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)
The famous Purple Rain 1984/85 cloud guitar that Prince played throughout the '80s and appeared in numerous magazines and music videos with, heads to auction next month!
The new UJAM Finisher VOODOO multi-effects plug-in has an easy-to-use interface, and uses witchcraft to add a touch of black magic to your recorded guitar tone!
The new BIAS FX 2 Mobile from PositiveGrid just got launched on the Apple App Store today. This powerful little app brings even more virtual amps and effects to your pocket guitar rig.
Classy! Blackstar has just announced an new upgraded HT Club 40 MkII Black & Blue Edition combo amp, with a new retro look and some great new tonal upgrades.
Catalinbread's new Giygas fuzz pedal contains three transistors and can go from full on fierce fuzz to violin-like sustain, with everything in-between.
The new Roadie 3 looks to be a big step forward for a successful gadget, adding features like a vibrating metronome, higher winding speeds, better display, dynamic frequency display among others.
If you want to get a little more out of your guitar, or maybe give the bass player a break, the Asteroide sampler and harmoniser pedal from OPFXS could be just what you're looking for!
Could the new feature-packed Torpedo Captor X load box from Two notes Audio Engineering, with its compact design and affordable price, replace its costlier competitors?
PRS has officially announced its new SE Tonare Parlor acoustic model. The guitar harks back to those days of yore when smaller-bodied instruments ruled the roost.
Fender's Mod Shop now offers Inca Silver finishes, painted black headstocks and - finally - the option to order a Stratocaster with a hardtail bridge!
KMA is producing a limited edition run of a modded version of its Logan drive pedal, the super-flexible Logan Desert Transcend Drive - only 100 units are being made.
The Mad Professor has added four more pedals to his modded "Lockdown Special" range, including the Dual Blue Delay, Big Tweedy Drive, Stone Grey Distortion and Amber Overdrive. Nice!
The new Roebuck distortion from Danelectro is a reimagining of the cult '90s Ibanez Mostortion, a pedal prized by session guitarists and collectors the world over.
Nembrini Audio considers its new 8180 Monster Tube Guitar Amplifier a "landmark for heavy and rock guitar sounds", and it's currently available at a fantastic launch price!
Huge savings off a selection of great Positive Grid hardware over at Thomann! Get yourself some stonking deals on the BIAS heads, Bias Rack Processor and pedals while stocks last.
HOT
A new, as yet unreleased PRS acoustic guitar model has popped up on YouTube being played on an acoustic track - can you guess what the new guitar will be called?
The new J. Rockett Audio Designs Broverdrive is an overdrive pedal with a great tone and a really annoying marketing campaign. Will you be able to bypass the 'bro' jokes and focus on the tone?
Fender re-energises its Player Series by adding five new short-scale instruments: two new Mustangs, two Duo Sonic models and a new Mustang bass. We like.
The new 720 Britt from Invaders Amplification is a hand-wired 20-watt British-style amp head that can go from clean to saturated drive. Available in customisable colours!
20 years ago, a little red bean revolutionised the guitar industry. But can it still hold its own today, and how does it compare with the current HX Stomp?
JHS Effects just launched four new fuzz pedals, all based on legendary circuit designs from the past. Introducing the Smiley, Supreme, Bender and Crimson.
Fault V2 by Old Blood Noise Endeavors looks to be a super-flexible overdrive/distortion pedal, with a powerful three-band EQ and twin gain stages for a flipping enormous range of tones.
Doom band Bongripper have teamed up with boutique pedal brand Fuzzrocious to release a limited run of the new Blastripper parallel fuzz/distortion pedal.
Bargain hunters: massive discounts at Thomann on four Recording King acoustic guitars, including the ROA-9-RWB Limited that looks like Pat Smear's Nirvana MTV Unplugged guitar!
