Body Shop: The Dreadnought
Invented by necessity The dreadnought, perhaps the defining shape of acoustic guitar as we know it, has quite the storied past. Back in the early 20th century, most of the acoustic guitars at the time were of smaller-bodied design, with a more treble-focused sound that required the use of a bass instrument in the band to […]
Self-Oscillation Compact Delay Shootout
Self-Oscillation: noun The generation and maintenance of a periodic motion by a source of power that lacks any corresponding periodicity. That’s the technical definition of self-oscillation, but you don’t need to understand that to know how self-oscillating delay effects work. What you see going on in the video above is a result of turning up […]
Justin’s Picks: Sandblasted Strat and Wampler Plexi Drive
Fender Limited Edition USA Stratocaster Sandblast This year, Fender has been releasing tons of new limited-edition products, but the Sandblasted Strat is particularly unique. The sandblasting is partly responsible — no two finishes will look and feel the same way. But aside from the finish, this is a solid USA-made guitar with your time-approved specs: […]
Dan’s Picks: the BeatBuddy and Vox AC10
BeatBuddy Pedal Drum Machine When you think of drum machines, you think one type of sound at a time, with not much on-the-fly usage. The great thing about the BeatBuddy pedal is its ability to add in fills while playing, and even transition to other parts with just a simple tap of the foot. Plus, […]
Moog Minifooger Pedal Demo
Moog recently stopped by zZounds HQ to showcase their wares, including the Sub37 synth keyboard, Slim Phatty analog synth, Werkstatt-01 synth kit, and Theremini. Getting to tweak knobs and generate synth lines on killer Moog gear was awesome. Also awesome: the all-Moog pedalboard loaded with seven different Moog Minifooger pedals, each one paired with an EP3 expression […]
YOB – “Clearing The Path to Ascend”
Oregon doom champions YOB’s most recent effort, “Clearing The Path to Ascend,” breathes a breath of fresh air into the sometimes-stale genre of doom metal. Too often, doom bands rely on heaviness and heaviness alone as their only tool to wield, paying little attention to song dynamics or character. While YOB does a great job […]
New Gear Report: Akai Advance Controllers, Shure PG ALTA Mics & Cakewalk SONAR
Akai Advance MIDI Keyboard Controllers Last year, we got Native Instruments’ Komplete Kontrol S MIDI controller keyboards. Building on the theme of rainbow-candy-colored USB MIDI controller boards, the Akai Advance MIDI controller series has arrived. What makes the Advance controllers really special is the software they come with — AKAI calls it VIP, which stands […]
Interviewing John Scofield
When I first got the news we’d be hosting an interview with John Scofield for his upcoming Ibanez signature guitar releases, I had a mild freakout…and that’s putting it lightly. Scofield has been one of my major influences on guitar and has certainly shaped my own improvisations and compositions (plenty of hours were spent by candlelight […]
Martin’s Picks: Warwick GPS Streamer & Radial Bassbone V2
Warwick GPS German Pro Series Streamer Stage I 4 Electric Bass As a Warwick fan, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the new Pro Series line. I was not disappointed in the German Pro Series basses — they are made in the same factory in Germany as Warwick’s higher-end basses, using the same high-quality woods and manufacturing […]
