Review: Vanarin

Vanarin is an indie grunge-rock band based in Swindon, England who've been in action since 2011. Bassist Mikki Vyrus sent me five of their newest songs for review, all of which can be demo'd on his YouTube page. Here's a list of the tracks:

(1) Because of You
(2) Been So Long
(3) Mistake
(4) 4U
(5) Getting Old

Kicking off with "Because of You," lead singer Mike goes from sounding like Billie Joe Armstrong in the leading chorus to a raucous Aaron Lewis halfway through the first verse and back again. Its definitely a tune that sticks in your head, but the lyrics are a little repetitive. "Been So Long" has cool guitar riffage that really seems to carry the song. The one flaw is that the verses tend to sound kinda forced. You have to pay attention to pick up on that though, because you're probably focusing more on enjoying the cool instrumentals. "Mistake" is the one song out of the entire compilation that I can't really get into. It's not the song itself...I've never really been a fan of slower rainy-day type music. The guitar work reminds me of Nickleback, who's music always gets me depressed (I don't know why, so don't ask). "4U" is one of my favorite Vanarin tunes (tied with "Getting Old"). This is one of their grungier songs and the instrumentals really remind of Nirvana (my favorite band!!) "Getting Old" follows that same feel, it's intro riff reminding me a lot of Cobain's "Lithium."

Hm...maybe not tied anymore. Yeah, pretty sure this track beats all the others. The instrumentals are by far the best and its incredible how similar the back-up vocals are to Dave Grohl when he used to back-up Kurt. I think Vanarin should do it more often. Its awesome to hear a new band with that same spirit and sound. I will say that the band should try to use the word "you" in their music less. In one song (can't remember which) it felt like every other word was "you," which made it seem less creative (its a very easy word to rhyme with). As far as I know, this is the first compilation Vanarin have ever written together, and while I feel the lyrics could be better, they did a damn good job on the instrumentals. I look forward to hearing what else they have to offer. In the meantime, I'll have to settle for their awesome covers...

Check out Vanarin's cover of Remedy by Seether!

...and Mikki's cool bass cover of Best of You by Foo Fighters :D

Holiday Giveaway: Spider Capo + NEON Guitar Strings

With Thanksgiving this week, it feels as though the Holidays are officially beginning. We all have a lot to look forward to, and I'm in a very celebratory mood.

What better way to celebrate than to give?

I'm giving away a brand new set of orange NEON guitar strings by DR. If you've never heard of or used these strings before, check out my review. They are awesome for gigging! I'm also giving away a spider capo, which is a very handy, unique little tool I will be reviewing very soon.

Entering is extremely easy and, of course, free. All you have to do is like RSR on Facebook, follow me on Twitter or Google Plus (or all three!) using the Rafflecopter widget below and you are automatically entered into the contest. If you've already done one or more of these things, hey - it's even easier! There are more options to give you the best chance at winning. This contest ends on December 12th at 12:01 A.M. EST. Good luck!

*Important Update (11/19/12): Some people are collecting entries without completing the tasks. Starting tonight, every night, new entries will be moderated and those that are falsely acquired will be deleted. Remember that you only have to enter once (i.e. complete one task) for a chance at winning, but the more you do the better your chances. If you are confused about any of the tasks, please leave a comment below and I will respond shortly. Thanks!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: T-Rex Room-Mate Junior

Our next T-Rex review concerns the Room-Mate Junior. This reverb pedal is basically a stripped-down version of the original Room-Mate II, garnering all of its best features, at a more affordable price. It was designed using a combination of the most up-to-date digital technology and detailed analogue craftsmanship to deliver an incredible vintage reverb sound. I've never personally used the Room-Mate II, but based off of what I've heard from demos, it seems more suited for surf rock reverb whereas the Room-Mate Junior creates a warm, buttery tone that sounds amazing accompanying either my electric or (but especially!) acoustic guitar.

This pedal features five controls: MIX (controls the clean and reverberated signal blend), LEVEL (sets the overall volume of the pedal), DECAY (the higher it is turned, the longer the length of your reverb trail, and the bigger the sound), MODE (determines the overall feel of the pedal with Spring, Room, Hall and LFO options) and input gain (prevents an overload of the pedal’s input stage when used in an effects loop). It runs on a 9V/DC battery or power supply and comes with an input as well as right and left output jacks. To switch it on, you simply tap the footswitch and a bright blue LED flashes to indicate that the pedal is in use.

The first MODE is Spring which probably needs no introduction as it is a setting featured on many amps. I will say you probably won't get as sweet a sound on most amps that do provide it as you will with the Room-Mate Junior (this IS T-Rex, after all!) Room is a little more exciting than Spring, giving you that same classic sound, though with a hint of live vibe; great for using at coffee shops or small gigs. Next is Hall, my personal favorite. This setting creates a livening concert hall reverb that can be adjusted to suit your personal tastes, and upon doing so awakens your inner performer. The fourth and final mode is LFO, a chorus-embellished reverb that sounds amazing paired with acoustic guitar. Each setting far surpasses most any reverb I've used before, whether from an amp or pedal.

The final verdict? Let's just say, it was very painful giving back the Room-Mate Junior. Probably more so than any other pedal my friend let me try out. Unfortunately, it's pretty high up in price ($399 list! you can get 25% off at Guitar Center, but still...kinda steep). So, yeah...I won't have one of my own any time soon. However, it will probably be my next effects purchase. Besides the fact that it produces just about the best reverb you could probably get for it's discounted price, it has a very sturdy, attractive build and I really dig the color. Check out the demo below and let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Get it for $299 at Guitar Center!

Review: Mean Machine Double Distortion

A buddy of mine recently gained access to a boatload of new effects from T-Rex and was kind enough to let me try them out. I'll be reviewing each one based off of some notes I took. First up is one of my favorites: the Mean Machine Double Distortion.

The Mean Machine is a very robust stomper with two channels and a no-nonsense control array consisting of LEVEL, DRIVE and TONE. It's name isn't its only badass characteristic: each TONE knob doubles as a bright green LED to indicate which channel is in use, making this distortion pedal look a little bit cooler than the next one. It runs on a 9V DC power supply (though it also has a 9V battery compartment) and features the standard input and output jacks.

Being that I'm not a huge effects user, one of the things that I like most about this pedal (because it is very hard deciding what it is I like the most about it!) is it's simplicity. T-Rex are known best for the incredible tone they are able to capture with their effects, and the Mean Machine definitely delivers. You have just three knobs per channel (and really, what more does a distortion pedal need?); three knobs, and just about the sweetest-sounding lead distortion you could ask for. The DRIVE is what controls how distorted each channel is. I don't play much metal, but I love the sound I get when I roll this knob to full. DRIVE and TONE govern the over-all sound of this meany, but nulling both knobs will still result in a really amazing-sounding distortion pedal, nice for rhythm-playing yet to me, still capable of making a decent lead sound.

With just the right settings, the Mean Machine would do anyone a decent option for blues, but at the center of it's being, I really believe that this pedal is meant to assist... well... MEAN players: Hard rockers. Metal heads. This pedal is not for the weak of heart; the distortion is powerful going from a low roar at low gain to a snarling metal-based tone at higher gains.

Basically, the Mean Machine Double Distortion is exactly that: a mean green machine. It sells for $369 list price, which I know will seem pretty darn steep to a lot of players out there, but I truly believe it would be worth saving for. I can't think of a distortion pedal I've heard that I like more than the Mean Machine, and the hard metal casing certainly makes it feel sturdy enough; this pedal was clearly built for a life on the road. But like I said, I'm not a huge effects user. I would really like to hear your opinion. Listen to the video demo below and tell me your thoughts in the comments.

Get it for $279 at GuitarCenter!