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Unicorn Classic Ruokangas, a super high-end Les Paul type luthier guitar
Wednesday, 25 November 2020
Ruokangas (ruokangas.com) is a difficult name to pronounce for us but it's a well known name on The Guitar Channel since there have already been several interviews with luthier Juha Ruokangas as well as several luthier chronicles. In the category of high-end luthier guitars, here is the Unicorn Classic, the reinterpretation of the Les Paul
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As part of the service proposed to boutique guitar builders to exhibit and try out instruments in the private showroom of The Guitar Channel in Paris, here is the Unicorn Classic coming from Finland and built by Ruokangas Guitars (ruokangas.com) led by master builder Juha Ruokangas. Ruokangas Unicorn Classic Unicorn Classic Ruokangas Specs Amount of
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Showroom feature: 3 Spalt Instruments guitars by luthier Michael Spalt
Tuesday, 17 November 2020
As part of the service proposed to boutique guitar builders to exhibit and try out instruments in the private showroom of The Guitar Channel in Paris, France I am very pleased to present a trio of Spalt Instruments guitars (spaltinstruments.com) by luthier Michael Spalt : Gate Guitar #047 G2002 Octopus Totem X.2 X7 Presentation of
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Spalt Instruments Gate Guitar #047 – 5min review, playing only, no talking
Sunday, 15 November 2020
The video below was recorded in one take during a live broadcast on my Twitch channel (twitch.tv/lachaineguitare) during a demo of the awesome Gate Guitar #047 from Austrian boutique guitar builder Michael Spalt (Spalt Instruments). Only the playing sequences were kept for the edit of this 5min video review. 5min demo of the Spalt Gate
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Simplifier Zero Watt DSM & Humboldt fully analog guitar preamp review
Friday, 13 November 2020
The Simplifier Zero Watt from the Chilean brand DSM & Humboldt (simplifieramp.com) is a fully analog guitar preamp that offers the three standard tube amp types. So we find the Fender Blackface sound, the VOX AC30 sound and finally the Marshall Plexi sound. The unit has a very small footprint since it is just the
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It was a blast to record a gear review of this 1965 Gibson SG Junior. Here is a great Rock'n'Roll machine of a Vintage guitar! This example is in player condition, meaning it is not fully original (the original tremolo is gone, the tuners were replaced, etc.) and it was heavily played. 1965 Gibson SG
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Let's play a little! What do you think was used in the clip below to generate the guitar sound? Let me help you a bit, it's a 100% software solution. Mystery on a riff of U2 The song of U2 from which this riff is extracted is Until the End of the World, a great
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XTone Pro Xsonic review, 2 input USB audio interface and MIDI pedalboard
Friday, 31 July 2020
In this review I present you the XTone Pro from Xsonic. This is a super cool USB 2 input audio interface which doubles as a MIDI pedalboard! Great piece of gear which works great with your favorite amp emulation software on your computer or mobile device. Disclaimer: this gear was sent to me by the
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Fender Lead II and Lead III, two great guitars from Fender Mexico!
Friday, 19 June 2020
At the Winter NAMM 2020, the Mexican reissues of the Fender Lead models caught my eye. A few weeks later, here is now the complete test of the two Mexican Fender Lead series, the Lead II and the Lead III. To make it simple, the II is equipped with two single-coil pickups and the III
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In this video we put back to back two loadbox simulators, the Captor X Two Notes Audio Engineering and the OX Box Universal Audio. Both devices are connected to the same Marshall 6101 100W tube amp. May the best win! Shootout: Captor X Two Notes versus OX Box Universal Audio Advantages Ox Box The fineness
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Fender Duo-Sonic, an excellent Fender Made in Mexico, in Desert Sand!
Friday, 29 May 2020
With its scale of 610 mm instead of 648 mm on a normal Strat, this Fender Duo-Sonic is terribly sexy! Especially in that Desert Sand finish with its anodized plate which is a must have for this model. Here is the complete test of this beautiful Made in Mexico reissue of a flagship model from
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Valvebucker, the tube powered guitar pickup invented by Juha Ruokangas
Friday, 22 May 2020
Juha Ruokangas is a Finnish luthier who leads a small team of highly skilled craftsmen. Ruokangas Guitars builds high-end electric guitars and basses. In 2014 at the Holy Grail Guitar Show in Berlin, Juha Ruokangas presented the Nemo guitar, a prototype electric guitar with a tube pickup, the Valvebucker. It wasn't until 2019 that the
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Amp attenuators and cabinet simulators, only the best gear at our showroom!
Wednesday, 20 May 2020
There is only the best gear regarding attenuators and speaker/mic simulators in The Guitar Channel showroom in Paris for recording gear reviews, for Guitar in Hand interviews and for live broadcasts every Friday night. Reminder on attenuators and simulators The gear presented in this article has two distinct functions: Attenuator: to reduce the electrical power
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How to broadcast live from your smartphone for guitar builders or musicians
Monday, 27 April 2020
Here is an article written to help the guitar builders after the Holy Grail Guitar Show (holygrailguitarshow.com) edition 2020 was cancelled because of the Coronavirus quarantine. The idea was to explain this subject as simply as possible so they can have a good online impact during the virtual edition. We are going to focus on 3
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Eccos Keeley, a delay with the power of digital and the warm sound of analog
Friday, 17 April 2020
The Eccos Keeley (robertkeeley.com) echo pedal promises nothing less than simulating the effect obtained with two tape recorders that are linked to generate a repetition of sound. Make no mistake, this pedal is fully digital but achieves the performance of sounding beautifully like in the good old days of analog recording. Eccos Keeley review Until
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JHS PG-14, Paul Gilbert signature distortion pedal – Jam à la Santana
Friday, 10 April 2020
The American pedal brand JHS (jhspedals.info) which bears the initials of its founder Joshua Heath Scott has just released a distortion in collaboration with the one and only Paul Gilbert. With a clever equalization with a semi-parametric midrange adjustment, a very large range of sounds can be reached. The dynamic response is also pretty awesome.
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Guitar Review – California model from luthier Tony Girault, a mean P90 rock machine!
Friday, 28 February 2020
Here is a video of a great electric guitar built by a French luthier Tony Girault (giraultguitars.com) who is based in Normandy in a town called Evreux. This California model is a great Rock machine with its twin P90 pickups built by Tony himself. Config review For this video the guitar was plugged straight into
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Friedman amp factory tour by Dave Friedman in Huntington Park, Los Angeles
Friday, 31 January 2020
Right after Winter NAMM 2020, I had the opportunity to have a tour of the Huntington Park facility where the Friedman amps (friedmanamplification.com) are built. Furthermore, my private guide was Dave Friedman himself. Pretty cool. The full version of the article includes the full length video as well as a complete photo album. This Boutique
JHS (jhspedals.com) is an American brand that offers top level guitar effect pedals. Here in this gear review, the Panther Cub delay pedal. JHS Panther Cub Until the next gear review or interview, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel.
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The Klon Centaur is probably one of the most cloned pedal with the Tube Screamer. Today we are testing the Centura pedal from Ceriatone (ceriatone.com) which is one of the most highly regarded clone of the Klon. It is built in Malaysia and looks absolutely gorgeous. Test configuration Amp : BD Custom Amplification Guitars :
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Recording an acoustic guitar: direct output versus through a Radial DI box
Friday, 20 December 2019
Following a discussion with the luthier Virgile Pilon from Blind Guitars (blindguitars.com) concerning the K&K Pure Mini sensor which equips the B-51 model which is in our showroom in Paris, I recorded the video below reserved for paying subscribers of the show. The idea is to compare the sound when you get when you directly
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1983 Vigier Arpège, a very uncommon French guitar built by Patrice Vigier
Friday, 04 October 2019
This 1983 Vigier Arpège guitar is a real monument of French guitar building because of the high level of the lutherie and because of its very modern shape that we have not seen again afterwards. 1983 Vigier Arpège Until the next gear review or interview, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel.
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New test run for the Universal Audio OX Amp Top Box which is this time connected to a Marshall 6101 combo. For reference, for comparison a recording was also made with a Shure SM57 positioned in front of the speaker combo. OX Amp Top Box / Marshall 6101 Connection of the OX on the amp
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The Sideman FX tube amp from Kelt Amplification, entirely Made in France and even 100% in Brittany is a beautiful sound machine with an integrated effects loop. Kelt Sideman FX review Until the next gear review or interview, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel.
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Gear Review – OX Amp Top Box Universal Audio / Kelt Sideman FX amp
Friday, 03 May 2019
Here's a new review for the Universal Audio OX Amp Top Box which is this time connected to a Sideman FX Kelt head and cab. For reference, for comparison a recording was also made with a Shure SM57 positioned in front of the 15 inch speaker cab. OX Amp Top Box / Sideman FX amp
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The brand Drybell based in Croatia offers pedals of excellent quality as the Vibe Machine which is the choice of Mike Landau to have a sound of Univibe on his pedalboard. The Unit67 is a multifunction pedal with boost, 3-band equalizer and compressor. Video Review - Drybell Unit67 Until the next gear review or interview, keep
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Pedal Review – Vemuram Jan Ray overdrive – Super dynamic and creamy drive pedal
Friday, 26 April 2019
The model Jan Ray overdrive pedal from the Japanese manufacturer Vemuram is the star of this video gear review. I found that this pedal sounded remarkably well with a great response to the playing dynamics. Judge for yourself via the video below. Vemuram Jan Ray overdrive video Until the next interview, keep on playing the
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Friedman is a well-known tube amp brand that also has its range of pedals and guitars (made by Grover Jackson for that matter). The BE-OD overdrive pedal is supposed to be the replica of the saturated channel of the BE-100 amp, the flagship of the American brand. Let's go for this video test of this
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The French pedal manufacturer Anasounds (anasounds.com) now offers a pedal named High Voltage. The promise of the manufacturer from Nice for this pedal is simple: get the sound of Malcom Young from AC/DC, just that! Promise kept? Let's hear it... Summary of the full review Full video Pros and cons of the pedal Conclusion: promise kept?
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Here's a video review of the Friedman DS40 plugin available in the Universal Audio Apollo interface. Friedman is well know for the quality of their tube amp. That's why I was very curious to test drive the plugin based on their DS40 model. Here's a screenshot of the plugin : Setup used for the review
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