Traditional physical guitar pedals or virtual plugins- which should you choose? I own several pedals, and I utilize plugin software. In a perfect world, I don’t think you need to choose. There is no rule stating you have to use one or the other. Depending on the sound I am looking for when covering a …
If you’ve ever lusted after a piece of gear that was out of your price range, you already know that guitars, amps, pedals, and other kinds of effect and accessories can cost quite a bit. That might have made you wonder: Why are guitar pedals so expensive? A lot of factors go into determining the …
It’s a common story: you pick up a used guitar pedal and when you get it, the back plate has four squares of Velcro attached. The last player used the hook and loop fasteners to hold the pedal to a pedalboard, but if you don’t want that, how can you remove Velcro from guitar pedals? …
I can’t help but start by referencing one of my favorite nerd pickup lines of all time. In Frasier, the geeky Trekkie Noel purrs to his coworker Roz, “set phasers to stunning!” Alright, it’s a different kind of phaser- or is it? The two phasers have some strange overlap, especially when it comes to bass …
We’ve all seen it. The guitarist who could be more accurately called a pedal collector with a guitar. The player who runs their instrument through so many layers of effects that it’s hard to know what is doing what, exactly. Let alone how the instrument sounded in the first place. Not for nothing, an entire …
Playing a tube amp is sort of like listening to your favorite album on vinyl, or driving a 1966 Mustang to work. It’s not the simple way or the cheap way. It’s probably not the most efficient or even effective way. But it is the classy way. Certain things are timeless- even if they are …
The most amazing thing about music, to me, is the endless possibilities it represents. Particularly in the modern era- inexpensive electronic technology has made us musical superhumans compared to just a generation or two ago. The power of music studios that used to fill rooms, cost a year’s salary, and require years of experience to …
From wild to mild, you can produce any sound that you can imagine with an electric violin. If you want to warm up your tone or sound more like a guitar, there’s a reverb pedal that can do it. If you want your violin to sound like it’s being played in a massive cathedral…of course, …
When it comes to pedals and guitars, it’s usually the electric guitar that gets all the attention rather than the acoustic. And I think a lot of acoustic guitar players are missing out as a result. Sure, most acoustic players know that adding reverb where it’s needed can drastically improve your sound but the basic …
Punk is a unique genre, it delivers a punch and gritty tunes without the aggression that metal and rock bring. It’s the perfect balance for those looking for some headbanging songs without the classic heavy metal sound. Over the decades, many bands have been able to deliver this, while still producing an original sound unlike …
