Danny Hines Guitar Blog

Dunlop release the MXR Micro Chorus and Micro Flanger

Danny Hines — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:29:17 +0000

Dunlop has released the MXR Micro Chorus and Micro Flanger pedals . These pedals tip their hat to their previous incarnations, that were first introduced in the 80’s, and use bucket brigade technology for processing. The Micro Chorus simply has a RATE knob to control the speed. The Micro Flanger has a RATE knob to control the speed of cycling and a REGEN knob to control the overall intensity. These pedals differ from their 80s counterparts by introducing true bypass switching so they refrain from tone sucking. Prices are $79 for the Micro Chorus and $89 for the Micro Flanger.

See Dunlop for details

Warbird Tele by Danny Hines Guitars Unveiled!

Danny Hines — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:58:09 +0000

Well, it finally has become reality! The Warbird is based on a WWII theme. The inspiration for this guitar comes from the P51 Mustang flown in the latter days of WWII. The idea for the esquire guard came from the one seater cockpit in those planes. Like many of those “birds” this guitar body has seen some battles and conflict which is evident by its exterior This is the first of many themed guitars I have in mind. Yes the body and the hardware are for sale on my shop site, as well as some other aged guitars bodies.

Check it out more photos of the Warbird Tele Guitar Parts Garage

Rivera Amps – Interview with Paul Rivera Sr.

Danny Hines — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 17:28:39 +0000

This is a fascinating interview from NAMM 2010 with Paul Rivera Sr. from Rivera Amplification. In his own words, he chronologically talks about his life’s work in amplifier design from his electronic experiments as a 12 year old to the sonic thunder his Rivera amps are creating in the industry today.

Amp lovers enjoy…Danny

Analog Coolness Way Huge Aqua Puss Delay Pedal

Danny Hines — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:15:58 +0000

The renewed Way Huge pedal line has introduced a delicious analog delay to their growing offerings. The Aqua Puss MKII is an analog delay that produces that fat warm delay sound that many lust after. For $150 MAP they are a great deal. You can check them out here at Musictoyz.com

Carr Amplifiers Mercury

Danny Hines — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:22:05 +0000

My friend Chris O. sent me a request to feature this on my blog. It is Carr Amplifiers Mercury a cool little 8 watt amp pumping EL34s in the power section. It also has a cool built in attenuator that allows you to dial down the power to 1/10th of a watt. All this in a combo available in either a 1×12 or 1×10.

Hear an audio clip with a Telecaster
Hear an audio clip with a Les Paul Jr

Check out Carr Amps

The Who Live – Classic Rock Icons

Danny Hines — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:49:41 +0000

This is my nod to The Who whom performed for Super Bowl 44. Sometimes nothing gets the blood pumping like a classic rock song. Even though my kids associate this song with CSI, I still love to air guitar to this one. Roger’s vocals sound great and Pete Townshend’s guitar sounds as raunchy as ever through those HiWatts. All while Entwhistle and Moon are holding the fort down rhythmically. This clip is from The Kids Are Alright. Crank it up and enjoy.

Cheers, Danny

PRS Swamp Ash Demo with Davy Knowles

Danny Hines — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:24:41 +0000

I was tweeted this from PRS Guitars. To be honest Davy Knowles slipped underneath my radar, I had never heard of this very talented young man. Shame on me, he is brilliant guitarist, sounds much more advanced than his age reveals, he is 22. Enjoy this video of his playing.

Also, the gear he is demoing is the new PRS Swamp Ash guitar which is outfitted with their narrowfield pickups, to my understanding they are basically a thin dual coil pickup with single coil personality to it. Take note of the tone of the bridge pickup which has a very twangy quality. Of course the guitar sounds great through the PRS Sweet 16 combo designed under the supervision of master amp guru Doug Sewell.

Enjoy

Gibson 50th Anniversary 1960 Les Paul Standard

Danny Hines — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 19:02:49 +0000

Gibson released their 50th Anniversary 1960 Les Paul Standard. It is available in 3 different versions. Version 1 has a full round neck profile and is available in Heritage Cherry Sunburst and Heritage Dark Sunburst. Version 2 has a slim style neck profile and will be available in 2 faded burst colors Light Iced Tea and Sunset Tea Burst. Version 3 will be made available in a more colorfast Cherry Sunburst. There will only be 500 of these instruments made and they will be partnered with a Custom Shop case and of course a Certificate of Authenticity. The $8500.00 price tag suggests this guitar is not for the faint of heart, nor for the common workingman, but for the collector. However, some may be interested in trading their car or spouse for this guitar

Check out the Gibson website for more details

PRS Sweet 16 Amp American Made Tone

Danny Hines — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 03:17:20 +0000

Paul Reed Smith and master amp builder Doug Sewell have teamed up to create a new amplifier called the Sweet 16. This new single channel amp combines excellent tone and quality aesthetics and a not-so-expensive price point, and is available as a head or a combo amp. The Sweet 16 amp has 16 watts of cathode-biased 6v6 output tube power and is hand-wired in Stevensville, Maryland.

Under the Hood
The Sweet 16’s has a simple control layout that includes volume, treble, mid, bass, master volume and a bright switch. The preamp section incorporates two 12AXT tubes and two 12AT7 tubes. The amp runs on Class A power, the tubes are biased to run a bit hotter than normal. There is also a tube-driven 3-spring Reverb. The back panel has an impedance selector and the speaker outputs.

Premier Guitar Magazine has a review here

Check out PRS here

Tech 21 NYC Unveils New Character Pedals: Leeds, Oxford, U.S. Steel at NAMM 2010

Danny Hines — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:14:31 +0000

Oxford, Leeds, & U.S. Steel
Tech 21 has expanded their SansAmp Character Series with the addition of three new pedals: Oxford, Leeds and U.S. Steel. The Oxford’s tones range from ‘70s London glam to modern stoner rock. The Leeds spans from the ‘60s classic UK rock to ‘70s prog rock. U.S. Steel delivers tones from ‘90s Valhalla to the aughts Nu-metal chunk.

Following the same design formula as the existing Blonde, British, California, Liverpool and VT Bass pedals, each of the continuously-variable Character controls sweeps through an entire tonal range of possibilities. By simply twisting a few knobs, you can build the most sought-after tones and hot rod your own. From rare vintage classics to roaring modern icons, every variation is delivered in the distinctive voicing of that amp style.

Being genuine SansAmps, each Character Series pedal can be used as a stand-alone pre-amp to drive a power amp, a studio mixer, or a PA system, or used as a stompbox with an amp. Other features include built-in, defeatable speaker simulation, which is individually tuned to match each of the speaker/ cabinet configurations associated with each type of amplifier; 3-band active EQ, Drive and Level controls; and 100% analog circuitry. MSRP: $225.00

For more information: Tech 21