I’m the Product Merchandiser and Copywriter for all things guitar at zZounds. I enjoy melting faces on guitar, banging on drums all day, and binge-watching Game of Thrones.
Using Auxiliary Tracks for Reverb
As one of the earliest and most natural recording effects, reverb has been a part of our listening experience ever since any one of us first listened to recorded music. As such, it’s also one of the first effects used by budding recording engineers as they start using DAWs. At first, it might seem perfectly […]
Justin Meldal-Johnsen: A zZounds Exclusive Interview
As a master tonesmith both on stage and in the studio, Justin Meldal-Johnsen has worked with a number of acclaimed artists, showcasing his refined sense of sound in a variety of ways. From the hard electronic sound of Nine Inch Nails and the mellow grooves of Beck, to producing pop-punkers Paramore, JMJ’s versatility and vision […]
How to Intonate Your Guitar
Besides knowing how to change strings, knowing how to intonate your instrument is a skill most guitarists should learn. Keeping your guitar intonated keeps notes in tune throughout the length of the neck, with the pleasant side effect of making your guitar more enjoyable to play. Let’s face it, nobody wants to play a guitar […]
The Big ’80s Snare Sound
Although the 1980s have come and gone, the impact the decade left on studio techniques (and snare sounds) still lives on today. Yes, some studio tricks from that era can be quite over-the-top, but if you’ve never indulged yourself in how they’re done, you might be missing out on a broad palette of sounds. In […]
Play Guitar Through Your DAW
If you’re a beginning guitarist, you’ll quickly find that playing through a real amp is exhilarating, but can also be frustrating, especially if you have neighbors close by. There’s almost nothing like the sound of a real guitar amp, but digital options have come a long way in the last decade. Playing guitar through a […]
Passive vs. Active Pickups
Even though both passive and active pickups have now been around for decades, some players still don’t know the true differences between the two types. Pickups happen to be one of the most — if not the most — fundamental tone-shaping parts on your electric guitar. Knowing how they work and the different tones they […]
Using Two Microphones to Record Electric Guitar
Using two or more microphones when recording electric guitars is a great way to expand your tonal options during the final mixdown. Different microphones impart their own personality on your guitar’s sound and using more than one can help bring out tones that you wouldn’t be able to do with just a single mic. For […]
Overdrive vs. Distortion vs. Fuzz
Overdrive. Distortion. Fuzz. We’ve all heard the terms before. But how exactly are they different? While there are players whouse the words interchangeably, there are distinctive differences between the three types of signal clipping. When I first started playing, the word “distortion” covered the entire gamut of clipping tones. I knew Kurt Cobain used a distortion […]
Fender Mustang GT Amplifiers
With one foot firmly planted in their vintage past, and the other looking forward to a tech-fueled future, Fender continues to blur that distinction with their Mustang GT combo amps. Loaded with 21 classic amp models, as well as 47 different effects, the Mustang GT-200, GT-100 and GT-40 pack quite a wallop. View your signal chain […]
