NEW GEAR 52/24: Jimmy Page EDS-1275, Drive Soldano, Delay Nobels and Synth Orchid

Gibson Jimmy Page EDS-1275 Doubleneck VOS '69 Cherry 

Following the $50,000 Jimmy Page EDS-1275 Collector's Edition special edition, Gibson is introducing another two-neck model, the Jimmy Page EDS-1275 Doubleneck VOS '69 Cherry, which will cost a fifth of the mentioned amount. Even this signature guitar, boasting a one-piece mahogany body, was built using a 3D scan of a vintage original, with both necks featuring a precisely copied profile, a long tenon joint and select rosewood fingerboards with 20 frets. It is fitted with Jimmy Page Custombucker Alnico 5 pickups, period Kluson tuners and ABR-1 True Historic bridge. The nitro lacquer instrument comes with a hard case, certification, leather strap, etc.  

80s superstrats Kramer series 84 HH

The vintage 84 HH series looks back to the early days when Kramer fitted their superstrats' necks with "banana headstock" and Floyd Rose tremolos mounted in a way that allowed only one-way operation. The collection consists of the 84 HH models with an alder body, a related Killswitch version equipped with the eponymous switch, and the more luxurious Quilt burst variants with AAAA-quality maple veneer tops and quilt patterns. The maple neck received a SlimTaper C profile and, depending on the specific model, maple or ebony fingerboards carrying 22 jumbo frets. The sound is carried by a pair of Kramer USA Eruption T humbuckers with individual coil split mini toggle switches.

Electro-acoustic Gibson from Hummingbird EC 2024 series

The new collection consists of Hummingbird Studio EC models in Tri-Burst Satin, Standard EC Heritage Cherry Sunburst and Standard Rosewood EC in Rosewood Burst. All instruments feature a cutaway bottom bout for better access to higher fretboard positions, a Round Slim Taper neck, Grover Rotomatic tuners, a Belly Up bridge and a Sitka spruce top. Standard versions with genuine mother-of-pearl inlays are fitted with L.R. Baggs Element Bronze system and have a rosewood body, while the Studio version has a mahogany body base and uses L.R. Baggs VTC electronics. The Hummingbird Standard EC Ebony is also to be available as an exclusive series.

Behringer Centaur Overdrive: another version of the Klon

The prices of Bill Finnegan's original Klon Centaur are beyond the reach of the vast majority of guitarists, who prefer to opt for one of the more affordable replicas. Among the cheaper options is a new copy produced by Behringer, which acknowledges its inspiration from the Klon not only with the name Centaur Overdrive, but also with an almost identical design, but in a more compact format. Transparent sound is ensured by high-quality germanium diodes (soft-clipping) and sensitive dynamic response is provided by an internal voltage converter (9 → 18V). The pedal should be available later this year at about 70 euros.

Delay Nobels DEL-mini: small but powerful

The Nobels DEL-mini Delay Pedal offers three types of delay (Tape, Analog, Digital) in a space-saving housing. With toggle switches on the front of the chassis, you can choose between true or buffered bypass and mono/stereo/true stereo wiring linked to both TRS input and output. Tap tempo can be activated after a longer press of the footswitch and for better orientation, the Time, Feedback and Mix potentiometer caps are equipped with luminescent lines. The European price is around 100 euros.

Two channel overdrive Soldano SLO Plus

The Plus version introduces the next generation of the Soldano overdrive, this time offering two distortion sections which bring the sound of the SLO 100's high-gain amp channel and the crunch mode of the Normal channel. The two branches, with separate volume and gain controls, share four-band corrections, and the lowest frequency bands can be emphasised with the Deep button located on the right side of the chassis. This allows the SLO Plus to go from rich, aggressive distortion to softer-sounding registers to an almost pure tone with a pleasing attack. Price: approx. 320 euros.

Match My BITE: Fancy a bass in your car colour?

The Austrian bass manufacturer has launched a complementary customer programme which, in addition to a configurator that allows you to choose the material, electronics or hardware of the instrument, also offers the Match My BITE service for players who want to match the shade of their bass to the paintwork of their car. Simply enter your car's ID number or colour code and then choose whether you want to paint only the body of the bass, the body plus headstock or the entire instrument including the fingerboard. Prices for modifications start at around 280 euros.

Bass drive/EQ Lusithand Devices Ground & Pound MKII

The bass distortion that was advertised back in November should finally appear on the market in the form of the improved Ground & Pound MKII model from Lusithand Devices. Compared to the first generation, the manufacturer has equipped the pedal with two new functions complementing the Volume, Distortion, EQZ and Mix potentiometers. The L-Pad switch allows for -10dB attenuation for instruments with a strong output, while the Ground/Pound toggle switch offers voicing alongside the sound of the original version, bringing a more modern character with more massive bass. The distortion circuit has also been modified to guarantee constant volume at higher gain levels.

New hi-hat and effect cymbals Zultan Z-Series

The Zultan Z-Series collection, with its partially polished surface and typical circular pattern, presents versatile cymbals with a favourable price/performance ratio and fast response, which will be appreciated not only by players of rock or pop genres. The edition, handmade in Turkish workshops from B20 bronze, has been joined by two new hi-hats in 13″ and 15″ sizes, and a pair of splashes of 10″ and 12″ or 16″ and 18″ chinas are also available. The Z series hi-hats and effect cymbals thus extend the range so far consisting of 16″, 17″, 18″, 19″, 20″ crashes, 20″, 21″, 22″ rides and one 14″ hi-hat.

Orchid: mini synth by Telepathic Instruments

Telepathic Instruments, the company of Tame Impala's frontman, is releasing Orchid, a small chord-generating synth. It is equipped with eight buttons for selecting different types of chords and a one-octave keyboard, where you only need to play the main note of the selected chord. Under the hood is a 16-voice polyphonic synth engine with ambience, a modulating FX section and a separate bass synth engine. There's a looper, effects, MIDI connectivity, a stereo power amp with a pair of speakers and a rechargeable battery. Price: about 550 dollars.