NEW GEAR 24/24: Friedman Plex, Spector Doug Wimbish, Oberheim TEO-5 and Gretsch Signature

Limited series Gretsch Orville Peck Falcon G6136TG-OP

The luxurious-looking hollow-body model has a 17″ wide maple body complemented by ML bracing and, in addition to its resonant, articulate tone, it boasts a captivating design highlighted by its unusual Oro Sparkle finish and gold pickguard, as well as hardware consisting of Grover Imperial locking machines, Adjusto-Matic bridge and Bigsby B6GP vibrato. The U-shaped maple neck provides comfortable playing, while the ebony fingerboard with rounded edges, luminescent side dots and special inlays, features 22 medium jumbo frets. The G6136TG-OP is fitted with all-new FT-67 Filter'Tron humbuckers, which have been designed to capture the authentic vintage Gretsch sound, but with more rounded highs for modern playing styles.

Superstrat AC6P RAW EU: Spanish Custom Shop by Solar

Solar has introduced the Superstrat AC6P RAW EU, the third premium model in the European Master Series, manufactured by experienced guitar makers in Spain, operating on a Custom Shop basis. The lightweight swamp ash body with an arched top is sprayed with Purple Raw Open Pore transparent lacquer, and the glued maple neck and headstock bearing the company's locking machines have the same finish. The Richlite compound fingerboard is fitted with 24 jumbo stainless steel frets, and the guitar is fitted with two passive Solar Hand-Wound Modern humbuckers tied to a three-position Switchcraft switch, tone and volume control (both CTS) with push-pull for coil splits. The strings are anchored in an Evertune headstock, and the price, including the case, is around 3300 euros.

Wampler Mofetta in Ibanez MT10 drive style

The overdrive/distortion Mofetta is Brian Wampler's homage to the classic, now-discontinued Ibanez Mostortion MT10 pedal from the early 90s, whose current prices are skyrocketing. Wampler modified the original circuit with an emphasis on both more massive headroom and better tone dynamics and added a Texture lever switch that incorporates MOSFET operational amplifiers into the signal path for a more assertive and articulate expression similar to tube amps. In addition to the gain and volume potentiometers, the effect features flexible three-band equalisation, powered by a 9V adapter. The price is just under 200 dollars.

Power supplies Walrus Audio Canvas Power

The Canvas Power series, consisting of the CP-5, CP-8, CP-15 and CP-22 models, where the numbers in the name indicate the number of outputs, brings a modernised way of powering guitar pedals. Each output provides up to 500 mA, and in addition to the standard 9 V, you can also use 12/18 V. Each output is isolated and filtered to eliminate noise, there is a power meter plus USB-C port, and along with the mounting bracket set, the user will also find special space-saving cables in the package. If there are multiple effects in your collection, Canvas Power's power supplies can be interconnected via a 24V Thru connector and the system adapts to mains voltage standards in different countries.

Friedman Plex: the sound of Marshall Plexi '68

The first representative of the Friedman Vintage Collection series delivers the sound of the classic 1968 Marshall JMP Super Lead Plexi, one of the most popular amps in designer Dave Friedman's collection. Compared to the original, the Plex has been modified, featuring only a pair of inputs with internal connections for the Normal and Lead channels, which also received Bright function switches. A very important change is the integration of a post-phase master volume M.V.C. potentiometer, allowing the use of compression and other features of the 50 W power amp (2xEL34) even at lower volumes. On the rear panel, we can find five outputs for cabinets with impedances of 4/8/16/2x8/2x16 Ohm. Official European price: approx. 3300 euros.

Seymour Duncan Hot Chicken Strat and Tele pickups

Especially for players of modern country, blues and related genres, Seymour Duncan has prepared Hot Chicken pickup sets for Strat and Tele guitars. The new sets are wound with regard to classic vintage tone but with more punch and a two-coil construction that eliminates the typical hum of single coils. "A searing hotness that cuts through any mix, while retaining old-school character, clarity and definition," is how the brand describes the qualities of the Hot Chicken edition. Both variants (Tele 2xSC / Strat 3xSC Stacked Coil) use Alnico V magnets, have four-core wiring and are also available as standalone pickups.

Spector Doug Wimbish USA Custom Series

Doug Wimbish, an excellent bassist, member of the band Living Colour and collaborator with Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck, Annie Lennox and Madonna, has been loyal to Spector since 1987 and has become almost synonymous with the brand's basses. The company's Custom Shop is now launching the debut edition of the Doug Wimbish USA Signature Series, featuring four- and five-string models DW-4 / DW-5, based on the NS series. Each sample has been meticulously crafted to match the unique characteristics of Doug's vintage instruments, including the unique neck profile, nut width, hardware, and placement of the custom-wound EMG pickups that are fitted to Wimbish's '87 originals.

Cowbell and Jam Block LP 60th Anniversary

Latin Percussion has added two new models to the anniversary edition celebrating 60 years of the brand – the Jam Block LP1207-60 and Cowbell LP008-60 60th Anniversary. The standard versions of these instruments were first introduced by LP in the early 1990s and have been among the most popular products of their kind worldwide ever since. This time the Rock Ridge Cowbell is coated with a layer of chrome, stamped with a commemorative logo and a Jenigor damper. A limited edition Jam Block is also made of black, extremely durable Jenigor plastic, again decorated with the logo, this time in red. Both novelties come with the patented Vise-Clamp holder.

Polysynth Oberheim TEO-5

Equipped with a premium semi-weighted Fatar keyboard, the five-voice TEO-5 (Thomas Elroy Oberheim) synth is a gateway to new sonic frontiers with modern modulations and vintage warmth. You can experiment with the legendary SEM pass-through FM filter, complete with iconic company effects such as ring modulator, phaser, delays, reverb, flanger, chorus and distortion. There is a 64-step polyphonic sequencer and arpeggiator with many modes, 2x VCO, envelopes taken from the OB-X8, improved unison function and polyphonic portamento. Further potential is brought by the SoundTower TEO-5 SoundEditor application and plugin, greatly improving sound editing capabilities. By displaying all parameters in a logical and simple graphical interface, you can easily create, edit, organise and save TEO-5 programs on your computer.

Latest products from Korg (Superbooth 2024)

At Superbooth in Berlin, Korg presented, among other things, a trio of new products, represented by the limited edition Minilogue XD Inverted analogue polyphonic synthesiser, the desktop Synth Tuner ST1K and the Acoustic Synthesis_phase8 prototype. Featuring a large CMD LCD display, the ST1K tuner is capable of tuning to ±0.1 cents, there are three display modes and a built-in high-sensitivity microphone so the tuner can be used with other instruments. The Acoustic Synthesis_phase8 prototype combines the features of a melodic synth and a drum machine, with interchangeable and tunable resonators, eight independent electromechanical voices, a polyrhythmic sequencer, waveshaping, tremolo, etc.