In the last issue, I discussed some of my favorite guitars at Winter NAMM. Today, I’m going to talk about some of the interesting guitar supporting products that I saw at the show. A product in a supporting role can be anything from effects, to picks, to pickups, as long as it is meant to make a guitar, or guitarist, sound better or play better. Here are my picks, in no particular order.
First up is the Guitar Humidifier from Oasis. As a tech and guitar collector, proper humidification is of particular interest to me. Nothing pains me
more than to see expensive guitars with necks that are completely out of whack because the owner who shelled out thousands for the instrument wouldn’t spend a hundred bucks on a humidifier. I’ve heard all the lame excuses you can think of, but they don’t cut it when your neck back-warps and requires major surgery.
The folks at Oasis Humidifiers have taken all the excuses away. With a very compact design, they’ve come up with a great humidification unit that fits inside the body of an acoustic guitar or inside the case of an electric. If you care about your instrument, this is a very sleek and inexpensive way to help ensure that it lasts for a long time. At only $19.95, it’s a lot cheaper than paying a tech to fix problems caused by an overly dry neck. Both the acoustic guitar humidifier and case humidifier are shown in the pictures below. For more information click here.
Next up is the Stellartone ToneStyler. The ToneStyler is a drop-in replacement for the standard tone
pot for most any guitar. The ToneStyler gives incredible tonal control without the normal muddiness that occurs when you roll off the treble. I had a chance to try out the ToneStyler and compare it side by side to a standard tone control. The difference is indeed dramatic. Even with nearly all of the treble out, the sound remains clear and clean. If you tend to use your tone control a lot, you should definitely check out the ToneStyler. Retail price is $119. A photo of the ToneStyler is shown in the figure to the right. For more information click here.
My final pick is the Pocket Rockit V2 headphone amp from C-Tech. If you travel a lot, as I do, or you like to play your guitar in different rooms throughout your house, this great little headphone amp could be for you. Rather than using a guitar cable, the Pocket Rockit V2 plugs directly into the jack on your guitar, maximizing both comfort and mobility. It offers a variety of clean and overdrive settings. It also allows you to run the output of your iPod or other MP3 player into it so that you can jam along. Other features include a click track, a toner, and some basic effects. The folks at
C-Tech really thought through how a headphone amp is used. All in all, it is a really great unit that will maximize your playing time. Below are some pictures of the Pocket Rockit V2. The retail price of the V2 is $139.95, but they have a wide variety of other models, including bass models. You can find more out if you click here.
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