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gear giveaway

amukaT Gadgets’ Tweaker V.2

For NYC's amukaT Gadgets’ latest stompbox, the name says it all: Tweaker. This is a revamp of the original Tweaker that came out two years ago, now with sturdier metal footswitches (you’ll understand why momentarily), a horizontal layout, and a redesign of the circuit. Starting with the basics, the Tweaker has…... Click for more

amukaT Gadgets’ Tweaker V.2

Half Waif’s gear and creative process

With her latest project, Half Waif's Nandi Rose Plunkett has successfully bridged the ever-growing chasm between "avant" and pop, taking Radiohead's lesson to a more intimate and less pretentious place. The band's sophomore album 'Probable Depths" is an intriguing blend of synth and orchestral pop full of texture and otherworldly melodies. We…... Click for more

Half Waif’s gear and creative process

Seminal, vintage pedals: the Seamoon Fresh Fuzz – by Tones Machines

It’s 1973 in Berkeley, California, and a young electrical wizard named Craig Anderton has just developed his take on the envelope filter. He calls it the “Funk Machine”, and together with John Lang, starts an innovative and experimental guitar effects brand, Seamoon Inc. Hand-building each individual unit, they launch their…... Click for more

Seminal, vintage pedals: the Seamoon Fresh Fuzz – by Tones Machines

AJ Peat Pedals’ Screaming Flamingo and Dirty Buzzard

Orange County boutique manufacturer AJ Peat, owned and founded by Luthier and self-described tinkerer Andrew James Peat, builds guitars, effect pedals and other signature audio devices. At the 2016 Summer NAMM show in Nashville his pedals were on display in the Cusack/Mojo Hand booth. This was due to the fact that…... Click for more

AJ Peat Pedals’ Screaming Flamingo and Dirty Buzzard

Jess Abbott of Tancred and Now, Now talks about gear and the creative process

The solo project of Minneapolis singer/guitarist Jess Abbott of Now, Now, Tancred plays riff driven power pop that will intrigue fans of Weezer and We Are Scientists. Her songs follow paths more unpredictable than your average pop rock band, always propelled by inventive guitar work and melodies that are instantly hummable.…... Click for more

Jess Abbott of Tancred and Now, Now talks about gear and the creative process

VFE Pedals about to relaunch! – from Gearphoria.com

Peter Rutter of VFE Pedals is going back to teaching full time in the fall, and while he doesn’t want to walk away from all he has built with the pedal company, he knows he cannot keep it in its current form. So he is blowing out all of his…... Click for more

VFE Pedals about to relaunch! – from Gearphoria.com

Lavachild and her Synths

LAVACHILD is a NYC based synth pop project fronted by (very fashionable) singer songwriter/keyboardist Chantel De Lava, whose hypnotic presence charmed us at our 2015 B.E.A.F. fest. Older single "Want U To" went viral on the internet, and since then Chantel has been releasing promising new material on her Soundcloud profile, which should be soon gathered…... Click for more

Lavachild and her Synths

Build your own spring reverb with Mod Kits DIY’s The Wave

Those of you who like to challenge themselves with DIY projects in the realm of electric engineering applied to music, should take a look at MODKits DIY's authentic spring tube reverb design called The Wave. For the the young and unaware, spring reverbs are an electromechanical reverb device that produces a reverb effect…... Click for more

Build your own spring reverb with Mod Kits DIY’s The Wave

SOFI TUKKER’s synths and creative process

If pop is sugar and the rest of us are flies, it's safe to say that EDM has drunk the Kool-Aid. Alas, NYC duo SOFI TUKKER — née singer/guitarist Sophie Hawley-Weld and programmer Tucker Halpern — go unabashedly towards the infectious. With their minimalist approach to EDM and a penchant for…... Click for more

SOFI TUKKER’s synths and creative process

Most music lovers know what a Hammond organ is and are aware that Leslie is a rotary effect traditionally applied to that instrument. We knew that much when, last week, we approached the Hammond booth at Summer NAMM 2016, inquiring about three stompboxes featuring the name "Leslie" on them. That's when Hammond's…... Click for more

Hammond’s Leslie pedals for guitarists and keyboardists

Caveman’s gear: EarthQuaker Devices (and Carbonetti Guitars)

Belonging to the rare category of "bands that keep getting better all the time," Brooklyn's dream rock quintet Caveman just released their third full length album 'Otero War' (our sister magazine, The Deli, featured them on the cover of its NYC issue in 2011, before the release of their debut LP 'CoCo Beware').…... Click for more

Caveman’s gear: EarthQuaker Devices (and Carbonetti Guitars)

Check out the boards on display at the 2016 edition of the Summer NAMM Stompbox Exhibit!... Click for more

Pedalboards at the SNAMM 2016 Stompbox Exhibit