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.
Martin Jam + a Pair of D-28 Demos
We’ve been lucky to have several Martin guitars in the zZounds office lately, and needless to say, they’ve been fun to have around. In the video above, zZounds Lead Guitarist Justin picked up a Martin OO-15M and jammed with Social Media Coordinator Robbie on a Custom D-28 Buyer’s Choice. Then Justin went solo with the two D-28s, exploring the sonic […]
Daily Lyrical Product
“How can I ever find peace/When I let my mind over-analyze things/Should be more focused on the present/Life can be a hater, please enjoy it while it’s pleasant,” Lamar “JusLove” Smith raps on “Everything,” a track that shines light on Grown’s steady balancing of life’s everyday struggles and joys. Smith and his partner Nate “Illuminate Mics” Marshall form Daily Lyrical Product, […]
New Gear Report: Novation Circuit
If you visited Novation’s website in the past couple of weeks, you may have seen a teaser image like this: Well, Oct. 1 is here, and so is Circuit. What is Circuit? The literal answer is a comprehensive grid-based synth, drum machine and groovebox all in one. Novation sees it as the answer to musician’s eternal […]
New Gear Report: Moog Mother-32
Moog’s latest synth, the fully-analog, semi-modular Mother-32, is here! Ideal for synth neophytes, the Mother-32 requires no patching, but has that functionality if desired. Its 32-step sequencer can be instantly shifted in octaves or steps, and there are a slew of tonal and rhythmic adjustments to make via the low- and high-pass ladder filters, attack, decay, pulse […]
Shootout: Walrus Audio Voyager, Mayflower, Iron Horse and Jupiter
Intrigued by Walrus Audio’s lineup of overdrive and distortion pedals, but don’t know which is right for you? We recently conducted a shootout between four of the Oklahoma-based boutique pedal-crafters’ finest: the Voyager Preamp Overdrive, Mayflower Overdrive, Iron Horse Distortion, and Jupiter Fuzz. Check them out in the video above to hear their varying shades of […]
Interview with D’Angelico Master Builder Victor Baker
Editor’s note: Victor Baker is no longer working on D’Angelico’s Master Builder guitars, but we’ve kept this interview up because it serves as a look into the intricate craftsmanship that goes into these guitars. It’s a New Yorker made by the hands of a New Yorker in New York. To clarify, that’s a D’Angelico New Yorker archtop […]
Khruangbin – “History of Flight”
I was pretty shocked to discover that Khruangbin is just a little band from Texas. I first discovered their track “A Calf Born in Winter” on Bonobo’s Late Night Tales compilation and was hooked by their gorgeous reverb-sapped guitar tones. When I dug a bit deeper into the band’s catalog and heard their more Daptone-influenced […]
Nine Reasons to Love the Launchpad Pro
Our friend Adam at Novation recently shared with us some reasons the new Launchpad Pro sets the standard for grid controllers. A few folks in the office already have Launchpad Pros and love them, so we didn’t need any convincing! If you haven’t tried one out yet, read up on what Adam says below, or check out […]
Interview: Troy Van Leeuwen
Today, we’re throwing back to our interview last summer with Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen. We discussed the band’s latest album, Like Clockwork, Troy’s chameleonic signature Fender Jazzmaster, and his early, Pre-Queens days in bands like Failure. Speaking of Failure, Troy recently contributed some guitar work on tracks for The Heart is a Monster, released […]
