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gear giveaway

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Unique pedals: Beard Custom Reverber

Russian guitar pedal manufacturer Beard Custom has designed a unique take on reverb, in the form of the Reverber pedal. While this stompbox can produce very pleasant reverb sounds like spring and plate, what sets this unit apart is the on-board effect loop. It's possible to get some crazy sounds from experimenting with different pedals in the loop. For example, looking for a shimmer effect? Run an octave pedal to produce those chiming tones.... Click on the title for more

Unique pedals: Beard Custom Reverber

A Urei 1176 on your board? Origin Effects’ Cali76 Compressor

It seems like the new trend for guitar pedals is to go after the quality of high end studio effects... think about what Strymon and Eventide are doing in the stompbox department, or the genius idea JHS had with the Color Box - an analog recreation of a legendary, vintage Neve preamp...... Click on the title for more

A Urei 1176 on your board? Origin Effects’ Cali76 Compressor

New Pedals: L0/Rez’s Mona Lisa

We are always excited when we find out about a new pedal manufacturer based in our hometown, NYC - there aren't many! Enter L0/rez, a north Brooklyn based company owned by engineer/designer Jared Hiller, that just introduced it second creation, the Mona Lisa Overdrive & Oscillation pedal.... Click on the title for more

New Pedals: L0/Rez’s Mona Lisa

Salt Cathedral and the creative process

If you like the idea of parallel worlds, you should immerse yourself in the music of Brooklyn's (via Colombia) duo Salt Cathedral. Their gently impressionistic arrangements and celestial atmospheres, combined with Juliana Ronderos' angelic voice and melodies, might transport you to the closest thing to the seventh heaven you've ever experienced - or at least a dancey version of it. We asked Juliana a few questions about the band's creative process.... Click on the title for more

Salt Cathedral and the creative process

New Pedals: EQD’s Tentacle Octave Up

Ohio's Earthquaker Devices has emerged in the last few years as one of the companies truly pushing the boundaries of the stompbox. They continue to come up with fresh ideas and innovations in the community of guitar FX manufacturers, and even though they normally don't disdain depth of features, one of their latest offerings is disarmingly simple but incredibly solid – the Tentacle octave pedal.... Click on the title for more

New Pedals: EQD’s Tentacle Octave Up

MXR EVH 5150 Overdrive

The 5150 amplifier, originally designed by Peavey, is well-known in the guitar and audio worlds as one of the best-sounding amps around, capable of delivering a very wide range of tones. MXR/Dunlop and guitar god Eddie Van Halen have had a successful partnership for years, and their latest signature pedal idea is here: yes, the searing 5150 overdrive sound is now available in a stompbox!... Click on the title for more

MXR EVH 5150 Overdrive

Novation Circuit – Video from the BK Synth Expo

Novation's new 'groove box" Circuit pretty much debuted at our Synth Expo in early November. We caught the opportunity to take a rather in depth video demo of it, check it out!... Click on the title for more

Novation Circuit – Video from the BK Synth Expo

WychElm Effects Dharma Drive

Working in your own studio with other artists can lead to great gear discoveries. I was turned onto the Dharma Drive from WychElm Effects by a band I was engineering due to its unique graphics, and stumbled on one of the best drive pedals I've tried in a while.... Click on the title for more

WychElm Effects Dharma Drive

Test Video Tag

Open Video Open Video Packed with features, the Dept 10 Dual Drive is an expanded, dual overdrive circuit plus USB interface featuring an ECC83 Triode Valve driving 2 voices per channel, for a total of 3 crunch/overdrive voices alongside the clean channel. ... Click on the title for more

Test Video Tag

Roland Synths at the Brooklyn Synth Expo 2015

This past weekend we took some videos of our Brooklyn Synth Expo, here's what Roland had going on! ... Click on the title for more

Roland Synths at the Brooklyn Synth Expo 2015

New Toys at the NYC Synth Expo 2015

The second NYC Synth Expo will be hosted this weekend at Williamsburg's Main Drag Music, and it will be a unique opportunity for many synth geeks to check out some brand new gear by big and small manufacturers. Here's a quick list of the new products you'll be able to try:... Click on the title for more

New Toys at the NYC Synth Expo 2015

New Pedals: EHX K9 Electric Piano Machine

Venerable New York City pedal manufacturer Electro-Harmonix takes their third foray into the world of keyboard simulation pedals with the release of the Key9. Similar in concept to the previous B9 and C9 offerings, this stompbox offers 9 presets emulating some of the most revered piano and keyboard sounds in music history.... Click on the title for more

New Pedals: EHX K9 Electric Piano Machine