Musik Indonesia

Classic pro audio effect processors like the Eventide H3000 and T.C. Electronic TC 2290 sound great with guitars. But because they were designed primarily for studio and live sound applications, they’re not always easy for guitarists to use onstage, and some of their effects aren’t ideal for guitars. Meanwhile, most effect processors that are designed exclusively for guitar may provide plenty of great distortion tones, useful effects and the performance capabilities that guitarists need, but they often lack the sophisticated processing capabilities and otherworldly sound quality that studio processors offer.

The Fractal Audio Systems Axe-FX preamp/effect processor combines the state-of-the-art processing capabilities of studio effect processors with features that guitarists need, such as a full selection of guitar-oriented effects, versatile external-controller capabilities and incredibly expressive and detailed simulations of amps, distortions and cabinets. By combining preamp and multi-effect capabilities in one unit, Axe-FX is truly an all-in-one “tone zone” for guitarists who demand pro-quality sound throughout the entire signal chain.

FEATURES

With its large LCD, rotary data wheel and various buttons and knobs, the Axe-FX looks similar to a typical two-unit rack-mountable guitar processor, but beneath its faceplate resides a powerful 500MHz dual-core processor that can run 10 to 12 exceptionally sophisticated effects at once. The Axe-FX has a wide variety of popular effects, including compression, graphic and parametric EQ, distortion/fuzz, chorus, flanging, rotary, wah, delay and reverb, and each effect provides a comprehensive selection of parameters that you can edit in fine detail. You can arrange individual effects in any order and in series or parallel, allowing you to program unusual sound effects or emulate just about any effect setup you can imagine.

Unlike most digital amp-modeling products, which provide reasonable emulations of various amps but also limit you to the features and controls of their hardware equivalents, the Axe-FX’s amp-simulation section allows you to combine the tonal and distortion characteristics of nearly 50 amps with any feature set you’d like. For example, you can build a tweed-style amp with master volume and a full set of EQ controls, presence, brightness, damping and more—you can even adjust the center frequency of the EQ controls to your preference. The cabinet simulator section is similarly deep, providing a comprehensive selection of speaker options—from 1x6 and 1x8 to a variety of 4x12 cabinets.

The rear panel of the Axe-FX unit offers just about every input and output jack a guitarist would ever need, including 1/4-inch stereo unbalanced inputs, 1/4-inch unbalanced and XLR balanced stereo outputs, a stereo effect loop, RCA and XLR digital I/O, MIDI In/Out/Thru and two pedal/footswitch jacks for connecting external controllers without hassling with MIDI. A single 1/4-inch unbalanced input jack is also conveniently located on the front panel, allowing you to plug in with having to do the rack reach-around.

PERFORMANCE

The Axe-FX may look a lot like those dreaded multi-effect processors from the Eighties, but its logically arranged interface and large LCD make it easy to program and edit new sounds and setups. You still may need to scroll through several pages to get to the effect and parameter that you want to edit, but most major tweaks (like the ones you may need to do during a gig) can be accessed from an effect’s Basic page, which is the first page that comes up when an effect is selected in Edit mode.

The sound quality of each effect is absolutely stunning, rich and three dimensional, even when several effects are combined together, delivering that elusive refined, pro quality similar to the beloved H3000 and TC 2290. The reverb algorithms sound like those of high-end stand-alone studio units, delivering smooth tails and exceptional depth. Even the compressor and equalizer effects sound comparable to professional studio units. Unlike most guitar effect processors, the flanger has 16 adjustable parameters instead of the usual three or four, resulting in a sound that is remarkably deep. The wah even lets you set minimum and maximum frequency values so you make the sweep as narrow or wide as you want.

But for guitarists, the main reason to invest in an Axe-FX unit is its amp and cabinet simulation sections. For less than the cost of a boutique amplifier, Axe-FX provides a complete selection of just about every amp and speaker combination a player could ever need, for tones that range from jazzy solid-state clean to classic overdriven tweed to modern high gain. The Axe-FX’s sophisticated processing power allows the amp and cabinet-simulation programs to deliver the feel and response of playing through the “real thing.” The tones that I heard coming through my JBL 6328P monitors actually sounded better and more lively than tones I’ve captured using various combinations of high-end mics and classic amps in the studio.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The Axe-FX effectively destroys any notions that guitars and digital processing don’t mix. This powerful processor delivers stunning, expressive tones and effects that most players would have difficulty achieving with even the finest analog gear. Considering the vast universe of sounds residing in this unit, it’s an exceptional bargain for anyone who wants to simplify their studio and live performance rigs without making any sacrifices whatsoever. In fact, it may be the last guitar processor many players will ever need to buy.

Orange's limited edition OR50 is a fitting and modern tribute to company’s 40th anniversary and the “Pics Only” amp that made Orange a household name.

Orange Amplifiers is sometimes referred to as Britain’s first boutique amp maker. The company’s namesake orange attire is unmistakable, as is its mix of classic Brit-type midrange punch and densely detailed top end. For a short time in the Seventies, Orange amplifiers were among the most popular in amplification, but the company never kept up with the demand for its products until recently.

Over the past couple of years, thanks in large part to the brilliance of amp designer Adrian Emsley, Orange has made up a lot of ground and is again becoming the hot ticket for superstars that range from Prince to Slipknot. Its latest achievement is the limited-edition OR50, a 40th anniversary tribute to both the company and the venerated 1972 “Pics Only” amp, so named for its use of pictographs on the front panel in place of descriptive text. The OR50 is more like a modern interpretation than a reissue, and it easily achieves everything from dimensionally diverse clean sounds to maniacally morose mega-gain tones.

FEATURES

Impeccable build quality is part of the Orange Amplifiers legacy, and this is well evidenced in the OR50. Everything on this amp is nicely overbuilt, from the custom eight-leaf transformers to the superduty basic components and 2mm-thick chassis. It’s easy to see the high-end audio influence that undoubtedly inspired Orange’s massive rack handles and oversized control dials. Inside, two EL34 power tubes generate the amp’s 50 watts, and three 12AX7s produce tons of front-end gain without clouding the signal’s dimension. On the backside, there are three speaker outputs: two eight-ohm and a single 16-ohm. Although the OR50 is a single-channel affair, the amp’s variety of gain and EQ settings manages to eclipse a number of multichannel super amps.

Like the “Pics Only” amp, the OR50 features icons common to engineering and music on its Plexiglas front panel to indicate each control’s function. Controls include gain, bass, treble, middle, HF (High-Frequency) Drive and master volume. Orange calls the HF Drive knob the amp’s “secret weapon” because it simultaneously increases presence and poweramp gain. This translates to attack and intensity, which can be dialed to achieve tones that range from angelic to anarchic. The master volume allows highgain tones at low volumes and spanking clean tones at extreme volumes. If you prefer the shortest possible signal path and most organic escalation of volume and gain, the master volume can be defeated with an optional footswitch that plugs directly into the front panel.

PERFORMANCE

Orange's OR50 is like a living entity, because its harmonic response doesn’t always behave as expected. The amp’s dynamic power and preamp section fire overtones like pellets from a shotgun: no two patterns are exactly the same; they always have a wide impact and they bloom unpredictably. This is the joy of playing a truly great tube amp; it responds to every touch and can be adjusted to complement any guitar or style of music. Even though this is an EL34-driven amplifier, it reveals all of a Stratocaster’s round jangle, rattling lows and chiming sparkle.

Likewise, my Les Paul’s woody warmth came through the Orange with a tone that was smoky and sweet, rather than dark and mellow. With the gain pushed past nine o’clock, the tone grew touch-sensitive fur that was ideal for blues or classic rock. Turning the volume high at this gain level made the amp churn out inspiring Angus Young tones. Moving the gain past the 12 o’clock position introduced mean and saturated tones, culminating in a symphony of high-gain nuance. This thick distortion is definitely heavy enough to play metal, and the Orange’s characteristically wide note separation remains fully intact at these settings. An attractive byproduct of this is an almost hollow resonance, which adds dimensionality rarely heard in the company of high gain. Even more attack, gain, harmonics and power amp distortion can be created through careful manipulation of the HF Drive circuit.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Orange's limited edition OR50 is a fitting and modern tribute to company’s 40th anniversary and the “Pics Only” amp that made Orange a household name. The special high-frequency power amp circuit and uniquely tuned controls prove that you don’t need a lot of knobs to achieve a phenomenal range of tones.

Guitarists who want an extreme machine to deliver the ultimate heavy tones need look no further than Jackson’s Demmelition Phil Demmel signature guitar.

Phil Demmel's blend of old-school punk rock intensity and hardcore aggression propels the veteran thrash metal band Machine Head. Because Demmel’s sound is so distorted and seemingly unrefined, it would be natural to assume that any guitar with a high-powered pickup and a Floyd Rose trem would allow a player to recreate his tone. In reality, Demmel requires a very special set of guitar characteristics to help him create his super-heavy vintage-modern assault.

Demmel recently teamed with Jackson Guitars and incorporated these specs into the new Phil Demmel signature model King V, which has been aptly named the Demmelition. There’s nothing timid or reserved about the Demmelition’s bombastic, bowel-loosening assault, yet it’s a very tonally balanced instrument.

FEATURES

Dangerous-looking pointed guitars are used by scores of metallists as a symbol of their aggression, but when built properly, these wild shapes also achieve precise musical goals. For example, the Demmelition comes from the factory with massive .011–.056 GHS Boomers drop-tuned to B. The extended wings work like a tuning fork to help these nearly infrasonic tones develop fully and make the guitar shake with resonance. Lightweight alder is used in the Demmelition’s V wings for its ability to clarify upper midrange and add punch to the big bass notes.

For added stability and sustain, the Demmelition is built with maple neck-through-body construction. Like most high-end maple necks, the Demmelition’s is quarter-sawn to protect against warping or twisting. Stone-hard ebony is used for the fretboard and cut on a compound radius that begins at 12 inches and flattens gradually to a hammer-friendly 16 inches above the 12th fret. Nearly invisible black binding wraps the 22-fret board, and super-jumbo wire is used to make fretting easy and maximize the volume from those massive strings. The neck isn’t thin, but it’s consistent and has a wide and flat hill that complements metal fret-hand movements. It’s also recalls the playability that made Jackson guitars famous in the early shred years.

A classic set of metal-style pickups—an EMG-81 (bridge) and an EMG-60 (neck)—deliver power and detuned clarity. Although the model 81 is typically paired with an 85 in the neck position, the ceramic-based model 60 is the best choice if you really want to hear destructive rhythm tones and wailing neck leads from heavy strings. Each pickup is hardwired to its own volume pot, and a three-way blade lets you select the pickups alone or in combination. An Original Floyd Rose double-locking trem imparts a classic metallic resonance upon the diabolic King V. Some other nice touches on the Demmelition are an inlaid mother-of-pearl Jackson headstock logo, CTS pots, a positive-feeling Switchcraft switch and beveled body edges.

PERFORMANCE

Jackson makes many sonically multifaceted guitars. The Demmelition is unapologetically not one of them. This wicked-winged flyer is purpose built for high gain, extreme lows and greasy-fat leads. At the same time, its maple neck-through construction, ebony fretboard and ceramic EMGs deliver enough treble enhancement to define the Demmelition’s powerful detuned bass tones and make screaming high-end tones second nature.

Through an amp like my modified Mesa Rectifier, the Demmelition sent shockwaves of sound across the stage and awakened Godzilla-roar overtones when I chugged through power chords or dive-bombed the low B string. In addition to its massive tone, the Demmelition generated astonishing sustain in the upper registers, allowing bent notes to be held for well over 15 seconds! The EMGs had no trouble delivering clean and warm tones that sound completely unprocessed.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Guitarists who want an extreme machine to deliver the ultimate heavy tones need look no further than Jackson’s Demmelition Phil Demmel signature guitar. The name says it all: brutal assaults, unrivaled destructive power, truly unbelievable sustain and old-school Jackson Soloist-style playability.

Searing tone and an authentic hard rock vibe make IK’s AmpliTube Metal a great tool for exploring rock’s extremes.

A selling point of guitar modelers is that they can recreate any sound you, your family, your friends or a casual passerby could ever want. That degree of variety and versatility is great when you’re producing music in many styles, but it can be overkill when your focus is on one type of music.

IK Multimedia’s AmpliTube Metal, which can run as a stand-alone or as a plug-in, is a slimmed-down version of its flagship AmpliTube software. Like the company’s AmpliTube Jimi Hendrix, it eschews the kitchen-sink approach and focuses on one style. Which is not to say it doesn’t deliver sonic variety: AmpliTube Metal can go from a whisper to a scream and do everything in between.

FEATURES

Like other versions of AmpliTube, Metal offers a complete signal path—actually, two signal chains that can include different amps, cabinets, stomp boxes and rack effects. At its core are four hard-rocking amps, including the Peavey 5150, Randall Warhead, Marshall JMP1959 Mk I and the Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier, (IK offer separate amp models for the Recto’s “green” and “red” channels). One of the program’s coolest features is its ability to mix and match amp components, allowing you to use, for example, the Marshall’s preamp with the Peavey’s power section.

Amps are automatically matched to appropriate cabinets, but there are actually 13 to choose from (in addition to Peavey, Mesa and Marshall fare, there are a couple of Fenders). All of these are variations on the 4x12 configuration, and while that definitely upholds the law of the metal jungle, it would have been nice to have some other options. Cabinets can be miked close or far with a range of virtual dynamic and condenser and dynamic mics from Shure, AKG, Neumann and Sennheiser. You can really sculpt the sound by changing and/or moving the mics.

The stomp box collection leans to the heavy side. Among the 14 included pedals are seven high-gain distortion boxes, including the Pro Co Rat, five Boss pedals and an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff π so realistic I could smell the Seventies when I powered it up. Other floor effects include generic 10-band EQ and delay plus models of Boss and MXR flangers, an MXR Phase 90, a Vox wah (which has Pedal and Auto- Wah modes) and the DigiTech Whammy Pedal. These effects all go in front of the amps (there’s no virtual effect loop) but you can also add effects like digital chorus, flanger, reverb, delay, harmonizer, pitch shift, graphic and parametric EQ, and tube compressor in the rack effects section.

In addition, there is a speed trainer that lets you load in audio files in a variety of formats, change their speed and pitch and play along—just the thing for mastering those Yngwie licks. It’s a very cool feature, although it’s available only when Metal is running as a stand-alone application.

PERFORMANCE

I've tested versions of AmpliTube in the past and have always come away impressed with not only its sound but also its “feel.” The amps are fun to play through, and some of the presets are inspiring.

Despite its focus on hard rock, Metal has enough range to cover any musical style, and many of the presets are good right out of the box. The high-gain tones are very compressed and tend to color the guitar’s tone—I couldn’t hear much difference on my S/S/H Strat when I toggled the pickup switch—but that’s the case with hardware high-gain rigs, too, especially when driven by a monster like the Big Muff. The effects sound great, and it’s nice to have a choice between the grungy stomp boxes and the cleaner rack gear. I would have liked more variety among the speaker cab selection, and it would be nice to be able to slide stomp boxes around the virtual pedal board to change their order, but other than those small complaints, Ampli-Tube Metal was pure gratification.

You don’t need IK’s slick StompIO to use AmpliTube Metal effectively, but it does add to the experience. In addition to providing 24-bit audio I/O via USB, the sturdy foot controller has 10 buttons and a built-in expression pedal, letting you turn effects on and off, operate the wah and whammy pedals, and select presets. Its metal chassis is tough enough to survive onstage.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Searing tone and an authentic hard rock vibe make IK’s AmpliTube Metal a great tool for exploring rock’s extremes.

Fender takes David Gilmour’s famous “Black Strat” to its next stage of evolution with a pair of signature reproductions.

There are a handful of guitars that have shaped the sound of rock music, and indeed the course of rock history, with their distinctive tones. David Gilmour’s legendary “Black Strat” ranks high among this select company of instruments. This was the ax that the Pink Floyd guitarist wielded on Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall, and on all three of his solo studio albums. The guitar was also with him at London’s Hyde Park for Pink Floyd’s 2005 reunion at Live 8.

Now aspiring David Gilmours everywhere can own a piece of the legend. Fender’s new David Gilmour Signature Series Stratocaster was carefully modeled after the original Black Strat. As usual with Fender Signature models, there will be a high-end, so-close-it’s-a-forgery Relic version of the instrument and a more affordable N.O.S. (New Old Stock) version.

The Strat was nothing special when Gilmour purchased it at Manny’s Music in New York in 1970, just an off-the-shelf late- Sixties Stratocaster. Gilmour bought it in a hurry to replace a Strat that had been stolen during a Pink Floyd U.S. tour. The guitar originally had a Sunburst finish, but it had been oversprayed with black paint at the factory as a custom finish. The Relic version of the Gilmour Signature Strat reproduces even this detail—the alder body features black lacquer sprayed over a three-color Sunburst finish. The N.O.S. version has simply a black nitrocellulose lacquer finish sprayed on an alder body.

Because the guitar was neither rare nor collectible when Gilmour bought it, he made it his “bodge-up guitar”—the instrument he’d experiment on by changing pickups and necks and drilling holes to add bits of circuitry that were later discarded. “The guitar was never treated with any reverence at all. It was just a working tool,” says longtime Gilmour guitar tech Phil Taylor, who worked closely with Fender to create the David Gilmour Signature Series Stratocaster. But because it was also a working tool, it was the guitar most likely to be in Gilmour’s hands when Pink Floyd were making history. The Black Strat first went into service on Pink Floyd’s 1970 album Atom Heart Mother and remained in heavy use throughout the group’s Seventies heyday. It is the guitar Gilmour played on the classic Floyd instrumental “Echoes” and for two of the three solos in “Money.” And this is the guitar that played what many fans regard as Gilmour’s greatest solo ever, the one in “Comfortably Numb.”

The Black Strat spent the years from 1983 to 1993 enshrined in display cases at various Hard Rock Cafe locations. When Gilmour took possession of it again in ’93, he outfitted it with a Fender ’57 Reissue Vintage Strat neck, which is the neck style used on the Gilmour Signature Strat as well. When the guitar made a high-profile return to the limelight at the Live 8 Pink Floyd reunion show, interest in Pink Floyd and the Black Strat reached a new level, and Fender got to work replicating the historic instrument as the David Gilmour Signature Strat.

The signature model reflects all the custom mods Gilmour implemented over the years, down to the shortened vintage vibrato arm that’s a key part of his technique. The historic process of replicating the guitar has been well documented: Phil Taylor published his own book, The Black Strat, based on research he did as part of the Fender project, and the folks at Fender have produced their own DVD that traces the full evolution of the David Gilmour Signature Stratocaster. A copy of Taylor’s book will be included with every Fender David Gilmour Signature Stratocaster, along with the three-disc version of Gilmour’s recently released concert extravaganza Live in Gdansk. (Guitar World published a full report on the Taylor book in the January 2008 issue.)

Look for an exclusive video on the making of the Black Strat replica, featuring Gilmour and Phil Taylor, on the CD-RO M that will accompany the March issue of Guitar World.

While this upgraded model has way more guts than its predecessor, it

still relies on the acoustic environment to give you optimal
performance.

The original Phil Jones Bass Flightcase was a significant entrant in the micro-amp wars thanks to its high power-to-weight ratio and audiophile-quality tone. The diminutive portable quickly gained fans with upright bassists and among electric bassists that wanted high fidelity at low volume. But many denizens of the deep called out for more volume, more bottom and more power, all without more weight. Apparently, the folks at PJB have heard the call, and they have responded: Super Flightcase to the rescue!

FEATURES

The most obvious difference between the Super Flightcase BG-300 and the original Flightcase BG-150 is the speaker configuration. The original has two lightweight five-inch neodymium drivers pointed toward the audience and two facing straight up. The Super adds two more forward-facing speakers, which creates a full, “surround-sound” tone that radiates throughout the stage rather than being directional. The preamp is the same as in the BG-150, with an active/passive toggle that changes the input impedance from 4.7 megohm in Passive mode to 50kHz in Active, a feature that optimizes the tone of passive, active or piezo pickups.

A 250-watt Class A/B amp with a Switch Mode Power Supply (SMPS) drives the BG-300. Phil Jones states that a Class A/B amp gives a truer representation of the bass waveform, and the higher-frequency operation of the switching power supply increases its efficiency. The SMPS design forgoes the heavy transformer of conventional amps and thus is critical in keeping the amp’s weight at a very manageable 33 pounds.

The five-band EQ provides a wide spectrum of control that enables you to tune in a variety of useful bass sounds. As there is no tweeter in this rig, the 12kHz treble control is set to bring out the sparkle for a killer slap tone, while the low frequencies—Lo-Bass, @50Hz, and Hi-Bass, @160Hz—allow you to tune the bottom for maximum girth with minimal mud. The two bands of midrange—Lo-Mid, @630Hz, and Hi-Mid, @2.5kHz—provide fine control over presence and detail. With 18dB of boost and cut on all bands, the BG-300 is an extremely flexible tone shaper.

The optical limiter can be bypassed or adjusted with its own level control to provide a degree of safety when pushing the amp. Unlike many built-in limiting circuits, the PJB manages the level without squashing the life out of the attack. An effect loop, line out, headphone out, tuner out and a balanced DI with ground lift round out the BG-300’s feature set.

PERFORMANCE

Like the BG-150, the 300 is designed to work in conjunction with an acoustic environment. Three floor-level ports help couple the rig to the stage—which is, in part, how this quart-sized box achieves gallon-sized low end. The key to unlocking the amp’s maximum potential is to find the optimal distance off the stage’s back wall. By using the floor and walls you gain bottom that the amp itself won’t provide, but the upward facing speakers prevent the sound from being “absorbed” by the room.

While the increase in power and additional speaker coverage improve the 300’s high-volume capabilities, it’s obvious that this amp is not destined to be a big hit with the death metal crowd. Still, it performed admirably with a four-piece band with drums and electric guitar. Moving the amp around the stage, I was able to find the sweet spot that produced the most low end without losing clarity, and the cabinet handled the low B string without wheezing.

Employed with a gut-stringed upright bass on a roots/country gig, the BG-300 had plenty of naturally punchy bottom. Cranking the treble control brought out enough high end from my relatively dark-sounding Realist pickup to help the rockabilly slap technique cut through. Maxing the highs to that level is often accompanied by a lot of hiss, but the BG-300 is remarkably quiet, even when boosted to the extreme.

THE BOTTOM LINE

While this upgraded model has way more guts than its predecessor, it still relies on the acoustic environment to give you optimal performance. It might not be the best choice for an outdoor gig where you can’t take advantage of a back wall, or the resonance of a wooden stage. But in ideal conditions, the BG- 300 dishes out delicious, organic beef, with plenty to go around.

No question about it—the Bugera 6260/412H-BK is an impressive gigworthy

half stack that’s easily capable of hanging tough against more costly
rivals.

It's the biggest buzz in the amp world: Behringer, known for its wide range of amazingly affordable and primarily solid-state music gear, has entered the heavyweight tube-amp arena with a loud kerrang and a new brand: Bugera. Made in Behringer’s sprawling factory complex in Zhongshan, China, the Bugera line boldly debuts with nine new models: four highpowered heads, four open-back combos (featuring essentially the same circuitry as the heads but with inverted chassis) and a slant-front 4x12 speaker cabinet.

To check out this new line, I’ve selected the most stripped-down (and thusly the most affordable) Bugera head—the 6260—and coupled it with the 412H-BK cabinet to form the most basic building block of rock: the classic half stack.

FEATURES

The 6260 shares many key components with its Bugera cousins, something that reduces production costs. In addition to having similar chassis metalwork and cabinetry dimensions, the models share the same power and output transformer designs. An amp’s transformers are typically its most expensive components, and the output transformer is an especially important contributor to overall tone quality. According to Behringer’s eponymous head-honcho, Uli Behringer, the company developed and refined the intricate design details and sound of the Bugera’s output transformer for more than a year. With that kind of boutique-like obsession for detail, it’s clear the Bugera team is truly serious.

Like all of the Bugera amp designs, the 6260 sports four output tubes (and all of the tubes reside in high-quality ceramic sockets). And for you tone tweakers, all of the Bugeras are fitted with a switch that adapts the amp for either 6L6 or EL34 operation, and a conveniently located top-mounted bias adjustment pot with RCA test-jack makes it easy to check and fine tune your amp’s bias on the fly.

Speaking of tubes, Bugera boasts an impressive in-house tube testing facility. I visited the Behringer/Bugera factory last November, and the large tube testing room was abuzz with people busily testing tubes using special burn-in and matching rigs. They also use actual Bugera combos for critical testing of microphonics. The 12AX7s are carefully graded by their resistance to microphonics, and they’re selected for their final use accordingly. Uli Behringer said only five percent of the 12AX7s are selected for the most critical “A” grade applications. More good news: Bugera also plans to offer a full line of replacement tubes, so keep your eyes pealed for some sweet deals on great tubes.

PERFORMANCE

The 6260 forms an especially synergistic bond with the uncommonly deep-, rich- and smooth-sounding Bugera 412H-BK 4x12 speaker cabinet. It’s clear that the Bugera crew did a lot study and experimentation to design speakers that so perfectly complement the sound of the head; you really have to hear them together to get the complete Bugera experience. The amazing thing is the Bugera speakers are made inhouse. It’s easy to understand why the speakers match the head so perfectly when you see first-hand how Bugera’s unique manufacturing capabilities allow the company to fine-tune speaker performance so readily. Very few amp manufacturers can stake a claim to that kind of capability.

The 6260/412H-BK half stack is a serious rock machine. And while the Clean channel is indeed capable of crisp and punchy clean tones (especially with vintage-style single-coil pickups), this rig was clearly born to rock. Engaging the Clean channel’s Crunch mode punches up the gain with a more aggressive upper-midrange emphasis that barks with Rottweiler-like authority, and amazingly, it’s equally effective with single-coils or humbuckers.

The Lead channel increases the gain with more perfectly voiced upper-midrange emphasis and a leaner, trimmer and more percussive low end that handles low-tuned and seven-string guitars surprisingly well. Despite these characteristics, the Lead channel sounds fat thanks to the cab’s exceptional low-end depth. It’s truly amazing how seamlessly both amp channels work together and how many great sounds are available from so few controls.

THE BOTTOM LINE

No question about it—the Bugera 6260/412H-BK is an impressive gigworthy half stack that’s easily capable of hanging tough against more costly rivals. It’s destined to become a hit with budget-minded rockers and I suspect we’ll be seeing them on some big-time stages real soon too. The real bottom line: Bugera is for real. I’ve seen it all and I’m a believer.

The Solitaire's “exotic” design is really more about function than form.

You may not be aware of this, but playing an acoustic guitar could be the most unselfish act a guitarist could make. Because an acoustic guitar’s sound projects outward from the sound hole, the fullest and most harmonically rich sound is heard a few feet away from the guitar by listeners who are positioned directly in front of the sound hole. The player’s ears are located above and just behind the sound hole, so the player has to settle for hearing tones that aren’t quite as rich and robust.

Despite this fact, most acoustic guitar designs feature a sound hole that is located just below where the end of the fingerboard meets the body. In addition to providing a less than ideal monitoring situation for the player, this design actually prevents the top from doing much of what it was designed to do in the first place—vibrate freely and project the full range of frequencies that a string can produce.

Boulder Creek’s new Solitaire models present a logical solution to these design quirks by placing the sound hole on the side of the guitar and facing it up toward the player, leaving the soundboard hole-free. A special bracing design allows the top to flex freely and still provide ample strength to support the strings. Surprisingly, this innovation is offered on a very affordable line of instruments that includes cutaway acoustic-electric models, like the ECR-3N that I auditioned for this review.

FEATURES

From the front, ECR-3N looks like a typical dreadnought cutaway acoustic model except for the absence of a sound hole in its top. Materials include a solid cedar top, solid mahogany back, laminated mahogany sides and a 20-fret rosewood fingerboard—all the usual suspects. The 18:1 tuners boast wood buttons, and they’re mounted on a distinctive jagged-shaped headstock that evokes a mountain crest.

The side-mounted sound hole is surrounded by a plastic ring that makes it look like a drink holder, but you won’t want to put your Bud in there. The built-in AB4-T preamp system is mounted just above this sound hole in the typical location you’d expect to find acoustic-electric controls. The preamp features four EQ bands (brilliance, treble, middle, bass) with slider controls, a volume knob, a phase in/out switch and a chromatic tuner that automatically bypasses the output when the tuner is switched on. Outputs include a 1/4-inch unbalanced jack and a balanced XLR jack.

The side-mounted sound hole is very clever, but the true genius of the Solitaire’s design is its Suspended Bracing System (a.k.a. SBS), which features two aluminum bars aligned in the same direction as the neck and strings and affixed to the guitar’s soundboard at the top, bridge and bottom, which allows the soundboard to flex freely. Instead of the usual assortment of braces, crossbars and struts used on a traditional crossbracing design, the SBS uses just a simple wooden “X”-brace to stabilize the soundboard.

PERFORMANCE

Most untraditional designs seem more like a novelty than an actual improvement, but the Solitaire’s side-mounted sound hole and SBS deliver on their promises. The guitar produces very full and loud tones that project directly toward the guitarist. You can instantly hear the difference in the treble and midrange, which no longer seems to fight against the bass the way they do on a traditional dreadnought. But even without the sound hole, the tone and volume output still sounds just as good to listeners sitting in front of the guitar. This is probably because the suspended bracing really lets the soundboard do the job it was originally designed to do.

Plugged in the ECR-3N sounds even better. The AB4-T system features a one-piece cable-type saddle transducer that produces warm, natural tone without the annoying piezo “quack” and with all the enhanced treble and midrange frequencies that the guitar produces naturally. Although its great to have four EQ bands to adjust, you really don’t need to tweak the EQ much, if at all, to get very attractive amplified acoustic tone. And the side-mounted sound hole eliminates the need for a monitor, since it pushes the sound directly at you at a volume level loud enough to be heard over a band.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The Solitaire's “exotic” design is really more about function than form. These seemingly simple innovations make playing the instrument a very satisfying experience both for the player—as intended—but also for the audience, who get to enjoy tone that’s as good as what the player hears. Finally, a win-win situation.

Most new guitar companies are focused on creating low-cost products, while a few are firmly committed to serving the high-end market, whose well-heeled players are willing to spend more than $2,000 on a high-quality instrument, as long as it delivers something that is truly inspiring. The new Eternity Guitar Company combines both attributes by manufacturing inspirational instruments at all price levels. While its lower priced products are made in China, Eternity’s high-end instruments, like the Master Custom Legend ET that I reviewed this issue, are designed and built in the United States by master luthier John Carruthers, a legend in the guitar community.

FEATURES

Carruthers rendered the ET’s body in ash and used a superior chambered design that allows the wood’s full tonal characteristic to shine while it avoids the pitfalls of a semihollow design. The guitar’s two alnico-magnet pickups are custom wound in-house to accentuate the body’s full lows and smooth balance. Likewise, the heavy-duty cast hardware supports a controlled tonal response that is free from feedback-causing overtones.

The ET has a bolt-on “C”-shaped lacquered maple neck. It’s not a fat stick, but it’s substantial enough to stabilize the body’s resounding resonance when the strings are hit hard. The rosewood fingerboard has 22 frets and a flat, 14-inch radius that accommodates modern styles. The compensated scale length maximizes intonation accuracy, and fretwork and setup were outstanding.

PERFORMANCE

Don't let the Eternity’s familiar shape and pickup layout fool you—the guitar sounds nothing like a Telecaster. To the contrary, it’s loud and reverberant; warm, mellow and particularly clear tones are this guitar’s forte. Unlike a lot of chambered-bodied guitars, the ET is capable of stout, thumping power chords and firm chunky lows. These qualities remain even when the guitar is used with distortion, and no matter what I did, it was impossible to make the ET feed back or sound noisy. The neck pickup was very open, round and devoid of the muddy tone and thin highs associated with similar-looking pickups. Bridge pickup tones were gutsy and fat, with no honking midrange.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Eternity's Master Custom Legend ET is for the player who wants a Telestyle guitar that has the punch of a solid body and the subtle echoing resonance of a chambered design. The flat fingerboard, long-sustain and exceptionally well-behaved pickups are aimed at flattering modern styles and equipment.

Originally printed in Guitar World, December 2008

Eternity's Master Custom Legend ET is for the player who wants a
Telestyle guitar that has the punch of a solid body and the subtle
echoing resonance of a chambered design.

Vintage tube amps are highly sought after by guitarists who won’t settle for less than the cream and crunch of days gone by. There’s a good reason for that: many vintage amps simply got it right. Hughes & Kettner’s Statesman Series amplifiers don’t rely on modeling or digital voodoo to re-create classic tube sound—they are pure, 100% tube amps loaded with all the killer tone and mojo that vintage-amp lovers crave, but with modern twists that allow you to shape them across styles and even time.

Past meets present

Vintage amps typically do one or two things, and do them very well. This is generally because of the type of tubes and circuitry they contain. For example, a 12AX7 tube preamp coupled with 6L6 power tubes gives what's typically referred to as an "American" sound, due to the predominant use of 6L6 tubes in most U.S.-made vintage amps. These amps are celebrated for their loads of airy headroom on the clean side and a round, warm breakup when overdriven. However, in your typical vintage amp, nothing changes in the circuitry when the amp is pushed harder, so tonally speaking, what you get is what you get.

Hughes & Kettner's engineers have given the Statesman amps the most gratifying tube combinations and incorporated modern circuitry that actually restructures the preamp circuits and switches the current feedback when you switch from the Clean to Drive channels, allowing the power tubes to adjust perfectly to either preamp channel. Result: vintage tone that is more versatile than most vintage amps could ever approach.

Men of state

The Statesman family of amps offers a number of models to choose from—the DUAL EL84, QUAD EL84, and DUAL 6L6 combos, as well as the DUAL EL34 head and a 4x12 cabinet for half- and full-stack rigs. All utilize a 2 x 12AX7 preamp section, but each offers its own power tube section for a variety of power outputs, tones, and applications.

In addition to the varied power sections, there are some EQ and other control differences that give each of these amps its own versatile take on vintage tone. The DUAL EL84 and QUAD EL84DUAL EL34 head and DUAL 6L6 combo offer separate EQs for each plus an additional master volume for the Drive channel. The DUAL and QUAD EL84 both employ a serial effects loop; the other two amps have a selectable serial/parallel loop. use a shared 3-band EQ for both channels, while the

Although they have their differences, there are some notable shared features that speak to the flexibility of the entire series. All Statesman amps come equipped with a phenomenal-sounding Accutronics spring reverb with a balance control to match the effect to your preference for each channel. Two very handy functions are the Twang and Boost switches for the Clean and Drive channels, respectively. Twang boosts the higher-end mids—perfect for chicken pickin' country rhythms or shimmering leads—while Boost ups the gain, taking the overdrive from a smooth '60s crunch to the scorching lead tones of the '80s.

Super-sized combos

The DUAL EL84 and QUAD EL84 combo models are identical except for the doubling of the EL84 tubes (hence power output) in the QUAD model. At 20 watts, the DUAL EL84 delivers plenty of volume and is perfect for guitarists playing clubs and other small venues, while the QUAD EL84 revs things up for those needing more headroom and volume.

Thanks to their EL84 power tubes, these combos deliver a classic, open-back clean sound that breaks up nicely with higher gain, perfect for the classic "British Invasion" sound. But the wonderful thing about these (and all the Statesman amps) is their ability to make sonic time jumps. Switch over to the Drive channel and you can easily call up '70s and '80s big rock sounds that you'd normally expect from a half stack.

The third combo in the Statesman series is also the most powerful—the 60-watt DUAL 6L6. This amp stands out due to its use of two 6L6 tubes in the power section. As mentioned earlier, 6L6 was the preferred tube for the big, classic American amps of the '50s and '60s. The DUAL 6L6 delivers the warm, rich clean tones many of those amps are revered for magnificently, as well as thick, creamy distortion with a modern edge.

Head games

For the ultimate in vintage versatility, pairing the 50-watt DUAL EL34 head with the Statesman 412 cabinet is the way to go. As its name suggests, two EL34 tubes make up the power section on this model. EL34s defined the sound of the British amps of the '60s that drove the British blues revival, and the DUAL EL34 certainly has that type of growl and punch.

However, like its fellow Statesmen, the DUAL EL34 is capable of so much more, including its impressive ability to reproduce the signature clean sound of an open-back combo. I admit I was a bit skeptical about this claim, but hearing is believing, and I am now a firm believer. The DUAL EL34 can also be used in a full-stack configuration via separate 4-, 8-, and 16-ohm outputs.

Back to the future

With its Statesman Series amplifiers, Hughes & Kettner has gone back to the roots of vintage tone. But rather than just delivering one or two signature sounds, by enhancing the circuitry and control sets, these amps deliver an incredibly wide range of classic tones. Whether you need vintage American twang or the throaty roar of a big British beast from days of old, look no further than the Statesman series. These amps are modern vintage, done right!

Features & Specs

All models:

• 2 x 12AX7 preamp section
• Clean/Drive channels
• Twang/Boost modes
• Accutronics spring reverb
• Adjustable reverb balance

Dual 6L6 combo/EL34 head:

• 60W/50W
• 2 x 6L6/2 x EL34 power section
• 3-band EQ per channel
• Presence control
• 2 - 12" Eminence Rockdriver Cream speakers (Dual 6L6)
• Selectable serial/parallel FX loop
• Includes FS-3N footswitch

Dual EL84/Quad EL84 combos:

• 20W/40W
• 2 x EL84/4 x EL84 power section
• Shared 3-band EQ
• Serial FX loop
• 12" Eminence Rockdriver Cream speaker

TASCAM makes recording simple and fun again with the new DP-004 Portable Digital Pocketstudio. Based on our groundbreaking cassette Portastudios, the 4-track DP-004 retains its creative interface while updating the sound quality with CD-quality digital recording. Smaller than a paperback book, it’s portable enough to take anywhere, and built-in microphones make it perfect for capturing song ideas and rehearsals. Despite its compact design, the DP-004 retains the famously simple TASCAM Portastudio interface—so you can concentrate on making music.

Back to basics

Thirty years ago, TASCAM invented home recording with the Portastudio 144. This breakthrough recorder allowed musicians to put together their own multitrack recordings for the first time, and gave artists like Bruce Springsteen, Alan Parsons, and Don Felder the ability to make music on their own. Now we take home recording for granted, but in the late ’70s and ’80s, this was a revolution.

Today, recording is more affordable than ever, but the creative connection with the artist can be lost in the windows, menus, and complex interfaces of modern recording software. TASCAM’s DP-004 recaptures the immediacy of our cassette models, updated with CD-quality digital recording. The compact multitrack recorder is covered with knobs and controls, making recording and mixing simple and fun.

Simple recording interface

A pair of 1/4" inputs on the DP-004 accepts mic or line-level signals for recording. Input A also switches to guitar input for recording bass or guitar directly into the unit. These inputs can be sent to any of the four recording tracks by pressing the Assign button, then selecting an input for each track. There’s even a pair of built-in microphones for capturing song ideas or portable recording.

The DP-004 records at CD-quality (uncompressed 44.1kHz/16-bit audio), so you’ll hear every detail of your performance. Recordings are captured to SD Card media, and a generous 1GB card is included with the recorder. Press the Record button under tracks 1 through 4 to "arm" a track for recording, then press the Record button. Set your record level using the input knobs and the meters on the LCD screen.

If you need more tracks, a bounce function mixes your tracks over to a new track, making room for more overdub layers. You can edit your tracks to clean up mistakes or silence noises. A built-in tuner and metronome make recording even more compact and convenient, and the recorder has autopunch and repeat modes. There’s even an Undo button in case you record over something by mistake.

Dedicated mixdown track

A set of knobs for level and pan make mixing a snap—no menus to navigate. There’s even a dedicated stereo mixdown track and a master fader to fade out your song. When you’re ready to mix, press the Record Mode button and switch from Multitrack to Master Record mode.

After you record your mix, the USB 2.0 jack allows you to transfer it to your computer to burn a CD, or upload an MP3 to your website or MySpace® page. The USB jack also allows you to backup your song as a multitrack, so you can remix it later on, or export tracks as WAV files for use in computer recording software.

Designed for musicians

TASCAM’s Portastudios have been the choice of musicians for 30 years because their simple operation helps you stay creative. The DP-004 takes the simplicity and affordability of TASCAM cassette Portastudio and updates it with the sound quality, editing, and flexibility of digital recording. The DP-004 keeps the perfect balance of portable design and usable interface—any smaller and it would be painful to operate!

The perfect recording solution for creative songwriters, guitarists, bands, and students, the affordable TASCAM DP-004 Digital Pocketstudio keeps recording simple for musicians.

Features & Specs

Connections:

• 2 - 1/4" mic/line inputs
• CD-quality 44.1kHz/16-bit WAV recording
• Switchable guitar input
• Headphone/line output
• USB 2.0 connector

Recording:

• 4-track digital multitrack recording
• Records to SD Card media (1GB card included)
• Powered by AA batteries or optional power adapter
• Autopunch, repeat, and record undo controls
• Dedicated stereo mixdown track

The new Road Worn Series of guitars and basses from Fender is a real winner. That’s based on the overwhelming praise from the players who tried out the samples I put in their hands—a ’50s Telecaster, ’50s and ’60s Stratocaster guitars, ’50s Precision Bass, and ’60s Jazz Bass. Everyone says they look cool, play great, and reliably pump out revered Fender tones. The Road Worn concept is simple to grasp: a beat-up guitar or bass looks worn because we love them so much, just like our favorite comfortable sweatshirt or pair of tennies. Paying big bucks for a rare collectible axe is just not in the cards for most players, so how about one that looks like it’s seen lots of love?

The Road Worn instruments are given a reverse makeover at the Fender factory in Ensenada, Mexico. The worn finish, dings, pockmarks, yellowed plastic parts—even rust stains on the bridge saddles and springs—all simulate proud battle scars that show this axe has proven itself in countless gigs, it’s as if you were playing Keef or Bruce’s favorite Tele, the Strat slung by Slowhand or Rory, the Jazz Bass that catapulted Jaco to legend, or the P Bass Sting used to pump up The Police. These Road Worn axes are not just pre-aged; you could say they are “pre-disastered.” You won’t throw a conniption fit when you bang it up as you would when the first ding appears on a freshly minted, shiny new guitar.

Vintage-styling with mods

The Road Worn Series guitars are based on Fender’s Classic Series with authentic vintage-style touches such as a nitrocellulose lacquer finish. These axes have been updated with player-centric mods, such as taller frets and hotter pickups. The 6105 jumbo frets are tall and narrow to allow more string bending on the rounded 7-1/4" radius fretboard. On both Road Worn Strat models and the Tele, the original-style single-coil pick-ups have been replaced with Tex-Mex single-coils that have extra wire windings. This results in more output with sparkling highs and a warmer tone than vintage-style single-coils. The ’50s Tele is chock full of authentic details including the ash body that shows off its blonde nitro finish.

Like the Tele, the ’50s Strat has a one-piece maple neck with skunk stripe and a peghead teardrop just above the nut. The nitro finish is available in two-tone sunburst or black. The ’60s Strat has a maple neck with rosewood fretboard glued on, so there’s no telltale skunk stripe. You can choose the three-tone sunburst or Olympic white. Each Road Worn guitar has a distinctive neck shape. The ’50s Tele has the rounded U-shaped neck first introduced by Leo Fender in 1950. The ’50s Strat has a slender V neck from the mid-50s, and the ’60s Strat has a C-shaped neck that resides between the two in size and feel.

PB&J Basses

Like the guitars, the Road Worn basses have a nitrocellulose lacquer finish. No mods, the basses have simply been aged to give bass players what they love, a stock Fender with a broken-in feeling. The ’50s Precision Bass has a one-piece maple neck and an alder body with a comfortable contour. The split single-coil pickup produces the solid, defined bass sound that supplied the bottom for so many great Motown and Stax singles. The classic, wide P Bass neck plays host to 20 vintage-style frets. It’s big, friendly size adds to the tone known for cutting through guitar stacks. The gold-anodized aluminum pickguard contrasts nicely with either two-tone sunburst or fiesta red finish.

The narrower, thinner Road Worn ’60s Jazz Bass rosewood neck features a closer string spacing that creates a tapered feel. An overall crisper tone is provided by two standard vintage alnico magnet Jazz Bass single-coil pickups. Now you too can be inspired by playing a Jazz Bass with the look and sound that fueled influential players like Larry Graham, John Entwistle, and Flea.

Road Worn guitars and basses are like your favorite broken-in pair of jeans—they look cool, they play great, and they’re fun. And there’s no need to baby them; you’ll want to get your mitts on one and start adding your own battle scars right away.

Features & Specs

• Alder body (Strat, 2-tone sunburst Tele, Jazz Bass, Precision Bass), Ash (blonde finish Tele)
• Nitrocellulose lacquer finish
• Soft V shape (’50s Strat), C shape (’60s Strat), U shape (’50s Tele)
• Maple fretboard (Strat, Precision Bass), rosewood (Tele, Jazz Bass)
• 7-1/4" fretboard radius
• 21 - 6105 frets – guitar, 20 vintage frets – bass
• 1-ply white pickguard (’50s Strat and Tele)
• 3-ply mint green pickguard (’60s Strat)
• 4-ply brown shell pickguard (Jazz Bass)
• 3 Tex-Mex Strat single-coil pickups (Stratocaster)
• 2 Tex-Mex Tele single-coil pickups (Telecaster)
• 1 Precision Bass split single-coil pickup
• 2 Standard vintage alnico magnet Jazz Bass single-coil pickups
• Deluxe gig bag

Single-ply musicality with double-ply durability and focus

Your choice of drumheads has arguably a bigger effect on your sound than even the kind of drums you play. Jazz drummers and those who play other primarily acoustic styles generally prefer the open response and melodic sound of single-ply heads. But they usually need to attenuate the sound by applying tape or other muffling as single-ply heads tend to have excess ring and a lot of unwanted overtones. Harder-hitting rock, pop, and fusion players often prefer double-ply heads for their fat, punchy sound and increased durability.

The new G Plus tom and snare heads from Evans take a different approach. Rather than slap another ply onto a single-ply head, G Plus heads use a single, thicker 12-mil ply of specialized film to increase durability and decrease ring. The concept is to provide the toughness and natural tone-dampening qualities of a double-ply head in a head that retains the tone and feel of single-ply design in order to satisfy drummers in a wide range of styles from jazz to headbanging. I was keen to find out how G Plus heads would measure up to this lofty goal.

Sticks meet skin

G Plus heads are available in sizes ranging from 6" to 20" in clear or a frosted translucent coated finish. The head selection Evans sent for testing included two pairs of 14" clear G Plus heads for the snare and floor tom; one clear and one frost-coated translucent head for the 12" tom; plus one 20" EMAD Adjustable Dampening Bass Drumhead. First I tried out the 14" tom head by suspending it from the rim while tapping the head with my other hand. It produced a distinct fundamental musical note without even mounting it on the drum, which is the sign of a good drumhead. I then mounted the G Plus heads on my vintage Rogers drum set. Tuning the heads was a breeze. They had a punchy attack and lively melodic tones almost as soon as I got them up to playing tension, without a lot of finessing the tuning lugs. The sound had a character like those heads that have a "power dot" applied to lessen overtones, with more vibrance and resonance.

The next night I tried out the G Plus heads during a club gig with a four-piece smooth jazz/pop quartet. After the first tune I adjusted the tension of the heads to a point where they delivered a punchy presence in the band’s mix. While I used to feel compelled to use a strip of muffling tape on my tom heads to get a focused sound, particularly in live small-to-medium acoustic spaces such as the bar my band was now playing in, I found the G Plus heads sounded just fine without any dampening. On the snare drum, the G Plus delivered a full tonal spectrum from cracking rimshots to a solid, deep tone when played in the center sweet spot.

The attractive frosty translucent coated finish on the 12" tom gave it a sound that was a bit warmer and rounder than the clear G Plus heads on the other drums, rolling off the attack just a touch. For the player who prefers a more controlled sound, I would recommend the frost-coated G Plus heads, especially for the snare drum, where coated heads are usually used, particularly by drummers who like to play with brushes. The clear G Plus heads gave my snare and floor tom riotous new life. The drums had a singing quality without confusing overtones, providing plenty of sustain; a dry, punchy attack; and panther-quick response.

Mad about EMAD

The Evans EMAD bass drumhead has been around for a few years—long enough to acquire an enthusiastic following among players. The EMAD head features a 10-mil single-ply design that includes two interchangeable dampening rings that maximize attack and low-end. You can change the dampening rings in an instant without removing the head, allowing you to customize the drum’s resonance, sustain, and attack on the fly. No more need to stuff a pillow into the bass drum to get it to sound right!

I found that using the smaller of the two rings provided a great kick drum sound—full and fat without too much ring, providing just the right amount of propulsive punch to drive groove-oriented songs, yet still producing a musical fundamental note ideal for the call-and-response of jazz improvisation and Latin rhythms.

Four decades of drumheads

G Plus drumheads are the latest product of a company distinguished by its ability to respond to the evolving demands of drummers from pros to students. One of the more memorable products Evans has created came about nearly 4 decades ago when they were asked to make a drum for the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena. Evans responded with a massive drum called the "Boot Hill Boomer" that measured seven feet in diameter and took four drummers to play!

In 1958, Evans produced some of the earliest All-Weather drumheads that could sonically compete with the calfskin heads that still ruled the day, sandblasting their heads to simulate the feel of real skin heads. In the ’60s Evans produced the first transparent heads, and in the ’70s created a popular line of hydraulic heads that incorporated a thin layer of oil between the head’s two plies.

The years that followed saw the evolution of pioneering products including the Genera and EQ Series, giving drummers unprecedented control over their sound. The purchase of Evans by D’Addario has served to further energize and diversify Evans’ offerings. The introduction of Evans EC2 heads with their integrated tone rings in 2005 is particularly notable, counting among their enthusiastic fans players such as the great Dennis Chambers.

With their G Plus Series, Evans would appear to have another hit on their hands. There are other heavier-grade single-ply heads out there, but to my ears they don’t compare with the open, musical tones you get with G Plus heads. The longer I play them, the better they sound, and more importantly, they make me sound better. What more could a drummer ask for?