Peter's Reviews - NAMM 2009

New For NAMM 2009 - The Pearl Demon Drive Bass Drum Pedal

nospam@example.com (Peter) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 22:13:46 -0700

How can you possibly improve on the simple bass drum pedal? Well, Pearl just made a new pedal that not only is fully adjustable but meticulously machined and you can even change it between shortboard and longboard. I can't wait to try it out.

From Pearl: The most unique feature of the Demon Drive pedal is Pearls exclusive Duo-Deck, the worlds first convertible footboard. Through a simple adjustment, the Demon Drive pedal can be adjusted from a traditional shortboard to a longboard pedal in seconds, offering a slightly lighter, quicker feel that is the preferred setup when speed is a necessity.
Additional features of this amazing pedal include the worlds first two-position Beater Stroke Adjustment and two-position Direct Link Adjustment. Both adjustable features allow the player to create a slightly lighter or heavier feel of the pedal depending on their preferred setting. Adjusting the Duo-Deck in combination with the Beater Holder and Direct Link Adjustments yields 8 possible Pedal Configurations, allowing the player to truly create their ideal pedal configuration.

New For NAMM 2009 - The Akai APC40 Ableton Performance Controller

nospam@example.com (Peter) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 01:00:58 -0700

For guys like me, all of the beautifully colored buttons make us have gear lust for the new Akai APC40 Ableton Performance Controller. Now I have the basic version of Ableton so I'm not even that familiar with it but it seems like a great piece of software. If you're a hardcore Ableton user, this looks like it would turn you into a true power user!

Features:

Designed in partnership with Ableton
Unique clip matrix with multicolor lighting displays current clip status
No mapping required for use with Ableton Live
Exclusive bidirectional communication between the APC40 and Ableton Live
Professional feel with rugged, metal chassis and premium controls
Comes with Ableton Live Akai Professional APC Edition, free upgrade patch for full versions of Live
USB plug-and-play connection for Mac and PC
Premium controller with rugged, metal chassis

Click here to read more at Akaipro.com

New For NAMM 2009 - The Boss ME-70 Guitar Effects Processor

nospam@example.com (Peter) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:52:12 -0700

For anyone familiar with the old Boss ME-50, the news of an upgrade should be welcome news. Imagine an easy to use multi-effects processor with KNOBS YOU CAN TURN. No scrolling through hundreds of menus to find one parameter. This is all easy and fun to use and it's built solid! One thing that I love is that you can use batteries! Every now and then I have trouble with the power in certain buildings that cause vicious noise problems that battery operation will easily fix. Street price - only $299!

Features:

Dedicated knobs for each parameter for fast, friendly operation
New COSM Preamp section derived from GT-10 and Legend series
EZ TONE for quick, easy editing
Four footswitches and Expression pedal
PHRASE LOOP function in DELAY section, with 38 seconds of recording time
Battery or AC (optional PSA-120s) operation

New For NAMM 2009 - The Digitech Vocalist VL3D

nospam@example.com (Peter) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:49:00 -0700

Digitech just announced a new desktop vocal processor for NAMM 2009, the Digitech Vocalist VL3D. This is aimed at home studio crowd. No word on pricing yet.

Description: The VL3D offers 3-part harmonies using DigiTechs exclusive MusIQ Technology, which analyzes the singers voice and adds the most musically correct harmonies while offering real-time pitch correction and gender control. Featuring single-level programmability and five user defined voicing patches; the VL3D can be programmed on the fly without missing a note. The VL3Ds inputs include Midi In, Out/Thru, guitar or line level, and XLR.
Effects available with the VL3D include reverb (studio, room and hall) and a pre-effects section with warmth, compression, de-esser, and noise gate. Additionally, there are controls for Harmony Mix, and an A/B part selector with humanizing mix for dialing in precise gender effects.

Features:

3-Part Harmonies using DigiTechs exclusive MusIQ Technology which analyzes the singers voice and adds the most musically correct harmonies.
Real-Time Pitch Correction
Gender Control for both Male and/or Female backing harmonies.
Harmony Mix Control and A/B Part Selector
Single Level Progammability
5 User Defined Voicing Patches
Built-In Guitar Tuner with LED Display
3 Types of Reverb Studio, Room, and Hall
Pre-Effects including Warmth, Compression, De-Esser, and Noise Gate
MIDI In, Out/Thru
¼" Guitar and Line Level Input XLR Input

Video: Michael Lee Firkins At 2009 NAMM

nospam@example.com (Peter) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:59:36 -0700

I've been a fan of Michael Lee Firkins since is first CD. I think he's good enough that if he had better luck he would be one of the top guitar legends of our day.