gear Reviews

The Rob Williams ‘Set Neck Deluxe’ Guitar.

Recently I did a feature at All Out Guitar on the makeover of my beloved BC Rich Super Strat, by the revered guitar maker Rob Williams based in the Welsh hills. However, whilst Rob worked on my guitar, he lent me one his own, to help fill the void. It only seemed right therefore, that I gave it a quick review before I gave it back and it most definitely deserves one!

The ‘Set Neck Deluxe (with Cherry Burst finish)’ is a beautiful guitar. I lent it to a local guitar collector and enthusiast and his thoughts were:

Roland GR-20 Review

The GR-20 is effectively a scaled down and simplified GR-33. After fitting the pickup (I’ll moan about this in my midi column) you just switch on, plug in and play.

You then try all of your favorite Hendrix/Holdsworth/Vito Bratta (remember him?) licks only to find that it doesn’t play right! Some notes are louder, some softer, some don’t work; you get notes that don’t even exist!!!

Orange launch the Thunderverb 50

Hot on the heels of the launch of last year’s revolutionary Thunderverb 200, Orange now announces the launch of the Thunderverb 50. Using the latest technology, the new amp is a lower powered punchier version of the world acclaimed Thunderverb 200, which is already used by the internationally recognised bands such as Wolfmother. As with the 200 the new 50 incorporates ground breaking tube engineering and unique output transformer designs.

Boss GT-PRO Guitar Effects Processor

In recent years, the market for guitar processors has turned away from rack mounted gear and towards the floor units such as the POD XT Live, Vox ToneLab SE and the Boss ME and GT series. While these devices with their built-in pedalboards make a lot of sense for many guitarists, there are those of us for whom a rack mounted processor is more practical. So it’s always a welcome sight to see a new guitar processor that is rack mounted. The GT Pro is the latest effect and amp modelling guitar processor from Boss, taking the place of the venerable GX-700. It is based on the popular Boss GT-8 floor unit – in fact it is a GT-8, just sans pedals, with added connectivity and housed in a different box.

Dean Sarasota 12-string Electric Guitar

I have always loved electric 12-string guitars. I played a doubleneck Aria (ST-1512) exclusively for about five years, which I eventually lost to a faulty strap lock and a concrete stage floor. I have been intending to build a 12-string electric guitar to replace it ever since, but never seem to get around to it, so I’ve been keeping my eyes open for something suitable…