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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Mihali Savoulidis Vermont Twiddle twiddlemusic.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve been playing guitar since I was 14, but I really had just been playing in my bedroom and writing songs and working on my lead playing. I went to college to form a band and play all these songs I had written during high school, and the end result is Twiddle. I started really gigging out when I was 18,...
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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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If for some reason, you still don’t know about or haven’t experienced any of the sonic marvels that Walrus Audio continually puts out into the effects community, you need to get on that quick (after you read this and watch the demo, of course). For the rest of us, it comes as no surprise that Colt and the crew have come up with an incredible new tremolo to unleash on the world: the Monument Harmonic Tap Tremolo. Featuring...
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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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Ben Bloom Seattle, WA Polyrhythmics www.polyrhythmics.com We had the honor of chatting with Ben in person when the Polyrythmics played here in Boise during Treefort Music Fest last month – here’s our conversation: [Pedal of the Day] Where are you guys from? [Ben Bloom] Seattle. I grew up in New York, but we all met and live in Seattle. I’ve been there since 2001. [POTD] What got you into music in the first place?...
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My name is Trevor Shelley de Brauw. I’m from Chicago, IL and I perform in: Pelican: http://pelicansong.com/ RLYR: https://www.facebook.com/RLYRband/ Chord: https://chordgroup.bandcamp.com/ And solo: https://trevordebrauw.bandcamp.com/ How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve been playing guitar since junior high school. At some point around age twelve or thirteen or so music became a complete...
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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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Scott Kannberg Merida, Yucatan, Mexico Spiral Stairs Preston School of Industry Pavement www.spiralstairsofficial.com/ pitchfork.com/artists/3389-preston-school-of-industry/ www.matadorrecords.com/pavement How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? 30 years or so… SM and I had a band in college, 1987 or so. Bag O Bones was the name. Instrumental jams. I bought a bass (red Ibanez roadster) at my...
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Sef, lead guitarist in the band Your Favorite Enemies. Montreal, Quebec, Canada www.yourfavoriteenemies.com www.facebook.com/yourfavoriteenemies www.instagram.com/yourfavoriteenemies www.youtube.com/yourfavoriteenemies www.twitter.com/yfeofficial As you can see in some of the pictures, we have the crazy privilege of living in a former catholic church that we turned into our own professional studio a couple of years ago. It’s pretty...
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Rob McConnell Papadosio Badger ATF papadosio.com asianteacherfactory.bandcamp.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve been singing since I can remember, but I’ve been playing bass for 15 years. My dad is a bassist but I wanted to be a guitar player initially. Some friends in high school needed a bass player so I took one of my Dad’s Fenders and here we are. Pretty generic story but...
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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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Matt Johnson Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Tortuga Effects www.tortugaeffects.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve been playing guitar and bass for 26 years, but started as a musician on cello, three years before that. I remember wanting to play cello because being in the school band meant you had to blow into things. I didn’t want to do that. I also didn’t want to sit in my classroom during...
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Kyle Sipress Niles, Michigan The Devil Wears Prada God Alone tdwpband.com godaloneband.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I was in choir when I was super young, then played saxophone briefly in 5th grade band. I’ve been playing guitar since I was about 12 or 13, so for about 15 years or so. My dad got me a cheap Cort acoustic for Christmas one year and i’ve been playing ever since. When...
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We’ve had some great experiences reviewing and demoing pedals from our friends at Big Joe Stomp Box Company, and we get to do it again today! The R-409 is an all-analog, vactrol-based optical tremolo, one with a bunch of controls that allow you to create almost any tremolo sound your brain can come up with, and some that have yet to be discovered. Join us on a funky and modulated journey through space and time, won’t you?...
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Jeremy DePoyster Chicago, IL The Devil Wears Prada www.tdwpband.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I got my first acoustic at 10, and have played ever since. I took a quick interest in keyboards, synths, and sequencers and have been making music with them since around the same time. I started with a KORG Polysix running a curly cable into a Fender Champ Amp. Who have been some of your...
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Chris Michetti Raq www.facebook.com/raqmusic/ Conspirator www.conspiratorband.com/ Michetti michetti.bandcamp.com/ How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? Around thirty years. Was obsessed with drums as a youngster, progressed from there. Who have been some of your major musical influences, past or present? Anyone who plays the guitar incredibly… SRV, Van Halen, Jeff Beck, Trey Anastasio, Chet...
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Peter D’Amore Waukesha, WI www.peterdamore.com www.facebook.com/peterdamoremusic www.youtube.com/peterdamoremusic How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I always enjoyed making skits and songs on cassette recorders since I was five. Recording and editing is still my very favorite thing to do, and it always feels like a privilege. Besides Marty McFly and Van Halen references that heavily...
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Jesse Aycock (Tulsa, OK) www.jesseaycock.com / www.facebook.com/jesseaycockband Hard Working Americans (everywhere USA) www.thehardworkingamericans.com Paul Benjaman Band (Tulsa, OK) www.paulbenjamanband.com / www.facebook.com/paulbenjamanband Lauren Barth (Tulsa, OK) www.laurenbarth.com / www.facebook.com/laurenbarthmusic How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I guess I’ve been a...
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Rafferty Swink Evolfo: www.evolfo.com Low Noon: lownoon.bandcamp.com Oyinda: oyinda.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I started taking piano lessons when I was about seven years old and never stopped. In middle school, I started playing in garage bands with my friends, as well as taking jazz piano lessons with a private teacher. I think having the balance of a serious music education...
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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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Tim Bluhm San Anselmo, CA The Mother Hips www.motherhips.com/ How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve been singing since I was a kid, in church choirs and in school choruses. I started playing guitar right after high school. In my second year of college I started the Mother Hips with Greg Loiacono and we started getting gigs really quickly. Who have been some of your major musical...
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Joel Cummins Venice Beach, CA Umphrey’s McGee umphreys.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I started playing piano at the age of 8 when my parents told me I had to pick an instrument and practice 30 minutes a day. Umphrey’s McGee started in late 1997 and we haven’t looked back since. I started with sight reading, mainly focused on classical music, but also did some ragtime, blues...
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Jesse Miller Philadelphia, PA Lotus – www.lotusvibes.com Octave Cat – www.facebook.com/OctaveCat Beard-o-Bees – www.facebook.com/Beard.o.Bees How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? My folks had me in piano lessons when I was young. I think I did that for 5 or 6 years. It did give me a head start on reading music, music theory and basic keyboard skills. In high school, I started...
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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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Jason Boland Oklahoma Jason Boland and the Stragglers http://www.thestragglers.com/ How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’m 41 now. I started banging around on a guitar around 7th grade, writing songs senior year, and playing out at 21. The band and I started in September of 1998 and released our first album in January of 2000. I figured if Ralph Macchio could cut heads with...
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Chris Vos The Record Company Los Angeles, CA www.therecordcompany.net facebook.com/therecordcompany How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve been obsessed with music since before I can remember and I’ve playing it since about 8th grade. I was a dairy farm kid so I didn’t really have access to electric guitars until I reached a certain age and knew I wanted one. By the end of...
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Neal Casal nealcasal.com Chris Robinson Brotherhood www.chrisrobinsonbrotherhood.com Hard Working Americans www.thehardworkingamericans.com Circles Around The Sun Skiffle Players (with Cass McCombs) Phil Lesh And Friends Gospelbeach How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I started playing guitar in 1981. I was obsessed with the Rolling Stones and the bands I saw in the Gimme Shelter film....
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Chuck Garvey Cincinnati, OH moe. www.moe.org Ha Ha The Moose @chukg on Twitter moechukg on Instagram How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I started playing instruments when I was young, just hammering stuff out by ear on acoustic guitar and piano, but started lessons for Tenor saxophone when i was in 5th grade. Played sax for 8-9 years and also started to play more acoustic and electric guitar...
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Steve Sterlacci Westchester, New York Jessica Lynn jessicalynnmusic.org How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? So I was trying to play professional baseball until I was about 23. I had played in college on a scholarship and traveled the country going to try outs, but never got an opportunity that made sense. I had already played guitar by that time in a dance/Top 40 wedding band and my now...
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Joseph Morinelli Rochester, New York Joywave, The Meat Lovers Trio www.joywavemusic.com Twitter: @joywavemusic, @joeywave_ Instagram: @joywavemusic, @joeywave_ How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I grew up with my father constantly playing records of legendary delta blues musicians. Robert Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Elmore James, and so on. We would sit in our basement with our...
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Caton Sollenberger The Jauntee www.thejauntee.com www.thejauntee.net Find us on Facebook, Twitter, and beyond How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve been playing guitar for a while, since I was about 5 I think. My father always played in rock bands, and my mom is also a musician, so that was certainly a big push for me. At around 8 years old I started taking classical piano lessons...
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Andy Greene Escape Plan Pedals http://www.escapeplanpedals.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve played music for pretty much my entire life. I got my first guitar, a miniature steel string acoustic, when I was 5. I learned simplified versions of most of the standard position major chords and a few minor chords and would try to put on concerts for my family. I really got interested in...
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Today’s guest review comes to us from Rob H. – you can find him on Instagram (@studio.rh), Twitter (@Rob_Hildreth) or on his website (Studio RH). Magnetic Effects are a London (UK) based boutique pedal manufacturer. All of the effects are designed and built by Christian Livingstone, who also happens to be the riff monster from NZ garage rockers The Datsuns. You only need to listen to his guitar work to realise this guy...
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Dave Schools Widespread Panic (Modulus Q-6 basses, D’Addario strings) widespreadpanic.com facebook.com/widespreadpanic reddit.com/r/widespreadpanic IG: @widespreadpanichq IG: @dashole Hard Working Americans (Modulus Jazz, G&L L-2000, Epiphone Jack Casady basses, D’Addario, LaBella tape wound strings) thehardworkingamericans.com facebook.com/hardworkingamericans IG: @hwamericans How long have you been a musician? How did you get...
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Neil Fallon Silver Spring, MD Clutch http://www.pro-rock.com/ How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I bought my first electric guitar around 1987. It was a shitty Cort strat. A very discouraging introduction. My “rig” was a Gorilla amp and a Boss DS-1. Strictly power chords and feedback for several years. I drove my parents nuts. Clutch formed in 1991. We knew each other in high...
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Forrest Whitesides Function f(x) Elk Grove Village, IL www.function-fx.com We have five partners: Dave F., Brian, Dave B., Jerry, and Forrest. Three of us are just outside of Chicago, one guy is a breath away from Nashville, and one is in NJ about 50 miles west of NYC. (Forrest has provided the answers below) How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I first started playing guitar in 1989. Just...
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Ryan McCaffrey McCaffrey Audio Stevens Point, WI www.mccaffreyaudio.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I have been playing guitar since I was 6, so over 29 years ago. My dad, and a lot of his friends played guitar, which enticed me to observe and try to keep up with their playing. I began playing in a band when I was 12, and my buddy’s dad would let me play his 1966 Fender Jaguar in a...
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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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Today’s guest review comes to us from Christian E. – you can find him on Instagram (@chriespiritu) or on his band’s Facebook page (Story Of April). The AMT Electronics P2 is a guitar preamp in a pedal sized stompbox designed to emulate the tone, gain structure and nuances of the Peavey 5150/6505 amp that we all love. Amazing, right? The pedal is built like a tank: it has a great solid steel chassis and I can assure...
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Rob Compa Guitarist for Dopapod Wayne, NJ www.dopapod.com www.facebook.com/dopapod How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve been playing guitar since I was 12, so if my math is correct that’s about 17 years, I think. My Dad always played guitar around the house, so that got me into it initially. Eventually, we played a little guitar in our music class in middle school, playing little riffs...
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We review a lot of overdrive pedals on this site, as our rabid readers can attest to, and each one is unique and special in its own way. Some have a ton of balls, some are more mellow and laid back and some are entities all on their own. Today’s overdrive, the Piper Drive from Westminster Effects, definitely falls into the laid back category, but features some great tone-enhancement and a well-rounded low-gain range. The hip...
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Having just reviewed the Mercury Flanger from Source Audio’s lineup of One Series pedals, we couldn’t wait to dive in and check another of their offerings, the Vertigo Tremolo. Again loaded with a ton of options to create a multitude of sounds, this tremolo boasts a huge range of tones, and will most certainly add a little hint of what’s been missing to your pedalboard. With 3 completely different tremolo voicings to...
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When you think about the best, most-used and highly-sought after amps ever produced, everyone’s list almost always includes a Blackface Fender of some sort, and for good reason. Those amps made in the 1960’s have a character and tone not easily reproduced, by amp or pedal, putting them truly in a class of their own. The Magic 6 Preamp from RST Custom Effects seeks to reproduce some of those coveted tones, but in solid...
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A number of pedals from our friends at Fuchs Audio Technology have been reviewed here at Pedal of the Day, and they are always a real audio treat. From delay to distortion and everything in between, Fuchs makes some great effects pedals, and they have also created some stunning high-end amplifiers as well (check them out HERE). Today’s pedal, the Crème de la Trem, is a tremolo that features a little different flavor from the...
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When I received today’s pedal in the mail from our friends at Sublime Guitar Company, one person immediately popped into my head: Joel Cummins, keyboardist for Umphrey’s McGee. Being the elder member of the group, Joel has repeatedly taken flack and guff from the other guys in the band over the years, and the graphic on the aptly-named Hippy Joel Overdrive was just about a perfect fit. I decided to shoot Joel a message...
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Welcome to our second installment here during “Fly Boys Week”! Today’s pedal from Totally Wycked Audio is the FB-02 Overdrive, and boasts hints of a classic overdrive pedal, the TS-808 from Ibanez. Featuring two unique gain stage settings and a heaping of gain on tap, this little pedal speaks big volumes. Tone, Level and Gain knobs make up the first part of the pedal’s controls, much like the FB-01 Distortion...
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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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