I grew up in a house full of guitars, as my father was forever building electric guitars on the families kitchen table. I spent my teenage years trying to tame a 100 watt Marshall JCM 800 and matching 4 x 12 cab in a bedroom, only just large enough for a bed. I’d bought it not REALLY understanding exactly how loud 100 watts is. At this young age I started to experiment with recording and MIDI and cut my teeth on Pro 24 and Notator on an Atari synced to a Foster R8 with an MTC-1.
Playing in bands and working in recording studios for many years, I learned to mix, record and eventually worked as a sound engineer. I also worked for many of the UKs large pro audio retailers, where I helped to set up DAWs in everything from local studios, music technology colleges all the way through to world famous recording facilities like Air Studios and The Strongroom. As I couldn’t help myself, I even owned my own recording studio in London for a while. There I learnt a lot about recording guitars, dealing with bands and getting quality results anyhow.
Over the years I have acquired a very sizeable guitar collection, which includes many guitars that I have built myself. I’m a total hoarder of effect pedals and valve amps and I’m a certified guitar geek. So there are not many that I have not owned at least once. Whether Parker Fly guitars or Klon Centaur pedals, I’ve had them all. Now running the annual Analogue To Digital music show in the UK, plus the Vintage Guitar Fair, I get to be busy throughout the year and also get to rub shoulders with many other guitar lovers, luthiers, manufacturers and pro players.
My tastes in music includes everything from Dinosaur Jr to Squarepusher.
Write him: jef (at) gearnews (com)
With granular noise making, bit crushing madness, dual analogue chorus and harmonizers with mashable real-time controls, this week's round up of new pedals has something for everyone!
Updated for 2017 to include more responsive drive channels, voice switches and recording outputs, the MkII versions of the HT Venue series have more to offer than their predecessors.
HOT
This new Artist Series signature model guitar for Gary Clark Jr certainly stands out from the crowd in its bright yellow finish and triple P90 layout.
An emerald green-clad reissue of the ever-popular Fender Blues Deluxe amplifier, this new upgraded version is part of a limited run for 2017 as part of Fender's FSR series...
These maple neck SE Custom 24 models are available in a range of cool colours - in Europe. A new limited run, this series looks like a lot of guitar for the money.
AUDIO
Mooer have come up with an easy way to add IR speaker emulations to your pedalboard - Radar comes loaded with 30 Impulse Responses while letting add your own, too.
A new potentially budget conscious multi-effects and amp simulation floor pedal. Will this be able to offer Line 6 Helix like flexibility, but on a budget?
Danelectro introduces a new effects pedal range and a cool battery charger/power supply in one. Will this keenly priced new range save you breaking the bank?
Are you playing in a slightly oddball Psychobilly band? Are you perhaps a pirate looking to rock the seven seas? Or do you just love Halloween a bit too much?
So you're down the pub arguing with your mates if a guitar's weight affects its sustain... Make sure you check out this video demonstration of a Gibson Les Paul vs. a Steel Beam!
After last month's pointless guitar plectrum sticker we have yet another doofus invention aimed at guitarists with more money than sense. Is there any limit to the pointlessness of some guitar "innovations"?
Richie Kotzen's new signature model amps are now being made by Victory Amps in the UK and they look like they may well win the Coolest-looking Single Channel Amp of the Year award...
This week has certainly been a bright one for new guitar colours and these new limited edition neon coloured St Vincent models will have you reaching for your sunglasses.
Featuring the iconic 'Monkey Grip', 'Lions claw' and `Tree Of Life' inlay, plus shocking neon '80s colours, where exactly are Ibanez cutting the cost of this budget Steve Vai signature model guitar? We reveal ...
G&L has just presented the Doheny, an offset guitar very reminiscent of the Fender Jazzmaster. Is this the rebirth of the Jazzmaster that offset fans have been waiting for?
Slayer's main man Kerry King gets a new uber metal machine, designed for crushing riffs and huge solo tones, this axe is not subtle at all, but then would you expect it to be?
With saturated amp-like tones from this 'new' limited run overdrive pedal, this is based on a modification to a Blues Driver pedal from 16 years ago and now tweaked for 2017.
We saw the prototype back at the Winter NAMM Show and now the V-BDN is finally going on to general release, but will this modern take on guitar be welcomed by the guitar world?
When two pedal companies work together, anything can happen. But will this new collaboration be the start of something special? Will it herald collaborations between Boss and other pedal makers?
Is it a bird? Does it have a $1500 scrawl surcharge? Or is it the new Slash Signature model Firebird? This new SlashBird has just been 'leaked' via the man's own social media page...
Is this new 2018 line-up enough to pull the American guitar legend out of the hole? Having not made much headway the last few years, will this range be the one to turn them around?
With rising prices in Europe and CITES regulations in place, will the 2018 Les Paul range be able to tempt you to buy one? And why oh why are G-Force robot tuners back?
Lightweight and quite cheap, these new mini-combos offer a whopping 50-Watts of power and come in three new versions aimed at bass players, acoustic guitarists and keyboard players.
With the advent of newer versions of these two great effects pedals, it looks like we've found a great deal on the old ones, but you may have to move fast to get them.