Tone. At Home.
PRS announced the S2 McCarty 594 back at Winter NAMM 2020. I ordered one the same month … and then shortly after, the global pandemic began.
I ended up cancelling my order later in 2020, as there was no sign of it actually shipping to the UK. Fast forward to March 2021, and the S2 McCarty 594 that I ordered has finally reached these shores!
What is it like? Read on to find out 🙂
Continue reading “The PRS S2 McCarty 594 Is Finally Here!”Adam and Tom for AStrings have responded to a YouTube comment: does the Boss Katana take drive pedals well?
The Boss Katana is an amp that’ll be on the list of possible amps for home tone fans. It’s very affordable, sounds very good, and is full of digital effects to give you lots of options.
And, when you’re ready to explore different tones, using drive pedals is one way to do so.
So how does the Boss Katana do? Watch the video to find out, and then please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment.
Adam and Tom from AStrings have posted a cracking comparison video. They’ve taken two reverb pedals that are currently in production, but a decade apart in their design, to try and answer the question: does a decade (of progress) make a difference?
https://youtu.be/1uFzs74pEsA
What a wonderful, original idea for a gear demo video!
Have a listen, see which one you think, and then please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment and let them know which pedal you preferred and why.
A-Strings have just gotten their hands on the new Gretch singlecut guitars, and Adam’s done a demo for their YouTube channel.
These are definitely something a little different from most singlecut-shaped guitars, thanks to the wood choices and the pickups. And I’m a big fan of the new natural look of the backs of these.
Once you’ve got the Holy Trinity of guitars – Les Paul, Strat and Tele – or maybe you just don’t feel any of them are for you, then something like this is well worth a look.
Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment if you enjoyed Adam and Tom’s video.
The lovely folks over at AStrings have posted their third video on Fender’s new pedal lineup. This one looks at the Santa Ana Overdrive pedal.
The Santa Ana is a dual-voiced overdrive with an additional boost circuit if you want it. You can switch between the two voices using a toggle switch on the front panel.
After watching the video, I’m not sure how I’d describe the tone of the Santa Ana Overdrive. I think Adam hit the nail on the head when he said that this is a pedal you need to try for yourself, through the amp of your choice. I’d certainly like to hear it through something like a Hot Rod Deluxe to get a better idea of what this pedal is.
Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment if you enjoyed their video.
My local guitar shop AStrings have just posted a demo of Fender’s new Marine Layer Reverb pedal. Check it out.
It looks like the Marine Layer Reverb is a mono pedal, best suited either to go into the front of an amp, or into the FX loop of an amp lacking reverb of its own. Those are two situations where a stereo pedal offers nothing extra that you can use.
Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment if you enjoyed AString’s video.
My local shop A-Strings has just posted a quick look at the new Danelectro Billionaire pedals, through a cool-sounding 5w Supro amp.
https://youtu.be/2rqAxhgZrks
There’s four pedals in the range: a boost, a drive pedal, a tremolo and a rotary speaker simulator. It’s a good choice: it’s easy to imagine all 4 on the same pedal board, as a complete pedal board.
I love drive pedals, so it’s almost inevitable that I’ll pick up the Pride of Texas pedal to try at some point. That rotary speaker pedal though … that’s the one that’s really caught my eye. I’m wondering how that’ll sound with a semi-acoustic guitar.
A quick shout out to A-Strings too. They’re my local guitar shop, and in my experience they’re the friendliest store in the whole of South Wales. They’ve just started stocking PRS USA Core model instruments. I’m looking forward to their demos of those!
Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment if you enjoyed their video.