The enthusiasts probably had fat letters in the calendar for a long time 24 to 27 January 2019, which is the days when the Winter Music NAMM will take place in Anaheim. The Winter Music NAMM started today and again this year the necessary new products are expected to be unveiled. Here is a brief overview of the most important news in the field of guitar effects. I limit myself to the brands you can buy from Pedaltown.
JHS packs five new pedals
JHS launches five new pedals: The Clover, Whitey Tighty, Active ABY, Switchback and a Summing Amp. The Clover is JHS’s interpretation of the infamous Boss FA-1 FET Preamp, which was used by The Edge to record “The Unforgettable Fire”. The Clover has four buttons to put the sound to your hand (Bass, Middle, Treble & Volume) and a three-position switch that lets you choose between Full EQ, No Mid and No EQ. The selling price of this pedal is 229 euros.
Whitey Tighty is a FET compressor in mini format. It has three buttons: volume, compression & blend that allows you to set the effect. With the blend button you mix the original signal with the processed signal with which you can in fact speak of a parallel compressor. The selling price of this pedal (including VAT) is 157 euros.
The Active ABY is an active signal spliter (selling price 145 euros) that allows you to send your signal to two outputs. The Switchback is a useful tool with an entry and exit and two effect loops that can be used for many purposes. For example, as an A/B Looper, an A/B Box or as an Input Switcher for your amplifier. The device can be operated with a JHS Red Remote Switch. The retail price of the Switchback is 140 euros. Summing Amp is a tool that allows you to turn two mono input signals into one mono output signal. The Summing Amp costs 190 euros. All these new JHS pedals will be available from 11 February 18 March and can already be booked.
Four new pedals from Keeley
Keeley comes with no less than four new effect pedals: Synth-1,Eccos, DDR and the Fuzz Bender at the Winter Music NAMM. The Synth-1 is a so-called ‘signal-triggered synth wave generator’. In short, a synthesizer for your guitar. You can choose from three different wave shapes and an Expression pedal can be connected to set the mix between the dry and processed signal.
The Eccos is a vintage tape flanged delay pedal with stereo inand outputs. It has three modes to choose from and you can control any parameter you want with an Expression pedal. In addition, there is Tap Tempo on it and the possibility to opt for bypass or trails.
The third pedal is the GDR, which stands for Drive, Delay, Reverb. It has a drive channel with gain, level and tone controls. Furthermore, you can choose between a vintage or a modern voicing (with mid boost). Then there is the wet side where you can choose between the delay or the reverb. With three buttons these can be set (time, decay and blend).
Finally, there is also the Fuzz Bender, a so-called Three Transistor Hybrid fuzz. It is a fuzz with germanium transistors with many possibilities. The level and fuzz buttons can be controlled with the foot. There is also a tone control in which the bass and treble can be boosted by about 20 dB. Then there is also a Gate button that set the attack. Delivery times and prices of these pedals are not yet known.
Other news of winter NAMM 1019
Chase Bliss comes with a new overdrive/distortion/fuzz pedal: the Preamp MKII. The preamp of this pedal was made by Benson. Furthermore, this pedal has a parametric mid EQ similar to the Chase Bliss Condor. There’s a silicone and a germanium diode in it and it has motorized faders. The pedal can be controlled with MIDI, there is both Midi In and Midi Out on it and you can store 30 presets with it, divided into 3 banks of 10 presets. The pedal is available from the summer, the exact date is not yet known and it will cost about 650 euros.
American pedalmaker Neunaber has developed a new guitar Preamp: Neuron. It includes a speaker simulator, compressor and a noise gate. Furthermore, you can save 24 presets of which you always have 6 available under the foot switch. The pedal can continue to control with MIDI. From mid-February the pedal is available and it costs 359 euros.
Morley comes with two new versions of the ABY and ABC switchers, the ABY Pro and ABC Pro. These versions have been redesigned as switchers for different amplifiers and now they also contain a ground-lift switch to counteract the hum caused by earth loops. Furthermore, there are custom Ebtech transformers on it, they now switch silently and there are polarity switches on them. The ABY Pro costs 235 euros and the ABC Pro 349 euros, both are available from mid-March.
Gamechanger Audio has developed the Plasma Drive especially for keyboardists together with Erica Synths. The pedal will cost about 370 euros and will be available from 20 February. Wampler comes with a new modulation pedal called Terraform. It contains no less than 11 high quality effects including a chorus, tremolo, flanger and a ‘slow gear. Furthermore, there are several inputs and exits on this pedal, allowing you to connect the pedal to 2 spots in your effect loop. The price and delivery time are not yet known.
Xotic launches two new mini pedals: Super Clean Buffer and Super Sweet Booster. The Super Clean contains a buffer that keeps your guitar signal in tact even when using long cables or many different pedals. There’s also a gain button on it, in case you need a little more signal. In addition, it has EQ dip switches (on the side) for High Cut, Hi-Mid Boost, Low Mid Boost and Bass Boost. With the Super Sweet Booster you can get your signal no less than +20dB in clean gain extra! This pedal is a Class-A preamp based on a JRC4558 chip. Also this pedal has the same 4 EQ DIP switches on the side. Both pedals are powered by a 9 volt adapter. Both pedals will cost 169 euros and will be available from April 18 (and of course already available at Pedaltown).
Catalinbread,finally comes on the Winter Music NAMM with a new pedal called Coriolis Effect. It’s a wah, filter, harmonizer, pitch shifter and sustainer effect pedal. The pedal has three parameters that allow you to adjust the movement of the guitar signal. There’s a Velocity, Acceleration and a Hold button on it. What exactly they do is difficult to express in words. The Coriolis will be available from March 28, 2019 and cost 259 euros.