MEANGENE
Introducing Three Trusted Companions
In the past year my musical travels have The Centaur A1525V
introduced me to a variety of new gear and This Southern California-based company has
club situations. I’ve played solo acoustic made a name for themselves by producing
gigs where they basically want you to be an excellent line of acoustic amps. I originally
background music – something I wasn’t quite found one used on eBay a year ago and have
accustomed to; small restaurants with my since upgraded to one of their newer amps,
band, where we all had to play acoustics just having been so impressed with the early
to keep the volume levels in check; average model. Weighing in at 50 pounds, it packs a
clubs where there’s no need to mic your major punch in both volume and tone. Better
guitar rig; and nice-sized venues,
warming up for bands like Thin
Lizzy. Because there were so
many different venues, I found
myself constantly trying out
different rigs, all in the search
to find the perfect tool for the
job. Now, I’d like to introduce
you to three amps that I’ve had
the pleasure of working with.
These are not paid or free gear
endorsements – these are all
amps that I have purchased and
that have performed when I
needed them most.
tone; a nice crunch tone; and capable of
burning leads with a solo boost and effects
loop. Fortunately I was introduced to the
Modena 90, straight out of Sweden, through
destroyallguitars.com. I love complexity
served up simply, if that makes any sense,
and the Modena does this nicely. It has two
basic channels – Clean/Crunch, both with
independent tone controls – and adds a
second set of gain stages to each
channel with two Master Volumes,
essentially giving you six settings
in two channels.
The Roland CUBE Street
This is a tiny, little guy, capable
of running on six AA batteries,
making it a great camping/boat-ing companion – of course, if
that was all it did, you probably wouldn’t see it on this list.
It packs in two channels, with
a third input for an iPod. The
first channel is primarily a vocal
channel (a mic/line input), with its
own Volume, EQ and effects. Channel 2 is
aimed at guitarists, but it is versatile enough
to be used for any electrified instrument.
The controls on this channel include Volume,
Gain, EQ, two sets of effects and models of
your favorite amps.
yet, when it comes to acoustic/vocal reproduction, the A1525V is very honest – what
goes in is what comes out. I use this amp for
most solo acoustic gigs, but it even handles
our three piece band, consisting of guitar,
bass, electronic drums and three vocals. It
definitely makes for a flexible rig – I’ve used
it as a PA stage monitor and in a stereo
guitar rig with an effects feed from my main
guitar amp. With fat, clean reproduction of
anything you feed it, it has become my Swiss
Army amplifier. I wish it had a pole mount,
but that’s nothing I can’t fix. If you’re interested, check them out at centauramp.com
What I like the best about the
Modena 90 is that it does its
own thing – it’s not an imitator.
In addition, despite pumping out
90 watts of juice through two
KT88s, Elmwood was able to keep
the head smaller than a full-sized
Marshall head. The clean channel
can go from super clean to a hefty,
defined crunch when the second
gain stage is added. The Gain
channel is borderline ridiculous,
in a very good way. The first gain
stage is enough to make any gain
lover smile, and it can be dialed
from percussive, crunchy rhythms
to over-the-top leads. Toss in the
second gain stage and hold onto
your hair because you’re going for
the ride of your life. It cranks out
more gain than I’ve ever heard, yet
stays tight and focused. You may not
need to throttle it up that high, but it’s nice
to know that it’s there if you need it. If you
have a police-calling neighbor, you’ll want to
stay away from Elmwood’s website –
elmwood.se.
I’ve been using this amp for quiet acoustic
gigs and it has been working like a charm.
The “Acoustic Guitar” setting has a nice compression that keeps you from blowing out the
dual 6. 5” speakers, and it makes for a simple
vocal PA in a snap. The built-in effects let
you leave the pedalboard at home, making it
great for small gigs and backstage warm-ups.
The only things I would add to make this a
complete package are a speaker on/off switch
and a pole stand adapter, although I may be
able to modify it for that.
The Elmwood Modena 90
At one point during the year, I found myself
searching for a smoking, all-in-one amp rig.
I needed something with a big, warm, clean
Gene Baker
Any questions or comments visit
finetunedinstruments.com
meangene.org
b3gene@verizon.net
Fine Tuned Instruments LLC,
home of his “b3” instruments.
