Phil O'Keefe

NEXI Industries The Solution Pedalboard and NEXI Pedals A new approach to plug-and-play pedalboards by Phil O'Keefe Eventually, most gigging guitarists mount their pedals on a pedalboard. It makes sense because a pedalboard is a lot easier to set up at the gig than connecting a bunch of individual pedals, cables, and power supplies. But even after you've gone through the hassles of putting a pedalboard together, there's still the potential for some annoying, unwanted glitches that can mess up your performance. If you've ever had a cable go out on your board, or something became unplugged just far enough that it no longer passed signal, then you'll know what I mean. If only there was a pedalboard that didn't require connecting all the pedals with cables, and didn't need a dedicated power supply, power daisy chain or other power cabling...well there is, so allow me to introduce you to The Solution by NEXI Industries. What You Need To Know NEXI Industries is a Dutch company that is new to the world of guitar effects. They've recently introduced a line of compact pedals, as well as a pedalboard designed for use with their pedals called The Solution. We'll look at some of the pedals as well as the board itself. Designed by what NEXI calls the "Vintage Analog Protection Squad," which apparently is what they call their design staff, they set out to create a pedalboard that was splash proof, ready to play in under five minutes, and that didn't come with all the cabling and pedal mounting hassles of traditional pedalboards. After four years in development, this is The Solution they devised. The pedals and The Solution pedalboard were designed in the Netherlands, and built in China. Currently there are 14 different pedals available:12 "single" pedals, including the 70s Distortion DIS-01, 70's Overdrive OVD-01, Analog Chorus CHO-01, Delay DLY-01, Distortion DIS-02, Dutch Screamer DSC-01, Fuzz FZZ-01, Looper LPR-01, Metal Distortion MTD-01, Overdrive OVD-02, Phaser PSR-01 and Tremolo TRM-01 along with two "double pedals," including the NEXI Industries Expression / Volume VOL-01 and Wah WWA-01 pedals. I received a Solution board, as well as a 70s Overdrive, Delay, Tremolo, Dutch Screamer and Volume pedal for testing. Constructed of heavy duty plastic for strength and weight savings, the Solution pedalboard has a total of 8 pedal positions on it. A built-in power supply on the board supplies power to each position. Each position is covered by a removable rubberized plate. Hidden underneath is a 9-pin jack and two pins. You can forget about Velcro, bike chain links, glue, cable ties, or any of the other methods used for mounting pedals to boards. NEXI instead has created what it calls a "plug and play" system; the pedals have sockets that mate with the two pins on the NEXI pedalboard. The pedals click down and attach to it without the need for any tools. Their hard-rubber bottom plates seal securely into the board's insert positions. Pedals can be just as easily lifted off the board, but it takes an intentional effort to do so. They stay in place unless you want to move them. Removing an easily removable (no tools required), small plate on the bottom of all the pedals reveals a 9-pin connector. This mates with the pedalboard's connector, which supplies power to the pedal and also handles all of the I/O - there's no need for any other connections between pedals. Let's state that again - when using NEXI pedals with The Solution pedalboard, there is no need for any wiring whatsoever. No more running power to each pedal, no more wires in between them. This gives the NEXI pedal board a very clean look. As to getting your guitar signal into the pedalboard and then patching the board to your amp, NEXI put the jacks on the right side of the board. You'll find 1/4" input and output jacks (complete with attached rubberized plugs to keep them splash-resistant when not in use), along with an IEC power receptacle to power the board and all attached pedals. NEXI even thoughtfully included a pair of USB jacks so you can charge your phone and tablet. Seems silly? Not if you're one of countless musicians who use these devices for displaying music and lyrics or as mixing, sound generating / virtual instruments, and/or amp sims and effects processing tools onstage. NEXI includes a signal path chart on the pedalboard's bottom. There are a few other features included with The Solution pedalboard. An additional 1/4" output can connect to your amp or anything else requiring an A/B footswitch. This is activated by the left-most of the three built-in footswitches located at the front of the pedalboard. A letter A or B illuminates at the top of the pedalboard, depending on the switch's position. There are two other footswitches on the pedalboard. The far-right one activates a built-in 3-step boost function you can set to your choice of three levels (+7 dB, +12 dB and +20 dB). A series of lights at the top of the pedal illuminate to let you know when the boost is engaged, and the selected boost level. You set the boost level by activating the boost and then pressing the Select button (located in the upper-right corner) to cycle through the three available settings. The center footswitch activates the onboard tuner. The Mode switch (located just above the Select switch) lets you pick among seven tuner modes, including Normal (440 Hz Chromatic), Open D, E, G and A, Drop D and DAGDAD. If you tune down a half step (or more) the tuner will accommodate your preferred tuning too. The tuner auto-selects the correct note and displays the note name in the center. Three dots to either side of it indicate whether the note is sharp or flat; a note is in tune when there's one dot illuminated to either side of the note letter display. An optional lid that totally encloses and covers the pedalboard for transport to and from your gigs is available. It's heavy duty and designed to withstand a 150 kilogram weight being placed on top of it. It also has built-in top and side handles. Let's move on to the actual pedals. The looper and delay pedals are analog/digital hybrids; all the other pedals are fully analog. The pedals are built into metal cases that measure 4.75" L x 3" W x 2.25" H. Each pedal's control area is angled back to help protect them from your feet. NEXI pedals can be used with other pedals and on other pedalboards, thanks to regular 1/4" I/O jacks mounted on the sides of the pedals. These come from the factory plugged with rubber stoppers to keep debris out of the pedals when using them with NEXI's pedalboard) Switching on all NEXI Industries pedals is true bypass. The switches themselves have a large, knob-like surface that screws on top of a standard-style switch, which makes them very easy to activate. Like standard switches, there's a slightly audible mechanical click when activated. The Wah and Volume pedal switches work in the traditional manner - they're located at the top of and directly underneath the treadle toe. Instead of a small LED to indicate when the pedal is active, the entire perimeter of the white area around the controls lights up. It's pretty dramatic and looks cool in a darkened room. NEXI's pedals can be powered through the 9-pin multi connector on the bottom (when used with NEXI's The Solution pedalboard), via an industry-standard 2.1 mm center-negative power jack (located at the top of the pedal), or with an internal 9V battery. The battery compartment is accessed by removing four screws and taking off the pedal's bottom plate. As with the 1/4" I/O jacks, a rubber stopper plugs the power jack when not in use. This is part of the "splash proof" protection that NEXI builds into their products. In fact, the entire board and all the pedals are designed to be splash-resistant, and all openings are either filled with rubber coverings or are completely covered by the rubberized plates or the rubberized rings around the edges of the pedals themselves. The Dutch Screamer is an overdrive pedal that sounds like it was based on a classic green-colored overdrive pedal with a pronounced midrange emphasis. It has the same basic control configuration, with Drive, Tone and output Volume knobs that do what you'd expect. It's a solid toobscreamer-flavored pedal that works well for both clean boosting as well as mild-to-moderate overdrive. The 70s Overdrive is a full-range overdrive pedal. The controls are Gain, Tone, and Volume, and again, they work just as you'd expect. Medium amounts of gain are available, but the 70s Overdrive never really crosses over into heavy distortion territory. The Delay is a digital / analog hybrid, voiced to sound like an analog delay. It has three knobs - Time, Repeat, and Level. The delay time ranges from 35 mS to 598 mS. The Repeat knob sets the number of delay repeats, and the pedal will self-oscillate if maxed out. Level sets the delayed signal's volume, from quite quiet at its lowest setting to louder than the source signal at its highest. The Volume pedal, like the Wah, requires two slots on the board - one above the other. Being a true pedal lover who never seems to have enough room on my board, I was hoping that the Volume pedal functioned passively so you could save some space on the board itself for other things while setting it alongside - and in fact you can do this, but you'll need to put a battery into it since the circuit is active - it won't run without some sort of power. The pedal uses a traditional treadle and rack and pinion gearing mechanism to control the position of a built-in volume pot. The Tremolo has three controls: Speed (sets the rate of amplitude fluctuations), Chop, and Volume (sets the output level). Chop is a waveform selector, with a sine waveform shape at its counterclockwise position whose shape becomes increasingly more choppy and square as you turn up the knob. Limitations Stereo operation is not supported, None of the pedals has a stereo output, and there is only a single output on the pedalboard. The pedals look very similar to one another, and while the pedal names are in different colors the labels are small enough to be difficult to see on stage. With only eight spaces on the board you'll probably remember what's what fairly quickly, but it would be helpful to differentiate them more easily by sight. The maximum Tremolo speed could be a bit faster. Neither the Delay nor Tremolo offer tap tempo. Currently only NEXI pedals work with The Solution, but there are plans for an adapter that will allow using other companies' pedals. Unfortunately I don't have any specs or other information on the adapter at this time. You're not limited to using only NEXI pedals with The Solution pedalboard if you're willing to use them outboard, placed before or after the NEXI board in your signal chain. With this in mind, it would be convenient if there was a 2.1mm center-negative 9V DC output jack on the side of the board to power additional, outboard pedals you might want to run alongside NEXI's The Solution pedalboard. Conclusions NEXI has come up with an interesting product in their Solution pedalboard, and it has a lot of clever engineering that will make it attractive to many players. The sound quality of the pedals themselves is comparable with products from other high-quality manufacturers; you won't be making significant compromises in terms of sound, although some may be a bit feature-light (e.g., no delay or tremolo tap tempo) compared to some competitors. The pedalboard's splash resistance is a very cool feature. Unlike other pedalboards, an accidental beer spill at a gig would probably not be a disaster. If you can live without stereo, and are willing to commit to using NEXI's pedals for everything you want to mount on the board, The Solution Pedalboard has a lot to offer. While eight pedal slots may seem a bit low, you won't need to use one for a tuner or a boost pedal since those functions are built into the board itself. You also may not need to use your amp's AB footswitch, although this will depend on the specific amp you use and its switching requirements. Of course, you can use two of the boards if you really need a lot of pedals for your purposes, and you can easily patch third-party pedals into your setup before or after the NEXI rig, although they'll require a separate power supply. I wish there was stereo capability, but I'm probably in the minority - most guitarists don't bother going stereo, especially for live gigs. Another useful feature I'd like to see added would be a 9V DC 2.1 mm center negative power outlet with enough power for outboard pedals, and maybe an assignable effects loop that could insert between any of the eight onboard pedals to help facilitate using external pedals. But those omissions aside, it's obvious that NEXI has put a lot of thought into their products. The pedals connect to The Solution very easily, yet stay firmly seated until you want to remove them. The mounting method is pretty brilliant, and so is the hassle factor - it's super-easy to change your pedal layout and order, and not having to worry about power supply and patch cables takes all the headaches out of assembling a board. If you want a hassle-free board, take the time to research NEXI's Solution. It could be exactly what you want. -HC- Resources NEXI pedals and The Solution pedalboard are available directly from NEXI Industries (at current exchange rates, the dollar is worth about 5% less than the Euro). A Starter Pack with The Solution and the NEXI Overdrive is €199.95 Individual pedals are €99.95, including shipping. Pre-configured pedalboards designed for a variety of musical genres (rock, blues, country, alternative, etc.) are available for €699.00. These include The Solution board, four single-sized pedals (the selection depends on the genre) as well as the Volume and Wah pedals. Optional Lid for The Solution pedalboard ( €69.95 ) 70s Overdrive Tremolo Delay Dutch Screamer Volume The Solution Have questions or comments about this review? Then be sure to check out this thread in the Effects Forum right here on Harmony Central! __________________________________________________ Phil O'Keefe is a multi-instrumentalist, recording engineer / producer and the Senior Editor of Harmony Central. He has engineered, produced and performed on countless recording sessions in a diverse range of styles, with artists such as Alien Ant Farm, Jules Day, Voodoo Glow Skulls, John McGill, Michael Knott and Alexa's Wish. He is a former featured monthly columnist for EQ magazine, and his articles and product reviews have also appeared in Keyboard, Electronic Musician and Guitar Player magazines.

Fender Acoustic SFX Acoustic Instrument Amplifier Is it an acoustic instrument amp or is it a mini-PA? by Phil O'Keefe Quick show of hands - who has ever plugged an acoustic guitar into their electric amp? While it may be something nearly all of us have done out of necessity at one point or another, an electric guitar amplifier is far from a good partner for your acoustic instruments. For starters the frequency response is tailored to electric guitars and doesn't have the full-range response needed to properly represent acoustic instruments. Of course you can always "go direct," but then you're at the mercy of the soundperson and whatever the excuse for a PA happens to be at the venue. Wouldn't it be nice to have some control over your own sound and what you hear on stage? And what about playing at home, or at other places where there isn't a PA? That's where having a good acoustic amp comes in handy, and leads us to the Fender Acoustic SFX we'll be looking at today. What You Need To Know The Fender Acoustic SFX is a two channel stereo amplifier intended for use with acoustic instruments…and microphones. What you choose to point the microphone at is up to you - it works very well when miking both acoustic instruments and vocalists. Housed in an attractively curved 9-ply plywood enclosure that measures 19.5" H x 17.5" W x 10.5" D and that weighs 25 pounds, the Acoustic SFX is fairly small, compact and light. It's available in two different wood stain finishes - maple and walnut. Powered by a pair of 80W digital amplifiers for a total of 160W, the Fender Acoustic SFX has plenty of juice for small to mid-sized venues such as house concerts, clubs, coffee shops and churches. The way that the stereo system of the Acoustic SFX works is rather interesting. Fender calls it Stereo Field Expansion, and it's somewhat like a Mid-Side microphone array, except in reverse. There are three drivers housed within the Fender Acoustic SFX amplifier. A front-firing 8" woofer and titanium tweeter handle the main signal while a second 6" speaker is side-radiating and is mounted sideways inside the center of the amp in such a way that sound from the front of the speaker is sent out one side of the amp while the inverted phase sound from the back of the same center-mounted speaker is sent out the other side . When combined with the main speakers this internal speaker produces the stereo effect and contributes to the Acoustic SFX's expansive sound. The grille material is a visually complementary brown cloth that looks very nice against the wooden cabinet. In addition to the front grille there are three other openings on the amp that are also covered in the same grille cloth, including round port areas on both sides of the amp, and a rectangular one at the bottom rear. Portability is improved further by the built-in handle that spans the entire top of the control panel. Covered in rubber and shaped so that it fits your hand, it makes carrying the amp very easy and comfortable. Need to lift it from the bottom instead? There are two areas that are inset into the rubber-covered bottom surface of the Acoustic SFX amplifier to make it easier. The rubber bottom is also non-slip, helps protects the wood, and probably helps isolate the amp from the floor a bit too. The area beneath the top handle also serves as a cubbyhole that can hold small items like picks, slides and capos, and it also can hold your MP3 player, phone or tablet. An 1/8" stereo Aux Input on the amp's control panel allows you to connect these devices for music playback in between sets or for accompaniment. The control panel is top-mounted. It's also well-equipped. There are two identical channels. Each channel has a combo XLR / 1/4" input jack. Input impedance is 18.2 kOhm for the 1/4" input and 1.8 kOhm for the XLR. 16V phantom power is provided on the XLR inputs to support the use of condenser microphones. Phantom power is always on and is not defeatable. Each channel has a Volume control, as well as an effective EQ section with individual Low, Mid and High controls. The knobs are large and made from black plastic; the shape of the EQ knobs differs a bit from the other ones, but all of them are clearly marked with white indicators and are easy to read, even in fairly low-light conditions. Each channel also has a pushbutton phase reverse switch, which can be useful for reducing feedback in some situations. One area where the Acoustic SFX is very strong is the onboard effects. Each channel has a dedicated Reverb control, but while that's as far as the effects go on some competing amps, Fender also gave the Acoustic SFX two different types of Delay, as well as Chorus and Vibratone effects. The level of the selected effect for each channel is controlled by the channel's Effects knob. At the center of the control panel, four illuminated pushbuttons per channel serve triple duty. A single press turns on the effect and illuminates the knob, which blinks at the current tempo. Two taps on the active effect are all you need to adjust the tap tempo. Delay 1 is a single slapback with a default time of 130ms. Delay 2 has multiple repeats and defaults at 390ms. The tap range is 100-550ms for both delays. You can also use tap tempo to adjust the sweep rate of the Chorus; it defaults at 1.2Hz and is adjustable from 0.66Hz-10Hz. The Vibratone's speed can also be set by tapping, with a 5.66Hz default rate and a range from 0.66-5.66Hz. The strength of the stereo effect is adjusted with the Stereo SFX knob located in the center of the control panel. As you increase this knob more sound is radiated from the center speaker and thrown out of the two side ports. As with the mid mic on a M-S setup, one side will be out of phase with the other, and the two, when combined with the sound from the center channel 8" and high frequency horn drivers gives you stereo sound. The amount of reverb and effects you have dialed up with the channel controls will have an effect on how strong the stereo signal is, with higher settings of these controls giving you more dramatic stereo spread as you turn up the Stereo SFX knob. An 1/8" stereo headphone jack is also included and it automatically cuts off the Acoustic SFX's built-in speakers when you plug into it. On the back of the amp is where you'll find the receptacle for the IEC power cable, the fuse holder, as well as a on/off switch. A voltage selection switch lets you use the amp domestically as well as overseas. An optional two-button footswitch is available for switching the effects for each channel on and off remotely., and a rear panel 1/4" jack gives you a place to plug it in. The footswitch only works on the delay, chorus and Vibratone effects, and does not disable the reverb. Rounding out the rear panel is an XLR balanced output jack. A pushbutton switch lets you select mic or line output levels, so you can easily connect this amp to just about any PA system you run into. A ground lift switch is also included to help combat ground loop hum when connecting the XLR balanced output to other equipment. Fender thoughtfully includes a heavy-duty cover with every Acoustic SFX amplifier, which will help keep it looking nice. The cover includes a side pocket too, which is handy for carrying small accessories like a guitar cable, a tuner, and the amp's power cable.Limitations While having phantom power available is nice, with only 16V on tap the phantom power voltage may not be sufficient for all condenser microphones. Some may perform less than optimally when you try to use them with less than 48V. Any exposed wood on an instrument amplifier is subject to dings and scratches. Tolex covered amps tend to resist dings a bit better than finished wood does, but all amps are susceptible. Keep it covered when you're transporting it and you'll reduce the nicks and scrapes, but be aware that you're probably going to get some eventually. Only reverb plus one other effect can be used at a time per channel. You can have reverb and chorus on your guitar using channel 1, and reverb and delay on the vocal mic you have plugged into channel 2, but you can't use delay and chorus at the same time on the same channel. Conclusions Have you ever had the unfortunate experience of playing through a sub-par PA system? It's always a roll of the dice whether or not you'll be stuck with that whenever you play at a smaller venue for the first time, but with the Acoustic SFX in tow, solo artists will no longer be entirely at their mercy. Not only that, but with two independent channels you have all the tools you need to do solo vocal + instrument gigs with this amp alone, without needing a separate PA system. In fact, it can serve as a great sounding little "home PA" system for all sorts of things. I recently ran a Casio keyboard and mic into it to rehearse some songs at home and was nearly as impressed with the sound of it amplifying the keyboard as I was when using it with various acoustic instruments. With the kind of good looks that it takes to win "spouse approval" the Fender Acoustic SFX can sit in your living room when you're not at a gig and not look too out of place; uncovered, it could easily be mistaken for a home stereo speaker or subwoofer. But don't be fooled - despite the domestic-friendly appearance it is still a very capable live performance amplifier for small and moderate sized venues, and it has the kind of pro-level connectivity and sound quality that allows it to feed the PA at even the largest gigs. Like the general sound quality of the amp itself the effects sound very nice - they are simple to use and don't require an audio engineer to dial them up. At first I thought the Vibratone might be a bit out of place, but with it activated the Acoustic SFX takes on a mini-rotary speaker cabinet vibe that's quite cool, especially with a lot of Stereo SFX dialed up. Although you won't have as much control over all parameters as you would with a couple of dedicated effects pedals, having them built into the amp means that much less you have to cart to and from the gig, and that much less to potentially leave behind accidentally, and the effects do give your instruments and vocals a much more polished sound. And that's what it's all about - the sound. If you've been dealing with lackluster PAs or other compromised ways of being heard, it's time to put those worries behind you. Leave the electric guitar amps for the electric guitars and get yourself a real acoustic amplifier! When you get ready to do so, the Fender Acoustic SFX is a very good one to check out due to its good looks, ample power, built-in effects and expansive stereo sound. -HC- Resources Fender Acoustic SFX Acoustic Amplifier ($899.00 "street") Fender's product web page You can purchase the Fender Acoustic SFX Acoustic Amplifier from: Sweetwater Guitar Center Musician's Friend Have questions or comments about this review? Then click here to join the discussion about it! __________________________________________________ Phil O'Keefe is a multi-instrumentalist, recording engineer / producer and the Senior Editor of Harmony Central. He has engineered, produced and performed on countless recording sessions in a diverse range of styles, with artists such as Alien Ant Farm, Jules Day, Voodoo Glow Skulls, John McGill, Michael Knott and Alexa's Wish. He is a former featured monthly columnist for EQ magazine, and his articles and product reviews have also appeared in Keyboard, Electronic Musician and Guitar Player magazines.

The Martin Archives A Scrapbook of Treasures from the World's Foremost Acoustic Guitar Maker by Phil O'Keefe C.F. Martin and Company have been one of the world's most famous and popular guitar manufacturers for ages. In the minds of many players and members of the public at large, mention "acoustic guitar" and the image that comes to mind is that of a flattop dreadnought - a guitar design that originated with Martin. In fact, Martin is the oldest guitar manufacturer in the USA, with the origins of the company dating back to 1833. In the book The Martin Archives, the authors take us along for a rare behind the scenes look at the company's storied history. What You Need To Know The Martin Archives was written by Jim Washburn along with Martin archivist Dick Boak, and it draws heavily on the 700,000 items in the rich Martin historical archives, including items that were stored in Martin's attics and vaults for decades and only recently rediscovered. The book's foreword was written by Graham Nash. True to the subtitle, The Martin Archives is laid out in scrapbook form, with multiple historical photos, records and other documents laid out liberally throughout the book. Many of the pictures are in color. The text covers the history of Martin from Christian Frederick's apprenticeship under Johann Georg Stauffer in Vienna Austria to his arrival in the US, where he opened a combination music store and production shop in New York. It also goes on to cover the move to Nazareth Pennsylvania in 1838 and Martin's long history there. In fact, as you'll discover in the book, the company remains family owned and operated up to the present day; the current CEO is C.F. Martin IV, the founder's great-great-great grandson, and the company is still based in Nazareth. The Martin Archives covers not only the Martin guitar models and the history of the company and the Martin family, but like any good scrapbook it covers the times - the Martin era, as well as the "family friends" - the people who used the instruments Martin built. If it feels like you're reading a music-centric book on American history, that's in no small part due to the fact that Martin has been around for so much of American history. Also in keeping with the "scrapbook" concept, The Martin Archives contains several envelopes and pockets that are filled with reproductions of historical catalogs, post cards, hang tags, cancelled checks, letters from musicians and much more. Limitations No definitive listing of every single Martin model ever made and their serial numbers is included. The type is fairly small, which means that they can put a lot of information into a relatively modest page count, but it can be a bit difficult to read if you have the eyesight of a middle-aged person. There is so much presented to the reader that it can come across as a bit visually overwhelming at times, but this is due to the sheer wealth of information in the Martin archives. A book of this size can't get into everything that happened over the nearly 200 years Martin has been in business, but it's amazing how much they have managed to cover. Conclusions With nearly two centuries of history and over two million guitars built, Martin holds a unique place in the musical instrument world. If you're interested in the history of guitar making in the United States, this book is a must-have. Likewise, if you're a fan of Martin guitars, this would make an excellent coffee table or music room book for you. Don't let the price tag and relatively low page count put you off - there is a ton of information here that's sure to keep Martin aficionados happily occupied for hours on end, and the extra goodies in the various envelopes and pouches add even more value to this very well-assembled and historically rich package. -HC- Resources The Martin Archives ($45.00 MSRP) The publisher's product web page The Martin Archives Backwing / Hal Leonard Books ISBN: 9781495013041 Hardcover 12" x 9" 104 pages November 15 2016 You can purchase The Martin Archives from: Amazon Directly from Backwing Have questions or comments about this review or The Martin Archives? Then please click here to join the discussion! __________________________________________________ Phil O'Keefe is a multi-instrumentalist, recording engineer / producer and the Senior Editor of Harmony Central. He has engineered, produced and performed on countless recording sessions in a diverse range of styles, with artists such as Alien Ant Farm, Jules Day, Voodoo Glow Skulls, John McGill, Michael Knott and Alexa's Wish. He is a former featured monthly columnist for EQ magazine, and his articles and product reviews have also appeared in Keyboard, Electronic Musician and Guitar Player magazines.