GEAR ROUNDUP
CORTADO Xe Acoustic Instrument Contact Mic
Blackstar FLY High Gain 3-Watt Mini Amp
D’ Addario New Strings for Extended Players!
If you’ re trying to amplify an acoustic instrument and don’ t want to cut up the wood and install and pickup internally Zepplin Design Labs has released the Cortado Xe. This is a simpler version of the MkIII that offers pad and HPF switches. The Cortado Xe has the piezo sensor, JFET preamp and cable all attached in one package with an XLR plug on the end. The allsteel housing is durable and can also be held on magnetically if you don’ t want to use the included adhesive strips. Plug the Cortado Xe into any standard mix with 48V phantom power, with no need for a DI box, battery, or external preamp. The Zepplin Design Labs Cortado Xe Contact Mic is priced at $ 159.95 and includes a carrying bag to protect it when not in use on your favorite instrument. ZDL has other fun do it yourself mics, pedals, amps and cabinets on their website too for music enthusiasts like us. www. zeppelindesignlabs. com
Blackstar has a reputation for big loud tube amplifiers that many of our favorite bands use in studio and on tour, but they have also carved out a niche with their FLY amp series. The latest release that WM got in for review is the FLY HIGH GAIN 3 Watt Mini Amp. Compared to past FLY models, which I have owned several, the new High Gain design has three distinct channels( Clean / Overdrive / Nitro), ISF( infinite shape feature) and tape delay. All through a 3” speaker with 3 Watts powered by 6 x AA batteries or DC power supply( not included). The FLY High Gain also has an Aux in and headphone out jack for silent practice. Plugged in the Blackstar FLY High Gain Mini Amp is much louder than you would think and the Overdrive and Nitro sounds were full. The Nitro channel was created for harder rock and metal playing with a built-in noise gate to maintain sustain and not ambient noise. The ISF control is circuitry crafted to let you switch between British amp tones and American ones easily. The onboard analog delay warmed up the tones and filled it out also. The Blackstar FLY High Gain 3 Watt Mini Amp is a great home practice amp or went you don’ t want to crank up the full-size amplifiers at home or in studio. At only $ 99.99 this Mini Amplifier costs less than many guitar pedals and it already has two overdrives and delay built-in for hours of fun playing. I think the High Gain would be a great choice to mic up for some recordings also! www. blackstaramps. com
D’ Addario has just released two new series of guitar strings specifically for electric and classical guitar musicians that play extended range instruments. Both the electric and classical strings were created in the lab to deliver better tone, feel, intonation and balance for guitarists playing 7, 8 and 9 stringed instruments. Previously these musicians had to substitute bass strings into a standard setup of strings to achieve the sound and playability that they were after. The new NYXL HD electric single strings and the XT Dynacore HD single Classical strings combat this problem increasing the core to wrap ratio of the strings and higher density metals. Pair all of that with a tighter and smaller exterior wrap wire and you have the new NYXL HD electrics and XT Dynacore HD classicals. Prices start at $ 14.99 per string for electric and $ 20.99 for classical with multiple gauges to fit your playing style and instruments! www. daddario. com
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