Posted by Don Mackrill on Sat, Dec 03, 2011 @ 09:44 AM
Mack Amps is very pleased to announce the addition of Joey McCarran to our growing family of Mack Endorsing Artists!
A New Hampshire native, Joey McCarran has been playing many instruments for the better part of almost 20 years. He has had a guitar in his hands for the past 15.
During this time he has played in many projects, but is currently playing lead guitar through a Skyraider SR-15 for Boston-based TJ Courtney (www.tjcourtney.com). They’ve recently played legendary venues such as The Pearl Street Ballroom and the Iron Horse in Northampton, MA and are set to play the Middle East in Cambridge, MA as well the Delancey in NYC. They are currently gearing up for a showcase at SXSW 2012 and are planning a Summer 2012 tour.
Joey also has his own side project, (www.joeymccarran.com). In 2008, he was nominated by fans for the 2008 MTVu Woodie Award for “Best Musician on Campus”. Out of a field of a few thousand potential recepients, Joey reached the Top 25. He has two EP’s on the iTunes Store, 2008’s North Shore and The Skyline EP that came out in 2010. He continues to work on material today, and a third EP is due out early next year.
Currently finishing his senior year at Boston College, Joey is studying Communications and Studio art and expects to graduate in May, when he is going to then pursue a career in music industry.
Joey plays a Skyraider SR-15.
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Posted by Don Mackrill on Sun, Nov 13, 2011 @ 07:26 AM
Following are two reviews from a recent Mack Amps Gem 2G customer. Rob did such a nice job of writing detailed descriptions of what he encountered that I thought prospective customers would benefit from understanding his experience with the Gem 2G.
Ealge eyed readers who are familiar with Mack Amps' product line will note that Rob refers to a closed back 10" speaker cab... and we don't advertise one for sale!
When I spoke with Rob about the styles of music he plays I decided he was the perfect candidate for a new 1x10 CB speaker cab that we have not yet launched. He bought a prototype! It has the same width and height dimensions as the 1x10 OB speaker cab (12" and 16" respectively), but is 4" deeper that the OB at 12".
The back baffle does not fully enclose the back of the speaker. Looking at the back of the speaker, the baffle ends before the top creating a gap running the full width of the cab. This is a tuned port designed to increase bass response.
The closed back, tuned port and Eminence 10" Ramrod speaker combine to produce a cab that sounds bigger than it appears that is characterized by suprising bass response and a warm, articulate tone.
Stay tuned for more information about the 1x10 CB!
Here's Rob's two part review:
"I've been playing your amp for hours. What impresses me most is how many different tones I can get out of it. All of the controls are very effective and even the tone control on my guitars have more effect than they have had on other amps I was using -- a borrowed Traynor YCV and circa 1970 Fender Champ.
Got to go now--I have to order a pizza. I was going to go grocery shopping this afternoon, but once I started playing the amp, I couldn't tear myself away to do something as boring as shopping.
I have to say you nailed it on the head with your slogan: "Virtuoso Tone w/o the Prima Donna Price"!"
- Rob initial comments on his Gem 2G and 1x10CB
"Well, I have had your cab and amp for a week now, and I still can't keep away from it when I'm at home.
A bit of background: I'm playing a Guild Starfire IV with Seymour Duncan Antiquity Humbuckers and a Heritage 575 with the same pups. I am also playing a 1956 Gibson ES-125 with a P90.
No matter what I plug in, I'm getting tones I have never heard before -- musical tones with harmonics and shimmering highs, and more low bass than I thought I would get with 4 watts.
With the humbuckers, I have the most fun diming all the amp controls and just using the vol. and tone on the guitars. With the P90, strangely enough, what works best is diming all the guitar controls and playing with the gain, vol., and hot/melt, 4w/1/4w controls on the amp.
But no matter which guitar I'm using, this amp and speaker combination is fun, musical and just plain captivating. I'm amazed at the sweet sounds I can get. And what a variety of sounds! Compared to the previous amps I was using (which are now gathering dust) I can make it sound like I'm playing a completely different guitar with just some tweaking of the knobs and buttons. No matter what sound I'm getting, though, I can then play with the amp through my guitar by varying my attack and pick angle and the amp responds like nothing I've ever played through before.
The CB ported speaker cabinet with the 10'' speaker you recommended is just ideal for the music I play -- jazz and blues. At the volume level I play at -- I'm in a townhouse and I want to stay on good terms with my neighbours -- I can get a hint of very tasteful tube distortion when I need it, yet the head room lets me get full, pure rich notes on quieter passages. The 10" speaker is perfect for this application. It is not so stiff that 4 watts cannot sufficiently drive it, yet it is rigid enough that the cone is not flapping and adding its own sound/noise.
I'm one of those types that often has second thoughts after I've bought something. In this case, though, it took me 10 minutes of playing to affirm I had made the right choice. Every minute of playing after that has just reinforced my conviction that this is one jewel of an amp that is perfect for home playing.
I may sound like I'm raving, but I am so pleased with this amp and speaker combination that I can't stop telling people about it -- except when I'm at home, and then just try prying a guitar out of my hands!
Take care, and thanks for the great product."
- Rob's full review after a week playing his Gem 2G and 1x10 CB
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Posted by Don Mackrill on Sun, Oct 30, 2011 @ 10:36 AM
Want to buy a Mack amp but don't have ALL the coin?
Now Mack Amps offers simple and easy layaway plans so you can buy an amp with payments that match your budget.
Even better, there is NO INTEREST and NO FEES!
'Layaway' is a payment planning tool that makes it easy to schedule a purchase in monthly installments tailored to your budget.
Instead of trying to save money each month - and never doing it - Mack Layaway Plans ensure you get your amp within a set period of time without blowing your budget!
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Posted by Don Mackrill on Thu, Aug 25, 2011 @ 06:14 PM
Jim Svetlikov bought a Mack Skyraider SR-30 in the fall of 2010. Recently, he hand built a tweed covered, pine cabinet for it... and his workmanship is simply beautiful!
Jim posted a detailed 'how-to' review of his masterpiece on the www.GuitarsCanada.com forum. In addition to building a truly superb cabinet for his Skyraider SR-30, his post is one of the best technical articles that I've seen on the Net.
Congratulations Jim for a job EXTREMELY well done!!
See Jim's how-to post here: http://www.guitarscanada.com/amp-building/43327-tweed-cabinet-build.html#post364301
Here's a few photos from the post to whet your appetite!
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Posted by Don Mackrill on Sun, Aug 07, 2011 @ 12:04 PM
Today I received an email from a reader who asked: "What effects should I put in my amp's effects loop and which ones should I put between the guitar and the amp?".
This is a VERY common question so I thought I would share my answer. My comments below are based on a series loop.
First, there is no 'best' way to use a loop. You can put any effect in the loop and any effect in front of the amp and the tone will be good - but somewhat different. Your ears and your preference is what finally decides what goes where. That means you should experiment until you get a set up that you like best.
Second, before you start experimenting you need to recognize the difference between putting an effect in front vs. in the loop. An effect in front is working its magic on your guitar signal (or the guitar signal that has been effected by previous effects). An effect in the loop is working on the signal from the amp's preamp - that is the guitar signal effected by any effects out front and then processed by the preamp. Therefore, the only difference between the two is that the loop's signal has the extra preamp mojo to work with. Other than that there is no difference.
So, whatever your amp's preamp does to the tone is what the loop is going to see. High gain amps use a LOT of preamp distortion. Classic tube amps make the sound louder though the preamp and will add tube 'warmth' to the tone.
The other thing to consider is that, of course, the preamp section of the amp includes the amp's tone controls. That means the signal the loop sees has been altered by the tone control settings.
To sum up, from a tone perspective the only difference between the loop signal and the signal out front of the amp is the effect of the amp's tone controls and whatever sonic mojo the preamp adds. Otherwise, from your effects point of view they are the same. (That doesn't take into consideration the amplitude or size of the signal, but that doesn't really affect the tone.)
Your question is: in what order should my effects be placed. Common thinking says that 'time based' effects should go in the loop and the rest out front. Time based means any effect like delay, reverb, chorus, phaser, flanger, envelope filters, ring modulators, etc.
That's a good place to start, but I really urge you not to stop there. Think about it: doesn't it seem like it might be interesting to put, say, an overdrive pedal in the loop to take the signal that the preamp has worked on and add some OD? What would the added tube warmth and tone shaping from the preamp sound like overdriven? That's kind of interesting. Try it!
Same with distortion, or wah, or boost, or whatever. The other side of that coin is that maybe putting delay in front of the amp and then letting the preamp work on it - along with its tone controls - might sound very cool. Time based in front of gain/OD/disortion or vice versa? Many players do it one way and many the other.
You have two choices: go with standard practice and only put the time based FX in the loop or experiment and come up with your own configuration that suits YOUR ears!
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Posted by Don Mackrill on Tue, Jul 26, 2011 @ 09:11 PM
Mack Amps is pleased to announce two new promotions that will be regular features of our web site: Daily Deals and Group Deals.
Every day a new discount offer will be presented on our web site. Check back regularly to see each day's special deal!
Every week we will be offering a deep discount on a particular item or group of items that is dependent on customers buying the minimum quantity to get the deal - just like Groupon!
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Posted by Don Mackrill on Wed, Jul 06, 2011 @ 10:01 AM
David Barrett is a highly accomplished composer, creative force and kick ass guitar player! He's also a Mack Endorsing Artist who uses the following Mack equipment:
David is a true tone hound - he customizes his rig to suit the gig and is ALWAYS experimenting! I asked him to share the secrets of his current rigs.
Don Mackrill from Mack Amps asked me to give him some info on my current guitar rig, so here goes! There’s no real short answer and I’ve made many changes over the last year regarding what I’m using and how I’m setting things up.
I have three basic guitar rigs that are quite simple and used for different types of music that I play. Gone are are the vintage effects, velcro covered plywood boards, adapters, etc., that can all sound cool but turn into a nightmare due to many factors that occur both travelling and at home in the studio.
Mini Rig: For recording and solo/duo guitar orientated gigs I use a Mack Gem 2G with a 10” Celestion Greenback. I use an Ernie Ball Volume Pedal and if I want additional volume, I take an output from the volume pedal and feed it into a Line 6 Spider (also w/Celestion). This away I can use the foot switch for the two channels on the GEM (everything is set on stun), and use the Line 6 FBV2 to change presets that include bits of tape echo, reverb, and chorus. There are many tone combinations with this small set up.
Tube Rig: The Heatseeker (w/Greenback 12”) is great for vintage tube sounds set on “Burn” with volume and tone around half. For playing Les Paul and Chet Atkins tunes, I plug my Gibson 175 or Les Paul Jr. Robot into the BOSS ME-50 for some echo and reverb. This amp is also ideal for my 1956 Gibson Console twin neck steel guitar! For a louder rock setting I split the signal at the ME-50 stereo output and add the GEM.
Oddly there is no problem combining the 4 watt amp with the 18, the GEM is set full, while the HS-18 is set about half. If I need to hear the GEM more, I set it on an angle or elevate it with an IKEA speaker stand, which enables me to aim it directly at me, so I always hear it.
Important to note that I use “cheaters” or ground lifts to always lift the ground on the second amp I’ve added in the chain.
Monster Rig (see photo above): For my trio and other loud rock situations I use Alex Lifeson’s Hughes & Kettner ZenTera. It’s programmed with many beefy rectified amp sounds and effects ranging from chorus, flange, phase, tape echo, and reverb.
From the volume pedal, I add an output to the Mack GEM for dry tube sounds, both clean and dirty. Occasionally, (stage size permitting) I’ll add the Mack Heetseeker and switch between the GEM and The Heetseeker with an A/B box, so that I have a wider range of dry tube amp sounds to mix with the effected and usually more distorted H&K. A Planet Waves strobe tuner is also in line before the volume pedal to try and keep the double neck in tune!
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Posted by Don Mackrill on Sat, Jun 25, 2011 @ 09:25 AM
Check out 'Disappearance' one of three new songs by Mack Endorsing Artist David Barrett and his band The David Barrett Trio. This song was produced by Rush's Alex Lifeson!
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Posted by Don Mackrill on Tue, Jun 21, 2011 @ 02:02 PM
Check out 'No Place' the promo video for Mack Endorsing Artist Val Halla's latest album of the same name. Val Halla records and tours with a Heatseeker HS-18 and 1x12 CB speaker cabinet.
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Posted by Don Mackrill on Mon, Jun 20, 2011 @ 07:10 AM
Check out 'Sonar' one of three new songs by Mack Endorsing Artist David Barrett and his band The David Barrett Trio. This song was produced by Rush's Alex Lifeson!
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