Author Archive for Phil Smith
French by birth but Texan by heart, I had different careers in multiple areas that don’t really make sense when they’re all laid down on my resume. Amongst them I’m a former military officer (mainly confidential stuff I can’t talk about) — I’m a former network architect (the stuff with switches, routers, optical fibers, satellites and wireless things that allow people to be connected) — I’m a former R&D engineer and product designer (mainly for electronics instruments in the Music Industry) — I’m also a former sound engineer that worked in professional recording studios (but nobody cares about that anymore) — and I even thought once in my life I was someone almost important doing things almost awesome... Now I’m just a professional amateur spreading my 2 cents online about anything and everything to anyone with too much time in their hands — and if you’re reading this bio, you might be one of them that just wasted 2mn of your life you will never get back. Sorry...
Expansion, Not Extinction – The Boss Waza Craft Tube Expander Provides Hope for Tubes in an Increasingly Digital World
Hope for Tubes in an Increasingly Digital World
Carvin Amps & Audio – New SCx Series Speakers
Carvin Amps & Audio is now offering the new SCx Series, a high performance active loudspeaker solution for small to mid-sized venues. The SCx Series is composed of a 12-inch (SCx12A) and a 15-inch (SCx15A) active multi-purpose loudspeakers, as well as a 18-inch (SCx18A) subwoofer. The built-in 1000 watts of power and Analog Devices DSP make […]
Red Alert — Incoming from Epiphone!
A true story about a collector and their passion for Epiphone …
NAMM 2019: Fender Alternate Reality Sixty-Six
In previous years, Fender has been very creative with the Alternate Reality Series. This year is no exception with new models announced for Winter NAMM 2019. The one that caught my attention is the Sixty-Six. The Sixty-Six is the textbook case of the classic Fender sound that meets unique visual style with its down-sized Ash […]
NAMM 2019: Jackson announces new artist signature models
For Winter NAMM 2019, Jackson announces several new artist signature models including a brand-new collaboration with Arch Enemy guitar maestro Jeff Loomis, as well as new models for longtime signature artists Phil Collen of Def Leppard, Revocation’s Dave Davidson, Phil Demmel of Machine Head fame, Scott Ian of Anthrax and Periphery’s Misha Mansoor. Jeff Loomis […]
NAMM 2019: EVH introduces the new Wolfgang WG Standard Xotic and additional colors
For Winter NAMM 2019, EVH introduces the new Wolfgang WG Standard Xotic models featuring exotic woods as well as new color additions for the Wolfgang WG Standard QM and Wolfgang Special. Wrapped in a Midnight Sunset finish, the new Wolfgang WG Standard Xotic features a basswood body with special “comfort cut” forearm and a unique poplar burl top, while the Wolfgang WG Standard […]
NAMM 2019 : Marshall Studio Classic 20 – the 20W JCM-800
Marshall is one of the rare companies to have multiple amp models from the ’60s to this day that reached the status of “Industry Standard”. One of them is actually the JCM-800 (2203) — made famous by many players such Slash, James Hetfield and pretty much any rock and/or metal guitarist in the ’80s. For […]
NAMM 2019 : Marshall Studio Vintage 20 – the 20W Plexi
If there’s one guitar amp company that doesn’t need any introduction, it’s definitely Marshall. This british amp builder has been very famous for various amp models over the years from the ’60s to this day. One of their most iconic amps is the JMP 1959SLP (a.k.a Plexi) — made famous by Jimi Hendrix. For Winter […]
NAMM 2019 : EVH releases the Stripped Series Shark
EVH today announces the release of the all-new STRIPED SERIES SHARK, a model based on the iconic striped guitar that Eddie Van Halen debuted during the first Van Halen World Tour in 1978. With his visionary hands-on approach to personally modifying his style and tone, Eddie Van Halen took his angular offset axe and sawed a […]
NAMM 2019 : New color and wood for Charvel Pro-Mod So-Cal & San Dimas Guitars
For Winter NAMM 2019, Charvel introduces new color and wood options for its best-selling Pro-Mod Series So-Cal and San Dimas guitars. Designed to inspire, the CHARVEL PRO-MOD SO-CAL STYLE 1 HH FR E, CHARVEL PRO-MOD SO-CAL STYLE 1 HH FR M and CHARVEL PRO-MOD SO-CAL STYLE 1 HH FR MLH are slick performers with premium features and versatile sound every […]