Johan Segeborn has posted a demo of the 7th Anniversary Custom Amp by Pure Tone Amps. It’s a very vintage sound that works well with all three Holy Trinity guitars – Stratocaster, Telecaster, and Les Paul.
It’s not an amp manufacturer that I’d heard of before. They hand-build every amp, and according to the website, every amp is unique. Make no mistake – these are boutique amps with pricing to match. They’re also different. Check them out. They might just appeal to you.
If you like the video, please head over to Johan’s YouTube channel to like the video and leave a comment.
Over at In The Blues, Shane has posted a review of the new Marshall DSL1C. It’s a 1W valve amp – a bit like the Blackstar HT-1 – that’s likely to be on your list if you’re looking for a small practice amp for home.
The old DSL range was very popular, especially the DSL40C combo that featured so much on Anderton’s Sound Like series. From the HNAD forum posts I’ve seen so far, the new DSL range might prove to be even better.
Me, I’m waiting for the Marshall Origin amps to land …
If you enjoy the video, please head over to YouTube to like the video and leave a comment.
Over on In The Blues, Shane has posted a comparison of the Fender Blues Junior III vs the brand new Blues Junior IV. He even throws in a comparison with the Blues Junior SE – an amp I’d never heard of before!
The Blues Junior is one of the most popular valve amps around, especially with home players like us. It’s a classic amp. How will the new Blues Junior IV stack up?
Please head over to YouTube and leave a like and a comment if you enjoy Shane’s video.
Henning Pauly has just published an in-depth look at Universal Audio’s OX amp top box. It’s a much-anticipated reactive load box, attenuator, and digital speaker simulator all in one.
If you’ve not come across Henning before, he’s been doing great YouTube gear demos for years. He’s a professional musician and producer, running his own recording studio over in Germany. Anyone who makes living from running a recording studio is worth learning from – they have to know what they’re on about to stay in business.
A long video, so you might want to make a drink before you settle down to watch this one.
Personally, I’m reluctant to sink money into digital gear, as a rule. Digital gear isn’t cheap, and you’re unlikely to still be using it five years down the road. If you put the same money into analogue gear, that gear can last you 20+ years. And it often sounds better.
Universal Audio though is one exception to my rule. The Apollo gear isn’t cheap, sure, but it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than the gear that the Apollo system models. Much of that gear is unobtainium to us home tone folks … and where would we put it even if we could get our hands on it?
The OX is an option for anyone looking to record real amps silently at home. You plug your amp’s speaker out into the OX, and take a line from your OX into your recording interface. No need for a real speaker, or the hassle of mic’ing up your cab.
You’re limited to the models that Universal Audio provides; this thing won’t run your favourite impulse responses. Henning covers that in his video. I imagine that UAD will make more models available in the future, if the OX sells well enough.
It sounds fantastic in every demo I’ve watched so far. And price wise, it seems very competitive with its main competitor, the Two Notes Torpedo Studio.
At the moment, I’ve gone down the Two Notes Captor route. I’ve built up a collection of impulse responses over the last 4 years, and they’re more than good enough for what I do. (I’ve also picked up a Kemper. More about that soon!)
But I will be keeping an eye on the OX. I really want to move more of the signal chain off the computer, and reduce the amount of work it has to do when I’m recording … and the OX would be a great way to do that.
Please head over to YouTube and leave a comment if you liked Henning’s video.
Last night, I started my research into what speaker I want in my next speaker cab. I love the dirt tones I can get out of my rig, but the clean tones just aren’t doing it for me.
(I should just get a DRRI, I know …)
The cab I use most is the Victory Amps V112-C. It’s a 1×12, loaded with a Celestion G12M-65 Creamback. Sounds great for the kind of bluesy rock tones that I play.
So I was pretty interested in this look at the Celestion Neo Creamback. It’s a slightly darker, but much lighter version of the G12M, built using rare earth magnets. Sounds like something I’d want to consider if I start gigging.
Now, do Celestion make anything that sounds like the Jensen C12-K found in a Fender DRRI? Back to the research …
If you watch Andertons’ YouTube channel, you’ll have seen Danish Pete’s sparkly purple Telecaster over the last two years. It’s a fantastic sounding guitar, and its always a joy to listen to Pete jamming away on one. There’s a great story behind how Pete acquired his purple Tele too.
Well, now you have the opportunity to own one just like it.
Last summer, they ordered a small run of guitars based on the same specs as Pete’s purple Telecaster – and they’ve just posted a video of them up on the Andertons YouTube Channel.
If you don’t have time to watch the whole video, check out the jam that starts just after the 26 minute mark, and hear for yourself just how good these guitars sound.
Be sure to head over to YouTube and leave a comment to let the folks at Andertons know if you like these guitars.
