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gear giveaway

Author Archive

WIN WIN’s Gear and Creative Process

Producers are pretty much the chefs of the creative process, so it's hard to conceive how a band like NYC's WIN WIN - comprised of three electronic producers - can actually function without major recurrent conflicts of ego. The secret is probably - as with any successful musical project involving more than one person - in the trust and bond built during a collaboration that's now more than a decade long. WIN WIN's music is as edgy as you would expect, which gives us the opportunity for a very interesting Q&A about gear and the creative process.... Click on the title for more

WIN WIN’s Gear and Creative Process

Hotone’s striking product line: Skyline mini-pedals, Nano Legacy Mini-Amps and Xtomp

We were recently introduced to Hotone, the winners of "Best in Show" at NAMM 2015. Reminding me much of the now-discontinued Guyatone mini series (I still treasure my lil' green compressor!) Hotone's Skyline pedal series is a great collection of tiny pedals in a unique form factor. Eschewing the "double-pack of bubble gum" form factor of some of the newer class of non-9V pedals, they've got style unto their own.... Click on the title for more

Hotone’s striking product line: Skyline mini-pedals, Nano Legacy Mini-Amps and Xtomp

Build a DIY guitar amp with DIY Mod Kit’s MOD 102+

Many guitarists are familiar with MOD Kits DIY for their pedal kits, which allow stompbox geeks to build their first effects following the provided instructions, and at once learn about simple electrical engineering concepts applied to pedals. What they may not know, though, is that the manufacturer also offers a DIY kit to build your own tube amp, called the MOD 102 - recently updated to the MOD 102+. The new kit features an improved design based on its predecessor's British-style Class A output section, with some great added features.... Click on the title for more

Build a DIY guitar amp with DIY Mod Kit’s MOD 102+

Rocktron Hush 2X dual noise suppressor

The Rocktron company has long been one of the top designer of noise-suppression circuits, and for a good reason! They're products are super quiet, don't suck tone, and - plainly and simply - work! Building upon their already venerable legacy, Rocktron is now re-introducing a previous idea, but with a new twist.... Click on the title for more

Rocktron Hush 2X dual noise suppressor

And So I Watch You From Afar’s Gear and Creative Process

The guys in Irish "post-math" band And So I Watch You From Afar are the kind of people who never choose the simple route. Bblending metal, psychedelia, post rock and prog rock, their music is like a kaleidoscope of fragmented sounds and sections frantically chasing each other. Their focus on originality and experimental guitar tones makes them an ideal candidate for an interview about the creative process. Guitarist/vocalist Rory Friers answered a few questions in this regard.... Click on the title for more

And So I Watch You From Afar’s Gear and Creative Process

Greer Ghetto Stomp Overdrive

What's so great about another 3-knob overdrive? In an industry saturated with overdrive pedals, Greer makes an interesting offering with the Ghetto Stomp. This stompbox is designed to emulate the heavenly harmonics and sweet saturation of Tweeds and Valcos amps pushed into overdrive.... Click on the title for more

Greer Ghetto Stomp Overdrive

Turbo Fruits’ Gear and Creative Process

Turbo Fruit's new album 'No Control' sees the Nashville quartet tackle more "adult" themes like relationships, break-ups and losses, conveying a full range of not-so-fun emotion without ever giving up their signature, punchy rock'n'roll sound. While on tour with Eternal Summers and Surfer Blood, front man Jonas Stein answered a few questions about the creative process of being in a band: ... Click on the title for more

Turbo Fruits’ Gear and Creative Process

Matthews Effects’ Conductor and Cartographer

In an industry overflowing with boutique pedal manufacturers, Matthews Effects has delivered two very interesting products with with their Conductor Tremolo and Cartographer parametric overdrive pedal. The Cartographer is capable of delivering everything one could want in an overdrive pedal – clean boost with the gain down and tube amp-like saturation when driving the pedal. Where the Cartographer truly shines is in the innovation of the parametric EQ control. Unlike most other drive pedals that offer a singular 'tone' knob to affect highs and lows, the Cartographer offers two controls for the EQ – frequency (ranging from 100Hz-4kHz) and boost/cut of the chosen band. ... Click on the title for more

Matthews Effects’ Conductor and Cartographer

Buscabulla’s gear and creative process

With their sophisticated, bi-lingual synthpop, full of texture and pretty melodies, Puerto Rican duo Buscabulla - now Brooklyn residents - conquered The Deli NYC's staff, who declared their debut EP "Kitsune`" NYC Record of the Month in October 2014. We asked Raquel and Luis a few questions about their gear and creative process.... Click on the title for more

Buscabulla’s gear and creative process

New Pedal makers: McCaffrey Audio

Wisconsin' s McCaffrey Audio may sound like a new name in the world of guitar pedals, but the company's CEO and founder Ryan McCaffrey is not a novice to the manufacturing game, having been running RJM Effect before starting this new adventure in 2014. The company's goal is to create stompboxes inspired to vintage classics, with a sonic signature immediately recognizable as an exact recreation of the originals, but also featuring unique character and features.... Click on the title for more

New Pedal makers: McCaffrey Audio

Elliot Moss: the gear and the creative process

For some songwriters, writing good songs is simply not satisfying enough - and besides, that's not how their creative process works. These musicians feels compelled to wrap those songs in complex arrangements and original sounds, and sometimes arrangement are starting points of what then become songs, in a beautifully bizarre reversed process. In their music, sound design has as much importance as lyrics, chords and structure. 21 years old Elliot Moss belongs to that category, so we thought he might have something interesting to say about his creative process and the gear he loves.... Click on the title for more

Elliot Moss: the gear and the creative process

For Whammy fans: Molten Voltage G-Quencer

Here’s an innovative niche pedal for fans of the DigiTech Whammy courtesy of Molten Voltage, an Oregon based manufacturer of guitar effects with a specialization in MIDI controls, displays and interfaces with other pedals.... Click on the title for more

For Whammy fans: Molten Voltage G-Quencer