gear giveaway

Recording Tips: Fixing Proximity Effects, Sibilance and Plosives when recording vocals

Slow, sparse songs allow the vocals to become the central focus of the recording, and that’s when the choice of microphone and mic preamp can make a big difference. Not many can afford a Neumann U47 (pictured) through a Neve channel, but even with a limited microphone/preamp arsenal, a lot…Click on the title for more

Recording Tips: Fixing Proximity Effects, Sibilance and Plosives when recording vocals

Pedal Review: Analog Man’s ARDX20

Analog Man’s ARDX20 ($265) is the epitome of boutique production on a global scale, handsoldered in China, before heading to Japan where pedal designer Ohbayashi San and his team calibrate, tune and engrave each one. Unusually, the ARDX20 is a two-channel delay. Each channel gets three knobs, delay time, feedback,…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: Analog Man’s ARDX20

Disaster Area Midi pedal controllers DMC 4-B and DMC 7

Disaster Area's newly released DMC-7 and DMC 4-B (big brothers of the DMC -3 and DMC-6) are designed to give guitarists more control over the complex function of their Midi equipped pedals, placing at the tip of their foot functions often only accessible through heavy "finger action". What you can use this pedal for…Click on the title for more

Disaster Area Midi pedal controllers DMC 4-B and DMC 7

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

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