Gearwire Labs

Sometimes you wanna wah, but you also wanna throw a fit. Since most wahs are foot-controlled, you typically have to pick one or the other. Not with the T-Rex Tonebug Sensewah. This auto-wah pedal is triggered by your playing dynamics, leaving your feet free to stomp where they please.  

Think about this: clean boost pedals are typically employed to get even more distortion out of a tube amplifier's front-end, thus yielding a dirtier tone. Shouldn't they be called dirt boosters? Now consider the fact that the T-Rex Tonebug Booster adds to its level-boosting abilities an EQ control called "Scoop" that modifies the tone even further — how is it that T-Rex couldn't come up with a better name than "Booster" for this neat thing?  

If you hate catching static from the fuzz, dig the versatile T-Rex Tonebug Fuzz. It's got a dynamic tone control that goes from thick-and-vintage to buzzy-and-cutting and everything in between. Plus it costs less than bail.  

With a name like "T-Rex Tonebug Totenschläger" this new high-gain distortion pedal has to sound cool. But what does 'totenschläger' mean, you ask? Here, I'll use it in a sentence: to paraphrase David Cross, "I'd rather listen to the totenschläger of my only child than listen to Creed."  

Owen spends some quality time with the Vox AC15C1, the newest incarnation of the classic 15-watt, Class-A guitar combo. The AC14C1 adds a secondary input channel and a "Top Cut" control in the master section. But does it still have that coveted Vox tonal character? Watch, listen, and find out.  

Rock-bottom times call for rock-bottom costs, even if you wanna rock. For the cash-strapped axe-slinger, there's few better deals than the Gibson USA Les Paul Studio Faded. Owen gives it an audition in the Gearwire studio.  

Like Allied forces charging a beachhead pillbox, music producers are constantly trying to figure out how to get external session audio into Reason 5.* Here's one way, for the purposes of mastering, you can do just that.

*In this parallelism audio being analogous to hand-grenades, obv.  

If you've got a guitar and a Zoom G3 — with its tons of effects pedal and amplifier simulations, built-in rhythm tracks, and forty-second-looper — you almost don't need any other gear. Or friends. Owen spends nigh-on twenty minutes of quality "Owen-time" with the G3 in this demo video.  

"Dad, what's a reamper?"

"You mean like the Radial ProRMP Studio Reamper?"

"Yeah. What is it?"

"Well, son, it's not quite a reamer, and not quite a hamper, but boy are they wacky! So to answer your question: I don't know."

"Forget it; I'll just watch this video instead."  

There's plenty of reasons you'd want to own Softube Tube-Tech Classic Channel, a dead-on emulation of three of the most coveted hardware processors. One such reason — making a vocal track less honky* — is aptly demonstrated in this video demo.

*Apologies to any white folk who are offended by this term. Also: seriously?  

Thusly do I Romeo paraphraseth: "what's in a beginner's pack? Would a banjo shipped individually sound or play as sweet as that which the Washburn B8 Banjo Pak Beginner's Package includeth?" Owen's not 100%; watch the video to find out wherefore.  

They thought the Jaguar would sound de-clawed when they ported it to the more domesticated Squier brand. Boy were they wrong. Just listen to this video demo of the Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Bass Special and hear how convincingly a $200 import can growl.  

All things die, even the sweet pinch harmonic at the end of your searing solo. But thanks to modern technology — like the T-Rex Tonebug Sustainer — your guitar's notes are living longer, happier lives than ever before. Owen shows you how.  

And the popcorn is poppin' in your face and it's. . . HD!!! And the Fender Mustang II Modeling Amplfiier is being demo'd and it's in. . . HD!!  

Depending on who you are, this guitar's looks scream either "Brian Setzer" or "Wedding Band." But if you ask us, the Gretsch G5120 Electromatic Hollowbody simply screams.  

Simplicity itself, the Fender Pro Jr. III is uncluttered amp with rich tone and response. Owen tries it out with a number of different axes and details what sets it apart from its predecessor, the Pro Jr. III Sr.  

Sure, retailers list this instrument as the Ibanez UEW20 Acoustic Electric Concert Ukulele, but a quick look into this uke's soundhole reveals that its actual name is Ibanez UEW20SGE-3T-01! Why is no one else doing this kind of investigative journalism anymore?!?  

With more outputs than you can shake a dead cat at, the Epiphone Masterbilt Advanced Jumbo AJ-500RENS is a low-cost recording acoustic with a cornucopia of tonal options. And seriously, that cat is dead to me.  

I don't know about you, but I just don't trust an amp that's got more than one watt. That's why, every April, I have the Blackstar HT-1RH do my taxes.  

Whether you top your coif with a 'do rag or Aquanet, the Carl Martin Plexitone has the classic overdrive and distortion flavors you crave. NB: Gearwire does not condone stretch denim.  

We're guessing the new Fender Blacktop Telecaster HH bears the name "Blacktop" because of its over-wound, hot AlNiCo pickups, and because blacktop gets really hot in the summer sun. Who's with me?  

It's a stompbox! No, it's a preamp! No, it's a D.I.! Stop, you're all three of you correct! The Hartke VXL Bass Attack is a deceptively simple little tool that wears many hats and fills many roles and mixes several metaphors.  

The instrument that started it all gets yet another update with the 2010 Fender American Standard Precision Bass. Gearwire staffer Owen O'Malley scrutinizes the recent additions and determines whether they're welcome or un-.  

What does the induction ceremony for the TC Electronic Hall Of Fame Reverb look like? Who chairs the TC Electronic Hall Of Fame Reverb Foundation, and what are their established criteria for consideration? Where are the Hall Of Fame Reverbs enshrined for posterity? None of these questions and more are answered in this Gearwire Labs video demo!  

Chorus may be a lake it or leave it affair for most guitarists, but we think the TC Electronic Corona Chorus will sway the swing voters. In addition to super smart features (e.g. switchable true- or buffered-bypass) and sick stock tone, the Corona features a USB port for downloading additional presets from the TC Electronic website, free of charge.  

Dude, it's like I've played this riff before! Wait, am I playing it right now, or is that just the TC Electronic Flashback Delay and Looper pedal getting the better of me? Wait, am I saying this or just thinking it?  

Used to be, our favorite metal chorus went something like:

RUUUN FOOR THE HIIIIILLLS/
RUUUN FOOO_OOOR YOOUUR LIIIIIIIFE!!

. . . But that's been pretty squarely supplanted by the MXR ZW38 Black Label Chorus effect pedal.  

What's in a name? If you're a rose, not much. If you're a Capulet, Montague, or the MXR M-116 Fullbore Metal, however, fate's got something very specific in store for you.  

For being known as one of the nicest guys in shred, Paul Gilbert designed a surprisingly rude-sounding effect in the Ibanez AF2 Airplane Flanger. The "Taxi" mode may be a standard (if great-sounding) flanger, but the "Takeoff" mode is like getting a sales call from Gilbert Gottfried during Sunday dinner.  

If you've got a slammin' percussion groove eatin' away at your craw and need a corporeal outlet for your genius, consider the Roland Octapad SPD-30. Not only can this electronic percussion instrument serve you well in live performance, but its built-in looper is perfect for realizing percussion patterns more fully.