SWR Spellbinder Blue
If you thought big tone in a small package was limited
only to guitar amps, think again. SWR blew away bass
aficionados with its amazing Spellbinder Blue—a powerhouse of a bass amp run by a 160-watt Class D power
amplifier thumping sound through a single 10" SWR-Designed Eminence Neodymium Driver and a Customer
Eminence Supertweeter. It doesn’t get much better than
that, and reviewer (and noted Nashville bassman) Sean
O’Bryan Smith (February 2009, web exclusive) agreed:
“Take my word that this is a LOUD 160 watts. Even at
pushed volumes the sound is articulate and full. The user-friendly features coupled with extreme portability are
sure to entice players of all styles. Studio musicians and
jazz players especially will love how easy it is to dial up a
big sound in a small package.”
MSRP $1499
swrsound.com
Click here to read the full review
Mountainking Electronics Megalith
Big tone in a small package doesn’t have to just be limited to the world of amplifiers. Mountainking Electronics
delivered the goods in a stompbox-sized package with a
“massive sounding Fuzz/Distortion Pedal that will leave
you shaking in the wake of its destructive path,” wrote
reviewer Brian Barr (November 2009). He wasn’t kidding.
The Megalith lets you dial up a slew of killer fuzz/distortion combinations that may just cause you to neglect your
other fuzz pedals. It was definitely a worthy recipient of
our recognition.
Street $265
myspace.com/mountainkingelectronics
Click here to read the full review
www.premierguitar.com
2009
Two-for-One
We’re suckers for those deals where you buy one and get more than one,
whether it’s burritos, haircuts or belts. When it’s two award-caliber pieces of
gear in one package, we’re over the moon. The new Two-For-One award is
presented with gratitude to two pedals that gave us the best justification for
a new gear purchase.
Jetter GS3 Dual
Overdrive
We’ve all done it …
running one overdrive into
another to have three tonal options available. The Jetter GS3 (October 2009) simplifies things
significantly—giving you two distinct overdrives in the same housing.
Michael Ross described Channel 1 as ranging from “a clean boost
that was virtually indistinguishable from the original British sound of
the Orange head” to an “excellent dynamic breakup that responded
to every variation of guitar volume knob or pick pressure like a $3000
boutique amp,” and Channel 2 as “more aggressive than Channel 1…
though not into serious metal territory.” Using both yielded “an almost
infinite variety of distortion sounds from Dumble to Plexi.”
Street $289
jettergear.com
Click here to read the full review
PedalworX Cool Machine
The wah and auto-wah modes in the
Cool Machine (November 2009) provides two wildly different mods. Using
the pedal as a regular wah gives
you “sweet, vintage wah tones and
super quiet function,” wrote Steve
Ouimette. There’s also a “Q” setting
to deepen the tone … a lot. Using
the auto-wah feature, Steve “was able
to pull out slow Uni-Vibe and faster
Leslie-like tones with ease—and even
some early Jimmy Page-style ‘Dazed
and Confused’ sounds without a trip to the foot doctor!” The speed of
the auto-wah is controlled by a knob on the side of the pedal, and displayed by a flashing red LED, so you can lock in the tempo.
Street $259
pedalworx.com
Click here to read the full review
PREMIER GUITAR DECEMBER 2009 107
