ESP Lordi-esque Sword Guitar

Here is an absolutely awesome sword guitar from the ESP Custom Shop. It was custom made for The Alfee's guitar player Takamizawa. The Alfee is one of the biggest rock acts in Japan and Takamizawa is well known for his Angel and other Gothic themed guitars.

It is a pro quality instrument that actually sounds AMAZING plugged and unplugged. Very loud and resonant unplugged. The action can be set anyway you want it and is currently super low. It is all hand carved etc. These start at around $12,000 or so new so offer accordingly.



Firebird X - Part 3

WE BRING YOU THE FOURTH DIMENSION IN INSTRUMENT DESIGN — IT'S ALIVE

Modern electric guitars have three dimensions. The first dimension is the physical mechanics of guitar construction. This consists of the type of wood, the guitar scale, the string  composition, etc. The physical parameters resulted in a distinctive tone. The mechanics of the guitar generally only allow one tone.

In the 1920s and commercially in the 1930s, a second dimension was added with pickups and radio-style tone controls. Gibson's Lloyd Loar was an early pioneer with electrified instruments fully 10 years ahead of competitors like Rickenbacker.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_Loar

Lloyd was followed by Walter Fuller and Seth Lover, who began to perfect radio-style tone controls and the amplifiers  which added a new component in the signal chain. The addition of amplification and electrical components allowed the same guitar to have many different voices.

http://www.blogger.com/goog_1803678362 Anatomy_of_a_Classic_Gibson_1949_GA_CB.aspx

It was Les Paul who brought the third dimension to guitar players. Les's experience with early tape machines culminated in two years of intense work from 1946 to 1948, and a black box effect he called the "Les Pulverizer" was born. He used this first guitar effect to create a signature sound, which was showcased on the first nationally televised music video show in 1950. This was fully 10 or more years before engineers like Tom Oberheim, working for the Maestro division of CMI, popularized guitar effects and stomp boxes.

http://ia311003.us.archive.org/1/items/LesPaulShow/LP-500330Audition.mp3 http://www.blogger.com/goog_1803678391 blogspot.com/2010/05/when-les-is-more.html

The problem with effect devices is they do not know what the input signal could be. It could be any guitar with a variety of impedances, or another effects device in a long chain. What Firebird X does is bring this signal chain into the guitar instrument. Firebird X knows exactly what the input is and allows the player to have easy, intuitive, real-time control of this third dimension. We can now design a guitar instrument to achieve many more optimum voices. Les had to do significant work before he used his effects on a song. While it looked real-time, he spent hours in the studio to develop the sound. With Firebird X, you don't have to.

But we also introduce a fourth dimension in instrument design. Since the instrument has all the tone modifiers inside, and can sense exactly what the player is doing, it can do what all great acoustic instruments have done for centuries — react to what the player does. We have algorithms that respond to how you play and change what gets heard. Firebird X springs to life because it is working with you and taking you to new heights, rather than just adding some effects that are clinical and unchanging. You will immediately feel it and it will feel good.

FIREBIRD X AND THE ONBOARD BOUNDARY MICROPHONE
A boundary microphone consists of a small condenser microphone mounted parallel or flush with a flat, smooth surface. Mounting a microphone in this manor has many advantages. Many regard the region close to a flat, smooth surface as the boundary or pressure zone. This region is where direct and reflected sound waves are effectively in-phase. By orienting the diaphragm flush with the surface, direct and reflected sound waves arrive at the microphone's diaphragm at the same time. This eliminates phase cancellations and results in a smooth frequency response.

In addition to phase cancellations, boundary microphones have greater sensitivity, lower noise, and reach. Since the direct and reflected waves add together in phase, the sound pressure doubles at the diaphragm, giving a 6 db increase in sensitivity. When sensitivity and S/N are improved, quite distant sounds can be clearly picked up.
Since the reflect path length stays equal to the direct path length regardless of the sound-source position, there is no change in tonal quality as the source moves. This provides a natural un-colored reproduction of the sound.

FIREBIRD X MICROPHONE — FLUSH-MOUNTED UNDER THE TAILPIECE
Mounting a miniature boundary microphone under a guitar's tailpiece is not ideal, but this position ensures that the player's hand or arm will not completely cover the element during a measurement. It also protects the element from dirt and dust. Also, because of the low mass of the diaphragm, the microphone is less sensitive to mechanical vibrations that might occur in this application.
Measuring the frequency response of the microphone with and without the tailpiece allows us to identify the effect of the tailpiece and compensate in the DSP for a flat response, if necessary. A microphone with a smooth, flat, uncolored response will allow us to sample the true ambient environment and provide accurate data for necessary adjustments.

AMBIENT CONDITIONS FROM GUITAR MICROPHONE
A player adjusts the guitar based on what he/she hears. In more professional cases, like an arena gig, there are sound people that adjust the instrumental mix regardless of what the guitar player perceives, and if the player is lucky, the monitor mix satisfies his desired stage mix. The amplifier is typically miked, and fed into the overall house mix which the player really can't hear. He/she may hear the raw amp volume and the sound from stage monitors. In this case, the volume knob on the guitar translates to SPL from the amplifier, which the player hears. The sound technician adjusts the sensitivity of the microphone to get the appropriate house mix.

A microphone does not adjust perception, but is scientific in providing an always accurate output. By having this very accurate reference point, we can better accomplish what a player is after, because the microphone is not subject to stimulus desensitization.

Innovative Accessory Items to Enhance Playing Experience
The Firebird X guitar comes with several accessories that enhance the playing experience. Like a fine sports car, every detail of this guitar system makes it a joy to use, and maximizes your ability to create and play.

THE CASE
The case is light, very portable with straps, pockets, etc., and ultra-protective, allowing the guitar to be checked as baggage. It is like a gig bag with structured reinforcement. High-tech, shock-absorbing foam molds tightly around the instrument with a beautiful velour-like interior beautifully setting off the wood.
The exterior looks rich, showing the owner is both discriminating and willing to get the very best. Robust and light, this is an instrument that is ready for traveling in this very protective case.

COMPUTER SOFTWARE TO SUPPORT THE PRODUCT
Firebird X comes with a powerful editor which will allow you to create patches and do sound design in your home or professional studio. Many more options will be available in a powerful yet intuitive software package.
In addition, we include a full package of Guitar Rig 3 and Gibson Ableton Live.
GUITAR RIG 4 PRO is the ultimate all-in-one guitar and bass solution for perfect custom tone. The powerful and intuitive software comprises a vast array of amps, cabinets, mics and effects, recreated in stunning detail. The latest version includes three new amps, four new super-flexible effects and above all, the revolutionary Control Room for that "big bucks" studio tone.

ABLETON LIVE KEY FEATURES:

<><>

<>

<><>

Multitrack recording up to 32-bit/192 kHz  Nondestructive editing with unlimited undo Powerful and creative MIDI sequencing of software and hardware instruments Advanced warping and real-time time-stretching Supports AIFF, WAV, MP3, OggVorbis and FLACs A comprehensive selection of built-in audio and MIDI effects Built-in instruments: Simpler for sample-based synthesis, Impulse for sampled drums Instrument, Drum and Effect Racks  New groove engine; apply and extract grooves in real time VST and AU support; automatic plug-in delay compensation REX file support plus built-in audio to MIDI slicing Video import and export for scoring, video warping Simple MIDI mapping plus instant mapping for selected hardware Full ReWire support; runs as Slave or Master Single-screen user interface for simple, creativity-focused operation Multicore and multiprocessor support

 The guitar, each pedal and the G-Node™ interface all use the same battery, for a total of four rechargeable batteries. They are the same batteries used in the Dusk Tiger product.
We include eight batteries total (one spare for each device) plus a four-battery charger with the system. The batteries are standard cell phone-type batteries available in many stores for a very modest price.

Applications Environment and Store for 3rd Party Developers

3rd Party App Store
We are only using about 20% of the power of the Pure-Analog™ Engine. This leaves enormous possibilities for future enhancements without any hardware changes. The entire Firebird X system is designed to a new Gibson standard which will allow other companies to develop hardware and applications that can integrate with any guitar that uses this standard, including the Firebird X.

Gibson will set up an authorized store – very much like the Apple iPhone/iPad environment – where all vendors can sell their applications, which we will verify are compliant with our system. Like Apple, this involves a sophisticated e-commerce site that removes the hassle and overhead for a development company and just generates a pure revenue stream for the developer.
It is our intention to roll this out to hundreds of thousands of guitars in different price points, giving all fans and consumers the ability to take advantage of this new technology. This eco-system, with a well-specified and published Gibson environment, will open up thousands of enhancements for our customers.

EASY FIRMWARE UPDATES AND UPGRADES
Product enhancements, both paid and free, will be very easy to install via a simple firmware update option in our Tone Editor software. The firmware is downloadable, and updates and upgrades take about a minute.



 

Gibson Firebird X Limited Edition - Part 2

I know this is long overdue so lets get right to it. Enjoy!

Turbo Charged "Pure-Analog™" Engine

The heart of this high-performance beast is a high-performance multi-processor from Freescale. This is the same chip family used in ProTools systems, except this engine is the latest and greatest and overpowers older Pro Tools set-ups.

Pure-Analog™ engine features: User replaceable — built to new universal standards for form, factor and connectivity. Using our secret Pure-Analog™ sauce, gives the player professional analog sound. Firmware is user-upgradeable, allowing constant improvements and updates. Provides an arsenal of professional, world-class sounds and effects. Allows 3rd party developers to make new, exciting use of the engine by allowing their software to run on the guitar's engine and a Gibson app store.

THE ENGINE IS A PLATFORM BUILT TO NEW UNIVERSAL STANDARDS

This powerful, turbo-charged sound processor is designed to give the maximum advantage and flexibility to the guitar player. The Pure-Analog™ engine is designed to a new Gibson standard, which makes the engine user-replaceable. When you want to upgrade, the little package encased in metal is removable and a new one can be installed in under one hour. Part of the standard is a standard connector (no soldering required) that has pin outs, allowing the most complex guitar designs with many pots, switches and pickups to be accommodated.
These standards future-proof your investment and will allow third parties to supply their own solutions.

The new size standard will allow this engine to be used with any guitar body, including our most space-challenged. By standardizing the sound processor engine form factor, we can also achieve far higher volume by allowing it to be used in many different types and models of guitar and bringing the cost of this powerful technology down very quickly.

PURE-ANALOG™ SECRET SAUCE — NOT A MODELING GUITAR
This guitar is pure analog, starting with the tuning. Unlike competitors, who use sterile digital math to "correct" pitch and achieve different tunings, we actually tune the strings to very accurate pitches. You get 100% analog with the added benefit of hearing the same pitch coming from the guitar acoustically, or through your amplifier.

This pure analog signal then goes directly into a studio quality preamp, which ensures maximum dynamic range. Since all this activity takes place in the guitar, we use shielded cables, metal enclosures, and other special manufacturing methods to virtually eliminate noise from either external sources, or internally generated distortion.
Our engineers' attention to detail results in the quietest, highest dynamic range guitar ever built.

We then use high performance ADC chips to convert the audio stream into the digital form on which our sound processor can act with virtually no latency. Inside our engine we maintain the signal stream with high internal precision. What this means is that every effect or operation has such a fantastically high bit depth and resolution that there are virtually no truncation errors or other artifacts, truly preserving the analog quality of the original signal. The signal starts as fantastic analog, and leaves as fantastic analog, using an exceptional DAC. Everything that happens in between is Gibson Pure-Analog™.

It is not enough to get the analog authenticity that all players lust for. A large part of the analog sound is the way analog equipment functions, which is very different from the implementation of sterile digital mathematical formulas. Like a drum machine compared to a live drummer, real life has enormous texture and non-mathematical nuance. Gibson designers are guitar players with decades' worth of experience. We have studied this very real mojo and added it to every part of what our engine does. These many techniques allow us to achieve Pure-Analog™ that even the most discerning ears will agree is an analog sound.

BEST IN CLASS ONBOARD EFFECTS—GOLDTONE FX™
Our design goal was not to duplicate other effects, but to create unique, very analog-type tones with a lot of warmth that we call Goldtone FX™. The Firebird X comes with a variety of patches, many of which approach some sounds from famous gear rigs, but our patches have their own character.  Our patches are not aimed at eliminating outboard gear, although many players will be very satisfied with the huge creative range we allow. Our Goldtone FX™ plays very nicely with other gear — surprisingly nicely.

The Firebird X guitar has two significant effects that have been made part of the instrument:

• Tube Distortion with Compressor and EQ
• Tape Effects (Modulation, Echoplex™, everb)

Usually tube distortion has a very characteristic harmonic quality, but it is very dependent on the rest of the gear being used. Even different amplifiers with the same tube circuits and tubes can sound very different. Because all processing takes place in the guitar, we can consistently achieve distortion exactly the way you want it, every time.
 Our Goldtone FX™ captures the analog essence (tube mojo), but allows you to adjust the basic character of the distortion. With a three-way toggle switch, you can immediately dial up three aspects of distortion — compression, distortion and EQ — each controllable in real time with three sliders.

Each of the sliders has a broad range to dial in just the right sound. The most interesting slider is Type, which basically allows a sweep through the personalities of many of the distortion rigs currently in use and then some more.

Overdrive and Bite both mean much more than they do in most equipment, which use very simplified circuits or algorithms. Overdrive combines what an overdrive does in a tube amplifier with the changes that result from changes in the signal level of the guitar. Thus, you get exactly the same tone at all volume settings, and the ability to dial in, precisely, many magical sounds.

The rotating shaft allows you to dial in the strength of the effect patch similar to the way a wet/dry control works on a mixer. At zero, there is no effect to full rotation being 100%. Thus you can dial in exactly how much you want and adjust it real-time.

The next group of effects is the EchoPlex group - Modulation, Delay, and Reverb. These three effects can be individually controlled and dialed in, but act in series allowing a huge tonal palette. 

These additional effects can be fully controlled by the software editor, which comes with the Firebird X. It allows you to design your own patches and save them as computer files and load them into bank/patch locations that make sense to you. The sonic palette this allows is mind-boggling.

Finally we have a tog-pot that is dedicated to more advanced program control. This tog-pot does not have sliders/faders, but controls more complex guitar functions.

PATCH PLAY MODE
The Firebird X is very simple to use. The default playing mode of the guitar is called “Patch Mode.” This means that different voices are accessed by turning the Gear Shift Knob to select a bank of voices, and the 5 position switch to choose a specific voice. That is it!

The volume and tone knob work as does the function of the Gray Tog Pot, but all other controls are not operative. This insures that you do not accidentally change any of the voice settings, regardless of how intensely you are playing.

The foot pedals always work and their function is available at all times, since it is much more difficult to accidentally trigger either foot switch.

LIVE EDIT MODE
Live Edit Mode turns on all tog-pot functions and sliders and allows you to alter the patch/voice you have called up, and save those changes.

You enter the Live Edit Mode at any time by simply pressing the tone pot twice. The Gear Shift Knob will blink several times indicating you are in Live Edit Mode and LED display on the Number Foot Pedal will also indicate you are in Live Edit Mode.

When in Live Edit Mode, you can change any of tog-pots and slider settings until you get the voicing you are searching for. The physical positions of the tog-pots and sliders may not correspond to the actual parameters in the patch/voice. When you change a tog-pot or slider physically, that tog-pot or slider will change to the physical position of control.

To leave Live Edit Mode and return to the original patch/voicing, just press the tone control three times in succession.

To save the new voicing after you have changed parameters, simply rotate the Gear Shift Knob or the 5 position Patch Selector Switch. The last voicing setup is automatically saved replacing the default/factory voicing.

To return to a factory default voicing you need to be in Patch Play Mode, call up the voicing (select the bank with the Gear Shift Knob, and the patch with the 5 position switch) and depress the tone knob three times in succession.

The factory (or user) defaults are always preserved when a new voicing is saved using Live Edit mode. Thus you can always return to the default voice and delete the new voicing. The guitar comes with some really great factory voicings, but the user can change the defaults using the Computer Guitar Voice Editor.

PIEZO BLEND
In the default middle position, the rotary motion controls the amount of piezo signal that is added to the signal path. In other words, this is a piezo blend pot that blends the piezo sound with the electromagnetic pickup sound. It adds a very acoustic-like brightness to the sound palette for an authentic acoustic guitar tone.

TUNING
A simple push downward puts you into tuning mode. The last tuning setting is the default, to allow you to bring the guitar back to perfect pitch quickly at any time. Strumming the open strings rapidly and lightly gives the guitar tuner the input it needs to get back to pitch. The guitar is muted while it is tuning and releases the mute as soon as it is tuned. Typically this takes two or three strums. The guitar also goes back to the piezo blend state to prevent accidentally causing further robo-tuner motion. The switch is still down, so it should be moved back to mid position at your convenience.
The Gear Shift Knob shows the state of the strings while you are tuning, although tuning happens so quickly this is rarely useful.

PU or PROGRAM MODE
When the toggle switch is pushed up, the guitar turns the 5-position switch to a pickup selector, allowing you to choose five possible pickup combinations without changing otherwise your effects patch. When you move the Gear Shift Knob, or move this tog-pot switch, the guitar reverts to the mode the guitar was in previously.

A LOT OF TONE IS ABOUT EQ AND OURS IS OUTSTANDING
Gibson has done substantial research on what makes acoustic tones sound the way they do, going back to work with University of California, Berkeley in the '80s. One of our key findings was that a frequency curve gave close to 90% of the perceived signature tone information. In our last two high-technology guitars, we used a four band parametric EQ to sculpt the tone curve, with a plus/minus 12 dB range. That worked well, but fell short of the range of human hearing.

Most studios will use either graphic or parametric EQ's extensively, but rarely with more range than our previous high-tech guitars. The problem is that boosting or cutting more than about 15 dB causes significant distortion, level and other signal chain problems. We compensate for the change in each individual band to maintain the same output level, and maintain maximum dynamic range within the EQ processing with a proprietary algorithm. This allows us to achieve the full range, that the human ear can discriminate, and some really awesome tones.
We have numerous parametric EQ’s in our signal chain that have six bands with a range of plus/minus 36 dB.