Category Archives: guitar effects / pedals

MXR Analog Chorus Pedal

December 21, 2011 — Leave a Comment

Who hasn’t heard the “syrupy and liquid, sparkly and lush” sounds of a chorus pedal?  There might be a few of you saying “I haven’t… – well, I don’t think I have!” The Chorus effect has been around for ages and is most associated with the music of the 80s. While you may not be familiar with the effect itself, I’m pretty sure you have heard it used in a number of songs.

From Metallica’s “Nothing else matters” to almost every Nirvana song, a large number of The Police songs and The Cure, Chorus has been used to great affect in many songs.

“The chorus effect is something that you would normally find in string instruments. When you actually listen to a string ensemble, the instrument would sound like they are a choir of angels singing, thus the name of the effect”. – EzineArticles.com

So, what is it exactly a Chorus effect?
From Wikipedia: “In music, a chorus effect (sometimes chorusing or chorused effect) occurs when individual sounds with roughly the same timbre and nearly (but never exactly) the same pitch converge and are perceived as one. While similar sounds coming from multiple sources can occur naturally (as in the case of a choir or string orchestra), it can also be simulated using an electronic effects unit or signal processing device”.

Chorus occurs when a slightly detuned and delayed “clone” of a guitar signal is played back with the original, producing a subtle (or sometimes not-so-subtle) doubling effect, which creates a thicker, lusher tone.

The original effect was produced by the Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, though later effects would add multiple detunings and delays to produce a rich, glossy animation and MXR Analog Chorus is probably doing the best Chorus effect right now.

MXR has brought back the classic sound of the analog chorus with the predictably named but lovely sounding Analog Chorus.

Perhaps the pedal by itself could look weak for some, and of course, simple! I think is is simple but it is a nice pedal and it looks very friendly on its aqua blue color.

What does this pedal feautures?

The MXR Analog Chorus has five control layout featuring Low and High EQ controls, Level, Rate, and Depth for maximum flexibility. And if you want to grab crowd´s attention, You will need this pedal, not just because how good it sounds but because of the brightness of its blue LED – some guitarists say is the brightest blue LED on the planet! But hey, if Andy Summers didn´t mind using this MXR pedals for a while, Why would you?

What about the sound?
With the MXR Analog Chorus You will be able to move from Robbie Blunt’s tone on Robert Plant’s “Big Log” sounds to the deeper undulations of Nirvana’s “Come As You Are” with just a few tweaks of the Level and Depth control. In between that You might notice Andy Summers-inspired lushness and even a convincing “Black Hole Sun”.

The magic and simplicity of this pedal is that it is all about the Level and Depth controls – By tweaking these ones, you will go on trip from the underground to galaxy! Period!

If you are looking for the Classic 80′s chorus sound, this pedal is for you!

Posted by Luis Tovar

Posted in Electric Guitars, gear | Tagged , , , ,

IK Multimedia Amplitube iRig

November 26, 2011 — 1 Comment

If you’re always on the go, like being able to play anywhere, anytime, and don’t want to be bogged down with having to lug all your guitar gear around with you, the IK Multimedia Amplitube iRig might be right up your alley. Oh, and you have an iPhone.

Founded in 1996 and operating in four countries (Italy, UK, US and Japan), IK Multimedia has been busy developing software for anyone with a musical bent. Leveraging the exponential growth of the personal computer and advancing technologies they’re enabling musicians of all walks of live play, product and listen to music like never before.

Throughout this time, they’ve partnered with the likes of DigiDesign, Intel, Mackie, EMU, Roland, Apple and many others and it’s their partnership with Apple where the iRig comes in.

A simple download from the iTunes App store effectively turns your iPhone into a complete multi-effects processor, recording studio and learning tool that’s always in your pocket. All effects are tweak-able at the slightest touch and swipe. Not only that but you can easily upgrade your ‘rig’ from the Amplitube iRig app Custom Shop with up to 11 stomps, 5 amps, 5 cabinets and 2 microphones.

With plug n play technology It’s as easy as plugging in the iRig interface to your iPhone, plugging your guitar into the right input and then plugging in your amp, powered speakers or headphones to start playing or recording..

They really have thought of everything. You can even import a track so you can jam along with it, providing your own lead lick or sharpening up your strum. For Jamorama users out there, this is a very usual feature that can easily be used with our Jamtracks. Simply import a jamtrack, print out or bring up the tab on your computer screen and jam away.

It also comes loaded with a metronome to keep yourself in time, and a chromatic tuner so you’re always in tune.

I took a few minutes out of my work day to give Dave’s iRig a go with his iPhone and have to say it is a really simple app to navigate. I dug out a pair of headphones and a lead to plug in my acoustic mini Maton, clicked on the Amplitube App and I was away.

The free app had enough for me to have a bit of fun with. It comes with a Noise filter, Delay and Distortion effects. Tweaking the effects is as easy as selecting it and dragging the slider up or down depending the desired effect. I even had time to record a quick track, which again was as easy as pressing record. The paid version does give you more recording capabilities but to quickly get an idea down, it’s a good option.

All in all the IK Multimedia Amplitube iRig for iPhone app is a neat little app with a multitude of uses. Being able to record your playing to hear how your it’s progressing or quickly get a copy of a musical idea before you forget it, is a really useful thing to always have in your pocket.

If you’re like me and iPhone-less, IK Multimedia have not forgotten us. They also have a USB audio interface in the form of Steath Plug so you too can download the Amplitube software, plug your guitar into your computer and experience all the great features your iPhone friends can access.

Check out the video below to hear and see how easy the iRig is to use.

ab4e2097d32a3cfb2d407817c82c42dd IK Multimedia Amplitube iRig

Posted by Dan Orr

Posted in acoustic guitars, amplifiers / pickups, buying guitars, computing, Electric Guitars, gear, Guitar Tools, recording | Tagged , , ,

Martin HD16-AD

November 15, 2011 — Leave a Comment

For the vintage tone-a-phobes out there, the Martin D16-Adirondack is a model that reproduces classic dreadnought tones of the likes of Martin’s D18 model but is set at a more affordable price than their other vintage re-issues.

The D16-Adirondack features a mortise and tenon neck joint and slightly different bracing than the D18 but produces a full rich bass that can dominate the rest of the guitar’s range. Having said that, you’re probably not going to get a fatter bass sound for open tunings or dropped D tunings.

The Adirondack (or red spruce) top, is unique in that it has an excellent stiffness-to-weight ratio and a “springy” quality that together enable it to be used on a variety of sizes of guitars while still maintaining good head room and a dynamic range as well as kicking out a decent volume.

Its striking good looks come from the much wider grain which is often at odds with conventional wisdom about what makes a great piece of spruce. Martin have created a distinctive look by using a gloss finish with a yellowish toner which make it stand out even more from their other models.

Admittedly, it’s not a guitar that will suit every style. Dreadnoughts are commonly thought of as a bluegrass ax. However, there is a diverse group of players that prove the dreadnought’s versatility.

Tommy Emmanuel & Bill Mize prove dreadnoughts are just as good for finger-style where Tony Rice and Grant Gordy show that they can also be used for Jazz. They have also been just as at-home in the hands of singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.

To hear how the Martin D16-Adirondack performs, check out the following video review from Acoustic Magazine’s Scott Nygaard.

ab4e2097d32a3cfb2d407817c82c42dd Martin HD16 AD

Posted by Dan Orr

Posted in acoustic guitars, buying guitars, gear | Tagged , ,

AmpTweaker – TIGHTROCK

October 20, 2011 — Leave a Comment

I’ve often wondered what goes into making an amp or FX pedal. To me it’s all just wires and knobs and it’s often easy to gloss over the science behind the sounds.

One man who has always been interested in the science is James brown – no not the smooth moving soul funk meister, but the Chief Engineer for Kustom Amps and the owner of Amptweaker – a personal company that allows Brown to pursue his passion for handmade pedals and custom amps.

Where his site differs from the usual offerings of Amp and FX pedal makers, is that he takes his inspiration from customers. Only once an idea gathers enough support does he begin making the unit.

He’s come up with a range of pedals so far and his latest offering, released during the Summer NAMM, is the TightRock which came as a response to customer requests for a pedal in between two of his previously released pedals the TightMetal and the TightDrive. It was met with a lot of positive feedback from Artists and users alike at the NAMM show and is sure to feature in many people’s pedal collections.
newsletter14 review tightrock AmpTweaker TIGHTROCK

The unique routing options mean you can loop a separate FX unit into the TightRock which is on when you stomp on the TightRock and colours the TightRock’s distortion. Not only that but with the TightRock’s SideTrack function, you can send the guitar signal to another FX pedal which can color the amp’s clean channel, turning a single channel amp into a 3 channel amp. These are just some of the options available to the user.

Learn more about the pedal from Brown himself as he cranks out some sweet sounds and explains the possibilities that come with the TightRock.

ab4e2097d32a3cfb2d407817c82c42dd AmpTweaker TIGHTROCK

Posted by Dan Orr

Posted in buying guitars, gear, Guitar Tools, learning, Rock | Tagged ,

NAMM Show Part II

January 18, 2010 — 1 Comment

Hello, Jamorama Students and fellow Rockstars,

Yesterday we took in our final day at the NAMM show. Being Saturday, it was the day where the big crowds turned out to see the big name artists and the big changes taking place in the world of music gear.

After seeing pretty much everything that’s being exhibited this year we thought it would be cool to share a couple of new developments here that we think you are going to like and that maybe, will change the way we interact with music in the future.

The first thing that really got us buzzing is the new Eleven Amp from Avid (the guys behind Pro Tools).

IMG 0026 300x225 NAMM Show Part II

They call it the killer rack because it puts professional recording and signal processing in the hands of every guitarist. Eleven has been an amp-cab-mic modeling software plug-in for pro-tools for some time now, but recently the avid team have developed the idea and turned it into a stand alone piece of hardware.

Taking Cool Processing technology from their Pro equipment TDM HD systems (big $$) and adding that to the software, Avid have produced a box that completes all the intensive algorithms that drive the complex software and delivers the audio to your speakers, amp setup and or via USB to your computer and pro tools environment with no latency.

The Eleven rack will suit the guitarist that is at the level where studio and stage is becoming part of their musicianship experience. This is a tool that will allow you to record your guitar straight into the digital world and have the end signal sounding very nice indeed. The quest for analog tone in the digital world drives these development teams project by project and the reality is that one day a cheap $100 guitar will sound like a rare 70′s telecaster through a 60′s fender combo.

The well trained ears have previous said, these emulation plug-in sounds are good, but they don’t sound like the real thing being mic’d up with the old 60′s combo.

James Michael – Producer, engineer,songwriter; motley crue, meatloaf, scorpions said, ” I’ve seen the potential for years with small preamps and amp emulation plug-ins, but Eleven is the first plug-in that can honestly replace the guitar amp.” Very exciting future for production.

Another interesting development is the new partnership between Fender Guitars and eJamming. We all know what Fender are famous for, but you may not have heard of the eJamming crew before. eJamming have been around for a few years now but it’s only recently that they have partnered with Fender and gained more exposure.

IMG 1947 300x225 NAMM Show Part II

Basically, eJamming is just that – jamming online. eJamming’s online platform allows you to connect and jam out with your friends and other musicians no matter where both parties are in the world. The Fender representatives we spoke to said the partnership was a natural progression for Fender and that they chose eJamming as it offers the lowest amount of delay in signal.

This is definitely worth checking out and it’s free to try, so you can test it out with your friends before signing on. Check it out here.

If you do get a chance to try these things out then please leave a comment on this post so others can read your thoughts about them.

So, that is it from us at the show for now. While we’ve shared only a few interesting highlights here on the blog, we’ve taken a lot more information away from the show that will help us develop a better service for all of you in 2010. Also, look forward to to more NAMM related posts in the next couple of weeks.

Cheers
Jon

Posted in gear, recording
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