NEW GEAR 37/24: 5 Kramer Guitars, Blackstar Debut 30E, Shure SM4 and Sterling by MM Basses

Music Many Cutlass 6 and 7 HT Jason Richardson

Music Man is preparing to produce two new six and seven-string signatures in guitarist Jason Richardson's Cutlass HT series. Both models are to be available in luxurious transparent maple top finishes in shades of Kokiri Forest or Venetian Red, the lightweight alder body is complemented by a roasted maple neck and the ebony fretboard carries 24 medium jumbo stainless steel frets. The guitars use Music Man HT Custom humbuckers with split coils, connected to an active preamp with adjustable boost up to +20dB. Variants in Venetian Red are limited to 25 pieces.

Five updated Kramer guitars

Kramer has unveiled this year's new additions to its product catalogue, including a total of five updated guitar models featuring Floyd Rose tremolo, maple neck with K-Speed SlimTaper C profile, upgraded pickups and bodies in alder, mahogany or maple: The 84 – an 80s classic with a "Banana" headstock and Kramer USA Eruption T keel humbucker, the Nite-V – a modern Flying with USA Eruption T/R pickups, the Pacer Carrera – a former bestseller, this time with Seymour Duncan JB/SH-2N humbuckers, Jersey Star – an instrument typically equipped with a trio of pickups, now fitted with USA Neptune types, Assault – a variant with Les Paul contours, also available in Figured finish with flame top, using Kramer 85-T / 90-R and USA Eruption L / R pickups respectively.

Dutch ’24 Overdrive by LPD Pedals

A reissue of the Dutch Overdrive pedal finally makes its way into wider distribution, bringing back the classic with modern upgrades and a new facelift in a sleek blue paint. The Dutch '24 version boasts superior flexibility including a subtle transparent boost, audible crunch, assertive drive and stronger distortion with rich harmonic components. In addition, this year's version provides more dynamics at lower noise levels, and the HI/LOW mode circuit has been modified with its own footswitch. This section adds a higher portion of gain to the signal while adjusting the frequency response of the midrange, contributing to a stronger tone with transparent bass. Price: about 225 dollars.

UAFX ANTI 1992: a pedal with the sound of a 5150

The sound of the Peavey 5150 amplifier, built in the early 1990s for Edward Van Halen, is brought to life for now by Universal Audio's latest pedal, the ANTI 1992 High Gain Amp, based on the first and now prized Peavey 5150 "Block Letter" version, fitted with Sylvania 6L6 end tubes at the time. The ANTI 1992 has six potentiometers with classic functions, also used to control other parameters (Resonance, Overdrive, etc.), the choice of Rhythm, Crunch, Lead channels, IR samples of the UK V30, CA V30 and White 75 boxes, two footswitches activate the pedal and presets, the so-called true stereo connection can be used, and communication with the computer is provided by the USB-C port. Price: approx. 400 euros.

Blackstar Debut 30E analogue combo

The Blackstar Debut collection has grown with the Debut 30E 1x10" model, taking the sound of its Debut 10E and 15E predecessors to the next level, thanks to an increase in power to 30W, a larger 10-inch-diameter speaker and a two-way footswitch (sold separately) for selecting the analogue Clean/Overdrive channels and activating the integrated digital tape-style echo delay. In addition to the three-band EQ, the preamp is of course equipped with a patented ISF function that adjusts the British or American sound character, and an emulated record/headphone output can be used, as well as a line input. The Debut 30E is available in Black or Cream.

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Vintage Modern strings

Seymour Duncan has ventured into the production of guitar strings, and the Antiquity Vintage Modern designation suggests that there will be some affinity with the prized SD Antiquity humbuckers. The brand says this is the classic vintage sound of the late 1950s and early 1960s, when strings wound with pure nickel were used for electric guitars, resulting in a harmonically rich, warm tone, longer life and more consistent expression. Antiquity Vintage Modern sets, available in Extra Light (.009, .011, .016p, .024w, .032, .042) and Light (.010, .013, .017p, .026w, .036, .046) versions with pure nickel windings, can be had for about 10 dollars.

Morley / Lerxst Blah Blah: Alex Lifeson's wah

Lerxst, the label of Canadian Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson, and Morley are behind the development of a wah-wah with the humorous but aptly named Blah Blah. Offering both classic and more avant-garde-sounding registers, the model is inspired by Lifeson's idiosyncratic use of the wah and his never-ending quest for new, innovative sounds. A Morley optical circuit with a pedal-less automatic switch was chosen as the basis of the design, tuned to Lifeson's preferences. Blah mode with a more expressive character is activated by a footswitch and a Pitch equalization potentiometer is installed. A limited edition of 500 is available from Reverb.com.

Intro Series StingRay: the most affordable bass from Sterling by Music Man

Ernie Ball Music Man subsidiary has included the most affordable model of the StingRay RAY2 four-string bass in its portfolio, part of the new economy edition of the Intro Series. The instrument naturally adopts the aesthetics of the original StingRay, the sound is carried by a ceramic H-1 humbucker linked to simply designed passive electronics in the form of volume and tone controls, the body is made of poplar and hard maple was chosen for the neck, which also forms the fretboard, for which purple heart can be selected as an alternative. The chrome hardware consists of a solid Music Man-style fretboard and open-gear mechanics. The bass will hit the market in Black (BK), Electric Blue (ELB), Misty Green (MTG) and Sunrise Orange (SRO) for a price of around 250 dollars.

Shure SM4 Studio Microphone

Shure launches the SM4 condenser microphone, whose versatility, compact size, quality all-metal construction and good price/performance ratio make it a suitable choice for many home studio owners. Featuring a maximum SPL of 140dB and fitted with a one-inch dual brass capsule, the SM4 offers cardioid directional characteristics and can handle recording vocals and instruments with smooth, natural reproduction. An internal pop filter and patented shielding technology are integrated to block unwanted RF noise from wireless devices including mobile phones, laptops and wi-fi routers. The microphone, along with an A4M 1 swivel mount, clamp, stand adapter and carrying case, costs about 230 euros, and you can also buy an SM4-K kit (about 290 euros) adding a shock mount and magnetic pop filter.

Semi-modular synth Behringer Proton

The Proton analogue paraphonic desktop synth, first advertised two years ago, is finally headed for European distribution with a semi-modular design in Eurorack format. Behringer has equipped this instrument with a pair of VCOs, two VCA units, an equal number of VCFs, four envelopes, a Wavefolder and an extensive patch bay section. The aforementioned multi-mode VCFs can be configured in parallel or in series, and there's no shortage of CV interconnects. Two ASR envelopes, each with reverse/inverse/loop/bounce mods, give control over the VCA and waveform components, while a pair of analogue ADSR generators allow the creation of unique sounds using VCF modulation. In addition to the standard outputs and USB-B port, a MIDI In/Out or input for an external audio source is also provided. Price: approx. 400 euros.