gear giveaway

Pedal News: Fender Runaway Feedback Pedal

I am a sucker for feedback sounds like any true child of the 90's. This pedal looks interesting. I have used Softube's Acoustic Feedback plug-in and I believe this pedal is probably similar. Very cool effect for instilling a little low volume chaos. Here's some info about it plus a interesting video…Click on the title for more

Pedal News: Fender Runaway Feedback Pedal

Pedal Review: TC Electronic Flashback X4 Delay/Looper

Delay is an effect in which the input signal is recorded to a storage medium then played back some time later. The amount of time it takes for the signal to be played back is typically variable and often times the signal is fed back into the signal path so…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: TC Electronic Flashback X4 Delay/Looper

The Babies and the Recording Process

The Babies' Gear: Tascam DP-008 " Kevin and I both have Tascam DP-008s that we use when recording on our own. " The Babies, who are a bit of a "super band" consisting of key members of both The Vivian Girls (Singer/Guitarist-Cassie Ramone) and Woods (Bassist-Kevin Morby), seem to have…Click on the title for more

The Babies and the Recording Process

Guitar Pedal News: Fender Competition Series Pedals

Fender is releasing 4 new Competition series pedals, a whole new line of effects pedals designed and built to provide inspirational tones in a reliable package at an astounding value. The Fender Distortion pedal drives tube or solid-state amps into thick distortion and singing sustain, evoking the edgy hard-rock tones of the…Click on the title for more

Guitar Pedal News: Fender Competition Series Pedals

Pedal News: EarthQuaker Devices Hoof Reaper Octave Fuzz

The Hoof Reaper features EarthQuaker Devices' popular Hoof and Tone Reaper fuzz pedals in one enclosure with the added bonus of an old school analog octave up. It was originally released as a special limited run item back in 2010 and demand was so high that they decided to reintroduce…Click on the title for more

Pedal News: EarthQuaker Devices Hoof Reaper Octave Fuzz

Wampler Sovereign

Wampler makes some grandiose claims for its Sovereign distortion pedal ($200). Before you’ve even opened the box, Wampler assures you you’ll soon be bowing down before the new king of crunch. The hyperbole goes on a bit, but after you’ve tried this pedal you’ll happily go along with the joke. It’s endlessly…Click on the title for more

Wampler Sovereign

SolidGoldFx’s Electroman Delay

Less than a couple of months after relaunching their Apollo phaser and Stutterbox tremolo pedals, Canadian manufacturers SolidGoldFx have struck again with the new version of the Electroman delay (pictured) and the Surf Rider Deluxe reverb. The cool thing about this Electroman is its Warp button. This allows you to instantly turn up the…Click on the title for more

SolidGoldFx’s Electroman Delay

Improve Your Recordings: Drums Tips and Secrets

There are a gazillion articles out there about how to record drums, but I’ve always thought that the best possible advice in this regard is not how to record but… what to record. Yes, mic positioning is challenging when recording a drum kit, but even the most sophisticated and flawless…Click on the title for more

Improve Your Recordings: Drums Tips and Secrets

Pedal News: Xotic SP Compressor

The new Xotic SP Compressor offers the same OTA (operational trans-conductance amplifier) technology used in what many guitar players consider the best compressor ever, the Ross Compressor. This new SP Compressor reportedly has superb tone quality featuring a wide variety of compressor tones from vintage, to subtle, to modern and…Click on the title for more

Pedal News: Xotic SP Compressor

A History of Audio Plug Ins: Invasion of the “Sound Snatchers”

Do you remember the movie “The Crow”? The one where Brandon Lee, after dying (for real) while the film was being shot, was replaced by a computer generated, perfectly realistic image of himself? Something similar happened in the recording field, where old stars of that scene like valves, tape machines,…Click on the title for more

A History of Audio Plug Ins: Invasion of the “Sound Snatchers”

Slide Guitar Tone Secrets: Pick the Right Material

When playing slide guitar, different materials used on your strings will create slightly different tones. If you are after a smooth slide with long, clean sustain, you should try a cut-off bottleneck, which was Ry Cooder’s choice. If you are aiming at something less atmospheric and with more “bite,” go…Click on the title for more

Slide Guitar Tone Secrets: Pick the Right Material

Pedal news: Snark Tuner

Snark Tuners has recently released their first pedal, the SN10 ($59). Building on the success of their popular clip-on instrument tuners, the SN10 is designed for quick and easy tuning on stage or in the studio. Just plug in and strike any note: yellow and red bars will show if…Click on the title for more

Pedal news: Snark Tuner