No offense to Eugene O'Neill or Jerry Butler, but it seems there is more than one Iceman in this, world. Introducing, from Cornwell Heights, Pennsylvania, the latest in the burgeoning series of new solid-body electric guitars, the Ibanez Iceman IC-400, which promises to be a serious contender for the title of "hottest rock guitar on the market." That's right, gang, this one's got potential. Ibanez has already turned a lot of heads in the guitar industry with their Artist and Professional Series instruments, the most notable of those being the Artist EQ used by Steve Miller and the Professional favored by the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir. With the unveiling of the Iceman, Ibanez reveals their ability to draw from the past what is useful and combine it with fresh, bold body and headstock design to create a balanced guitar that is unlike anything you've ever seen, yet suggestive of earlier attempts at the proverbial "bizarre guitar." The visual appeal of this instrument was immediately apparent from the moment the Iceman was taken out of the case at Strings 'N Things. Everybody in the store gathered 'round for a cbser look at it; guitarists stood in line for a chance to play it, and by the time the smoke had cleared, the word was out: the Iceman had arrived.

In keeping with tradition, Ibanez has retained the basic pickup and hardware configuration found on more conventional models: two humbucking pickups, volume and tone controls for each pickup, three-position toggle switch mounted on the upper part of the body; an adjustable bridge, and a stop, tailpiece. This makes the guitar basically familiar to guitar players and thus does not slow down their volume or tonal adjustments in a "real time" playing situation. However, a closer look at the hardware reveals a difference in the Ibanez Iceman and older model guitars. The humbucking pickups have a hotter and brighter output than the stock humbucking pickup found on a Les Paul; the adjustable bridge has a longer throw for each string which provides a more precise intonation adjustment; and the knobs have a small band of rubber around them that insures a sure grip even when the player's hands are soaked with perspiration. In order to enhance sustain, Ibanez engineers have come up with two innovations not found on any other comparable priced axes. Underneath the bridge there is a block of solid brass, and the nut is made of half bone and half brass instead of the traditional solid bone nut. These two features combined makes for a clearer ringing tone than is found on the stock Les Paul.

When not thinking up ideas for his column, Allen Hester can be found at Strings TV Things in Memphis.

The tuning machines found on the Iceman are the double gear type, similar to the Grover tuner, except these "Velvetune" machines have a locking screw on each key for stabilizing the tuners once they are in place. All the hardware is gold-plated and the neck is inlaid with trapezoidshaped mother of pearl. The body of the Iceman is made of mahogany, the top is made of a highlyfigured curly maple, and the neck is of maple as well. Two finishes currently available are antique violin and midnight olive. Further info can be obtained by writing the manufacturer (The Eiger Company, P.O. Box 469, Cornwell Heights, PA 19020).

LAB SERIES

While the folks at Gibson have always made good guitars, they have never been widely known as a manufacturer of amplifiers in the past. Recently the Norlin Co., parent organization of such prestigious companies as Gibson, Moog, and Sennheiser, have combined the talents of various technicians in designing a new line of guitar, bass, and keyboard amps which may prove to be better than any other line of small amps, including the perennial Fender and the popular Music Man. The Lab Series consists of four guitar amps, two bass amps, and one helluva keyboard amplification system designed by a team which included Bob Moog, one of the pioneers of the synthesizer.

The guitar amps are designated L-5, L-7, L-9, and L-ll; the first three have an output of 100 watts continuous power into an 8 ohm load; the L-ll generates 200 watts into8 ohms. The basic difference in the models is the speaker configuration: the L-5 has two 12" speakers, the L-7 has four 10", the L-9 offers one 15", and the L-ll comes with two cabinets which house four 12" speakers each. Lab amps are two-channel rigs with the same basic features as one would expect: High and low gain inputs on both channels; channel one is a "dry" channel which has Bass, Midrange, Treble, and Bright switch. What makes these amps unique are features such as Frequency, Multifilter, and Compressor, totally new additions to the usual panel layout of this sort of amp which, when used with the "normal" cohtrols, provides a whole spectrum of unique and useful sound modifications heretofore unavailable on any amplifier.

The Frequency control scans the frequency range from 100Hz to 6.4kHz. The Midrange control enables the user to boost or cut the octave band of frequencies designated by the setting of the Frequency knob, thereby allowing drastic tonal variations, as well as distortion effects on a selected frequency. The Multifilter is capable of rearranging the high harmonic structure erf the signal, rather than merely accenting the existing signal. It is designed in such' a way that it emphasizes those harmonics which are outstanding in an acoustic guitar, thereby giving a bright acoustic flavor to an electric guitar's tone. The Compressor limits the output power level without restricting the input power level;' thus it adds sustain and distortion at low volumes and prevents overload distortion at high levels. For further attenuation, all Lab Series amps are equipped with a Master Volume.

The design of Lab amps did not stop with innovations in electronics. The cabinet is built of solid pine, which is fingerlocked at all comers for added strength, and the corner caps are made of steel. All speakers are mounted with eight teenuts rather than the usual four found on almost all other amps. The possibility of loose connections has been reduced by the use of a PC board, since almost all wiring is eliminated by the PC. The power amp module holds eight output transistors, two driver transistors and an oversized heat sink. The rear panel of the Lab amps also has a Pre-amp Out and Pre-amp In jack which enables the Lab's electronics to be integrated with other high quality components.

The two bass amps are the L-2 (100 watts) and the L-4 (200 watts), with one and two 15" speakers respectively. The SynAmp I is a 200 watt Biamp with features too numerous to mention here. For further info, write Norlin, Inc., 7373 N. Cicero Avenue, Lincolnwood, IL 60646.