Active Band Man Chats - 2024 New Gear Predictions: Mid-Year Review

Well, what is it for this time?

This year is already half over, huh?

Yeah.

It so fast.

The passage of time is really fast, isn’t it.

So, that being said!

What being said?

Let’s check the answers for our predictions on this year’s new gear. Woo hoo!

I see! It's that annual tradition, huh? Well then, let’s summarize the first half of the year…

Well, I'll go first! I mentioned back when I made my predictions that if I had to choose, I wanted to enhance my home equipment...

You said so.

This year, I put my words into action!

Finally this year.

I got an amp for practicing at home!
NUX’s Mighty Air！

NUX / Mighty Air

Oh, finally! You nailed your prediction!

Wireless is great! It's perfect for practicing at home!

Absolutely! I use it too, and it's so nice to be free from the hassle of cables, whether on stage or at home.

The effects are just right, too. Especially, reverb feels really nice!

You can control the knobs and settings using an app on your phone, too. It’s really well designed! I definitely recommend it.

Next up is the tuner!

It's red...

Because it's red, it’s three times faster!

The Red Comet, huh? No lies allowed! I don't think anyone would actually believe that.

Three times faster is a joke, but I think I finish tuning quicker now because the visibility of the LED is better than before.

Visibility is important, especially on stage.

I've wanted this limited edition color for a long time, and I finally found one used.

That's great for you.

The Boss ones are easier to step on, but this one wins in terms of visibility. *This is just my personal opinion.

I see. When it comes to tuners, accuracy is important, but both aspects are crucial for stage use, especially for playing without stress. Speaking of which, this might be a bit off-topic, but I recommend the Korg’s Pitchblack XS.

Korg / Pitchblack XS

This is actually the one of my new gear from last year, and after using it, I found the visibility to be outstanding. It's surprisingly compact, so it also saves space.

That’s definitely easy to see!

I like it so much that I want to use this for all my boards eventually... It seems they've recently released a bass version too. Maybe it’ll be a candidate for new gear later this year!


Korg / PB-XS BASS

Sounds good! For now, I’d be happy just to have some red at my feet!

Yep, if you can choose, red is your go-to color right? it's becoming like your habit! ? What else?

Other than that... I’d say picks!

Ah, picks! You buy them every time you go to the music store. You’ve definitely collected quite a few by now, haven’t you?

Yeah, as a hobby.

Have you found anything interesting?

This!

2.2 mm? I've never used one that thick before.

Elastomer is a new material and it's thick but has a soft touch.

Wow, there are so many kinds of picks.

There's still some more unusual ones!

Regular triangle shape...?

At first glance, it looks like a regular triangle shape, but if you look closely, there are bumps on the corners!

Oh, you're right! What's the idea behind that?

According to the manufacturer's site, it works well with metal.

Does that mean it’s suitable for fast picking?

I thought that might be the case, so I tried it out, and I definitely felt it was easier to play the low-string riffs!

I can kind of see what you mean, but it's interesting to think that these bumps have that effect. How fascinating!

And when I play chords, I feel like each string really stands out! It might be great for acoustic guitars too.

I see.

I thought it might have a similar effect to what you get with reverse angle picking.

That could be pretty convenient depending on how you use it. I wonder if it would work for bass as well. It's amazing how many new types of picks keep coming out—different materials and shapes.

Yeah, I think it's pretty much a completed product in some ways, but it will keep evolving with little innovations. That wraps up my first half of the year!

Thanks! Well, last year's predictions had zero hits, so compared to that, this is a pretty good performance, right?

I’m so proud of myself.

It’s not something to be proud of, it’s just one hit.

One hit! I'm satisfied!

Good for you.

I’ve been continuing to try out the classical guitars.

You always send me a message on LINE after each trial.

Oh! Did you play on the words 'journey' and 'times'? That's clever!
('journey' and 'times' are both tabi inJapanese.)

Oh, I didn't mean to do that...

By the way, I’ve tried out Godin, Ibanez, YAMAHA, History, and so on... Well, tackling classical guitars is my goal for the second half of the year.

Sounds like a challenge.

So, it's your turn Holy.

Um... I only have one.

Only one? That's unusual.

Moreover, it's not the one I was expecting... and here it is.

Digitech / Drop

It is Digitech’s Drop. With this, you can tune down in half-step increments—it's a great feature!

Oh, you got something rare!

Well... there's an artist named M that I support once a month...

I know. It's Maggie☆François, right? Why did you censor the name?

There's really no particular reason, but during that support, the tuning changes depending on whether it's an electric or acoustic guitar.Specifically, for the electric guitar, I tune down a half-step, while the acoustic guitar is in standard tuning. Changing positions every time is quite challenging, especially with phrases that use open strings, as the phrases themselves can change. So, I introduced this to play in the same position regardless of the tuning.

I see. How was it?

At first, I felt some discomfort, but once I played in the band, it didn't bother me anymore. When I first used it, I asked the audience and the sound engineer, and they didn’t seem to notice anything unusual. I think the discomfort might have come from the fact that, while I was playing, I was hearing the actual sound and the sound coming from the amp after being tuned down mixed together.

I see. It sounds like it’s heard a half-step off.

Yes. But once I played in the band, the actual sound got drowned out, so I didn't notice it. I don’t really mind the loss of tone either. Since I can actually use it, it was definitely the right purchase.

That’s great! So, is this the only one? That's unusual for Holy.

I guess so... Actually, I've ordered the one I mentioned in the prediction round from Sound House, but it seems like it's taking a while to arrive, so I still haven't gotten it. I hope it comes soon.

Sounds exciting! So, since Holy has no hits, I guess it's my win for the first half of the year.

Alright, alright... it's a win for Kizuhiko. Oh, it's not pure new gear, but I do have some custom-made gear.

Did you make it by yourself?

Yes, I made a homemade sponge mute for my EUB (Electric Upright Bass). I wrote an article about it on my blog, so if you're interested, check it out...
Blog: 'If It Doesn’t Exist, Create It.

You’re getting creative with a lot of things! Do-it-yourself is a great option too! But new gear is definitely nice. So, it’s all about…?

Love!