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Some of the biggest crowds were drawn not only by guitar clinics and demos, but also by every-one’s favorite rock stars doing signings. The line for John 5’s autograph at Reunion Blues (a manufacturer of gig bags and instrument cases) lasted more than an hour, but the wait was worth it for fans — the White Zombie guitarist not only is one of the most accomplished players around, but he is a thoroughly affable guy who makes a point of talking to each fan who ap-proaches him for an autograph.
During Dave Mustaine’s signing session at the Cleartone Strings booth, venue security was heard saying, “We don’t want a riot here” before streamlining the enormous line of fans that wrapped itself around the stand several times over. Mustaine exclusively has used Cleartone Strings on Megadeth’s latest album Super Collider and describes them as “bright, solid and durable, but really loud.” Cleartone carries Dave Mustaine signature “Monster” guitar strings. All Cleartone strings use VolumeBOOST, which — according to an independent lab — makes the strings 36 percent louder than other strings. Cleartone strings also use ToneLOCK technology, making strings last three to five times longer than other non-coated strings.
Dean Guitars also presented new Dave Mustaine signature series guitars this year. Here is a link to a Dean Guitars video with Mustaine giving a run-down on his new 2015 guitars:
Like John 5, Richie Kotzen wasn’t doing any demos this time around, but he drew fans with his signing session at the Tech 21 booth, where he also sold copies of his newly released album Cannibals.
The Richie Kotzen Signature RK5 Fly Rig by Tech 21 simply is not another version of the Fly Rig 5 with his name on it. The RK5 was developed in close collaboration with Kotzen, who used the prototype for most of his 2014 tour with the Winery Dogs. The all-analog SansAmp at the heart of the rig makes is possible to go directly to the PA or mixer. For effects, it provides the essentials: Reverb, delay with tap tempo, a powerful boost and Kotzen’s signature OMG over-drive.
Tony MacAlpine signed autographs during Day 3 at the EMG booth. He uses its 808X and 808 pickups. And Uli Jon Roth was at the Tronical Tuning Systems booth. Tronical describes itself as “the world’s first real retrofit autonomous auto tune system located at the guitars headstock.” It does, indeed, tune your guitar in seconds by measuring its natural sound frequencies at the headstock. A learning algorithm captures and stores the acoustic properties in relation to the frequency mixture of your guitar. It then creates the motor commands so the servos quickly auto-tune the guitar.
Over in the land of keyboards, Casio introduced four new digital pianos this year to expand its Celviano and Privia lines. Celviano AP-260 and AP-460, as well as the Privia PX-760 and PX-860 have new features, such as Hall Simulators and Concert Plays.
Known for striving to provide an authentic sound and feel of a grand piano, Casio keeps the Privia an easily portable line, while continuing to preserve Celviano’s elegant look. The new Concert Play feature of the Privias and Celvianos lets you to play along to 10 classical pieces — which are suitable for skills from beginner to advanced — with recordings of a symphony orchestra included. You can select to hear them with or without the piano part. There also is a lesson feature that allows you to have a slower tempo of a piece.
New stereo string ensemble sounds were developed for this line of Celviano and Privia and can be played individually or layered with Casio’s Concert Grand Piano sounds. The new digital effects system, called Hall Simulator, is based on acoustic measurements of real locations around the world, with which you can select simulated environments for your piano, such as the Dutch Reformed Church, Berlin Hall Philharmonic, the French Cathedral in Berlin and more.
AP-260 (MSRP: $1,499.99 USD), AP-460 (MSRP: $1,899.99 USD), PX-760 (MSRP: $1,099.99 USD) and the PX-860 (MSRP: $1,499.99USD) are available in black or brown.
Casio AP-460
Casio AP-260
Casio PX-760
Casio PX-860
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