Vintage Corner: 1962 Fender Champ-Amp
My Fender Champ was built in 1962 in Fullerton, California. There were a few different variations of this amp, but this version started in 1957 with the 5F1 circuit giving it more gain when you crank the volume, and it was the cheapest amp Fender had made at the time since 1950. The only setting […]
Talking Shop: The Gear That Got Away
If you’ve been playing music long enough, you’ve probably experienced the hardship of losing gear you love. Whether sold to pay bills, swapped in an ill-advised gear trade, or stolen, lost gear leaves a painful memory for many musicians. Today, zZounds staffers are looking back at the gear they miss dearly, from tonally supreme amps […]
How to Build a DIY SubKick
Yamaha made a splash in the drum miking game when their SKRM-100 SubKick collaboration with session drummer Russ Miller was released in 2004. The practice of wiring a speaker in reverse to act as a transducer has been around for a long time in production, but was made widely accessible with the SKRM-100 release. Ever […]
Vintage Vibrato Systems
What do a Fender Stratocaster, a Fender Jazzmaster, and a Gretsch 5420T have in common? If you said “each one has a vibrato system,” you’re correct. And, if you added an asterisk to your answer because each of their vibrato systems are different, then go ahead and give yourself a gold star. These different vibrato systems […]
The Spongy Sounds of the IK Multimedia UNO Synth
Why do you need an analog mono synth? Surely any sound that you can make with an affordable, tabletop analog model like the IK Multimedia UNO can be recreated digitally, right? Wrong. Serious synth players know that analog has its own inimitable vibe and sound. As interest in analog synthesizers remains high, it can be hard […]
Electro-Harmonix Triangle Big Muff Demo
Electro-Harmonix has surprised us once again with the resurrection of a classic iteration of their most beloved pedal. Based on the original from 1969, the Triangle Big Muff Pi is a one-way ticket to high-gain heaven, with tons of extra volume on tap and a powerful tone control. From rippling velcro-esque sounds, to super-compressed, over-the-top […]
How to Fatten Up Those Guitars
So, you’ve managed to record the perfect guitar take, but now you’re playing back the mix and and there’s something just a tad off. Maybe the guitars don’t seem quite big enough, or maybe they just aren’t as punchy as what you were looking for. Well, fear not my friends! I’m here to give you […]
Cymbal Anatomy Part 2: Lathing
The grooves that make the sound move: lathing. Lathing is the rarely mentioned cymbal spec you may not know about, but you’ve certainly seen. These record-like grooves allow the cymbal to resonate and send the resonant frequencies out into the world. Lathing is the process of removing surface material from the cymbal, while it is […]
Boss Announces DC-2W and MT-2W Pedals
Pedal heads have a lot to be excited about today: Boss has just announced the DC-2W Dimension C and MT-2W Metal Zone! Like other pedals in the Waza Craft series, these pedals are made in Japan and incorporate a best-of-both worlds approach, letting players instantly recall the familiar tones available in these classic pedals, while […]
