Mesa/Boogie has long been known for the incredible amplifiers they have been producing for decades, and it seems as if they’re trying to figure out how to capture their classic overdriven amp sounds and put them into a nice, neat and tidy effects pedal. The first one of these I’ve had the pleasure to test is the FLUX-DRIVE™ Overdrive+, a simple but stunning-sounding stompbox that will rock your world. There’s nothing...
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After recently exploring the high-gain Fireman Distortion from our friends at NUX, today we’re getting into slightly different territory: Amp Modeling. The NGS-6 Amp Academy feature six legendary amp models, and the iconic TSAC-2K (WHITE-BOX algorithm) Amp Modeling offers you realistic amp feeling and fast playability response. Lots of knobs, switches and tones to get into, let’s go! Amp Academy features 6 legendary amp...
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Hey everyone! I’m Evan Miller, the guitar player from the band Funk You. www.funkyoumusic.com www.facebook.com/funkyoumusic www.youtube.com/funkyouaugusta Instagram – @funkyoumusic How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? Ive been playing in bands for the past 15 years but I started on the piano around the age of 10 years old. My grandma played the piano for our church, so I was drawn...
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The world of Strymon is a fascinating, intriguing and exciting place to be – anyone who’s ever used one of their pedals can certainly attest to that. For their latest release, they’ve gone in a bit of a different direction, but one that is most welcome, and will flip the way pedalboards are arranged and used from this point forward. Iridium is an amplifier and Impulse Response cabinet simulator, one that connects...
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Kyle Ciarrocchi Guam Brand New Crescent Moon facebook.com/theguamband facebook.com/brandnewcrescentmoon How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I started seriously playing guitar when I was 11 years old, then joined School of Rock when I was 14, and have been performing since. I always was exposed to great music that my dad showed me, his favorites (which I grew up on) like The Grateful Dead and...
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Chris Traynor Topanga, California Bush bushofficial.com www.instagram.com/ct3guitar/ twitter.com/CT3GUITAR How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I feel like I’ve been a musician since birth. My parents took me to Suzuki method when I was a toddler, and although I don’t remember much from those days I feel like it really gave me an interest in communicating through music from a very young age. I...
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Today’s guest review comes to us from Monique Hernandez-Fuentes – you can find her with Guitar Tricks on Facebook, Twitter and on the Guitar Tricks website. Thanks again, Monique! In my quest for the ultimate high gain, I stumbled across the awesome Heavy by Canadian heavy weights, Empress Effects. Originally, I was looking for something super versatile and was referred to Empress by a guitar buddy of mine on Instagram. One thing I...
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Chris Benson Portland, OR Benson Amps www.bensonamps.com/ How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve been a musician since I first started banging on a piano and found a simple melody to pick out. I think it was at a Christmas party when I was 5 at a neighbors house. Music has been a huge part of my life, and has been huge part of my identity for as long as I can remember. Building amplifiers...
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Chris Houser Dayton, Ohio The Werks thewerksmusic.com We’re trying something new today – our first face-to-face Interview! We were lucky enough to sit down and chat with Chris when he was in Boise for Treefort a couple weeks ago, here’s what we talked about: [Pedal of the Day] Where are you guys from? [Chris Houser] I’m from Dayton, Ohio. Overall, we’re just from Ohio – half the band lives in Columbus,...
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Today’s guest review comes to us from Daniel N. – find him on Instagram (@danielguitarist) and say hi! The .45 Caliber by J.Rockett Audio Designs is one beast of an OD pedal. It is based on a 1962 plexus and strives to get that AC/DC sound (Malcom and Angus). It does that sound very well and also has many other tones that are extremely useful. It can be a great low gain pedal, perfect for neck pickups. It can just easily...
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Scott Hachey Denver, CO I play guitar and make faces with The Magic Beans: magicbeansmusic.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve been a gigging musician for almost 6 years now. Been playing music for over a decade now. Probably 15 years. Started on trumpet and moved on to guitar soon thereafter. Who have been some of your major musical influences, past or present? Growing up in...
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Mike Gantzer Guitarist for Aqueous Buffalo, NY https://aqueousband.com/ https://www.facebook.com/aqueousband/ How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? Incidentally, when I first started playing music was in the 3rd grade with the standard issue recorder they give out to everyone, and i HATED it. haha I picked up trumpet for awhile, but I recall being sort of turned off with the rigidity of the...
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If you’re searching for a pedal to add some fatness and volume to your rig, the Pigtronix Class A Boost will help solve those problems. Pedal specs: – Input and Output jack – Gain knob offering 20db of volume boost – 9v/18V adapter jack (The pedal includes its own apapter) Upon taking the Class A Boost for a test drive, this pedal lived up to it’s reputation as being a clean boost while adding a nice...
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The Analog Man Beano Boost is a great pedal for guitarists looking to boost certain frequencies in their tone. This pedal can drive an amp into distortion, add mid bump for lead work and add fatness to single coil pickups. The Beano Boost specs are as follows: – True bypass stomp switch / Status LED – 9V adaptor jack – Volume knob (Which if purchased as a mod can operate as a push/pull switch for Treble boost)...
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Based on the 1960’s classic Dan Armstrong Orange Squeeze Compressor, the Analogman Juicer has built a reputation as one of the best compressors on the market today. This little orange box features one knob for overall volume and a bias trim pot inside to adjust the compression. About 8db of gain is available with the factory bias setting. This pedal comes with NOS N25457 transistors, germanium diodes, and JRC45582 On-Amp Chip....
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Over the course of the next week, we have FIVE pedals that all come from right where we live: beautiful Asheville, North Carolina. Some new companies, some old, all local and all amazing. We’re starting this little run with a unit that isn’t an effect, but an extremely useful piece of gear for any FX Loop-equipped tube amplifier. The Master Volume Box Attenuator from Asheville Guitar Pedals allows you to crank your...
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Today, we begin our journey of the exploration of the Ampworx Series of preamp pedals from our friends at TC Electronic. We’re going to look at all six effects in the series (so far), starting with their three latest releases, and moving through the previous three, over the coming weeks. Let’s begin with the Dual Wreck Preamp, a monster that emulates the classic Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier amp, utilizing component-based...
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We love exploring all the great effects pedals out there, obviously, but in order to do so, we need guitars. Today, the fine folks at Sweetwater have sent over a new gitbox for us to check out: the Squier 40th Anniversary Vintage Edition Jazzmaster. After the success of the J Mascis Signature Jazzmaster, it seems Squier and Fender wanted to delve deeper into their classic catalog for some wonderful reissues, and we are all about...
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As we continue on with our Flamma Fridays series, we shift gears just a bit this week, from modulation to DIRT. The Flamma Innovation FS06 Digital Preamp provide 7 different preamp flavors to explore, with each one being based on a different well-known amplifier. Covering classic and modern tones alike, this purple-headed warrior has a ton of stuff going on, so let’s jump right in! The 7 different models you can choose from on...
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Coming from such a compression-based pedal lineup for so many years, we were excited when the folks at Origin Effects announced they were releasing an overdrive pedal. After all, their studio-quality gear is second to none, and we knew they would put that expertise and high-quality craftsmanship into their new effect as well. With a $650 price tag, however, the first RevivalDRIVE was just a bit out of our range, so we were once again...
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Let’s face it: it can be difficult and expensive to find all the pieces you need to emulate some of your favorite rockers from the 1970s. Vintage amps and cabinets now fetch prices that most Joe Schmoe guitarists might not be able to afford, not to mention finding a place to unleash such robust and ear-smashing tones without getting a visit from your landlord or the friendly neighborhood police. That’s where the crew at...
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Hi, my name is Brian Moss. I play guitar and sing in Spafford. We are based out of Phoenix, Az and our website is www.spafford.net. Follow us on all social media platforms as well! How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I have been a musician as long as I can remember. I grew up in northern New Jersey. My older brother and I, naturally, grew up competitive. He was bigger, faster and stronger at...
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Woodroe “Woody” Weatherman Corrosion of Conformity COC How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? We started the band in 1982 while still kicking around in High School, we just wanted to make our own sounds. Had no intention of it lasting this long at the beginning. Who have been some of your major musical influences, past or present? I’m a huge Billy Gibbons fan, really dig the solos...
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Tube Screamers: you love ’em or you hate ’em, so far as I can tell. The stock ones that I’ve played have never really overly impressed me much (although I’ve never had the opportunity to play one of the old classics from the early 80s) – they’re nice overdrives, but nothing too spectacular, in my book. The 808 we’re reviewing today is one of the reissues, but it has been modded by Analog Man,...
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The Wampler Euphoria (formerly the Ecstacy, but the good people at Bogner took exception) is an extremely versatile overdrive pedal that pushes well into distortion-pedal space before it’s done. Wampler promotes it as their “Dumble Box,” a description I think their marketing department should give another once over. The dark green metallic case sports four knob controls – Volume, Gain, Tone and Bass, which all...
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Normally I am not a great seeker of weird sounds or most modulation effects for that matter, I am a guitar, amp and distortion pedal kind of guy. And the only reason this pedal ended up in my collection is the fact the pedal I ordered was out of stock and I took this one for a substitute. And how did I end up picking the Vahlbruch Chorus? I saw a Youtube review for it, of course, and was blown away by how lovely it sounded for a...
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