Although Califone sounds like where dentally incomplete gold prospectors went in the 1840s, its been the sound of education since the 1940s! Owen O'Malley strays from the playbook to use the 1925c as a preamp for bass with some interesting results.  

Remember when you were, like, nine and you thought that the whole neon-clashing color trend (a la Ultimate Warrior) was a terrible idea and probably would die a quick, merciful death and be mentioned nevermore? No? Then you'll just LOVE these new Aerial 7 Street Series Headphones!  

Teaming up with broadcast masters Zaxcom and their TRX digital wireless technology, the new Sanken COS-11D micro-lavalier rejects RF interference, provides natural sound and is immune to anchor-ego.  

Owen O'Malley borrows a pair of giant scissors from a hairy french fry to cut off the fingers on his demoin' gloves so he can demo the Tacoma CB10 Thunderchief. Can't much demo a bass guitar if you're wearing gloves with fingers on them and such.  

Owen O'Malley borrows his sister's Modulus Vintage J to demonstrate this high quality bass guitar's four-string prominence. Now that everybody knows, he isn't ever going to let this bass go.  

Even though Psyko Audio Labs primarily focuses their product line for serious gamers, their new 5.1 surround sound headphones seem like they'd be perfect for any serious listener. It's like wearing a surround sound system on your head.  

While it's no mass-production solution, the VinylRecorder T560 from German brothers (?) Fritz and Ulrich Sourisseau is the perfect, relatively low-cost tool for creating your own custom vinyl for scratching and DJing.  

I've got to hand it to Zoom for handling the handheld recorder market so handily. The introduction of the H4n hands the baton from the H4 handheld recorder and takes it to 24-bit quality with new features and functions that musicians won't be able to keep their hands off of!  

In response to aggressive drummers' demands for "more portly cymbals," TRX has announced it's expanding the BRT line with 15" hats, 21" and 22" crashes and a 24" ride. My New Year's resolution prevents me from making any hilarious off-color jokes in this teaser text.  

DJ Pearlman, of Gee Davey, has extolled the virtues of his Line 6 Variax guitar. Now he moves on to talk about his Line 6 Vetta II combo.  

Alesis ION owners now have a new way to control their synthesizers thanks to Hypersynth ion-editor. This MIDI-editor allows you to control your synthesizer from your remote underground base while it does your bidding.  

Hey, don't write yourselves off yet. Waves announces the release of Center, a new Ghostbustin' plugin that's available with purchase of one Jim Adkins haircut*.

* Offer not valid anywhere

 

Bill Holland's DJing hand picks up where it left off demoing the Stanton DaScratch. This sweetly capable DJ controller can do quite a bit, making it a godsend for DJs with hands.  

After eating several cans of spinach, J. Irving-Giles mustered up the strength to wear the ESP EC-1000. Alternately, after eating several bottles of mustard, J. Irving-Giles spinached up the strength to wear the ESP EC-1000. Now wouldn't that be something?  

If you remember all the way back to last year (a few days ago in 2008), Bill Holland was taking a look at Sony Acid Pro 7. He finishes taking that look here.  

Guitars, songwriter and singer, DJ Pearlman, says that when he needed a new guitar he decided to go with one that can sound like a lot of other guitars (25 to be precise). Hear why he chose the Line 6 Variax.  

After discovering his marvelous talents in the wild, high-paced world of hand modeling, Bill Holland tackles this demo of Stanton DaScratch. Watch out Ellen Sirot!  

J. Irving-Giles makes some decent "points" in this video about the ESP FX-400. Watch as his left hand inexplicably increases in size. Is it simply an illusion, or is it the cash-in on his deal with the devil to grow one mighty hand?  

DJ Pearlman of Gee Davey has been endorsed by D'Addario Strings for over a decade. And he wants you to know why  

We heard tell about all the DAW-riffic features in the newest incarnation of Sony Acid Pro back during the 125th AES convention. Now Bill Holland's got the program in his hands -- figuratively, anyway -- and he's geared up for a full-fledged Gearwire Labs Walkthru.  

Michelle Malone has a couple of Supro Guitars; the most recent, a Supro Dual Tone. What better way to capture a vintage sound than to play through the amp that was made for it?  

Jeroen Breebaart, most likely while taking a break from eating Holland's "hashed browns" that everyone's been talking about, announces the release of Red Phatt Pro. It's a dynamics processor that gates, expands and even squeezes to phatten!  

Aracom Amplifiers wires up the new Rox Box, a hand-built amplifier with two channels. Like Goofus and Gallant's take on hygiene, one is a squeaky clean, while the other is dirtier than a pig rolling around in a mud puddle.  

Fellas, I'm ready to get up and do my thing (yeah go ahead!)
I wanna get into it, man, you know (go ahead!)
Like a, like a SFX machine, man, (Pro for RTAS)
Movin' and doin' it, you know
Can I count it off? (Go ahead)

 

Bill Holland might not review everything that came into Gearwire.com this year, but there are a few things that did leave a lasting impression. 2008 was a crazy year, and there's no way in hell he could have digested it all in one sitting.  

How does the Gearwire staff maintain such full, rich facial hair? Ancient Russian Secretâ„¢: liberal application of the Electro-Harmonix Russian-Made Big Muff Pi will keep your guitar tone dirty and your jawline obscured.  

If you're really looking to make the most out of Sonar 8, let Garrigus help you along with the all new Sonar 8 Power! It's a book designed to guide new users through usage of Sonar's latest version while making the transition for upgraders more seamless.  

Used to be, the expansive NI Kontakt Instrument Library looked to MIDI-Guitar enthusiasts like some sort of grail, unattainable yet ever-tempting. Even Harmonic Gtak gives you a horse, a map of the holy land and a thousand conscripted crusaders to take back what should rightfully be yours.  

I was cruising down the beach, looking for some contests. I had my radio turned to the heavy metal station. Lo and behold, Fender is going contest crazy as the year turns.  

The Electro-Voice N/D767a is a higher-grade dynamic mic than you might be used to. To ease you into its world of tighter pickup patters and detailed frequency response, J. Irving-Giles sings you a few melodies that get progressively more belt-y.