gear giveaway

Review: Klon 3 aka KTR

I’ve always wanted a Klon. I played the first Centaur in the late 90's at a friend’s studio in San Francisco and by then they were already over $600. Somehow I missed the second model. I must have given up on being able to afford one by then. But a…Click on the title for more

Review: Klon 3 aka KTR

Review: Ernie Ball MVP “Most Valuable Pedal”

For years you've loved Ernie Ball's passive 250k pot-packing volume pedal the VP Junior for its durability, reasonably small stage footprint, and the precision with which its treadle/sweep can be manipulated and controlled. Now it's time to get acquainted with the VP's badass big brother the MVP. Officially christened the Most…Click on the title for more

Review: Ernie Ball MVP “Most Valuable Pedal”

New Pedal Manufacturers: Lone Wolf FX

Any guitarists out there looking to sculpt a tone for a niche sub-genre of metal, post hardcore or noise rock should take a deep, hard look at boutique pedal manufacture Lone Wolf Audio. This Austin-based shop (run by Joe Anastasio of now defunct Enormous Door Pedals) has been ramping up…Click on the title for more

New Pedal Manufacturers: Lone Wolf FX

Azar Swan: about Gear and Recording

Emerging from the ashes of previous incarnation Religious to Damn, Zorah Atash and Joshua Strawn have spent the last few years creating a compelling new sound and image as Azar Swan. Their recently released full length album “Dance Before the War,” available from Handmade Birds Records, presents a technically modern…Click on the title for more

Azar Swan: about Gear and Recording

Pedal Review: BOSS MO-2

When Boss introduced their line of new pedals last year with “Multi-Dimensional Processing” (MDP) technology, I admit I was a bit skeptical. The technology, created in tandem with Roland, sounded like flashy marketing but based on the verbiage alone it wasn’t entirely clear what MDP actually did. To paraphrase Boss’s…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: BOSS MO-2

Lo-Fi in a box: Penny Pedals Radio Deluxe

Radio-like effects have been incredibly popular on vocals for quite some time now - I think it all started with Beck's debut album O-Delay. Guitarists interested in a unique lo-fi filter effect that isn't just a modded fuzz or scratchy vinyl emulator should check out the Penny Pedals Deluxe Lo-Fi…Click on the title for more

Lo-Fi in a box: Penny Pedals Radio Deluxe

Seen at SNAMM: Outlaw Mini-Pedals

Sometimes you don't need to go too far to see new and unexpected things... completely unannounced, a board of mini-pedals showed up at our Summer NAMM Stompbox Exhibit. We were expecting two T-Rex boards, but the US distributor of the Danish manufacturer (Musiquip) actually sent us one board full of these…Click on the title for more

Seen at SNAMM: Outlaw Mini-Pedals

Seen at SNAMM: Übermut’s changing diodes

When I attempted to translate “Ubermut” from German, Google told me the word means “high spirits.” However, when I look at this new mod-ready overdrive, what immediately comes to mind is “super mutt”, which I think is a pretty fitting moniker. So what does “mod-ready” really mean? You can crack…Click on the title for more

Seen at SNAMM: Übermut’s changing diodes

SNAMM 2014 Stompbox Exhibit: all the boards

The Stompbox Exhibit at SNAMM 2014 in Nashville featured nine boards (of which one for bass, for the first time). Check them all out (and Facebook-like the ones you dig) here.Click on the title for more

SNAMM 2014 Stompbox Exhibit: all the boards

JHS Colour Box review

Unless you have Dave Grohl kind of money, you are probably only familiar with the charms of the Neve console indirectly. Used on famous recordings by artists from The Beatles to Nirvana to Daft Punk, Neve consoles are a big part of analog recording mythology. While the rest of us can’t…Click on the title for more

JHS Colour Box review

New Pedals: Amzel Electronics’ Cheshire Cat Tone Evaporator

In the eternal search for the ideal distorted guitar tone, Groveland, MA based Amzel Electronics definitely belongs to the group of manufacturers who choose to try new paths rather than limit themselves to recreating vintage circuitry. The small upstart has just unveiled its debut, 100% analogue distortion pedal called Cheshire Cat…Click on the title for more

New Pedals: Amzel Electronics’ Cheshire Cat Tone Evaporator

Pedal Review: The Fulltone Clyde Deluxe

Not too many people actually know the history of the wah pedal. Most folks think it starts with Jimi Hendrix and his iconic Voodoo Chile tone, but the story actually begins with Clyde McCoy - a white Dixieland jazz trumpeter from the thirties who couldn’t sound less like Hendrix. The…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: The Fulltone Clyde Deluxe