Gear History 15
Who Was Ted McCarty?
The president of Gibson during its most accomplished era, the man who oversaw the development of the Les Paul and first conceptualized the ES-335, nearly took a job with Brach’s Candy. Perhaps in a parallel universe, Ted McCarty does take up a position at Brach’s and we all enjoy some wondrous confections that not only taste divine, but […]
303 State: A History of the Roland TB-303
The Roland TB-303 houses one of music’s most singular sounds. Scroll down a bit and hit play on Phuture’s “Acid Tracks.” What do you hear? That knocking beat of the TR-707 gives way to what sounds like a bass line contorting itself from within. Slippery, percolating, and squelchy, it’s the sound of an unique instrument being pushed to […]
Boss MT-2: 25 Years in the Metal Zone
We’ve just come out with an All-Star Gear list at zZounds of our customers’ favorite pedals, and at the top of the heap is the Boss MT-2 Metal Zone, rated at 5 stars with over 750 reviews! Reading some of our customers’ reviews on this definitive distortion pedal brought on a wave of nostalgia, and now, […]
Ikutaro Kakehashi and the Rise of the Rhythm Composer
Destination: Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Roland Corporation Headquarters, 1977 We might not realize it, but the Roland company we know now is entirely different than the one it was shaping up to be in its early days. When Ikutaro Kakehashi, founder of Roland, started his first venture into musical instruments, it was indebted to his love for time. […]
Gibson’s Kalamazoo Gals
The “Kalamazoo Gals” in front of the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, MI circa 1944. Photo Credit: Guitarkadia.com. Gibson’s 2016 line of acoustic guitars features plenty of updates — some are designed to suit the modern player, as in the Progressive series. Others are made for history buffs, like the thermally aged tops on the Vintage series. One “update” […]
Tracking History: Bill Putnam
Obviously a lot has changed since the days when this photo was taken — heck, I can download a multitrack recording app for free onto my phone and use the phone’s on-board mic to record, layer, and mix sounds for a production that wouldn’t be the best, but would be easily more intelligible and of […]
