Pedal of the Day, Port City Amplification and countless other people and businesses here in the Asheville, NC area (and elsewhere) have been greatly affected by the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene – if you’re able, please consider making a donation to BeLoved Asheville, or volunteering, or asking people affected by this tragedy if they need any kind of help. Every little bit helps, and any effort to help heal and...
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We’re switching things up a little bit today, bring you some amplifier flavor from an excellent local North Carolina company. Come along as we take a look at not one but TWO amazing amps from Port City Amplification: the 30W Grandville Rhett Shull Signature and the 20W Merino Combo. Our pal Carl Perkins was kind enough to lend both of these amps and a killer cabinet to us to check out, and we fell in love instantly with these...
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Willy Porter Milwaukee, WI willyporter.com This is a pretty special interview – as some of you may know, I hail from the great city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and I had the pleasure of seeing Willy play numerous times, in high school and beyond, before I moved away. It was a real treat to have been able to sit down with him here in Asheville and talk about music, Mil-town and life in general. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I...
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(This article comes from our friends at GuitarTricks.com – check out their site for tons of guitar-related tips and tricks!!) Guitar Tricks presents The Benefits of Multi-Effects Pedals By Shawn Leonhardt for Guitar Tricks and 30 Day Singer, the original platform for online guitar lessons. Years ago stand-alone guitar pedals were the gold standard and the way to go if you wanted the right sound. In the past decade though...
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We love preamp pedals, and we love reverb effects, so what could be better than to have them both in the same place? AND have them modeled after very old, specific circuitry, making the sound unlike any pedal we’ve encountered before? That’s just what has happened with the Nocturne Brain El Pescadoro Reverberant Hot Preamp, an incredible dual channel device that will transport you about 70 years into the past… The El...
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One of the first pedals I ever bought was a Keeley Compressor, back in 2003 or so, and I’ve had some version of that pedal in the office since. It’s become the standard by which other compressors are measured, producing tens of thousands of units over the course of the last 20 years. Keeley’s latest version takes everything we love about this classic sound and smashes it into a small, super pedalboard-friendly...
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Ever since we had the privilege to play the first DiscumBOBulator Envelope Filter, we’ve loved all things EMMA Electronic. Today, that tradition continues with the stellar Navigator Delay, a pinnacle of elegant simplicity, offering everything you need in a delay pedal, and nothing you don’t. With tap-tempo, modulation, beat-splits, trails, wet/dry outputs and more, this one is sure to get your creativity stirring… The...
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Flashy graphics and newly-shaped enclosures have their place in the effects pedal world, for sure, but sometimes, simplicity can be welcome. That seems to be the goal with the lineup from our pals at Kenny B Pedals, and we’re taking a look at our 4th effect from them today. The Double Double has an easy-to-figure-out control section, complete with multiple sonic options, housed in an unassuming, minimalistic case. That’s...
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We should ALL practice playing more often, I think we can all agree on that, right? Sometimes, though, it can be tricky to get really motivated, and that’s where today’s Flamma Fridays pedal comes into play. The Flamma Innovation FC01 Drum Loop is another in their small pedal series, housing both a drum machine and a looper. Open up your mind and your creativity with ease here…. The FC01 Drum Loop features 16 drum...
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ONE KNOB. ONE KNOB TO RULE THEM ALL… And so it goes for today’s pedal, the Calico Effects Pounce Preamp. The simplicity you might expect from a one-knob pedal, regardless of genre, can sometime be deceiving. Is that the case with this golden beauty? Let’s delve in and see what’s in store… The Pounce is NOT a transparent, clean, preamp booster…no siree Bob. Quite the opposite, in fact, it adds...
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Mike Dillon Kansas City, MO Bands: Mike Dillon Band, Nolatet https://mikedillonband.bandcamp.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I have played music since I was 10 years old. I started taking drum lessons when I was in 5th grade, and had my first garage band in 6th grade. We played “American Band,” “Smoke on the Water” and “Black Dog.” I am sure we sucked, but I was hooked!! I played in...
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In today’s brave new world, filled with digital amp emulators and effects processors, sometimes it’s nice to take it back old school and analog. Today’s “pedal” is actually an amp that fits right onto your pedalboard, and is full of tonal and routing options. The Thermion Zero Dynamic Hybrid Amplifier lets you play live, rehearse or practice at home with just your pedals. Lots to explore, let’s get...
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Enrico Preuß KMA Audio Machines Berlin, Germany www.kma-machines.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? Well, I started playing guitar with the age of 18. A friend from school was playing a red Squier Strat and a Peavey Valveking 100W 2×12 combo and he showed me some Green Day, Ulver and Anathema riffs…oh, and he was using a Marshall jackhammer pedal (the first pedal I ever heard...
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My name is Luis Aznarez, I am from Barcelona, Spain and I have a pedal company called Lefa Pedals located in Seattle, Washington www.lefapedals.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I started playing bass more than 25 years ago. A friend from school told me to join his band. My musical knowledge at that time was practically non-existent, I thought that a bass was a 4-string guitar that did...
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You probably know Paul Gilbert from the bands Racer X and Mr. Big. Or, maybe from the G3 Tour and G4 Experience. Or the countless guitar magazine covers. Or the Beatles cover band Yellow Matter Custard. Or the extremely unique Ibanez Fireman guitars he plays and is frequently pictured with. Whatever the case may be, there’s no doubt he’s well-known at the top of the current guitar chain of players, and we’ve got...
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We’re stepping outside the old comfort zone again today, folks, and diving into another fantastic synthesizer. This one is larger and more complex than the Outer Space Sounds MOSTRO we checked out a couple weeks ago, but we’re once again pairing it up with some of our favorite pedals to create some fantastic sounds. The Novation Bass Station II Analogue Synthesizer is a powerful machine, encapsulating everything you know...
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The lines of pedals from Friday Club and Mr. Black (the brainchildren of Jack Deville out of Portland, Oregon) have been the topics of many a conversation over the last decade plus, and we love what we’ve been able to check out here at Pedal of the Day. Today’s sonic journey brings us to the ED-450b, a warm, analog-ish delay echo machine from the Friday Club camp that is simple yet powerful at the same time. A real...
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Ori Naftaly Southern Avenue www.southernavenuemusic.com https://facebook.com/SouthernAvenueMusic/ https://www.instagram.com/southernavenuemusic/ How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I started playing guitar when I was 5 years old. I remember listening to my dads record collection that was full of Jazz, Blues, Funk and British rock from the 60s and 70s. I had an amazing mentor called Tony...
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We have always had a bit of an affinity for the exquisite pedals produced by our friends at Spaceman Effects, and are always excited to check out their creations. One of our favorites was the Saturn V Harmonic Boost, a pedal that just adds that extra little bit of POW! and WOW! that your tone sometimes is lacking. Today’s pedal, the Mercury IV, is also rooted firmly in the Boost department, but with a couple more options and a...
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Greg Bortnichak Olympia WA Teach Me Equals (currently) & Sparta Philharmonic (formerly). I’ve also done session work pretty consistently over the last two decades, lending string arrangements to all sorts of projects. Some you might recognize would be Circa Survive, Jonathan Badger, Dream Tiger, Eating Club, The Metal Hearts, RedRumsey, Br’er, and HeadShy. www.teachmeequals.com spartaphilharmonic.bandcamp.com How long have you...
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Altough we don’t do it as often as we should, a good bass demo is always a fun way to end a long week. And speaking of bass pedals, the crew at Mantic Effects have been building some low end-inspired pieces of gear for years now, several of which we’ve been fortunate enough to tackle here at Pedal of the Day. Today’s effect might not be as flashy as some of those others, but it’s an important piece to any bass...
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HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYBODY! We’re going to start off 2019 the same way we ended 2018: with POWER. While the Camper Fuzz from CroyTone Audio focused on the fuzzy side of things, today’s pedal takes a crack at the distortion market, and does so with blistering abandon. The Metal Shock’s name alone should give you a clue as to what it can do – this is a modern, high-gain distortion pedal that is just quivering with...
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Merry Christmas-Hanukkah-Kwanzaa-Boxing Day-Omisoka-Yule to you all, hope your celebrations were safe, festive and full of love and friendship! Now, back to business: today’s pedal is an absolute CRUSHER. Taking the world of distortion and completely throwing it for a loop, the PLASMA High Voltage Distortion Unit from Gamechanger Audio reinvents the way a high gain pedal should look, feel, sound and perform. Using updated and...
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There’s no mistaking the bright red glory that comes with every single effects pedal we see from Sioux Guitars, which should make it no surprise that the bright red beauty we’re checking out today comes straight from Sioux City, Iowa, as well. The Flood of ’53 is aptly named after a huge rainfall that hit and flooded the town those many decades ago, and just like the big waves and ripples through the city, this...
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Patrick Garland Houston, Texas GARLAND FX garlandfx.bigcartel.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’m 33 years old, and started playing guitar at age 10 – so about 23 years. 20 on electric guitar. The first guitar I ever played was my mom’s Guild Madiera from 1970. My mom uses it for playing music to pre-schoolers – she’s quite talented and can play and sing. I also still...
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Ben Deane Overland Park, KS (Kansas City Metro) Monarch Musical Devices https://reverb.com/shop/monarchmusicaldevices How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve always had a connection with music. From my dad’s outlaw country vinyl LPs to my mom’s affection for artists like Paul Simon and Billy Joel, music always spoke to me and I wanted to speak back. I had a couple of years of piano lessons...
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Michael Parker Seattle, WA – The People’s Republic of the USA I play guitar & keys in the band Pickwick www.pickwickmusic.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I started playing guitar when I was in the 8th grade on a whim. I had a friend who was a drummer and needed some people to jam with. He recruited me basically because I was in the room and had nothing better to do. He...
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Clayton Donofrio Pittsburgh, PA American Wizard Toneworks americanwizardtoneworks.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I think I was 12 or 13 when I got my first guitar, but I always wanted to play. Growing up my parents always had a great record collection (Black Sabbath, CCR, Led Zeppelin, Queen, etc.) so Rock n Roll was in my blood from the beginning. My mom in particular was very...
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Joshua Scott Kansas City JHS Pedals www.jhspedals.com Instagram @jhspedals Twitter @jhspedals Facebook @jhspedals How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I got into guitar when I was about 14, I think. I can’t remember the year, but I was young enough to be in junior High. My brother, who is ten years older, had the biggest cassette tape collection on God’s green earth. I was at his apartment,...
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For a number of years now, the folks at Pigtronix have been pushing, pulling and re-working the Delay genre with their lineup of echo devices, and we’re going to take a gander at one of the newest ones today. The Echolution 2 Filter Pro is an extremely flexible, option-filled, preset-ridden, multi-tap stereo modulation delay, that’s capable of more than you could care to imagine. However, if you DO think big, and want your...
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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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Johnny Hiland Nashville, TN http://www.johnnyhiland.net/ It is a sincere pleasure, and honor, to be doing this interview. I am a huge fan of Pedal of the Day, on Twitter, as I am truly a pedal nut. I just want everybody to know that you can find out anything you may want to know about me on my website, www.johnnyhiland.net. How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I have been a musician now for...
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Mike Beigel Mu-FX Encinitas, CA www.mu-fx.com [Mu-FX by Beigel Sound Lab is a division of Beigel Technology Corp.] facebook.com/BeigelSoundLab How long have you been a musician? How did you get into musical effects in the first place? My main musical training was classical music on clarinet, but I also played Saxophone for a local high school dance band (“The Crescendos”), and for some local rock & roll bands and guitar just for...
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Leon Wright Portland, OR Pelican NoiseWorks www.pelicannoiseworks.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? Music has always been a part of my life. My dad played piano and guitar ever since I can remember. He passed away when I was 8. After that I inherited his guitar and set out to figure out how to play. Since then, it has been a constant thing in my life, not that I have ever actually...
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decker. Sedona, AZ deckermusic.org Twitter: @deckermusic Facebook: @deckermusic How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I suppose I’ve been a musician for roughly 16 years. At first I just wanted to play songs and sing songs. Singing for girls was a factor if I’m honest. Then I came out of a decade long tumult and I wanted to kinda process that and I started making records eventually....
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Andrew Scherzer aka Goody aka Dewey aka StheNFA aka Daylicker aka Bruce Loy Portland, Maine JAWGEMS – facebook.com/JAWGEMS/ Sara Hallie Richardson – sarahallierichardson.com/ How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve been playing for about 13 years. I literally started playing bass because my best friend Lee Crossen got me a ticket to see George Clinton and the Parliament...
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Drew Shirley Switchfoot.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? My mom made me take piano lessons. I quit when I got into high school and she said “you’ll thank me some day.” She was right. I picked up my older brothers guitar and taught myself a few chords to play in church youth group. After that I discovered Led Zeppelin and went on to write some songs, start a band and...
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Today’s guest review comes to us from Max F. – find him on SoundCloud (@MaxFaith)! The Boss DS-1 is a classic circuit that most of us are familiar with. Players have been modifying the little orange boxes for years and the amount of modifications and spinoffs are too numerous to mention. Despite the variety of DS-1 circuit configurations, most specimens seem to impart the same familiar gain-structure that originally made the pedal a...
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Andy Green Andy Green Pedals We are located in Hollywood Florida about a mile from the beach. www.andygreenpedals.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I grew up in New York City around all the vintage guitar stores and legendary shops on 48th St. Ken Parker had his shop there and Mike Mathews had Electro Harmonics in the 70’s right there. I got a job in a vintage shop in 1981 and have been...
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Way back when we first started Pedal of the Day, one of our first pedal donators was Happy Valley Analog out of Chattanooga, Tennessee. I loved the simplicity of the first incarnation of their Jurassic Fuzz pedal: simple controls, a great space-saver for your pedalboard, but it didn’t lack the balls that you want a good fuzz to have. Well, they took that schematic and beefed it up a bit, adding another control for more sonic...
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You want a simple, no-BS fuzz pedal that will go right onto any pedalboard and fit in instantly? A fuzz that only features one knob and one toggle switch, for easy dialing in of tones and fuzzy gooeyness? A fuzz so clean and dirty at the same time that it just might make your head explode? Then look no further than today’s pedal, the Temple of Doom Fuzz from Furukawar Effects. The one lone knob on the Temple of Doom (great name,...
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I’ve never been a huge fan of the classic Ibanez Tube Screamer pedal. There, I said it. It might be because I’ve never had the opportunity to play one of the “great ones” from the early 80’s, or maybe it’s just how they’ve always reacted with the amps I’ve played, but it just never grabbed me like it has other folks. So, I was a little skeptical to try the TS9 Strong Mod from JHS Pedals,...
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I really, really, really like fuzz. There are so many different aspects you can throw into a fuzz pedal, and almost none of them sound alike…unless you’re trying to make them sound like another pedal, a classic maybe, then they certainly can. But, for the most part, fuzzes are unique and extraordinary, and can be some of the funnest pedals as well. Today’s fuzz comes to us from Arkansas, and the boys and girls from...
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Yet another overdrive based on the famous Klon, the Soul Food from Electro-Harmonix was created to bring great-sounding tone to musicians everywhere…at an VERY affordable price. As with all great Klone-type pedals, the Soul Food provides sweet, creamy, transparent overdrive, but can also go pretty balls out if need be. Volume, Tone and Drive controls are also typical, but like so many other pedals have come to find out, one trip...
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