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Justin’s Picks: Sandblasted Strat and Wampler Plexi Drive
Fender Limited Edition USA Stratocaster Sandblast This year, Fender has been releasing tons of new limited-edition products, but the Sandblasted Strat is particularly unique. The sandblasting is partly responsible — no two finishes will look and feel the same way. But aside from the finish, this is a solid USA-made guitar with your time-approved specs: […]
Dan’s Picks: the BeatBuddy and Vox AC10
BeatBuddy Pedal Drum Machine When you think of drum machines, you think one type of sound at a time, with not much on-the-fly usage. The great thing about the BeatBuddy pedal is its ability to add in fills while playing, and even transition to other parts with just a simple tap of the foot. Plus, […]
New Gear Report: Akai Advance Controllers, Shure PG ALTA Mics & Cakewalk SONAR
Akai Advance MIDI Keyboard Controllers Last year, we got Native Instruments’ Komplete Kontrol S MIDI controller keyboards. Building on the theme of rainbow-candy-colored USB MIDI controller boards, the Akai Advance MIDI controller series has arrived. What makes the Advance controllers really special is the software they come with — AKAI calls it VIP, which stands […]
Martin’s Picks: Warwick GPS Streamer & Radial Bassbone V2
Warwick GPS German Pro Series Streamer Stage I 4 Electric Bass As a Warwick fan, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the new Pro Series line. I was not disappointed in the German Pro Series basses — they are made in the same factory in Germany as Warwick’s higher-end basses, using the same high-quality woods and manufacturing […]
Gear Picks: a Catalinbread Pedal Suite
We’re now carrying a heaping helping of Catalinbread stompboxes! These pedals have been on my board for years, but not available from zZ ’til now. I can’t praise these pedals enough with our customers and my local pedal junkies here in our scene. Chances are they’ve got a flavor for you, from soft-clipping ’60s fuzz, […]
New Gear Report: EHX Octavix & Reverend Sensei Jr.
Electro-Harmonix Octavix Octave Fuzz If I had a nickel for every fuzz out there, I would probably use that money to buy myself another fuzz and there is a good chance it would be this one. To start, it’s based off the Octavia (sometimes called Octavio) fuzz that Hendrix used to rip on. The fuzz […]
New Gear Report: Ampeg SCR-DI & Orange OB1-500
Ampeg SCR-DI Bass DI Direct Box with Scrambler Overdrive Bass players know how important a DI is. Nine times out of 10, if you’re hearing bass at a medium-large venue, you’re hearing the bass through a DI box into the house speakers. Same thing for a lot of recording sessions I’ve gone to. Oftentimes they […]
7 One-Knob Pedals That Transform Your Tone
Sometimes, all you need is just one. From full-blown loopers to tone enhancers, each of these pedals color your sound with the turn of one single knob. Add one to your chain for a simple path to all-new sound.
Mic Shootout: Neat King Bee & Worker Bee, Blue Spark & Baby Bottle
Neat Microphones are brand new this year, and everyone’s curious to see how they stack up against other mics. To help you weigh your options, we’ve made recordings comparing Neat’s new King Bee and Worker Bee with two zZounds customer favorite microphones in the same price range — the Blue Baby Bottle and Blue Spark. […]
