bmusic - Product News and Reviews

The Strumstick was designed by Bob McNally, inventor of the Martin Backpacker guitar. The Strumstick uses a diatonic scale fretting (the notes of a major scale). Strumstick call that "No Wrong Notes", because they all sound good together. The strings are tuned in a drone relationship (octaves and fifth). The mountain dulcimer, bagpipes, and Indian sitar, are other instruments from around the world use a drone tuning. The combination of diatonic scale and drone tuning make the strumstick immediately fun, and very easy to play, even for beginners. Complete with bag, strap, instruction CD and pick.
Click HERE to learn more about the brilliant Strumstick.

19th march, 2008 ESP Japan released the 2008 Export Catalogue models at MusikMesse in Germany. For ESP customers outside the USA the Export range is always much anticipated as it's always full of surprises and many, many new models. To view all the new Export models and the entire available Export catalogue click HERE.

The new range of ESP Guitars & Basses for 2008 has been released. To view all the new releases click HERE.

Caparison guitars have released their new 2008 models. View the new models click HERE

So you are thinking about purchasing a pickup but just not a 100% sure it’s the right model for you. What do you do? Well, with Seymour Duncan/Basslines pickups & Dominant Music in Australia you’re covered under the new 21-Day Real World Exchange Policy.
You purchase your pick up and check it out carefully for up to three weeks with your own gear, in the places you normally play. Concert halls, the studio, your bedroom- wherever. In other words: “The Real World”. Does the pick up work for you? If it does, great - enjoy!!! However, if you’re unhappy with it for any reason, you can exchange it for another model of the same value. Or, if you want to exchange it for one of higher value, you pay the difference.
Click HERE to read all about the Seymour Duncan 21 Day Real World Exchange Program plus a comprehensive guide and other tools to assist you in selecting the right Seymour Duncan pickup for the job first time, every time.

The Zoom H2 Handy Digital Recorder begins with a simple idea: provide brilliant stereo recording in an easy-to-use, ultra-portable device. Now everyone can record pristine audio in an infinite variety of applications. From seminars and conferences, to electronic news gathering(ENG), interviews and podcasting, to musical performances, songwriting sessions and rehearsals, the H2 provides amazing recording quality. And no matter what kind of recording you want to make, the H2 can effortlessly record it.
Click HERE to learn much more about the newest addition to the world leading Zoom portable recording stable.

Professionals Asked, DigiTech® Listened
The DigiTech® GSP1101 is the new paradigm in preamp/processors. DigiTech® looked at the needs of the professional guitarists who already get their core tone with their amps, guitars, and fingers. The pros wanted to do everything from just adding a few effects to their existing tone to creating entirely new sounds with a single rack-mount preamp/processor. One concern they had in common; “Don’t take over my rig like other preamps do.” This required a whole new approach in design.
The GSP1101 answers the professional guitarist’s call for “tone preservation” by incorporating the flexibility to be easily integrated into any rig and configured to work the way you want it. The GSP1101 not only preserves your tone, but it gives you access to a vast array of over 120 different models, from stompbox overdrives, preamps, and amps, to studio quality effects including luscious Lexicon® reverbs and unique products like DigiTech’s Whammy®. So many sounds, so little time…
Click HERE to learn much more about the DigiTech's triumphant return to the world of the rack.

Lionheart represents everything learned through forty years of Laney tube heritage, distilled into a single amplifier range. Designed to deliver the ultimate tone of a tube being pushed hard - warm and expressive, at an output level which can be used in everyday environments.

This 5 Watt Single Ended Class A amp provides the evocative, classic tones of hot tubes pushed hard, but at a volume level your neighbours can live with! Featuring the purest of designs - 'single-ended' Class A output achieved with a single EL84, driven from 3x 12AX7 preamp tubes. Click HERE to learn more about the Laney Lionheart L5T-112 Guitar Combo.

WARNING: These Are Not Your Daddy’s Amp Models!!!
When was the last time you plugged into Pop’s old guitar amplifier? Most likely, never. So why buy a processor that promises you the sounds of old amps and cabinets? Rocktron’s Utopia G100 Professional Guitar System provides tone and effects processing for the next generation so you can be the player you want to be. Click HERE to learn more about the Rocktron Utopia G100 Professional Guitar System.

bmusic once again brings you the ESP Guitars & Basses Export Catalog in downloadable format, now the 2007 catalog, our thrid year of digitizing the catalog for those who wouldn't ordinarily get to see the bumper range available to the Export market ESP customers. Click HERE to view the catalog or download all 60 pages in PDF book format.

Click HERE to check out our latest catalogue online. The Born To Rock series of catalogues feature deep discounts on brands such as Randall, Hughes & Kettner, ESP, Monterey, Washburn, Casio, DigiTech, dB Technolgies, Wharfedale and more. The current catalogue is part of the group catalogues that appear twice a year, Winter and Summer, and offer a wide range of gear at some outstanding prices.

We here at bmusic.com.au are excited to announce the arrival of T-Rex Engineering pedals. New to bmusic, new models, new stock, and new lower pricing. All the way from Denmark and, unlike many products, we're able to keep the price down to about the same as what you'd land one of these puppies from a US discount retailer for.
Click HERE to learn more about the available range of T-Rex Engineering pedals.

The first of the ever growing range of BSM Treble Boosters (many of which people would likely know better as "overdrives") arrive soon in Australia. First four to hit our shores will be the four most popular BSM pedals, the BM-Q, a reproduction of the orginal silicon transistor as used by Brian may in mid-era Queen, the RM based on the British Range Master Germanuim Treble Booster, the OR based as per the Treble & Bass booster made in the late 60's in England and used by David Gilmour in Pink Floyd, HS-C, based on the British HORNBY-SKEWES unit produced between 1967 and 1969, as used by Ritchie Blackmore.
We take a detailed look at each of these four pedals HERE.

Held last week, MusikMesse is Germany's answer to the NAMM trade show in the US and is one of the largest such shows anywhere in the world. It's also the place ESP unveiled it's new Export Series collection featuring some hot new models not available to the US market who got it's fill in January at the NAMM show. Export models are amongst our most popular ESP models and this year's new releases are already selling fast despite not scheduled for delivery for up to several months yet. Standouts were the new Alexi Laiho Custom Shop signature model, the NV (Narrow V) based on the old ESP Kerry King V, the Eclipse CTM "Full Thickness" (same thickness as a Gibson Les Paul), Eclipse-I CTM with Floyd Rose, Michael Amott Signature Series model in white, and the newly introduced Signature Series versions of the previously only Custom Shop available Alexi Laiho Scythe and Sawtooth models.
Click HERE to view 100 images of the new line-up at the ESP booth at MusikMesse 2007.

DigiTech® Vocalist Live Multi Smart Vocal Harmony for Guitarists. World’s first processors that automatically generate live multi-part vocal harmony by analyzing guitar chord progressions.
Accurate vocal harmonies even with complicated songs…because only Vocalist Live tracks guitar chords, not your voice. A surprising number of songs “fool” other harmonizers because these songs just don’t work with a single key/scale setting. In fact, any song that has the same note sung over two different chords (for example, a C sung in the melody over a C maj / F maj chord sequence) is going to confound conventional harmonizers. Vocalist Live uses breakthrough musIQ™ technology to directly analyze the output of any electric or pre-amplified acoustic guitar (no special MIDI guitars or hex-outputs needed). Then it generates the correct vocal harmony.
Click HERE to learn more about DigiTech® Vocalist Live Multi Smart Vocal Harmony for Guitarists.

DigiTech® invented guitar multi-effects and have, to date, satisfied more than a million RP owners. Now they’ve RE-redefined the product category with the most powerful guitar processors ever — a totally new generation of multi-effects modeling technology.
All three new RPs feature awesome effects and amp models so rich they should carry a cholesterol warning. Choose from a stunning library of up to eleven effects at a time — including classic distortion and effects stompboxes, 5 seconds of delay, Lexicon® reverbs and our most dynamic amp models ever.
Click HERE to learn more about DigiTech's latest technology present in their 2007 RP range.

Gig-FX Pedals land in Australia!
Gig-FX mind-blowing pedals, as used by the likes of Tool's Adam Jones, are the CHOPPER, a multi-function, dual oscillator stereo Tremolo and Panning pedal, and the MEGA-WAH, the world’s first stereo wah pedal with two independent channels.
Click HERE to read about and hear the incredible sonic possibilities the Gig-FX pedals can add to your rig.

TRIUMPH… You better Believe it!
New model in Godin Guitars Performance series has some serious sounds for everyone.
With its retro/glam, space age look and dazzling sparkle finish that would put Elton John’s circa 1970’s wardrobe to shame, the Triumph sparkles far beyond its finish. Equipped with 3 Godin low-noise, single coil pickups and 5 way switch, this guitar delivers a smorgasbord of sounds for a variety of discriminating tastes.
Click HERE see more of the new Godin Triumph guitars.

Meet Mbox® 2 Mini — the world’s smallest, most affordable Pro Tools LE™ system ever.
Whether you’re a singer/songwriter who’s new to recording or a seasoned pro on the go, Mbox 2 Mini packs professional features into a robust, ultra compact, easy-to-use audio workstation to record and mix music wherever your inspiration takes you. And with its diminutive size, Mbox 2 Mini literally puts the power of Pro Tools in the palm of your hand.
Like its siblings, Mbox® 2 and Mbox® 2 Pro, Mbox 2 Mini delivers superior sound quality and includes plenty of powerful creation tools for composing, recording, and mixing music and audio. It comes with award-winning, easy-to-use Pro Tools LE™ software, which provides you with many of the same tools the pros use on major recordings and in films. And because Pro Tools is the industry standard, you can use your Mbox 2 Mini-recorded sessions in any Pro Tools-equipped studio around the world.
Click HERE to read all about the new digidesign Mbox 2 Mini in detail as well as take a look at the stack of included software and bundled plug-ins that ships with it!

Inspired by 7 of the world's most sought after chorus pedals.
The new DigiTech® CF-7 Chorus Factory features models based on both classic and the latest modern chorus pedals including the DigiTech® Multi Chorus™*,Voodoo Lab Analog Chorus*, TC Electronic® Stereo Chorus/Flanger*, Fulltone® Choralflange™*, Boss® CH-1 Super Chorus™*, EH® Small Clone® and Boss® CE-5 Chorus Ensemble™.
Plug in a CF-7 and get ready for takeoff. You’ve got a whole world of choruses and mod effects to discover. Click HERE to learn all about the CF-7 Chorus Factory in detail.

The bmusic 2006 Summer Sale Catalogue is out now and chock full of new goodies along with old favourites at sweet prices to get you through all your gear needs this summer.
16 pages filled with guitars, basses, amps, effects, recording and PA gear, computer recording, brass and wind, banjos and mandolins, drums, percussion, keyboards and more. There's sure to be something for everyone at a killer price for the Summer season ahead, not to mention Christmas 06!
Click HERE to see the new bmusic 2006 Summer Sale Catalogue in full.

Stealth Plug™ is the first guitar/bass audio interface integrated into a USB cable, allowing you to plug your guitar or bass directly into your PC or Mac. No other audio card is required. Easy to use, just plug your guitar or bass into your computer. The perfect mobile solution for playing, recording or practicing - anytime and anywhere. Complete with a whole swag of software and samples, the Stealth Plug™ package offers never before seen value and convenience.
Click HERE to find out all about the USB Stealth Plug™.

Like the man himself, the new Slash Wah from Dunlop is both revolutionary and classic, right down to its hot rod metallic red finish and cutting edge circuit design. Now you can have all the features and screaming tone of Slash's very own custom wah pedal—a tool as essential to the hard rock icon's style as his Les Paul and Marshall. So get your boot on a Dunlop Slash Wah. Top hat not included!
Click HERE to learn more about the new Jim Dunlop Crybaby Slash Wah.

It’s a Mobile Field Stereo Recorder!
The Zoom H4 Handy Digital Recorder fits in your palm and is ideal for recording interviews, podcasts, meetings, live musical performances, classes and seminars. The H4 allows you to record 24-bit/96 kHz digital audio as well as in MP3 format with bitrates up to 320kbps.
To find out more about the latest addition to Zoom's latest addition to their ground breaking digital recording line-up click HERE.

In 1958, Swedish-based Hagström started manufacturing electric guitars
The first Hagström Deluxe solid body guitars featured a distinctive sparkle and pearloid celluloid finish, an ingenious repurposing of materials previously used in their accordion production line. Over the years, Hagstrom expanded their line-up to include hollow body guitars like the Viking and the Jimmy, electric basses including the legendary 8 string, and Hagstrom‘s flagship models, the Swede and the Super Swede. Hagstrom also produced a series of acoustic and classical guitars in the early 70’s. When Hagstrom ceased production in 1983, the guitars became instant collectors items, and the love and respect for these fine instruments continues to be celebrated by musicians around the world.
23 years later, the legacy continues
Hagström guitars boast the original glorious Hagström sound and distinctive style, and they are built to the same stringent quality standards. All materials and hardware are sourced from the world‘s finest suppliers, and technological advancements including our patented H-Expander Truss Rod and exclusive Resinator™ Fretboard guarantee that these are the finest guitars on the market.
The return of Hagström has spread to Australia and the first shipment of guitars has landed and is now available online at bmusic.com.au. Check out the available models HERE.

The 2006 ESP Export Catalogue has been released and we've made the print catalogue available online, as has become tradition here at bmusic. The 2006 Export print catalogue not only includes more than 40 pages of ESP eye candy, it also includes Australia's own Brett Garsed as part of the ESP Endorsees collage. Brett makes his debut ESP catalogue appearance this year, the only Australian to appear in this catalogue. Other artists to share like billing with Brett in this year's Export catalogue, aside from Signature model artists, include Kai Hansen, Emppu Vuorinen, Timo Tolkki, Jens Ludwig, Henkka C. Blacksmith, Jesper Stromblad, Steve DiGiorgio, Glenn Drover, Brian Escbach, amd many more of today's leading players.
Signature model pages for ESP veterans James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, George Lynch, Stephen Carpenter, Jeff Hanneman, Tom Araya, and Max Cavalera appear alongside those of debut Export catalogue signature artist Kiko Loureiro.
The whole thing wraps up with the ESP accessories line that includes picks, straps, cleaning goods and more, most of which are available from bmusic as one of the world's only stockists of such accessories outside Japan. Forty four fantastic pages available for download in PDF format HERE.

Not all instrument cables are created equal.
Construction, conductors, insulators, length and hardware have an effect on signal integrity.
Cables have as much impact on tone that your instrument, amp and speakers do. CoreOne Cables connect you to pro-quality tone using advanced audio technology and the hardy construction makes CoreOne Cables built to last.
Now available at bmusic are the industry's hottest new cable products from CoreOne Product, the Bullet Coil Cable with its 99.9% oxygen-free copper conductors, copper-braided shielding and .44 mm connectors and CoreX2 DIY Cable Kit with 20' of cable, eight right angle connectors and two straight connectors so you can put together the cabling for your rack or pedal board the way you want.
Click HERE to learn more about the new CoreOne cable products now available from bmusic.

For more than 30 years Electro-Harmonix have been inspiring musicians with their groundbreaking effect pedals, vacuum tubes and accessories. Electro-Harmonix have had one of their most prolific years of new innovation and production in recent memory and we've finally managed to catch up all the new releases now they're all available in Australia.
Click HERE to learn more about all the available Electro-Harmonix pedals and processors.

Randall guitar amplification has landed at bmusic, in a BIG way. Everything from the high gain monster V2 through to the MTS tube modular preamp system heads, preamps and power amps, the new "Valve Dynamic" technology heads and combos, right down to the 15 watt practice amps. All of it is now at bmusic and taking up an awful lot of what precious little space we have left here!
Most all of the range is online now at bmusic.com.au with the most competitive prices in Australia and can be checked out HERE.

The ominous date of 06.06.06 was chosen by Warwick's RockCase division to launch their new "Casket Cases" in Australia. Check out the available models HERE to see if there's a RockCase Casket Case for your axe to "rest in peace"!

The first shipment of Caparison's 2006 new models has arrived at bmusic and the company have outdone themselves again with some stunning new designs and finishes such as the extension of the HGS (Heavy Gauge Strings) models into the Horus and Applehorn models and new hand painted Horus finishes plus the much requested Transparent Black Mat finish on the Angelus-HGS.
In this product wrap of the new arrivals you will find just shy of 200 pictures of the first six of the new models to arrive this year. Without further ado, we'll let the pics do the rest of the talking!
Click HERE to check out the eye candy.

New and updated books from Sanctuary have arrived at bmusic with everything for the home recording and live sound enthusiast. Publications from Basic Home Studio Design and Basic Live Sound to Mics and Soundproofing and Live Sound for the Performing Musician cover all you need to know in the twenty or so books now available at bmusic.com.au.
Read more about the Sanctuary recording and live sound book range click HERE.

New models and colours for the 2006 ESP Export range and new ESP Standard and Custom Shop models have been announced and are now all online at bmusic.com.au. We are again the first store in the world to have all these new models listed. All the new available models are listed HERE, simply click on an instrument to view it in more detail. Large hi-res images of each model can also be viewed from our ESP dedicated site pages.

The Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Classic™ is a high-quality, two-channel guitar preamp that uses a duet of premium, mil-spec, subminiature USA-made Phillips-Sylvania® 6021 dual triode tubes tubes. The 100% vacuum tube signal path with a high voltage power supply allow the tubes to operate at their fullest potential and provide maximum dynamic range, the most gain, and the smoothest tone. The result is the classic tube sound, smooth distortion and low order harmonics you expect from a great tube preamp. Great for country, blues, surf, classic rock.
Click HERE to learn more about Seymour Duncan's NEW Twin Tube Classic™ and hear it in action.

The Zoom G7.1ut Guitar Console takes the processing power of the Zoom G Series and adds a real tube to the signal path for authentic sounds. The real tube punches up drive and boosts volume. The G7.1ut features a drum machine, chromatic tuner, built-in expression pedal, USB audio interface and Cubase LE software. There is much, much more to learn about Zoom's newest guitar processor and recording interface.
Click HERE to find out all about it.

Hughes & Kettner Switchblade Guitar amps
For another first in guitar amp history, Hughes & Kettner has packed all the features guitarists have long been dreaming of into one amp: A genuine all-tube design and the boundless versatility of amp modeling. A bona fide tube amp. With tube-driven pre and power amps. And 4 channels that put the full arsenal of classic tones at your fingertips, from spine-tingling clean and crunch to singing lead and crushing ultra saturated sound. You don’t need external effects, because reverb, delay and the most popular modulation effects are already on board in op-drawer digital quality.
Click HERE for more information for the latest and greatest from German amplification masters Hughes & Kettner.

Modern Crybaby master Zakk Wylde and Jim Dunlop have joined forces to deliver the toughest, meanest wah pedal on the planet. Click HERE to read about the hottest wah getting around, the Zakk Wylde ZW45 Wah from Jim Dunlop.

The Ebtech Swizz Army 6 in 1 cable tester is the professional's choice for multi-function cable testers. The Ebtech Swizz Army 6 in 1 displays the exact wiring of any cable or adapter and even allows testing of cables installed in building walls.
Click HERE for more information about Ebtech's professional grade cable tester.

Introducing the DigiTech® Expression Factory™, the pedal that lets you modulate a whole pedal board of classic expression models. From Wah and Whammy™ to models of effects like the A/DA™ Flanger and DigiTech's® own highly collectable Space Station™ Synth Swell™.
Click HERE for more information about the newest addition to DigiTech's® ever growing stable of envelope pushing guitar effects processors.

January, 2006 - bmusic appointed as the official Australian distributor for ISP Technologies out of the USA.
First to arrive will be the much lauded ISP Decimator Pedal and the guitar rack version, the ProRackG Decimator. Other stuff from the ISP camp includes the Steve Lukather Active Guitar Sub endorsed by Christian Wolburs (Fear Factory) and the Theta head which, as a full stack, is a whopping 1100 watts! ISP Technologies also build the biggest and best in drool worthy pro audio gear like $30,000+ 4-way line array systems and such, but we'll save all that for later!
To learn more about ISP Technologies and their Decimator Noise Reduction systems for guitarists click HERE

Two new Zoom guitar effects processor releasesfor 2005 take multi-effects to the next level. The new Zoom G Series pedals consist of two algorithms, one for modeling and one for live sound. Your creative scope has suddenly doubled!
Click HERE to learn more about the new G Series Zoom processors available from bmusic.com.au.

The Product News and Reviews Archive can be found HERE.