"I don't think I've ever talked on a Carter Vintage [demo] video before," the shop regular and recording pro admits below. "But Michael means a lot to me and I just wanted to talk about him and this guitar."

Unaccompanied, except for a room full of guitars and a 1965 Fender Vibrolux he squeezes bite, beauty and several shades between from this black beauty. 

"I have literally hundreds of heroes, but Mike is a special one and a very important one to me," says JD. 

Bloomfield's playing is a cornerstone of guitar history, but he remains an unsung figure in the pantheon of guitar heroes. He was a blues-rock firebrand ahead of Hendrix, Page and Clapton in the early to mid-60s with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, later playing on Bob Dylan's 1965 album Highway '61 Revisited. Bloomfield was in his band for the infamous Newport Folk Festival appearance that year when Dylan went electric.

"Mike was the original guitar hero for the baby boomer generation," notes JD. "In the '50s you had Scotty Moore, you had Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, you had Buddy Holly, and between that – the birth of rock n' roll as we know it – to the late '60s, the era of the guitar hero, that's where Mike fits in. 

Bloomfield would go on to form The Electric Flag with vocalist Nick Gravenites  and future Hendrix drummer Buddy Miles in 1968. Further acclaim would come that year with Al Cooper and Stephen Stills on the trio's Super Session album with Bloomfield playing on the first side of the record before he left the sessions after the first day due to his insomnia and Stills took over for the rest. 

Session and solo work would follow, but Bloomfield's career waned until his untimely death from an accidental overdose in 1981 at the age of 37. But there's one unexpected album he made in the '70s that JD has grown especially fond of. 

"As I've gotten older, the record that he made in '75/early '76 which was initially meant to be an instructional album for Guitar Player magazine. It's called If You Love These Blues, Play 'Em As You Please, and this is the guitar Mike used on that record.

"Mike only had five very sort of iconic instruments in his life, and this one is the one he used probably the longest – he had this up until his death.

"This was a special instrument to him and it's kind of crazy to get to look at it and play it. Unfortunately, a lot of Mike's instruments have gone under heavy modification or alterations – this is, as far I know and I'm not the expert here… this is in the condition it was in when he used it. Which makes this much more special." 

The Strat isn't the only Bloomfield guitar Carter Vintage has – it also houses his old '66 'Blue' Telecaster (available to buy for $235,000). And you can see JD Simo demo it below too. 

• Stay up to date with JD Simo's tour dates at simo.fm

Currently enjoying huge success as the producer of Chappell Roan’s Good Luck, Babe!, Dan Nigro is perhaps best known for his collaborations with Olivia Rodrigo. 

He’s produced both of Rodrigo’s albums so far - 2021’s Sour and 2023’s Guts - and Mix with the Masters has now captured him in his studio (on video, that is) as he talks through the making of Vampire, Rodrigo’s huge 2023 single.

Vampire starts quietly and keeps building to a massive final crescendo, and this “arc”, as Nigro calls it, was definitely intentional. It’s about “starting in a really subtle place and then bringing it to a really big place,” he confirms.

Changes in tempo help with this, of course: Nigro reveals that the original demo was recorded at around 138 or 139 bpm, but that this tempo gradually came down as Rodrigo believed it felt “rushed”. The final version, it transpires, starts at 135 bpm, rising to 138bpm when the drums kick in.

Some of these drums, it turns out, were recorded live at Nigro’s studio by Sterling Laws. Mics used included a Soundelux ifet7 on the kick and a Shure SM57 on the snare, all going into a Shure SE 30 gated compressor/mixer or an Ampex MX-10 mixer.

Nigro also discusses the phrasing of Rodrigo’s vocals: “For us it’s like this fun little dance when she’s on the microphone,” he explains. “Like figuring out the right notes to kind of ‘push’ on, you know?” A listen to the finished vocal demonstrates what he means by this.

Of his guiding production philosophy, Nigro says: “To me the relationship with the artist is the most important thing. You really have to create a space in which they feel comfortable in the room being as vulnerable as possible to create the art they want to create.”

You can check out the trailer for the Vampire video series above. Subscribers can watch all five parts on the Mix with the Masters website.

A semi-modular analogue machine, this represents a departure from past Moog instruments in that it offers a new voice architecture with unique oscillators, a different filter topology, wavefolding and parallel processing. There are dual generative sequencers, too, which can be intertwined for polyrhythmic expression.

• Read our Moog Labyrinth review

“Labyrinth is designed to be an engine of sonic exploration,” says Moog’s Rick Carl, System Architect and Lead Hardware Engineer on the new synth. “It allows users to create evolving sequences and rich timbres. It’s like having a compositional companion that navigates through a labyrinth of sound, constantly reconfiguring and surprising you with new sonic landscapes.”

Labyrinth comes in 60HP format can be used either standalone or part of a Eurorack setup. Its 32 patch points facilitate extensive modulation and routing options.

You can find out what we think of Labyrinth in our review, and get the official line on the Moog Music website.

Just a few weeks after its last release, Spectravox, Moog’s latest instrument is another semi-modular addition to the US brand’s range that also includes the Mother-32, DFAM and Subharmonicon.

Moog describes Labyrinth as a ‘parallel generative analogue synth’, a set of words that excites my inner Autechre fan, even if it’s not instantly obvious what they might mean combined. In practice, the first two words refer to two distinctive elements of Labyrinth’s design – its unique dual-path synth engine, and its sequencer, which uses randomisation tools in order to create some unpredictable, polymetric patterns.

Let’s set those generative tools aside for a moment. While they’re undoubtedly an important part of its character, even divorced from these sequencing tools, Labyrinth is a fascinating and capable monosynth in its own right.

The design here is based around two oscillators. The first is a simple sine wave VCO, while the second is a triangle wave generator labelled as a Mod VCO. The reason for this distinction is that the latter oscillator has an unusually broad operating range, from an audible 1.3kHz at the top end down to slow LFO speeds in its lower ranges. As a result it can function as both a sound and a modulation source.

These oscillators feed into the mixer section in different ways. Each has its own level control, but there’s also a level control for the combined ring modulated output of the two. Further modulation options come from an FM dial, which modulates the frequency of the sine wave osc by the output of the Mod VCO. 

Each oscillator can also be modulated by the first of Labyrinth’s two envelopes or by one of the sequencer channels. The mixer itself is designed to be overdriven, resulting in a pleasant analogue saturation that nicely rounds off the harsh upper frequencies of more extreme cross-modulation tones.

The key ‘parallel’ element to Labyrinth’s design lies in what happens after the mixer. Here the sound feeds into two distinct processors – one multimode 2-pole filter, one voltage-controlled wavefolder. A switch dictates if these are arranged in serial or parallel configurations. 

By default, the summed mixer output is sent into whichever of these elements is first in the chain, although by making use of the individual inputs and outputs in the patchbay, you can route the oscillators separately for a truly parallel signal path.

The inclusion of the diode-transistor wavefolder adds a nice touch of Buchla-esque, West Coast character to Labyrinth, complementing the audio-rate modulation of the oscillators. This wavefolder creates distortion by folding the incoming waveform back in on itself when driven over a certain threshold.

The VCW Fold control adjusts the level of this effect, which can be modulated using EG1, a CV input or Labyrinth’s sequencer. This is joined by a Bias control, which alters the symmetry of the wavefolding and the harmonics created.

While the 2-pole resonant filter is more straightforward Moog fare, it’s notable for the fact that it can be seamlessly morphed between low- and band-pass configurations. The wavefolder and filter are each given their own voltage-controlled amplifiers, which can be shaped using a shared decay control or individual CV inputs in the patch bay.

The balance of these two outputs is altered using a front panel Blend dial – which also gets a patchbay CV input – allowing users to mix the direct outputs of the wavefolder and filter VCAs whether in parallel or serial configuration.

Backup generator

Labyrinth’s sequencer puts a heavy emphasis on randomisation, albeit in a fairly controllable manner. The sequencer makes use of two lanes – labelled Seq 1 and Seq 2 – that can each be up to eight steps in length. These are primarily designed to be used in parallel, though you can chain the two together to create a single 16-step sequencer.

Rather than contain specific note or parameter information, each sequencer step – referred to here as a ‘Bit’ – is assigned a simple on or off state. When set to on, that step will generate a trigger and a random voltage.

These voltages can have a range between +5 volts and -5 volts, which equates to 10 octaves for Labyrinth’s 1v/oct configuration. This range can be narrowed down, however, using each sequencer’s CV range control. More useful still is the ability to quantise these randomised outputs to one of 16 defined scales.

Further randomisation can be introduced using each sequencer’s Corrupt controls. When set to zero, each sequence will repeat in a predictable, stable manner. Dialling in the Corrupt control up to the 50% mark will introduce changes to the pitches triggered by each Bit. Above 50%, Corrupt begins to alter the rhythm of sequences too, by introducing the possibility that each Bit will flip between off and on with each cycle.

As already alluded to, there are various pre-routed places where these sequenced voltages can be applied to the signal path, including the pitch of each oscillator and the levels of the wavefolder and filter cutoff. The patchbay inputs add further possibilities too.

Particularly interesting is the EG Trig Mix control, which adjusts the level to which each sequencer triggers the synth’s internal envelopes. At either extreme this means that Labyrinth only registers triggers from Seq 1 or Seq 2, while the central position gives equal emphasis to the two.

Any position between these, however, will mean that triggers from one sequencer are registered at a lower velocity than the other, which can be a great tool for introducing an element of variation into sequences, particularly when the two sequencers are set to different lengths or levels of randomisation.

In terms of sound creation tools then, these synth and sequencer elements combine to make one of the most interesting new instruments of recent times. In its self-contained state, the combo of audio-rate modulation, wavefolding and randomisation give Labyrinth a wonderfully experimental feel, making it an ideal gateway into the more esoteric concepts of modular electronic music.

If there’s one criticism I have of its self-contained workflow, it’s that the basic decay-only envelopes necessitate a fairly percussive sound palette, which arguably undersells what the synth engine itself is capable of. This, to be fair, is one area where the semi-modular patchbay pays dividends. The CV inputs for each of the VCAs allow for control via any more complex envelope shapers you have available from external Eurorack gear or another semi-modular synth.

The MIDI input – included on some Moog semi-modulars, but disappointingly absent from others – is another welcome inclusion. This allows for Labyrinth to be played in a more traditional monosynth manner via a keyboard controller or DAW, but also means that the generative sequencers can be synced to an external MIDI clock, enhancing their capabilities as a versatile source of randomisation in the studio.

Moog Labyrinth: Performance and verdict

There’s a lot to like about the overall design of Labyrinth, although I have a few misgivings about the hardware itself. When I reviewed Moog’s Spectravox last issue, I noted that it was the first of Moog’s hardware products to be released since the brand was acquired by InMusic, and since the closure of Moog’s longtime Asheville HQ. While Spectravox notably featured a ‘made in Taiwan’ label on its underside (as does Labyrinth), there was little in the way of an obvious drop in quality compared to previous Moog releases, aside from the lack of a fully printed manual.

This isn’t necessarily the case with Labyrinth, sadly. For one thing, the control surface here makes considerable use of fiddly, uncapped rotaries. These have been a feature of most recent Moog semi-modulars – used for the sequencers of DFAM and Subharmonicon – but they play a more prominent role here, used for adjusting modulation levels, envelope decay and sequencer ranges. The result is an interface that feels unpleasantly fiddly in use.

Worse still are the tiny, loose-feeling buttons used for programming the sequencers, which are both uncomfortable to use and feel like they’re lacking durability. Many deeper sequencer functions rely on awkward, unlabelled combos of button presses. It has to be said too that, at least for our review unit, the Run/Stop button is somewhat unresponsive, often not registering anything other than a firm press.

It’s unclear if any of these things are a direct result of Moog’s new ownership, but it results in Labyrinth feeling somewhat lower quality than some of its stablemates.

To be fair though, none of this detracts too much from the high points of Labyrinth’s design, namely its sound and versatility. While some of Moog’s semi-modular instruments are only likely to appeal in specific contexts or paired with other bits of modular gear, as with Spectravox or Subharmonicon, there’s a lot to recommend Labyrinth, whether it's used as a self-contained desktop synth, as a part of a wider Moog rig or installed as a synth voice-come-sequencer in a Eurorack system.

If you can look past the fiddly interface, there’s a lot to find inspiring here.

MusicRadar verdict: Let down by fiddly rotaries and a cheap-feeling sequencer, but we love its West Coast sound and experimental design

In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Collen spoke about how the collab first came about. "Well, Tom heard my original demo of the song with just me on it, and maybe Joe (Elliot) doing a vocal. 

"And he's, like, 'Oh my God, this is great.' So he told our friend Brian Monaco, who is actually president of Sony Music, and Brian's, like, 'What do you think about Tom being on it? He loves this thing.' And it was, like, 'Yeah, that'd be awesome.'"

"You know, I love Rage Against The Machine. I think Tom's really, really cool and his guitar style is so unique and he really didn't let us down. I remember talking to him about it. He said, 'Well, what do you hear?' and I said, 'Well, you gotta do your Tom Morello thing.' And he did. (I) heard it back and said, 'This is absolutely perfect.'

Just Like 73, which comes out on vinyl in August, is another of Leppard’s paeans to the glam rock era complete with stomping Glitter Band-style drums, Slade-like backing vocals and a Morello solo that’s both recognisably him but also fits perfectly with the glam-influenced song.

Collen admitted in the interview that the song was a leftover from the sessions for their 2022 album Diamond Star Halos (its title itself a pinch from glam icon Marc Bolan). “We only finished it off this year with everyone playing and singing on it. So, yeah, it was like almost there but not quite for that album.”

The guitarist also confirmed that the band were working on new songs. “Without a doubt. (Joe and I) write all the time. We send each other things. Sav (Rick Savage, bassist) gets in on there. Just between the three of us, there's just a lot of stuff floating around already. So we've, yeah, got a bunch of stuff. It's really exciting. And it's a great place to be. It's never that thing where, 'Well, we've got to sit down and write an album.' It's, like, 'Wow, I can't wait to play this to the guys and see what the reaction is.' And we keep pushing the boat out even further."

He added that any album would be unlikely to appear this year. "This year would be pushing it...But once we kind of get into the groove, I think - yeah. Who knows? Next year (or) early the year after. But you know how these things go.”

The band are currently on a US tour with Journey that continues through to September 8.

Some players take issue with Epiphone stretching into these kind of price points with its Eastern-made instruments but these models are a conscious move to close the gap with Gibson, and the fact is there are still the more affordable versions available for us without the US pickups and other bells and whistles. The question is then, how much difference do they make?

Gibson themselves are at least happy to step in and offer a demo of the $799 Epiphone Custom Les Paul side by side with the more recent $1,299 Inspired By Custom Shop version to help people make up their own minds. And once again Dinesh Lekhraj proves to be one of the most musical and knowledgeable demo players we've seen from Gibson – which is why he's the host of the Gibson Gear Guide channel.

So what do we find? Dinesh breaks down the specs of both Alpine White guitars – the Inspired By Custom Shop version offers the Gibson-style open book headstock and the same USA pickups and hardwired electronics as the Gibson Custom Shop guitars. Plus a hard case.

But when it comes to sounds… neither is shabby! The Inspired By Gibson Custom Shop does sound fuller to my ears – and remember this is YouTube audio – but I'd expect that. It's also pretty brief and only features an overdriven comparison. It would be nice to hear the underrated middle position and of course the neck humbucker to get a fuller picture too. Well, one YouTuber in particular is ahead of us there.  

Huge kudos to Sunny Haair for his diligence in not just comparing the Epiphone Les Paul Custom versions above, but the Gibson too. And it's really in-depth over 27-minutes with variables like pick gauge in the mix.

The Epiphone Les Paul Custom Inspired By Gibson Custom Shop fares so well that at one point Haair actually believes he's playing his own Gibson Les Paul Custom  through feel alone. 

"With these IGC range and this Les Paul Custom in particular, my opinion is that the gap between Gibson and Epiphone has been filled as much as it ever could be," says Haair, which does really go a long way to explaining the price. "Again, people will always split hairs over these things and that's totally ok…  but this is the evolution for Epiphone that I wished we had when I was growing up." 

But the standard Epiphone Custom also impresses with its ebony fingerboard, ProBuckers, GraphTech and Grover tuners. I've been especially impressed by the versatility of the Epiphone ProBuckers myself. 

Of course, a guitar seeming audibly 'better' to you doesn't account for the other variables that affect preference – QC, neck feel, profile, tenon, body mass and weight being too (but we know these ain't gonna be light) and the slackness of the strings. Haair digs into a lot of this, which is great to see. 

Check out the full video above, subscribe to Sunny Haair on YouTube  and find out more about the Epiphone Les Paul Custom options at Sweetwater, Thomann, Guitar Center, Andertons and Reverb. 

• Best Epiphone guitars: Our budget-spanning picks of the greatest Epiphone guitars available right now

The incident happened in March when 47-year-old Israel Sanchez died after being hit crossing the road in Alhambra, east of Los Angeles. The suit was taken out on Wednesday by Sanchez’s daughter Ashley.

The plaintiff alleges that Klinghoffer was driving a black SUV with no license plates and turned left at an intersection with a marked crossing area. Video footage that the plaintiff has submitted shows a black car hitting a man whilst it is turning. The car then pulls over. It is also alleged that Klinghoffer was on his cellphone whilst he was driving and indeed the footage shows the driver holding an object above the steering wheel.

Sanchez suffered force trauma to his head and died of his injuries in hospital later.

“My dad was known for being a great chef, the most talented of his family, the greatest grandpa always full of love and joy,” Ashley Sanchez said in a press release. “His smile was so infectious. His life was taken by a careless act of a person who didn’t bother to look where he was driving.”

For his part, Klinghoffer’s attorney, Andrew Brettler has called the incident “a tragic accident.”

He told NBC news: “After the car struck the pedestrian, Josh immediately pulled over, stopped the vehicle, called 911, and waited until police and the ambulance arrived. He is fully cooperating with the traffic investigation.”

As yet no arrests have been made and Alhambra Police spokesperson Sgt Brian Chung said that as the case is still active he could make no further comment.

Klinghoffer has had a long career spent in or around the centre of LA’s music scene. He spent a decade in the Chili Peppers, joining in 2009 and remaining until 2019 when John Frusciante rejoined. 

At the time he later admitted in an interview with Sirius XM that he was “surprised” by his ejection, though “grateful for all these incredible experiences I’ve had with them for the last ten years.”

He’s played with Pearl Jam – with whom he’s currently on tour – as well as Warpaint, Jane’s Addiction and the Butthole Surfers. He’s also played on records by figures as varied as Iggy Pop, Morrissey, Gnarls Barkley and Cate Le Bon.

As yet, Klinghoffer has made no comment about the case.

Now, after coming second best in the diss tracks battle with Kendrick Lamar, and being sued for copyright infringement by JR Apparel, he’s come up against the world’s greatest footballer: Lionel Messi.

So confident was the Canadian rapper that his homeland would beat Argentina in the semi-final of the Copa America that he boasted on Instagram that he had staked $300,000 of his own money on the outcome. If successful, he was looking at winnings of $2.88 million.

Well, they didn’t. 

The reigning world champions beat Canada 2-0 with goals from Julian Alvarez and the GOAT himself: Messi.

After the game, an image appeared on Argentina’s social media of Messi and the team celebrating accompanied by the words ‘Not Like Us’, a reference to one of the Lamar diss tracks aimed at Drake. 

In case you’ve forgotten, it was the one that brought the whole farrago to a head and saw Lamar target Drake’s supposed preference for younger women, charmingly calling him “a certified paedophile”. It went to Number One in the US and clocked up over 500 million Spotify streams.

Pick that one out of the net...

Drake seems to have made a habit of losing enormous sums on money on sporting bets. He lost $500,000 betting on Tyson Fury to beat Oleksandr Usyk in the World Heavyweight Title fight in May. 

In 2023 he waved goodbye to $250,000 after saying UFC fighter Nate Diaz would beat Jake Paul in a boxing match and in the 2022 World Cup Final lost $1 million placing a bet against Messi’s Argentina. There’s even been talk of a Drake ‘curse’ on sporting events.

There’s been no comment on all this from the Canadian’s nemesis, but Lamar has rapped about Messi before. On last year’s The Hillbillies, which he recorded with his cousin, Keem, there’s the line ‘Critics sayin’ that I lost the plot, principles, yeah, I’d rather not, Messi, ’bout to come in hot.”

Later on Keem raps ‘I’m a pass to you Neymar, he got time for your bestie, girl’, a reference to Messi’s erstwhile teammate at Paris St Germain.

As for Drake, he does at least have a chance of winning some of his money back though – Canada face Uruguay in the tournament’s third-place playoff...

As immersive audio production has become more widespread, it’s become clear there is a growing demand to integrate audio interfacing and multichannel monitoring into a single, task-specific, Dolby-certified unit. 

ORIA from Audient meets this need head on, but it can also be used alongside your existing interface as a dedicated multichannel monitor controller or simply as a regular USB interface.

Audient ORIA: Performance and verdict

Oria is a 18-in/24-out 24-bit/96kHz USB-C unit with an optional internal Dante expansion for an extra 16 inputs. It’s digitally controlled, software-driven and combines Audient’s motion UI display, a large rotary push button encoder and various dedicated soft buttons. 

Its quality feel and slick look is complemented by premium AD/DA conversion and digitally controlled versions of Audient’s classic desk preamps. However, what makes it multichannel-focused is a unique balance of physical connectivity and onboard features. Specifically, analogue ins are limited to a pair of front-mounted mic/line/instrument inputs. 

Meanwhile analogue TRS outputs include two stereo outs, two headphone outs, and 16 surround-specific outs. This means Oria can directly feed up to 9.1.6 speaker setups alongside two sets of dedicated stereo monitors. 

That’s a lot of speakers, and management of these speakers is handled by Oria’s onboard DSP and controlled via the Oria desktop app (an iPad version will be available soon). The use of onboard DSP not only relieves the load on your computer CPU, but also allows Oria to run in standalone mode with settings saved to easily switchable onboard Profiles.

Within the app, regular options (main output level, mute, dim and mono) are joined by more niche settings such as global delay (0 to 100ms) and polarity, which flips the phase of the left channel and sums the left and right outputs to mono. Some of these options are replicated on the front panel, while the preamp settings are only available from the front panel. 

Nevertheless, where the app really shines is with the speaker calibration, and this takes two forms. For manual alignment each speaker has individual trim (+/-12dB), delay (0 to 75ms), bass management (high pass cutoff 30 to 500Hz) and 8-band EQ alongside mute and solo. 

Alternatively, Oria integrates with Sonarworks SoundID Reference for Multichannel (the box includes the SoundID calibration mic and a 60-day software licence). When we ran this, it created speaker-specific EQ curves with associated trim and delay settings. 

Further handy app features include speaker groupings (fronts, subs, stereo, heights and sides) with mute and solo, multichannel metering, and the colour-coded speaker layout graphic with real time signal indicators. For Dolby Atmos, you can use Oria with DAW-integrated Dolby renderers. However, part of its Dolby Atmos certification is integration via the Dolby Audio Bridge with the Dolby Atmos Renderer. 

Linking things up is easily achieved via Oria’s System settings, and once hooked up you’ll find you can switch down mix modes directly from one of Oria’s soft keys. 

Finally a word on headphones: Oria’s outputs can be switched from the default left/right feed to USB streams 17/18 or 19/20. Specify these same streams in your renderer headphone settings to allow easy access to a simultaneous binaural headphone mix.     

All told, Oria is a well conceived interface that’s pitched at serious multichannel and immersive users looking for a neat all-in fix. 

MusicRadar verdict: Audient has listened to users and delivered an immersive targeted device suitable for a broad range of multichannel applications.

Audient Oria: Hands-on demos

Audient

Produce Like A Pro

PresentDayProduction

Audient Oria: Specifications

• KEY FEATURES: Analogue Inputs: 2 mic/line/instrument (up to 60dB gain) Analogue Outputs: 16 surround and 2 stereo (TRS jack), 2 headphone Digital Inputs: 2 ADAT (16 channels at 44.1/48kHz, 8 channels at 88.2/96kHz) Digital Outputs: AES (25 pin D-Type) not simultaneous with the analogue outputs Interface: USB 2.0, USB Type-C connector Sync: Word Clock in and out.
• CONTACT: Audient

While most Wurlitzer electric piano emulations focus on the 200 series models, Cherry Audio has chosen to jump back a generation and bring you the sound of the 140B, which they say many enthusiasts consider to be the jewel in the Wurly crown.

Wurlybird 140B promises to be a faithful emulation of the original hardware - it samples a professionally restored unit owned by keyboard player and songwriter Tom Hammer. These were captured by sound designer Mike Martin.

The end result, we’re assured, is a virtual Wurly that offers ultra-realistic response with subtle randomisation of key release and pedal sounds. The sound of the original preamp has been modelled, and the vibrato/tremolo emulated.

There are also eight stompbox-style effects: Tube Overdrive, Chorus, Rotator, Delay, Reverb, Seven-Band Graphic EQ, ‘70s Phaser and a LoFi vinyl/noise unit. The 50 presets take in both classic and contemporary tones, and the rendered interface adds to the vintage vibe.

Wurlybird 140B runs standalone and in VST/AU/AAX plugin formats and is available for PC and Mac. There’s a 30-day demo, too, and the full price is just $39.

Find out more on the Cherry Audio website.