My name is Adam G, and I work in our technical support group and write for our blog. It’s a fun gig, and I am constantly being exposed to new gear and technology — so of course I have to buy some!
I’m lucky to be an old dog, and my road days are far behind me. I play guitar for my own pleasure (and sometimes my wife and dog) in our living room. For today’s rig I want to talk about some recent acquisitions and how they have made a home in my setup.
I call it: The Stealth Sofa Studio
Strandberg Boden Standard NX6
I am a super traditional player, a big fan of Gibson and Fender, so when I saw the Strandberg Boden Standard NX6 with its multiscale neck, multi-position body and missing headstock, it ran against the grain of my very essence — of course I had to buy it.
First impressions:
I started out playing classical guitar, so posture has always been a big focus for me. I found the Strandberg to be immediately familiar and comfortable to hold. The little kick out on the booty allows you to sit with the guitar perfectly positioned for maximum ease of play.
The tremolo seemed a little too stiff, but I was able to play around with it a little to get it loosened up. It’s interesting to use because of the multi-scale neck: the notes and intervals stay true as you drop or raise the pitch, almost like the old Steinberg trans-trem.
The multi-scale neck with fanned frets was super intimidating looking, but falls to hand very organically. Again, the intonation is completely perfect. Even wide 10-fret intervals ring true.
The multi-angled neck carve (they call it EndurNeck) is kind of startling at first, but they really are onto something with this design. I have not played a more comfortable neck profile.
I usually don’t use a strap when I play, but this thing on a strap is completely different. I haven’t weighed it, but I bet it doesn’t even weigh five pounds!
This is the Standard model, so it gets slightly downgraded pickups from their Swedish-built product. They could stand a little more output, but I have signal processing capable of almost unlimited gain, so that isn’t the end of the world. Otherwise, they sound sweet.
I usually can gauge my interest in a guitar by how close it is to me on my sofa, and the Strandberg has been right next to me for a few months now. I guess I must like it.
Now if I could just find some tasty beats…
Teenage Engineering EP133 KO II Workstation
It was super cool of Stockholm’s Teenage Engineering to fly their head of design to our US lair for a visit a few months ago. They had one of these EP133 “Knockout” devices to demonstrate. I was immediately intrigued by the bizarre eighties desktop calculator design format. I was more than intrigued when he started zipping around on the thing to show off its workflow.
It’s already loaded with a ton of great samples, mostly drums, but you can sample your own sounds and create up to 9 scenes using the grid of pads and encoders. The manual is a 9”X12” laminated card with hieroglyphic symbols guiding you through the various steps and processes. After watching a few YouTube videos, I was able to start creating some beats.
The neat thing about this device is that it can be approached from many angles and helps create sounds and beats that are almost accidental. Being able to pull samples in real time and blend the internal sounds with external “found” sound creates new and sometime unexpected results. I’m running it into the aux input of my Boss RC5 Loopstation and then on to my amp…
Boss Katana 50 MKII
As I am mostly playing for an audience of two (including the dog), my amplification needs are minimal. After a lot of research, I chose the Boss Katana 50.
The first time I sat down with one of these amps I was immediately impressed with the tone, which is saying a lot for a solid-state device. It seems like many modelling amplifiers want to hit you across the nose with all the effects and distortion available, so I give the engineers at Boss credit for dialing back the mayhem on the factory patches.
The amp is well behaved and easy to coax into a cool tone. The effects are well thought out and can be very subtle. I usually run through my pedalboard, so I have several ways to achieve distortion/overdrive tones if desired. I admit that I usually run the amp dry.
I took off the handle so I can put a small keyboard on top of the amp (AKAI MPK Mini). And I put some old legs from a small footstool on the amp, so it sits up a little higher to create the perfect sofa amp. I run an iPad into the aux input of the Boss and, with some headphones (Shure SRH440A), I’m good to go for silent sessions.
Now, if I could just find my TV remote…
The Gear That Runs AMS
Whether you’re a silent sofa warrior like me or a gigging king of the road, there’s tons of gear out there to help you create your perfect sound. If you’re looking for gear to compliment your style, give us a call at the AMS Call Center 800-458-4076. We can definitely point you in the right direction.
And if you’re curious what some of the other musicians here at AMS use in their personal rigs, check out more blogs with The Gear That Runs AMS. Happy playing!
