Fox News announced on Monday that the network and its prime-time anchor Tucker Carlson have mutually agreed to end their association after more than a decade.
“FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways. We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor,” the US broadcaster said, adding that Carlson aired his final show last Friday. Fox expressed gratitude to Carlson “for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.”Neither Fox nor Carlson have offered an explanation for the break-up. The network did say that last Friday’s episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight will be the last, and that a newscast will be aired in its stead starting Monday evening.Shares in the network’s parent company, Fox Corporation, slid by 4.7% after the announcement. Carlson had given no hints of the show ending last week, announcing instead a new season of his documentary series for Fox, titled Tucker Carlson Originals. On Friday, he gave a keynote speech at the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, again not mentioning anything about parting ways with Fox. In the absence of an official explanation, there has been widespread speculation that the break-up might be related to a recent lawsuit against Fox by Dominion Voting Systems. The company had sued the network for defamation in a Delaware court, alleging that Fox hosts had promoted “baseless” claims by former president Donald Trump about the 2020 election. Fox settled the lawsuit for $787.5 million last week. Over the weekend, a prominent congresswoman also argued Carlson should not be allowed on air under federal law. “When you look at what Tucker Carlson and some of these other folks on Fox do, it is very, very clearly incitement of violence – very clearly incitement of violence. And that is the line that we have to be willing to contend with,” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, told former White House press secretary Jen Psaki, now a host on the rival cable channel MSNBC. Declaring itself “the sworn enemy of lying, pomposity, smugness and groupthink,” Carlson’s evening show first aired in 2016 and quickly became the most popular in the Fox News lineup. In June 2020, he set the record for the highest-rated quarter of any cable news program, averaging 4.33 million viewers. His recent interview with Donald Trump drew an audience of 6.7 million.
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After a song featuring the AI-generated voices of the rappers Drake and The Weeknd went viral on Monday, the world’s biggest record label demanded a reckoning from streaming platforms. The Netherlands-based Universal Music Group (UMG), which represents both artists, has already tried to block artificial intelligence programs from accessing its catalog, but that appears to be easier said than done. A song titled ‘heart on my sleeve’ clocked more than 15 million plays on TikTok, 625,000 on Spotify and over 230,000 on YouTube in just a few hours, before the platforms moved to take it down for copyright infringement. Drake and The Weeknd are both represented by Republic Records, a subsidiary of UMG. The Dutch-based label is the world’s largest, with a market share greater than all independents combined. After the incident, UMG issued a statement insisting that having AI generate music from their artists’ catalog “begs the question as to which side of history all stakeholders in the music ecosystem want to be on: the side of artists, fans and human creative expression, or on the side of deep fakes, fraud and denying artists their due compensation.” Platforms “have a fundamental legal and ethical responsibility to prevent the use of their services in ways that harm artists,” the label added.
The company has “a moral and commercial responsibility to our artists to work to prevent the unauthorized use of their music,” a spokesman told CNN on Tuesday. “I’m not sure how effective this will be as AI services will likely still be able to access the copyrighted material one way or another,” Karl Fowlkes, an entertainment and business attorney in New York, told CNN. Fowlkes argued that the government should “explicitly ban” AI companies from using copyrighted work to train their models. Copyright is intended to protect original art, “not works created by machines that used the original art to create new work,” he said.
The US Copyright Office issued new guidance in March saying that it will decide on a case-by-case basis whether AI-generated work can be copyrighted, explaining that this depends on whether something is merely a “mechanical reproduction” or the result of an author’s “own original mental conception, to which [the author] gave visible form.” DJ and producer David Guetta demonstrated in February how easy it was to create new music using two AI programs, ChatGPT for lyrics and Uberduck for vocals. After just an hour, he had a rap song that sounded like the work of Eminem. Guetta played it at one of his shows, but said he would never release it commercially. “That is an ethical problem that needs to be addressed because it sounds crazy to me that today I can type lyrics and it’s going to sound like Drake is rapping it, or Eminem,” he said at the time. Zound Industries made its name making Marshall licensed speakers and now owns the legendary British brand. An end of an era, but what does it mean for guitar amps under the newly formed Marshall Group?
After over 60 years of family ownership, the iconic British guitar amp brand Marshall Amplification has been sold to Swedish speaker company Zound Industries in a deal that will see both brands trade as the Marshall Group. The brand first collaborated on a range of Marshall-branded headphones and Bluetooth speakers for the consumer market under a 2010 licensing deal. It was a deal that was hugely successful, taking the Marshall brand identity onto the streets, with its appeal extending beyond guitar players and reaching people who had never picked up the instrument before. Other brands such as Orange and Fender diversified accordingly, launching their own ranges of bluetooth speakers and headphones. In agreeing to the takeover, the Marshall family will remain the largest shareholder, owning a 24 per cent stake in the Marshall Group. Zound will acquire Marshall Amplification, plus its subsidiaries Natal Drums, Marshall Records, and Marshall Live Agency. With double-digit profitability and combined revenues of over $360 million, the Marshall Group is in a strong position to compete in both consumer and musician markets. But the big question for musicians is what will the move mean for the future of an amplifier brand that changed the face of popular music in 1962 with the launch of the late Jim Marshall’s first amp design, the JTM45, and provided the sound and the power for a new generation of players including Pete Townshend, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. The most-recent high-profile launch from Marshall was its Vintage Reissue Pedals, which saw the return of the cult classic Guv’Nor, Drivemaster, Bluesbreaker and Shredmaster drive pedals. New amp designs, however, have been thin on the ground. Jim Marshall’s heirs, his daughter Victoria Marshall and son Terry Marshall, will sit on the board of the Marshall Group, and said in a statement that the move will extend the brand’s appeal. “Since my father and I created the original Marshall amp back in 1962, we have always looked for ways to deliver the pioneering Marshall sound to music lovers of all backgrounds and music tastes across the world,” said Terry Marshall. “I’m confident that the Marshall Group will elevate this mission and spur the love for the Marshall brand.” During an appearance on yesterday's (Wednesday, March 22) edition of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", former VAN HALEN bassist Michael Anthony was asked if he has any plans to form a new project or band once Sammy Hagar has finally retired from performing with THE CIRCLE. Anthony responded: "Well, I wasn't going to mention anything about it, but there is a little side project thing that I've kind of been speaking to some people, and might be doing a couple of things with. I don't wanna get ahead of myself and mention too much, but it might involve Phil X [BON JOVI guitarist] and John Douglas, who you know as [the touring drummer] for AEROSMITH right now. I've known J.D. for many years, since he's worked with VAN HALEN… What a great guy. And we do have a singer. I don't wanna mention any names, but a really, really cool singer. And we're recording just for fun right now, some stuff. That's all I can say."
Anthony guested on "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" to promote his appearance at a fundraising event and concert benefiting Save The Heartbeat on March 25 at Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa, California. Also performing at the show will be Phil X, Hagar and John 5, among other musicians. Save The Heartbeat is a non-profit organization that benefits those that are affected by congenital heart disease (CHD). Danielle and Jonathan Maloof started this charity after their son Remington was born with an undiagnosed congenital heart defect in 2013. Back in April 2017, Michael announced the loss of his two-week-old grandson, who died of heart disease earlier that month. The musician opened up about the death of little Rex Becerra, the son of his eldest daughter, Elisha, in a Facebook post. "I recently lost my grandson Rex after turning just two weeks and one day old. We are tremendously proud of Rex," he wrote at the time. "In the short time on earth he left a lasting impression that our family will cherish." The family opened up about the death in a fundraising page with the Los Angeles Children's Hospital, noting that the boy was "quickly diagnosed with Heart Disease" after his birth on March 20, 2017. "Within 9 hours of birth he was transported to two hospitals and ultimately landed at Children's Hospital LA where he underwent open heart surgery," the family wrote on the page. They wrote that although the surgery was successful, little Rex never recovered from the procedure. He passed away on April 4, 2017, according to the page. VAN HALEN and Anthony had not been on good terms for more than a decade prior to guitarist Eddie Van Halen's death in October 2020, with Anthony not invited to join the reunion with singer David Lee Roth that began in 2007. The subsequent two tours and studio album, "A Different Kind Of Truth", featured Eddie's son Wolfgang on bass. Anthony took a pay cut and signed away all of his rights to the band name and logo in order to participate in VAN HALEN's 2004 tour, which featured singer Sammy Hagar. Shortly after, Jeff Scott Soto, who is known for his work with Journey, Yngwie Malmsteen and Sons of Apollo, among others, implied that he'll be the frontman of the project. The singer shared a screenshot of an article related to the topic, with the caption "Hmmm....ummm...no comment =)", going on to reply "Read between the lines my friend" to a fan who questioned him on the identity of the vocalist. Following a stint with Demi Lovato in 2022, guitarist Nita Strauss has returned to Alice Cooper's band, which will be hitting the road in late April for a series of 2023 North American tours. "From the studio to the stage, it's always an immense honor to make music with Alice Cooper! I'm very excited to be rejoining the band on the road for the 2023 dates, and so I'll see you on the road in April. Let the nightmare return," Strauss said in a press release.
"She's Back! " Nita asked for a leave of absence to work with someone else, something I always encourage my band members to do. I like them to challenge themselves and try new things," Cooper added. "I'm thankful to my old friend Kane Roberts for stepping up and filling in for her, but she'll be back with us for the new tour that starts up in late April. It's going to be great to have her back." Strauss announced her departure from Cooper's band last July, and revealed shortly after that she was joining Lovato on tour in support of the singer's 2022 album Holy Fvck. The guitarist had been playing with Cooper since 2014, but he expressed his full support of her decision to change gears. "[Alice and Sheryl Cooper] hugged me and were so happy and gave their absolute blessing," Strauss recalled during a Loudwire Nights interview. "Alice said, 'We're so proud of you. Go out, shine your light, have a great time and we'll see what happens for next year.' There was never a, 'Hey, I quit, goodbye, thanks for everything.' It was just, 'I'm gonna take a step back, try something different for a few months and we'll regroup and see what happens.'" As a result, Roberts reunited with the shock-rocker after 34 years and played on his fall 2022 tour. Cooper will embark on a headlining tour starting April 28 in Mt. Pleasant, Mich. The run wraps up with a May 20 performance at the Welcome to Rockville festival in Daytona Beach, Fla., and then the shock rocker is set to play a handful of dates with Motley Crue and Def Leppard in August. Later that month, he'll head out for a co-headlining tour with Rob Zombie, which will conclude in late September. The CNN Films and HBO Max-produced movie about Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny has won an Academy Award for best documentary. The fly-on-the-wall production directed by Canadian filmmaker Daniel Roher details the Navalny’s alleged poisoning, which he blamed on the Russian government. Roher received the award on Sunday alongside Navalny’s family during the Oscars ceremony at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. The film previously won several Western cinematography trophies, including at the Sundance Film Festival, the British Academy Film Awards, and the Producers Guild of America Awards.
Navalny, a veteran anti-corruption campaigner and opposition protest organizer, fell ill in August 2020 while on a domestic flight in Russia. After his plane made an emergency landing in Omsk, he was rushed to hospital, where doctors saved his life. He was later moved to Germany for treatment.Navalny and his Western backers claimed he was poisoned with a chemical weapon deployed by agents of the Russian government. Moscow denied the allegations and said Germany and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) had stonewalled Russian requests to participate in the investigation into the incident. Some Russian officials argued that the situation was likely orchestrated by Western special services in concert with Navalny’s team. Navalny returned to Russia in January 2021, despite warnings by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service that he would be arrested. At the time he was serving a suspended sentence and broke his parole terms by failing mandatory checks. The violation activated his suspended term, the prison agency said at the time. Navalny had previously been found guilty of defrauding the Russian subsidiary of the French cosmetics producer Yves Rocher and another firm out of some $400,000. He claimed the case against him and his brother, who was a co-defendant, was fabricated and politically motivated. The critically acclaimed documentary follows him, his family members and political associates from his time at the Charite clinic in Berlin to his arrest at a Moscow airport. Mr. Big have announced a farewell tour, taking place in 2023 and 2024. As of now the veteran rock band has unveiled dates for a run of Asia this summer, with US, European, and South American shows slated to be revealed for 2024. The tour, dubbed “The Big Finish,” will find Mr. Big playing its 1991 album Lean Into It in its entirety. The LP yielded the band’s smash ballad “To Be With You,” which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In a press release, Mr. Big said that it’s the right to time to end their touring career following the passing of drummer Pat Torpey, who died in 2018 after a battle with Parkinson’s disease. The band also revealed that Nick D’Virgilio (Spock’s Beard, Big Big Train) will fill Torpey’s slot behind the drum kit. “We wanted to do a proper farewell, and this seems like the right way to do it,” stated bassist Billy Sheehan. Guitarist Paul Gilbert added, “We’re in the process of making sure we come up with a suitably big entertainment extravaganza to go along with our music. And since our music has resonated so wonderfully in places all over the world, we’re going to play in as many of those places as we can.” And lead singer Eric Martin concluded, “If we were in the movie business, we’d just put it all up in lights and say, ‘Welcome to The BIG Finish!’ Seriously, I’m glad we’re getting a chance to do it all onstage together as MR. BIG again and raise a flag to everything we’ve done as a band over the years.”As for welcoming D’Virgilio to the band, Sheehan noted, “We found a wonderful drummer in Nick, and he’s got a great voice too.
Almost exactly one year after rumors of the John Mayer-favored overdrive pedal's revival emerged, a gear collector named Luca has returned to further fuel speculation. But this time, he's got pictures and packaging to prove it.Nearly one year ago to this day, Marshall was forced to deny the existence (opens in new tab) of a seemingly imminent reissue of its cult classic Blues Breaker overdrive pedal, after mysterious listings for the stompbox appeared on dealer websites.
At the time, it looked as though the return of the Blues Breaker was inevitable, with elusive pedal collector and guitarist by the name of Luca further fueling speculation with an Instagram post that read, “You will not believe what Marshall is bringing back to life.” And, though listings appeared on sites such as Thomann back then, Marshall dashed fans’ hopes by saying, “It’s not official and isn’t true.” The Marshall Blues Breaker pedal is one of the most iconic overdrive pedals in guitar history, and was originally based on the 1962 amp model of the same name, used by the likes of Eric Clapton. The Mark 1 pedal, released in 1991, gained popularity years later, and was notably used by John Mayer on 2008’s Continuum. Originals are still on the market, so they’re not totally elusive, though their eye-watering asking prices can price many pedal fans out of a purchase – early examples can be found on Reverb for more than $1,000. However, it looks like there is hope for casual Blues Breaker fans once again, if Luca’s latest development is to be believed. “As I anticipated exactly one year ago, the Marshall Blues Breaker is finally back,” Luca wrote in a recent post, “and you’ll be able to preorder it elsewhere very soon.” In subsequent posts, Luca then shared an image of what looked like official Marshall packaging for a Vintage Reissue Blues Breaker, and – just in case anyone still doubted it – a handful of pictures of the pedal itself. While it's become normal to see boutique effects pedals at $200+, there's still plenty of bargains to be found. But what about the ones from mainstream brands that might not be getting their dues? Fender's The Pelt fuzz pedal could be a prime contender.
While Fender's pedal line doesn't get the tone hounds frothing like some others, it's been a dependable source of quality since the company joined the effects fray in 2018. The Pelt followed in the second wave of releases for that year and impressed us in out review. So it's not underrated by us by any means, but we don't sense it's got the love it deserves. A silicon fuzz pedal for modernists less bothered by the a hallowed land of Germanium, we were especially taken with the versatility afforded by the Blend control. Combined with a great range of drive it would make an ideal first fuzz for newcomers or those yet to be convinced. And it turns out Chris Buck is a fan of The Pelt too. While he's not averse to waxing lyrical about '59 Bursts, Chris is no snob as his recent championing of the Squier 40th Anniversary Jazzmaster proves. Following a blazing demo with it, Chris explains his admiration for The Pelt below: "It's been with me pretty much everywhere; live shows, sessions, innumerable YouTube videos. Even all over the Cardinal Black album," says Chris. Which came as news to us because it wasn't on his pedalboard when we took a look last year, but it turns out it's a bit of a secret weapon for him. And although Fender sent him the pedal five years ago, Chris stresses in the video above that it's not a sponsored affiliation in any way. He's also a big fan of that Bloom control. It essentially affects how aggressive the fuzz sounds," summarises Chris. "When you turn it back to the left you're definitely in closer territory to, say, a vintage Fuzz Face. But by bringing it forwards it gives you that more aggressive, modern, spluttery, kind of Velcro-ripping sound. Which for me at least is where the Pelt comes into its own." Chris points to The Pelt's more aggressive side as being able to summon some of the Fuzzlord Scott Holiday's tones in Rival Sons. As Chris ably demonstrates with a touch of slapback echo. "The Pelt is also one of the few fuzz pedals I've tried where you can have some degree of confidence in running it into a clean amp in isolation and it not sounding like a bag of spanners," adds Chris. So one for the fuzz sceptics. And with the mid cut and mid push controls alongside the low end control of the Thick switch and Tone dial gives you a lot of options beyond many other fuzz pedals. Led Zeppelin took stock of their phenomenal fame with Houses of the Holy, with deep contributions from each member of the rock quartet. This fifth album was released in 1973, nearly a full year after it was recorded in the Spring of 1972 at Stargroves, an English country estate owned by Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones. The major reason for the album’s delay was trouble with designing and printing the unique album cover by the artistic company Hipgnosis, with the band completely rejecting the initial artwork and the first prints of the final artwork accidentally coming out with a strong purple tint. When they finally got the artwork correct, the album was banned from sale in many locations because of the naked children on the cover who pay homage to the Arthur C. Clarke novel Childhood’s End.
Produced by guitarist Jimmy Page (like all Zeppelin albums), the album featured sophisticated layered guitars, the addition of obscure instrumentation, and other rich production techniques. Beyond the Stargroves recordings, the album contains recordings from Headley Grange (site of recordings of their previous album Led Zeppelin IV) with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, along with Olympic Studios in London and Electric Lady Studios in New York. There were also several recorded songs not included on Houses of the Holy but released on later albums such as Physical Graffiti and Coda. The album featured styles and sub-genres not heard on previous Led Zeppelin albums, such as funk, reggae, and doo-wop. The album is an indirect tribute to their fan base, who were showing up in record numbers to their live shows. It perfectly straddles the band’s early, more blues-based period from their later work, which consisted of more richly produced studio albums that tilted more towards pop and modern rock. Bass player and keyboardist John Paul Jones temporarily left the band for a few days during this album’s recording but soon returned and stayed with the band until the end. The fact that this album features different sounds is evident right from the top with “The Song Remains the Same”. This song is odd on several fronts, from the pitch-effect vocals of Robert Plant to the extremely bright multi-tracked guitars of Page. Still, the song is great and is set up as a sort of journey, not a rotation. The song is a jam that feels loose yet does not get lost for one second, due mainly to the steady and strong drumming of John Bonham. The song was originally an instrumental which was given the working title “The Overture”, before Plant added lyrics and the title to it. It was originally going to be an intro for “The Rain Song”, and these songs were often coupled together in concert. “The Rain Song” Is an extended piece with eloquent acoustic and electric guitars weaved together. The song also features a long mellotron section (some would say too long) played by Jones, adding a surreal orchestral effect above Page’s guitar before returned to the climatic final verses and soft and excellent guitar outtro. Parts of “Over the Hills and Far Away” written by Page and Plant during the 1970 sessions at the Welsh cottage Bron-Yr-Aur for the album Led Zeppelin III. The song is mostly acoustic throughout but works into a harder rock section during the middle, making it one of the most dynamic Led Zeppelin songs ever. Jones and Bonham add a tight rhythm to Page and Plant’s etheral dynamics. The song was released as a US single, but failed to reach the “Top 40”, faring much better on classic rock radio through the decades. “The Crunge” is a funk tribute to Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding and James Brown and evolved out of a jam session built around Bonham’s off-beat drums and a bass riff by Jones. This song features an overdubbed VCS3 synthesizer to replicated the funk “horn” section, which gives it a totally unique sound of its own. During the jam Plant calls for a “bridge” (imitating Brown’s habit of shouting instructions to his band during live recordings). When no such section materializes, the song (and first side) uniquely ends with the spoken “Where’s that Confounded Bridge?” The closest Led Zeppelin ever came to writing a pure pop song, “Dancing Days” was actually inspired by an Indian tune that Page and Plant heard while traveling in Mumbai. The guitar overdubs are simply masterful in this upbeat song about summer nights and young love. It was played live as early as November 1971 and, although not officially released as a single, it received heavy radio play in the UK. “D’Yer Ma’ker” was released as a single and became the band’s final Top 40 hit (although they didn’t have many of those). The song has a unique sound with Bonham’s exaggerated drum pounding backing a reggae-inspired riff by Page and Jones and Plant’s bubblegum pop vocals. The distinctive drum sound was created by placing three microphones a good distance away from Bonham’s drums, giving him much natural reverb to make the banging sound more majestic. The name of the song is derived from an old joke about Jamaica, and was often mispronounced as “Dire Maker” by those not privy to the joke. John Paul Jones centrepiece “No Quarter” provides a great contrast with a much darker piece about viking conquest, with the title derived from the military practice of showing no mercy to a vanquished opponent. The song features a distinct, heavily treated electric piano throughout with an acoustic piano solo by Jones in the long mid-section. Page doubles up with electric guitars and a theremin for effect, while Plant’s voice is deep and distorted. The album concludes with the upbeat rocker “The Ocean”, which refers to the “sea of fans” at the band’s concerts. Launching from a voice intro by Bonham, the song returns to the heavy riff-driven anthems that were popular on their earlier albums. But this song does contain its own unique parts, including an overdubbed vocal chorus, performed a Capella, by Plant in the middle and a doo-wop outro section that contains a boogie bass with strong guitar overdubs, bringing the album to a climatic end. Houses of the Holy has been certified eleven times platinum and is often included on “greatest albums” lists. It is an odd but brilliant album by Led Zeppelin which finds a balance uncommon by hard rock bands of any era. Prepare to journey into the clouds and beyond pedal aficionados, everybody's favourite pedal pioneers are back with another mind altering ambient reverb! You’ve guessed it, we could only be referring to the collective genius of the team over at Strymon who have returned with the release of the incredible Cloudburst Ambient Reverb.Strymon has a reputation for pushing the boundaries of modern effects manipulation, offering a selection of pedals with a depth of features, unrivalled functionality, and user intuitive customisation options that few can compete with. Let’s be honest, if you haven’t already jumped on the bandwagon and committed a Strymon pedal to pride of place on your pedalboard, you probably want to! Whether it’s the holy trinity of the Timeline, Big Sky and Mobius or one of the myriad of ground breaking smaller footprint pedals such as the El Capistan, Flint or Compadre, you just can’t seem to escape the lure of Strymon pedals these days. A staple of the working player, they are the bar by which other pedal brands are measured by. The brand new Cloudburst continues this legacy of striving to conquer new tonal plains. The first thing that you’ll notice is a more compact, single switch housing. You could be led to believe that a smaller footprint might mean that the Cloudburst isn’t as feature rich as some of its more established siblings, well, you’d be wrong! Despite Strymon’s intention to create the most user intuitive and easy to use pedal in their arsenal, they have not compromised on functionality or features, in fact they have managed to pack more into this compact little box of tricks then we’ve ever seen before!
Adding harmonically rich textures to your signal, the ensemble can either be used sparingly, giving another dimension to your soundscape, or applied generously for an incredible string swell underneath your playing. It’s organic, musical and totally responsive to your playing. It’s full, deep and can be applied in a variety of ways.
The Ibanez JEM is a series of electric guitars produced by the Japanese guitar manufacturer Ibanez. It was first introduced in 1987 and was designed by Steve Vai, a renowned musician and guitar virtuoso. The JEM series has become one of Ibanez's most popular lines of guitars, known for its distinctive design and high-quality construction.
Over the years, Ibanez has continued to develop and improve the JEM series. New models have been introduced with different body woods, including alder and ash, and different neck and fingerboard materials, such as maple and ebony. The double locking tremolo system has also been improved, with the introduction of the Edge Pro tremolo in the early 2000s.
In addition to the standard JEM models, Ibanez has also released several limited-edition models, such as the JEM7V and the JEM77FP. These models feature unique finishes and custom specifications, such as different pickups and electronics. Ibanez has also released signature models of the JEM, including the JEM7VWH and the JEM77PMC, which were designed in collaboration with Steve Vai himself. The Ibanez JEM series has become a favorite among professional musicians and guitar enthusiasts alike. Its unique design, high-quality construction, and versatile sound make it a versatile instrument that can be used for a wide range of musical styles. The continued development and improvement of the JEM series over the years have kept it at the forefront of guitar design and technology. The Ibanez JEM series has become a favorite among professional musicians and guitar enthusiasts alike. Its unique design, high-quality construction, and versatile sound make it a versatile instrument that can be used for a wide range of musical styles. The continued development and improvement of the JEM series over the years have kept it at the forefront of guitar design and technology. US rock star David Crosby has died aged 81.The folk rock artist was a founding member of both The Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash. His representative said he died on Thursday, but no cause of death was revealed. However, his wife Jan Dance told Variety that Crosby passed following a long illness.
“Although he is no longer here with us, his humanity and kind soul will continue to guide and inspire us. His legacy will continue to live on through his legendary music,” his wife told the entertainment publication. “Peace, love, and harmony to all who knew David and those he touched. We will miss him dearly." Crosby was one of rock's essential musicians who helped shape the sound of 1960s rock and beyond. Tributes poured in for the musician. “I don't know what to say other than I'm heart-broken to hear about David Crosby,” tweeted Brian Wilson, co-founder of the Beach Boys. Former bandmate Stephen Sills, with whom Crosby butted heads with over the years, told AFP: “I was happy to be at peace with him.” “He was without question a giant of a musician, and his harmonic sensibilities were nothing short of genius,” Stills said of Crosby. “The glue that held us together as our vocals soared, like Icarus, towards the sun.” “I am deeply saddened at his passing and shall miss him beyond measure.” Crosby first found fame as a member of The Byrds, who hit the big time with their cover of Bob Dylan's Mr Tambourine Man. He was fired in 1967 after several run-ins with his bandmates, but went on to co-found Crosby, Stills and Nash, alongside Graham Nash and Neil Young. At the same time, Crosby had a close relationship with Joni Mitchell, with the pair acting as each other's muse. The band had their difficulties, but Nash released a statement expressing his “deep and profound sadness” over Crosby's passing. “I know people tend to focus on how volatile our relationship has been at times, but what has always mattered to David and me more than anything was the pure joy of the music we created together, the sound we discovered with one another, and the deep friendship we shared over all these many long years,” Nash said in a statement. “David was fearless in life and in music.” “He leaves behind a tremendous void as far as sheer personality and talent in this world.” As well as garnering a reputation over the years for being blunt, the mustached singer was renowned for his guitar-playing skills and his vocal harmonies. He is also one of a handful of people who have been inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. His career spanned six decades and he is known for some of rock's most beautiful hits, including the hauntingly pure Guinnevere and Long Time Gone penned in 1969, the night after the assassination of Robert Kennedy and reflecting the uncertain times in the US. Readers should know by now that I’m a huge fan of Blues Tone-Master Josh Smith - whose ear for tone is second to none. His Eventide Rotary / Lesslie Preset has long been a favourite of mins - as has his Signature Vemuram Myriad Hybrid Fuzz. I loved the Flat V concept right from first encounter on Instagram and immediately thought that this would become a major challenger for my favourite pedal of all time - vs the current incumbent - Chase Bliss’s Automatone Preamp MKII. That has a slightly more granular EQ, while there are more options on the Flat V - with 2 stackable Channels / Sides - and in a significantly more pedalboard-friendly enclosure.
Channel A is Transistor Based and focuses on the Clipping Diode Selection for that Channel - which covers Schottky, Germanium, Silicon and LED varieties. The only settings that apply for the A-Chanel are those 4 Diode options. Channel B is a tube-like Cascading JFETs style circuit with Waveshape Modulation Blend - via Sine, Triangle, and Square-wave LFO Modulation, or Envelope Follower. All the other Parameters apart from the Diodes apply to this channel - where you assign B1 and B2 Presets - i.e. 2 different settings which you can then morph between / oscillate / modulate between. The Secondary SENSE and SPEED Param controls impact on how the Waves / Envelope Blend is applied. To get a sort of Tremolo / Vibrato you tap the Signature Ident to flip between 2 Sides / Presets of the B Channel - both need to be sufficiently different to get an audible oscillation - and you need to further adjust / refine the Resonance and Sensitivity Params to ensure a balanced output. All that is of course optional - but gives you some really cool and unusual outputs not really found elsewhere. Touch Controls - Pre-sets / Banks [Hold], Signature Ident : Toggle B-Sides / Activate VU Mode / Activate Battery Mode / Save Pre-set [Hold], HPF / High Q, Volume / Sense. Gain / Speed, LPF / Low Q [Tap header to toggle btw Primary & Secondary Params], Diodes : Schottky / Germanium / Silicon / LED, Wave shape / Blend : Sine, Triangle, Square, Envelope Follower, A > B / B > A Channel Order, Footswitch A / Previous Pre-set [Hold], Footswitch B / Next Pre-set [Hold]. You then have 4 x 7-Segment Param Columns . Bars - each with Primary and Secondary Parameters. The primaries being High Pass Filter, Volume, Gain and Low Pass Filter, with the Secondaries as High Q Bandwidth Resonance, Sense / Sensitivity, Speed, and Low Q Bandwidth Resonance. You simply Tap the column base headers to toggle between Primary and Secondary Parameters. The EQ is significantly unique as these are synth-style 24dB/octave 4 pole resonant analogue filters versus your more typical Single, or Active or Passive 2 / 3-Band EQs. The central Signature Ident is a key element here too, as you Single-Tap on that to switch between the 2 x B Side Pre-sets (which you can modulate between) - i.e. where you’re applying the Parameters. A Double-Tap flips the screen to VU Mode - where the 7-Segment Columns become VU Input Meters - really cool! And then you Triple-Tap for the so called ’Battery’ or ’Battery Saving’ Mode - where the display only lights up when you’re touching it! The Signature Ident LED Colour indicated which Bank you are on. You have 6 Banks of 6 Pre-sets at your finger-tips - simply tap each number for Pre-set, and Tap-Hold Number for Bank. To save Pre-set you simply Press-Hold the Signature Ident, and at the same time Tap Number for Bank, and then Number of Pre-set you wish to Save to. Finally we have Dual Footswitches which activate each of the A + B Sides - where the central A/B ’button’ can be tapped to flip series order. Holding the A Footswitch Scrolls Down a Pre-set, while holding the B Footswitch Scrolls up to Next Pre-set. Those are pretty much all the essential details - I will share more when I get my hands on my unit. I pre-ordered one from Andertons (UK Poly Dealer) on Sunday Night - and it should be delivered on the day this article goes live! This Josh Smith Flat V is a really innovative and great looking pedal - with instant visual appeal. And I feel it’s incredibly good value at $399 / £399 considering the Chase Bliss Automatone Preamp MKII currently retails for $749. Poly has certainly delivered a very distinct modern looking and full-featured overdrive - I am so looking forward to getting my hand on this! Size-wise it looks pretty decent too - not much bigger than a BB-enclosure by the looks of it. There’s of course also Mini MIDI In and Out Jacks for those who need that!
The Fuzz Face is an analog pedal, which means it uses transistors to create its distinctive sound. It is known for its warm, full-bodied tone, which is perfect for creating vintage sounds reminiscent of the 60s and 70s. The pedal has two knobs, one for volume and one for fuzz. This simple design allows for a wide range of sounds, from a gentle distortion to a heavy, saturated fuzz.
Another great feature of the Fuzz Face is its durability. The pedal is housed in a sturdy metal enclosure, which is built to withstand the rigors of live performance. The pedal is also known for its reliability, which is important for guitar players who need to rely on their pedals night after night. The Fuzz Face has been used by some of the most iconic guitar players of all time, including Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and David Gilmour. These guitar legends have used the Fuzz Face to create some of the most memorable guitar sounds in music history. This pedal is a true classic that has stood the test of time. In conclusion, the Fuzz Face by Dunlop is the best fuzz pedal available on the market. Its warm, full-bodied tone, simple design, and durability make it a great choice for guitar players of all skill levels and styles. Its legacy and the fact that it has been used by some of the most iconic guitar players of all time, solidify its place as a true classic in the world of guitar effects pedals. |
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