Is It All Doom and Gloom for Wata?
In an interview with EarthQuaker Devices, drone metal guitarist Wata spoke softly as she explained her extensive signal chain. The chain in question included a complex effect loop switching setup, a cavalcade...
What Is Taylor Guitars V-Class Bracing?
Short Answer: Taylor Guitars V-Class bracing is a V-shaped acoustic guitar bracing pattern that exists as an alternative to traditional X-shaped bracing. The design, engineered by Taylor Guitars Master Builder Andy Powers,...
Trading Places with Dance Punk
Here's a Twilight Zone episode for you: a rock band, as any other might be, except for a few catches: The drums play regimented, disco-stomp beats, the bass takes a melodic lead,...
Have You Made Friends with Rodrigo y Gabriela?
In an interview at Amoeba Records in Los Angeles, Mexican flamenco guitar group Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero ran down some of their favorite albums as well as a couple picks that...
What Is the Difference Between Tube and Solid-State Amplifiers?
Short Answer Tube amplifiers use vacuum tubes to produce their sound, solid-state amplifiers use transistor components to produce their sound. Each type of amp produces a distinct sound that has their own...
How Dirty Is Clean for J Mascis?
In an interview with Reverb, J Mascis sat in a glitzy, perfectly branded room set to talk about his philosophy when approaching dirt pedals. Mascis, the mastermind behind the legendary alt-rock band...
What Voltage and Amperage Do I Need for My Effect Pedals?
Short Answer Guitar pedal power supplies need to match the voltage of your pedals. The power supply's voltage cannot exceed what the pedal can take. Guitar pedal power supplies can exceed the...
Growing Up with Pop Punk
The lyrics have gotten angsty, the riffs have gotten sugary, the belts have gotten studded. It was only a matter of time before punk rock was packaged for a mainstream audience. Pop...
What Is a Pedalboard Amplifier?
Short Answer A pedalboard amplifier is a guitar amplifier shaped like an effect pedal that can operate as either a guitar amplifier or an effect pedal. Pedalboard amplifiers can produce sound through...
What Fires the Phasers for "Captain" Kirk Douglas?
In an interview on Malcolm Gladwell's Broken Record podcast, "Captain" Kirk Douglas sat in the Roots' 30 Rock rehearsal room and listed his many guitar heroes. As the lead guitarist of the...
What Is the Best Order to Put My Effect Pedals In?
Short Answer There really isn't one. There are certainly some general norms that you'll find among people's pedalboards. You'll usually catch tuners before EQs, EQs before drives, and drives before time-based effects....
Waxing Poetic with Alt-Country
Too alternative for country, but too country for alternative, we have alt-country. Alt-country, or “alternative country”, was born at the crossroads of a ‘90s confluence of slackerism unlike ever seen before. The...