In 2014 I had the opportunity to meet Harry Häussel (Haussel Pickups - www.haeussel.com) at the Holy Grail Guitar Show (see interview below). Harry is a renowned manufacturer of electric guitar pickups whose products are used by Ruokangas, Nik Huber and Springer.
At each major guitar event like the Musikmesse or the Holy Grail, Harry was present and we always took time to discuss.
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Report of the Springer Guitars special events organized by The Guitar Channel
Monday, 07 November 2016
Regularly The Guitar Channel organizes special events to showcase guitar builders in a rehearsal studio where it is possible to both try the instrument in a real playing environment and exchange with the luthier. Last week-end saw two events like that with Springer Guitars as the main focus points. The luthier Mikaël Springer was there in person to engage with the guitar aficionados.
Video coverage
A 2min video to get an idea of the events:
Springer Guitar Gear Evening Nov.
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MJS acoustic guitar J-78 built by luthier Godefroy Maruejouls
Sunday, 23 October 2016
Here's a first on the show with a video review of an acoustic guitar, and one built by a luthier!
Anasounds (www.anasounds.com) is a French boutique pedal builder with already a wide range of products from overdrive to delay, the company is now launching a new pedal, the Bitoun Fuzz. It was developed with the musician and journalist Julien Bitoun, a Fuzz connoisseur, who wanted something special. And something special they created with this Bitoun Fuzz.
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Simon Ghnassia is a guitar player who ordered not one, not two but three Telecaster type guitars from the same luthier Didier Duboscq (Eden Lutherie).
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The offer for the soft guitar cases did a lot of progress lately. Gone are the days of ugly cases which do not really protect our beloved instruments. We now have a wide range of cases including ones manufactured by Mono (monocreators.com) and Gator (gatorcases.com).
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Trescab, Shimverb, Ana Echo, Micro Looper Mooer pedals review
Wednesday, 07 September 2016
Here's a foursome review of Mooer pedals with the Trescab (cab simulator), Shimverb (reverb), Ana Echo (analog echo), Micro Looper (you guessed it, a looper).
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What's more enjoyable than playing guitar outside in a nice weather or just during a business trip or vacation? For acoustic guitar, nothing more simple since, as per definition, the amplification system is integrated with the instrument.
For electric guitars, it is different because our dear electrified instruments need at least an amp to operate. Here's an overview of possible solutions for playing guitar in mobility:
Mini-Amp
Headphones
Hybrid system
Update: 9/5/16
Mini-amp solution
There are many electric guitar amplifiers which combine the advantage of being very compact and battery operated.
Walrus Audio is an american builder of pedals. They propose a wide range of products. Here's a video review of the Iron Horse distorsion pedal. Get ready for some big and fat saturated tones with this gain machine!
www.walrusaudio.com
Walrus Audio Iron Horse distorsion pedal review
Review setup
Guitar used : Spartan Springer with a single P90 pickup (Haussel)
Sound : the base clean sound used throughout the review is provided by an Apollo Twin Universal Audio interface in which the guitar is plugged directly.
Doing a visit of a factory building guitars is an awesome thing to do. Back in January 2016, I had the opportunity to take a tour of the Taylor Guitars factory in California.
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Honk Machine IT-11 Audio: a vocal overdrive pedal
Thursday, 09 June 2016
The Honk Machine overdrive pedal from IT-11 Audio is a very vocal overdrive pedal with its specific Honk setting which allows to increase or decrease a 700Hz frequency bump right in the middle of the human voice.
Honk Machine IT-11 Audio: a very vocal overdrive pedal
This video is accessible to all because IT-11 Audio
owns a Pro Backstage Pass on The Guitar Channel
What I enjoyed the most on this pedal
The overall sounds
The possibilities given by the Honk setting
The look
What I enjoyed the least
The changing colours of the LED is kind of distracting
Conclusion
Frankly the market
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I met the luthier Godefroy Maruejouls from MJS Guitars during the Guitares au Beffroi festival in 2015 where he was exhibiting his instruments.
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Beatbuddy pedal demo by François C. Delacoudre
Tuesday, 24 May 2016
Here are a couple of video demos recorded to demonstrate the variety of contexts where the Beatbuddy pedal can be used.
BeatBuddy wbsite: www.mybeatbuddy.com
Beatbuddy demos by François C. Delacoudre : from contrabass to slap and 2-string bass!
On a 2-string bass :
Slap:
With a contrabass :
En jam à deux :
Conclusion
As you can see from the video demos, it's possible to use the Beatbuddy pedal in many different contexts. François C. Delacoudre who is a professional bass player in France really enjoyed playing the pedal in very different styles.
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Chronicle #15 Spartan Project with Springer Guitars – Guitar setup
Tuesday, 10 May 2016
Here's the 15th episode of the Spartan Project video series. You will see how the luthier Mikaël Springer is doing the final guitar setup.
#15 Spartan project - Guitar setup
Photos extracted from the guitar setup video
Final drilling for the stop bar installation:
Installation of the Häussel P90 pickup:
Shielding of the electronic cavity:
Previous episodes of the Spartan Project
The goal of the Spartan Project is to document the building of a guitar for me by luthier Mikaël Springer.
During the NAMM I was intrigued by theDV Mark Micro 50 amp. It's super small and quite powerful with 50W. DV Mark is a brand more established in the bass amp market but big players like Greg Howe or Frank Gambale are using their guitar amps so it says something about what they propose.
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Universal Audio is highly respected for its great plugins which run in their interface. So far, the guitar amps plugins available were geared toward the big distorted sounds with the Friedman or Marshall plugins. It was possible to get some cool clean tones from the existing plugins but not as good as a real Fender amp. Until now. Universal Audio has just released a plugin for the Fender '55 Tweed Deluxe amp. Here's below the Tweed Deluxe plugin review in video.
Universal Audio website: www.uaudio.com
The cool looking user interface for the plugin.
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Here's the 14th episode of the Spartan Project video series. You will see how the luthier Mikaël Springer is doing his fretting on the guitar. It is a very crucial step of the process as the way the frets are dressed is paramount to the quality of the sound and of the comfort of the instrument.
#14 Spartan Project: Fretting
Close up photo of the fretting once finished on the guitar:
Previous episodes of the Spartan Project
The goal of the Spartan Project is to document the building of a guitar for me by luthier Mikaël Springer.
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Hubert Hochleitner interview (Hoovi Deeflexx) at the 2016 Musikmesse
Monday, 25 April 2016
Here's a Hubert Hochleitner interview, inventor of the Deeflexx, done during the 2016 Musikmesse.
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The day I did the in-depth interview with Bob Taylor, I did a full Taylor Guitars factory tour of their El Cajon facility near San Diego, California.
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Maybach is a guitar brand launched a few years ago with a line of instruments manufactured in Prague, Czech Republic with German pickups.
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Here's the mobile guitar rig I use when I want to play in the park right next to our house.
Reviewing pickups is by definition difficult since they are necessarily installed in a guitar which itself has an enormous impact on the sound. However if we consider that the pickups are on electric guitar what an engine is to a car, we can agree that it is a very important factor. To review this "engine" built by Seymour Duncan, we used a "frame" from the Paul Reed Smith race squadron with a Custom 24 model.
Yes you can get Slash Guns N'Roses Paradise City sound (or at least get close to it) with the Apollo Twin Universal Audio interface with a couple of plugins and the Burst guitar from luthier Mikaël Springer.
Paradise City sound with the Universal Audio interface and a Springer guitar
It's always a challenge to try to get close to a legendary tone from a hit like Paradise City.
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We all know that some drummers have a problem with alcohol. Some drink way too much and become unreliable time keepers. This can be a real disaster when you are trying to make it big or just trying to survive playing your music.
Here's a video review of the Friedman BE100 plugin available in the Universal Audio Apollo interface. Friedman is well know for the quality of their high gain tube amp. That's why I was very curious to test drive the plugin based on the BE100 model.
Here's a screenshot of the plugin in what I call the simple mode where you see only the amp settings:
Here's a screenshot of the plugin in what I call the rack mode where you see in the top half all the settings to fine-tune the sounds : noise gate, cab and mikes, delay, etc.
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Test drive of the Deeflexx during a concert and rehearsal
Thursday, 24 March 2016
Through the partnership with Deeflexx which is a Pro Backstage Pass owner, The Guitar Channel is able to have Backstage Pass owners to test drive the products using their own gear and in a real situation rather than simply in a guitar store. Here's the full testimony from José.
Deeflexx website: www.hoovi.at
Here's a picture of José playing his Telecaster and experimenting for the first time the Deeflexx during the Gear Afternoon #1.
Deeflexx test drive by José
As a Backstage Pass owner on The Guitar Channel I was able to test a Deeflexx product live in a bar.
The luthier Tony Girault (giraultguitars.com) based in Normandy at Evreux makes excellent electric guitars. Here is in test the Origin Tattoo which is no exception because it sounds great with its two humbuckers. Origin Tattoo by luthier Tony Girault Until the next gear review or interview, keep on playing the guitar! Pierre Journel. [cta_video]
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Guitar Review – Fastback Alquier “Codetalker” by Maurice Dupont
Wednesday, 09 March 2016
This Fastback Alquier model Codetalker built in the Maurice Dupont luthier workshop is a design by luthier Jean-Yves Alquier. It's still possible to get a custom Fastback entirely made by Jean-Yves but you now have the option to get a more affordable version with the same design and built by Maurice Dupont team in France.
Spoiler: this instrument is a great luthier guitar.
Fastback Alquier "Codetalker" by Maurice Dupont
Fastback Codetalker photos
Here are a couple of photos of this very elegant instrument.
Rig used for the review
Here's the pedalboard used for the review.
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Pedal Review – Drive Recovery Thrilltone overdrive Made in France
Saturday, 05 March 2016
It's not everyday that you get to review a French overdrive pedal based on a new fully analog technology. The Drive Recovery Thrilltone pedal is such a product. It's a double pedal with two stages.
Here's the Gear Evening debrief. On February 18th, the first Special Event of the year took place with the Gear Evening with Maurice Dupont (luthier), FX amps (guitar amps), Anasounds (boutique pedals) and Verspieren (insurance).
Gear Evening debrief video
Here's a video to give you an idea of this first Gear Evening of 2016. The first part of the video will show you the event while it is being setup and during. The second part of the video is composed of short interviews in French of people present for the event.
