RADIAL BONES LONDON

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GEAR GUIDE REVIEWS
1 BOSS M E -7 0
£269 WWW.ROLAND.CO.UK
WE SAID: A solid collection of gig-
worthy effects, rock-hard build quality
and a highly intuitive interface… The
result is a great-value effects unit.
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1 SEYMOUR DUNCAN
TWIN TUBE MAYHEM
£249 WWW.SEYMOURDUNCAN.COM
WE SAID: This valve-driven beast
has tons of options; it’s brilliant if you
want a bit of high-gain, erm, mayhem.
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2 DIGITECH RP1000
£523 WWW.DIGITECH.COM
WE SAID: On the face of it, the
RP1000 is a tad more expensive than
the competition, but it’s bursting with
pro-level features.
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2 KRANK DISTORTUS
MAXIMUS
£150 WWW.KRANKAMPS.COM
WE SAID: You get brutally heavy
distortion and an EQ section that
intensifi es the vicious tone.
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3 TC ELECTRONIC
NOVA SYSTEM
£449 WWW.TCELECTRONIC.COM
WE SAID: No awards for envelope
pushing here, but it offers a premium
set of meat and potatoes effects.
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3 RADIAL BONES LONDON
£150 WWW.RADIALENG.COM
WE SAID: The Bones series is Radial’s
solid state version of the Tonebone
valve-driven pedals. The ‘British Plexi’
drive sound is totally fl exible.
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4 LINE 6 M13
£458 WWW.LINE6.COM
WE SAID: Gigging guitarists will love
its professional spec (including true
bypass), while creative types will go
nuts for its smorgasbord of effects.
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4 VOX S ATCH URAT OR
£110 WWW.VOXAMPS.COM
WE SAID: A versatile distortion,
complete with Satch’s signature. Even
with the More switch engaged, the
pedal remains punchy and defi ned.
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5 ELECTRO-HARMONIX
HOLY STAIN
£75 WWW.EHX.COM
WE SAID: Other digital multi-effects
units do more but this will keep the
experimental guitarist very happy.
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5 LINE 6 ÜBER METAL
£90 WWW.LINE6.COM
WE SAID: Literally dripping with
distortion, the Über Metal also
includes a sweepable mid EQ and a
noise gate to keep everything neat.
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MULTI-FX UNITS
ACTIVE PICKUP ELECTRICS
DISTORTION PEDALS
BUYER’S GUIDE
WASHBURN WV40PROE VINDICATOR
£689 WWW.WASHBURN.COM
WE SAID: Active humbuckers’ tendency to
distort means they aren’t perfect for every
scenario, but the Vindicator is a shred tool
and for that application you’ll fi nd nothing
better. Its curved bout has negligible impact
on the performance, and it offers the kind
of access and roaring speed that everyone
hopes for when they pick up a V.
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1
SCHECTER HELLRAISER SOLO 6
£749 WWW.SCHECTERGUITARS.COM
WE SAID: The girth of this singlecut is
precisely what makes it so cool. As long as
you don’t split the mighty humbuckers into
relatively wimpy singlecoils – which is like
putting a muzzle on a pet dinosaur – you’ll
be in heaven. Or possibly hell.
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2
PEAVEY TWENTY THREE III
£697 WWW.PEAVEY.CO.UK
WE SAID: Metal players demand a number
of things from their guitars and the PXD
has them all. Big frets and a wide, fl at
fi ngerboard mean easy string bending,
and the neck is skinny enough to get the
optimum hand position for sweep picking.
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3
LT D KH-OUIJA
£849 WWW.ESPGUITARS.COM
WE SAID: It was one of the most iconic
guitars to grace our bedroom walls, so TG’s
glad the Ouija’s back. From the fi nish to the
playability, ESP has done a sterling job. If
you’re a Hammett obsessive and looking for
a conversation piece, it’s worth every penny.
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4
DAEMONESS ANTICHRIST
£1,500 WWW.DAEMONESSGUITARS.CO.UK
HOW TO BUY ACTIVE PICKUPS
WE SAID: The solitary EMG 85 ’bucker and
volume control deliver a full blown aural
assault, so it’s unlikely you’ll use the guitar
for anything but hard rock and metal. Still,
how many jazzers do you see rocking a
guitar that depicts a witch being dunked?
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Fitting high-output, active pickups to a
passive stocked guitar can mean modifying
to your guitar’s body to house a battery, but
luckily plenty of models come with active
pickups pre-loaded. Most pickup companies
give an idea of the pickup’s tonality on their
websites, so check out EMG and Seymour
Duncan for some popular active models.
5
A round-up of TG’s best Rocked & Rated gear
TGR194.gear_guide 139 14/9/09 12:54:25 pm