Mason has played guitar since age 14 and has remained a charmingly amateurish musician ever since. Mason joined zZounds in 2014 and serves as editor of the zZounds Blog, as well as Accessories Merchandiser. Prior to zZounds, he earned a degree in journalism and worked as a newspaper editor and freelance writer. When not writing or editing for zZounds, you can find him playing his Strat, hosting bar trivia, and chasing his toddler around the house.
Amazing Video Features Boss RC-505 Loop Station
You probably didn’t expect the funkiest track you’d hear today would have this much bicycle bell in it. Maybe a little bit, but not this much. Yet artist Rico Loop has created quite the groove in this breathtaking video using just a Boss RC-505 Loop Station and a microphone. Watch as he strolls through what appears to be Berlin’s streets, interacting with (seemingly) […]
Interview With Lever
If you first mistook Lever’s latest album Hover Bored, as a Back to the Future-inspired ’80s rock tribute, it’d be hard to blame you. The first song is called “McFly” for goodness’ sake. But take a listen and you’ll hear that sonically, Lever draws from another era, about 10 years after Marty McFly met Doc. The band describes itself […]
Perfect Pairings: Electro-Harmonix MEL9 & Earthquaker Devices Spatial Delivery
When is a guitar not a guitar? When you plug any guitar into the Electro-Harmonix MEL9, your signal transforms into one of 9 classic tape-emulated sounds. We played an American Elite Telecaster through the pedal, choosing its Strings voice for that slightly grainy string sound you’ve heard on countless psychedelic tunes. We then took a few steps further out of the […]
Nico Santora on Lillake’s Full-Length, Become
You’re a guitarist. You’ve been playing music pretty much as long as you can remember. You’re good. People know you’re good, and at long last, you’ve scored a gig in a killer band known the world over. What do you do now? Settle in for that reliable gig with that established, influential band? Not if you’re Nico […]
Flea’s Lesser-Known Grooves
Flea’s Signature Fender Jazz Bass came as quite the surprise to us at Summer NAMM this year, and we’re stoked it’s now available! Fender had previously created a custom shop version of Flea’s bass, but this is the first time a production model has been made for the masses. The Flea Signature Jazz Bass features […]
D’Angelico Electrozinc Guitar Strings
Summer NAMM saw the unveiling of tons of exciting new gear – from Boss’ Waza Craft treatment of two classic chorus effects in the new CE-2W, to Fender’s new offset body style electric guitars, to Reverend Guitars’ Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak) signature model — that makes the second half of 2016 all the more exciting […]
Minus The Bear Interview
We sat down with Minus the Bear’s singer Jake Snider and guitar loop guru Dave Knudson recently to talk shop on the gear they use to get the band’s signature sound. Check it out in the video above, and get a look into the duo’s gear below. Minus The Bear Gear Jake and Dave from Minus The […]
Orange Announces the Crush Bass Series
This morning, bassists woke up to a big announcement: Orange’s popular line of Crush amps is coming to bassists! A countdown timer hosted on Orange’s homepage in the days prior led to some speculation among fans, but the news is officially out: Orange has announced the Crush Bass Series, featuring the Crush Bass 25, Crush Bass 50 and Crush Bass […]
Fender at Summer NAMM 2016
Fender’s Summer NAMM booth is stocked with gear we can’t wait to see more of later this year. From a new line of Made in Mexico guitars to some excellent signature models and limited-edition amps, there was no shortage of gear going on! Check out our rundown of some of the highlights below. Johnny Marr […]
