NEWS: Vox announces V845 wah-wah

Available November 2009. The V845 Wah-Wah pedal is a new version of the most famous guitar effects pedal of all time. Based on the specifications of the original pedal developed by VOX in the '60s, the V845 Wah-Wah offers guitarists the same legendary Wah-Wah tone in a new sturdy but very affordable design. An AC power connector is fitted to save on batteries and the outer case is coated with tough all-black finish making it the perfect choice for your pedal board.

About the VOX Wah-Wah

VOX developed the world’s first Wah-Wah effect during the '60s in an effort to allow guitarists to emulate the sound of a trumpet being muted — an important musical ingredient of the day. VOX’s original Wah-Wah pedal quickly gained widespread popularity and its unique sonic characteristics have encouraged further experimentation by guitarists ever since. Having made spotlight appearances on some of the most famous recordings of all time, the Wah-Wah is still considered “must-have equipment” for guitar players of all levels and abilities today.

VOX V845 Wah-Wah Specificaitons

Input/Output jacks: INST jack, AMP jack, DC i/p jack.
Power supply: One 9V DC battery 6F22(S-006P)
Power consumption: 540uA @ 9VDC
Battery life for continuous use: approximately >100 hours with manganese battery (will vary depending on conditions)
Dimensions: 102(W) x 252(D) x 75(H) (including rubber feet, pedal in lowest postion)
Weight: 942g (including battery)

NEWS: Vox releases Night Train cabinet

Back when the Vox Night Train amp head was released, I wrote a little news story about it and even though it was just a press release, it was one of I Heart Guitar's most popular articles, which goes to show how much interest there is in this cool little amp. Now Vox has released the Night Train V112NT cabinet to maintain the visual vibe of the head. Available from September with an RRP of just $249.99.

Vox Amplification Releases Night Train V112NT Cabinet
August 21, 2009

VOX Amplification recently debuted the Night Train NT15 guitar amplifier head. This sleek, all-tube amp head took top honors as Best Guitar Head of 2009 in the Musikmesse International Press Awards. Now VOX introduces the V112NT speaker cabinet, designed to provide an aesthetic and musical match for the Night Train NT15 head.

Featuring an open back and a single 12" authentic "Greenback" Celestion 16 Ohm speaker, the V112NT is distinguished by its rounded corners, unique black-on-black fret cloth, and elegant white trim. The look was designed to complement the Night Train's mirrored chrome finish. As with the Night Train NT15 head, the V112NT is meant for musicians on the go, weighing less than 25 lbs and equipped with a sturdy carrying handle.

The VOX V112NT speaker cabinet will be available in September 2009 with a U.S. MSRP of $249.99.

For more information, visit their web site at http://www.voxamps.co.uk/.

CLICK HERE to buy the Vox Night Train NT15H 15W Guitar Amp Head Chrome from Musician's Friend for $499.99.

Save Up to 90% on Almost Everything at MusiciansFriend.com (exp: 8/31)

NEWS: Premier Guitar, Vox give you 5 new Satch tracks

Premier Guitar, Vox and Joe Satriani want to give you a present: 5 brand new Satch tracks (well, 4 but one of them is a different mix) featuring Joe and his signature Vox pedals.

Go here for the download links.

The tracks are:
BBW #2 mix1 Joe steps out in this ultra-funky jam infused with healthy doses of Big Bad Wah and Time Machine delay.
BBW #3 mix The track that started it all! This is the soundtrack to our Big Bad Wah demonstration video—an amazing, high energy performance featuring the Big Bad Wah.
BBW DDL JAM mix Trip out with this drum and bass-style performance featuring the Time Machine delay in its time-bending element.
BBW WAH JAM mix An alternate take of the BBW DDL JAM mix featuring the Big Bad Wah.
BBW WAH VERB JAM mix A remix of the BBW WAH JAM mix featuring the Time Machine delay used as a reverb.

Musician's Friend shopping links:
Vox Joe Satriani Time Machine Delay Guitar Effects Pedal
Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal Red Metallic
Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal Red Metallic

Save Up to 90% on Almost Everything at MusiciansFriend.com (exp: 8/31)

NEWS: Vox Big Bad Wah secret feature revealed!

Wow, I did not see this one coming. Vox and Joe Satriani have revealed a secret hidden feature within the Big Bad Wah pedal. Watch this video for more info.



CLICK HERE to buy the Vox Big Bad Wah from Musician's Friend and try it for yourself.

MUSIKMESSE 2009: Satch talks Vox pedals, Chickenfoot (video)

Music Radar had a little chat with Joe Satriani at Musikmesse about his Vox signature pedal line, in which Joe talked about the design philosophy of the series and dropped some tiny hints of what may be next.

Satch also talks about using his Vox Big Bad Wah and Peavey JSX50 on the forthcoming Chickenfoot album.

View the interview here:



Music123 links:

Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal Red Metallic

Vox Joe Satriani Time Machine Delay Guitar Effects Pedal Standard

Vox Joe Satriani Big Bad Dual Wah Guitar Effects Pedal Standard

CLICK HERE to see Ibanez JS guitars on eBay

MUSIKMESSE 2009: Vox Tonelab ST

Awww look at this cute little valve-loaded mini Vox Tonelab released at MusikMesse. Unlike the huge and very impressive Tonelab LE (click here to buy one from Guitar Center), this one looks like you could pop it in the front pocket of your gigbag.

Vox Adds Compact Tonelab™ ST To Valvetronix™ Pedal Line

VOX Amplification introduces the latest addition to their popular ToneLab™ line of Valvetronix™ multi-effects modeling pedals: the ToneLab ST. This compact tone machine features an assignable expression pedal and two footswitches for live performance control. Guitarists can create 50 of their own programs or use any of 50 new preset programs, including 20 "song specific" presets for recreating the sound of classic rock songs.

Unlike other modeling units, the Valvetronix Series features a real 12AX7 vacuum tube (valve) to accurately capture the tone quality of a tube-driven amp. In addition to 33 amplifier recreations, the ToneLab ST also provides accurate simulations of 11 distinctive speaker cabinets. The cabinet and amp models can be mixed and matched to suit the user's preference. Twenty-five popular effects are included, ranging from classic "stomp-box" pedals to studio-quality rack-style effects.

The ToneLab ST also serves as a full function ASIO-compatible USB Audio interface, providing a direct connection to computer-based recording software. ToneLab ST Program Librarian software (Mac or PC) is available as a free download at www.VOXamps.com. Other connections include a line output that can be set for recording use or for feeding into an external amplifier, as well as a line input for jamming along to CDs, MP3 files, etc.

A chromatic tuner is built in, and it can be accessed silently during performance. The road-ready casing is made of metal, and the large LED display offers high visibility.

The VOX Valvetronix ToneLab ST will be available in late April with U.S. MSRP pricing of $275.00.

For more information, visit their web site at http://www.voxamps.co.uk/.

NEWS: News for March 19, 2009

Vox Big Bad Wah shipping now
The Vox Joe Satriani Big Bad Wah is shipping now. It’s $219.99 from Guitar Center. I’m not sure if I’m going to get one of these or not as I have my eye on another wah to replace my tired old Crybaby, which is too new to be vintage but too beaten up to be in prime condition. The other Vox Satch pedals are also available.
Source: Guitar Center.
Buy: Vox Joe Satriani Big Bad Wah Dual Wah Guitar Effects Pedal Standard 

Vox Joe Satriani Time Machine Delay Guitar Effects Pedal Standard $199.99
Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal Red Metallic for $129.99

DJ Ashba in Guns ‘N’ Roses?
Metal Sludge says there are rumours that Beautiful Creatures/SIXX AM guitarist DJ Ashba is in the running to replace Robin Finck in Guns ‘N’ Roses, now that Robin has gone back to Nine Inch Nails.
Source: Metal Sludge

Lynyrd Skynyrd signs with Loud & Proud
Southern rock gods Lynyrd Skynyrd have signed with Loud & Proud, the Roadrunner Records imprint headed up by Tom Lipsky which is also home to Sammy Hagar and Collective Soul.
Skynyrd will release a new album on the label later this year.
Source: Melodicrock

Strociek Tension Springs
Strociek Music, the company which recently released the TurboTrem series (a replacement trem bar with an Allen wrench built into it) has unveiled Strociek Tension Springs, which use a revolutionary new polymer to eliminate noise through pick-ups. This is a great idea for anyone who has been plagued by that clangy, reverberous sound of trem springs, and for dudes like Steve Vai who have tried to combat the problem by stuffing the guitar’s trem cavity with tissue paper. A unit of 3 Strociek Tensions Springs are available for $6.
Source: Strociek

NEWS: Vox Time Machine delay demo

ProGuitarShop has just posted this video demo of the new Vox Time Machine Joe Satriani delay pedal. Sounds very cool! Might have to make some room on my pedalboard for this baby.



CLICK HERE to buy the Time Machine from ProGuitarShop.

CLICK HERE to buy the Time Machine from Guitar Center.

NAMM 2009: Vox Night Train

Recording guitarists and bedroom jammers alike have long known the glories of cranking the bejesus out of a low-watt valve amp. Evidently Vox knows this too, because this year they’re introducing the NT15H Night Train amp head, designed to capture that Vox sonic mojo without getting you evicted.

No only that: It also looks like a toaster.

Here’s the press release:

VOX Amplification has joined forces with legendary amp designer Tony Bruno to introduce the NT15H "Night Train," a 15-Watt, all-tube guitar amplifier head offering both classic and new VOX tones in a compact, portable design. A collaboration between the VOX R&D team and Bruno, this all-tube head weighs less than 17 pounds and boasts an "armored box" design for stunning all-tube tone on the go.

A pair of EL84 tubes deliver 15 Watts of power, as two 12AX7 tubes drive the harmonically rich preamp stage to deliver clarity and definition, from chime-like cleans to warm overdrives. A toggle switch lets users select between Pentode or Triode tube operation. In Pentode mode, Night Train delivers a full 15 Watts. In the Triode mode, the power is cut to 7.5 Watts. The Triode mode also relaxes the tube power stage, providing a smoother, mellower tube character.

The Night Train's appearance is as striking as its tone, with a mirrored chrome finish and signature VOX diamond design that not only ventilates the amplifier but provides a striking view of the all-tube circuit within. The front panel controls are clear and simple, offering traditional chicken head pointer knobs for Gain, Volume, Treble, Middle and Bass. The preamp section features a mode switch, offering both Bright and Thick options. The Bright mode produces an articulate tone that ranges from clean to crunch; the Thick setting bypasses the tone circuit to boost the gain and create a chunkier, heavier sound suited to higher gain applications. Legendary guitar amp builder Tony Bruno played an integral role in the voicing of this new amp.

Equipped with both 8-Ohm and 16-Ohm speaker jacks, the Night Train can be used with nearly any speaker cabinet.

The VOX NT15H "Night Train" 15-Watt Amplifier Head will be available in January 2009, with a U.S. MSRP of $800.00.

For more information, visit their web site at http://www.voxamps.co.uk/.

NAMM 2009: What were your favourites?

I'm sure there will still be a few NAMM 2009 press releases filtering through for the next week or so (I'll be adding a bunch of new stories tonight), but now that the bulk of NAMM news is in, what are your personal highlights from this year's new gear?

If you wanna refresh your memory, you can see all my NAMM coverage by clicking THIS LINK.

Here are the things I'm most stoked about:

AMPS
Peavey 3120
Mesa Boogie Mark 5
Carvin Legacy II

EFFECTS
Ibanez Paul Gilbert Airplane Flanger
Eventide Pitch Factor
Vox Joe Satriani Big Bad Wah
New RJM switchers

GUITARS
ESP James Hetfield Iron Cross
Ibanez RG1527M maple-fretboard 7-string
Ibanez PGM100 reissue
EVH Wolfgang

By the way, anybody else notice that there was no big Dave Mustaine/Marshall announcement? Dave's been talking for months about a new signature Marshall product, and there are various rumours that it's either a variant of the JVM series head, a rackmountable JVM preamp, or even a new MIDI tube preamp to fill the gap left by the discontinued JMP-1. I've contacted Dave to see if he can shed any light on the story, and I'll report back if I hear from him.

NAMM 2009: Vox AC4TV

There those little things that make life worth living. The loving caress of one’s significant other. Watching your child take their first steps. The new Futurama movies. But let’s not forget that other of life’s sweet, sweet joys: valve amps that look like 50s TV sets.

Take it away, Vox.

VOX Amplification introduces the AC4TV, a 4-Watt, Class A Tube Amplifier based on the popular VOX AC4 from the 1960s. The AC4TV combo, as well as the AC4TVH head version (with matching V112TV 1 x 12" extension cabinet), is an all-tube practice amp that has been factory-modded with a premium transformer and select components for optimum tone. Improving on the hardware of its vintage counterpart, this up-to-date Class A version retains the distinctive EL84 power tube of the original and features a 12AX7 powered pre-amp, driving the AC4TV's custom-made Celestion 10-inch speaker, and the extension cabinet's custom-made 12-inch speaker. These features enable both models to deliver clean, crunch or wonderfully saturated overdrive for a range of sonic options that is unmistakably VOX.

A challenge confronting all-tube amps is to retain a full tone at lower volumes. To solve this issue, the AC4TV and AC4TVH feature a built-in power attenuator, with 4 Watt, 1 Watt and 1/4 Watt output levels, ensuring that players never lose that classic tube tone, even at the lowest listening levels. For situations when a fuller sound is desired, the AC4TV also adds a 16-Ohm speaker output for connection to an additional cabinet, such as the VOX V112TV.

Both models feature simple, elegant cabinetry with the "TV" front design first used on the classic AC15 from 1958 as well as some of today's VOX Heritage Series models.

AC4TV/AC4TVH Specifications:
Controls: Tone, Volume, OP Level (4W, 1W, 1/4 W)
In/Out Jacks: Input, External Speaker Jack (1/4")
Output: 4 Watt RMS 16-Ohm
Speakers: AC4TV — 1 x 10" 16-Ohm Celestion VX10 custom speaker; V112TV - 1 x 12" 16-Ohm Celestion VX12 custom speaker
Valve/Tube Complement: 1 x 12AX7 (pre) / 1 x EL84 (power)
AC4TV Dimensions: 13.78" (W) x 8.46" (D) x 14.76" (H); AC4TVH dimensions TBA
AC4TV Weight: 19.84 lbs.; AC4TVH weight TBA
Power cable included

The VOX AC4TV 4-Watt Class A Tube Amplifier will be available in February 2009 with a U.S. MSRP of $400. AC4TVH and V112TV cabinet pricing and availability are TBA.

For more information, visit their web site at http://www.voxamps.co.uk/.

NAMM 2009: Vox Joe Satriani Big Bad Wah

Here’s the latest product of the Vox/Joe Satriani alliance: the Big Bad Wah. Satch is a renowned wah tweaker, and the first time I interviewed him he spoke for a solid 10 minutes just about wah wah pedals. So when they say the pedal has been designed to Satch’s custom specs, I imagine the notes they took during the consultation period would look like a phone book.

Vox says:

Big Bad Wah is one in a series of pedals designed by VOX and guitarist extraordinaire Joe Satriani. The Dual-mode design offers two distinct wah sounds in a single pedal.

Joe Santriani contributed numerous ideas that were unheard of in existing wah pedals, endowing the Big Bad Wah with an unparalleled range of sounds from vintage to modern, as well as those that are totally original. The heart of any wah pedal is the “inductor.” The Big Bad Wah allows you to select between a vintage UK style inductor, and the more modern USA style. Designed to Joe Satriani’s custom specs is the design of the pedal pot itself, delivering a smooth, musical tone throughout the entire sweep of the pedal.

Big Bad Wah features a dual-mode design. Wah One faithfully replicates the classic VOX wah sound that conquered the world.

Wah Two delivers all the wah pedal know-how that Joe has accumulated over his many years of experience. The Drive knob mimics the Wah 1 gain at its lowest setting, and delivers a 10 dB boost at the maximum settings for those aggressive, growling overtones. One of the most powerful aspects of Wah Two is the Voice switch, providing traditional wah voicing; or a dark, resonant tone reminiscent of a vintage talk-box.

This is the ultimate wah pedal not just for Joe Satriani fans but for any wah pedal user who enjoys creating their own sound.

RRP £172.00 inc VAT
Availability Feb 2009

Kudos to Jon from Guitar Noize for bringing this one to my attention.

NAMM 2009: Waves GTR Solo free for 1 year

This is pretty cool. Waves Audio is offering the GTR Solo amp and pedal simulation program as a free download with a 1-year license, and not only do you get amp models from Fender, Marshall, Vox and more, there are also models designed in collaboration with Paul Reed Smith.

This is a pretty bold move by Waves and I can’t wait to download it and crank it up. I use a different program for amp simulation at the moment and I’ve been itching to try out Waves, after hearing great things about it from a sound engineer a little while ago.

I’ll try to do a review with some sound clips some time soon, but I’ll probably be pretty snowed under with NAMM coverage for the next week, so why don’t you head over to waves.com and try it for yourself?

Here’s the press release:

WAVES GTR SOLO SOFTWARE IS NOW AVAILABLE AS A FREE ONE-YEAR LICENSE
— Complimentary guitar modeling software features ultra-realistic amps,
cabinets, and stomp effects —

WINTER NAMM SHOW, ANAHEIM, CA, January 15, 2009 — Waves Audio announces that its GTR Solo software is now available as a free downloadable one-year license. Featuring 10 precision-modeled amps, 13 stomp effects and 10 cabinets, GTR Solo delivers the GTR family’s studio-quality sounds in an intuitive, attractive software package. Consisting of both standalone application and DAW plug-in components, GTR Solo requires no additional hardware. Guitarists and bassists can simply plug their instruments into their computer, dial up one of GTR Solo’s hundreds of included presets and experience the unmistakable sound and excitement of real amps and effects.

GTR Solo features amp models from Fender, Marshall, VOX and more, created using revolutionary sampling techniques that go way beyond standard modeling. These virtual amps do not merely approximate the sounds of the original gear; they recreate every last nuance. Ten amps are included in total: Clean, Sweet, Edgy, Drive, Overdrive, Crunch, Shredder and SolidState Bass Amp, as well as PRS Scorch and PRS Crush, which were created in association with world famous guitar manufacturer Paul Reed Smith.

GTR Solo’s 13 stomp effects let users created a massive variety of sonic textures: OverDrive, Distortion, Phaser, Flanger, Chorus, Delay, Wah Wah, Spring, Pitcher, Vibrolo, GateComp, EQ and Volume.

Finally, the package includes 10 cabinet models that render the aural sensation of real speakers moving air: 12" Open Back, 2x12" Closed Back, 2x12" Open Back, 4x10" Open Back, 4x12" Standard, 4x12" Vintage, Acme12" Custom, Bass 8x10" Pro, Acme 4x12” Vintage Gibson Skylark and Acme 8” Open Back Hiwatt.

GTR Solo is now available as a free download. Please visit http://www.waves.com/ for download and more information.

CLICK HERE to buy Waves GTR3 Native from Music123.

CLICK HERE to buy Waves GTR3 TDM from Music123.

CLICK HERE to buy the Waves PRS (Paul Reed Smith) Guitar Interface from Musician's Friend.

NEWS: Vox unveils Joe Satriani Time Machine delay

I think I speak for us all when I say "WANT! WANT!" Vox has officially unveiled the Joe Satriani Time Machine pedal, which Joe has been testing while out on tour, and it looks to be a very cool mix of analog-style control and digital flexibility. The old school vibe is beefed up about tenfold by those groovy chickenhead knobs. And I love that it includes wet and dry outputs. This would be a great companion for my
MXR M169 Carbon Copy Analog Delay. Plus they're both green.

This is from the Vox site:

The "time machine" dual-mode delay pedal is the second effect pedal created in collaboration between the world-renowned guitarist Joe Satriani and VOX. With two delay modes and a Hi-Fi/Lo-Fi switch, it delivers a wide range of delay sounds and yet remains remarkably easy to use

Main features

Dual-mode delay: "modern" and "vintage."
Two EQ modes: "Hi-Fi" or “Lo-Fi”
Broad delay time range, with tap tempo control
Independent wet and dry stereo outputs
Two delay modes to handle any situation
The time machine provides both "modern" and "vintage" delay modes. The modern mode mirrors your original sound with full clarity and fidelity, and will fit any style of music. As its name suggests, the vintage mode delivers the sound of a classic tape delay unit. A proprietary saturation circuit creates a warm, analog sound with a nice sense of distortion. Gentle modulation is also applied in the vintage mode, reproducing the slight warbling produced by a tape-based delay. The amazing effectiveness is the result of an uncompromising process of testing and refining carried out by Joe and VOX.

Hi-Fi/Lo-Fi switch summons up Joe Satriani's custom tone
Joe wanted to get a sound that blends nicely with the other performers – whether you're on stage or in the studio – and yet also has some thickness to the tone. The solution was to add a Hi-Fi/Lo-Fi switch to the time machine. The Hi-Fi mode delivers a transparent, uncolored sound. The Lo-Fi mode, on the other hand, provides a distinctive EQ, combining both high-pass and low-pass filters. This EQ uses filters that have been precisely adjusted to Joe's taste, so that your guitar sound will blend naturally in the mix – without obscuring or interfering with the other players.

Versatile functions equal a diverse range of sound
The time machine is a pedal like no other, one that expands your sound-creating potential through a variety practical functions. The delay time is adjustable over a broad range – from 30ms slapback to nearly six full seconds of delay*. You can also use the tap tempo switch to set the delay as triplets, eighth notes, dotted eighth notes, or quarter notes depending on the delay range position setting. The chicken-head knobs that are a VOX tradition (and also favored by Joe) allow you to make fine adjustments – even while holding a pick – so it's easy to make quick yet precise changes. There are also two OUTPUT jacks, so the unprocessed "dry" sound and the processed "wet" sound can be output separately. By connecting these two jacks to different amps, you can obtain spacious delay sounds that are highly effective in any playing environment.

(*) Maximum delay is 5800 milliseconds when using the tap temp switch and 1000 milliseconds when using the delay control.

Time Machine specifications

Controls: Level, Delay Range, Time, Feedback, ON SW, Tap & Modern/Vintage SW, Hi-Fi/Lo-Fi SW
In/Outputs: 1 x INPUT, 1 x OUTPUT, 1 x DRY OUT, 1 x DC9V
Max Delay Time: 5800 milliseconds via Tap-Tempo, 1000 milliseconds via Delay control
Input Impedance: 1M-ohms
Output Impedance : 1k-ohms
Power Supply: 9V alkaline battery(6LF22/6LR61) or AC adapter(sold separately)
Current Consumption: 60mA
Dimensions: 143(W) x 121(D) x 58(H) mm / 5.63”(W) x 4.76”(D) x 2.28”(H)
Weight: 600g /1.32 lbs (without batteries)
Included Items: 9V alkaline battery (included)
Options: 9V AC adapter (not included)

You can also read about the Time Machine on Guitar Noize.

CLICK HERE to buy the Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator distortion pedal from Musician's Friend.

INTERVIEW: George Lynch on distortion

What better way to celebrate Halloween than with a few words from Mr Scary himself, George Lynch as part of I Heart Guitar's ongoing series on the glory of distortion? The following is a little teaser of my interview with George for the upcoming edition of Mixdown magazine, out next week. A few weeks after that, I’ll post the extended version of the interview here.

PETER: What is your philosophy on distortion?
GEORGE LYNCH: Less is more.

PETER: How do you generate your distortion?
LYNCH: I’m always switching out overdrive pedals. Right now I’m switching between Analog Man King of Tone, Naked OD, Keeley hand-wired point-to-point time machine boost (Lynch Model) and a Cusak Tube Screamer.

PETER: Tell us about the Lynch Box amp with Randall. How does it adapt to your different musical personalities?
LYNCH: Dave Freeman, Bruce Egnator and I worked from the bottom up, designing modules that matched some of my favorite amps: early Boogie Recto's, Marshall Plexis, Vox AC30s, etc.
I started out with Randall in the very early 80's. I worked with Gary Sunds on the RG 100. So I’ve come full circle with them by getting on board again 25 years later. We plan on re-releasing the RG 100 amp in the next couple years. It was a very unique amp with a signature sound, and it was all transistor!

CLICK HERE to buy the Randall MTS Series Lynch Box 100W amp head with modules
CLICK HERE to buy the ESP George Lynch M-1 Tiger electric guitar
CLICK HERE to buy George Lynch: The Lost Anthology on CD

Photo by Gabrielle Geiselman

NEWS: Hutchins Brian Jones signature

Want! *grabs at screen* Check this out. The Hutchins Brian Jones Signature Series. It's a remake of the Vox Teardrop played by Jones in the Rolling Stones. Only 250 are being made. 37 are going to the US.

The body is premium basswood. Anyone know what wood the originals were made out of? Were they basswood too? Anyway, these babies ship with a hard case and are available in Vintage White finish only. Retail price is $US1,200.

I can see these being especially popular in Europe. And in my house. Despite my near-legendary love of 80s shred guitars, stuff like this really does it for me.

Specs include:
2 Entwistle Single Coil Pickups
Premium Basswood Body
Rosewood Fretboard
Mother of Pearl Dot Inlays
Bolt On Neck Attachment
1 11/16" Nut Width
Fixed Bridge
1 Volume, 1 Tone Control
3 Way Blade Switch
24 3/4" Scale
21 Medium Frets
British Tweed Signature Hardshell Case

Hutchins started in 1996 and their designs seem heavily influenced by the guitars that were popular in the UK during the 60s. Check out their Retro Star, Saffron, Doodlebug and Venue models at their website. Oh and then there's this...

There's also a cool store specializing in Hutchins guitars, Cooper's Music.

NEWS: New Satriani Vox pedals in development

Joe Satriani is working on the next few pedals for his signature Vox range while on tour. Joe’s current live pedalboard includes the Time Machine delay and the Big Bad Wah. Reports from fans who have checked it out at shows say Joe is currently using the Time Machine for short delays. It appears to have a tap tempo switch in addition to the bypass switch. The exterior design of the pedal already looks like it’s ready for production. Could we be seeing this one at NAMM in January?

Less information is immediately apparent about the Big Bad Wah, which looks a little earlier along in the design phase. I’m sure this one will be very tweakable. The first time I interviewed Satch, in 2006, he went on for a good 5 minutes just about modding wah wah pedals on his own, so I’m sure that with the combined efforts of Satch and the Vox team, this wah will be loaded with tone shaping capabilities.

The photos were taken by Satriani fan David Johnson. David said, "I took them at the Satriani show in Edmonton. There were about 20 geeks straining to get pics, but I was lucky enough to have a stool to stand on so I got decent shots of his gear." Great pics David!

CLICK HERE to buy the Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal.


CLICK HERE for I Heart Guitar's recent interview with Joe Satriani.

INTERVIEW: Joe Satriani

Joe Satriani is heading out on tour in the US and Canada to support his latest CD, Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock, a psychedelic mish-mash of funky grooves, wild improvisations, punchy riffs and exotic melodies. I caught up with Satch to chat about the new album, his latest distortion box, and his new band with some familiar faces…

Peter: Did you have an overall goal for this album?

Joe Satriani: I had a couple that were sort of streaming along each other. I wanted it to be a pretty eclectic mix of music. I wanted some tight arrangements. I wanted some songs to be really open so I could put a lot of improvisation in, and I wanted to try to some serious music and then some music that was very light-hearted, you know? And it’s always a risk when you try to entertain a theme that has many themes – it’s not just a singular theme. But it was something I wanted to do after previewing about 40 of my compositions. I started to edit it down to about 16. I really started to feel like I didn’t want to let go of some of the improv songs, so I kept ‘Andalusia’ and ‘Asik Vaysel,’ and I wanted to keep the ballads, but I also wanted them to coexist with the songs like ‘Diddle Y A Doo Dat’ and ‘I Just Wanna Rock’ - songs that were very lighthearted. I brought the idea to (producer) John Cuniberti that we would keep the instrumentation spare and we would keep things sounding very heavy and organic, so as you play the record louder it would get better sounding, not worse sounding. That has a lot to do with dynamics and how you record, and eventually how you master, so it’s something you have to make a decision on very early on. Some of the drums were recorded with just three microphones, and the drumkit was a very old, 30-year-old kit. We kept things very simple, so we could build along that theory that we’d have a warm-sounding record.

Peter: I noticed that in a lot of spaces there’s not much reverb, which encourages you to crank it up because the reverb on the recording isn’t clashing with the reverb of the room at higher volumes.

Satriani: Yeah. It’s a very interesting concept. Every age, every generation maybe has two or three movements in its recording era. There seems to be more as time goes on and life is accelerated: media has so many more contexts now that you’re kinda spoiled for choice in how you’re going to present your record. Is it supposed to sound good on a laptop, in a car, in an elevator, on television, on multimedia speakers, in a home theatre system, surround sound, stereo, or mono? And you can’t, y’know? You really can’t make it sound good on every single one of those. At some point the stereo falls apart or the 5.1 falls apart. At some point the compressed pop mix doesn’t work, and other times it’s great. Sometimes the audiophile, very dynamic recording sounds great, and other times it doesn’t work. So modern artists kinda navigate through that little minefield of ‘Boy what am I doing?” Some artists can create several different mixes for different media, but generally you can’t these days, and no-one knows what people are going to listen to five years from now, so we’re not really sure what to do about it. But the whole thing about mastering and mixing a record with only 3-to-2dB dynamic range is driving people crazy. The average person can’t turn that up, you can only listen to it quietly because it sounds loud when it’s quiet. But we took our concept all the way to mastering, in a sense. We wanted at least double what people are doing, as far as dynamic range, so that they can turn it up.

I noticed there’s a lot of space in the sound even if there are quite a few overdubs, like in Professor Satchafunkilus. I heard several guitar tracks going on at once there, yet you can hear them all clearly.

Satriani: Yeah, about 12 guitars but I don’t think there’s reverb or delay on anything except just one little introduction of one guitar in the second chorus or something. That was really a lot of fun to do that because, man, in the studio, up loud, that was such a wonderful thing to listen to.

Peter: ‘Revelation’ sounds really touching – the phrasing in the guitar is very vocal, then these big, elegant harmonies come in. What were you hoping to get across with that one?

Satriani: It was a very unusual way of writing a song. I started with the chorus, which has an odd meter. It’s a very long measure of 14/4, but it doesn’t sound that way to the listener, because of the way it’s broken up. I was moved to write it in response to thinking about my friend Steve Morse and the weekend that I learned his father had passed away. I was at a NAMM show and we were supposed to get together, then I heard from (Dregs/former Satriani bass player) Dave LaRue that his father passed away and he had to fly back home. When I got home I was still thinking about it, and I wrote this passage that was very Steve Morse inspired, musically, and I was thinking about feeling sorry for his family and what they’re going through, and I knew because I lost my father many years ago. Then as I started working on the song I realized I was actually thinking a lot more about myself: learning of the event of his father’s passing reminded me of some feelings I still had about the nature of the way my father had passed away, and the title reflects that the writing process was the revelation. I was revealing to myself that I still had these feelings I was still working out. So that made me think “This is a real song, I need to write a verse that expresses these things I’m feeling.” I wound up recording the very first performance of that melody in my home studio, and we never did anything to it, we just worked around it.

Peter: One thing I’ve always appreciated about your music over the years, reading interviews, and conducting them myself these days, is finding out just what’s behind the songs, and finding out there’s so much more behind it, and I think that’s why you’ve endured for so long: because there is more to your music than ‘here’s the guitar.’

Satriani: I’m glad you say that because I spend 99% of my time composing, and that’s what it’s all about. I’m composing and editing and making sure that I’m telling a story, an important story, a strong story. Even if it’s just a ridiculous, humourous fantasy, I want to tell it the right way.

Peter: One song I really enjoyed was ‘Come On Baby.’ It reminded me a lot of your self-titled album, that kind of open, almost dry guitar sound. Are we hearing single coils on that song?

Satriani: It’s funny you should ask that because I’ve done a lot of interviews and no-one really asked me about that particular technical aspect, but I was just using my usual JS1000 with the coil split feature, just lifting up the tone control. You can hear me shifting pickups during the solo. I swear, you can even hear the switch as I go between, not only the single coil, but I’ve also got the high pass filter engaged by lifting up the volume control. So I’m playing with starving the amplifier, which is set up to give me a ‘classic rock’ level of gain, but I’m starving it of information. I’m using the single coil, which lowers the output and gives it a less midrangy sound, and by using the high pass filter in there I’m stealing more low end from it, so the amp isn’t really breaking up that much and I get a smoother tone. And that’s all I was using. It’s funny, I did the first clean guitar in the left channel, one pass, then on the second pass I did the right channel, then I went back on the left and put the gains up a little more, then I did guitar number 4, then I did a guitar for the middle, and I didn’t really change much, I was just playing around with the volume control and the high pass filter.

Peter: It’s such a lost art, I think people get so bogged down with all these effects and things, that you forget you have these controls on your guitar which do these amazing things.

Satriani: Yeah. I was playing through a prototype amp which an older style, with 6V6 tubes in it, so it’s a vintage style smaller head. Those things are basically Class A designs, and they really react to what’s coming to the input. In other words, what you’re sending into that input jack, which means, as you said, playing with the volume control really changes the nature of the amp, and you can get hundreds of tones just by playing with the volume control.

Peter: Was there anything unusual gear-wise you used on the album?

Satriani: One of the themes was to use less equipment, so I used one white Ibanez JS1000, a red JS1200, and I think one of the chrome prototypes, the last chrome series of prototypes. So those were the only electric guitars I used at all on the record, which is unusual, usually I use 15 or 20. I used one bass, a ’71 Fender P Bass. I used my old Martin acoustic, a 1948 000-21 that I’ve used a lot, and I used an acoustic guitar built by Bruce Sexaur. He built this out of the Brazillian Pernambuco wood. They call that the ‘music tree.’ It’s primarily used to make violin bows, and he was able to get a large amount of it through a trade with someone who purchased a large amount of wood when it was legal to do so. I tried this guitar at a shop one day and I couldn’t believe how unusual it sounded, so I used it on the melody in ‘Andalusia.’
I used just a regular Korg piano for the piano parts I used at home. We used a lot of speaker simulators: the Palmer and an old Marshall SE 100 and an SPL Transducer, which basically replaces your speaker bottom: you go from your speaker jack of your amp into one of these things, then right into Pro Tools or whatever you want to go into. About 85% of the guitars were done at home, so that was my system. In the studio we had the Peavey JSX bottoms and some old vintage bottoms I’ve had for a couple of decades, and we would sometimes go back to going direct, or we would use some combination of the cabinets with mics and stuff like that.

Peter: What can you tell me about your Vox Satchurator distortion pedal?

Satriani: We started a little over a year ago, trying to finally get a pedal for me that I could really be comfortable with and say ‘this is my signature sound.’ There were a lot of pedals I used to like but they use chips that are no longer RHOS compliant: they’ve got lead in them and other nasty things – they don’t make them any more and if they did, they couldn’t sell them. The guitar player is at the mercy of larger industries that make millions of chips for communication satellites and stuff, and it trickles down to the mad scientists that make pedals for us, but when the technology moves on we’re screwed, we’ve gotta look for some other pedal. I wanted to take some of those old distortion boxed I used to use. I used to use a very old set of Boss DS-1s, and they never, for me, went to 10, and it was always annoying, and they were always scooped out, and it took so much in the studio to get them to sound good. It was very diffucult, and we barely used them in the studio, just once in a while. And live it was a bit of a struggle, because I never felt 100% comfortable. So we went in and said ‘if we had all these pedals that are out there, and we had our choice of components, what would we do?’ So we figured, we’ve got to have a pedal that can not only go to 12, let’s say, but it also sounds great at 4 or 6. So that means one thing electronically. Then when you’re on 12, we want it to be able to go to 24. So we added a switch that says ‘More’ on it. And that’s what it does: It doesn’t increase the volume, it just increases the saturation of the distortion. Everything in it had to be completely reliable, but also I wanted the sustain to be increased, but not the aggressiveness of it, and that took a very, very long time, because it’s a combination of diodes, op amps and transistors and the way they’re wired together, and myself, Mike Bradley, the head of the team in New York, Masahiro Lee in Tokyo, and Steve Grimrod in London, we met several times at my house, and we’d be in my basement playing for 12 hours a day. All four of us guitar players, we all play different, and we’d just keep playing, agreeing, arguing. We’d scratch our heads and the soldering gun would come out and new components would get put in, and we just kept working on it. We didn’t rush it. The prototypes wound up on the end of my last tour. They wound up being used on the album in many different situations.

Peter: What can you tell me about this band, Chickenfoot, with Chad Smith (Red Hot Chilli Peppers) and Van Halen’s Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony?

Satriani: We’re trading songs and working on ideas, and we hope something really cool will come out of it.
Peter: Do you think it will tour?

Satriani: The whole idea is to create a record we really love and that we can go out and tour behind it. That’s our dream.

Peter: You’re playing a new replica of your ‘Black Dog’ guitar from the ‘Flying In A Blue Dream’ back cover.

Satriani: Yeah! I’ve been playing the one and only one that I’ve seen on this tour. They meticulously copied my very first prototype. They hired an artist to copy how it looked before it was stolen, and everything got rubbed off and it’s a joy to look at because it reminds me of good times.




Click the image below to buy the Vox Satchurator from Music123

Tour dates:
October
03 Fri: Jack Singer Concert Hall, Calgary, AB CA
04 Sat: Edmonton Event Center, EdMonton, AB CA
06 Mon: Burton Cummings Theatre, Winnipeg, MB CA
07 Tue: State Theatre, Minneapolis, MN US
08 Wed: Chicago Theatre, Chicago, IL US
09 Thu: Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak, MI US
10 Fri: House of Blues, Cleveland, OH US
11 Sat: Palace Theatre, Greensburg (Pittsburgh), PA US
12 Sun: Center for the Arts, Buffalo, NY US
13 Mon: Daddy's, Boston, MA US (THIS IS A SPECIAL IN-STORE EVENT WITH VOX. Joe will be signing Satchurator pedals and giving away prizes and swag!)
14 Tue: Orpheum Theater, Boston, MA US
15 Wed: Centre in the Square, Kitchener, ON CA
16 Thu: Massey Hall, Toronto, ON CA
17 Fri: Metropolis, Montreal, QC CA
18 Sat: United Palace, New York, NY US
19 Sun: Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA US
21 Tue: Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ US
22 Wed: Ram's Head Live, Baltimore, MD US
23 Thu: Warner Theatre, Washington, D.C. US
24 Fri: The National, Richmond, VA US
25 Sat: The Carolina Theatre, Durham, NC US
26 Sun: Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA US
28 Tue: Florida Theatre, Jacksonville, FL US
29 Wed: Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, FL US
30 Thu: Fillmore Miami Beach Jackie Gleason Theatre, Miami Beach, FL US
31 Fri: House of Blues, Lake Buena Vista, FL US

November
01 Sat: Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts West Palm, FL US
03 Mon: House Of Blues, New Orleans, LA US
04 Tue: House of Blues, Houston, TX US
05 Wed: Austin Music Hall, Austin, TX US
06 Thu: House of Blues, Dallas, TX US
07 Fri: Plaza Theatre, El Paso, TX US
08 Sat: Kiva Auditorium, Albuquerque, NM US
09 Sun: Dodge Theatre , Phoenix, AZ US
10 Mon: House Of Blues, Las Vegas, NV US
11 Tue: Guitar Trader, San Diego, CA US (THIS IS A SPECIAL IN-STORE EVENT WITH VOX. Joe will be signing Satchurator pedals and giving away prizes and swag!)
12 Wed: House of Blues, San Diego, CA US
13 Thu: The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA US
14 Fri: Silver Legacy Casino, Reno, NV US
15 Sat: Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA US