NEW GEAR 2/24: Kemper Player Pedal, Avantone Nearfields and Istanbul Cymbals

Headless limited series Kiesel Stef Carpenter

The Deftones guitarist Stef Carpenter may be an ESP factory player, but that hasn't stopped him from working with rival manufacturer Kiesel Guitars, which has designed his new seven-string and eight-string signature models in all-white or black Snow and Shadow. The neck-through instruments with a thin profile, based on the headless version of the Kiesel Vader, feature a maple neck fitted with carbon bracing and a swamp ash body covered by a maple top. The fingerboard carries 24 compensated stainless steel jumbo frets, and the dual scale measures 25.5-27 or 26-27.5 inches. Tuning is handled by tuning machines in a Hipshot hardtail bridge, and there's a pair of Fishman Fluence Stef Carpenter active humbuckers.

Dual Reverb OBNE Dark Light

These days, Old Blood Noise Endeavors is starting to distribute the first of a total of two thousand Dark Light pedals, offering features of the company's Dark Star and Sunlight reverbs, including all routing options such as separate stereo or parallel and series mono connections. Thus, Dark Light adopts registers with a darker character, pitch shifter and delay from the Dark Star version, while the Sunlight circuit provides bright-sounding reverbs with modulation and comb filtering that can then be combined into one massive, interlocking sound. In addition to a trio of true bypass footswitches, the effect can be controlled via an external controller.

JAM Octaurus ltd: octave fuzz in a suede outfit

The new fuzz from JAM Pedals combines an octave divider with a distortion circuit equipped not only with gain, volume and tone potentiometers, but also with a pair of toggle switches, for selecting symmetrical or asymmetrical clipping and adjusting the progression of the midrange bands for a more industrial fuzz feel, suitable for heavy riffing, and an even more pronounced octave effect. The limited edition from the company's Custom Shop is hand-soldered with a point-to-point technique and uses silicon NOS transistors from the early 1960s (Transitron or General Instrument). The fuzz is covered in olive green suede with a see-through bottom equipped with a zip, so when you install it in a pedalboard, this part of the "jacket" can be removed and the bottom of the effect can be covered with the included aluminium plate.

Special Series Tube Screamer TAMURA-MOD v2 TS808

The second modification of the famous Ibanez TS808 pedal, designed by Susumu Tamura, the designer of the original model, features enhanced bass and lower mids, increased overall volume, added harmonic components in the upper frequencies, clearer attack and a more balanced response when using the overdrive as a booster. In addition to the "magic" chip, they used Toshiba 1S1588 NOS diodes, a gold status LED and a high-quality Carling SPST footswitch wired in true bypass mode. As the manufacturer states, "Designed for players who don't like Tubescreamers," the Tubescreamer offers a unique variation on the classic TS808 sound, where in terms of equalisation, the tone loses the typical midrange hump in favour of the lower bands.

Tube amps Magnatone Baby M-80

The renowned American manufacturer has enhanced the Master Collection edition with the Baby M-80 series compact amp, combo and cabinet, designed in collaboration with ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons, boasting an excellent sound with classic British character. The head and combo, fitted with the same Warehouse 10"/65W custom speaker as the external box, received a single-channel preamp (3x 12AX7s) with a gain control, Lo/Hi switch affecting the amount of distortion and a two-band EQ, with the midrange automatically negated at the more extreme values of the bass potentiometer. There is a master tied to the power amp, whose two 6AQ5 NOS tubes provide 12 W of power.

Pedal Preamp Hudson Broadcast AP-II

British company Hudson Electronics and guitarist Ariel Posen have once again teamed up, this time to design the two-channel Broadcast AP-II pedal preamp. Each channel gets its own footswitch, separate Drive and Level controls and, inside the chassis, independent trimmers for adjusting gain and lower frequencies. The first section is fitted with a silicon transistor and transformer, delivering the smooth, darker tone of the original Broadcast-AP. The second channel is without a transformer and uses a germanium transistor, providing a brighter, more aggressive tone. Both circuits can be activated simultaneously to achieve additional possibilities, from subtle amplification to heavily distorted sounds. Power is supplied by a 9 - 24 V adapter and there is an integrated effects loop.

Kemper Player: profiling in a small package

With the compact pedal variant Profiler Player, Kemper has decided to offer its renowned amp profiling and effects section to more guitarists, which is reflected in the official price tag of around 700 euros. The space-saving processor with three footswitches offers a choice of 136 different settings from the Kemper Profiler FX arsenal, which boasts over 444 FX presets, and the Amp unit, with an identical sound to the larger versions, features a range of amp tones. The Profiler Player can load any amp profile from an extensive library of existing freeware and commercial profiles, selected effect settings (4 blocks), IR, etc., so like its predecessors, it becomes an extremely versatile tool at home, in the studio, rehearsal room or on stage.

New cymbals Istanbul Agop Traditional a 30th Anniversary

The Turkish company has launched new cymbals from the 30th Anniversary, Traditional Jazz and Traditional Crash Ride series. The Anniversary series includes the 14″ 30th Anniversary Medium Hi Hat, 20″ 30th Anniversary Flat and 22″ 30th Anniversary Medium Ride models. The collection aimed at players of jazz and related genres has grown to include the 15″ Traditional Jazz Hi Hat or the 22″ version of the Traditional Medium Jazz Ride, and the classic Traditional edition now also offers the larger 17-inch Traditional Dark Hi Hat. You can also get 20″ and 22″ Crash Ride variants with a modified larger central bell and modified weights and profiles. Cymbals from the Istanbul workshops are handmade by skilled craftsmen using traditional manufacturing techniques passed down through generations.

Studio monitors Avantone Pro CLA-10A Limited Edition

Inspired by Yamaha's famous NS-10, this limited edition series of classic studio monitors features a skeleton made of 18mm thick MDF material covered with North American black walnut veneer, giving these models an exclusive look. Each monitor is equipped with a high-quality 200W Class AB amplifier, and the company has also tried to accurately recreate all the components of the original passive version. Thanks to this, the CLA-10A series is able to reveal every detail of your mix, ensuring perfect sound in all types of listening sessions. Features include the AV10-MHF tweeter, the AV10-MLF woofer with the typical white cone, the adjustable function Variable Tissue Paper Control (VTPC) affecting the expressiveness of the higher bands and the toroidal transformer. Max. SPL is 104 dB, frequency range is 60 Hz - 20 kHz.

GForce AXXESS: software emulating vintage synth ARP

AXXESS retains the warm analogue sound and basic architecture that was the foundation of the 1975 ARP AXXE six-voice vintage synthesiser while expanding its sonic capabilities. This emulation of the famous synth is a sibling of the award-winning GForce Oddity3 software version from which it inherited its character. The software features an efficient Preset Browser with over 350 presets, a new sub-oscillator, an arpeggiator and a straightforward 16-step sequencer. The effects unit includes distortion, delay and reverbs, a built-in Vintage function can add authentic analogue signal imperfections, and both the filter and VCA sections can be modulated by a velocity parameter. You'll also be pleased with the customizable user interface design or the inclusion of X-Modifier technology for creating complex modulations..