Illinois Entertainer October 2019 | Page 46

By David Gedge LASTING HERITAGE and mahogany. Other important construc- tion techniques are the use of the PLEK machine, traditional jigs and fixtures, hand-shaped necks and hand-sprayed fin- ishes. Edwin Wilson, Senior Manager of Guitar R&D at BandLab Technologies, says, “Our team in Kalamazoo has built a collection that pays homage to great instruments that have been well-traveled and played through the years. The very positive response to the Aged Custom Shop collection showcased at Winter NAMM 2018 showed us we’re moving in the right direction with these guitars. In the lead up to Summer NAMM, our team relied on these guitars with painstaking attention to creating authentic details that are sure to appeal to discerning buyers. This is a time-consuming process done entirely by the hands of skilled American artisans – and we invite you to try them out, and feel and hear the results for your- self.” Overdrive Pedal Revival Origin Effects Revival Drive Copact Pedal Heritage Artisan Aged Collection Artisan Aged Axe Heritage Artistan Aged Guitar Collection Heritage Guitars unveiled the Artisan Aged Collection at the Summer NAMM show. This collection is a limited release of guitars with custom-shop quality aging, offered at the same price point as the Heritage Standard models. The collection also provides good value, as well as creat- ing more options for American guitar lovers. Comprising of the H-137, H-150, H-535, H-575, and Eagle Classic, the Artisan Aged Collection is hand-built by skilled American artisans at the 225 Parsons Street (Kalamazoo, MI) factory. The guitars retain the same high-quality specifications as Heritage Standard models, including the continued use of nitrocellulose lacquer and traditional tonewoods such as rosewood 46 illinoisentertainer.com october 2019 Origin Effects have just released the RevivalDRIVE Compact, a single-channel overdrive designed to accurately recreate a range of British and American non-master volume valve amp tones. The RevivalDRIVE Compact condenses the original circuit design of the original dual-channel RevivalDRIVE into a smaller, more pedalboard-friendly package. Equipped with a streamlined set of wide-ranging controls, this new pedal promises to make the RevivalDRIVE’s var- ied array of amp-like tones more accessible – and affordable version for customers. Launched in 2018, the RevivalDRIVE houses a complete valve amp-style signal path recreated in analog electronics, with comprehensive controls that let users explore expanded amp characteristics. “We designed the RevivalDRIVE to be as flexible as possible,” says Origin Effects founder Simon Keats. “The response we’ve had from players has been phenom- enal, but we also know that not everyone wants to deal with that many knobs and switches! With the RevivalDRIVE Compact, we set out to design a pedal with the same sophisticated circuitry on the inside, but a simplified set of controls on the outside that would make it quick and easy to dial in a really great sound.” In addition to the same amp-style cir- cuit topology, the new RevivalDRIVE Compact features several controls lifted directly from the full-sized RevivalDRIVE. including Lows control, which lets users overdrive or tighten up the low end, the More/Presence control, which varies neg- ative feedback around the pedal’s power amp stage, changing the level of touch- sensitivity from Plexi, through to Fender, and VOX style amps. The Blend knob, which mixes the dry and overdriven sig- nals together, has been tweaked to provide more musical results by gently reducing gain as you add in the guitar’s natural tone, while the brand-new Highs knob condenses the original RevivalDRIVE’s multiple preamps voicing modes into a single, continuous control. The RevivalDRIVE Compact is available now from Origin Effects dealers world- wide and via www.origineffects.com. MSRP is $385.00