. The set is running for about $2,599 USD.

I had a buddy when I went to college who used to rip all of his music to his computer and pass it through a BBE Sonic Maximizer plug-in before he would listen to it. He said after listening to the optimized sound he couldn’t go back.

BBE Has introduced their popular rack sound processor in a stomp box format. Naturally through every connection and wire that sound travels between your guitar and your amp it looses quality. The BBE Sonic Stomp is put right before the amp to regenerate that lost sound. It is there to create more fullness, clarity, and presence to the sound of your guitar.

Guitar World reviewed it in their 2006 Holiday Guitar Review Guide and said “The BBE Sonic Maximizer’s patented BBE High Definition Sound process – which helps correct the effects of phase and amplitude distortion, improving music’s punch, presence, definition, and harmonics – is now available in a compact and gig-friendly pedal; the BBE Sonic Stomp. Powered by a nine-volt battery, the sonic stomp packs the same processing chip found in the more expensive, AC-powered units.

The Sonic Stomp gives its biggest and ballsiest performance in the effect loop of a modern channel-switching head. Used in front of the amp (and placed last in the chain, as BBE recommends), the Sonic Stomp adds crunch, crispness and an extra dose of harmonic sparkle to a Fuzz Face, and makes chorus and phasing effects more shimmering and multidimensional. Like its top-of-the-line siblings, the BBE Sonic Stomp makes your guitar sound better, countering the negative impact of amps and long pedal chains.”

The Spider II 212 is a model amp that has 12 different sounds. I have owned one for almost 2 years now and its great practice and jam amp. The Spider II sports 12 different amp models that give you the sound of popular amps by Marshall, Fender, and others. They allow you to change the sound of the amp for playing all sorts of different styles from rock, to blues, to metal. The amp also has 7 different effects including 3 delays, 3 echoes, and a reverb. Also, there is a built in tuner. While it’s pretty good for basic adjustments, I still like to use my box tuner for tuning. Finally the amp has 2 12″ speakers that pump out a loud 120W of sound.

Musician’s Friend reviews the amp and says “The Spider II’s 12 amp models are double the number on the original Spider, and they’re a very useful selection. From soft jazz to pounding power chords, you just turn one knob to access the right amp for the feeling you’re after. Six bicolored LEDs around the knob let you know which of the 12 models you’ve selected.”

“When you switch to a new amp model, the tone controls and effects are automatically set to the optimum setting to sound most like the amp in question. If you adjust one of the EQ knobs, it jumps to the value on the dial. This is cool because each of the amp models is like its own channel, accessible with the turn of a knob. One of my favorite features about this amp is that no combination of amp model, tone settings, and effects settings will swamp the voice of the guitar. The tone knob on the guitar still rules and the character of different guitars shines through clearly.”