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Engineer Sterling Winfield on Recording Vangough and Working with Pantera

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Sterling Winfield got his start in the music industry as a studio apprentice and live sound engineer in Dallas.

Those experiences led to his tenure as a staff engineer at Dallas Sound Lab and eventually recording and touring as a bass and guitar tech with rock and metal bands, including Damageplan, Hellyeah and Pantera, with whom he worked as assistant engineer on the Grammy-nominated album Far Beyond Driven.

His resume covers a broad spectrum of artists, including hip-hop, R&B, country, blues, choral, jazz and orchestral. He engineered progressive rock band Vangough’s latest release, Between The Madness, continuing a working relationship that dates back to the group’s debut album, Manikin Parade.

In this interview, Winfield talks about recording Vangough and the state of today’s music industry. He also looks back fondly on his time with Pantera.

GUITAR WORLD: How did your relationship with Vangough begin, and what made you want to work with them?

I was introduced to them by a bass player from another band from Oklahoma City. He said he had this really cool band and “they might want to work with you.” I reached out to Clay [Withrow, Vangough founder/vocalist/guitarist], he came down and we talked a little bit. He had some tracks he wanted me to mix. He brought his hard drive to Dallas and we started going through it and mixing. The relationship started there, five or six years ago.

You came up in analog, learned the ropes in real studios and made records when labels still ran the show. Now, with this leveled playing field and bands making no money, how can they hire you? There are no advances and most bands can’t afford a producer or engineer. What does this do to your bottom line?

It goes a little sideways and backward and “Let’s try this and see if it works.” When I say that the Internet has leveled the playing field, we’re getting down to what people really want to hear and not what they’re being told they want to hear. They’re becoming the real judge and jury. There’s still the Billboard Top 200, the Grammys, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the people that say, “This person is great and you should listen to them.”

People are sheeple, and they’re going to continue to perpetuate what we call pop, or popular music. But the real music fans, the people that love a band because they love their songs and want to own their pieces of music, that’s where the real demographic is in my mind, and they’re showing it. If a band goes out there and says, “We want to record an album. Let’s do a Kickstarter thing and see how much money we generate,” with $2,000 or $3,000 on a Kickstarter, you can make a damn good album.

I make myself accessible and inexpensive for the local-level unsigned bands so that they can get their music out there, because I do this for the music. If I were doing this for the money, I would have been a lawyer or a record company executive and I would have retired at age 30. But I love music and I love being involved with it. If you find people with good music and good songs, people are going to want to buy them and the money is there.

The money is already built into their music. They ask for it and it shows up. I’ve seen bands that are dirt poor and have badass songs and I go, “Here’s what you need to do. Talk to people who might want to invest in your song or your next gig. There’s Kickstarter and a couple of other sites where you can do these things.” Six months later, they come back, they’ve found an investor, they’ve got a Kickstarter, they’ve got the money, I record them and we do an EP. Not a lot of people are doing full albums like they used to, we don’t sit in a studio for six months or a year, but the money is there and the fans are willing to fork it over just to hear their stuff done correctly. It’s pretty amazing.

You toured as a guitar and bass tech. How did that make you a better engineer?

I never even thought about that. If nothing else, it really helps you learn a lot about yourself. You learn how to live in harsher conditions than you would at home, sitting in a nice, air conditioned studio. It makes your people skills be on point at all times. You’ve got to be able to trust a lot of people and have them trust you. There’s a brotherhood on the road. I never intended to make a career out of it. The studio is what I was meant to do. I knew I would never give that up. The road teaches you to think on your feet very quickly. It made me a better engineer, for sure, and helped me forge a lot of lifelong friendships.

What made Pantera such a great band?

They had the ability to not only talk the talk, but they could walk the walk, and they could walk it all over your fucking face. They had raw power. That’s what they were all about, just unforgiving. Pantera were the forefathers. They could assault your senses and have you beg for more. They had this energy, and they not only delivered these cutting-edge albums, but each one broke the last one’s mold.

They would put it behind them, go on to the next one and do something heavier. Each one topped the last thing they did. They were big and bad-ass and wonderful and that’s why I loved them so much. I was a fan way before I met them. I grew up listening to all their independent stuff, and although it wasn’t what they evolved into, I knew there was something there. They had one of the bars that a lot of bands get held to and accused of having as their influences, even if they deny it. It’s one of those things that you either love or hate. They evoked that passion, that spirit.

That’s one of the things I’m most proud of. It surrounds me every day. Yeah, we had our bad times, but what a cool ride and what a great family, because they were my family on and off the road. They were a great bunch of dudes. I’ve got nothing bad to say about any of them.

Does working with a band of that caliber make you more demanding of other bands?

Sure, sure. I find myself being the jaded old man sometimes, and disappointed, but all of that comes from within me. I have to realize that if I’m having a problem with somebody, the problem is with me. I need to readjust my thinking and know that this isn’t Dime or this isn’t Vinnie. I’m dealing with someone with completely different values and feelings, and I have to readjust to that situation. There have been times when I’ve worked with bands and told them, “You’re not ready for me yet. Go woodshed for six months and call me back.”

I’ve shut things down before and told bands that “I don’t think this is working out. It isn’t for me. I don’t think it’s for you, either, and I’m going to save you all a bunch of time and money right now.” We part as friends. I don’t take their money and blow smoke up their ass. In my mind, and in the way I do things, that’s the way it should be done. Don’t waste their time. Don’t take their money if you don’t mean it. If I tried to measure every band I work with to Pantera’s level, I’d never work with anybody again. Very few people have impressed me on that level. I can count them on one hand.

Those little goosebump moments and studio magic moments don’t come around often. When they do, I try to make them last as long as they can, but they're transient and fleeting, and I have to remain humble and teachable because I’m learning something too during this process. I’m just along for the ride, and I need to be happy and grounded where I’m at. John McBride said in an interview, “Any day I can make a living in the music business is a good day,” and he’s right, especially in the climate that our business is in. To be able to do that is a huge blessing and I try not to forget that.

Some days I do. I find myself snapping at some kid because he’s wandered in drunk or didn’t practice or whatever the case may be, and we’re wasting hours trying to find another guitar for him to play, but these guys haven’t been where I’ve been, so I can’t lay those expectations on them. I’ve got to suss out each individual situation and try to make it work.

Read more of Sterling Winfield’s interview here.

— Alison Richter

Alison Richter interviews artists, producers, engineers and other music industry professionals for print and online publications. Read more of her interviews right here.

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Sign In, Please: Guitarist Steve Lynch Discusses the Return of Autograph

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It’s been nearly 25 years since the members of Autograph completed their three-album deal with RCA records and mutually decided to go their own separate ways.

For guitarist Steve Lynch, that departure also meant the opportunity to get more involved in writing, teaching and hosting guitar clinics. Eventually, Lynch made his way back to his native Seattle and opened the Federal Way School of Music, where he continues to demonstrate, among other things, his legendary two-handed technique.

After a long hiatus, Lynch and bassist Randy Rand have reunited Autograph in 2014. Together with new singer Simon Daniels, the band plans to tour extensively — with shows that already include the Monsters of Rock Cruise, M3 and Firefest — before returning to the studio to record new material.

I spoke with Lynch about the reunion, his music and Autograph’s unique first gig in 1984.

GUITAR WORLD: It’s been 25 years since we last saw Autograph. What sparked this reunion?

In 2011, I saw Randy down at the NAMM show, and the two of us started kicking around the idea of doing a reunion. We saw a lot of bands out doing a “weekend warrior” sort of thing, and since I run a music studio and teach during the week, I thought it would be a great way to do it. We got our original drummer Keni Richards involved in early rehearsals, but he had to back out due to health issues.

How did you get hooked up with Simon?

We asked our original singer Steve [Plunkett] if he wanted to do it, but he’s really busy with his writing company and wasn’t interested in going out on the road again. It was then that a friend of ours who heard that we were talking about doing a reunion mentioned Simon Daniels, who was working with the band Jailhouse. We watched a few of his videos online and thought he was great. But once we all got together and heard him do a few of the Autograph songs, there was no doubt!

Do you have plans to record any new material?

Absolutely. We all have a diverse selection of songs that we’ve been writing so we definitely want to get in and record. The first thing we want to do though is go out and reestablish ourselves to let people know that we’re back. We’re tuning down a whole step and adding more of an edge to our sound. It’s a new, more heavier Autograph.

When did you start playing?

I started playing bass in 1968, but on the day Jimi Hendrix died, I decided to switch over to guitar. I was always listening to him as soon as I got home from school and remember going to see him for the first time at the Seattle Coliseum when I was 12 and it was just incredible. He was my hero.

Who were some of your other influences?

Jeff Beck was a big influence on me. Then there was Jimmy Page, Allan Holdsworth and Al Di Meola. I was also really influenced by Emmett Chapman [the inventor of the Chapman Stick, an instrument you play with two hands]. I remember he had a clinic at GIT shortly after I started going there.

I was already well into the two-handed thing from seeing Harvey Mandel do it way back in the early Seventies and had started incorporating it into my playing. But once I saw Chapman’s clinic, it floored me. I began taking everything that I was learning at school and writing it down so that it could be played with two-hands. That was how I came up with my first book, The Right Touch.

What kind of regimen did you have when you were practicing hard-core?

Honestly, I didn’t have a life the entire time I was at GIT [laughs]. I literally would practice seven days a week anywhere from 10 to 16 hours a day! I remember weighing 114 pounds when I graduated at 24. I was just skin and bones, but I felt good about what I was doing. Afterwards, I kept to a more reasonable four- to six-hour practice session.

What made you decide to get involved in teaching?

I had gotten tired of going out on the road all the time so opening a school was a good way for me to not have to travel and I also enjoy doing it. Over the years, I wrote a few more books and did an instructional video. I also have my lynchlicks.com teaching website where I have more than 100 different guitar licks. There are also some YouTube videos of music from my solo album as well as some unreleased Autograph material floating around on the Internet.

Is there something you’ve noticed through your teaching that you think guitarists can improve upon?

I think players should concentrate on becoming a bit more blues-based. Most guitarists today have amazing technique and can play blazingly fast licks, but their playing lacks the emotional element of someone like a Stevie Ray Vaughan or Gary Moore. That kind of feel is really missing in many of today’s players.

Can you tell us the origin of Autograph?

We had known each other from the LA scene and were all playing in different bands as paid hands. We used to get together as a side project at this rehearsal place where we would mostly just jam, bang around songs and have a good time. We didn’t even have a name or anything. One day, Andy Johns, who had worked with Led Zeppelin, came down to a rehearsal to check us out and really liked what he heard.

He offered us some studio time to record with him so we went in one weekend and cut a five-song demo. At the time, Keni was jogging every morning with David Lee Roth. Dave asked him what he was up to and Keni played him our demo. Dave loved it so much that he offered to have us go out and open for Van Halen on the 1984 tour.

I still remember us all getting together in this rented Winnebago and literally having to think of a name for the band on the drive from Los Angeles to Jacksonville, Florida. We eventually decided on Autograph and our first gig was opening for Van Halen in front of 18,000 people!

Follow Autograph on Facebook, and follow Lynch at lynchlicks.com.

James Wood is a writer, musician and self-proclaimed metalhead who maintains his own website, GoJimmyGo.net. His articles and interviews are written on a variety of topics with passion and humor. You can follow him on Twitter @JimEWood.

NAMM 2014: Boss Introduces OD-1X Overdrive and DS-1X Distortion Pedals

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Boss has announced the OD-1X Overdrive and DS-1X Distortion, two special-edition compact pedals for guitarists with an ear for premium tone.

Delivering a refined tonal experience that’s only possible with the legendary expertise of BOSS, the OD-1X and DS-1X will forever change the way players think about overdrive and distortion.

Bringing together decades of innovation in pedal design with the most advanced tone technologies, the OD-1X and DS-1X offer next-generation performance that opens up a modern era of expression for guitarists everywhere.

Featuring all-new designs powered by BOSS’ cutting-edge Multi-Dimensional Processing (MDP), these inspiring pedals provide superior sound, feel, and response characteristics that are impossible to achieve with traditional analog designs.

The OD-1X and DS-1X both offer a striking appearance to match their premium tone. Each model is equipped with exclusive chrome knobs and a chrome control plate, plus a vintage silver knob for battery compartment access.

For more information, visit RolandConnect.com.

Periphery Streaming Experimental New Recording, 'Clear'

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Progressive metallers Periphery are streaming Clear, their upcoming experimental release, which will be available January 28 through Sumerian Records.

Check out the entire release (You'll see why we're not calling it an album or EP) below — and be sure to tell us what you think of it in the comments or on Facebook.

Clear is an experiment to explore all of the different writing styles in the band," says Periphery guitarist Misha Mansoor. "It's rare when you have a band where every member is capable of writing and producing music. With each member controlling their own track, this recording enabled us to go down any path we chose in terms of style and sound.

“Every track also contains a melodic theme established in Clear's intro track, 'Overture.'

"This common thread links all of the songs together, even though they all sound wildly different. Clear shouldn't be confused with our new third full-length album that we're currently working on, nor should it be considered an EP, as it rides somewhere in-between clocking in at 30 minutes. Enjoy!"

Video: Jeff Loomis Discusses Schecter Guitars' New JL-7 Model

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Guitarist Jeff Loomis recently visited Schecter to shoot several videos and discuss the company's new models for 2014.

Below, check out the just-posted video that shows Loomis discussing — in detail — the changes and additions he has made to the new Schecter JL-7.

Keep your eyes open for more videos from Loomis and Schecter TV.

For more about Schecter, visit schecterguitars.com.

For more about Loomis, visit jeffloomis.com.

Review: Lace Lifers Scott “Wino” Weinrich Signature Pickups

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Pickups are an electric guitar’s voice, and through them we hear our own personality, inflection of expression and soul. The origin of Scott “Wino” Weinrich’s soul may still be in debate, but there’s no questioning his skills as a guitar player or influence over thousands of heavy metal ax slingers.

His new signature Lifers humbuckers from Lace Music Products take full advantage of the company’s unique design philosophies, ultimately delivering his musical emotional range, from angry and wild to mellow and tender.

Features
For those who are unfamiliar with Lace pickups or don’t remember greats like Clapton and Beck playing them in the early Nineties, they were originally developed by the late Don Lace, Sr. who utilized his knowledge of coil construction and transducers to reduce the noise and hum inherent in single-coil pickups. Not only did he succeed in this task, but the sound of his quieter pickups was more consistent, controllable and harmonically enhanced without the addition of active electronics or a preamp.

Weinrich’s Lifers are actually modified Lace Drop & Gain model pickups. These utilize mismatched coils to specifically articulate the response from drop-tuned strings without compromising sustain and dynamic range. They still drive the front end of an amp, just with defined frequencies rather than unrefined loose-string noise. Following Weinrich’s desires, his Lifers retain these base qualities and offer more overdrive in the low registers and a long-sustaining, smooth top end.

Performance
Much like active pickups, the Lace Lifers seem to generate extra energy from each struck note, so much so that high-gain tones almost feel like they’re connected to a sustainer circuit—notes rise in energy and swell to crescendo before naturally trailing off. Unlike some active pickups or artificially frequency sustainers, the Lifers’ dynamics do not suffer for the sake of sonic thrust, and there’s no ghosting on hard-picked staccato high notes. This was especially noticeable in the neck pickup’s ability to clearly deliver the guitar’s full range without ever sounding muddy or washed out.

Ever present from the Lifers is a bold bass crunch, whereby enhanced harmonics make power chords and single notes sound almost like they’re being played by two guitars. Medium-to-low-gain settings don’t reveal the Lifers’ best attributes, yet clean tones benefit greatly from the Lifers’ balance of fidelity and equalization, again making the guitar sound thicker and more robust than its innate acoustic character would suggest. And don’t think that the Lace Lifers will only deliver with detuned strings; they’re equally intriguing at full pitch, especially for sweepers who want a dynamic and even response from both bridge and neck pickups.

List Price $249.99
Manufacturer Lace Music Products, lacemusic.com

Cheat Sheet
Widely mismatched coils make it possible for the Lifers to simultaneously generate a high-output, amp-driving signal that is especially articulate and animated in detuned guitars.

Strong bass harmonics combined with a low magnetic pull help both pickups, not just the neck humbucker, produce an amplitude-balanced response to swept arpeggios.

The Bottom Line
Whether you’re a drop-tuned player looking for a more pronounced tone or a hardcore shredder who appreciates enhanced lows and energetic sustain, the Lace signature Scott “Wino” Weinrich Lifers may shed a new light on your journey into darkness.

Contest: Acoustic Nation Cort MR600F Acoustic/Electric Guitar Giveaway

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Happy new year! How about a new contest? We’re teaming up with the folks at Cort to bring you the MR600F acoustic/electric guitar giveaway. This contest ends February 28th, 2014. For over 50 years, Cort has built some of the finest guitars and basses in the industry, and the MR600F acoustic guitar is no different. We’re thrilled to put this fine instrument in the hands of one lucky winner.

Click here to enter now>>

Cort’s MR Series of acoustic guitars has traditionally been viewed as their finest line of instruments at affordable prices. This year, they are adding the MR600F. The new model is outfitted with the Fishman Isys Plus preamp and Sonicore pickup to provide a high quality, good sounding acoustic guitar with built in electronics.

MR600F.jpgThe MR600F is a dreadnought body with a Venetian cutaway for unhindered playability up and down the fretboard. With mahogany back and sides, the body is topped with a solid spruce top and advanced scalloped X bracing for overall performance. The 25.3” mahogany neck features the traditional three on three headstock, rosewood fretboard, and dot inlays.

The Fishman Isys Onboard Preamp System from Fishman is designed and built to offer maximum control, performance and quality in a small, unobtrusive format. The compact system features volume, bass and treble controls, a phase switch, built-in tuner with LED display, a low battery indicator, low profile control knobs and a unique pivot design for easy access to the battery compartment.

The Cort MR600F is valued at $450 US.

To learn more about Cort Guitars, please visit www.cortguitars.com.

Click here to enter now and don’t forget to share with your friends! Contest ends February 28, 2014.

From Another Dimension: ODD 3-D-Printed Guitars

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As a professor of mechatronics at Massey University in Auckland, New Zealand, Olaf Diegel has used 3-D printers for more than 15 years to prototype new product ideas.

However, 3-D printing technology has recently progressed to the level where Diegel realized he could use the printers to make finished commercial products. That development inspired Diegel, who also plays guitar, to start ODD Guitars, which produces unusual custom guitars with bodies constructed using 3-D printer technology.

ODD’s guitars feature skeletal frameworks with complex designs.

“3-D printing makes it possible to manufacture ‘impossible’ shapes,” Diegel says. “For example, my Spider guitar has a spider web frame with little spiders crawling around the inside. The body is a single piece made of Polyamide, which is an extremely tough and durable form of nylon. I’ve dropped the guitars a few times without damaging them.”

Inside the body frame is a wooden core to which the custom neck, made by Warmoth, attaches, and the core material matches that of the chosen neck material. “Customers can specify mahogany or maple necks and completely customize the electronics. They can also make minor modifications, like having their name, band logo, or other graphics 3-D printed on the back of the instrument at no extra cost. We can even adjust the weight to a player’s preference.”

ODD offers five guitar models — the Atom, Hive, Scarab, Spider and Spider LP — and three bass models — Atom, Hive and Spider LP — which range in price from $3,000 to $3,500. More info about ODD Guitars can be found at odd.org.nz/guitars.html and at cubify.com/products/guitars.


Rodrigo Y Gabriela to Release New Studio Album, '9 Dead Alive,' April 29

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ATO Records is excited to announce the April 29 release of acoustic rock maestros Rodrigo y Gabriela's new studio album.

Titled 9 Dead Alive, it is the band's first record of new material in five years. It was recorded and produced by Rod and Gab at their studio in Ixtapa, Mexico. Mixing was handled by Andrew Scheps (Black Sabbath, Adele, Metallica, Lana Del Rey) in Los Angeles.

9 Dead Alive sees Rodrigo y Gabriela playing face to face, guitar versus guitar, bursting with melodic energy and rhythmic invention. Recorded at their Pacific Coast hideaway in late summer, the album captures the warmth and spontaneity of two great musicians locked in together; perfectly distilled into nine new songs teeming with desire, elegance and gusto.

Each of the songs on the album is a personal celebration of individuals who have passed on, but through their deeds and words still resonate in the 21st century. Going as far back as Eleanor of Acquitaine (1122 - 1204) all the way through history to include Viktor Frankl (1905 - 1997), this diverse and fascinating list will strike a chord with anyone familiar with the duo's passion for human rights, literature, history and philosophy. The complete tracklisting and list of influences is below.

Watch the 9 Dead Alive album trailer here:

Rodrigo y Gabriela's last album of all new music was 2009's 11:11. Since then they have collaborated on the soundtracks to both Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Shores and Puss N' Boots and visited Havana to record 2011's Area 52 album with a Cuban orchestra. They have continued to tour the world, playing sold-out shows last year at the Hollywood Bowl and Red Rocks in Colorado.

Screen Shot 2014-01-16 at 9.18.39 AM.png

Tracklisting

1. The Soundmaker (inspired by Antonio de Torres Jurado: 1817 - 1892)
2. Torito (inspired by animals and nature)
3. Sunday Neurosis (inspired by Viktor Frankl: 1905 - 1997)
4. Misty Moses (inspired by Harriet Tubman: 1820 - 1913)
5. Somnium (inspired by Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz: 1651 - 1695)
6. Fram (inspired by Fridtjof Nansen: 1861 - 1930)
7. Megalopolis (inspired by Gabriela Mistral: 1889 - 1957)
8. The Russian Messenger (inspired by Fyodor Dostoyevsky: 1821 - 1881)
9. La Salle Des Pas Perdus (inspired by Eleanor of Acquitane: 1122 - 1204)

Find out more at http://www.rodgab.com

Video: Sample New DVD, 'Eric Clapton — The 1970s Review'

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In 1968, Eric Clapton was at a crossroads.

With Cream, he had quickly risen to the pinnacle of popular music's hierarchy.

Yet his exposure to the work of American mavericks the Band led him to lose faith in his own group and to embark on a bold musical journey across the following decade.

A new film, Eric Clapton — The 1970s Review (from the makers of Eric Clapton — The 1960s Review), follows Clapton's journey through the Seventies, from his immersion in musical collectives such as Delaney & Bonnie Derek and the Dominos, through his re-emergence in 1974 as a successful solo artist.

It covers his critically acclaimed albums and tours in the latter half of the decade, all of which cemented his reputation as not just an extraordinary musician but as a composer of majestic material and a performer of startling intensity.

The film features new and archival interviews, rare performance footage, contributions from Bonnie Bramlett, Bobby Whitlock, the Albert Brothers, George Terry, Willie Perkins, Bill Halverson, Clapton biographer Marc Roberty and more, plus a host of other features.

The DVD, which will be avasilable March 11, can be pre-ordered at seeofsound.com.

Additional Content

Video: Carvin Creates One-of-a-Kind, Michael Jackson-Inspired Guitar for Jason Becker

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Below, check out a brand-new video that shows the story behind Jason Becker's one-of-a-kind, Michael Jackson-inspired Carvin guitar.

"Even as I was trying to become a rock god, Michael Jackson was the ultimate magic rock star to me," Becker said.

"I loved his music, his scene and style. He transcended musical categories.

"Everyone dug Michael, and I was no exception. I was inspired by his flash, uniqueness and kick-ass music. I wanted to be slick like him. It also didn't hurt that he liked to rock and used Eddie Van Halen on 'Beat It.'

"I've always wanted a guitar that reflects his style."

See what Carvin came up with!

For more about Carvin, visit carvinguitars.com.

P.S.: This video features a track called "Nate You Funky Mofo" from Becker's Boy Meets Guitar album.

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Zakk Wylde Talks New Black Label Society Album, 'Catacombs of the Black Vatican'

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Zakk Wylde has announced the next chapter in the Black Label Society story, Catacombs of the Black Vatican.

The album, the first disc of all new material from the band since 2010’s Order of the Black, will be released April 8.

Wylde also has announced a new tour, "An Evening with Zakk Wylde." The 13-city Canadian trek will feature Wylde and new Black Label Society guitarist Dario Lorina performing intimate versions of some of BLS's most popular songs, plus readings from Wylde's 2012 book, Bringing Metal to the Children: The Complete Berzerker’s Guide to World Tour Domination. You can check out all the tour dates below.

I recently spoke with Wylde about the new BLS album and upcoming tour and got his thoughts on Black Sabbath's Grammy nomination.

GUITAR WORLD: What can fans expect from Catacombs of the Black Vatican?

I think everyone can expect a lot of fun and excitement [laughs]! It was like what Chris Farley did in that one skit, where he was selling that hair-care product. Make sure you always use the word "fun" when you describe it [laughs]!

Someone asked me what the difference was between this new record and the other nine. I told them that it’s basically all of the songs we used on the other nine records, except they've got different titles now [laughs]. It's fun and exciting for the whole family!

How does the idea for a new Black Label Society album begin?

It starts to happen as soon as we get off the road. Once we get to that last backstage is usually when I’ll say, "So, when are we going to start recording the record?" Then shortly after I get home, I’ll get into a writing mode. That’s when I know it's time to start writing a shit ton of fucking riffs.

Once I have something, I'll record it. By the time the fellows come out, I'll already have about 12 actual songs finished. I'll start playing them the songs on guitar, and they’ll come in with drums and the bass. Then we’ll go into a verse riff and start building that. We’ll go through it all a few times and then record it. The melodies will come later on and the lyrics always last.

Longtime BLS member Nick Catanese left the band late last year. What's the story behind his departure?

I had called Nick to tell him about the album and he told me that he was already knees deep into doing his own thing and wanted to stick 1,000 percent into it. I told him it was cool and that we loved him and that he'd always have a home here.

The thing is no one ever gets kicked out or fired. If you want to go, you're always able. Now we've got [guitarist] Dario Lorina in the band, and not only is he a kick-ass guitar player who can shred, but he's also a really cool dude.

How did you hook up with Dario?

We never do a cattle call or anything like that. With the amount of awesome players I know, it's more of a word-of-mouth kind of thing. I had him come out to the Vatican to meet him, and afterwards I said, "Cool. If you want to do it, you're in." It was as simple as that.

Will you be touring to support the album?

Without a doubt. When the album comes out in April, we'll be rolling for probably the next year and a half.

What excites you the most about the next chapter of BLS?

I love the whole process for each new album. The writing, the touring, everything. For me, it never gets old.

What can you tell us about your upcoming "Evening with Zakk Wylde" Canadian tour?

It's kind of like music meets George Carlin on steroids [laughs]. It'll be Uncle Zakk sitting around the campfire with the rest of the Black Label family and telling a bunch of goofy-ass stories from the book. And with the music business, you don't even really have to write these stories. They just happen. We’ll have the piano and the acoustic with us, which is a whole different thing from when we're firing up the Marshalls and the Walls of Doom.

Which performance style do you prefer?

I love them both. Just like I love [Led Zeppelin's] "Going to California" and I love "Black Dog."

What are your thoughts on Black Sabbath getting a Grammy nomination?

I think it's great. But I remember Ozzy said, "I'm kind of shocked and don't know quite how to take it." I remember saying, "Why's that, Ozz?" And he goes, "Because they actually LIKE us!"[laughs].

What would say was your greatest gig with Ozzy?

That first show I did with him in the prison, Wormwood Scrubs. Then there's the Moscow Peace Festival and the first arena tour we did in Pensacola, Florida. It was the first arena I had ever played. You've got to remember, up to that point I was always seeing Ozzy on the "other side" by being in the audience. Suddenly, here I was up on the stage with him. It felt like being the contest winner of doom getting the chance to jam with my hero.

For more information, visit blacklabelsociety.com. And be sure to check out the February 2014 issue of Guitar World, which features a new interview with Wylde.

Black Label Society's 2014 "Evening with Zakk Wylde" Tour Dates

Thursday, February 13 | Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom
Friday, February 14 | Duncan, BC Cowichan Theatre
Saturday, February 15 | Kelowna, BC Level
Monday, February 17 | Edmonton, AB The Ranch
Tuesday, February 18 | Calgary, AB Flames Central
Wednesday, February 19 | Medicine Hat, AB The Esplanade Arts Centre
Friday, February 21 | Regina, SK The Exchange
Saturday, February 22 | Saskatoon, SK Broadway Theater
Sunday, February 23 | Winnipeg, MB Garrick Theatre
Monday, February 24 | Thunder Bay, ON Crocks
Wednesday, February 26 | London, ON London Music Hall
Thursday, February 27 | Toronto, ON The Danforth Music Hall
Friday, February 28 | Montreal, QC Corona Theatre

James Wood is a writer, musician and self-proclaimed metalhead who maintains his own website, GoJimmyGo.net. His articles and interviews are written on a variety of topics with passion and humor. You can follow him on Twitter @JimEWood.

Photo: Justin Reich

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NAMM 2014: Lace Music Introduces Bill Kelliher Signature Dissonant Aggressor Pickups

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Lace Music Products has announced the Dissonant Aggressors Signature humbucker pickup series.

After choosing Lace pickups for his successful Gibson “Golden Axe” Explorer, Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher has developed his own signature humbucker, the Dissonant Aggressors.

Kelliher and Jeff Lace have created pickups that are specific to Kelliher's requirements and aren't based on any other pickup.

Dissonant Aggressors perfectly capture the unique power and passion Kelliher brings to his music. These humbuckers have been designed to have increased dynamic response, sustain and articulation that cuts through all that it encounters. Unbalanced coils in the neck and bridge pickups yield a much more dynamic top end without being too "boomy."

The patented Lace design provides enhanced classic HB tone with the extra bonus of “ultra quiet” single coil tone while in split mode.

Another requirement for Kelliher’s new Signature pickup was that they achieve his signature tone and passion without the need for batteries. These humbuckers are passive in design and will never fail either on or off the stage while depending on a battery to enhance his pure Kelliher tone.

Lace’s unique patented monolithic magnet fields which sample a much greater section of string movement are the key to his desire.

The Dissonant Aggressors are available now. They can be ordered as a set or neck or bridge positions. Finishes are available in chrome, gold and black powder coat. All of the colors feature Kelliher’s signature logo.

Suggested Retail for the Dissonant Aggressors: Set # 32371 $195, Neck # 32372 $105, Bridge # 32373 $105.

For more information: Visit lacemusic.com..

Ages And Ages Share Video For "Divisionary (Do The Right Thing)" With Album Due March 25

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Today Ages and Ages share their new video for the song "Divisionary (Do The Right Thing)," which was directed by Rodrigo Megarejo.

The song benefits from this visual treatment, where themes of morality are tackled, as we see neighborhood kids plotting their revenge on a group of bullies. Says bandleader Tim Perry, "The song is about keeping yourself right even amidst darkness and negativity. We chose to portray that struggle through the story of a bunch of young kids who set out to make things right, but lose a part of themselves along the way. They may have started off on the same path, but their struggle reveals varying agendas and leads them in very different directions."

Fans can catch Ages and Ages on the road this spring with Typhoon, Mirah, and Lake Street Dive, as well as at SXSW. The full list of tour dates is below.

Ages and Ages is more than a band. It's a collective of like-minded souls that believe in the power of music to change the world and elevate the spirit. Their music is bright and uplifting, with lyrics, penned by Tim Perry, that deliver serious introspective messages full of insight and consideration for others.

Their debut record, Alright You Restless, was made in eight days of feverish creativity, while Divisionary evolved over months of experimentation at Portland's Jackpot Studios with veteran producer Tony Lash (Elliott Smith, The Dandy Warhols, Eric Matthews), as well as the home studio of Ages bass player Rob Oberdorfer. During the process, the band suffered the loss of a number of close family members and dear friends, so the songs became a kind of road map for anyone attempting to avoid darkness, without becoming consumed by anger in the face of life's difficulties. "There were also great things happening," Perry adds. "One of us had a child, another got married. Life was tipping both ends of the scale; there were a lot of changes going on."

Perry spent ten days on a silent meditation retreat, formulating the direction of Divisionary, and his calm, centered vision is at the core of the music. The intricate harmonies, celebratory choral vocals, churchical piano and organ, inventive counter melodies, bright acoustic guitars, and exciting, interlocking rhythms set off aural fireworks to frame the grounded emotions conveyed in the lyrics.

The title track, "Divisonary (Do The Right Thing)," is a secular gospel song with inspirational harmonies, sanctified piano and smooth violin adding muscle to a simple refrain: "Do the right thing, do the right thing....don't you know you're not the only one suffering."

View the video here:

A stomping, exuberant bass drum pushes the giddy pop vocals of "I See More," as it reassures listeners that, "It's all OK, I'll be on your side." The jaunty folk pop of "Big Idea" holds a flickering candle up to the darkness with intricate handclapping, gentle harmonies and the candid admission that, "All of my ins are on the outside. And I want you all to notice, cuz I have no will to hide."

On "Over It," acoustic guitars played in open tunings dance across a complex musical landscape to Eastern melodies and counter melodies, leading to the group declaring over a swaying 6/8, "I have no remorse for the way that I am anymore. No, I feel no shame." The band's funky hand clapping folk rock rhythms move "The Weight Below" as Perry and the band belt out a soaring chorus to release the feelings that cause stress and suffering. "And the weight that we left behind, we're all better off without it, and it ain't even worth our time, so I ain't gonna worry about it." The complex structure of "Light Goes Out," bounces along on a stomping bass line, bright, piano shenanigans and the band's joyously dislocated vocals: "I kept up with the verses in my head, running right along beside 'em all day. At some point, well I found myself wondering if I was even running or just running away."

The harmonies and intricate instrumental interplay on Divisionary are carefully crafted, but never sound forced, with complex arrangements that are naturalistic, invigorating and free. The clash between the band's stirring folk sounds and emotionally thorny subject matter makes for a bracing listen, "as if the internal conflict is happening in real time," Perry says.

"Ultimately I think the band all feels hopeful and blessed," Perry concludes. "These songs reflect that optimism, but they don't do so lightly or try to dodge the struggles we're dealing with individually and as a band. It was an exceptionally long, hard road this time around but in the end, we're all really proud and excited to share this record."

Tour Dates:
01/18 | Vancouver, BC | VENUE *
01/19 | Seattle, WA | Neptune *
03/01 | Portland, OR | Mississippi Studios
03/06 | San Francisco, CA | Brick & Mortar Music Hall #
03/07 | Oakland, CA | Leo's #
03/08 | Los Angeles, CA | The Satellite #
03/09 | La Jolla, CA | The Loft at UCSD #
03/10 | Scottsdale, AZ | The Western #
03/12-16 | Austin, TX | SXSW
03/21 | Paonia, CO | Paradise Theatre &
03/22 | Denver, CO | Bluebird Theater &
03/25 | Iowa City, IA | The Mill &
03/26 | St. Louis, MO | Old Rock House &
03/28 | Toronto, ON | Legendary Horseshoe Tavern &
03/29 | Millvale, PA | Mr. Small's Theatre &
04/01 | New York, NY | Bowery Ballroom &
04/02 | Philadelphia, PA | Union Transfer &
04/04 | Northampton, MA | Academy of Music &
04/05 | Portland, ME | Port City Music Hall &
04/06 | Boston, MA | Royale &

* denotes w/ Typhoon
# denotes w/ Mirah
& denotes w/ Lake Street Dive

Find out more at http://www.agesandages.com/

Interview: Orianthi and Dave Stewart Discuss BeMyBand, Where Winners Share the Stage for the Gig of a Lifetime

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Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart recently launched a unique performance-based contest called BeMyBand.

The purpose of BeMyBand — which you can check out here— is to ask aspiring musicians to compete for a chance to be part of Orianthi's band.

The resulting band — which will consist of a guitarist, bassist, keyboardist and drummer — will perform with Orianthi, a former Guitar World cover star, for one night at a Valentine’s Day (2014) show at a major venue in Los Angeles.

Interested musicians should submit videos of themselves playing at their very best. Up to 10 finalists for each instrument will be chosen; of those finalists, four will be selected to perform with Orianthi.

The winners' performances also will be shared via Orianthi‘s social-media channels. Winners will receive six nights’ accommodation (and travel). Musicians should submit their work no later than January 24; the voting period runs January 25 to 31, and the winners to be announced February 5. This opportunity is open — globally — to musicians age 21 and older.

Guitar World recently spoke to Orianthi and Stewart about BeMyBand and other upcoming projects.

GUITAR WORLD: Where did the idea for BeMyBand originate?

Stewart: I created this concept because there are so many people who upload YouTube videos of themselves just playing drums in their bedroom or guitars in their living rooms. BeMyBand allows them to put some context on what they do and a reason for them to do it. Of course, it's different to get up there with an artist, but realize that you're going to rehearse and play a whole set on stage with Orianthi. The cool thing is, at the end there's not some sort of empty promise. You really do get to stand on stage with Orianthi and play to a packed house.

Orianthi: Once Dave told me about the idea, I told him that it was something I'd love to do. I'm all about inspiring young musicians to get out there and express themselves through music. For me, just getting to see these audition tapes and the enthusiasm is really cool, and I'm so looking forward to it.

What will the judging process be like?

Stewart: Orianthi will ultimately be the one to choose her band. She knows what she wants in a player as far as look, feel and how they play.

Orianthi, can you give us a hint of some of the things you're looking for in the performances?

Orianthi: So far, the players that have really stood out are the ones who show a different style in their playing. You can see they're really enthusiastic and excited about playing. It's all about the energy.

Any chance that this could be more than just a one-off performance for the winners?

Orianthi: Absolutely! This might not be the only show. I'm looking at having a really good time. If they play their butts off and there's great energy, I'll probably be calling them again for more shows.

Can you give us an update on what else you're up to?

Orianthi: I've been writing a ton of songs and doing some collaboration for the next album. I'll also be heading out with Alice [Cooper] shortly to do a tour of Germany.

What's your writing process like?

Orianthi: Sometimes it starts with just a guitar riff that I have or a beat. Beats are really inspiring. They always make me want to write something over them. Other times I could just be walking down the street when lyrics will suddenly come into my head. Every way is different and that's what so cool about it.

How did you connect with Michael Jackson and what was that experience like?

Orianthi: Michael's music director saw some of my YouTube videos and showed them to him. Afterwards, Michael invited me to come in and play for him. It was an intense, crazy and surreal experience. I'm so grateful that I got the chance to work with him.

Dave, what can you tell us about your reunion with Annie Lennox for the upcoming Grammy Beatles celebration?

Stewart: Ken Ehrlich told me that he'd really love to have the Eurythmics on the show. I told him we hadn't played together in a few years and that he should ask Annie. That's when he told me he already had, and she wanted to do it. It's going to be a great show because it's been 50 years since the Ed Sullivan show, which really rocked people's worlds.

Do you think Sullivan was aware of the Beatles phenomenon?

Stewart: I had interviewed Ringo on my Internet show, The Ringmaster, where he told me the story. He told me Ed Sullivan didn't even know who the Beatles were at the time. He just saw all of these kids screaming at the airport in New York and asked who they were screaming at. Then he booked them there on the spot!

Do you think your performance with Annie may lead to a Eurythmics reunion?

Stewart: Annie will be here for 10 days so we'll have some discussion. We've got a huge legacy of work and haven't done much about it for years. So there are a lot of things to talk about.

Orianthi, what do you think makes for a great guitar solo?

Orianthi: A great guitar solo is really a song within a song. You can always go off and do your pageantry, but it has to be structured. My favorite solos are all very melodic. Those are the ones that are the most memorable.

For more information on Orianthi's BeMyBand contest, visit talenthouse.com.

James Wood is a writer, musician and self-proclaimed metalhead who maintains his own website, GoJimmyGo.net. His articles and interviews are written on a variety of topics with passion and humor. You can follow him on Twitter @JimEWood.

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Martin Unveils New Guitars at NAMM 2014, Including One in Collaboration With Eric Clapton

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C. F. Martin & Co. will unveil two new beautifully crafted Custom Shop models, the Eric Clapton OM-ECHF Navy Blues Model and the CS-00S-14, at the Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, Jan. 23-26, 2014.

"We are very fortunate to be unveiling the next signature edition in our ongoing collaboration with longtime Martin player Eric Clapton," said Chris Martin, Chairman and CEO, C.F. Martin & Co. "Martin Guitar GM Fred Greene and the Custom Shop team are proud of its excellent history creating some of the most exceptional guitars in the market, and partnering with some of the most illustrious players in the world. The craftsmanship displayed with this new edition, as well as the new CS-00S-14, speaks to that legacy."

The Eric Clapton OM-ECHF Navy Blues is the third in a series of collaborations between C. F. Martin & Co., Eric Clapton and Eric's multi-talented friend/associate in Japan, Hiroshi Fujiwara. Prior ECHF models included the popular "Bellezza Nera" (Black Beauty) and the "Bellezza Bianca" (White Beauty). While these two models featured a shorter 24.9" scale length, this OM edition incorporates the longer 25.4" scale for added string tension and tonal projection. The neck and body are lacquered and polished with a striking dark navy coloration combined with atop East Indian rosewood back and sides and a European spruce soundboard. Each OM-ECHF Navy Blues guitar bears an interior label, individually numbered and personally signed by Eric Clapton, Hiroshi Fujiwara, Dick Boak and C. F. Martin IV. Quantities will be limited to 181 guitars. (MSRP: $6,999)

The CS-00S-14 is a premium Style 42 12-fret slotted head fingerstyle model crafted with rare Honduran rosewood back and sides for resonant tone, a torrefied (temperature aged) Swiss spruce top and a ultra lightweight non-adjustable carbon fiber neck reinforcement. Featuring unobtrusive plug and play Fishman Aura VT electronics, only 114 of these exclusive instruments will be offered worldwide. (MSRP: $8,999)

Find out more at www.martinguitar.com

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Animals As Leaders Reveal Headlining North American Tour Dates

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Animals As Leaders have announced the complete schedule for their upcoming headlining North American tour.

You can check out all the dates below.

For more about the band, visit them on Facebook.

ANIMALS AS LEADERS, AFTER THE BURIAL, NAVENE K, CHON

2/24 - Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum
2/25 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
2/26 - Greensboro, NC @ Greene Street Club
2/27 - Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live
2/28 - Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero
3/02 - New York City, NY @ Irving Plaza
3/03 - Boston, MA @ House of Blues
3/04 - Montreal, QC @ La Tulipe*
3/05 - Toronto, ON @ Opera House*
3/06 - Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews
3/07 - Joliet, IL @ Mojoes
3/08 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
3/09 - Minneapolis, MN @ Skyway Theatre
3/10 - Des Moines, IA @ Wooly's
3/11 - St. Louis, MO @ Pop's
3/13 - Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald's
3/14 - Austin, TX @ SXSW
3/15 - Austin, TX @ SXSW
3/16 - Dallas, TX @ SBSW
3/18 - Denver, CO @ The Summit Music Hall
3/19 - Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
3/21 - Calgary, AB @ Republik*
3/22 - Edmonton, AB @ Starlite Room*
3/24 - Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre*
3/25 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
3/26 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne
3/27 - Sacramento, CA @ Assembly
3/28 - San Francisco, CA @ Regency
3/29 - Las Vegas, NV @ Extreme Thing (AAL ONLY)
3/30 - Los Angeles, CA @ Roxy

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Acoustic Guitar a Star on ‘American Idol’

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Can there be anything more torturous than auditioning a capella? For years the team at American Idol seemed to think that watching contestants squirm without accompaniment was the way to go. Until now.

If you watched the opening episodes of the 2014 season this week, it’s pretty obvious that either more auditioners are taking advantage of new rules that allow them to bring their instrument into the audition room, or the editors prefer contestants who play guitar and are featuring them more than the a capella singers.

Either way, I think this is a step in the right direction. Why force performers to sing without accompaniment? This trend will showcase more well-rounded musicians, and I hope the next step is to have a piano available in the room as well.

Here are a couple of choice performances:

Savian Wright:

Rachel Rolleri

John Fox

Tristen Langley

Recording King Introduces Starlight Series of Banjos

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The popularity of the banjo reached an all-time high in 2013, a trend that shows no signs of slowing through 2014. As much as banjos have become a part of popular culture, many banjos look similar; with guitars it's always been easy to choose a model to reflect your personal style, but banjo players have never been offered the same opportunity for individuality...until now.

With the new Recording King Starlight Series Banjos, the vibrant colors of these great-sounding instruments give players a banjo that looks as unique as they sound, adding a personalized flair and visual appeal to whatever crossover genre of music their banjo appears.

The Starlight Series resonator banjos have all the specs you expect in a traditional banjo – multi-ply rim, tone ring, 24 brackets for precise head-tensioning, and a 26-1/4” scale – all delivering the traditional banjo “snap” today's players want. Combine those classic features with the Starlight Series' stunning custom colors, and you have banjos unlike anything the folk world has ever seen. Choose from three unique color combinations:
Sky: a light blue with white binding, reminiscent of a cloudless day
Midnight: a deep grey with ivory binding, like a foggy Blueridge mountain morning
Sunbeam: a beautiful pale yellow with tortoise binding, like the last moments of an Appalachian sunset

Starlight Series banjos are also available in open-back styles with 16 brackets. They start at a street price of $249.99 and come with Recording King's industry-leading lifetime warranty.

If you're heading out to NAMM, check them out at Hall B, Booth #5476

Learn more about the Starlight Series here:
http://www.recordingking.com/index.php/products/starlight-series
See the whole line of Recording King guitars and banjos at
http://www.recordingking.com/

Review: Boss TE-2 Tera Echo Pedal

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Echo is the most organic sounding of the note-repeating effects, enveloping listeners with exponentially derived reiterations and decays.

Many famous players—including Eddie Van Halen, Brian Setzer and Jimmy Page—prefer it to traditional reverb or delay for its nonlinear response, broad dynamic range and ability to preserve the dry signal’s tone. Yet echo is also the most difficult time-based effect to emulate accurately, given the numerous parameters involved and the audio-processing requirements.

So it’s a pleasure to discover that Boss has nailed the effect with its new TE-2 Tera Echo pedal.

The secret lies in its use of the company’s new, proprietary Multi-Dimensional Processing technology (MDP), which brings a remarkable sense of depth and realism to the effect. The TE-2 Tera Echo is also something of a milestone: it’s Boss’ 100th compact pedal overall and the third in a trio of Boss boxes to feature MDP.

Features
The Tera Echo can produce the many distinct layers of decaying repeats and overtones of real echo. At the same time, it delivers all of the dry signal’s tone, dynamics and attack nuance. Your original signal remains strong and is never swamped by the effect.

The Tera Echo has a familiar control set. Effect level sets the wet-dry balance; tone adjusts the amount of ring and chime in the repeats; feedback sets the tail length; and S-Time—spread time—dictates the time between echoes and sets the number of ambient repeats. The pedal also has a freeze function that lets you indefinitely hold the current effect sound for ambient soundscapes or to provide backing for soloing.
Although most users will connect the Tera Echo in a mono configuration, either in front of their amp or in the effect loop, the pedal’s true sonic potential and processing power is realized when it’s part of a stereo rig. Typical Boss power options are included for an under-the-treadle nine-volt battery or an external adaptor.

Performance
What’s most impressive about the Tera Eeho is how well it preserves the guitar’s signal and, like an analog device, beautifully blends the unaffected sound with echo characteristics. The effect sounds natural, with no attack latency or annoying digital artifacts. Setting the feedback and S-Time controls beyond the 12 o’clock positions will take you down the path of sonic insanity and experimental spatiality—extreme perhaps but more innately musical than similar settings on a delay or reverb pedal. I preferred how more subtle settings displayed the decay of a reverb with the accurate note reproduction of a delay.

The Tera Echo is ideal for jazz and country applications, but even heavily distorted sounds benefit from the pedal’s ability to expand an amp’s multidirectional sound dispersion while adding natural delay. Connect the pedal to a stereo rig and offset the amps’ bass settings to hear the most breathtaking big-room effects.

List Price $291.50
Manufacturer Roland Corporation U.S., bossus.com

Cheat Sheet
Stereo and mono inputs and outputs allow for versatile setups with single- and dual-amp rigs.

Boss’ innovative Multi-Dimensional Processing delivers rich, spacious and natural-sounding echo without swamping your original signal.

The Bottom Line
If you’re looking for an ambient alternative to traditional delay and reverb effects, Boss’s TE-2 Tera Echo delivers an aural amalgam of repeats and decays that sounds like the real thing.

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