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.
For over 40 years, Eric Johnson has dazzled audiences with his unique style of shredding. Throughout almost his entire career, he’s has used a Fender Stratocaster as his axe of choice. While he’s had his own signature Strat and pickups for some time now, Johnson and Fender have collaborated once again with stunning results. Introduced […]
If you’ve spent some time on any stage or in any studio, you’ve probably seen or used a DI box before. What is it about these magic boxes that seems to make every engineer’s job easier? Let’s take a look behind the curtain to reveal a little bit of information about DI boxes, as well […]
Overdrives and boosts, considered by some (me) to be a rock guitarist’s most used effects, help establish the foundation for tasty, clipped tone. While we all know and love the effect overdrive pedals create, boosts have somewhat of a mysterious air about them. Clearly, it’s easier to hear how an overdrive affects your overall tone […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]