When Metal Machine Music was released in 1975, people did not know what to make of it. The album, influenced by the drone music of La Monte Young and John Cale,  consists entirely of guitar feedback played at different speeds.

Two guitars were tuned in unusual ways and played with different reverb levels. Reed then placed the guitars in front of their amplifiers, and the feedback from the very large amps would vibrate the strings — the guitars were, effectively, playing themselves. He recorded the work on a four-track tape recorder in his New York apartment, mixing the four tracks for stereo.

Reed recreated Metal Machine Music live with his Metal Machine Trio at the Gramercy Theatre in New York earlier this week:

The small venue was probably only half full and its patrons consisted mostly of intellectual types and hard-core Reed fans. Long before the band came on, the sound system was playing an unnerving dissonant loop that seemed to keep getting louder. When they took the stage, Reed and his band, tenor saxophonist Ulrich Kreiger and Continuum (a touch sensitive MIDI keyboard) player Sarth Calhoun wasted little time for pleasantries before they dove into the apocalyptic rush, although Reed announced appreciatively beforehand, “I just want to tell you how happy I am to see you all here tonight.”

There were no “songs,” but instead the musicians churned out a continuous blaring fog that rose and decreased in its deafening intensity, marked by shrill electronic shrieks, long demented sax solos and Reed’s occasional yelling voice.

At the end of the show the controversy surrounding the album had manifested itself visibly: almost a quarter of the original audience had left. Many people who had stayed seemed to have done so as a matter of pride. Their faces looked pained and anguished. Some people had a look of pleasant calm, however. The band themselves had been grinning through their performance, having a good time as the music got louder and more unbearable.

Brian Eno wrote about Metal Machine Music in his 1995 diary, A Year With Swolen Appendices:

Metal Machine Music was released the same week — twenty years ago — as Discreet Music.

Discreet Music soft, calm, melodic and reassuringly repetitive, without a single sound other than tape hiss about 1500 Hz, whereas MMM is as abrasive and unmelodic as possible, with almost nothing below — and yet they occupy two ends of what was at the time a pretty new axis — music as immersion, as sonic experience in which you float.

The roots of Ambient.

It’s interesting that Eno sees Metal Machine Music as one end of the spectrum of ambient music.

For most, though – Metal Machine Music remains a challenge to endure:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s another set of photos from the 2009 NAMM Show, via Mark Dalzell, that has more of a guitar focus.

For more Winter NAMM show photos, check out our 2009 NAMM Show Photo Mother Load.

Is it worth the nearly six grand asking price?

Levin says:

Overall, I found the Moog Guitar to be an inspirational instrument. It opened up exciting new worlds of playing technique for me like no guitar I’ve ever played. Especially when I used external effects, like distortion, delay, and modulation, I found myself getting lost in the guitar and playing and improvising for long stretches without even realizing that time had passed. It was kind of like discovering a whole new side to my guitar skills.

 

That said, the Moog Guitar is quite expensive and at this point in its development is a luxury item that will be affordable only to some. I hope that in the not-too-distant future, Moog will release a lower-priced line, bringing the Moog Guitar’s exciting combination of sustain, mute, and filter effects to a wider range of potential buyers. I can already tell that I’m going to miss having this guitar around when I have to return it after this review is over. There’s simply nothing else out there like it.

In other words – if you got the 6K to drop, there’s nothing else like it.

Otherwise, you may have to wait for the Behringer version like the rest of us.

IK Multimedia has announced that AmpliTube X-GEAR has been made available as a free download for AmpliTube 2 Live users and StealthPlug users.

X-GEAR is an expandable guitar amp and effects modeling software system, available as a plug-in and standalone version for Mac/PC, that allows mixing and matching between all the gear models in a single host interface. It also allows for control over every parameter directly from IK’s StompIO USB floor controller and audio interface.

Using AmpliTube 2 Live with X-GEAR, users will get access to these new features:

• 5 modules including: Tuner, Stomp, Amp, Cabinet and Rack effects (instead of 2 modules).
• Double rig with 8 series/parallel configurations (instead of the single fixed rig).
• 1 new Amp and Cabinet (bringing the number of available Amps and Cabinets to 4).
• Custom amp building (thanks to separate Amp Pre, EQ and Power Section now available) now offering up to 192 different amp combinations.
• More controls like Ambience in the cabinet module and advanced Automation.
• Possibility to integrate AmpliTube 2 Live with other “powered by AmpliTube” software applications, including AmpliTube Jimi Hendrix, Ampeg® SVX and AmpliTube Metal into a single interface with full mixing and matching between the included gear models.
• Seamless integration with StompIO advanced USB floor controller and audio interface for using your computer live like the most powerful multi-FX system ever made.

AmpliTube 2 Live is available as a software-only download in the IK web store for 74.99 EUR / $99.99 USD (exc. taxes) and it is also included in the StealthPlug audio cable interface for 99.99 EUR / $129.99 USD (exc. taxes).

At the Ethermusic Festival in Asheville, NC,  Moog’s Jason Danillo demo’d the Moog Guitar. Here’s a first-hand take on the demo:

My first impression of this instrument is that it was an electric guitar with built in (software driven) fx in the body of the guitar. And I would add, super CLEAN fx. And the infinite sustain, for example, was INFINITE with no noise, glitches, etc. However, my guess about the theory of operation was mistaken.

The guitar utilizes built-in ebows — I’m not sure how many are built into the guitar however there is a least one per string. As many readers here know, the ebow imparts energy to a string to set it into vibration and keep it vibrating forever. The engineers at Moog took things to another level — for ebow technology can do the opposite: it can be used to remove energy from a string, too.

Each string is independently settable — some can sustain, others can sound in the normal (unsustained manner), others can produce a staccatto pluck — in fact, on [sic] of the sounds is a strum followed by a bow. This is all user-settable. Jason strummed a chord and as the chord died down a “bowed string chorus” came up — as if an entire string section was doubling Jason’s guitar part.

My first thought was: Ohhh… my looping friends would LOVE this.
And the tone was really clean. During Jason’s demo, he mentioned that some people can’t believe that this is all being done on the strings until he unplugs the guitar and folks listen to the strings themselves.

Moog looks to be building on its strong line of Moogerfooger pedals and expanding into the guitar market.

Cikira via Matrix

BOSS has expanded its ME series multi-effects family with the ME-20, a powerful multi-effects unit optimized for live performance.

Description:

The ME-20 provides overdrive, distortion, delay, chorus, phaser, flanger, tremolo, rotary, and EQ effects, taking BOSS’s performance-based philosophy to a very affordable price point.

The ME-20 features a newly designed super-rugged metal chassis complete with three footswitches, 5 real-time control knobs, and an expression pedal. The EZ Edit feature allows preset effect templates to be selected which call up entire effect settings with the turn of a single knob. The OD-DS solo function gives guitarists an additional punchy and high impact lead tone per patch.

In addition to the realtime performance-based operation, 30 user memory locations are available allowing players to store their favorite sounds for easy retrieval during practice and performance.

Battery or AC operated; the ME-20 Multiple Effects Processor allows musicians to take it anywhere, anytime.

At the recent 2007 NAMM Expo, Roland announced the new FC-300 MIDI Foot Controller.

The FC-300 is designed to be a perfect companion for Roland’s new VG-99 V-Guitar System or any other performance-based MIDI instrument or device.

The FC-900 is outfitted with nine industrial-grade footswitches and two programmable expression pedals for fast, easy control and expanded performance capabilities. The backlit LCD offers a high-contrast view of patch names (when used with the VG-99) and other important data, even in the darkest stage environments.

Up to 100 sets of MIDI messages/parameters can be stored simultaneously in the FC-300 as patches. Complex MIDI transmission is made simple thanks to the FC-300’s ability to package chunks of data together in a single patch, and then transmit each data-burst via footswitch.

Using commercially available LAN (Ethernet, CAT5) cable and the newly adopted RRC2 protocol, the FC-300 provides both bidirectional MIDI transmission and electrical power supply with one simple connection between the VG-99 and FC-300.

Two multipurpose switch-jacks are built into the FC-300. These programmable outputs are an ideal feature for guitarists, as they allow amp channels to be switched from clean to lead, for example, in sync with patch changes on the FC-300.

On this album, White Willow moves from a more traditional prog-rock sound to a more modern sound, with a bit of a goth metal edge. The group, made up of, Trude Eidtang (vocals), Lars Fredrik Frøislie (keyboards, electronics), Jacob Holm-Lupo (guitars), Ketil Vestrum Einarsen (woodwinds), Marthe Berger Walthinsen (bass guitar) and Aage Moltke Schou (drums, percussion), has more of a mainstream sound as a result, but should still appeal to classic prog fans.

Eidtang sounds a bit like a cross between Kate Bush and Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins. Her vocals are put front and center throughout, and the emphasis on guitars helps give the CD more immediate appeal than some prog. Whether or not the vocals appeal to you may depend a lot on what you think of the lyrics, which have a strong goth bent to them. All the tracks on the CD are about darkness. Night Surf starts with the phrase “Black rain falls heavy on the ground; dark water shadows crowd out the sky,” and even Joyride has lyrics like Turn the brights up, it’s too dark to see the curves that lie ahead….”

Though the emphasis is on vocals and guitar, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a lot of interesting keyboard work. Froislie does the business on Mellotron, Hammond, Minimoog and Fender Rhodes.

White Willow is taking prog in a new direction that may challenge a lot of prog fans; whether it appeals to you will depend a lot on what you think of the goth influence.

You can check out some tracks from Signal to Noise at the band’s MySpace site.

Track Listing

• Night Surf
• Splinters
• Ghosts
• Joyride
• Lingering
• Dark Road
• Chrome Dawn
• Dusk City
• Ararat

NAMM 2006 Winter Show: Ibanez had a very cool display of guitars styled by HR Giger, best known for the creature of “Alien” fame.

“H.R. Giger’s collaboration with Ibanez is a natural pairing when delving into the world of string instruments,” commented H.R. Giger’s agent Les Barany at the convention site. “Mr. Giger is an acknowledged fan of diverse musical styles and an accomplished jazz pianist and saxophone player in his own right. Giger’s musical enthusiasm and his avant-garde approach to industrial and ‘practical’ design is right at home in the Ibanez camp.”

Bill Reim, president of Hoshino U.S.A. which distributes Ibanez in the United States, and who has contributed to many Ibanez designs himself, was extremely enthusiastic about the new partnership. “I was always a big fan of H.R. Giger’s work, and I was influenced during my years in art school by his designs for album covers for Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Deborah Harry and others. I had always wanted to use H.R. Giger’s designs for some of our displays, so when the chance came to actually utilize his graphic designs for our guitars, we were more than ready to do so.”

While this is the first collaboration for H.R. Giger and Ibanez, the two have a previous connection with the metal rock band Korn. Giger designed a striking functional sculpture mike stand for Korn vocalist Jonathan Davis while Ibanez has created custom 7-string guitars for Korn guitarists, “Head” and “Munky” and 5-string bass guitars for Korn bassist “Fieldy.”

About H.R. Giger

H. R. Giger is recognized as one of the world’s foremost artists of Fantastic Realism. Born in 1940 to a chemist’s family in Chur, Switzerland, he moved in 1962 to Zurich, where he studied architecture and industrial design at the School of Applied Arts. By 1964 he was producing his first artworks, mostly ink drawings and oil paintings, resulting in his first solo exhibition in 1966, followed by the publication and world-wide distribution of his first poster edition in 1969. Shortly after, he discovered the airbrush and, along with it, his own unique freehand painting style, leading to the creation of many of his most well known works, the surrealistic Biomechanical dreamscapes, which formed the cornerstone of his fame. To date, 20 books have been published about Giger’s art.

Giger’s third and most famous book, Necronomicon, published in 1977, served as the visual inspiration for director Ridley Scott’s film Alien, Giger’s first film assignment, which earned him the 1980 Oscar for the Best Achievement in Visual Eff ects for his designs of the film’s title character and its life cycle, plus the movie’s otherworldly environment. Giger’s other film works include “Poltergeist II”, “Alien3″ and “Species”.

Giger’s album covers for Debbie Harry and the band ELP were voted among the 100 best in music history in a survey of rock journalists. Throughout his career, Giger also worked in sculpture and, in 1988, created his first total environment, the Tokyo Giger Bar, and in 1992 a second Giger Bar in Chur.

In 1998, The H.R. Giger Museum was inaugurated in the Chateau St. Germain, a four-level building complex in the historic, medieval walled city of Gruyeres, Switzerland. As the permanent home to many of the artist’s most prominent works, the Giger Museum houses the largest collection of the artist’s paintings, sculptures, furniture and film designs, dating from the early 1960’s until the present day. Displayed on the museum’s top floor is Giger’s own own private art collection, as well as the H.R. Giger Museum Gallery where, on a rotating basis, Giger curates curates one-man shows for other artists.

The adjoining new H.R. Giger Museum Bar was officially opened on April 12, 2003 as part of the museum complex. Giger’s designs for the bar emphasizes the preexisting Gothic architecture of the 400 year old space. The giant skeletal arches covering the vaulted ceiling, together with the bar’s fantastic stony furniture, evoke the building’s original medieval character and give the space a church-like feeling.

September 16, 2004 saw the opening of a six month Giger retrospective at the Museum Halle Saint Pierre in Paris, France. “Le monde selon H.R. Giger” (The World According to H.R. Giger), is the largest exhibition of the artist’s work to ever take place outside of Switzerland. Over one year in preparation, ninety percent of the artwork is on loan from Giger’s collectors, includingthree Swiss museums. The display of more than 200 pieces spansfour decades of the celebrated artist’s career, covering two fl oors of the museum’s exhibition space. On December 17, 2004, H.R. Giger received the prestigious award, “La Medaille de la Ville de Paris”, at Paris City Hall, from Christophe Girard, the city’s Deputy Mayorin charge of Culture.

Giger continues to live in Zurich, working on a variety of new projects, including the fi nal plans for a train ride through the Giger Museum. He is also in the process of completing a series of new sculptures for another retrospective in Prague this upcoming April. To learn more about the artist and his current projects, visit his official web site, http://www.hrgiger.com

ICHRG2 Specifications

• * “NY City VI” Graphic Print
• * Mahogany Body
• * 3pc Maple Neck
• * 24 3/4″/Set-In Neck
• * 22/medium Frets
• * Rosewood Fingerboard
• * Parallelogram Inlay
• * BR-EG Fixed and Quick Change Tailpiece Bridge
• * Powder Cosmo H/W Color
• * Ibanez Axis AH1 Humbucker Neck Pickup
• * Ibanez Axis AH2 Humbucker Bridge Pickup
• * 3-way switch
• * Case List Price: TBA
• * List Price: $929.99

RGTHRG1 Specifications:

• * “NY City XIX” Graphic Print
• * Mahogany Body
• * 5ply Maple/Walnut Neck
• * 25.5/Neck-Thru Body Neck Scale
• * 24/jumbo Frets
• * Rosewood Finger Board
• * Shark Tooth Inlay
• * Edge Pro II Bridge
• * Powder Cosmo H/W Color
• * Ibanez Infi nity 1 Humbucker Neck Pickup
• * Ibanez Infi nity 2 Humbucker Bridge Pickup
• * 5-way switch
• * Case List Price: TBA
• * List Price: $929.99

More information is available at the Ibanez site.

Code Indigo’s music draws upon a wide set of styles, including new age, orchestral electronica, jazz, chill-out, and world music. The tracks on TimeCode blend these styles seamlessly into a continuous musical work.

On this release, Code Indigo is made up of Robert Fox and David Wright on keyboards, Louise Eggerton – vocals, Andy Lobban – guitar, and David Massey – programming and production.

Four members have composition credits. They must have been very much in sync, because the tracks are endlessly melodic, and sound like the work of a group, not a like bunch of tracks by different people. While Fox, Massey and Wright’s keyboard work and programming provide the overall sound of the album, the importance of Eggerton’s vocals and Lobban’s guitar work can’t be overestimated. Eggerton’s wordless vocals soar above the tracks, giving them a sense of immediacy and humanity. Lobban’s guitar work is understated and tasteful. In places, Lobban solos over orchestral electronica backgrounds, creating an effect that is reminiscent of early Pink Floyd. In other places, he contributes distorted but subtle guitar chords on top of the synths, adding an extra dimension to the sound.

The tracks on TimeCode are loosely themed around ideas of time and space.

The CD starts off very slowly, with the track Existence. The track uses drones, synth strings and wordless vocals to build from nothing to a massive sound. This establishes the mood of the album and leads seamlessly into Zero Hour, one of the highlights of the CD. Zero Hour is a lengthy track that combines the contributions of the various band members very effectively. Massey sets up a chilled groove, while Fox and Wright create a lush backdrop for Eggerton’s vocals and Lobban’s guitar solos. The band members vary the arrangement throughout, sometimes building to a very orchestral effect, and at other times dropping down to almost nothing. Towards the end, the track gives Lobban some space for an extended solo. His guitar work shines here, melodic and a little bluesy, but not showy.

TimeCode is another extended track that shows off the group’s sound. The band brings a rich sense of history of electronic and new age music to this track. The arrangement seems to draw on influences from the 70’s synth music of Jean Michel Jarre all the way to current tracks by groups like Afro Celt Sound System.

The next track, Stasis, is a lovely interlude that focuses on Eggerton’s vocalizing. 24am is the jazziest track on the CD. It features a piano melody that builds as it goes up and down the scale, and a lovely chordal chorus. Synth harmonica adds to the effect. While the track has a jazzier feel, nobody breaks out into bebop solos; instead the track focuses on tasteful, mellow keyboard work.

Eden to Chaos is another long groove. It maintains the chilled-out mood of the previous track, but adds a strong undercurrent of tension. The gives Lobban plenty of room to cut loose. He again delivers the goods, with some barely-contained soloing. This track should appeal to fans of the early space-rock of Pink Floyd and Tangerine Dream.

The next two tracks, Foundation and Galileo, are shorter pieces that showcase the group’s arranging. Galileo is one of the most orchestral-sounding tracks on the album. It combines a horn-like lead melody with lush synth string backing for a lovely combination.

Call of the Earth moves the CD into more of a world-groove territory, and has the most mainstream new age sound of the tracks on the CD. Massey’s drum programming features more of a ethnic feel than on other tracks, which adds some interest. While the track again highlights Code Indigo’s tight group sound, the track lacks the tension and hints of darkness that give other tracks more of an edge.

Code Indigo wraps up the album with an extended track, Endgames, that has a blissed-out feel. This track has beautiful synth and guitar work, but is let down somewhat by the vocals. Here Eggerton switches from wordless vocalizing to sing “la-la-la-la”, along with occasional words, such as the CD title or the band name.

Overall, though, the CD is a very strong release. The CD packaging has a 8-page insert that features layered images relating to space and time that is a nice complement to the music. Throughout the CD, the production is excellent. With TimeCode, Code Indigo delivers a solid collection of instrumental music that should appeal to fans of new age, space music and anyone that appreciates a laid-back groove.

Native Instruments

Guitar Combos are based on the critically acclaimed “Dynamic Tube Response” technology from Guitar Rig, and offer the same striking authenticity and unrivaled playing dynamics that made Guitar Rig the new standard in software-based amp modelling.

The Guitar Combos series consists of the TWANG COMBO, the AC BOX COMBO and the PLEXI COMBO.

The TWANG COMBO is modelled after the Fender Twin Reverb and delivers a wide range of clean and crunch tones suitable for Pop, Jazz, Blues and Country styles. It is combined with a 2×12 cabinet emulation and a tube condenser microphone, and includes an overdrive pedal as well as chorus, vibrato, and spring reverb.

The AC BOX COMBO is modelled after the Vox AC-30 and delivers a wide range of clean and crunch sounds that lend itself to Pop, Rock, and Alternative styles. It is combined with a 2×12 cabinet emulation and a vintage condenser microphone, and includes a treble booster, tremolo, and spring reverb.

The PLEXI COMBO is modelled after the Marshall JMP50 and delivers a wide range of crunch and overdrive sounds, which makes it the first choice for various flavors of Rock, Metal and Psychedelic. It is combined with a 4×12 cabinet and a dynamic microphone, and includes a fuzz overdrive, distortion pedal, and a reverse delay effect.

Guitar Combos are ready for a wide range of live, studio and practice applications thanks to an integrated high-precision tuner, noise gate and limiter. Also integrated is a Demo Player with a selection of unprocessed guitar loops for convenient tone tweaking. Each combo comes equipped with dozens of carefully chosen presets and offers 64 preset slots that can hold custom tones.

Guitar Combos can be used both standalone and as plug-ins in all major host sequencers. The combos can be controlled via MIDI, which allows for remote preset switching and real-time parameter control using a MIDI foot pedal as well as parameter automation within a sequencer.

Guitar Combos will be available in May 2005 from authorized dealers and in the NI Online Shop. The suggested retail prices are $79 / 69 Euro for each combo, with optional Direct Download versions being offered in the NI Online Shop. Furthermore, a bundle version with all three combos will be available for $199 / 179 Euro.

More information is available at the Native Instruments site.

Dean introduced the first Schenker guitar model in late 2004. The total run of these $4500 beauties sold out in only 4 days. Dean Guitars plans to start shipping these models in early February.

The two acoustic models are Michael Schenker Exotica and the Michael Schenker Performer.

Surprisingly, the new guitars got more attention than the Dean Girls.

Specifications:

Michael Schenker Standard Electric

• Schenker Classic Black and White Finish
• Dean Series II Classic “V” Headstock
• 24-3/4″ Scale & 1-11/16″ Nut
• Basswood Body
• Grover Tuners
• Chrome Hardware
• Zebra Pickups
• Tune-O-Matic Bridge
• Bolt-on Construction
• Maple Neck
• Dot Inlays
• 22 Frets

Michael Schenker Custom Electric

• Schenker Classic Black and White Finish
• Schenker Custom wound Pickups “USA made”
• Dean Series II Classic “V” Headstock
• Mahogany Body and Neck
• Binding on body and neck
• Rosewood fingerboard

Michael Schenker USA Electric

• Made in the USA
• Hand Painted Schenker Classic Black and White Finish
• Schenker Custom wound Pickups “USA made”
• Dean Series II Classic “V” Headstock
• Mahogany Body and Neck
• Custom Black and White opposing binding; Body, Neck and Head
• Ebony Fingerboard
• Pearl Block inlays.
• Michael Schenker Exotica Acoustic
• Schenker Classic Black and White Finish
• Select Spruce Top
• Maple Back & Sides
• 25-1/2″ Scale
• Mahogany Neck with 1-11/16′” Nut Width
• Dean Preamp
• Built-in tuner
• Rosewood Fingerboard
• Dot Inlays
• Custom Schenker Rosette
• Grover Tuners
• 21 Frets

Michael Schenker Performer Acoustic

• Schenker Classic Black and White Finish
• Select Spruce Top
• 90mm Body Depth
• Mahogany Back & Sides
• Mahogany Neck
• 25-1/5″ Scale with 1-11/16″ Nut
• Dean Electronics
• Rosewood Fingerboard
• Dot Inlays
• Custom Schenker Rosette
• 21 Frets

For more information, visit the Dean site.

Bixonic

The Expandora has more going for it than a great name. It’s established a reputation as a great source for a variety of distorted sounds. It’s been used by Bush, Megadeth, ZZ Top, Bootsy Collins and other artists.

The EXP-2000R retains the look of earlier versions, but improves on them by bringing to the front dip-switches that were previously inside the case. It also adds a switch to toggle between Bass and Guitar settings. As a result, the Expandora is like having eight distortion pedals combined into one.

Construction/Design

The Expandora is housed in a brushed aluminum housing. Some players may not like its “tuna can” design, but it’s a refreshing alternative to the standard pedal block.

The case feels solid and substantial. The overall build quality appears to be very good.

The Expandora runs off a battery or a 9V DC power supply (not included). To change batteries, you have to remove one screw on the back.

The front face has three sets of controls:

• Dip-switches that determine change the actual distortion circuit;
• Gain, Tone and Level knobs to adjust levels; and
• A bypass foot-switch.

All the controls feel solid and operate smoothly. The dip-switches are small enough that you won’t accidentally bump them, but not so small as to be fiddly.

The Expandora has a completely smooth metal bottom. Bixonic includes 4 adhesive circles that can be applied to the bottom of the case to help keep the Expandora in place. Depending on your playing style, you may need to secure the pedal to keep it from sliding.

Sound

The Expandora delivers a wider range of sounds than most distortion pedals. The dip switches let you switch between eight different circuit configurations. The first two dip-switches control the basic drive structure, and have four options: Crunch, Overdrive, Distortion, and Forbidden. A third dip-switch adjusts the overall tone of the Expandora for guitar or bass. The result of these unassuming dip-switches is that you can instantly change the overall sound of the Expandora dramatically.

The three pot knobs give you complete control of the pedal’s sound. The first knob controls the Gain of the input, along with the distortion. The second knob adjusts a high-frequency filter, which lets you control the brightness of the output. The final knob controls the level of the output.

With guitar, the Expandora sounds great, capable of excellent blues, rock and metal sounds. We couldn’t resist going straight to the “Forbidden” settings. According to Bixonic’s documentation, Forbidden mode “inflicts unacceptably hysteric sound onto your audience.” They aren’t exaggerating. Sick!

Since this is Synthtopia, we had to see what sort of twisted results we could get using the Expandora on other gear. We tested it with a Future Retro 777, one of the ultimate bass-line synths, and with a cheap drum machine, the Korg ER-1.

The 777 is modeled on the most important synth in techno, the Roland TB-303. Running the 777 through the Expandora added a whole new range of sounds, many of them sick and wrong. The Bass dip-switch option works well with techno sounds.

The ER-1 is an analog-modeling drum machine has a great variety of analog-style sounds. Unfortunately, its built-in distortion effect is lame, with no control over distortion level. We tacked the Expandora on the output, and found that it could warm up the sounds a little, or turn the clean output of the ER-1 into industrial noise. We don’t know how many musicians will want to abuse their equipment like this, but it did demonstrate the Expandora’s flexibility.

The Expandora will appeal to players that want a variety of analog distortion effects. If you tend to always use the same sound, a less-capable pedal will probably meet your needs.

At high gain levels, the Expandora circuits adds noise to the output. This was most noticeable on the Forbidden setting. The noise levels are not unusual for a distortion circuit, though, and can be eliminated with a noise gate if objectionable.

Summary

The Bixonic Expandora is a solid, well-crafted distortion pedal, capable of a very wide range of effects. Guitarist looking for a distortion pedal should put it on their short list. The range of circuit configurations possible through the dip-switch settings makes the Expandora very useful with other instruments, too, especially bass and bass-line synth.

Powered by the same analog preamp design found in their Demonizer,
the Womanizer posseses all the tonal features as the Demonizer with a
re-customized overdrive section.

Features:

• Dual 12AX7’s
• 2 channels (Engage and Nuclear)
• Included Power Supply
• Analog Tube Circuit Designs
• True switch bypass
• Regulated Switching Power Supply with High Voltage Output for True Amp Level Tube Biasing
• “Magic Eye” Display Technology
• Metal Knobs and Switches
• Rugged cast aluminum Mechanical Design
• Comprehensive Bionic Tube Pre & Post Tone Control Features
• Made in USA

The Womanizer will be available in October 2004. Price: $449 List, $349 Street

For more information, visit their web site.

Sibelius

G7 Kontakt edition, a collaboration with leading software synthesis company Native Instruments, builds on the successful components of the original G7. The new Kontakt edition includes a huge number of enhancements and brand new features, including the facility to burn songs to CD and access to a sample library (courtesy of Native Instruments Kontakt).

Jeremy Silver, CEO of Sibelius Software, said: “This exciting collaboration with Native Instruments helps bring real sounds to G7 and will allow the end-to-end creation of a song, from a blank page all the way to a CD.”

To play music directly into G7 you use the on screen fingerboard. Build up a chord by clicking more notes on the fretboard. You can even select between different neck styles (including three different bass guitars).

Performances can also easily be inputted using a MIDI instrument and G7 will automatically translate the music into tab in real- time. Once a basic melody is in place it can be perfected using a range of advanced editing facilities, which, amongst many other refinements allow the addition of markings such as bends, slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs and harmonics.

Adding chords and lyrics is also easily done. Chord symbols are automatically generated and even accompaniments parts can be simply added, lyrics can be typed directly onto the score or alternatively, imported from a text file.

At the touch of a button G7 ‘Kontakt’ edition will convert tab to conventional music notation and vice versa. This is a hugely useful facility and the programme will even analyse any music (even if it wasn’t originally written for guitar) and then work out a suitable fingering. Just press play and G7 Kontakt edition will display the fingering in real time on the fretboard.

Sheet music can also easily be scanned and thanks to the huge sample library of studio quality sounds virtually any type of guitar sound can be selected from the most subtle nylon string through to ear shattering distortion samples.

The installation CD also contains an invaluable guide to guitars; this digital encyclopedia provides comprehensive information on guitars, playing techniques and musical styles. All supported with audio examples and detailed illustrations.

Features

• Create music using mouse, on-screen fretboard, scanner or MIDI keyboard/guitar. Unlimited song length
• Load ASCII tab & btab files, MIDI files, TIFF graphics (many useful graphics included). Save ASCII tab files, web pages, MIDI files, graphics files
• Instruments: huge range of acoustic, semi-acoustic and electric guitars and basses, banjo, dobro, mandolin, etc. plus vocals, keyboards, drums, lead instruments. Numerous standard guitar tunings plus any custom tuning, any number of strings. Up to 16 simultaneous instruments
• Guitar tab: bend, pre-bend, slide, hammer-on, pull-off, vibrato bar scoop/dip/dive and return, palm rake, braketed notes, etc.
• Automatically rewrite tab fingering to suit your playing style and ability – simplify complex riffs so you can play them and find new ways to play your favorite solos
• Notation: notes, chords, rests, clefs, accidentals, key signatures, time signatures, articulations, slurs, ties, hairpins, trills, other lines, lyrics, dynamics, other text, chord symbols, guitar chord diagrams (with built-in and custom libraries), tremolos & rolls, triplets, quintuplets and other tuplets, drum noteheads, colored music
• Plays notation, tab (with bends, slides etc.), tempo marks, dynamics, rhythmic feels (e.g. swing, rock). Play/rewind/fast-forward/pause/stop buttons, tempo slider, mixer
• Converts between tab, notation and chord symbols
• Transposes notation, tab, chord diagrams and chord symbols
• Automatically creates drum parts in many styles
• Complete guide to guitars, styles and techniques
• Print any page size/shape, traditional or handwritten music look, automatic page numbers & bar numbers

System Requirements

PC: Windows 98/Me/NT4/2000/XP, Pentium or faster (Pentium III or faster recommended), 64Mb+ RAM (128Mb+ for Windows 2000/XP), 80Mb hard disk space. Scanning may need more RAM.

Mac: Mac OS 9.1/9.2/10.1.5 or later, iMac/G3/G4/G5, 128Mb+ RAM (OS 9) or 192Mb+ RAM (OS X), 80Mb hard disk space. Scanning requires TWAIN- compatible scanner and may need more RAM.

Damage Control

The Demonizer is based on an all-analog dual EH12AX7 preamp with opto-compressor and pre/post EQ. The preamp is designed to react like a tube amp’s combined preamp and power amp sections. The true analog Bionic EQ allows tone shaping in both the Pre and Post Tube stages with 2 concentric knobs that shape amplitude and frequency. The Demonizer also features a “magic-eye” average output meter that reacts to your performance levels.

Features:

• Dual 12AX7’s
• 2 channels (Engage and Nuclear)
• Easy Operation
• Included Power Supply
• Analog Tube Circuit Designs
• True switch bypass
• Regulated Switching Power Supply with High Voltage Output for True Amp Level Tube Biasing
• Unique “Magic Eye” Display Technology
• Remote System Architecture for Master Footpedal Control
• Metal Knobs and Switches
• Rugged cast aluminum Mechanical Design
• Bionic Tube Pre & Post Tone Control Features
• Made in USA

Demonizer will be available direct from Damage Control. Price: $349. The Demonizer is expected to ship in October 2004.

The update includes a fourth amp module based on the famous Vox AC-30, three outstanding new effect units and several further enhancements, making NI´s just-released digital guitar studio even more powerful.

New Features:

• “AC-Box” (Vox AC-30-based amplifier)
• “Treble Booster” (distortion unit)
• “Psychedelay” (reverse delay with detune)
• “Pitch Pedal” (polyphonic pitch shifter)
• More than 50 additional presets which make use of the new components
• Audio Engine Off” button to temporarily free up CPU capacity
• Various minor improvements, cosmetic changes and fixes

The 1.1 update for Windows and Mac is now available as a free download for all registered Guitar Rig users.

For more information, or to download a demo version, please see http://www.ni-guitar-rig.com.