2020-03-01 Total Guitar

(Jacob Rumans) #1
TOTAL GUITAR MARCH 2020

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NOBELS ODR-1


BASS CUT
The relatively affordable Nobels
ODR-1 has become something
of a poorly-kept secret among
tonesniffers. Now the company has
updated its overdrive with a couple of
handy features. First off is a bass cut
switch (hidden inside the battery
compartment) to help tame your low
end,plusit nowsupports9 or18-volt
operationfora liftinheadroom.
At£99, it could be your new go-to,
all-purpose overdrive pedal.

NEURAL DSP


QUAD CORTEX


Plugin gurus Neural raised
eyebrows at NAMM with the
introductionoftheQuadCortex:its
firstforayintotheworldof hardware
modelling.Aidedbyitscollaboration
withDarkglass,youcanbesurethat
thisthinghassomeseriousDSP
pedigreewithover 50 ampmodels,
morethan70 effectsmodels,plus
over 1000 impulseresponsesforyou
togetyourhandsdirtywith.The
wholelotis packingsomeheavy-duty
processingpowertoo,with2ghzof
SHARCanddual-ARMprocessors.
NeuralreckonstheQuadCortexand
its biomimetic‘NeuralCapture’
processingis a gamechanger,and
ata first glance we have to agree. It’s
aiming at the high end, with a price
tag looking to be around £1,600, and
we can’t wait to get our hands on one.

BLACKSTAR


SONNET


Justwhenyouthinkyouhave
Blackstarsussedoutaspurveyors
ofmeaty valve rock tones and superb amp
modelling, the UK mob come out guns
blazing with an acoustic amp! Blackstar
saysit wantstodelivertransparent
acoustictoneswithTheSonnet“not
changed,notcoloured,justyouracoustic
guitarbutlouder”.Thereareseparate
guitarandmicchannels, plus bluetooth
streaming on-board to make playing out
orbuskingwithbackingtrackeasy.Other
featuresincludedigitalreverbs,USBand
abuilt-in tilt stand for perfect positioning.

Followinghotontheheels(ormaybe
toes) of 2018’s preamp pedal series,
Victory is now taking things a step further
by adding a power amp into the mix. The
Duchess V4 can pump out 180 watts of
class D power, and as well as an effects
loop, also includes on-boardreverband
tremolo, making thisa seriouscontender
in the floor amp game.Victory’s Martin

KiddtellsTG:“Weknewwecoulddesign
asuperb sounding amp that wasn’t
compromised by a lack of power, lifeless
tone or burdened with endless options
that you never use. A simple, professional
guitar amp that you can take anywhere.
Thefrontendtakesyourdrivepedals
exactlyasyouwantit to,andthere’san
effectsloop, digital reverb and tremolo.”

VICTORY V4 DUCHESS

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