I’m a self-confessed vintage tone nut. I’m not hiding in the shadows. I’m fully public with my love of guitar tones of past. That doesn’t mean I don’t embrace new ideas.  I’m open—unless you bring Kemper or Fractal into the conversation. 

Solderless cables are not a new concept. They’ve been around for a few decades. George Ls were the first brand I was introduced to.  I tried George Ls a number of times but they’ve always been unreliable. 

I recently paid a visit to F.S. Lutherie in Brooklyn, NY. They are a small guitar custom shop specializing in repairs and builds, based in the borough’s Greenpoint section. Owner Farhad Soheili met with me to discuss his new line of custom guitars, FSC Guitars. 

If you chat with a guitarist and mention overdrives, you’ll need to pull up a chair and get comfy. You’re gonna be there for a while.  It’s a deep subject partly because there are so many overdrive pedals on the market. It’s flooded with overdrive options.

BrownBox Throughout my years of recording, gigging, and touring I would notice a strange occurrence. My amps seemed to sound different from night to night. At the time, I mostly attributed this to the varying acoustics from room to room. 

For some players, the sound of an acoustic guitar through a monitor or PA could be compared to nails on a chalkboard when plugged directly in. This has led to bad associations for many acoustic guitarists. I can’t say it has been my LEAST favorite experience. 

When it comes to compression, guitarists tend to have a narrow perspective on its uses. People seem to look at a compressor as a tool just to control dynamics.  That is what a compressor does—control dynamics.

Tips For Touring Guitarists  When on tour, there is often an illusion of time. If you look at the tour book (a document handed out right before a tour that details hotels, travel, load ins, sound checks, amenities, etc.), it often appears you’ll have more time to soundcheck or run songs.

One frustrating thing about playing electric guitar live is the variation in tone from night to night. Rooms sizes change as does the materials the room is made from. Reflections can play a bigger role on some nights more then others.  The room sometimes can put handcuffs on our ideal amp tone. 

No matter how much experience you have, the inevitable gear failure is bound to happen at the least opportune time. It doesn’t matter how much you’ve tested your gear at home before you leave. Or how much time you spent in soundcheck making sure your signal path is clean and happy. 

Recently, I took a trip out to Death By Audio effects in NYC. I’ve long been a fan of their pedals. They’re always made effects that are left of center. As a company, I feel they’ve never wanted to make traditional pedals. 

Recently, I got my hands on a new pedal from Danelectro called the Pride of Texas. It’s part of a new line of pedals called the Billionaire series.  The name “Pride of Texas” suggests the pedal is going to be some sort of overdrive. 

A Gig is a Gig is a Gig is a Gig, right? Well, that’s not really an accurate way to think of a career in music. When you’re younger and less experienced you tend to see every gig in the same way. 

Delay pedals are a staple for most guitarists. There are a lot to choose from these days. It seems like most pedal companies have thrown a delay into the pool. Many do the missionary position of delay. We have our meat and potatoes tape delay, analog delay and digital delay.