Guitar Noize

BANSHEE ELITE-6

Schecter Guitars have announced the Schecter Banshee Elite which will be available in 6, 7 and 8 string variants with left handed models also available. The 6 and 7 string versions are available with a hard tail Hipshot bridge or Floyd Rose 1500 Series bridge which features stainless steel parts, new push-in arm, and knife points that are re-tooled for better tuning and smoother tremolo play. The 8 string is only available with the Hipshot bridge.

BANSHEE ELITE-7 FR S

All of the Banshee Elite guitars feature a Swamp Ash body with a Flamed Maple top, 9 piece Maple/Walnut neck with an Ebony fingerboard, 24 X-Jumbo Stainless Steel frets, Mother of Pearl offset/reverse dot inlays with brass circles, and a Neck-Thru construction with Ultra Access for seamless playability and easy access to the higher frets.
The guitars come loaded with Schecter’s own hand-made USA SuperCharger™ pickups with an option of a Sustainiac in the neck position (Sustainiac offered only in 6 and 7 string models).

BANSHEE ELITE-8

http://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/banshee-elite

New for 2015 Schecter have announced the Platinum Series which includes 4 guitars plus left handed versions of all but one the models. Included in the lineup is a new model for Schecter based on the classic SG shape called the S-II Platinum (pictured above).

C-1 Platinum

Each Platinum Series guitar is built with a Mahogany body, 3-piece set Maple neck with Ultra Access for seamless playability and effortless access to the higher frets, Platinum ‘Tempest’ Crown inlays, and 24 X-Jumbo frets on an Ebony fingerboard. The Platinum Series comes loaded with active EMG 57/66 pick-ups which have gained popularity over EMG’s existing active pickups due to their more organic tones.

SOLO-II Platinum

V-1 Platinum

The original IK Multimedia iRig was a fairly small cylindrical audio interface which was then superseded by the larger iRig HD which I personally own and reviewed in August 2013. The iRig 2 has just been announced ahead of NAMM 2015 and it seems to be a similar in design to the iRig HD although double the width to accommodate the extra jack input/outputs and packs a host of new features and improved quality due to advances in processing technology.

The new iRig 2 includes a new 1/4” output jack which allows you to use for example your iPhone for effects processing before running the audio into an amplifier as a part of your live rig. iRig 2 also features a switch that lets you select between a processed signal and a clean “thru” input signal. This means you can also use your mobile device as a tuner, recorder or other tool while preserving the purity of a 100% analog signal path. Like the iRig HD, iRig 2 includes an input gain control knob that lets you dial in the perfect setting for your setup.

So you might wonder what the difference between iRig HD and iRig 2 is? Well I’m not totally sure but I do know that iRig 2 only costs 30 Euros which is 50 Euros cheaper than the iRig HD. I suspect that the High-quality 24-bit A/D conversion may not be included in the iRig 2 so that they can still have an HD or PRO version that has a defined difference, or maybe it does and there will be an upgraded version of the iRig HD & PRO?

For more info - http://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/irig2/

For decades now guitarists all over the world have been using wireless guitar systems to free them from cables on stage. Let’s face it cables can have their issues including the embarrassing pull your lead out of your amp, pull your amp over and tripping over and face-planting the stage. These traditional wireless systems have always relied on UHF radio signals to beam the guitar signal to a receiver in your rack, however they are not without their issues. The logical progression from this system would be to use WiFi instead, I’m not going to pretend I know whether there are any inherent issues with using WiFi instead but the Scottish company behind Jack think they have the WiFi Guitar Cable sussed and I have to say it is a very cool innovation if it works as well as they say it does. Check out the Jack Kickstarter Campaign video below to see and hear it in action:

Now of course live use is just one application for Jack, the second and probably one that will interest the most people is that you can stream the guitar signal direct to your computer for recording or for using with modelling apps as an amp for pracice/jamming without the need for an audio interface!

“Simply plug Jack into any guitar, amp or pedal and instantly go wireless. Stream uncompressed professional grade real time audio between instruments, amps and devices. Then with no additional hardware, wirelessly connect to your favorite Wi-Fi devices like tablets, PCs and phones. All for about US$280, no more cables, no more recording interfaces, no more batteries.”

“Jack uses an optimized version of Wi-Fi allowing connection to billions of Wi-Fi devices. Simply click and connect to Wi-Fi devices to edit share and record. No sound cards, no breakout boxes, no connectors, just pure audio.”

This product has already reached over half of its’ target £20,000 goal with 26 days remaining so if you are interested in backing the project get in quick, many of the rewards are close to being, or completely sold out.

In this video director Jason McNamara explains how he filmed The Aristocrats show in Club Citta, Tokyo using 20 GoPro cameras. This enabled McNamara to capture multiple angles Guthrie Govan, Bryan Beller and Marco Minneman including pedal board shots, on-board guitar shots (which I love!), and loads of awesome drum shots. Tokyo is just one of the venues that was used for the Culture Clash Live DVD but it was the only venue where McNamara shot this fantastic footage with GoPro cameras.

Here is a preview of The Aristocrats: Culture Clash Live DVD. I have a preview copy which I have watched a couple of times already, thoroughly enjoyable and worth the dollars. I’ve been cranking the CD that came with it in my car too which includes some great live versions of ‘Sweaty Knockers’, ‘Ohhhh Noooo’, ‘Get It Like That’ and ‘Louisville Stomp’, so not just tracks from the latest album.

To pre-order your copy (the release date is actually January 20th 2015) head over to The Aristocrats online shop.

It wasn’t too long ago that Suhr were announcing and releasing new pedals, guitar models and amp models so fast I couldn’t keep up. Now however it seems they have slowed down and are instead re-hashing old products with new paint jobs or new control knobs. Having said that I do like the Galactic paint jobs on these pedals limited to 500 worldwide.

“Each Galactic Edition pedal features a solid anodized aluminum housing - powder coated in it’s own unique galactic finish: Aurora (Riot Re|Loaded), Nebula (Shiba Drive Re|Loaded). Every pedal is appointed with futuristic knobs, silver nomenclature, and a special laser etched graphic located on the bottom.”

You can read more about these pedals here - http://www.suhr.com/suhr-guitar-pedals/Galactic-Pedals/.

Periphery are about to release their third album Juggernaut which is actually a double release Alpha & Omega, guitarist Mark Holcomb has been working with Seymour Duncan to create a set of signature pickups dubbed “Alpha” and “Omega” for his number one guitar, his PRS. In conjunction with Periphery’s 2015 Juggernaut tour, Holcomb and PRS have joined forces to produce a limited edition signature model based on the company’s flagship Custom 24 model and personalized with some unique, artist-specified features that deliver a bold, impressive sound.

Features unique to the Mark Holcomb Custom 24 include a 25.5” scale length rock maple neck with ebony fretboard and 20” radius, a newly designed PRS plate-style bridge, green abalone “J” birds, black Hipshot O-ring controls, glow in the dark side dots, and the guitarist’s signature Seymour Duncan “Alpha” and “Omega” pickups. Holcomb designed these pickups to be captivatingly clear and punchy – perfect for driving the Periphery sound. The Holcomb Custom 24 also comes standard with a carved, figured maple “10” Top, mahogany back, 24 fret Pattern Thin neck, PRS Phase III locking tuners, and volume, tone, 5-way blade switch control layout.

Charcoal Burst

Black Cherry

“As someone who’s been obsessed with PRS since my youth, it has been an absolute dream to be able to develop my own PRS signature guitar. For nearly the past year, we’ve designed this instrument with the intention of making it not only unique, but something that would satisfy my every taste as a guitarist, from both a technical and aesthetic standpoint. The result is something that truly stands on its own in the PRS lineup, and a guitar that I can undoubtedly say is the best instrument I’ve ever laid my hands on,” Mark Holcomb, Periphery.

Full specifications can be found at http://www.prsguitars.com/markholcomb, and you can check out a short Q&A with Mark Holcomb on his signature model, advice for aspiring musicians, and more http://www.prsguitars.com/artists/profile/mark_holcomb.

I posted about this super cool MIDI enabled foot controller back in August as EC Pedals had just announced a crowd funding campaign to raise $7000 needed to get the foot controller into production. Well EC Pedals smashed that target with a final figure of $16,479 meaning even more features could be packed into the final product.

To show all of the available features and allow you to order the SuperSwitcher 2 EC Pedals set up a new microsite - http://www.superswitcher2.com/ and created the video above.

The unit includes the most advanced features built for a switcher inside a compact design enclosure, allowing the player to have, for the first time ever, a smart programmable device that can be placed in almost any size pedalboard and include all the features players need:

• Audio loops
• Relay switches (to control amp channels & reverb)
• Midi In & Out to control presets and other midi applications
• Switchable audio buffer
• Basic Internal tuner (Tuner Out is also available)
• The option to choose only the modules and features you need (custom)

Andy Timmons fans will be aware that he has been using an all white version of his AT100 signature guitar, as of NAMM 2015 this will be available as an Ibanez Premium guitar called the AT10RP. This guitar is Andy’s take on Jeff Beck’s classic white strat but with all the modern features that the Ibanez guitar is known for.

The AT10RP includes high end features including:

• AT 1pc Maple neck w/KTSTM TITANIUM rods
• Alder body
• Rosewood fretboard w/White dot inlay
• Jumbo frets w/Premium fret edge treatment
• Graph Technut
• DiMarzio Cruiser™ (H) neck pickup
• DiMarzio Cruiser™ (H) mid pickup
• DiMarzio® AT-1™ (H) bridge pickup
• Wilkinson WV6-SB tremolo bridge
• Chrome hardware
• Hardshell case included

For more info keep an eye on http://www.ibanez.com/ and the Ibanez Facebook page.

KISS frontman Paul Stanley has had a signature model with Washburn for a while now and has now moved to Ibanez to create a Premium (PS120) and budget (PS40) signature Iceman guitar model. The Indonesian made Premium version is the PS120 and if you take the Andy Timmons Premium model, the AT10P, as a benchmark you can expect this guitar to retail around the $1200 mark. The Ibanez PS120 features:

• PS 3pc Mahogany set-in neck
• Mahogany body/Maple top
• Bound Ebony fretboard w/Acrylic & Abalone block inlay
• Medium frets
• Seymour Duncan’59 (H) neck pickup
• Seymour DuncanCustom 5TM (H) bridge pickup
• Full Tune III bridge/Quik Change III tailpiece
• Chrome hardware
• Inluded Gigbag

The PS40 is yet to have a price released but I’m assuming it would be around the price of a JS100. The PS40 has simplified specs such as regular dot inlays, Infinity R pickups, Maple neck, Poplar body and Full Tune III bridge/tailpiece.

For more info keep an eye on http://www.ibanez.com/ and the Ibanez Facebook page.