Inside the Earthquaker Devices Pyramids Stereo Flanger
EarthQuaker Devices recently unveiled a new stereo flanger pedal dubbed “Pyramids” – and what a pedal it is! Admittedly, my experience with true stereo flanging pedals was minimal, so I delved into this pedal with a healthy dose of extra curiosity. It paid off, as this particular pedal was versatile as a normal run-of-the-mill flanger, […]
Perfect Pairings: Korg Prologue 8 and Electro-Harmonix Canyon
Certain situations call for certain combinations of gear. With that in mind, we here at zZounds want to share some of our favorite pairings with you. In this edition, we’re pairing up the Korg Prologue 8 and the Electro-Harmonix Canyon pedal for some swirling synth sounds. Korg Prologue 8 Korg’s new Prologue synthesizers combine that fat […]
Foundational Beats: Reggae Drums
Welcome to Beat Connection, a series dedicated to promoting modern and vintage dance styles the only way we know how…by providing you a musical starting point to help you create that beat. In our previous posts, we took an in-depth look at all the tools available to help you create a beat and we’ve begun […]
Orange’s OMEC is Reborn
British amplifier historians may remember or know of the oddball that was Orange’s OMEC — the world’s first digitally programmable amplifier. This solid state amp utilized transistor-transistor logic to emulate the sound of a traditional amp and even let users create and store presets — truly revolutionary stuff back in 1975. A range of OMEC […]
Audio Gear Brand Names: What Do Those Initials Stand For?
What does AKG stand for? What does JBL stand for? If you’re familiar with pro audio and recording gear brands, you’ll recognize many names that just go by their initials. But what do those initials and acronyms stand for? Read on for the stories behind those letters you’ve seen a million times on your audio […]
TC Electronic Releases Aeon Sustainer
The creative Danes at TC Electronic have just dropped their latest device — the Aeon Handheld Infinite Sustainer. Powered by a 9V battery, Aeon features two custom-made transducers that, when held close to a guitar’s strings “excite” them or cause them to vibrate and make audible noise with infinite sustain. The concept is likely familiar […]
Five Factors That Make a Good Guitar Nut
A mentor who I came to trust very much, once told me that when it comes to having a nut made, make sure to go with the luthier who is looking to charge you the most. This flies in the face of convention when coming from the perspective of a struggling artist, and a college […]
Line 6 PowerCab 112 & 112 Plus
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 […]
Guitar Amp Microphone Placement
Recording electric guitars seems like a pretty easy feat of engineering. All you have to do is place a microphone in front of a speaker and call it a day, right? As it turns out, there’s a little more to the equation than that. In a process where fractions of an inch can dramatically change […]
