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At the SNAMM Stompbox Exhibit 2013: Dawner Prince and the Diktator

I'm sure being US based is a great advantage for a guitar pedal manufacturer, considering the size of the American market and its obsession with stompboxes. But looking at the pictures of Dawner Prince has on their homepage of their homeland (Imotski, Croatia) I don't think many people would hesitate one second to trade that advantage for those landscapes - at least for a couple of weeks per year! ... Click on the title for more

At the SNAMM Stompbox Exhibit 2013: Dawner Prince and the Diktator

EarthQuaker Devices debuts The Depths and Arpnoid at Summer NAMM

<EarthQuaker Devices in the last few years has become one of the most buzzed about boutique stompbox manufacturers, and it sounds like they have no intention of letting the buzz dim. The Akron, Ohio based company announced that at Summer NAMM 2012 it will be presenting two new pedals, which will start shipping in the fall: The Depth, a vibrato pedal featuring an optical circuit, and the Arpanoid, a compact polyphonic pitch arpeggiator effect pedal for electric guitar.... Click on the title for more

EarthQuaker Devices debuts The Depths and Arpnoid at Summer NAMM

At the SNAMM Stompbox Exhibit 2013: Boomerang Music and the III Phrase Sampler

Founded in 1995 near Dallas, Texas, Boomerang Music has been mostly focusing on the creation of the ultimate looper pedal - they actually promote on their site the fact that they have been continuously producing quality loopers longer than any other company. Their flagship stompbox is called Phrase Sampler (aka the "Rang"), which has now reached version III, and first appeared on the market in the second half of the 90s, and had great reviews on both Guitar Player and Premier Guitar.... Click on the title for more

At the SNAMM Stompbox Exhibit 2013: Boomerang Music and the III Phrase Sampler

At the SNAMM Stompbox Exhibit 2013: MI Audio and the Super Crunch Box

Australian manufacturer of high end pedals and valve amplification, MI Audio (present at our SNAMM 2013 Stompbox Exhibit) was founded in 2002 and grew from hobby to small business when founder Michael Ibrahim realized that the circle of people wanting his debut pedal Tube Zone Overdrive was getting a little too large.... Click on the title for more

At the SNAMM Stompbox Exhibit 2013: MI Audio and the Super Crunch Box

Companion and the Recording Process

Companion, a Brooklyn based art pop project with a twist, is the latest endeavour of singer Pepi Ginsberg (from Red and East is East). The process of developing this new sound began around Pepi's home recordings, along with vocal harmonies she created with founding members Anna Thorngate and Amy Carrigan. To flesh out these vocal-centric versions of the songs, she picked up her own guitar and turned to her longtime bass player, Tim Lappin, plus new guitarist Kirk Schoenherr. As we will explore in this interview, the band started to create a sound that incorporated both organic and electronic elements, often including Ginsberg's homemade beats. The lineup was later complimented by Dave Scalia on the drums and Companion is now out and promoting their eponymous debut album.... Click on the title for more

Companion and the Recording Process

At the SNAMM Stompbox Exhibit 2013: Junkie Tone and the Moon’s Phase

Junkie Tone is a Mexican guitar and bass pedal company that will be participating to The Deli's Stompbox Exhibit at Summer NAMM in a week. Although we can't find a page with all their products (they don't have a website besides the Facebook page), the boutique manufacturer seems to have at least a few dozens pedals available, including three 'mini' ones and some boxes for bass. One thing that's really great about being Mexican is that their prices are really affordable for the quality you get.... Click on the title for more

At the SNAMM Stompbox Exhibit 2013: Junkie Tone and the Moon’s Phase

At the SNAMM Stompbox Exhibit 2013: Holowon and the Tape Soup

The first Stompbox Exhibit at NAMM is next week (Summer NAMM in Nashville!) and we want to take the opportunity to highlight the various boutique manufacturers who will be participating. Holowon is a small company based in Rochester, NY specializing in hand-built effect pedals. All their designs are 100% originals - no clones or copies - and they currently have 12 stompboxes on their "roster." Their effects utilize complete true bypass switching, hand-built point-to-point circuitry and wiring, virtually indestructible construction, and a lifetime warranty.... Click on the title for more

At the SNAMM Stompbox Exhibit 2013: Holowon and the Tape Soup

Lightning Boy Audio launches the Opti-Mu Prime compressor

Based in Eden, NY, Lightning Boy Audio is a small manufacturer focusing on designing hand made analog equipment - including stompboxes (but they also manufacture studio gear including an optical compressor and a plate reverb).... Click on the title for more

Lightning Boy Audio launches the Opti-Mu Prime compressor

Recording Tips: Fixing Proximity Effects, Sibilance and Plosives when recording vocals

Slow, sparse songs allow the vocals to become the central focus of the recording, and that’s when the choice of microphone and mic preamp can make a big difference. Not many can afford a Neumann U47 (pictured) through a Neve channel, but even with a limited microphone/preamp arsenal, a lot that can be done to improve your vocals’ tone. There is a degree of enigmatic “chemistry” between some mic+preamp combos and some voices – to be discovered through trial and error – but here are a few simple tips that can help fix some common problems: 1. The distance of the mouth from the microphone is crucial: vocal mics feature the so called “proximity effect” which exaggerates low frequencies at close distance and reduces them progressively after a certain range. 8 inches from the mic is normally a good place to start, try closer for a warmer tone, farther for a tinnier one.... Click on the title for more

Recording Tips: Fixing Proximity Effects, Sibilance and Plosives when recording vocals

Pedal Review: Analog Man’s ARDX20

Analog Man’s ARDX20 ($265) is the epitome of boutique production on a global scale, handsoldered in China, before heading to Japan where pedal designer Ohbayashi San and his team calibrate, tune and engrave each one. Unusually, the ARDX20 is a two-channel delay. Each channel gets three knobs, delay time, feedback, and delay level. It's the sort of design people who read instruction manuals find intuitive and wouldn't be necessary in a digital pedal, which could store presets for each channel. But hey, this is analog, man. The left footswitch turns the pedal on and off and the right toggles between channels.... Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: Analog Man’s ARDX20

Secrets of Mixing: Resolving Midrange Conflicts

When people ask me what the secret of mixing is, I answer: “Use as few tracks playing at once as possible, and you are golden.” Yes, because mixing is a job that gets exponentially more difficult the more tracks you are dealing with. This is due to the fact that not only each recorded instrument requires its own share of attention (dynamics/volume control, EQ sweetening, placement in the stereo field, spacial depth, and even effects if you wish), but also because each extra part adds a new variable in the mix, interacting in often unpredictable ways with the other sounds.... Click on the title for more

Secrets of Mixing: Resolving Midrange Conflicts

Ambassadors and the Recording Process

Ambassadors' music is full and energetic, but they aren’t scared to slow things down and get sensitive from time to time. The sound of this Brooklyn based quartet emanates from drummer Adam Levin’s thunderous grooves and Noah Feldshuh’s powerful and catchy riffs; rounding it up, brothers Sam and Casey Harris fill out the band’s sound. Here is a bit on how they accomplish that while recording.... Click on the title for more

Ambassadors and the Recording Process