TC Electronic announce 13 new pedals
Thirteen new pedals all under £50? TC are on fire right now!
It’s easy to forget that it was only six years ago that TC Electronic exploded into the mainstream pedal market with the release of their first run of compact pedals. With three drive / distortions plus a delay, chorus, reverb, vibrato and flanger, they brought out an entire pedalboard in one hit and it really made us all sit up straight and go “hang on, what?”. TC appeared to be mounting a real challenge and they were looking Boss / MXR / Electro-Harmonix straight in the eye. This was some proper Game of Thrones stuff and left us intrigued to see where things would go next.
Over the years, TC have brought out compacts for almost every style of effect going. But not only that, they’ve constantly brought out cool and interesting pedals to go alongside the core line (the Triple Delay and the Alter Ego were particular favourites here at GNHQ).
Fast forward to 2016 and an even bigger shakeup to the range. Earlier this year it was announced that Music Group had bought TC Electronic. As they also owned Behringer, I think a lot of people were expecting TC to release some more “budget” pedals, but I don’t think anybody was expecting this announcement. And what an announcement it is too! Thirteen pedals all topping out each under £50!
EchoBrain Analog Delay
The first thing anybody should notice here is the fact that this delay contains a Bucket Brigade chip; a firm sign of quality for any analogue delay. This has fairly simple controls; a wet/dry blend ‘Mix’ control, plus the regulation ‘Time’ and ‘Repeats’ you’d expect on an analogue delay. With up to 300ms of delay, this pedal offers versatility alongside bags of vibe and cool. Definite one to watch.
Afterglow Analogue Chorus
On the subject on Bucket Brigade chips, you’ll also find them in the Afterglow Chorus! A fairly standard set-up of wet/dry ‘Mix’ plus ‘Rate’ and ‘Depth’. Those chips really sound so earthy and lush. Simplicity is the key here.
Thunderstorm Analogue Flanger
The Thunderstorm also has a neat Bucket Brigade set up. Along with the standard ‘Rate’ and ‘Depth’ controls, you also have ‘Manual’ which controls the centre delay point of the effect, and an active ‘Feedback’ control. The the ‘Feedback’ to the left and you’ll find yourself with glitchy extreme flange sounds, turn right and you’ll be surrounded by a warm, dark resonance. If you leave the control in the centre your effect is more natural sounding. A very cool couple features.
Tailspin Analogue Vibrato
The final Bucket Brigade pedal in the lineup is a nice, simple analogue Vibrato. With just ‘Rate’ and ‘Depth’ here, TC are letting that chip do the talking and for me, I think that’s the right decision. I can see the Tailspin giving the Shaker a right run for its money.
Blood Moon Phaser
OK this sounds absolutely fantastic. Another fairly simple design with ‘Rate’ and ‘Depth’, but with a nice ‘Feedback’ control that allows you to reroute part of the signal of the four-step filter back into the circuit (literally feeding the signal back to the start) to open up a chasm of phase. A really lovely budget phaser.
Rush Analogue Booster
I’m always a little bit skeptical about any pedals that claim to be “clean” boosts. The TC Spark Booster has always been marketed as a “Clean Boost” which I’ve never really understood. Personally I think it’s a great clean *overdrive*, but it adds too much gain for it to be a clean boost. Really keen to see how this one sounds, but all the samples TC have published so far don’t show a transition between on and off. Jury’s out on this one.
Cinders Analogue Overdrive
Regular listeners to the Guitar Nerds podcast will know we’ve always had a huge soft spot for the transparent Mojo Mojo overdrive so this has a lot to measure up to. Simple controls in ‘Tone’, ‘Volume’ and ‘Drive’ offer a familiar set-up and I have to say those preliminary demos sound really promising!
Grand Megus Distortion
In a similar way to how TC handled their initial range of gain pedals (gain, gainier, gainiest), they’ve done the same here. The Grand Megus takes it up a notch at the expense of a bit of transparency from your sound. Everyone is after that “amp in a box” sound right now, and if you want to get that “up to 11” sound at a budget, you could do worse than look at the Grand Megus.
Fangs Metal Distortion
My word, there’s nothing subtle about this one is there? The thing that’ll set the Fangs aside from other Metal pedals is the mid-switch that allows three mid-shaping options that essentially cut from fierce high-mids through to a harsh scooped V sound. You still have full control over bass and treble frequencies plus your gain and volume with standalone knobs. It certainly looks the part too!
Rusty Fuzz
As it’s based on the iconic Silicone Fuzz Face you should know roughly what you’re expecting here. Raw, gated fuzz in a pedalboard-friendly housing. Dynamics are the name of the game here.
Forcefield Analogue Compressor
Like Boost, Compression is another effect that you really need to hear in context to the dry sound to know what you’re getting here. By the sounds of the initial demos, this is more centred around vintage compression rather than a glassy rack compressor. Compression is an effect that TC have done really well in recent years (the HyperGravity was a real surprise for us!), so I’m willing to give this one the benefit of the doubt for the time being!
Skysurfer Reverb
Until the Hall of Fame came along and ruined the party, the EHX Holy Grail really had the compact Reverb market sewn up. Nowadays you’re far more likely to see one of those now iconic firetruck red chassis on your mate’s pedalboard than the old stalwart, so we know TC have form with Reverb. The Skysurfer (I wonder where the idea for the name came from?) offers just the three core reverb sounds in ‘Hall’, ‘Spring’ and ‘Plate’, and the controls may seem a little backwards at first, but I think this is a cool set-up. The ‘Reverb’ knob controls the length of the effect whilst the “Mix” control is actually more of an effect volume, as opposed to a wet/dry blend. I think this could easily become a go-to for people after a more subtle reverb rather than the more extreme splashy verbs that have become popular in recent years.
The Prophet Digital Delay
This is inevitably going to get compared to its older sibling in the Flashback and I think that it does stand up to it as long as you bare in mind you’ve only got the one algorithm in there. Like the Skysurfer, the ‘Mix’ control allows you to adjust the volume of the effect as opposed to a wet/dry blend, which I think it quite a neat little control. You have a three-way micro switch to cut between three options for the subdivisions plus ‘Time’ and ‘Repeat’ knobs. This sounds great!
So there we have it. Thirteen new budget-friendly TC Electronic pedals. It’s worth noting that all of these are True Bypass, and more excitingly they all boast increasingly popular top-mounted jacks. These pedals have certainly been designed for people looking to put together a budget-friendly pedalboard and, honestly (and surprisingly?), there are some pretty great sounding pedals in the range. For me, the standouts are the Echobrain, the Afterglow and The Prophet and I’m really looking forward to spending some time with these to see whether any can live up to the classic TC compacts and become household names.
Capture The Songs In Your Head With TC Electronics
TC Electronics introduce a pedal to capture all your ideas from conception to completion.
Another day, another new arrival from TC Electronics, and not just any arrival, something completely new, innovative, and very modern.
Introducing the TC Electronics Wiretap Riff Recorder! But, what's that you say? Yes, they do already make a looper, this isn't a looper....it's a riff recorder.
Crammed into the same chassis as the now legendary Ditto Looper, the Wiretap is a pedal aimed at songwriters everywhere. Complete with it's own phone app, the pedal can record up to 8 hours of prime jamming into its built in memory, so that 'million dollar' riff will never be lost again.
The App allows you to sync the pedal with your phone and import all your riffs, so you can send them to band mates or recall them later to write along to. TC have really thought this through to the Nth degree - the app even suggests random song titles for your jams to avoid filling your phone with 'untitled 1' 'untitled 2' etc.
So with a footprint small enough not to sacrifice a pedal space on your board you can now make sure all your parts are professionally recorded for reference, making the distance from conception to polished club banger a little shorter.
Gretsch release loads of new Players models for NAMM 2017!
Victory's new models are natural evolutions of their award-winning amplifiers.
There's cool, and then there's Tony Iommi cool...
PRS unveil the new and totally incredible sounding J-MOD, John Mayer signature amplifier!
TC Electronic announces Sub 'N' Up Octaver
TC Electronic's latest Toneprint pedal brings high performance to the pitch pack.
TC Electronic have announced a brand new pitch manipulating stompbox, the Sub 'N' Up Octaver.
Featuring TC's own next generation octave-engine and individual blend controls for dry, octave up and two sub-octaves, the Sub 'N' Up is designed to deliver flawless octave tones whether you're playing complex chords or single-note lines. As with the rest of the Toneprint series, the Sub 'N' Up allows the user to connect to an editor for further customisation, in this case, adding modulation to the mix.
TC Electronic Sub 'N' Up Features:
- Next generation octave-engine - for flawless polyphonic tracking
- Classic monophonic octaver - cool old-school octaver tones
- TonePrint Editor w. Modulation - for otherworldly octave tones
- TonePrint enabled
- True Bypass
- Compact design
- 9V/100mA
- High quality components
- Road-ready design
Check out TC Electronic's demo below:
TC Electronic announce HyperGravity Compressor Pedal
A remarkably versatile Compressor from TC Electronic.
Today TC Electronic have unveiled another new pedal addition to their successful TonePrint series, and continuing recent form it's an absolute corker.
Introducing the TC Electronic HyperGravity compressor. Inevitable, I know, as it was just about the only standard line effect that TC hadn't bothered to put in a stomp box, but despite the predictability of its production it is, in fact, a wonderfully unique pedal within the world of single stomp box compressors.
TC boast that it'll, "make any guitarist's tone go from good to great" which is about the most uninspiring tag line I've ever read, but nonetheless it's true, if anything it's a gargantuan understatement, for the Hyper gravity isn't just an ordinary compressor, it's a multi-band compressor, the circuit is meticulously designed after TC's very own MD3 compression algorithms featured in the widely popular studio processor System 6000, so they're not lying when they say that it really is probably the most advanced compression circuit ever to be put into a stomp box format.
It features 3 modes; TonePrint and 2 very individual compression types. A vintage mode that allows the player to dial in a very dynacomp-cum-Boss CS-2 muddy, dark sounding squash; exactly the sort of compression a lot of classic and rock players look for. The second is a more modern truly dynamic mode that allows you to compress each frequency range independently much the same as you would be able to using an in studio compressor/limiter rack unit.
It's this mode that really sells the pedal. A lot of players looking for that classic compression will no doubt stick with brands that demonstrate a little more rock and roll kudos than TC. The dynamic mode is far more aimed at funk, country and a player looking for true sonic definition, clarity and transparency; exactly the sort of thing session players will have been gagging for, and of course this has always been more TC's market place.
As always the TonePrint feature is there allowing players to try out compression presets designed by some great players (mostly session), upload your own, and of course, it gives you access to the TonePrint Editor app, a great addition for players looking to really sculpt their tone, the App allows the manipulation of quite a few control ranges and presets, letting you get right down to the nitty-gritty.
The HyperGravity is all in all a very dynamic and wonderfully unique addition to the compressor world. If that wasn't enough it looks like it's going to hit shelves at around £99: critically cheap.
SUMMER NAMM 2015: TC Electronic unveil BodyRez
An Acoustic Pickup Enhancer for the masses.
From the press release:
The sound of resonating wood is what gives an acoustic guitar its particular sonic allure – something that doesn’t always translate well when you amplify an acoustic instrument using a piezo pick-up system.
Based on the very same unique technology first available in TC-Helicon’s Play Acoustic, BodyRezis designed to sweeten the tone of an acoustic guitar’s piezo pickup making it sound much more natural and realistic: the way a beautiful full-bodied instrument rightly deserves.
Just like having a sound engineer in a box, BodyRez is housed in a truly simple-to-use and compact pedal that’s perfect for every electro-acoustic performer.
Main Features
Studio-quality live acoustic guitar tone
Restores natural playing feel
Built-in feedback suppression
Simple to use and ultra-compact design
Complete with region specific 9V power supply
Music Group Acquires TC Electronic
The Philippines-based company add to a portfolio that already includes Behringer, Bugera and Turbosound.
MUSIC Group has announced their acquisition of TC Electronic. The company, based in Philippines, already owns Bugera, Behringer, Midas, Klark Teknik and Turbosound, and the addition of the TC Group will see them add TC Electronic, TC-Helicon, Tannoy, Lab.gruppen and Lake to their portfolio.
MUSIC Group founder and CEO Uli Behringer commented, "MUSIC Group stands for relentless focus on innovation, business transformation and overall IP creation. Since the acquisition of Midas, Klark Teknik and Turbosound, we have been continuously pursuing brands that complement the mixing console, processing and loudspeaker excellence offered by these historic brands. Throughout our search, TC Group has clearly stood out as the ideal match because of their world-class brands, impressive intellectual property, sterling reputation and first-class team of people. I am very proud to welcome the TC Group team into our family."
TC Group's CEO Anders Fauerskov responded, "We are very honored that during the acquisition process, some of the largest industry players were bidding for TC Group; however we have selected MUSIC Group as they represent the perfect fit in terms of strategic direction, overall synergies and company culture. Our team is thrilled to join MUSIC Group and open a new chapter for TC Group and its prestigious brands. With the incredibly talented people and massive resources of the MUSIC Group behind us, the team is excited to enter a new era of unprecedented innovation and growth."
MUSIKMESSE 2015: TC Electronic Ditto Stereo Looper
TC Electronic have announced the Ditto Stereo Looper, an evolution of their wildly successful Ditto Looper. This new iteration adds stereo inputs and outputs, plus an import/export function for getting loops in and out of the pedal for editing or storage on your Mac or PC. Launched alongside the Stereo Ditto, TC's new Star Jam library provides backing tracks from Paul Gilbert, John Petrucci, Greg Koch and more, all of which can be imported to the pedal via the USB connection.