• Guitar Center is running a pretty good sale that’s “powered by Schecter,” if that tells you anything
• Musician’s Friend has an outlet sale going on with some items up to 60% off
• Sweetwater has their Live Sound Sale running, which focuses on all the live gear you’re probably gonna need

Catalinbread Crooner Preamp

The Catalinbread Crooner Preamp is a vintage-inspired overdrive and preamp pedal that transforms one of the most celebrated studio microphone preamps ever made into a compact stompbox.

The pedal draws its inspiration from the legendary RCA BA-31, delivering everything from clean boost to saturated transformer-driven fuzz. Read the full story here.

Behringer Real McCoy WahWah

Behringer is getting themselves into the wah pedal game, thanks to the Behringer Real McCoy WahWah – a play on the original Clyde McCoy wah of the late 1960s.

At the heart of this pedal sits a halo-style inductor, often referred to as the “holy grail” component of classic wah design. It’s this little coil that’s responsible for shaping the pedal’s midrange bark, and it’s the reason vintage units from the late ’60s developed such a cult following in the first place. Check out the full story here.

Gibson 1971 Flying V Medallion

Gibson Custom has brought one of the company’s most elusive vintage models back to life with the introduction of the 1971 Flying V Medallion Reissue.

Handcrafted in Nashville, the new release faithfully recreates one of the rarest Flying V variants ever produced, giving players and collectors the opportunity to experience a guitar that has long occupied legendary status among vintage enthusiasts. Check it out here.

Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Big Muff Pi 2

The Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Big Muff Pi 2 is an old pedal that nobody’s ever heard. So it might as well be new, right?

The Deluxe Big Muff Pi 2 (this time a guitar version instead of bass) revives a long-lost dual op-amp fuzz circuit designed by company founder Mike Matthews and circuit designer Bob Myer originally created in the 1970s. Check it out here.

Blackstar DA5 Ruby

Doug Aldrich’s signature Blackstar amp is getting a smaller sibling. Following the success of the stage-focused DA100 Ruby, Blackstar has unveiled the DA5 Ruby, a compact 5-watt all-valve combo that delivers the same signature voicing in a format designed for home practice, studio recording, and lower-volume performance. Check it out here.

Danelectro Dan O Cool Baritone

Danelectro is ready to take you way lower thanks to their new Dan O Cool Baritone.

The Dan O Cool immediately stands out with its double-cut Shorthorn silhouette. Built around a semi-hollow Spruce body capped with Hardboard, the guitar retains the lightweight feel and resonant character that have defined Danelectro instruments for decades. Check it out here.

Native Instruments Super*Saw

Native Instruments has teamed up with GRAMMY-nominated producer A. G. Cook to introduce Super*Saw (pronounced Super Star Saw.), a brand-new virtual instrument inspired by one of modern pop music’s most recognizable sounds. Check it out here.

Morley Cliff Burton Power Wah Boost

Morley has brought back one of the most legendary effects pedals in heavy metal history with the Morley Cliff Burton Power Wah Boost, a faithful recreation of the classic pedal used by the late Cliff Burton of Metallica.

Developed with the approval of the Burton Family Foundation as part of Morley’s Tel-Ray Revival series, the new model captures part of the sound that helped define Burton’s tone. Check it out here.

Four New Martin Acoustics

C. F. Martin & Co. has unveiled four new acoustic guitars that should please everyone that hates amplifiers – the 5-28 Terz, OM-35 Inception, Custom Shop 0-18, and Custom Shop 0-28. Check ’em out here in all their analog glory.

Behringer AKS Mini

Behringer has unveiled the AKS Mini, a compact analog synthesizer inspired by one of the most influential portable synths of the late 1960s. Built around authentic VCO, VCF, and VCA analog circuitry, the AKS Mini faithfully recreates the architecture that helped shape countless recordings. Check it out here.

The post Native Instruments, Morley, Catalinbread: Gear You Gotta Know About This Week 7/17 appeared first on Gear Gods.

Built around authentic VCO, VCF, and VCA analog circuitry, the AKS Mini faithfully recreates the architecture that helped shape countless recordings. At the heart of its sound is a classic diode-ladder voltage-controlled filter, delivering the warm, organic tones and expressive filtering associated with vintage analog synthesizers.

The synth features three independent oscillators, each offering continuously variable Saw and Square waveforms for everything from fat basses and soaring leads to evolving experimental textures. Sound-shaping continues with a versatile LFO offering four waveforms for pitch and filter modulation, while a dedicated envelope generator provides dynamic control over both the amplifier and filter sections.

For expressive performances, the AKS Mini includes a two-axis joystick, allowing players to manipulate multiple parameters simultaneously for fluid pitch bends, filter sweeps, and other real-time effects. A built-in spring reverb emulation adds vintage ambience, completing the classic analog experience without the need for external processing.

Performance flexibility extends further with both Poly and Unison modes, enabling lush chords or thick, layered monophonic sounds depending on the musical application.

Rather than relying solely on external controllers, the AKS Mini features 27 built-in touch keys, making it a completely self-contained instrument. It also includes a 16-step sequencer with 10 memory locations and knob movement recording, allowing users to capture evolving parameter changes and create dynamic analog sequences.

Despite its vintage inspiration, the AKS Mini is equipped with modern connectivity options. USB-C, Sync I/O, and comprehensive MIDI implementation provide seamless integration with DAWs, modular systems, drum machines, and other hardware. Every parameter supports MIDI CC and NRPN control, while bulk load and save functions simplify preset management.

Get the Behringer AKS here via Sweetwater for $129.

The post Behringer Clones a Classic With Their New AKS Mini appeared first on Gear Gods.

5-28 Terz Brings Back a Historic Martin Design

Leading the launch is the return of the 5-28 Terz, reviving one of Martin’s oldest body styles. The Size 5 body is the smallest guitar currently offered by Martin and traces its lineage back to the company’s earliest instruments.

Designed specifically for Terz tuning—a minor third above standard tuning—the compact acoustic delivers a bright, focused voice with impressive projection. Despite its smaller dimensions, the 5-28 Terz produces a bell-like character with shimmering highs and surprising depth, making it an inspiring option for fingerstyle players, songwriting, and layered recordings.

OM-35 Inception Continues Martin’s Sustainable Vision

Martin’s commitment to sustainable guitar building continues with the new OM-35 Inception, a model that pairs innovative materials with classic Orchestra Model performance.

The guitar features black walnut and flamed American white oak back and sides, complemented by an FSC-certified European spruce top. Inside, skeletonized Golden Era scalloped X-bracing has been engineered to maximize resonance, sustain, and responsiveness. This makes it an articulate OM with a balanced tonal profile, offering warm lows, detailed highs, and a pronounced midrange ideal for both fingerstyle and flatpicking.

Two New Custom Shop Models

Martin also introduced two new Custom Shop guitars designed to provide more players access to the company’s boutique-level craftsmanship.

The Custom Shop 0-18 combines an Adirondack spruce top with genuine mahogany back and sides, producing a focused, articulate voice with exceptional clarity and responsiveness.

For players seeking a fuller tonal palette, the Custom Shop 0-28 replaces the mahogany with East Indian rosewood, adding deeper bass response, enhanced sustain, and richer harmonic overtones.

Get all four acoustics here at Sweetwater, here at Guitar Center, and here at Musician’s Friend. The prices are:

• Martin OM-35 Inception Acoustic Guitar ($3,999.99)
• Martin Custom Shop 0-18 Acoustic Guitar ($4,599.99)
• Martin 5-28 Terz Standard Series Acoustic Guitar ($3,599.99)
• Martin Custom Shop 0-28 Acoustic Guitar ($4,999.99)

The post Martin Expands Acoustic Lineup with Four New Models for 2026 appeared first on Gear Gods.

Unlike the version featured on the album, this performance presents the composition as it was originally recorded before undergoing Kilter’s unique time-stretching transformation. The band explains that every track on Ten Billion Years began life as part of its companion EP, TEN, where one-minute compositions were later expanded into four-minute sonic landscapes.

“This video shows how we perform the original fast version of ‘Weather Cycle,’ recorded during the sessions that later became Ten Billion Years. The album was created by slowing down and transforming the material from our companion EP TEN, stretching one minute of music into four. What you’re hearing here is the source before time dilation.”

The playthrough highlights the intricate performances of Laurent David on electric bass and Ed Rosenberg III on bass saxophone as they perform alongside Kenny Grohowski’s dynamic drum track.

Even more intriguing, this version of “Weather Cycle” is not available on streaming platforms. It appears exclusively on the hidden 7-inch EP TEN, included only with the limited Collector Edition vinyl of Ten Billion Years, making this playthrough one of the few opportunities for listeners to experience the composition in its original form.

Gear used in this video includes:

• 1978 Fender Jazz Bass
• Adam Wolfaardt preamp
• Maxon OD-9 Tube Screamer
• Electro-Harmonix Lizard Queen fuzz
• Conn Bass Saxophone

Released on June 19 via Excursus Production, Ten Billion Years is an ambitious instrumental concept album chronicling the birth, evolution, and eventual death of our solar system through the imagined journey of a single water droplet. Get Ten Billion Years here.

The post Kilter’s Playthrough of “Weather Cycle” Is One Minute of Bass-Meets-Sax Madness appeared first on Gear Gods.

Supersaws have become a defining element of contemporary pop, layering multiple detuned sawtooth oscillators to create wide, lush, and harmonically rich sounds. Super*Saw packages that workflow into a single instrument that makes creating massive synth textures faster and more expressive.

One of its standout features is the 4-corner X/Y Morpher, which lets players seamlessly blend between four completely different sound states in real time. Users can morph evolving textures with a single gesture, making the instrument equally suited for live performance and studio production.

The synth also includes a range of creative tools designed to keep experimentation musical. Built-in chord, scale, and quantize functions simplify harmonic exploration while still allowing controlled dissonance when desired. Additional per-voice glide and offset controls help recreate the fluid pitch movement and stereo animation that have become hallmarks of A. G. Cook’s production style.

Super*Saw arrives with an extensive factory library featuring everything from shimmering ambient pads and euphoric pop chords to rave-inspired leads, metallic textures, and expressive glide patches.

Integrated chorus, delay, and reverb effects are joined by 2-pole and 4-pole low-pass, band-pass, and high-pass filters, giving producers a complete sound design toolkit without leaving the instrument. Mono and polyphonic modes further expand its versatility for basses, leads, layered stacks, and complex chord voicings.

The instrument also integrates seamlessly with Komplete Kontrol keyboards and Maschine, providing hands-on control for Native Instruments users. The interface features visual design elements created by Simon Whybray, A. G. Cook’s longtime creative collaborator.

Super*Saw is available now for $99 here at Sweetwater.

The post Native Instruments and A. G. Cook Launch Super*Saw Synthesizer appeared first on Gear Gods.

The original 1970s Power Wah Boost was one of two Morley pedals Cliff Burton famously used interchangeably to create his signature sound. By combining an expressive optical wah with an enormous clean boost, the pedal slammed the front end of his amplifier, producing the massive, saturated distortion heard on countless classic Metallica recordings.

The modern Morley Cliff Burton Power Wah Boost faithfully recreates that experience while shrinking the design into a more pedalboard-friendly footprint. Separate footswitches for the wah and boost sections allow players to engage each effect independently or combine them for the full vintage Tel-Ray experience.

One of the pedal’s standout features is its switchable boost circuit, delivering up to 40dB of clean boost. Whether you’re pushing a tube amp into natural overdrive, increasing sustain for solos, or simply adding more presence to your signal, the boost section offers plenty of headroom and flexibility.

The wah section utilizes Morley’s signature Electro-Optical technology, eliminating traditional potentiometers for smooth, quiet operation and long-term reliability. Without pots to wear out, players can expect consistent sweep and performance gig after gig.

Visually, the pedal pays tribute to its 1970s predecessor with a chrome treadle and base, vintage-inspired Tel-Ray graphics, a glow-in-the-dark treadle grip, and a slightly taller chassis that echoes the original design. Built from cold-rolled steel, it is engineered for the rigors of touring while retaining its retro aesthetic.

Get the Morley Cliff Burton Power Wah Boost for $199.99 here at Sweetwater, here at Guitar Center, and here at Musician’s Friend.

The post Metal Bass Alert: The Morley Cliff Burton Power Wah Boost is Early Metallica All The Way appeared first on Gear Gods.

The pedal draws its inspiration from the legendary RCA BA-31, delivering everything from pristine clean boost to saturated transformer-driven fuzz in a remarkably versatile package.

From Clean Boost to Full-Blown Fuzz

At the front end of the circuit is a UREI-inspired discrete op-amp, controlled by the Push knob. At lower settings, it acts as a transparent boost that preserves the BA-31’s warmth and openness. As the Push control is increased, it begins driving the preamp harder, introducing increasingly rich harmonic saturation and compression.

The pedal also features germanium components and a transformer-equipped output stage, adding vintage character and dynamic response that becomes especially apparent as the gain climbs.

The Magic of the Trim Control

One of the Crooner’s defining features is its Trim control, which adjusts the gain inside the BA-31-inspired circuit itself.

Since the original RCA preamp wasn’t designed for high internal gain, increasing the Trim control intentionally pushes the circuit beyond its intended operating range.

The result is a wide spectrum of tones ranging from warm edge-of-breakup sounds to thick, syrupy distortion and fully saturated transformer fuzz. With both Push and Trim maxed out, the Crooner delivers molten lead tones packed with compression, harmonic richness, and vintage-style sag.

Straightforward Controls

Despite its impressive tonal range, the Crooner keeps things simple with four primary controls:

1. Push – Controls the gain of the UREI-inspired op-amp feeding the preamp.
2. Volume – Sets the overall output level.
3. Filter – Gently rolls off high frequencies to smooth brighter settings and tame harshness at higher gain levels.
4. Trim – Controls the gain of the BA-31 preamp section, dramatically affecting saturation and transformer breakup.

Together, these controls allow players to dial in everything from subtle console-style coloration to aggressive overdrive, distortion, and fuzz. Get the Catalinbread Crooner Preamp here via Sweetwater for $179.99.

The post Catalinbread’s New Crooner Preamp Brings Legendary RCA BA-31 Studio Tone to Your Pedalboard appeared first on Gear Gods.

At the heart of this pedal sits a halo-style inductor, often referred to as the “holy grail” component of classic wah design. It’s this little coil that’s responsible for shaping the pedal’s midrange bark, and it’s the reason vintage units from the late ’60s developed such a cult following in the first place.

Behringer has built the Real McCoy WahWah’s all-analog circuit around that same inductor style, chasing the same nasal bite and searing sustain that defined the blues-rock explosion of the era.

Of course, an inductor is only half the story. The other half is in the sweep, and that’s where the Real McCoy WahWah’s custom-taper potentiometer comes in. This pot delivers a warm, vocal-like glide from heel to toe, the kind of expressive curve that makes a wah pedal that much more fun to play with.

Playability matters just as much as tone, and the Real McCoy WahWah doesn’t cut corners there either. The rubberized treadle offers confident, secure footing while housing itself is rugged and built for the road.

True bypass switching rounds out the package, ensuring your tone stays pure and uncolored the moment the wah is out of the signal chain. Power it with a standard 9V battery or Behringer’s optional PSU-SB DC supply, and you’re ready to go.

Get the Behringer Real McCoy WahWah here for $99 via Sweetwater.

The post Behringer Makes a Wah Pedal Now: Enter the Real McCoy WahWah appeared first on Gear Gods.

Pacifica Now at the Center of the Debate

While Yamaha did not specify which guitar models were referenced in the letter, the move inevitably places the company’s iconic Pacifica lineup under scrutiny.

Since its introduction in 1991, the Pacifica has become one of the world’s most recognizable S-style guitars. Originally developed for Los Angeles session musicians during the height of the superstrat boom, the Pacifica has evolved into one of Yamaha’s most successful electric guitar lines.

Models like the Pacifica 112V have become staples, while the recently introduced Pacifica Professional and Pacifica Standard Plus brought premium appointments to the long-running series.

Fender Expands Its Campaign

The Yamaha development follows Fender’s successful default copyright ruling in Germany earlier this year, after which the company began issuing cease-and-desist letters to manufacturers producing Stratocaster-style instruments in both the United States and Europe.

Among the companies publicly known to have received notices are also PRS Guitars and LsL Instruments.

Yamaha is the world’s largest musical instrument manufacturer, making it one of the biggest companies to become involved in the controversy. At the same time, Fender is also facing legal action from Thomann, the world’s largest musical instrument retailer, over similar cease-and-desist efforts.

Fender’s Position

Fender has stated that its goal is to work directly with manufacturers to find “practical paths forward” regarding its intellectual property rights.

CEO Bud Cole has also attempted to reassure the industry that the company is seeking constructive resolutions rather than aggressively removing products from the market.

Speaking at a recent dealer event, Cole sought to clarify Fender’s position following backlash from players: “First and foremost, Fender is not suing anybody. What we’ve done is reach out thoughtfully and respectfully to a handful of companies whose guitars come extremely close to replicating the iconic Fender Stratocaster design.”

Even so, the campaign has sparked widespread discussion throughout the guitar community, with builders, retailers, players, and content creators debating what the legal efforts could mean for the future of S-style guitars.

The post Another Escalation: Fender Sends Yamaha a Cease and Desist Over S-Styled Guitars appeared first on Gear Gods.

You can also grab Sungazer’s new record Against the Fall of Night right here.

As for the Quad Cortex, Neural DSP officially released CorOS 4.0.0 and Cortex Control 4.0.0 earlier this year. Headlining the release is full support for the new Quad Cortex mini, alongside new virtual devices, workflow enhancements, expanded customization options, and a host of bug fixes.

For the first time, Quad Cortex and Quad Cortex mini now run the exact same version of CorOS and Cortex Control, ensuring both devices receive feature updates simultaneously and remain fully compatible with one another.

Full Quad Cortex mini Integration

CorOS 4.0.0 automatically detects whether it’s running on a Quad Cortex or Quad Cortex mini, adapting its interface and feature set to match the connected hardware. Likewise, Cortex Control now adjusts its layout based on the device in use, creating a seamless editing experience regardless of which Cortex model is connected.

New Workflow Improvements

Several quality-of-life upgrades make navigating the Cortex ecosystem faster than ever. Users can now assign a custom device name directly from the Device Information menu. That name, along with the hardware type, appears in the upper-left corner of Cortex Control, making it easier to distinguish between multiple units.

A new Hold Timing option allows players to adjust how long a footswitch must be held before triggering its HOLD function, with settings ranging from 500ms to 1000ms.

Neural DSP has also introduced Gig View Footswitch Access, allowing performers to enter Gig View without touching the screen. On the Quad Cortex, holding BANK DOWN + TEMPO activates the feature, while Quad Cortex mini users simply hold Footswitch A.

Faster Scene Navigation

Changing scenes is now considerably quicker thanks to a new Scenes dropdown menu.

Tapping the Scene indicator at the top of the Grid or Gig View opens a complete list of available Scenes within the current preset, allowing instant selection without cycling through modes.

Quad Cortex mini users also gain an exclusive Opposite Page Preview inside Gig View. When one page is active, the assignments from the opposite page are displayed above or below each footswitch, giving performers additional context without switching pages.

Four New Virtual Devices

CorOS 4.0.0 expands the Quad Cortex effects library with four new virtual devices. The first three are reverbs, the last is a utility thing:

1. Nordic Concert Hall (ST) — inspired by the Concert Hall algorithm from Valhalla VintageVerb.
2. Studio Plate 70 (ST) — based on the iconic Rich Plate programs from the Lexicon PCM70.
3. Blossom (ST) — inspired by the Bloom mode found in the Strymon BigSky.
4. Phase Doctor — modeled after the Little Labs IBP Phase Alignment Tool for precise phase correction and alignment.

The post Neural DSP Streams Live Quad Cortex Demo Feat. Sungazer’s Joshua De La Victoria appeared first on Gear Gods.