Check our this video I did recently where I explored the Analog Man CompROSSor pedal with the optional Ryck toggle. The Ryck toggle gives you three options for how much treble is allowed to pass through the signal. A lot of do,pressers dull your high end which can ruin the jangly tone with Rickenbacker guitars. […]
It may seem strange to say, but one of the best ways to learn the nuances of soloing is by… not soloing. Say what? I’m sure that’ll make a lot of guitarists indignant. How could I possibly suggest that the best way to shine and step out front is to step back?!?! Well, that’s exactly […]
When I was younger I didn’t understand why people would swap out their guitar pickups. If you liked the way a guitar sounds when you buy it, I thought, why change it? It wasn’t until a friend showed up at my studio with a guitar that had some hand-wound pickups in it that I had […]
Once in a while a pedal company comes along that makes exceptional gear. This is not to say that other companies put out inferior products. It’s just that sometimes someone is so dedicated to an idea or product that they spare no expense. Designer and manufacturer Phil Taylor and his company Effectrode produce uncompromisingly good […]
When I’m on tour I sometimes get to do fun things, like visit guitar, amp, or pedal builders. On a recent day off in Portland, Oregon during an Amy Helm tour,, I dropped by Benson Amps to check out their products and construction process. I was greeted at the door by none other than Chris […]
The Rat is one of the earliest distortion pedals, arriving on the market in 1978. Prior to that, there were only a few gain pedals: the Colorsound Power Boost, the Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-1, the Sola Sound Tone Bender, the Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, the Dallas Rangemaster, and the Electro- Harmonix Big Muff. Much like we […]
Solderless cables are not a new concept. They’ve been around for a few decades. George Ls were the first brand I was introduced to. I tried George Ls a number of times but they’ve always been unreliable. I would make some and put a pedalboard together, only to have cables fail on a gig. They […]
I’m a self-confessed vintage tone nut. I’m not hiding in the shadows. I’m fully public with my love of guitar tones of past. That doesn’t mean I don’t embrace new ideas. I’m open—unless you bring Kemper or Fractal into the conversation. Mostly because for me, the conversation of signal flow and gain staging to an […]
I recently paid a visit to F.S. Lutherie in Brooklyn, NY. They are a small guitar custom shop specializing in repairs and builds, based in the borough’s Greenpoint section. Owner Farhad Soheili met with me to discuss his new line of custom guitars, FSC Guitars. Farhad worked for many years as the guitar tech at […]
If you chat with a guitarist and mention overdrives, you’ll need to pull up a chair and get comfy. You’re gonna be there for a while. It’s a deep subject partly because there are so many overdrive pedals on the market. It’s flooded with overdrive options. You might ask why we need to add one […]
