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Marshall's Hanwell HiFi speaker is bred from guitar amps, at-home with your PMP (update)
It's been a year since the legendary guitar amp and speaker makers at Marshall Amplification made a splash in consumer audio with its Marshall Headphones spin-off (Zound / Urbanears). In commemorence of the amplification division's 50th anniversary, both have announced the Hanwell: Marshall's first speaker rig that's made for a counter-top instead of a festival stage. The Hanwell's design essentially stems from that of a combo guitar amp / speaker, but you won't be able to plug in your guitar, however, as it's specifically made for pumping out the sounds of your music collection. Most anyone who plays guitar, or has seen the likes of Slash and Nigel Tufnel shredding it up, will immediately recognize the iconic Marshall design ethic down to its iconic plastic nameplate on the front grill and gold accents. There's no major tech at play inside of the system, but with looks this cool it's not like it matters -- hopefully, the sound quality will match. Up top there's a familiar panel housing a 3.5mm input, power toggle and knobs for bass, treble and volume, while internally you'll find a duo of long-throw woofers and tweeters. The cab itself is made from wood and wrapped in black vinyl tolex like its bigger JCM siblings -- heck, it even comes with a coiled audio cable. There's no specific information beyond all of that such as pricing and availability -- especially whether "these go to 11" -- but you'll find a press release and close-up shots after the break. Update: We've been informed that the Hanwell will be limited to a run of just 10,000 units -- expect this to be spendy when it's finally available.
Line 6 Mobile In app turns your iPad or iPhone into a multi-effect amp -- party on, Wayne
No word yet on if the volume peaks at 11, but what Line 6's new Mobile In offerings will do is turn your iPad or iPhone into a pro modeling amp, with a sick range of amplifiers, guitar cabinets, stompboxes, tones and rack effects. The setup comes in two separate parts: the free mobile Pod app and the Mobile In adaptor, which lets aspiring metalheads (or Fleeting Foxes) connect their guitars to an iOS device using the 30-pin connector. Line 6 says this connection blows similar jack-based apps out of the water, and it's throwing in 24-bit/48kHz digital sound for good measure. Although you'll get a killer 110dB of dynamic range for guitar, you can still achieve 98dBs when you plug in another mono or stereo-line level -- that old keytar, perhaps? With that kind of combo you'll be thankful to know that it records and works with other CoreAudio apps like GarageBand -- perfect for jamming out with your keyboard toutin' buddies without the back-breaking work of carrying a heavy amp. Have your lighters ready for when the $79.99 adaptor ships this fall, but until then, check out the video and full PR after the break.
Griffin's StompBox available to order, virtual guitar shredding now a go
Remember that Griffin-made StompBox we showed you back in January? Well, it's finally hit the market, so you can free up those virtuoso hands and get to pedal-pounding wicked sound effects. The four button foot controller works with Frontier Design's iShred LIVE app for iOS, connecting your instrument via an included GuitarConnect cable to a 1/4-inch jack. The device is "designed to work with... a guitar, bass guitar, electric violin and keyboard," so your virtual jam band session is all but guaranteed. This musical f/x dongle is available to order now for $99.99 online, or you can just head to one of Apple's boutiques to snag it. Sadly, the effects switcher doesn't come bundled with a copycat of Slash's hat, but that shouldn't stop your credit card from indulging in this latest bout of Gear Acquisition Syndrome.
Griffin StompBox pedal board brings authenticity to iPad rocking
Users of the iShred Live iOS app (no relation to this thing) now have a pedal board to do the job of, well, a pedal board. Up until recently, the app allowed players to connect their electric guitars to an iPhone or iPad, and use said device as an amplifier, with a near endless array of pedal effects at their fingertips. Looking for a way to make the experience more authentic, Griffin teamed with the folks at Frontier Design Group to create the StompBox, which, according to Griffin's website, "effectively recreates the experience of an actual pedal board." It features four separate foot switches, which can be assigned particular effects by the user, and connects to the iPad or iPhone with a 1-meter-long dock connector cable -- guitar connection cables are sold separately. Now the future Peter Framptons of the world can scale back on setup time and concentrate on making their guitars talk.
Reminder: We'll be live at Apple's 'rock and roll' event Wednesday at 10AM PDT!
Hey, we'll be live on the scene at Apple's "rock and roll" event on Wednesday, so get ready for some hot liveblogging action. We're pretty much just expecting new iPods, but you never know -- we might see a new tablet, the iPhone 3GT, or even El Steve himself. It's all going down at 10AM PDT (local times below), but you can start speculating right now. Here's where to tune in, and here's when: 07:00AM - Hawaii 10:00AM - Pacific 11:00AM - Mountain 12:00PM - Central 01:00PM - Eastern 06:00PM - London 07:00PM - Paris 09:00PM - Moscow 02:00AM - Tokyo (September 10th)
Apple holding 'rock and roll' themed event, September 9th
And just like that, Apple's yearly iPod event is happening. According to an email we've just received, it looks like all those rumors we heard turned out to be true. The big A will be holding the proceedings at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco (go figure), and guess what? We'll be there live.
Jimi Hendrix songs, character included in Guitar Hero: World Tour
As if you needed another reason to be pumped for Guitar Hero: World Tour, the legendary guitar virtuoso himself is going to be featured in Activision's title. Not only will he be a playable character in the game, but master tracks for two of his songs will be featured. These tracks are: "Purple Haze (Live)" (recorded in 1969 at the San Diego Sports Arena) "The Wind Cries Mary" If that isn't enough for you, Activision also said that Hendrix content will be releasing for the game in the future, in the form of DLC, joining the ranks of Metallica. In case you need a refresher on the tracks, we've embedded some YouTube videos for each past the break. Go get your listen on!%Gallery-23491%
