If you are involved in recording music, even in your bedroom, you either are, or you should be, aware of IK Multimedia’s T-RackS mastering suite.  It’s a suite of software that provides a number of tools to polish and fine-tune your masters.
If you’re based in the UK, you might want to have a go at signing up for their T-RackS Masterclass. Run by engineer and producer, Ben Fenner (whose credits include Radiohead, The Feeling, Brian Eno and more), the class will demonstrate T-Racks 3 Deluxe.
Ben will talk you through how …

The last in our look at a few of the travel guitars available to the discerning, jet-setting axe-man/axe-lady.
Simultaneously the most traditional and most unusual guitar of our series, the Voyage-Air range of travel guitars feature a ‘foldable neck’.
As you can see, the neck is hinged. You unscrew a knurled bolt to loosen it (the bolt doubles as a strap-button) and fold the neck down to the body, effectively halving the length of the instrument. When you want to play, reverse the process and tighten up the bolt.
Easy.  And pretty clever.
There is …

To continue our look at a few of the, slightly more unusual, travel guitars available, we’re now considering the Emerald Guitars X5-Life.
As you can probably see, the X5, in common with the Blackbird Rider mentioned previously,  is another carbon fibre guitar. Why, it’s like the wonder material of the future.
Clocking in at 3 lbs, the X5 looks a little more ‘guitar-like’ although it certainly has some Emerald eccentricity about it.  It has a scale length of 25.5 (longer than the Blackbird) which is the same as most Fender-type guitars and …

The image opposite is the Blackbird Guitars ‘Ferrari-branded’ version of their Rider Travel Guitar.
Now, if you’re like me, you’ll may be scoffing cynically on reading that. “Pffhh!” you’ll say, “a Ferarri guitar?  And it’s made from carbon-fibre. Pffhh, pffhh and, thrice, pffhh.”
However, there are a couple of things to consider.  The Ferarri thing isn’t just a cynical cash-in, tenuous thread of an excuse to sell more guitars. Blackbird’s founder and designer, Joe Luttwak actually worked for Ferarri in Maranello.  He tells us, “many ideas for Blackbird Guitar’s models were inspired …

A little while back, we heard the PRS Sweet 16 amplifier.  Time now to go up to its big brother, the PRS 30.
PRS say that the 30 gives you an ‘English sound with an American twist’.  Obviously enough, it’s a 30-watt valve amp.  It’s got four EL84 valves to provide the crunch and has a rather clever master volume that is progressively dialled out of circuit as the amp’s volume reaches its maximum setting.  The 30 is available in both head and combo versions – all made in the US …

Featured video time.  This week(ish) is Jimi Hendrix who is, lets face it, the guitarist who needs very little introduction.
Something just a little different though.  This is an acoustic rendition of Hear My Train A Comin’ on a 12-string guitar.  I think this video is from the film, See My Music Talking.
A similar, acoustic 12-string version can be heard on the Blues album, which is a compilation released in 1994.  It contains versions of Hendrix playing, as you might expect, blues songs – originals and covers.  Despite the cynical nature …

We talked about the Marshall Class 5 amp on it’s release a while back and it’s safe to say we were looking forward to hearing how it sounded.
The Class 5 is a low-powered 5-watt amp in the style of the Bluesbreaker combos (albeit smaller).  ECC83s in the preamp and an EL84 handling power promised Marshall valve crunch.
Now you can hear how it sounds.
Joe Bonamassa demos the Class 5, both in a band context and by showing how it sounds at different settings.
So, what do you think?  Does it do it …

As noted in the last post, Gibson have had a brush with the law resulting in Federal agents seizing wood and instruments from Gibson Guitars’ Nashville plant.
It seems that they have also seized computers and records.
Musical Merchandise Review have some additional information on this and apparently, Gibson is under investigation for violating the Lacey Act for the importation of particular, endangered species of rosewood from Madagascar.  After a coup in January, the new president of Madagascar legalised the export of rosewood and ebony from his country. The president’s opinion on …

Rather an odd piece of news this. Seems that federal agents raided Gibson’s guitar manufacturing plant in Nashville and seized guitars, wood and other items as evidence in a possible case of illegal use of restricted woods.
The use of some woods that are used in guitar-making is restricted and tightly controlled. For instance, it is almost impossible to properly source Brazilian rosewood (generally considered to be the most desirable) in any quantity. Restrictions exist on other tropical hardwoods and instrument-manufature tonewoods too.  It looks like the Feds …

Fender has posted an interview with guitarist, John 5.
There can’t be many that are unfamiliar with John 5, if only from his work with Marilyn Manson.  He has, of course, worked with a shed-load of other artists and is lucky enough to have both a Fender and a Squier signature model (and both quite nice they are too).
You may not know, however, that he has a Fender Telecaster from every year they’ve been available except for ’57, ’58 and ’60.  Lucky bastard.
His favourite is a 1950 Broadcaster.
It’s a good interview …