Guitar Workbench 103
A Full-Stack of Overdriven Marshall Amp Tone in a Pedal?
Marshall’s history of designing guitar pedals dates back to the late 1960s. But in the late ’80s, music was changing, and the need for a dimed-out Marshall distortion tone was higher than ever. Enter the Mark 1 series of Marshall distortion pedals. Within this original lineup, two pedals in particular — the DriveMaster and ShredMaster […]
Why You Should Add a PRS HDRX 20 to Your Arsenal
As someone who plays vintage reissue Fender amps, the PRS HDRX 20 was a bit of a different beast at a first glance. After some fiddling with all the controls on their own, I started to figured out where my preferred sweet spots were. Pushing this amp into preamp saturation as well as power tube […]
What? Why Would You Use a Rubber Bridge?
Why a rubber bridge? When I bring up in conversation that I’ve been fiddling with this old parlor acoustic guitar, it’s usually brought to some general confusion. For the last several months, I’ve been on the search for a cheap acoustic guitar with a floating bridge with a trapeze tailpiece, to change out the conventional […]
Shoegaze-in-a-Box: Catalinbread Soft Focus FX40
Some say shoegaze is making a comeback. The moody, reverb-rich, guitar-based genre plays on feelings of nostalgia, melancholy, and a lust for Jazzmasters. The folks at Catalinbread believe shoegaze never left, and we’re inclined to believe them after experiencing the Soft Focus FX40 Shoegaze reverb pedal. Pitched as an instant shoegaze button, the FX40 is […]
Songwriting Series: Blog Collection
Songwriting Techniques and Tips Do you dream of writing your first song, or just need some tips to enhance your own works? You’ve come to the right place. Find our collection of posts offering songwriting tips that will guide you from the first verse to the very end of your next song! A Guide to […]
Touch That Dial: Three Overdrive Pedal Tricks for the Studio!
Nearly every pedal company offers an overdrive effect. It’s a decently simple circuit to create, and there are a ton of variations available on the market today. From the first overdrives that were built to emulate tube amp breakup, to the modern active EQ-equipped studio darling ODs, overdrive pedals can serve a higher purpose on […]
The Post-Bridge: Finishing Your Song Strong
If you’ve been following our songwriting series to this point, you’ve gotten tips on how to write an intro, pre-chorus, chorus, and bridge. We’ve reached the end, and to close the series out, we will cover how to write various post-bridge sections! This area of your song builds on your bridge with a final chorus, […]
This Breedlove Abides: Jeff Bridges Organic Concert is Sustainable and Resonant
When I first caught wind that there was going to be a collaboration between Breedlove and Jeff Bridges, it just made complete sense. With Bridges’ advocacy for sustainability and Breedlove’s push toward becoming one of the greenest guitar companies on the planet, it was a marriage made in heaven. Adorning a solid torrefied European spruce […]
Take Control of Your Ambience With the Eventide UltraTap!
Ever wondered what it would be like if a vintage Echoplex had modern capabilities like saving presets, expression out, MIDI, and even tap tempo? The engineers at Eventide made that very thought a reality with the Eventide UltraTap reverb, delay, and echo pedal. The UltraTap delay algorithm may seem familiar to Eventide fans from its […]
