gear giveaway

Here are the boards of the companies that particicpated in our first Montreal Stompbox Exhibit! Pictures of shredders in action can be found in this Facebook album! Click on the title for more

Boards from the first Montreal Stompbox Exhibit (2017)

French manufacturer on the rise: Anasounds

The list of manufacturers that use wood for their pedal enclosures is not very long, and if, on the one hand, that organic material has definitely a lot of visual appeal, on the other it is always cause for concern when considering the unit's sturdiness (at least compared with the standard metal cases).…Click on the title for more

French manufacturer on the rise: Anasounds

Send Medicine’s guitar pedals in “July Eyes”

Inspired by the mind expanding sounds of the '60s, Send Medicine began as the solo project for Toronto based singer/songwriter Julian Hacquebard in the summer of 2012. Now based in Los Angeles and expanded to five (and at times six) members , the band, in debut album "Scary Aquarius Daughter" honed…Click on the title for more

Send Medicine’s guitar pedals in “July Eyes”

Based in Montreal (the Canadian city hosting this weekend's Stompbox Exhibit!) Ground Control Audio is a small boutique pedal manufacturer that is getting more and more attention for its quality, hand made effects, so far exclusively focused on gain related designs: the company is currently offering three pedals tackling boost, overdrive and…Click on the title for more

Pedal Manufacturer Profile: Ground Control Audio

Color Tongue Pedals & Creative Process

Color Tongue is a spacey, indie-psych rock band hailing from Brooklyn. Their latest release, Sprouts, is 8 tracks of inventive, sometimes atmospheric tracks, that while feeling expansive, ground itself with both its fun and infectious qualities. With such a myriad of different sounds coming from their latest record, we were curious…Click on the title for more

Color Tongue Pedals & Creative Process

J Mascis’/Dinosaur Jr sound and gear

Great music is always relevant, and it's not a stretch to say that J. Mascis' Dinosaur Jr has grown to become one of the most influential rock acts of all times. If your band is into that kind of '90s slacker rock vibe, check out this video from last year by Reverb…Click on the title for more

J Mascis’/Dinosaur Jr sound and gear

Black Cat Monster K-Fuzz

The Kay Fuzztone was a quirky, cheap looking, treadle-based fuzz pedal from the 60’s. It sounded quite unique though, and Black Cat pedals has ushered this idea into the modern era (and developed it further) with their Monster-K, an octave fuzz that is capable of complete sonic mayhem. The pedal's first…Click on the title for more

Black Cat Monster K-Fuzz

Brooklyn’s The Boobies talk about Pedals

Brooklyn's own The Boobies are a garage pop four-piece with some instant-earworm songwriting chops, but don't let that fool you---the group isn't afraid to get dirty and bare their fangs when they mean it. With the recent release of their single, "Children of the Dark Art," the band agreed to give…Click on the title for more

Brooklyn’s The Boobies talk about Pedals

Emerging Pedal Manufacturer: Side Effects

Greece has some interesting things going on stompbox-wise, and Side Effects is certainly contributing with some pedals leaning towards the atmospheric and ambient-y. Based in glorious Athens, this is a tiny operation (they use the word 'DIY' to describe their business model) building small batches of beautifully hand painted original…Click on the title for more

Emerging Pedal Manufacturer: Side Effects

The Luyas’ synth and pedal arsenal

To celebrate our upcoming, first Montreal Stompbox Exhibit, we decided to interview one of the most intriguing Montreal bands of the moment: with ethereal vocals, and thick, multi-layered instrumentals, The Luyas craft the type of songs that yield new musical discoveries on each pass. Their dreamy indie/psych, engaging lyricism, and sometimes…Click on the title for more

The Luyas’ synth and pedal arsenal

Adventure Audio Whateverb gets 4.5 stars on bestguitareffects.com

We were among the first ones to see and hear Adventure Audio's Whateverb - the company's owner and designer Christian Terjesen unveiled it at our 2016 Toronto Stompbox Exhibit just about one year ago - and we were instantly intrigued by it. The pedal has been a little bit of a sleeper, so it's great…Click on the title for more

Adventure Audio Whateverb gets 4.5 stars on bestguitareffects.com

Q&A with Jack Deville from Mr. Black and Friday Club Pedals

Jack Deville of Oregon's Mr. Black Pedals recently unveiled a new line of no frills stompboxes that sport three knobs (and one footswitch) each and also a brand new name: Friday Club Pedals. Even though they are hand made in the US (normally a synonymous of pricey), most of these effects sell…Click on the title for more

Q&A with Jack Deville from Mr. Black and Friday Club Pedals