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Over 200 pedals on display at The Deli’s 2012 Stomp Box Exhibit in Brooklyn – OCTOBER 19-20

This fall The Deli, Delicious Audio, Shure, Pedaltrain, and Main Drag Music will be presenting the 2012 edition of The NYC Stomp Box Exhibit at CMJ, a free, interactive display of guitar effect pedals. At the exhibit we'll be giving away about $5k in stomp boxes!! Here's the list: Earthquaker…Click on the title for more

Over 200 pedals on display at The Deli’s 2012 Stomp Box Exhibit in Brooklyn – OCTOBER 19-20

Pedal Review: T-Rex Roommate Junior

Most Digital Reverb Stomp Boxes attempt to recreate the authentic sounds of the classic Spring Reverb, but then provide other options utilizing the convenience and diversity of digital modeling. The reverb pedal on my bench today is called the Roommate Junior by T-Rex of Denmark, and it’s based on the…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: T-Rex Roommate Junior

The Jangly Guitar Sound of the ‘80s

The ‘80s weren’t just about electronic music, ya know? That decade also produced some of the most influential indie pop bands of all times – for example: The Smiths. At the time, the band’s guitarist Johnny Marr was regarded as highly as Morrissey for his inventive parts, but also for…Click on the title for more

The Jangly Guitar Sound of the ‘80s

Pedal Review: Pigtronix Fat Drive

In a world where you can’t swing a guitar without knocking 10 Tubescreamer clones off the shelf, new entrants to the oversaturated overdrive market had better have something new to say. Pigtronix’s new Fat Drive (street $140) accomplishes this by exploiting what some might perceive as a weakness in Fender-style…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: Pigtronix Fat Drive

Production Corner: Fun with Arpeggiators

Arpeggiators are one of the most fun and "ancient" electronic music tools, and consist in editable algorithms that play the notes of a chord following a regular sequenced pattern. Like anything trendy in the 80s, arpeggiators are coming back in the early aughts with a vengeance. If you are not into their…Click on the title for more

Production Corner: Fun with Arpeggiators

Level up with these 8 bit guitar pedals

Hearing the term '8 bit audio' probably makes you think of old school arcade games or vintage Nintendo titles, but converting higher quality audio to 8 bits is an effect that can be used to achieve a variety of sounds - including some very cool guitar tones. Reducing the bit depth…Click on the title for more

Level up with these 8 bit guitar pedals

Pedal video review: Palmer Kaputt Octaver

Our legendary contributor Chris Cannon reviewed the Palmer Kaputt Octaver for us, but he did through a video - check it out!Click on the title for more

Pedal video review: Palmer Kaputt Octaver

Famous Guitar Tones: the Twang

In the mid-50s, great guitar innovators like Duane Eddy (pictured) started playing lead riffs drenched in tremolo and echo in the lower registers of the guitar, creating the bass-y sound that since then has become synonymous with “twang.” Tremolo, a regular change in volume which can be varied in speed…Click on the title for more

Famous Guitar Tones: the Twang

Snowmine and the recording process

Snowmine's Gear: Fender Mini Tone-Master " I use a Fender Mini Tone-Master. It’s a small solid state practice amp, and I put literally everything through it. " Like many contemporary Brooklyn based artists, Snowmine (featured on the cover of the summer 2012 issue of our sister site/publication The Deli) is…Click on the title for more

Snowmine and the recording process

Pedal Review: VFE Distortion3

The VFE Distortion3 houses three classic low-to-medium gain distortions in one small tweakable enclosure. enclosure. This pedal simulates the MXR Distortion+ made famous by Randie Rhoads as well as the DOD 250 and MXR MicroAmp. While all of these classic 70’s and 80’s pedals have the same basic circuit, the Distortion3…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: VFE Distortion3

Pedal Review: TC Electronic Spark Booster

At first glance the TC Electronic Spark Booster looks like it may function as a very vanilla clean boost pedal. Fortunately TC put some bells and whistles into this pedal that make it really fun to play and especially fun to record with. I tested it out while recording an…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: TC Electronic Spark Booster

Production Corner: Pop Structure and Bridges

Pop music is a little bit like classic art: it’s all about balance. If Pop had existed at the time of the ancient Greeks, it would have been Apollo’s music — he was the god of the Sun, harmony, order and reason. "Structure" is what gives a song its balance.…Click on the title for more

Production Corner: Pop Structure and Bridges