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December, 2006
 
New Guitars, Amps and Pedals
The Latest from Reverend, Victoria and Boss by Scott Terry Reverend Charger HB-FM Reverend recently introduced the Charger HB-FM guitar, one of the new Stage King series designed by award-winning luthier Joe Naylor. The FM model includes a flame maple veneer laminated to a solid maple top. The maple top adds a more aggressive attack, while the tone-chambered mahogany body creates a resonant, light and lively instrument. The bridge pickup is slightly hotter than a vintage PAF, and the neck pickup slightly cleaner, for balanced tone and output. The versatile Bass Contour control can imitate single-coil pickups, but without the hum commonly associated with single coils, allowing the guitar to go from rock crunch to clean twang. The Charger HB-FM features Wilkinson staggered EZ-Lock tuners and Volume, Tone and Bass Contour (bass roll-off) controls. A 25.5" scale neck features a dual-action truss rod with 22 frets. The Charger HB-FM is available with a Les Trem tremolo for an additional charge. Victoria Regal II Victoria Amplifier Companybs latest product is the new Regal II vacuum tube guitar amplifier. A combo amp featuring reverb and tremolo, the Regal II is a pure, single-ended class-A design that utilizes a new Adaptive Transformer Technology that allows for the use of one or two power tubes at the same time. Therefore, operating power is rated from 5 watts to 35 watts, and at 5 watts, it's a real 5 watts, not some squashed approximation of 5 watts. The Regal II is designed around a custom bifilar output transformer that is essentially two discreet transformers driving a common speaker load. This allows for the use of any combination of common 8-pin power tubes, from a single 6V6 delivering 5 watts of pure class A power, to two EL-34's for 35 watts. And because each tube is relating to its own independent transformer winding and bias resistor, any combination of different tube types can be auditioned. Whether it be a single 6V6, 6L6GC or a combination of the two (that's right, a 6V6 and a 6L6GC at the same time), the Regal II never needs biasing or adjustments when changing tubes. This versatility is also extended to rectifier tubes: the Regal II can accept any common 5-Volt rectifier, including 5Y3, 5V4, 5U4 and 5AR4, with no adjustments necessary. Boss RC-2 New on the market from Boss is the RC-2 Loop Station. The previously introduced medium-sized RC-20XL and the deluxe, extra-wide RC-50 have been in high demand. Now comes an ultra-compact member of the RC family, the RC-2. Housed in a compact-pedal case, the RC-2 puts a surprising amount of features in a small stompbox. With up to 16 minutes of record time and 11 internal patch preset locations for your layers of loop creations, the RC-2 is a compact solution for recording, looping and storing. In addition to looping, the RC-2 also provides a wealth of other handy and powerful features suck as jam-along Rhythm Guide, Auto Start, Tap Tempo, Loop Quantize and Undo/Redo. In traditional BOSS fashion, the RC-2 benefits from a clean and friendly user interface. As powerful as this little Loop Station is, it's simple to operate. Like all BOSS compact pedals, clearly labeled buttons and knobs put everything directly under your fingertips and toes. Thousands of guitarists rely on BOSS's ultra-convenient BCB-series pedalboards for organizing their effects pedals. Due to its standard compact pedal shape and size, the new BOSS RC-2 fits perfectly alongside other BOSS pedals in your rig. |