THE EARLY '70s Maestro Bass Brassmaster is the inspiration for Totally Wycked Audio's new Krytical Mass KM-01 Reactive Octave Fuzz. Originally designed in 2008, it was shelved for 15 years for reasons that included founder Kevin Bolembach's obsession with nailing the sound of the original Maestro. The wait seems to have been worth it, because the Krytical Mass is a greatsounding fuzz that's more straightforward than the TWA prototype that engineer Robert Derby developed.
That said, the KM-01 is still a featuresome device with knobs for sensitivity, dry and level; a pair of mini pots for edge (high-frequency rolloff) and bias; and four powerful minitoggle switches: HPF activates a high-pass filter; LPF 1 activates a low-pass filter situated post clipping diodes to add low-end to the fuzz; LPF-2 is another low-pass filter located after a twin-T notch filter to affect overall tonality; and Mids is a three-position switch that cuts midrange at specific frequencies in the up and down positions (center is off). A trimpot adjusts the Q, or sharpness, of those frequencies, which are in the 1-to-8kHz range.
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Denne historien er fra January 2024-utgaven av Guitar Player.
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Mother Folker
Dubbed the Queen of the Beatniks, Judy Henske ruled the roost on High Flying Bird.
An ES for Less
Offered by Silvertone and Harmony, the H63 Espanada was the poor-man's version of Gibson's ES-175.
DEATH BECOMES THEM
Tik Tok gave Mother Mother a second lease on life. Now they take on the Grim Reaper with Grief Chapter.
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
West Coast luthier Ron Thorn took a trip to the Big Apple. He came back with his stunning new Florentine Empirial.
NEVER BE THE SAME
Four decades in with Crowded House's ever-changing lineup, Neil Finn takes a trial-and-error approach to music - and guitar. \"The mistakes make it interesting,” he says.
THEMES FOR IMAGINARY WESTERNS
Estevan and Alejandro Gutiérrez weave haunting guitar instrumentals evocative of spaghetti-western scores. With Sonido Cósmico, they show why they are the most exciting guitar duo of our time.
TIP SHEET
How did Peter Stroud become the right-hand man to Sheryl Crow, Don Henley and many others? It took talent - and these five rules.
MY CAREER IN FIVE SONGS
Four decades down the road with Winger, Reb Beach sheds his hair metal past with this quintet of metal and fusion cuts.
THE SESSION WHISPERER
Shred like the best of them with these 10 techniques gleaned from Steve Lukather, the legendary studio ace and Toto guitarist.
WONDER WOMEN
With her new solo acoustic One Guitar Woman, Sue Foley pays tribute to guitar's female trailblazers, from Elizabeth Cotten and Lydia Mendoza to Maybelle Carter and Charo.