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MostrO Kelt Amplification, two channel tube amp Made in France
Tuesday, 31 January 2023
Kelt Amplification (keltamplification.com) is a small boutique amp builder based in Lorient, in Brittany right next to the sea in France. The founder Thierry Labrouze hand wires all the tube amps he has been building for the best for close to 10 years now. Here is a review of his flagship, the MostrO. The MostrO
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Blackstar Amped 2 Dept. 10, all-in-one pedalboard with built-in 100W amp review
Thursday, 26 January 2023
The British brand Blackstar (blackstaramps.com) hits hard with this second version of their Amped pedalboard! Indeed, this Amped 2 Dept. 10 offers everything you need to play in a band. All you have to do is plug it into a standard guitar cabinet, a mixing console, a computer (or all three) and you're ready to
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How to choose headphones to play the guitar and work on your DAW
Wednesday, 11 January 2023
In this video recorded in collaboration with Guillaume Jeulin from Blue Cat Audio (bluecataudio.com), we are going through the different kind of headphones available. In fact it is sometimes difficult to understand the differences between all the models available on the market. As Guillaume has many headphones in his lab, we thought it would be
Gildas from Dolmen Effects (dolmen-effects.fr) hits hard again with this distortion pedal that offers no less than 13 versions of the legendary Proco Rat with its Hermine. Spoiler, it sounds huge! Hermine Dolmen Effects pedal review Audio version available on The Guitar Channel Radio for premium subscribers Until the next gear review or interview, keep
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Volta 1987 v2, review of a double pedal to get the Marshall sound on your pedalboard
Monday, 26 December 2022
It was at the 42 Gear Street event that I had the pleasure to meet Salvatore di Pietro who is the craftsman behind the Volta Custom Electronics pedals (voltacustom.com) made in Italy. His Volta 1987 v2 model is what we call Marshall-in-a-Box, that is to say that it offers you the sound of the famous
While waiting for a complete gear review of these excellent Italian pedals, here is a first discovery of these products from Costalab (costalab.com). You can discover the two speed echo, the EchoLab, the ultra deep chorus, the ChorusLab and finally a revised version of the Big Muff with the Custom Muff. Costalab pedal review Until
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MIDI tutorial: how to control the Kernom Ridge overdrive pedal via MIDI with Blue Cat Audio Remote Control
Tuesday, 08 November 2022
In the video below recorded in collaboration with Blue Cat Audio (bluecataudio.com), I show you how you can use their Remote Control software to change parameters on the MIDI capable overdrive pedal Kernom Ridge (kernom.com). For us mere guitar players, there is something magic in being able to remote control a pedal on our pedalboard.
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Showroom update: Légende guitar by Jeanmichel Capt from Switzerland
Thursday, 20 October 2022
Here is a short demo of a Légende model of a guitar built by the Swiss luthier Jeanmichel Capt (autraversdesmains.ch/guitares-legende). Met for the first time at the Montreux International Guitar Show, Jeanmichel was an exhibitor at the Puteaux guitar show organized by yours truly. After the show, I took this beautiful instrument with me as
It is difficult to remain insensitive to the shape of the California made by Tony Girault (giraultguitars.com), luthier in Evreux, in the beautiful region of Normandy in France. This is the new version of this model with slightly redesigned curves. In case you are wondering the name of the luthier is pronounced G-raw. Loaded with
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Duesenberg Senior, a beautiful German guitar at our Paris showroom thanks to Fred’s Guitar Parts
Saturday, 01 October 2022
Here is a short demo of a Duesenberg (duesenberg.de) Senior model in collaboration with the French importer of the German brand Fred's Guitar Parts (fredguitar.com). Thus, as part of the showroom service, I am delighted to present this beautiful German guitar which has more than one trick up its sleeve despite its apparent simplicity. Duesenberg
The Les Paul Special Gibson signature Rick Beato is a guitar that made a lot of news because it's the first time the American brand made a signature model for a youtuber rather than a star musician. Here is the test of the dual P90 guitar with its superb TV Blue Mist color. Test of
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Cherry’s Guitars, demo of a Les Paul type guitar built by the French luthier Thierry Ceresa
Saturday, 17 September 2022
The Les Paul number VIII guitar from French luthier Thierry Ceresa under his brand Cherry's (cherrysguitars.com) is an exceptional guitar! The demo below is a compilation of the playing sequences from the Direct Backstage live show on September 2, 2022 on La Chaîne Guitare. The guitar is plugged into the Universal Audio Dream 65 preamp
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Yamaha RevStar guitars, first impressions with Krenar Cilku #42GSFour
Friday, 02 September 2022
At the 42 Gear Street event organized by Henning Pauly at his home, it was possible to use one of 3 crazy video studios in turn to record videos. The first day was the brand day. So I found myself with the very nice Austrian youtuber Krenar Cilku (YouTube channel) that I had met the
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MIDI pedalboard configuration to drive your guitar software on a computer
Tuesday, 08 March 2022
In this CAM or CAG gear chronicle (as you prefer), we tackle with Guillaume Jeulin from Blue Cat Audio (bluecataudio.com) a subject that usually makes guitarists run away: MIDI! Don't worry, we're not going to talk about guitar synthesizers but about configuring and using a pedal board to drive via MIDI what's happening on your
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How to setup an audio interface to play guitar on your Mac computer – Blue Cat Audio chronicle
Tuesday, 22 February 2022
As part of a collaboration with Blue Cat Audio (bluecataudio.com), editor of CAM software for the studio and for the guitar, here is a new CAM (Computer Assisted Music) column. or CAG (Computer Assisted Guitar), as Guillaume Jeulin, the founder of Blue Cat Audio, likes to say. This time it is the connection and configuration
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Setup an audio interface to play guitar on your PC computer – Blue Cat Audio chronicle
Tuesday, 15 February 2022
As part of a collaboration with Blue Cat Audio (bluecataudio.com), a software editor for studio and guitar, we recorded a series of videos dedicated to Computer Assisted Music (CAM). Guillaume Jeulin, founder and developer of Blue Cat Audio, even talks about CAG (Computer Assisted Guitar). In this first part, we start with the basics: connecting
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Totem X.2 X7 Spalt Instruments, a superb guitar built for great sounds!
Monday, 27 December 2021
In the series of Totem X.2 resin top guitars from the Austrian luthier Michael Spalt, here is an instrument with the sweet name of X7 Spalt Instruments (spaltinstruments.com). It may not be very poetic, but this guitar is beautiful and it sounds great! Totem series X.2 X7 Spalt review Until the next gear review or
"Classic S Suhr, the best American Super Strat today?" Come on! Let's assume the bold statement that the Classic S from Suhr Guitars (suhr.com) represents the best of the modern Super Strat in the production guitar segment. Big fan of John Suhr (whom I hope to interview one of these days!!) and his work in
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Showroom feature: Tausch Guitars model 665 Raw in Candy Apple Red
Tuesday, 20 April 2021
As part of the service proposed to boutique guitar builders to exhibit and try out instruments in our private showroom in Paris, France here is the model 665 Raw in a gorgeous Candy Apple Red relic finish from Tausch Guitars (tausch-guitars.de). This guitar built in Germany by the luthier Rainer Tausch is full of cool
The American pro audio brand Eventide continues to renew its guitar pedal line. After the BlackHole reverb, the MicroPitch offers a stereo delay with the famous Eventide detuning function. The possibilities of this pedal are incredible as it can be a simple delay, a stereo multi-tap delay, a stereo delay with modulation or a chorus!
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Tausch Guitars 665 Raw Deluxe review, a great German boutique guitar
Friday, 05 March 2021
The German luthier Rainer Tausch (tausch-guitars.de) makes guitars that have a very classic appearance but are in fact completely revisited instruments. In the case of the 665 Raw Deluxe model, it is clearly Telecaster inspired. And yet this luthier guitar is a hollow-body with a glued neck, so it's far from the Esquire. Tausch 665
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Franfret luthier’s guitar model #1, a Strat with a Mahogany body
Friday, 12 February 2021
The Spanish luthier Francisco Rodriguez is the craftsman behind the Franfret brand (franfret.net). Already interviewed several times, he sent to the showroom of The Guitar Channel a Strat like no other. Indeed, not only is the inspiration clearly David Gilmour's vintage guitar #00001 but its body is made of Mahogany. On this kind of guitar
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As part of the service proposed to boutique guitar builders to exhibit and try out instruments in our private showroom in Paris, France here is the model 665 Raw Deluxe from Tausch Guitars (tausch-guitars.de). This guitar built in Germany by the luthier Rainer Tausch is full of cool features (see specs below) Tausch Guitars 665
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Invaders Bluegrass 550 tube amp, a 50W single-channel powerhouse
Tuesday, 26 January 2021
The Bluegrass 550 from Invaders Amplification (invadersamplification.com) is a 100% tube amp single-channel tube amp that has a pretty phenomenal sound. One thing is sure, you won't run out of headroom with this amp! Invaders Bluegrass 550 review Until the next gear review or interview, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel.
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Boost an amp with a Klon or simulate it with a Ceriatone Centura in a Simplifier
Friday, 15 January 2021
Changing the sound of an amp with a boost pedal is a recipe almost as old as the first tube amps. In this gear video, we listen in detail to the sound changes when you push a Marshall sound with a Klon Centaur type pedal. In order to simplify the configuration and to have everything
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Octopus G2002 Spalt review, awesome sounding guitar and a piece of art
Friday, 08 January 2021
Make no mistake the Octopus G2002 from Spalt Instruments might look like a piece of art (guess what, it is one!) but it is first and foremost a badass guitar! It was a real pleasure to review this guitar which spent a couple of weeks at our showroom in Paris before heading to Japan. This
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Tone Bender, review of one of the ultimate and sought-after Fuzz pedals
Wednesday, 16 December 2020
Thanks to a faithful premium subscriber of The Guitar Channel (thanks Steven), I was able to test a vintage Sola Sound Tone Bender Professional Mk II. It is one of the most sought after Fuzz pedals by aficionados. Tone Bender Professional Mk II review Impressions Fuzz pedals are difficult beasts to tame. This Tone Bender
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Gate Guitar #047 Spalt Instruments review: a piece of art you can play for good!
Friday, 11 December 2020
The Gate Guitar #047 from the Totem resin top series built by Austrian luthier Michael Spalt is one of the three guitars recently received at our Paris, France showroom. This is part of the service proposed to boutique builders described here in this post. Yes! It is definitely a piece of art but, boy, is
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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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