Positive Grid Reactor

Positive Grid knocked the Internet on its ass this week with its new Reactor amplifier series, which features two compact combo amps that are loaded to the brim with features.

Available in 50W and 100W configurations, the Reactor amplifier series combines Positive Grid’s latest Amp Intelligence technology with onboard effects, wireless connectivity, and AI-assisted tone generation.

Read more about the Positive Grid Reactor here.

DW Drums 9000X Series

DW Drums upped their game with the 9000X Series, a complete redesign of its flagship 9000 hardware line and what the company describes as the “most advanced hardware range” in its nearly 55-year history.

According to DW, feedback from touring professionals played a major role in shaping the 9000X Series. Read more about the DW Drums 9000X Series here.

Universal Audio Topline Vocal Tune

Universal Audio expanded its growing lineup of native plug-ins with Topline Vocal Tune: a pitch correction processor designed to have the lowest latency possible.

Unlike many of Universal Audio’s earlier plug-ins, Topline Vocal Tune runs natively on macOS and Windows computers without requiring Apollo interfaces or DSP hardware. Read more about the Universal Audio Topline Vocal Tune here.

JHS The Fumble

JHS Pedals went clean with The Fumble, a compact JFET clean boost that packages one of the company’s most sought-after circuit designs into a straightforward two-knob pedal.

While it may appear to be a simple clean boost on the surface, The Fumble is based on the clean channel circuit found in the JHS NOTADÜMBLË V1, itself inspired by a lineage of highly coveted amplifier designs that can trace their roots back to a 1970s acoustic preamp.

Read more about the JHS The Fumble here.

Sabian Stratus Dry Cymbals

Sabian introduced the Sabian Stratus Dry Cymbals series, a new range developed to bridge the gap between mainstream and professional-level cymbals. According to Sabian, the series was the result of a two-year development process involving extensive collaboration with artists, dealers, distributors, and industry professionals. So it’s literally what y’all want.

Read more about the Sabian Stratus Dry Cymbals here.

Eventide H9 Harmonizer Gen 2

After weeks of online speculation, Eventide officially unveiled the H9 Harmonizer Gen 2. The H9 Harmonizer Gen 2 brings Eventide’s iconic multi-effects pedal into a new era, delivering studio-quality sound and creative flexibility in a compact, performance-ready format.

Read more about the Eventide H9 Harmonizer Gen 2 here. There’s no demo video for this one yet, so just… imagine something cool.

IK Multimedia ARC ON·EAR

The IK Multimedia ARC ON·EAR version 1.5 solves some pretty major problems when it comes to IEMs. Version 1.5 introduces support for 50 widely used IEM models, enabling accurate mixing and monitoring in an even more portable form factor.

For touring musicians, live engineers, and mobile producers, this means the same in-ears used on stage or on the road can now serve as a trusted mixing reference, without the need to carry separate studio headphones. Read more about the IK Multimedia ARC ON·EAR version 1.5 here.

The post Positive Grid, Sabian, Eventide and More: Gear You Gotta Know About This Week appeared first on Gear Gods.

Get the Ibanez Mode Series MDM1005: Sweetwater | Guitar Center | American Musical Supply | Musician’s Friend

Ibanez Mode Series MDM1005

The Ibanez Mode Series MDM1005 offers up a five-piece Roasted Maple neck, an Alder body, and a Rosewood fingerboard with 24 medium stainless-steel frets. The bass further features a 34″ scale length, a 45mm nut width, and a 305mm fingerboard radius.

Electronics duties are handled by a pair of Ibanez Delta S5J passive pickups. Configured in a dual single-coil layout, the pickups are designed to deliver an aggressive yet balanced voice with clear note definition across the frequency spectrum.

One of the MDM1005’s standout features is its onboard Sonitech S preamp. The active system includes a three-band EQ alongside a push-pull EQ bypass switch, allowing players to quickly switch between active and passive operation.

A three-way mid-frequency selector and Ibanez’s Hexa Mid system provide additional control over the instrument’s midrange response, enabling users to tailor the bass for a wide variety of playing styles and musical contexts.

The MDM1005 is equipped with an MR5S bridge featuring 18mm string spacing, providing a comfortable platform for both fingerstyle and slap techniques. Additional hardware highlights include lightweight Ibanez Aero-light tuning machines, black hardware throughout, and factory-installed D’Addario EXL165 strings paired with a .130 low B string.

Get the Ibanez Mode Series MDM1005 at one of the links below for $1,299:

• Here via Sweetwater
• Here via Guitar Center
• Here via American Musical Supply
• Here via Musician’s Friend

The post Ibanez Streams Slappy, Funky New Mode Series MDM1005 Bass Demo appeared first on Gear Gods.

Sullivan hardly breaks a sweat throughout and came up with a very cool – albeit less technical than Dream Theater – drum part that has quite a few people floored in the comments section. At least they didn’t give him “Dance Of Eternity”, right?

On his drum charting, Sullivan had some pretty interesting insight: “When I chart the music while I’m listening, it gives me a visual image of what the song looks like and it’s like instilled in my mind while I’m playing the song. When I’m playing the song, I can see the chart and I can see how many bars is in each section. So, it’s really a good tool that I use to to help me retain music. The chart works.”

The video also serves as one of the first looks at Sabian’s new Stratus Dry Cymbals series, which we wrote about when they came out a few days ago.

The post Drumeo Throws Dream Theater’s “Night Terror” at Janet Jackson’s Drummer J-Rod Sullivan appeared first on Gear Gods.

The latest firmware update (v1.8.45) expands the Tone Master Pro’s already extensive collection of amps and effects with everything from classic Fender combos to high-gain EVH tones and several pedal-inspired effects.

Get the Fender Tone Master for $1,499.99: Sweetwater | American Musical Supply | Guitar Center | Musician’s Friend

The Fender Tone Master Pro v1.8.45 Updates

Arguably the biggest addition is the arrival of the EVH 5150 III 50-watt combo. Thanks to Fender’s ownership of the EVH brand, the company has brought all three channels of the amp to the Tone Master Pro.

Fender’s own amp catalog gets some love, too. New additions include a ’57 Champ, ’65 Twin Custom 15, ’68 Deluxe Reverb, and ’68 Princeton Reverb, while bass players can now dial in tones with a Rumble 800 model.

To go along with the new amps, Fender has also added eight new cabinet simulations:

• 1×8 ’57 Champ
• 1×10 ’65 Princeton GB
• 1×10 ’68 Princeton
• 1×12 ’65 Deluxe GB
• 1×12 ’68 Deluxe
• 1×15 Twin Custom
• 1×12 EVH 5150 G12H
• 4×12 British G12H

The effects side of the update might be even more exciting. Fender has added the Rockbox 100, inspired by the iconic Scholz R&D Rockman X100, alongside the Grunt, a modern metal-focused drive modeled after the Fortin Grind, and the Lightyear, based on the much-loved Greer Lightspeed overdrive.

A pair of EarthQuaker Devices-inspired effects also make an appearance. The Pinions takes cues from the Plumes overdrive, while the Runes is based on the Blumes bass overdrive. Elsewhere, Fender has added the Integrator Boost, inspired by the TC Electronic Integrated Preamp, and the Seventy Sixer Compressor, its take on the legendary 1176 studio compressor.

Some Fender Originals

Not everything in the update is based on existing gear, though. Fender has also introduced several original effects, including a Step Tremolo, Prismatic Delay, Spectral Reverb, and Pitch Sequencer, giving players even more options for experimentation and sound design.

Beyond the new amps and effects, Fender has included a few useful workflow upgrades. Players can now access a second page of footswitch assignments, increasing the total number of available footswitches per preset to 16. The tuner has also been updated with a new strobe mode alongside the existing needle display.

The looper has received some attention as well, with Fender promising improved functionality for players who rely on looping for practice, songwriting, or live performance.

Get the Fender Tone Master for $1,499.99 at one of the links below:

• Sweetwater
• American Musical Supply
• Guitar Center
• Musician’s Friend

The post Fender Expands Tone Master Pro with New EVH Amps, Effects, and Workflow Upgrades appeared first on Gear Gods.

ARC ON·EAR 1.5 adds support for 50 IEM models

Version 1.5 introduces support for 50 widely used IEM models, enabling accurate mixing and monitoring in an even more portable form factor. For touring musicians, live engineers, and mobile producers, this means the same in-ears used on stage or on the road can now serve as a trusted mixing reference, without the need to carry separate studio headphones.

Why in-ear monitors are easier to calibrate than you’d think

Here’s the counterintuitive part: for correction purposes, in-ears might actually be easier to work with than traditional headphones. Because they seal directly into the ear canal, they bypass the outer ear (pinna) entirely — removing one of the key variables that makes headphone correction tricky. Their sealed fit also eliminates the positioning-shift problem that plagues over-ear designs, where moving the cans even slightly can change the sound.

The result is a more controlled, repeatable baseline for ARC’s algorithms to work with, and IK says that translates into correction precision that can actually exceed what’s possible with conventional headphones.

Audiophile-grade hardware at its core

Powered by a 32-bit ESS SABRE converter, a high-damping-factor, ultra-low-distortion power amplifier, and a digitally controlled analog volume stage, ARC ON·EAR delivers a truly audiophile-grade listening experience – which again, fantastic if you’re doing some granular audio work.

The unit stores up to five switchable profiles so you can have your touring IEMs, your studio cans, and a couple of custom tonal curves all loaded and ready to flip between instantly. The companion control software handles preset management, tonal shaping, and firmware updates.

Virtual studio monitor simulation beyond basic EQ correction

Then there’s the virtual monitoring side of things, which is where ARC ON·EAR has always set itself apart from simpler EQ-based correction tools. Rather than just flattening the frequency response of your headphones and calling it a day, it uses physical modeling to simulate how real studio monitors behave in a real control room — depth, width, and imaging included; without the reverb artifacts.

Over 20 virtual studio monitors and 15-plus multimedia playback systems are on board, so you can check how a mix translates to everything from a NS-10 substitute to a laptop speaker sim.

Price and availability

ARC ON·EAR version 1.5 is available now as a free update for all registered users via IK Product Manager. ARC ON·EAR hardware is available from the IK Multimedia online store and IK authorized dealers worldwide. Get the ARC ON·EAR from IK Multimedia themselves right here for $249.99.

The post IK Multimedia ARC ON·EAR 1.5 Turns In-Ear Monitors Into Pro Mixing Headphones appeared first on Gear Gods.

Pre-order Eventide H9 Harmonizer Gen 2 for $599: Sweetwater | Guitar Center | Musician’s Friend

The biggest selling point of the Eventide H9 Harmonizer Gen 2 is its massive effects library. The pedal includes all 74 algorithms from the H90 and H9 Max platforms (and over 1,000 presents), which means you’re gonna spend a lot of time digging through some cool sounds.

Pitch processing remains at the core of the H9 Harmonizer Gen 2 – this time with Eventide’s advanced SIFT polyphonic pitch-shifting technology. Unlike traditional pitch shifters that primarily track single notes, SIFT accurately follows entire chords, enabling more natural harmonies and complex pitch effects.

Eventide has also redesigned the user interface. A new 2.5″ display sits at the center of the pedal, accompanied by dedicated Quick Knobs, button pads, and customizable HotSwitch macros. New Select, Bank, and Perform modes make navigating presets and controlling effects easier during rehearsals and live performances.

For deeper editing and preset management, the H9 Harmonizer Gen 2 supports wireless connectivity with Mac and iPad devices. Users can organize presets, manage effect libraries, and fine-tune parameters from a larger screen without trying to find some cables around the house.

Connectivity has also been expanded to support virtually any rig. The pedal features instrument- and line-level inputs and outputs, making it equally at home on a pedalboard, in an amplifier effects loop, or in a studio environment. Additional I/O includes USB-C, MIDI, expression pedal support, and auxiliary switch connectivity for expanded control options.

Live players will appreciate built-in effects spillover, allowing delay repeats and reverb tails to continue naturally when changing presets. A built-in tuner further streamlines pedalboard setups by eliminating the need for a separate tuning pedal.

Beyond guitar and instrument processing, Eventide has expanded the platform’s vocal capabilities. When paired with the company’s MixingLink preamp (sold separately), users can unlock the optional Harmonizer+ suite, adding vocal harmonies, pitch effects, and additional vocal processing tools.

Pre-order the Eventide H9 Harmonizer Gen 2 for $599 at the links below:

• Sweetwater
• Guitar Center
• Musician’s Friend

The post Eventide Expands Its Flagship Multi-FX Platform with New H9 Harmonizer appeared first on Gear Gods.

According to Sabian, the series was the result of a two-year development process involving extensive collaboration with artists, dealers, distributors, and industry professionals. So it’s literally what y’all want. The Stratus ride lineup consists of:

Get the Sabian STRATUS Dry Cymbals: Sweetwater | Guitar Center | Musician’s Friend

Ride Cymbals

The Stratus ride lineup offers 20″ and 22″ models. Both rides feature a medium-light weight construction that delivers clear stick definition alongside a warm underlying wash.

As the cymbals open up, they develop a controlled spread while maintaining a strong, articulate bell sound. The crashability of both rides also adds an extra layer of versatility for drummers who prefer a more expressive playing experience.

Crash Cymbals

Available in 16″, 18″, and 20″ sizes, the Stratus crashes are built with thinner profiles designed to provide quick response and controlled decay.

According to Sabian, the crashes offer a lower-pitched voice with an explosive initial attack, followed by a fast fade that prevents them from dominating a mix. The combination of deep tonality and controlled sustain makes them well suited to contemporary musical styles where clarity and balance are key.

Hi-Hats

The Stratus series includes both 14″ and 15″ hi-hat options. Each pair combines a medium-light top cymbal with a medium-heavy bottom cymbal, resulting in a crisp, articulate attack complemented by a warm, semi-dark spread. The design delivers enough definition for detailed playing while retaining a touch of airy openness when played partially open.

Effects Cymbals

One of the standout models during the development process, the 18″ Stratus China delivers a sharp, biting attack with a fast decay. Unlike some China cymbals that can quickly overpower a mix, Sabian says the Stratus China was designed to remain controlled and musical while still providing the aggressive accents players expect.

And then there’s the 18″ Stratus Zero, which introduces a completely new design to the lineup.

Combining the darker tonal characteristics associated with Sabian’s O-Zone concepts with the added high-end presence of its Aero designs, the Zero produces a fast, trashy attack with plenty of cut. The result is a distinctive effects cymbal designed to deliver modern accent sounds without sacrificing projection.

Shop the entire line at the links below, which start at $294.99:

• Sweetwater
• Guitar Center
• Musician’s Friend

The post Sabian Introduces Stratus Dry Cymbals After Two Years of Development appeared first on Gear Gods.

To call this impressive is still an understatement. Not only did Brewer have to come up with all the music and then parse out where exactly all the melodic and percussive content fell on the EQ, but he had to automate the whole thing. Absolute insanity, and it sounds amazing!

On how he came up with the idea, Brewer explained: “The truth is, I watched a sound design short from the @Cableguys channel about using EQ to pull tones out of white noise, and I just couldn’t get my brain off the idea.

“I had the feeling it would be possible to make a song using just EQ. After all, I’m essentially working with a 24-voice poly sine synth. The real challenge, however, was making something that actually sounded good. And I guess I’ll let you guys be the judge of that.”

And if you want just the song itself, here it is. As for mixing a song this complex, Brewer said it was pretty much exactly as hard as you’d think it is.

“How about the mixing? Well, trickier than you might think. Usually you’d have faders to control the levels of each individual element, but everything you are hearing is only one track of pink noise with an EQ on it. A mixer’s nightmare…

“Any mixing adjustment had to be manually automated on the plugin parameters but thankfully some [Xfer Records OTT], [Devil-Loc from Soundtoys], and [Gullfoss from Soundtheory] came to the rescue. They turned this whole song from a resonant disaster into a properly balanced mess instead. I can’t stress how helpful Devil-Loc was. Its saturation effect really filled in a lot of gaps in the frequency spectrum. Oh, and some delay and reverb helped too.”

The post This Is Insane: Producer Uses EQ Alone to Turn Pink Noise into Music appeared first on Gear Gods.

Get JHS’ The Fumble: Sweetwater | Guitar Center | Musician’s Friend

While it may appear to be a simple clean boost on the surface, The Fumble is based on the clean channel circuit found in the JHS NOTADÜMBLË V1, itself inspired by a lineage of highly coveted amplifier designs that can trace their roots back to a 1970s acoustic preamp.

According to JHS, The Fumble recreates the exact clean section of the NOTADÜMBLË V1 preamp, delivering the dynamic response and tonal character associated with some of the most desirable boutique amplifier circuits ever produced: “The JHS Fumble is the Dumble BBC-1 JFET clean boost — the circuit that accidentally ended up in the NOTADÜMBLË V1,” wrote JHS.

“If you bought V1 and loved the clean section, this is what was actually inside it. It’s a clone of the BBC-1 Howard Dumble built, which was itself a clone of a 1970s Barcus Berry acoustic preamp, which lives inside some of the most expensive amplifiers ever built. Use it as an always-on buffer, a front-end sweetener before your overdrives, or to slam the front of a dirty amp.”

Rather than offering multiple gain stages, switches, or EQ controls, JHS has opted for a minimalist layout centered around two controls: Input and Output. The Output knob functions as a master volume control, while the Input control adjusts both gain and low-end response at the front end of the circuit. This allows players to move from full-range clean boosts to tighter, more focused tones with a single adjustment.

Although The Fumble is marketed as a clean boost, its flexible gain structure makes it suitable for several applications throughout a signal chain.

Placed at the front of a pedalboard, it can function as a buffer-like tone shaper, helping tighten and strengthen the signal before it reaches other effects. It can also be used to push overdrive pedals harder, effectively creating an additional gain stage without significantly altering the core character of the existing drive sound.

Like the rest of the company’s lineup, The Fumble is hand-assembled and tested by JHS Pedals in Kansas City, Missouri. Get The Fumble at the links below for $89:

• Here via Sweetwater
• Here via Guitar Center
• Here via Musician’s Friend

The post Under $100: JHS Took a NOTADÜMBLË Mistake and Made It Into a New Pedal appeared first on Gear Gods.

For many vocalists, hearing tuning artifacts or monitoring delays during a performance can be distracting. Universal Audio knocks that off, as the Topline is designed to keep latency to a minimum, making it possible to track through the plug-in without disrupting the recording process.

Topline covers a wide range of tuning styles within a single interface. Users can apply subtle pitch correction to tighten performances while maintaining a natural sound, or dial in the aggressive hard-tuned effects commonly heard in modern hip-hop, trap, and pop productions.

For more experimental applications, Topline Vocal Tune also includes dedicated Pitch and Formant controls, allowing users to reshape vocal character and create dramatically altered vocal textures.

One of the ongoing challenges with pitch correction software is maintaining the nuances that make a performance feel human. To address this, Topline Vocal Tune includes dedicated Elastic, Expressive, and Sustain controls that allow users to retain elements such as vibrato, pitch slides, and natural vocal movement while still correcting intonation issues.

Beyond traditional pitch correction, Topline Vocal Tune includes MIDI Repitch functionality, allowing users to control vocal pitches from a MIDI keyboard. This effectively turns the voice into a playable instrument, opening the door to creating harmonies, layered vocal arrangements, and entirely new melodic ideas.

The plug-in also supports MIDI Scale Define, enabling producers to create custom scales and constrain vocal performances to those notes during recording.

To streamline workflow, Universal Audio has included a Topline Key Finder feature that automatically detects the key and scale of a session. Users can quickly load the plug-in, identify the song’s key, and begin tracking vocals immediately.

Unlike many of Universal Audio’s earlier plug-ins, Topline Vocal Tune runs natively on macOS and Windows computers without requiring Apollo interfaces or DSP hardware. The plug-in is also included as part of the company’s UAD Spark subscription service, alongside the broader collection of UAD Native plug-ins.

Topline Vocal Tune is available now for $79, reduced from its standard $99 price. Get it at the links below:

• Here at Sweetwater
• Here at Guitar Center
• Here at American Musical Supply
• Here at Musician’s Friend

The post Real-Time Pitch Correction: Universal Audio Launches Topline Vocal Tune appeared first on Gear Gods.