Guitar Effects

With over a million sales notched up, Roland has announced that the next generation of Cube amplifiers is ready to be let loose. The Cube XL series is available in four sizes, starting at the practice 15W version right up to a gig-worthy 80W model. The amps all feature a host of tones and effects and an auxiliary input to allow a portable music player to provide backing tracks. Features on offer from the new range include amp modeling, channel-switching and a strange-sounding power squeeze function. Roland has also unleashed a couple of BOSS guitar effects pedals – one that offers the player pitch control and voice harmony possibilities and the other squeezing some tube amp sounds into a palm-sized stomp box. Read More

Renowned amp design engineer James Brown will be taking a new guitar effects pedal to the Nashville Amp Expo shortly and is asking for help with final tweaking. The new TightBoost pedal offers musicians a clean gain power boost without producing unwanted distortion, and the comments from show visitors invited to try out the new pedal could well help to shape the final production model. Read More

Following on from success with the iPhone, IK Multimedia has now released an AmpliTube app for the iPad. Using an iRig interface adapter, the app offers guitar and bass players real-time, mobile tone-modeling and multi-effects solutions on the bigger multi-touch screen of the iPad. It is available in both free and paid-for versions, the latter giving players 11 effects, five amps and cabinets, plus two microphones to play around with. Read More

As well splitting a guitar input over three separate fuzz pots, the variable frequency control and resonance switch of Fairfield Circuitry’s new Four Eyes Crossover Fuzz pedal help make it one versatile fuzz box. It gives users more control over the tones produced, which range from the "extreme to relatively subtle; from super thin to ridiculously fat." Read More

The TightDrive from Amptweaker allows guitar and bass players to take control of that all important tone and overcome any unwanted delay that can slow down the sound as it moves through an amp's circuitry. As well as LED-lit gain, distortion, volume and Tight controls the pedal also features an effects loop where onboard effects can be moved in front of or behind the TightDrive's tone modifications. Read More