NEW GEAR 45/24: Fractal VP4, Gretsch Kits, Friedman IR-J, Epi LP TM 1955 and Vola ZVA 5 Bass

Epiphone Tak Matsumoto 1955 Les Paul Standard Inspired by Gibson Custom

Two years after the debut of a signature Gibson built for the renowned Japanese guitarist, composer and producer, the subsidiary Epiphone offers a more financially friendly alternative, the Tak Matsumoto 1955 Les Paul Standard from the Inspired by Gibson Custom edition. The Antique Gold model features an original Gibson "open book" headstock, a traditional mahogany body with a maple top and a Custom Tak '59 Rounded C neck profile. It is fitted with a pair of Gibson Burstbucker Pro Alnico 5 pickups, CTS potentiometers, Epi Deluxe tuners and a Gibson Historic Wraparound bridge. The guitar comes with a high-quality hard case.

Signature Gretsch Electromatic Jack Antonoff Princess CVT

A limited edition of the guitar designed for the American producer, ten-time Grammy winner Jack Antonoff is partly returning to the concept of the Gretsch Princess model from the first half of the 1960s. The Asian-made instrument, with an alder body in Vintage White, is fitted with a tremolo tailpiece with a lock button, a pair of custom-wound FideliSonic Alnico 5 single-coils, special master volume and tone controls, a three-position toggle switch, a slide rhythm/lead switch, Volume + Tone thumbwheel potentiometers for the neck pickup and a kill switch. Price approx. 690 euros.

Multieffect Fractal Audio VP4 Virtual Pedalboard

The Line 6 HX Effects multi-effect has acquired a competitor in the form of the VP4 Virtual Pedalboard from Fractal Audio. The company has incorporated effects from its flagship Axe-Fx III, from which the VP4 differs mainly by the absence of a preamp section with amp and box modelling and an IR unit. With over 400 effects, the compact VP4 offers a range of overdrives, distortions, delays, reverbs, modulations, EQs, compressors, wahs, etc. There are 104 presets and each of them is like a complete "pedalboard" with its own master EQ, noise gate and level controls. There are various operating modes, MIDI and compatibility with the VP4 Edit application. Priced at about 700 dollars.

Preamp Friedman IR-J Jake E. Lee

The IR-J Jake E. Lee two-channel tube (2x 12AX7) preamp was designed by Dave Friedman to the specifications of the guitarist, who has played in Ozzy Osbourne's, Ratt's and Badlands' bands. The first channel features a Marshall Plexi-style sound, while the distortion branch is based on Lee's signature Friedman JEL-100 and JEL-20 high-gain amps. There's a boost section with a Tube Screamer character and an IR unit (sample boxes + power amp emulation) driven by a 500 Mhz ARM processor. Further editing is handled by Friedman 4.0 software with 18 corporate IRs. Price approx 600 dollars.

Ernie Ball Silver Slinky: signature strings by John Mayer

The new Silver Slinky strings resulted from Ernie Ball's collaboration with guitarist John Mayer and feature previously unavailable gauges combined with the technology used in RPS (Reinforced Plain Strings) sets, which are wrapped with bronze wire at the point where they connect to the tailpiece for greater tuning stability and durability. Each string, with its specific dimensions and core-to-wrap ratio, provides the perfect balance of tone and tension, according to the manufacturer. The Ernie Ball Silver Slinky 2218 set consists of nickel-plated strings 10.5, 13.5, 17.5, 27, 37 and 47, offering gauges between the 0.10 and 0.11 sets. Single pack, 3-pack and 6-pack packs are available at prices of approximately 10, 30 and 55 dollars.

Preamp/multi-effect Hotone Ampero II

After the processors Ampero II Stage and Stomp, Hotone introduced the Ampero II, which premiered at Music China in October. Equipped with an expression pedal, four footswitches and a three-core DSP, the new product relies on improved CDCM HD + F.I.R.E. modelling technology together with ESS Sabre transducers (24-bit, 127 dB). There are over 90 virtual amplifiers, 63 cabinet types, over 400 effects, 50 user IR slots, 20 IRs from Celestion, and 2048 sampling points. Editing is facilitated by a dynamic 5-inch colour touchscreen, it has an 8x8 USB card, microphone input, XLR outputs, effects loop, MIDI, etc.

Vola ZVA 5 Bass with a 34.5-inch scale

A new model of the Japanese handmade five-string bass with a modern design and extended scale is offered in Sunburst Gloss Ocean finish with rosewood or Turquoise Metallic Gloss finish with a maple fingerboard carrying 21 jumbo frets and Duracon nut. The base is an alder body combined with a maple neck fitted with a Modern-C profile. The nickel-plated Gotoh hardware consists of a 303SJ-5 bridge (string-thru and top-load setup) and 404SJ-5 tuners, while the sound is carried by two Vola JS5-N / JS5-B pickups complemented by ATR-I active electronics with three-band EQ and an active/passive switch. Price including gig bag approx. 1190 dollars.

Gretsch Catalina Club 2024 series kits

The traditional American percussion manufacturer adds Sahara Sparkle (SSP) and Dark Cherry Sparkle (DCS) shades to the Catalina Club series while expanding the series with two new mahogany Micro Kit and 22" Rock Kit. The four-piece Micro Kit CT1-M264 version with 12x16" BD, 7x10" TT, 12x13" FT and 5x13" SD shells is the ideal kit for practice or performance in smaller clubs. The larger version with a more massive projection 22" Rock Kit CT1-R424, filling the gap between the 20" Pop and 24" Rock models, consists of 14x22" BD, 8x12" TT, 16x16" FT and 6.5x14" SD drums.

Sound cards Universal Audio Apollo X Gen 2

With eight second-generation Apollo sound card models, represented by the DUO, QUAD and HEXA versions, Universal Audio meets the needs of both home and professional studios. The edition now offers Auto-Gain, accessible via the UA Console software, a consistent mix should be provided by the monitor and headphone corrections developed with Sonarworks and Bass Management takes care of subwoofer integration. Last but not least, the 24-bit/192 kHz converters have been improved. The cards come with plug-ins from Lexicon, Moog, Neve, Capitol Studios, etc. Prices start at about 1200 dollars for the Apollo Twin X DUO and end at 4000 dollars for the high-end Apollo x16 HEXA variant.

Future Sound Systems Cric analogue synthesiser

In a few days, the UK-based Future Sound Systems will start distributing the Cric analogue synthesiser, equipped with three VCO oscillators based on the SSI2131, a VCA unit, an extensive section of filters for tone shaping, from basic filtering to full transformation of incoming signals, and four cyclic generators usable as envelopes, LFOs or VCOs. Pin matrix patching (24x32) allows the instrument to be configured as a standard subtractive synth, paraphonic synth, drum machine, noise box, etc. Four inputs and outputs enable audio processing, external CV control, feedback routing and other functions, and a microphone preamplifier can be found on input 1. Price approx 2500 pounds.