gear giveaway

Secrets of Mixing: Resolving Midrange Conflicts

When people ask me what the secret of mixing is, I answer: “Use as few (well recorded) 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…Click on the title for more

Secrets of Mixing: Resolving Midrange Conflicts

Death Dealer V from Arcane Analog

A simple upgrade can make all the difference. Small NJ custom pedal manufacturer Arcane Analog's Death Dealer V (a fuzz, center in the picture) has an added Master Volume knob and Voltage Inverter. Same tone, but more control. This means the DD-V will have the added flexibility to be dimmed for…Click on the title for more

Death Dealer V from Arcane Analog

Pedal Reviews: WMD Geiger Counter

When I first took a look at the WMD Geiger Counter pedal I thought for sure that the WMD stood for Weapons of Mass Destruction and thought , "OK, these guys are no joke". Come to find that WMD actually stands for William Mathewson Devices and that he is actually...…Click on the title for more

Pedal Reviews: WMD Geiger Counter

Ambassadors and the Recording Process

Ambassadors' Gear: ZVex Mastotron Fuzz " a cross between what Ray Manzarek used on The Doors' "Five To One" and what Colin Greenwood used on Radiohead's Exit Music " Ambassadors' music is full and energetic, but they aren’t scared to slow things down and get sensitive from time to time. The…Click on the title for more

Ambassadors and the Recording Process

Pedal Reviews: ZT Amplifiers Extortion

Berkeley, California's ZT Amplifiers claims that that the ZT Extortion pedal is a completely unique concept in effects pedal design, allowing guitarists to switch between pristine, vintage-style analog overdrive and DSP-enhanced tonal extremes unlike anything that have come before. And in fact the Extortion covers a wide range of tones from blues to…Click on the title for more

Pedal Reviews: ZT Amplifiers Extortion

New Pedals: TSVG’s Slow Ride Overdrive/Fuzz

Philly based stompbox boutique manufacturer TSVG just announced the release of the Slow Ride Overdrive/Fuzz, a pedal "designed for endless sustain and gritty yet articulate over driven tones." The pedal will be showcased at the Stompbox exhibit we are organizing at Summer NAMM. The two unmarked knobs are for gain and…Click on the title for more

New Pedals: TSVG’s Slow Ride Overdrive/Fuzz

Guitar Pedal News: Magnetic Effects Electrochop

Magnetic Effects (first I've heard of this British Company) announces the release of the Electrochop tremolo. The Electrochop is a super choppy tremolo that features the classic, unique LFO section from the Vox Repeat Percussion. A new audio circuit has been designed around the LFO, resulting in a tremolo that sounds…Click on the title for more

Guitar Pedal News: Magnetic Effects Electrochop

Laura Stevenson and the Recording Process

Laura's Gear: Fender Roc Pro Amp " It breaks into distortion at this really distinct spot that works really well with the way I naturally play. " With the new album "Wheel", just fresh out of the oven, NYC songwriter Laura Stevenson decided to up the production value, steering away from the…Click on the title for more

Laura Stevenson and the Recording Process

Pedal Review: Diamond’s Memory Lane Jr.

At $279, Diamond's Memory Lane Jr. is more attainable by most guitarists than its $600 analog big brother, Memory Lane 2. And yet the Memory Lane Jr. has similar features, twice the delay time and it can run off a 9-volt battery. The big difference is that the Memory Lane…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: Diamond’s Memory Lane Jr.

Guitar Pedal News: the Dwarfcraft Shiva becomes She Fuzz

We got a nice letter from Ben and Louise at Dwarfcraft Devices. It turns out that famed Amp Manufacturer, Bogner, put out an amp called Shiva right around the same time as Dwarfcraft Devices put out a pedal with the same name. All was well until Bogner decided that they…Click on the title for more

Guitar Pedal News: the Dwarfcraft Shiva becomes She Fuzz

Production Tips: Recording the banjo

The banjo - this bizarre mutation of a guitar and a snare drum - can be a difficult instrument to record. The main challenge is to find a balance between the very attacky but thumpy sound audible near the center of the head, and the rest of the instrument’s sonic…Click on the title for more

Production Tips: Recording the banjo

New Pedals: TCJ Effects’ Amalgam Smooth Overdrive

T. Jauernig Electronics, or TCJ Effects, is a small Wisconsin based manufacturer of hand made pedals that's been around since 2004. They just finalized the New "Amalgam" Smooth Overdrive. The company states that this pedal is very touch sensitive and smooth, working in the mild to moderate gain range. If you…Click on the title for more

New Pedals: TCJ Effects’ Amalgam Smooth Overdrive