New NAMM:
Just saw the video for the EarthQuaker Devices Astral Destiny.
Lotsa stuff for $199.
Not much of it I'd use. Lots of presets dealing with octaves. I like the 1 up because it's the shimmer setting in most pedals. 5 up and 1 down aren't sonic choices for me. Nice stuff for the more experimental people. For now, I'm sticking with my Oceans 11.
The new Supro Delta King series amps are a modern take on their 50s/60s amps. And when I say modern take, I mean with a FET and a Pigtronix FAT high gain mode. 'Modern takes' sure are weird.
PRS has another Strat model. They look great. Just found out they cost over $2k. Ummm....
A Nancy Wilson Epiphone? C'mon - at which point in her career did she play an Epi? Look at the rear pickup - I wonder if Duncan makes a replacement. They probably did when it was a Gibson.
Fender has yet another series, the American Ultra Luxe.
Naturally they do not come lefty, and they start at $2300. They have 'augmented D-shaped necks', whatever that is, but it almost has to be an improvement over their stock C-neck. Doesn't matter - no stores near me will have them. They feature a compound radius, but the size of the radius is a national secret. Some feature noiseless pickups. I'm a regular old Duncan guy, and every noiseless pickup I've heard sounds like garbage (except Barden Teles). I haven't heard new ones, so I can't say.
I think Fender has Radio Shack Disease, wherein RS had 21 different kinds of AM radio and clock radio. I could absolutely be mistaken, but too many different series causes confusion, not to mention you won't be able to try all of them out at a typical guitar store.
I did a brief tour down the rabbit hole of Dr. Brian May. I truly had no idea how deep this went, and feel that I didn't make it anywhere near the bottom. Here's what I learned...
- you simply must buy a Red Special (they even make them lefty)
- the Vox VBM-1is a copy of the Deacy transistor radio amp John Deacon made for Brian. He uses it to multitrack a lot of solos. Sounds like Brian but has no tubes (uh-oh)
- you could purchase the Digitech Brian May pedal, with about 9 sounds. Older and expensive. Not dependent on what guitar you use.
- don't forget your Vox AC-30s. Normal channel, cranked all the way up. Uses about 9 in his live rig. Tons of spares cuz they sometimes catch fire.
- no self-respecting Brian fan would show his face in public without a treble booster. Extra points for the right treble booster (Frye? $$). It is attached to the guitar strap, 1st in line, before the wireless, and bashes the front end of your amp for serious distortion. [TIP: treble boosters are incredibly simple and contain just a small handful of parts. You're welcome to pay over $100 for 1, but I wouldn't recommend it]
- His phaser is a Foxx, very old, and no longer made. There are probably other equivalents
- Amplitube has a Brian May software setup that sounds mighty fine. The interesting thing is that it isn't dependent on what guitar you use. Plug in a generic Strat and you'll still sound like Brian. There's a virtual pickup selector for authenticity
- For each of the above, there is a large group of people who have tested it out, plus anything that's supposed to sound like it. There area several shootouts on YouTube, as well as demos. Some of these people are serious.
- Philly sucks for buying guitars, live music, and taxes
- Fender needs to let go of the anal hold they have on that stupid C-neck
- Fender needs to make the Vintera series lefty. Great specs, reasonably priced
- Who would it physically hurt to have a few more lefties, incl nicer ones, at stores? I've been all over 2 states and can't find anything decent - just beginner stuff, if anything.
- Just saw my 1st Cure video. I wanted to give them a fair shot. And there it is - their music sucks even worse than their look would have you believe
- I don't want to judge a book by its cover, but I've been watching a lot of live stuff lately and in every case there are man buns or hip facial hair, the music sucks.
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