Westerlund ONE Preamp, Overdrive & Boost Some things only happen in Nashville, TN. I was preparing to interview the band The Imaginaries and I’ m discussing their new album with Maggie McClure and Shane Henry. Of course, guitars, amps and pedals come into the discussion. Shane says,“ Hey I’ m a co-owner of a pedal company named Westerlund Audio, would you like to try out our pedal?” And of course, my answer was“ yes.” The goal of the One was to create an overdrive pedal that could achieve everything in one device. The pedal has a 3 band EQ at the top with Gain and Level knobs
that look like amp controls. In the middle of those two controls is the boost level. The fun stuff is where the mini switches come in for hard, off or soft attach, Germanium or Silicon clipping and Bright or Dark like an amplifier. The left footswitch achieves the Overdrive, and the right footswitch engages the boost. Testing out the One with a guitar and amplifier it was easy to achieve tube like Overdrive from bluesy grit to maxed out heavy in your face sounds. The Germanium to Silicon clipping makes a huge difference too. I preferred the Bright setting for solos but I could definitely see the benefit of the Dark selection for rhythm parts. The One by Westerlund Audio sells for $ 379 which is a great bargain considering the multitude of OD sounds it contains and the boost option. There are also rumors that Westerlund will be launching a new pedal this fall so stay tuned! www. westerlundaudio. com
Donner Classical Nylon String travel guitar
We have covered all of the different Hush series Donner has created over the years, but this is the first Classical Nylon string guitar in this series. Similar to previous Hush models this instrument is headless and tunes from the bottom of the guitar with metal leg brace and top bout for comfort. The nut width at the top is 1.81”. The custom piezo and HPS-II electronics are powered by a traditional 9-volt battery installed on the back of the guitar. Controls on the top of the Hush C include a built-in tuner, low batter mode, volume, 2 band EQ, headphone output and an auxiliary input. The package includes a gig bag, guitar strap, picks, guitar cable, earbuds and a cleaning cloth. Plugged in I like the simplicity of the controls on the Hush C model, the neck feels great, and it was smooth to perform classical pieces and contemporary music. The Donner Hush Classical guitar is currently selling for $ 284.99 making it cost effective for a travel instrument, intermediate players or someone just getting into a nylon string guitar. The silent practice feature is of benefit with all of Donner’ s Hush models. www. us. donnermusic. com
Trace Elliot Acoustic Pedals Trace Elliot is a name synonymous with bass guitar amplification and acoustic guitar amps, and they are now expanding their line with new effects pedals. These include a Dual Band Compressor and Overdrive for bass guitar, a Transformer DI and an Acoustic Clarity pedal for acoustic guitar. The Dual Band Compressor features a 2-band EQ for Lo-band and Hi-Band along with input and output level adjustments. Switching is true bypass, and the pedal does a great job of tightening up your low-end signal for active or passive pickup basses. The Trace Elliot Overdrive bass pedal has Drive, Level, Tone and Blend controls to achieve full range OD for a big warm bass sound. You can also split your signal output with this pedal and send a dry and overdrive signal to different amps on stage or in studio. This OD is designed specifically for bass guitar, and you can hear it in the tonality. The new Transformer DI is a pocket-sized lifesaver taking unbalanced signals to balanced or reverse along with total electrical isolation of signal paths. It has XLR and ¼” outputs and inputs with a ground lift selector on top. Low distortion levels with an Ni-Fe core to deliver the best audio possible and frequency response range of 20Hz to 20kHz, plus no unwanted hum. The Trace Acoustic Clarity pedal adds definition to your acoustic guitar sound. Adjustments are simple with a Low and High adjustment, but what happens when you plug in is hard to explain. My Gibson Hummingbird sounded fuller and more like it was being mic’ d instead of plugged into an amp. I would leave this pedal on all of the time. All of the Trace Elliot pedals mentioned are priced at $ 199.99 except for the Transformer DI which comes in at $ 229.99
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