Line6 has built their company on there reputation for high quality digital modeling of guitar amps and effects. Shipping in late October The DT-50 line of guitar amps deeply integrate high quality boutique-style tube circuitry with cutting edge HD modeling for a best of all worlds range of tones. "By far the most creative and advanced integration of tubes and amp modeling technology today can be found under the hood of DT50,” comments Elliot Chenault, Line 6 Product Manager. “We’ve totally rethought the relationship between modeling and tubes. The digital section of the amplifier effectively “talks” with the analog section, which was designed by living-legend tube amp designer Reinhold Bogner, for an incredibly responsive and distinctive amplifier that stands alone as Line 6’s flagship amp.”

Available in two combos, a 112 and a 212, or a separate head with a 412 speaker cabinet, the DT-50 amps have classic two channel amplifier design. Each channel can be configured independently. Complete tonal reconfiguration can then be made with the channel select.

Marshall Amplification, one of the best known names in Rock Music and Guitar Amplification, will be ending their long time distribution agreement with Korg USA. Marshall Amplification will be starting their own branded distribution network in the United States beginning Oct. 1, 2010. Korg USA has been the official United States distributor for Marshall Amps since 1985 when they bought out Unicord, their own United States distributor and the distributor for Marshall Amps since 1964.

Unicord, originally a manufacturer of transformers, had transformers of their own design installed in the Marshall amps distributed in the United States fearing that the original design could not handle the 100 watt power output of the 6550 tubes. The Models that were sold in the United Kingdom used the lower wattage KT-88s. The Unicord transformer design was later adopted by Marshall for all models.

Back in the days when I had my shop in SoCal, I did a fair amount of vintage guitar tube amplifier repair. I found a couple of must have books on the topic. Foremost amongst these books is "A Desktop Reference of Hip Vintage Guitar Amplifiers" by Gerald Weber. Comprehensive in it's scope and valuable as a reference it has pages of vintage schematics and recipes for popular mods for popular vintage amps. Even if you never install one of the mods it is nice to know what they are and what they do since the chances of seeing a modded amp are relatively high if you are repairing them on a regular basis.

March 30, 2010

PEAVEY INT'L. HEADQUARTERS — Music-and-audio innovator Hartley Peavey received the 2010 MIPA Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor in the global music-products industry, at the Musikmesse International Press Awards in Frankfurt, Germany, on March 25.

Chosen by the votes of more than 100 magazines worldwide, Peavey accepted the MIPA Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award during the annual Musikmesse and Prolight + Sound convention. Peavey also won the MIPA Best Guitar Amp Combo Award for the Peavey Vypyr™ 15 modeling guitar amplifier at the event.

As the founder and CEO of Peavey Electronics Corporation, award-winner Hartley Peavey heads one of the world's largest and most diversified manufacturers of musical-instrument and professional-audio products, boasting a product line exceeding 2,000 products and distribution into more than 130 countries.