Take a moment to think about the most important piece of gear in your rig or studio. Maybe it’s your most powerful, most capable, or most expensive piece of gear. But what happens when the strap comes off your vintage guitar and all its sweet, inherent mojo falls from your shoulder to make contact with […]
I bought this vintage Harmony lap steel at a time when I was really diving deep into alternative country music. The guitar is 100% original and according to the potentiometer date codes, they were made on the 13th week of 1956 by Cetralab. Lap steel guitars originated from Hawaii, which is probably why they are […]
If money were no object, what is one piece of gear you’d buy? This is the question we asked for the first installment of Talking Shop, the series in which we ask zZounds staffers questions about gear and all things music. Check out our team’s answers below, and feel free to comment on what your […]
The rise of guitar amp and effects modeling in recent years has been hard to deny. Modeling systems have found their way into the touring rigs of countless progressive bands like Animals As Leaders and Periphery — and have even infiltrated bands long associated with the raw power of tube amps, like Deftones. Line 6 […]
A few weeks ago, I and a few of my fellow zZounds cohorts jumped on a plane to head to the sunny winter wonderland that is Anaheim California for the 2018 NAMM show. If you in any way keep up with music gear, then I’m sure you’ve heard of this event. Be it a slew […]
Team zZounds is back from this year’s NAMM show and everyone’s still buzzing about all the sick gear they saw. From signature stacks to a new PA that sounds unbelievable for its size, to a certain nu metal icon, here’s the gear (and people) they were most excited to see. Electro-Harmonix 95000 Looper I was […]
Electro-Harmonix’s Canyon pedal is, first and foremost, a powerful delay, sporting a smorgasbord of 10 delay modes that will repeat your notes with just about every type of special sauce you can imagine. Tape warble, shimmering ambiance and multi-tap repeats — it’s all in here. Plus you get tap tempo and three selectable beat subdivisions (quarter, eighth […]
D’Angelico Electrozinc strings are technically a new product, having been released in 2016, but the truth is, their origins go back much farther. A collaboration between famed John D’Angelico and string innovator John D’Addario, Electrozinc strings were first produced in the late 1930s using “Bethanized” steel from the Bethlehem (PA) Steel Corporation. Though production stopped […]
With the American Elite series, Fender took it upon themselves to create a modern take on their classic models that would fit in with the ever-changing “pro-level” tier of guitars. The Fender American Elite Telecaster is the latest incarnation of a true American classic, updating virtually all of its components, starting from the pickups and ending […]