NEW GEAR 3/25: Suhr OSO SS, Peavey Decade Too, Roland V-Stage and Spector NC-4
Designer John Suhr has enhanced his brand's portfolio with shorter-scale OSO guitars, Fender has included Acoustasonic Tele and Jazzmaster models in its affordable Standard edition and MXR is celebrating the Phase 90 pedal's half-century anniversary with a gold collector's edition. The Small Stone effect, whose special version received a facelift by EHX, is celebrating the same anniversary this year, Nobels is expanding its collection of small pedals with the CHO-mini chorus, Peavey has reincarnated the Decade combo and Celestion has introduced the new Peacekeeper guitar speaker. There is a new Spector four-string bass designed for Anthrax's bassist named NC-4, Finland's Darkglass Electronics launched the Kaamos bass distortion/octave pedal, drummers who like the Tama brand can consider Simon Phillips' latest signature snare and Roland has prepared the V-Stage series of keyboards. Welcome to our regular review of new gear and interesting facts from the world of music.
Suhr OSO Short Scale: modern Telecasters with a shorter scale
The new Suhr OSO Short Scale guitar series, consisting of models in four transparent lacquers, has been given a shorter 24.625-inch scale, often used by Gibson, PRS, etc. There is a choice of alder or mahogany body, rosewood fingerboard with 22 frets and roasted maple neck fitted with the classic Historic-C profile or the more modern Even Slim-C alternative. You can also choose between a 2-point tremolo and a solid TOM bridge or maple top finishes. Inspired by Telecaster shapes, the instruments feature a headstock with 3+3 tuners, the sound is carried by a pair of the company's signature humbuckers. Prices start at about 3800 dollars.
Fender Acoustasonic Standard Tele and Jazzmaster
Fender has also added hybrid Acoustasonic Telecaster and Jazzmaster models to the more budget-friendly Asian Standard edition, which, unlike the American variants, are made from nyatoh with a Sitka spruce top. Each version is offered in Aged Natural, Money Burst or Black finishes and features a rosewood fingerboard with 22 frets, an Acoustasonic Shawbucker magnetic humbucker and a Fishman piezo system. The pickups are connected to a common volume and Blend potentiometer, which allows a smooth mix of both signal paths. Price is around 650 euros.
MXR Phase 90 and EHX Small Stone celebrate their 50th anniversary
Two pedal modulation legends that can be heard on countless recordings of various genres are celebrating their half-century of existence this year, offering collector's limited editions with a gold facelift. The MXR Phase 90 Gold 50th Anniversary M101 GLD, with a price tag of about 200 dollars, features only a Speed potentiometer like the original, as its timeless simplicity is a natural part of the phaser's charm. The EHX Golden Small Stone, equipped with a Rate knob and Color switch, is based on the original circuit (NOS CA3094) and the edition comes to 600 units. Price: 300 dollars including wooden case, velvet cover and certification.
Nobels CHO-mini: compact modulation with tap tempo
At the end of April, the flexible Nobels CHO-mini chorus should be available, which despite its modest size offers mono or stereo operation, buffered or true bypass mode (both functions are selectable via toggle switches on the front of the chassis), a trio of Chorus / Chorus 2 / Flanging modulation modes, and by pressing the main footswitch for approx. 2 seconds, the tap tempo, i.e. the speed of the wave pulsation, can be adjusted in real time. There are potentiometers with Rate, Width and Mix functions.
Peavey Decade Too: upgrade of a rediscovered combo
The 1980s Peavey Decade practice combo, the secret studio weapon of Queen of the Stone Age guitarist Josh Homme, has a new successor in the form of the Decade Too, which honours the original circuitry but adds a few modern features. The 10W RMS single-channel transistor unit, which produces a sound close to tube amps, now features Bass and Top knobs, a Saturation function, an effects loop, a jack + XLR DI output with custom volume, a pair of main outputs, a footswitch jack and a phase switch, in addition to Pre/Post Gain potentiometers and a three-band EQ. It uses a special Celestion speaker (8"/8Ohm) with the same sound as vintage Rola models from 1980-83.
Celestion Peacekeeper: master to the max without going deaf?
The Peacekeeper guitar speaker, with its significantly low 86dB sensitivity and new technology, demonstrates the simplest and gentlest way to tune an amp to its sweet spot while maintaining a tolerable volume level. Featuring a unique dual voice coil design, this attenuator works together with the amplifier like a conventional 12" guitar speaker with zero additional colouration or tonal compromise. The 50W, 8 ohm impedance speaker is fitted with a ceramic magnet and weighs 4.8kg.
Four-string Spector NC-4 Frank Bello Signature
A collaboration between the bassist of Anthrax and Spector, the NC-4 Frank Bello features a new alder body and headstock design in Metallic Purple and a bolt-on maple neck with a contoured neck heel and vintage-inspired thin profile. The maple fingerboard carries 21 jumbo frets and purple block inlays, while the sound is carried by Bell's signature EMG P/J active pickups, and the solid bridge and open-gear tuners have a chrome finish. Manufactured in Indonesia, the new product is expected to hit the market during April.
Bass distortion/octave pedal Darkglass Kaamos
Developed with the help of bassist and producer Amos Heller, this pedal provides massive distortion complemented by a dual octave splitter fitted with a low-pass filter on the bottom octave with a choice of 3 modes (Sublime, Sublemon, Subcitri), both main sections can be used in series and parallel mode. The innovatively conceived effect loop, which can be placed in three different positions (behind the octave, behind the distortion or in parallel), automatically switches off when no external effect is plugged in. There is also a dedicated sub-octave output and XLR DI Out with a removable ground lift.
Signature snare Tama SP1465 Simon Phillips
Legendary drummer Simon Phillips has once again teamed up with Tama to create another signature snare, this time labeled SP1465. As the number in the model's green transparent finish suggests, this is the 14 x 6.5-inch version, and 8 layers of African mahogany were used to build the shell, with a total thickness of 6mm, which together with the Sound Focus drum rings provides a suitably voluminous and supremely warm tone. The hardware consists of brass hoops for a sharper attack, MSL90S lugs, MLS50A / MLS50B strainer/butt and a 20-wire carbon steel snare wire. The snare is equipped with Remo Ambassador heads.
A pair of Roland V-Stage Performance Series premium keyboards
The V-Stage Performance Edition redefines concert keyboards, combining Roland's cutting-edge sound technology with intuitive controls and superior playability. Available in versions with 76 semi-weighted keys or 88 keys with hammer action, the instruments feature four independent engines – Acoustic Piano with Piano Designer editing section, Electric Piano using SuperNATURAL technology, Organ featuring a three-piece console model driven by Virtual Tone Wheel technology, and ZEN-Core synth engine containing over 400 sounds along with support for SDZ Sound Packs and Model Expansion on the company cloud. There is an effects unit, up to 512 storable scenes, microphone XLR input, etc.
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