[PRESS RELEASE] BENEVOLENT & IGNITE AMPS ANNOUNCE SIGNATURE CUSTOM PEDAL & ENDORSEMENT DEAL

January 15, 2013: UAE-based extreme experimental metal band BENEVOLENT and Italian amp makers IGNITE AMPS have announced their collaboration through a signature custom drive pedal geared towards the band's sound. The pedal, dubbed as the TYRANT SCREAMER (TSB-1) features a Tube Screamer-type circuitry with extra features that works towards Benevolent's guitar tone identity.

Carlo Costabile, Ignite Amps Co-Founder & Managing Partner, said "We're really proud of our Tyrant Screamer. It has all the characteristics of the classic overdrive, an extended gain excursion and our exclusive "sweep" control which gives the user total control on how the pedal interacts with his guitar and playing style. This feature is especially useful for bands using very low tuning, because it helps to cut through the mix in both live and studio situations."

"We're also psyched to work for a band from Dubai as we never did before, but we know their scene is killer! This is especially the case since the band in question is Benevolent, a bunch of fun-loving guys that also happen to know their business real well when they step on stage. We're looking forward to work with Benevolent again, the collaboration has been awesome and we're already discussing new ideas for upcoming gear."

Benevolent is now an officially endorsed artist by the Italian company and this partnership will feature more innovative products of this kind in the future. Hadi Sarieddine, founder/guitarist/co-vocalist of Benevolent, states "it's extremely exciting for us that we're doing this, I've used Ignite Amps' products digitally for a while now and it's just overwhelmingly awesome to be receiving a signature custom pedal from such a professional company. I feel that this partnership is going to yield in many great things.”

"The Ignite Amps team has been great, they have been a true pleasure to work with since the get-go and they've put in all the necessary to make this happen. We're all really psyched about this right now!"

The Italian company was brought to life in 2006 by Federico Berti and Carlo Costabile, two musicians who wanted to build the gear that they needed. The company's products caught the interest of professional musicians from around the globe. Ignite Amps provides both physical products and computer-based plugins. The company's primary goal is to provide musicians with instruments that perfectly fit their needs and is geared more towards custom products.

In discussing the experience behind the build process and working with Ignite Amps, Mohammed Gad (Benevolent's guitarist) stated "At first we communicated with Ignite Amps regarding what we were looking for, they then designed the pedal and built a computer plugin version of it for us to try. We used the plugin version for testing and adjustments. The actual physical pedal was built based upon that and the final product sounds EXACTLY the same as the plugin. The physical build quality is unbelievable, we cannot be happier! The pedal packs tons of gain and has a very wide range of dynamics that give us the exact set of tools to shape our guitar tones."

He added, "It means a lot to us to be working with a reputable and international company that makes products that we are out there searching for, especially when the team behind the company shares the passion that we have for the band and the music, this is amazing!"

Federico Berti, Ignite Amps’ Co-Founder & Managing Partner, stated "Working with open-minded musicians, like the Benevolent guys, is always a breeze. They know exactly what they want and they're used to digital home recording, which is very important for us. We followed our usual workflow: designing the analog circuit and then implementing a simulation of it in VST/AU format, capable of running in real time on any modern computer. We sent the software to them and then further revised the circuit according to their feedback and requests. We love to use this approach, as it reduces the prototyping costs and musicians can hear how their custom gear will sound before we even start the actual build. I guess I can safely say that we're the only amp brand in the world offering this kind of service."

The pedal will be available for purchase directly from Ignite Amps. The VST/AU plugin version of the pedal will be available for FREE DOWNLOAD from Ignite Amps official website (www.igniteamps.com) through the course of February. To stay up to date on the release of the plugin, give Ignite Amps a LIKE on Facebook on http://www.facebook.com/IgniteAmps

Benevolent is currently working on their much anticipated follow up to their debut release, the upcoming album features ANDOLS HERRICK (formerly of Chimaira) who has recorded drums on the entire record.

To stay in touch with Benevolent's news and updates, check out their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/benevolent.band and their YouTube channel on http//www.youtube.com/user/benevolentband

YOU CAN ALSO GRAB A FREE DOWNLOAD OF BENEVOLENT'S DEBUT ALBUM "DIVIDED EP" AT http://benevolent.bandcamp.com

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Guitar Pick Up Match EQ Testing

Hey guys!

So I've been doing some testing with Match EQing comparing my guitar pickups to other popular ones. If you're not familiar with the concept of Match EQ, in a nutshell, it's the use of designated plugins to analyze the EQ of your signal (whether it is a fully blown guitar tone through an amp or a DI signal of just your guitar's pickups), and then analyze a "targeted" signal's EQ, and then basically create an EQ curve that makes your tone match the targeted one. It's pretty simple and straightforward, however, to achieve stellar results it requires some trial and errors.

Here's my demo recording where I compare the match EQs of EMG707, Seymour Duncan Vintage Rails, Seymour Duncan SSL5, and of course the sound of the original pickups in my Schecter C-7 (Note that I used the same rhythm and clean tones for all pickup match EQs):

Here's how I went about doing this:

1. Find DI recorded signals of pickups online. (Luckily, I've found some EMG707 DIs, and some Seymour Duncan ones as well!)
2. Open up your DAW (I use Logic)
3. Open a new track
4. In the effects, load up "Match EQ" under Logic's EQ effects
5. Import the recorded DI of the pickup you wanna steal
6. On the same track, record yourself playing the same riff (or at least something close!)
7. On the Match EQ window, click on "Template" and play the DI you downloaded (Let it play for a bit so it can capture as much frequencies as possible)
8. Now, on the Match EQ window, click on "Current" and play the just wankery you recorded
9. And finally, click on "Match" on the Match EQ window
10. Voila!

Here are some screen shots of the process:

STEP 1: ANALYZE THE TARGETED PICKUP'S EQ

STEP 2: RECORD THE SAME RIFF AND ANALYZE THE BUILT IN PICK UP'S SIGNAL

STEP 3: CLICK MATCH SO THE PLUGIN CAN CREATE AN EQ CURVE TO GET YOUR PICKUP TO SOUND THE SAME (OR CLOSE)

Keep in mind that you may have to do some post tweaking to get better results, and also note that the current amp settings may not sound as great with your new pickup EQ, so spend a bit of time getting a great tone down and enjoy!

NOTE: The matched EQ may NOT exactly match the pickup that you're aiming at, HOWEVER, it WILL give you a whole new sound to work with!

Hadi