Line 6 Spider Jam
Practice, practice, practice. No matter how much talent you may have been born with, practicing is the only true way to hone your craft. But we all know that it’s hard to make the time with everything else that goes on in your life. You need to be constantly inspired and we think we have found the answer. Believe or not, it’s an amp. A kicking, killer little beast called the Spider Jam from Line 6.
The minute you plug in to this box, you are in for a treat. There are options for electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, vocals – everything is covered. The amp presets, available at the turn of a knob, cover just about every major amp ever made and sound incredible – after all this is Line 6 who have set the modeling standard ever since the original POD came on the scene. You can tweak everything of course and we had a blast going through the over 200 artist-based presets. The built-in effects use a two-knob system called Smart Control FX – and it’s pretty darn smart – dial up the effect you want and then spin in the amount you want. Flexible? We would be very surprise if you can’t find the tone you’re looking for in the Spider Jam – from ultra clean rhythms to the most insane crunch you can imagine – it’s all in there!
It’s great having all these combinations at your fingertips and that’s the true beauty of the Spider Jam. Within minutes you will know how to get the sound you are looking for without having to page through menus or punch in a series of endless buttons. Twist a few knobs and you’re on your way. There’s even a built-in tuner plus and stereo mini plug in so you can hook up your iPod or MP3 player to jam. The XLR mic input has a dedicated volume control so you can get a nice blend between your instrument and your vocals, and the 1/4″ AUX input lets you jam along with a buddy.
But what really makes the Spider Jam fun are the amazing loops – over 100 Endless Jam and Drum tracks played by some of the top session players from LA and Nashville. These are not canned jam tracks, these are real players, recorded in some of the best studios on the planet. Imagine plugging in and jamming with cats like Gregg Bissonette, Brent Mason, Dave Pomeroy, Carmine Appice, Tony Franklin and Simon Phillips – to name just a few! The Endless Jam Engine puts you in control of the songs – and keeps things fresh and by doing so keeps you inspired. They really went deep into the different styles as well – blues, rock, country, jazz and beyond.
There is so much more to the Spider Jam – 75 watts of power into the 12″ custom Celestion speaker along with a 2″ tweeter give this amp a full-range sound that will blow you away. There is a recording feature that lets you capture your best solos and output options to handle everything from recording to live performance. But the feature we like most about the Spider Jam – inspiration, built right in.
Come on down to any Sam Ash Music store and plug into the Spider Jam. If you’re not inspired to play, we might have to check you for a pulse!
Three years ago PreSonus created the breakthrough recording interface – the Firepod. The Firepod sold for $599 and was the best-selling fireWire recording system for many years.
Today, PreSonus has created THE NEXT breakthrough recording interface that shatters the price/performance barrier – The Firestudio Tube. And for a limited time, Firepod/FP10 customers can purchase a Firestudio Tube for the SAME PRICE as they did their Firepod! ($599 after mail in rebate).
Upgrade your FirePod or FP10 to the new FireStudio Tube and get SIXTEEN analog inputs including two tube preamplifiers with analog limiters, eight XMAX microphone preamplifiers, six balanced line inputs, Jet PLL sync, improved AD/DA converters, along with $200 CASH BACK! PreSonus makes it easy!
Here’s what you do.
- Step 1: Come into your local Sam Ash Music Store and purchase the PreSonus FireStudio Tube between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008
- Step 2: Download and complete the FirePod/FP10 Upgrade Program Form here
- Step 3: Send your FP10/FirePod along with the completed upgrade form stapled to a copy of the original receipt for the FireStudio Tube and the UPC bar code from the FireStudio Tube box.
- Step 4: PreSonus will send you a check for $200!
Get full details here
Sam Ash NYC Guitar Store
Fender has given their flagship guitars, the Stratocaster and Telecaster, an awful lot of love over the past few decades, and rightly so. Anniversary models, custom shop versions and yearly updates keep guitarists all over the globe longing for the latest and greatest versions. This month the spotlight falls on one of their other solid body models – yes, there are others – as the Jazzmaster turns 50. We remember the first time we ever played a Jazzmaster. It was definitely a Fender, but there was something a bit more upscale about it, sort of like the difference between a Chevy and a Cadillac. It didn’t quite “twang” like a Strat or a Tele but for those who were looking for something different, it sure fit the bill.
Originally designed for jazz players, it at first seemed like a big mistake until it was embraced by the surf bands of the sixties – most importantly by Don Wilson of The Ventures. When the surf crazed died down, so did interest in the Jazzmaster and Fender actually discontinued the model in 1980. That didn’t stop some prime movers of the punk/new wave scene, notably Tom Verlaine of Television and Elvis Costello, from making it their guitar of choice.
Fender reissued the Jazzmaster in 1986 and it has been gaining fans ever since. Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth), J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr), Kurt Cobain (Nirvana), Robert Smith (The Cure), Nels Cline (Wilco), Thom Yorke (Radiohead), Kevin Shields and Bilinda Butcher (My Bloody Valentine), Ira Kaplan (Yo La Tengo), Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd (the Flaming Lips), Tim Gane (Stereolab), Aaron North (Nine Inch Nails) and Mike Einziger (Incubus) have all been seen playing Jazzmasters. Both J Mascis and Elvis Costello have their own signature models.
We join with Fender in celebrating 50 years of this very cool guitar. Come on in and play one at any Sam Ash Music Store location and check out Fender’s Jazzmaster mini-site here. It has tons of info, some great photos and videos featuring Elvis Costello, Lee Ranaldo, J Mascis and Don Wilson.
