Electro-Harmonix Stereo Memory Man with Hazarai
Price: $214

Electro-Harmonix recently released a new stereo version of the Memory Man pedal with the curious addition of “Hazarai.” This new Memory Man has true stereo outputs sent 90 degrees out of phase and a tap-tempo switch. The pedal offers several features to dial in with the six knobs including the usual Blend, Decay, Filter, Repeats and Delay, but adds the “Hazarai” knob to cycle through a menu of settings for Echo, Multi-Tap, Reverse Echo and Loop effects, all programmable by pressing down and holding the Hazarai (Yiddish for “all the bells and whistles,” according to, er, Electro-Harmonix...) knob. The loops extend to as long as 30 seconds. Users can pull the speed down with the pitch for great warped monster/chipmunk sounds. EHX has replaced the original Memory Man analog chips with new digital circuitry, but insists a warm sound throughout the effects.
www.ehx.com

BSM RMG Treble Booster
Price: $325

BSM’s new RMG Treble Booster is designed with glassy, trebly guitar sounds of ‘60s blues rock in mind, particularly the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn. Based on the British Vox Treble and Bass Booster used at the time, BSM’s new pedal has one knob - “Jangle.” Basically a tone knob, the control allows users to filter through different levels of treble-heavy sound, from throaty mids with a little shimmer on top used in blues and jazz playing to punchy mids and highs for tight Nashville-style playing all the way to up to slicing “Mr. Tambourine Man” tones. BSM recommends using the pedal before or after an analog compressor.
www.treblebooster.net

Tone2 Gladiator Synthesizer
Price: $199

Tone2 just released their new Gladiator Synthesizer software, which gives you the giant, basement-filling wall of modular synth equipment you’ve always dreamed of right on your computer monitor. The Gladiator produces warm tones and a big range of sounds, from classic synth effects to bonkers sci-fi meltdowns. The software uses a new synthesis method called Harmonic Content Morphing, which is basically a large (and expandable) library of standard waveforms which are then modified by FM modulation. The Gladiator also uses an “intelligent micro tuning” feature, which automatically applies slight detuning to notes in octaves or chords to make each overall chord sound fatter and cleaner. Included are 40 different filters, 20 different effects, 7 distortion types, a programmable arpeggiator, additive sounds, sample playback, modular routing, 74 different oscillator types with 30,208 waveforms, step LFO and trancegate, BPM syncing and 4x stereo unison. The program is available for Mac and PC.
www.tone2.com

Alternative Guitar and Amplifier Company 34 1/2 Handmade
Price: Unavailable at press time

The Alternative Guitar and Amplifier Company recently announced the release of the new hand made version of its popular 34 1/2, Korean-manufactured guitar. The handmade version is a handsome step up from the original model, which was already an eye-catching and quirky design to begin with. The difference here is in craft and materials - the Handmade is built in California by Sal Gonzalez and Mal Stich and sports a 2-piece heelless maple neck through body construction with mahogany sides on the body. Mother of pearl inlays and logo grace the ebony fingerboard and stringers and the guitar is capped off with a 5-piece headplate of mahogany, ebony and maple. They’ve outfitted the guitar with Grover tuners, genuine bone nut, nickel frets, Kahler Pro tremolo bridge, locking strap pins, DMIP humbucker, plus volume and tone controls.
http://www.thealternativeguitarandamplifiercompany.com/

TASCAM US-1641 USB Interface
Price: $399

This new recording interface from TASCAM lines up 16 audio inputs for your home recording setup, using high-speed USB 2.0 technology, which offers 20% more bandwidth than FireWire 400. The eight XLR mic inputs use TASCAM Pro mic pres for 60 dB of gain and phantom power, while two balanced TRS line inputs on the front panel can be switched off to guitar-level inputs for any direct-in recording you want to do. There are four more line inputs in the back, plus MIDI and S/PDIF digital inputs. The unit has a built-in power supply, so no more fishing around for extra power cables. On top of the hardware, the US-1641 comes with Steinberg’s Cubase LE4, the latest edition of the renowned 48-track, 96kHz DAW, along with TASCAM’s Continuous Velocity Piano VSTi plug-in that simulates grand piano sounds. The software will also install ASIO and Core Audio drivers on your computer.
www.tascam.com