NEW GEAR 48/23: Reverb Boss, Gibson LP Lite, PRS MT100 and StingRay Retro

Metal limited edition Jackson Pro Jeff Loomis Kelly HT6 Ash

The third signature version of the extravagant-looking model Kelly, built for the guitarist of Arch Enemy, does follow in the footsteps of its predecessors, but there are a few differences, most notably the absence of the Floyd Rose tremolo, which has been replaced by a solid hardtail bridge Hipshot 6. The through-body maple neck is complemented by a baswood body with an ash top and the variable radius ebony fingerboard contains 24 jumbo frets. Again, the instrument comes with Loomis Seymour Duncan JL Blackouts humbuckers with active electronics and locking tuners. The price of the model manufactured by the Korean factory is around 1550 dollars.

Gibson Les Paul Modern Lite: a slimmer model with a reasonable price tag

The LP Modern Lite collection embodies the classic Les Paul style but with a modified, thinner mahogany body (no maple top) that has a milled back edge to make the instrument sit more comfortably on the player's body. The mahogany neck received a rosewood fingerboard and a more subtle SlimTaper profile, the sound is carried by two Gibson 490R/498T humbuckers suitable for most musical styles, and the hardware consists of an aluminium stop bar tailpiece, Nashville Tune-O-Matic bridge and Grover Mini Rotomatic tuners. Available finishes include Gold Mist, Inverness Green, TV Wheat, Cardinal Red or Rose Gold covered in a satin nitrocellulose lacquer, and for the first time on a Core Les Paul series model, the headstock is sprayed with an identical shade to the body. Price: approx. 1500 dollars including soft shell case.

Dual wah Ibanez TWP10 Twin Peaks

The new wah pedal in the style of the classic WH-10 model from the 80s brings superior sonic possibilities, thanks to circuits with a pair of induction coils connected in parallel, tuned to different frequencies, which are smoothly mixed by the Balance control. The range of operating bands can be selected with the slide switch High/Low, and the Level potentiometer determines the output volume with a lift of up to +6 dB. There is a status LED, the pedal footswitch is connected in true bypass mode and the current consumption is around 15 mA. The functionality of the effect is demonstrated by the great guitarist Jack Gardiner in the video below.

DOD Chthonic Fuzz: the first pedal since the rebirth of the brand

DigiTech/DOD came up with the first pedal produced in the new era of both companies that returned to the scene thanks to the acquisition by the Korean concern Cor-Tek. The new owner gave creative freedom to the developers of the American brands, which reflected positively in the concept of the Chthonic fuzz. The effect, originally based on a vintage version of Coloursound's Fuzz Box, is primarily designed for guitars with single coils (Strat, Tele, P-90, DeArmond, Gold-Foil, etc.), but it works with weaker PAF humbuckers without any problems. Distortion is provided by two 2N2222 silicon diodes, flexibility is added by a specially tuned Lustre tone, and another advantage of this fuzz is the sensitive response to work with the guitar's volume potentiometer. The result is a wide range of sounds from light crunch to a corpulent tone with a darker character.

Reverb Boss RV-200 with ArpVerb algorithm

The latest addition to the pedalboard series 200 features a total of 12 reverb types, including the new ArpVerb algorithm, creating an arpeggio-style sound with suggestive pitch shifting and attack adjustment via the Parameter potentiometer. The quality of the resulting signal is ensured by a 32-bit (float) platform and 32-bit/96 kHz AD/DA converters. The bank can hold 127 presets, one of the footswitches handles the Hold function and the Warp, Twist and Fade effect parameters can be controlled similarly. Naturally, there is a USB, mini jacks for MIDI, true stereo function and a connector for an external expression pedal or footswitch. The European price is under 300 euros.

Supro Delegate Custom and Ambassador Custom combo amps

Premium tube combos from the traditional American brand are hand-built with top-quality components such as Mercury Magnetics transformers, vintage-correct Mallory capacitors, precision-paired EHX tubes, etc. The Delegate version (1x Celestion G12M Greenback) with 25W output is fitted with a pair of 6V6 tubes, while the Ambassador version, fitted with a pair of Supro BD10 speakers, uses two 6L6 pentodes delivering 35/50W (Class-A/Class-AB). The company's single-channel flagships deliver exceptional sound quality in all respects, offering clean registers, subtle crunch and a more saturated overdrive with natural compression.

PRS MT100: successor to the Tremonti MT15 head

Five years after the premiere of the small "lunch box" amplifier MT15 "Mark Tremonti", PRS comes with a new MT100 designed for the guitarist of the band Alter Bridge. The name of this model suggests that the amp, fitted with a custom transformer, provides 100 W of power, and the tubes (4x 6L6) can be adjusted for bias via the terminals. The preamp offers three completely separate channels with independent controls, covering a spectrum ranging from crystal-clear Fender Twin-style registers to massive crunch with complex midrange (the sound of Dumble machines) to modern uncompromising high-gain. The sonically versatile amp, with eight 12AX7 triodes, one of which is dedicated to the effects loop, comes with a 3-button footswitch.

Guild Starfire II Black semi-hollow bass

Originally debuting in 1967, the Starfire Bass II quickly gained a number of fans, including bassists from the likes of Jefferson Airplane, The Byrds and the Grateful Dead. Guild returns to the original – or more accurately its historic second series with a pair of pickups – with a reissue fitted with the iconic, often copied Alnico BiSonic BS-1 pickups, providing a warm, smooth tone with full bass and clear highs. This year's black lacquer variant features a rosewood or ebony fingerboard, a shorter scale (30.75″) matching the vintage specs, a mahogany body, Soft-U profile neck, a classic ebony bridge with ebony saddles and Grover 142C tuners. The video below demonstrates the previous maple version of the Starfire II Flamed Maple.

Music Man Retro '70s StingRay edition

The Retro '70s StingRay basses pay homage to the high-quality craftsmanship of Music Man instruments from the 1970s and offer a wealth of classic-inspired features. The four colour options available on the Retro Edition StingRay – Black, White, Vintage Sunburst and Heritage Natural – replicate the design and feel of the Californian brand's flagship, each featuring a gloss polyester finish, a maple fingerboard and neck attached by a trio of bolts passing through a metal plate with a hole to adjust the neck angle to the body. The massive "bullet" style bracing bolt, the Pre-EB strings-through body bridge and the period humbucker with long Alnico V magnets wound with original poly-nylon wire also refer to older four-string models. There is a hand-soldered preamp with two-band EQ.

Korg MPS-10 pad: new competition for Roland SPD-SX Pro

The MPS-10 professional percussion pad from Korg is the next step in the continuous evolution of drumming and musical expression. The model offers a huge range of sonic possibilities thanks to 10 special rubber pads, 4 of which are CC-based, a versatile sampler, a premium four-track looper, 48-voice polyphony, triggering and compatibility with footswitch or expression pedal. There are two hundred kits, more than 2 thousand sounds, a comprehensive effects section, 3 thousand samples, 2 USB ports, MIDI output, a 32 GB bank, etc. The price of the Korg MPS-10, which should be on the market in January, is around 1100 euros.