Ernie Ball Paradigm Strings: Roundtable Review
We’ve been stoked to try out Ernie Ball’s new Paradigm line of strings ever since we first heard about them at Winter NAMM this year. And after seeing Ernie Ball’s videos featuring guitarists trying to break their Paradigm strings, and explaining the plasma technology behind Paradigm, we got really curious. Thankfully, we didn’t have to […]
Perfect Pairings: Line 6 Helix LT & Variax Shuriken
In this edition, we’re pairing up the new Line 6 Helix LT and the Variax Shuriken modeling guitar for a perfectly calibrated modeling combination. Are you sick of lugging around that old, dusty full stack and overloaded pedalboard? Maybe your prolific songwriting catalog has grown so large and diverse that one rig simply can’t provide […]
What’s a “Class A” Amplifier?
“Class A” refers to a specific amplifier output design. Without diving too deep into electrical engineering, suffice it to say that Class A is the simplest, most basic circuit topology for an amplifier, and the easiest to design with less inherent distortion. Theoretically, you might say it’s a “perfect,” linear amplifier circuit: the output is […]
Beat Connection: The Beat Composer’s Cheat Sheet
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. Today, we go back to the beginning. In plain terms, we’re outlining how what you see in a drum machine translates to what you’ll find in […]
Polish up on Fret Maintenance
A lot of guitarists are vigilant about changing strings and adjusting their guitar’s truss rod, action and intonation with a good setup, but there’s something to be said about keeping your gear clean. Everyone has that friend who asks to try out your guitar, then hands it back with the fretboard feeling like it was left […]
Go With the (Signal) Flow
Setting up your pedalboard involves a little more thought than just trying to fit everything together like a real-life game of Tetris. When using two or more pedals, experimenting with signal flow often results in significant differences in your tone. In this edition of Guitar Workbench, we’re taking a closer listen to how overdrive pedals […]
Legends of Tone: Brian May
If you know much about Brian May, you know that he may just be the most interesting man in the world. Not only is he the legendary guitarist of the world-renowned rock band Queen, he’s also a doctor of astrophysics, and he owns a company that specializes in 3D stereoscopic imaging, a lifelong fascination of […]
Interview with Stuart Spector
When Stuart Spector released the NS-1 bass for the first time in 1977, it was unlike anything the bass world had seen. Up until that point, electric basses were either derivatives of the popular Precision and Jazz styles developed by Fender, or were one of a handful of unique models designed by the likes of […]
PRS Reveals Reclaimed Wood Vela, CE24
When PRS reps visited zZounds HQ a couple of weeks ago, they brought along a new model that had most of the guitarists in the building drooling. The semi-hollow S2 Vela — along with a CE24 model — is part of the “Reclaimed Limited” series just announced by PRS over the weekend. The series of 600 […]
