I grew up in a house full of guitars, as my father was forever building electric guitars on the families kitchen table. I spent my teenage years trying to tame a 100 watt Marshall JCM 800 and matching 4 x 12 cab in a bedroom, only just large enough for a bed. I’d bought it not REALLY understanding exactly how loud 100 watts is. At this young age I started to experiment with recording and MIDI and cut my teeth on Pro 24 and Notator on an Atari synced to a Foster R8 with an MTC-1.
Playing in bands and working in recording studios for many years, I learned to mix, record and eventually worked as a sound engineer. I also worked for many of the UKs large pro audio retailers, where I helped to set up DAWs in everything from local studios, music technology colleges all the way through to world famous recording facilities like Air Studios and The Strongroom. As I couldn’t help myself, I even owned my own recording studio in London for a while. There I learnt a lot about recording guitars, dealing with bands and getting quality results anyhow.
Over the years I have acquired a very sizeable guitar collection, which includes many guitars that I have built myself. I’m a total hoarder of effect pedals and valve amps and I’m a certified guitar geek. So there are not many that I have not owned at least once. Whether Parker Fly guitars or Klon Centaur pedals, I’ve had them all. Now running the annual Analogue To Digital music show in the UK, plus the Vintage Guitar Fair, I get to be busy throughout the year and also get to rub shoulders with many other guitar lovers, luthiers, manufacturers and pro players.
My tastes in music includes everything from Dinosaur Jr to Squarepusher.
Write him: jef (at) gearnews (com)
Gretsch release a whole new range of their vintage-inspired Streamliner guitars offering vintage vibes and styling, with modern features.
This new bass amp from Orange looks to offer a lot of great tones from a minimalist layout, and features a 4-band parametric EQ section and built in compression.
Using power amp distortion to get its tone: this new line from Laney manages to allow you access to the saturation without all the volume.
A limited edition version of the classic Jazzmaster: Bigsby B50 loaded, American made and in new colours for 2016.
Marshall have announced a 'mini' version of their much loved classic Jubilee 'Silver Series' amps. Originally released in the '80s, modern versions of these classic amps are now available in a smaller package.
H&K expand upon their lunchbox TubeMeister Deluxe amp. The new additions add higher outputs and some great built-in features to make it more flexible for gigging musicians.
Highly limited edition version of Eddie's touring guitar. This Wolfgang looks like its toured the world and some!
Orange release their first guitar pedals in 40 years! Two brand new pedals to complement your guitar amp.
Boss add their MDP processing to new compressor designed specifically for bass players, and incorprating 16-segment metering.
Keeley announce their new Workstation pedal range fpr 2016. It all starts with the Tone Workstation which combines some classic pedals from their range into one unit.
Friedman tease two new pedals bearing their name on their official Facebook page. "Some new toys we've been fiddling around with for the NAMM show", they say.
The Boss VB-2W is a 100% analogue modern day version of the original Boss VB-2 Vibrato which was originally released in 1982.
Launching at NAMM: Boss introuce the solid state Waza Amp Head and matching cabinets, featuring Boss's so-called “Waza Brown Sound".
Cloak Audio have just announce a new hand-built fuzz pedal: the Jackdaw. This pedal is not for the faint-hearted and has a unique 'cocked wah' vocal-like filter section.
Vintage Guitars are debuting a new range of ‘modern’ guitars at NAMM 2016: the V6M24. Featuring a "Super Strat" design, two Wilkinson WHHB humbuckers and an RRP of 249 GBP, this might be one to watch for ...
Reverend Guitars debut a new Billy Corgan signature guitar: the BC1. Features include Railhammer P90-style pickups and a "bass contour" tone control and four different intrigung finishes.
Rumour has it that Cort are due to launch a Frank Gambale Signature Model at this week's NAMM Show. So, the famed Australian fusion guitarist gets a brand new acoustic guitar with his name on...
Korg will unveil the new GripTune clip-on headstock tuner at NAMM 2016, plus a refresh for their ever-popular Pitchblack tuner pedal: a limited edition version in a brushed nickel finish.
Earthquaker Devices are launching eight new pedals at NAMM 2016. Not all of them will be available straight away, and one of them may not even be ready for the NAMM Show next week!
Mesa USA today announced a brand new limited edition John Petrucci Signature model head. Based on their famous MARK IIC+ circuit. This new limited model has been updated with modern features and is available ...
Top US guitar firm Knaggs Guitars announces a brand new Steve Stevens signature model: the SSC. Unlike former limited edition versions carrying Steve's name, this one is to become a permanent fixture in the ...
Stone Deaf FX are probably best known for their effects pedal range. This year they have added five new effect pedals and a brand new range of valve amps as well.
New for the NAMM Show 2016. Vox announce new AV range of amps with eight new analogue preamp tones and built in effects.
An old 1960's classic Vox guitar updated for the modern age. The new Starstream Type-1 has 27 sounds and onboard effects.