A guitarist since in 1996, Sergio played guitar in The Junior Varsity from 2002-2007 and a handful of times since, as well as playing in many other bands. In addition to guitar, he plays drums and owns and operates recording gear. Sergio is a sci-fi fan, a lover of dogs, and big, loud amps. Sergio is the Senior Guitar Copywriter at zZounds, as well as the manager of the Guitar, Bass, and Drums categories, and is audio engineer for Gear Wire.
Billy Corgan – Top 5 Tones
To celebrate the introduction of Billy Corgan’s new signature Reverend BC-1 guitar, we wanted to take a few moments to highlight some of his and the Smashing Pumpkins’ best tones. Take a look at our top 5 and join the discussion below by letting us know what songs feature your favorite Billy Corgan tones! 1. “Drown” […]
Iconic Rigs (on a Budget): Jimmy Page
Iconic Rigs on a Budget is a companion to our Iconic Rigs series at zZounds, where we show you the gear of legendary guitarists. Here on the zZounds Blog, we’ll help you get really, really close to that sound without blowing your tour budget. This month: get a whole lotta tone for not a whole lot! […]
Maserati – Rehumanizer
Press play on Maserati’s latest album, Rehumanizer, and you’ll instantly be taken back to the futuristic sci-fi sounds of the past. With heavy synthesizer work in tow, the Athens, Georgia-based band moves their own sound forward, while keeping a heavy anchor in the bloops and bleeps of the ’70s and ’80s. Seriously, a few songs […]
The Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
I remember the excitement that I felt after hearing “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” for the first time while in middle school. This unbelievable music video beamed onto the glass tube of my TV and I had never heard or seen anything else like it. My first thought was that I just had to get the […]
Uncle Acid & the deadbeats – The Night Creeper
If creepiness is a virtue, then English band Uncle Acid & the deadbeats possesses it in spades. For an album that opens with the lines, “There’s a man who’s just been waiting here all night long/As he watches you he’s smiling there all alone,” the band’s fourth full-length, The Night Creeper, sets an eerie tone […]
Fender Acoustic Pro and Acoustic SFX Amplifiers
Looking for the right acoustic guitar amp can sometimes be a daunting task. With so many controls and complex configurations, sometimes all you want to do is just plug in and get to playing. Thanks to the new Fender Acoustic Pro and Acoustic SFX amps, the simple controls and powerful tone you’ve been wanting has […]
Get the Tone: Tony Iommi
Unofficially recognized as the “Godfather of Heavy Metal,” Tony Iommi’s influence on the evolution of distorted electric guitar tone over the past 40+ years cannot be overstated. Iommi, a pioneer of the detuned guitar technique, used immense amounts of gain to convey to the audience the sounds he heard in his head. These tricks and […]
Failure – The Heart Is a Monster
After nearly two decades between albums, Los Angeles’s Failure recently released their fourth full-length, The Heart Is a Monster. Much more than a spiritual successor to 1996’s Fantastic Planet, The Heart Is a Monster almost seems as if the band never went on hiatus to begin with and easily could’ve released this around 1998. The […]
PRS 30th Anniversary Celebration
30 years is a long time for anything, but especially long in the musical gear industry — a realm where players (cough, guitarists, cough) tend to be quite wary of new brands or products. The fact that Paul Reed Smith Guitars has not only survived, but has actually become known as one of the top guitar manufacturers […]
