gear giveaway

Pedal Review: VFE Distortion3

The VFE Distortion3 houses three classic low-to-medium gain distortions in one small tweakable enclosure. enclosure. This pedal simulates the MXR Distortion+ made famous by Randie Rhoads as well as the DOD 250 and MXR MicroAmp. While all of these classic 70’s and 80’s pedals have the same basic circuit, the Distortion3…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: VFE Distortion3

Pedal Review: TC Electronic Spark Booster

At first glance the TC Electronic Spark Booster looks like it may function as a very vanilla clean boost pedal. Fortunately TC put some bells and whistles into this pedal that make it really fun to play and especially fun to record with. I tested it out while recording an…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: TC Electronic Spark Booster

Production Corner: Pop Structure and Bridges

Pop music is a little bit like classic art: it’s all about balance. If Pop had existed at the time of the ancient Greeks, it would have been Apollo’s music — he was the god of the Sun, harmony, order and reason. "Structure" is what gives a song its balance.…Click on the title for more

Production Corner: Pop Structure and Bridges

Review: Audio Source Multiwave Bass Distortion

Some digital innovation brought to us today from the fine folks at Source Audio with the Soundblox 2 Multiwave Bass Distortion. The bass guitar can be one of the trickiest instruments to record. This may be because of several factors, but one of the more common reasons is that low-end instruments like…Click on the title for more

Review: Audio Source Multiwave Bass Distortion

News from Summer NAMM 2012

Nashville's Summer NAMM is not the "beast" of a convention its wintry LA sister is, but it's still a great opportunity for manufacturers to showcase their latest products. Of course we were mostly interested in guitar related gear, and we weren't one bit disappointed. <img src="http://www.samash.com/wcsstore/root/Items/IP_E/ETONETATT_ip.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="250" align="left" />Electro-Harmonix…Click on the title for more

News from Summer NAMM 2012

Recording Group Vocals & Hand Claps

Since the turn of the millennium the indie scene has rediscovered the sonic and percussive possibilities of the human voice and body — choral and a Capella parts are back in fashion, together with hand claps, finger snaps, foot stomping etc etc. When recording a group of people you may…Click on the title for more

Recording Group Vocals & Hand Claps

BOSS RC-300 Loop Pedal – Review

The new Boss RC-300 looping pedal from Boss is like riding an Escalade into a garage filled with Ford Escorts. This much 'foot-power' will turn heads. With its metal chassis, and 21”x9” size; it's a substantial piece of gear on a small stage. But unlike other looping pedals that only…Click on the title for more

BOSS RC-300 Loop Pedal – Review

Pedal News: Mad Professor’s Golden Cello

Pedal and amp manufacturer Mad Professor recently created a new guitar pedal to be sold exclusively through Guitar Center and its subsidiary, Musician’s Friend. Available later this month for $199, the Golden Cello is an Overdrive/Fuzz with a Delay circuit, designed to give you that classic late 70’s/early 80’s lead…Click on the title for more

Pedal News: Mad Professor’s Golden Cello

Production Corner – the “Old Telephone” Effect

The “vintage telephone effect” on vocals has been in vogue, in particular in lo-fi and electronic music, since Beck’s debut album came out in 1994. Although the market is saturated with “lo-fi” plug ins, all you need to recreate this trick is some EQ, compression and distortion. Compress the vocal…Click on the title for more

Production Corner – the “Old Telephone” Effect

Review: Way Huge Red Llama MkII

Way Huge’s Red Llama MkII is a simple pedal that does one thing awesomely well: highly musical overdrive/distortion. While the name implies a redesign, it’s more of a second coming. The Red Llama (street $120) is a reissue of what became a highly sought-after pedal after it disappeared in 1999,…Click on the title for more

Review: Way Huge Red Llama MkII

Review: Electro Harmonix Talking Machine

The Electro Harmonix Talking Machine (street $220) is, at its heart, an envelope filter. Like many of EHX’s new offerings, though, it pushes the boundaries of everything before it, adding tremendous versatility—and not a little complexity—to the traditional auto wah. The Talking Machine makes seven vowel sounds plus EHX’s signature…Click on the title for more

Review: Electro Harmonix Talking Machine

DIY Pedal Review: Mod Kits DIY Persuader

The Persuader from MOD Kits DIY (available at modkitsdiy.com for about $65) is a U-build-it, starved plate, 12ax7 distortion box kit. It arrives as a collection of parts to be assembled into a powder-coated purple, pre-drilled Hammond-style cast-aluminum box. A 16 page assembly manual identifies all the included components, and…Click on the title for more

DIY Pedal Review: Mod Kits DIY Persuader