COVER STORY: BEN HARPER
Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite have a telepathic musical connection. Their 2013 album, GetUp!, was an instant hit both commercially and with critics. Now, five long and storied years later, they’re at it again.
RRP: $1,199 (Powercab 112) • $1,599 (Powercab 112 Plus) line6.com The Powercab 112 and Powercab 112 Plus are one-by-12 active speaker systems that deliver an authentic ‘amp in the room’ playing experience when paired with any modeller, profiler, or even an amp simulation pedal. Select one of six classic speaker models as alternatives to your current cab models, or simply plug in your modeller and play using Flat Mode – the choice is yours. Powercabs are also loud enough to fill any small club or medium-sized venue, and performing guitarists will also appreciate their lightweight, yet roadworthy construction, compact size, flip-out kickstands and XLR direct outputs.
The Powercab 112 Plus also includes powerful and advanced features such as a two-inch LCD, 128 user preset locations, MIDI In and Out controls, AES/EBU and L6 LINK digital I/O, a multipurpose second input and a USB audio interface.
NEW MARCUS MILLER MARKBASS RANGE
RRP: $950 to 1,995 (Heads) • $1,550 to $2,250 (Cabs) | cmcmusic.com.au Marcus Miller and Marco De Virgiliis are both renowned innovators – Miller for his groundbreaking style and trademark sound, and De Virgiliis for his revolutionary lightweight, portable, powerful and exceptional sounding bass heads and cabinets. The Marcus Miller signature series is the result of the meeting of these two groundbreaking careers.
Little Marcus heads – available in 250-, 500-, 800- and 1,000-watt versions – offer intuitive, yet very effective controls in the main EQ area that let you easily tailor your sound to any genre or style, while the new Old School and Millerizer filters – designed with Miller and featured in the secondary EQ area – allow bassists to quickly dial in anything from a vintage tone to an in-your-face slap.
In addition to the four new Miller-specified heads, two new Marcus Miller cabinets are on their way to stores. Designed and built to deliver the signature Marcus Miller tone that relies on increased ‘ultra’ lows and a specific top-end.
IBANEZ TS MINI TUBE SCREAMER PEDAL
RRP: $129 australismusic.com.au The TS Mini is a reissue of the famous green tube screamer, now in a mini steel case. Made in Japan, the TS Mini has 100 percent analog circuitry along with true bypass switching. The Mini is a great overdrive pedal with a famous growl, and takes up only a tiny amount of space on your pedalboard with simple Overdrive, Tone and Level controls.
CARL MARTIN DC DRIVE
RRP: $199 | innovativemusic.com.au The DC Drive is the first in a new range of Carl Martin pedals designed for a smaller pedalboard footprint with the same great tones. Besides the typical Level, Tone and Drive knobs – which obviously control the volume of the signal, the tone and the amount of overdrive – Carl has smartly added a Regular/Fat switch. In Regular mode, the drive is crisp and clear, suitable for anything that calls for some classic old school drive. Switch over to Fat mode, however, and the drive gets thicker with a lot more gain, sounding much more modern. The pedal can be powered by a regulated power supply like the Carl Martin ProPower V2.
2018 LIMITED EDITION STRAT-TELE HYBRID
RRP: $3,599 | fender.com.au The limited edition Fender Strat-Tele hybrid is the ideal instrument for throwing down hot licks in any setting. Fender have dressed up the traditional Tele body with professional touches like three Custom Shop ’69 Aged Strat pickups, a Strat synchronised tremolo bridge and an elegant silver ‘spaghetti’ Fender logo. It features an American Professional ‘Deep C’ neck profile and a 9.5-inch fingerboard, and includes a hardshell case.
ERNIE BALL CABLES RANGE
RRP: $63.95 | cmcmusic.com.au Ernie Ball’s all new braided instrument cables offer dual conductors that deliver reliably clear tone with crisp highs, tight mids and rich harmonics. These cables offer multiple shielding materials that preserve guitar tone with low handling noise. The braided jacket exterior provides a tangle-resistant experience and comes in 12 different colours, including slinky neon green, pink and orange. Classic vintage coiled cables have also made a comeback, with a durable PVC jacket exterior ensuring long-lasting performance. Ernie Ball’s patch cable range has also expanded, with six-inch patchers that are also available with flat-topped angle connectors to take up minimal room on a pedalboard.
MORLEY MINI WAH
RRP: $189 | innovativemusic.com.au When pedalboard real estate matters, the Mini Wah is the perfect solution. A traditional wah tone with a tiny footprint, the Morley Mini Wah features an electro-optical wah control, side-mounted on/off switch, ‘True-Tone’ bypass buffer circuitand is built to lastin a roadworthy cold-rolled steel housing. It can be powered by a nine-volt 300-milliamp adapter or nine-volt battery, and comes with one year of included warranty.