Guitar Noize

Looper pedals seem to be very popular at the moment there are a few that have been released in recent times and now EHX are adding to the choice with their Nano Looper 360. The EHX Nano Looper 360 has a total of 360 seconds of loop recording time which can be divided into 11 different loops for maximum flexibility and control. It uses uncompressed audio and EHX’s 24-bit A/D/A converters using a 44.1khz sample rate to deliver high quality loops. The user interface has been designed to be simple and intuitive to use, it features 2 knobs, three LEDs and a single footswitch and makes recording a loop, overdubbing, undo-redo and erasing a loop easy to master.

“The Loop knob is numbered and allows the user to select from 11 different loop locations. To record a loop, simply select an empty bank and press the footswitch once. The REC (recording) LED lights solid and recording starts immediately. When the footswitch is pressed again, the recording stops, and the loop will play indefinitely. Pressing the footswitch two times stops the playback.”

“Overdubbing is easy. When a loop is playing, pressing the footswitch once lets the user record on top of the original material and does not change its length. After finishing an overdub, the Undo-Redo function is enabled and allows the user to remove the last take. To undo an overdub during playback, simply press and hold the footswitch for one second. To redo the overdubduring playback, i.e. restore the last take, press and hold the footswitch for one second again. To erase a loop, playback must be stopped and the footswitch depressed for two seconds. All recorded audio is stored automatically to the NanoLooper 360’s internal memory and all recorded loops remain in memory until they are erased.”

The EHX Nano Looper 360 can use a 9 Volt battery, or the EHX 9.6-Volt/DC200mA AC adapter that comes with the pedal and has a list price of $179.99.

Check out http://www.ehx.com/ for more info.

Bare Knuckle Pickups have announced that they now offer Chrome-Battleworn, Gold-Battleworn and Gold Tyger humbucker covers as 6,7 and 7 string Soapbar. I really like the Tyger humbucker covers, I’m pretty tempted to get a gold set.

As well as 6 & 7 string humbuckers Bare Knuckle have also announced the availability of new 8 String humbucker colours now available – black, blue, cream, green, pink, purple, red, white, yellow, zebra and reverse zebra.

For more info head over to https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/

I can’t get enough of Animals As Leaders, especially their latest album ‘The Joy of Motion’ which is one of my favourite albums of the last couple of years. If you have only heard their first couple of albums and wasn’t a fan PLEASE give the new album a go. Anyway if you are even reading this you are probably a fan of Tosin Abasi so no need to keep on preaching. Above is an interview by Fret12.com where Tosin talks about his TAM 100 guitar, his studio and live setup, how he practices and the writing process plus much more.

There aren’t many manufacturers who stick to creating guitars for a single genre but B.C. Rich have been creating heavy rock and metal guitars for decades and I admire that about them. There has been absolutely no brand dilution, just hardcore body shapes like the Warlock and Ironbird and Mockingbird. What is surprising, at least to me, is that they have never really been a player in the ERG scene, sure they create the odd 7 string but there has been no real commitment to these type of guitars. Until now that is, and what’s more these guitars are very affordable ranging from $570 for the Villain Escape 7 up to $800 for the Warlock Lucky 8.

All of the new 7 string guitars have a 25.5″ scale length whereas the 8 string models have a 27″ scale length.

The Warlock Lucky 7 and Lucky 8 feature a mahogany body and bolt on neck with a 12” radius, rosewood fretboard, jumbo frets and an inline pointed headstock. Each guitar is finished with a high gloss black on the body and a fast black satin on the neck. A single ply, white binding around the fretboard completes the aesthetics. Two volume controls along with a master tone knob and 3-way toggle switch control the pair of Duncan Designed Blackout pickups, accented with black hardware and a fixed bridge.

The Villain Escape 7 and Escape 8 features a basswood body and bolt on maple neck with a 16” radius, rosewood fretboard, pearl bones inlays, jumbo frets and an inline pointed headstock. Each guitar is finished in high gloss black with a single ply, white body binding. A single volume control combined with a master tone knob and 3-way toggle switch control the pair of B.D.S.M. humbucker pickups, accented with black hardware and a fixed bridge.

The Jr. V Lucky 7 and Lucky 8 features a mahogany body and maple bolt on neck with a 12” radius, rosewood fretboard, jumbo frets and an inline pointed headstock. Each guitar is finished with a high gloss black on the body and a fast black satin on the neck. A single ply, white binding around the fretboard completes the aesthetics. A single master volume combined with a master tone knob and 3-way toggle switch control the pair of Duncan Designed Blackout pickups, accented with black hardware and a fixed bridge.

For more info check out http://www.bcrich.com/.

Vol 3 No 1 of the excellent free online guitar mag Gearphoria marks the start of their bi-monthly publication cycle, great news for gear nerds like me and you! This issue includes a feature on Visual Sound boss Bob Weil, an interview with Lizzy Hale of Halestorm and coverage of Summer NAMM as well as the usual columns from the likes of Satellite Amps’ Adam Grimm and plenty of reviews.

Read online now at http://www.gearphoria.com.

TC Electronic have announced an upgrade to my favourite tuner pedal of all time, the PolyTune Mini. Version 2 of this pedal called, unsurprisingly, the PolyTune Mini 2 features an upgraded display with 109 ultra-bright LEDs and a new super-precise strobe tuner mode has been added with 0.1 cent accuracy, very handy for intonating your guitar. All of this for just $80 in Americamoney and 60 of your British Poundage if you live in UK! No idea on Aussie pricing sorry but it will probably be around the 100 buckaroo mark at a guess.

Also available is the PolyTune 2 Mini Noir, because Black.

For more info - http://www.tcelectronic.com/polytune-2-mini/

Floyd Rose are two word synonymous with Floating Tremolo systems, the Floyd Rose has been used worldwide on almost every major brand since it’s invention. Floyd Rose guitars have never really enjoyed the same kind of success despite some high profile players over the years such as Richie Sambora. I hadn’t seen any Floyd Rose guitars for a while when I suddenly received an email the other day about their Discovery Series which you can buy direct from Floyd Rose through their website FloydRose.com. Now unlike the International Series which retail for between $800 - $1000 and are only available through dealers, these are a budget option that cost $330 - $380 (depending on the model) and feature a Floyd Rose Special Tremolo rather than their 1000 Series trem on the international series. There are a few options, either H, HH or HSS configurations as well as a Flying V. Each guitar has finish options such as black, white, blueburst or vintage sunburst.

Check out the Floyd Rose website for details on how to order direct.

This is a nice demonstration from Aussie guitarist & singer Joe Robinson of the new Boss RC-1 Looper pedal, looks nice and simple to use!

“The BOSS RC-1 is our simplest and most user friendly Loop Station ever, and it’s a ton of fun!

On the top panel, there is a new and innovative loop indicator which consists of a 24-segment LED laid out in a circular pattern. You can quickly and easily determine the current status of the Rec/Overdub/Play modes. With a maximum 12 minutes of stereo recording time, the RC-1 is capable of capturing any extended performance that you can create or imagine! The stereo in/out jacks can be used with stereo effects and amplifiers. Additionally, they allow you to connect stereo instruments like synthesizers. Other convenient features include battery and AC power, as well as flexible external footswitching capabilities. The RC-1 is an especially great partner to start enjoying looping!”

When Spartan Music in the UK contacted me about the range of mini pedals by ENO (also known as Ex-Amp) that they sell for a smidgen under £30 each, I couldn’t resist the challenge of recording a demo of one of these super cheap Chinese mini effects pedals and making it sound good.

The pedal that Spartan Music sent me is a clone of the famous Fulltone OCD overdrive called the ENO Trouble Overdrive which is true bypass, despite its budget price, and is housed in a mini enclosure with no room for batteries so 9v DC only. Spartan Music say the Trouble Overdrive will make you sound like you’re playing through a Marshall stack, well I guess it depends on your guitar and amp but you can definitely tweak this pedal to get a very usable overdrive tone. The pedal has two modes, HP & LP which I assume stands for low pass and high pass? Basically it adjusts the voicing for either a dark sounding overdrive or as I used for my demo a brighter tone which has slightly more gain on tap.

I should explain my recording chain, I used my Cilia CGA7 guitar with a Seymour Duncan SH-16 Humbucker in the bridge position into a Ceriatone Chupacabra 50 amp in Plexi mode and set quite bright but very clean. I set the Trouble Overdrive with the gain and tone dimed and the volume set to around 1 o’clock. To be honest I expected more gain and it is a tad fuzzy but I tweaked the EQ and presence on my amp and got a rhythm and lead tone I was happy with. For the solo I added an Empress Vintage Modified Superdelay into the effects loop of my amp. The rhythm parts are double tracked as you will hear but I think it sounds pretty good. Check out my demo below:

I have never tried a real OCD pedal so this review is based off the many OD pedals I have demo’d in the past. While it clearly isn’t in the same category as my favourite OD pedals from MI Audio, Mad Professor and Suhr, for 30 quid in the UK including free delivery from Spartan Music ENO pedals are a bargain. One specific audience that should look into these pedals are young players with very little cash who want a myriad of sounds, ENO also make a Flanger, Chorus and various overdrive, fuzz and distortion pedals.

Ninebuzz are a software company that make mobile apps specifically for guitarists. Their latest app is called ‘Modal Buddy’ and as you can probably guess is designed to be a complete tutorial on learning and using the diatonic Modes.

There are two parts to this app labelled ‘Learn’ and ‘Practice’. Learn is divided up into 6 sections, one of those is just a quiz so you can make sure you have fully understood the other sections. The main sections explain and demonstrate how the modes are constructed using box and interval diagrams and with audio examples so that you can hear how each mode sounds which is a very important part of learning about Modes.

The Practice section is a quick and easy way to see each mode in the 5 different fretboard box positions, simply swipe left and right to see them all. Also in the center of the screen is the interval explanation for the mode which looks like RHWWWHWW (R=Root, H=Half Tone, W=Whole Tone), this is Phyrgian for example. Also there is a play button which gives you an instant backing track loop that you can practice the Mode over.

Modes are often a confusing subject, I know when I was doing my music degree the only people that fully understood Modes where the guitar players, the lecturers would just say “Dorian is just the major scale starting on the second note” which made everyone think “huh?! that’s the same scale?”. Never once did I see anyone demonstrate the different distinct sounds and feels that you get from the various Modes. Modal Buddy covers all of the theory you need to start learning and applying modes to your improvising and composition but with plenty of audio references and jam tracks to help you memories how each mode sounds.

For more info or to download Modal Buddy check out the Ninebuzz website.