On this day 30 years ago Pantera’s Cowboys from Hell was released
The 5 best Guitar Amps for practicing
There’s only one way to get better at guitar – by practicing. Of course, it helps to have a great amp, one that not only gives you great tone but also inspires you to play. And if it has built-in effects and utilities like a tuner, metronome, and connectivity to the digital world of apps, downloads and MP3s, so much the better.
Guitar Player went out to find the best-sounding practice amps currently on the market, from the most basic-featured combos (for those who like their amps simple) to the best outfitted. Below, you’ll find practice combos and heads that are perfect for woodshedding sessions, some that pull double-duty as studio and rehearsal amps, and others that offer computer, USB, Bluetooth, iOS and Android connectivity.
Whether you like your amps with tubes, solid-state circuitry or loads of features, you’ll find what you want among these 20 great practice amps.
Bugera V5 Infinium
The Bugera V5 Infinium is a practice and recording amp that serves up five watts of Class A output through a custom-engineered Turbosound eight-inch speaker that reproduces classic vintage sounds. The V5 Infinium features single 12AX7 and EL84 tubes, and it includes Bugera’s revolutionary Infinium Tube Life Multiplier Technology, which constantly monitors and tweaks output performance and extends power tube lifespan up to 20 times.
LIST PRICE: $229.99
bugera.com
Line 6 AMPLIFi 75
The Line 6 AMPLIFi 75 combines a high-performance guitar amplifier, a streaming Bluetooth speaker system and a breakthrough iOS app in one device. The amp’s full-range, five-speaker stereo design delivers powerful, detailed tones, and Bluetooth connectivity lets you stream tracks from any Bluetooth-enabled device directly to AMPLIFi 75, which is perfect for jamming at full volume, playing back songs at rehearsals and hearing every detail of your favorite songs.
STREET PRICE: $399
line6.com
Vox Valvetronix VT20+
The Vox Valvetronix VT 20+ has 33 amp models and 25 effects that can be quickly edited and adjusted from the amplifier panel. Each amp model features three variations, for a total of 99 ready-to-use presets. The amp’s power level can be lowered to get full, rich tone at modest listening volumes and can be raised up to 30 watts. Other features include a stereo MP3/CD line input and a headphone/line out jack with Vox emulated speaker response.
LIST PRICE: $245.99
voxamps.com
Epiphone Limited-Edition 75th anniversary
Inspired by a 1939 Century Amp: This 18-watt reissue of an art deco masterpiece from Epiphone’s early days in New York City features redesigned electronics, two 6V6 and two 12AX7 tubes, one 12-inch speaker, a Boost mode, a master tone knob, and bright, normal and dark inputs. Other features include an extension speaker output, footswitch jack and internal bias adjustment.
LIST PRICE: $665
epiphone.com
Ibanez TSA5TVR
The retro-looking Ibanez TSA5TVR is an all-tube, Class A five-watt combo with a genuine TS808 Tube Screamer circuit, accessible by a control-panel toggle switch or optional IFS1G footswitch. The Tube Screamer mates perfectly with the amp’s 12AX7 preamp tube and 6V6GT power tube. The TSA5TVR features an eight-inch Jensen C8R speaker, selected for its excellent response to overdrive distortion.
LIST PRICE: $533.32
ibanez.com
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Dream Theater’s John Petrucci reunites with Mike Portnoy on new solo album
John Petrucci reveals his former Dream Theater bandmate Mike Portnoy plays drums on his upcoming solo album Terminal Velocity – as full tracklist is revealed
Last month, Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci announced he would be releasing his new solo album Terminal Velocity later this year.
It’ll be Petrucci’s first solo outing since 2005’s Suspended Animation, with the musician revealing the title along with a short video on his Instagram feed.
The guitarist has now revealed that his former Dream Theater bandmate Mike Portnoy will play drums on the record, which will also feature Flying Colors’ Dave LaRue on bass.
The album will be released later this year on a date still to be confirmed – but Petrucci has now revealed the tracklist along with a new teaser video which can be found below.
The nine-track record will include Happy Song, which Petrucci debuted on a South American G3 tour in 2012 under the working title Cloud Ten, while Glassy-Eyed Zombies – which also made its debut eight years ago – will also feature.
Announcing Terminal Velocity, Petrucci said: “In 2005, there was Suspended Animation. And now, 15 years later, the wait is nearly over.”
The cover art for the record has been created by Sean Mosher-Smith at Echo Designlab.
John Petrucci: Terminal Velocity
1. Terminal Velocity
2. The Oddfather
3. Happy Song
4. Gemini
5. Out Of The Blue
6. Glassy-Eyed Zombies
7. The Way Things Fall
8. Snake In My Boot
9. Temple Of Circadia
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Jackson reissue’s the SD22 JB from “Crossroads”
Jackson is reissuing the Pro Series Limited Edition San Dimas SD22 JB guitar.
If the sleek six-string happens to look familiar to you, that’s because it was used by Steve Vai for his appearance in the legendary guitar duel scene from the 1986 film, Crossroads.
The guitar features an alder body and bolt-on maple neck with a scarf joint, graphite reinforcement and a hand-rubbed satin urethane finish on the back. It also has a 12 inch-16-inch compound radius maple fingerboard with rolled edges, 22 jumbo frets and black dot inlays.
Elsewhere, the guitar is built with direct mount DiMarzio Super Distortion DP100 bridge and DiMarzio PAF Pro DP151 neck pickups, a top-mount Floyd Rose 1000 Series double-locking tremolo bridge system, Jackson sealed die-cast tuners and Dunlop dual-locking strap buttons.
The Jackson Pro Series Limited Edition San Dimas SD22 JB will be available – with a Red Sparkle finish, pointed Jackson matching headstock and black and chrome hardware – for $1,299.
For more info on the guitar, stop by jacksonguitars.com.
Old-school Metal-head 