T-Rex Engineering is a Danish company built initially on the success of their MIDI gear for guitar. Venturing into the world of stomp boxes over a decade ago, T-Rex adopted a philosophy of simple design with focused, high quality performance. With their ToneBug series, T-Rex simplifies design further in order to offer the same high quality at a more affordable price.

The T-Rex Tonebug Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal!

FRESH OUTTA THE BOX

My initial impression pulling the spartan aquamarine pedal out of the box was that of a vintage 50’s home appliance. This may sound like I’m poking fun but I’m not – the pedal looks cool! The casing is all metal and the base is heavy duty plastic with a little bit of a rubbery feel. The pedal has weight and I feel like I could drive over it with a tank and then have to change the treads on the tank. Three shiny chrome knobs on top serve as the controls and sit atop a brushed aluminum base labeled with the knobs’ functions. They’re thick and turn smoothly with the perfect amount of drag to dial them into place where they’ll stay put. A wide rectangular ON light rests atop the pedal face just above the knobs. The footswitch is equally heavy duty with good action on the spring inside and it’s well clear of the knobs so there’s little risk of tap-dancing your controls out of whack. Metal input and output jacks on either side of a 9V power adapter plug are reinforced with hard plastic washers. The battery compartment is accessible underneath the pedal via a door that swings open. Thank you T-Rex for not making me have to break out a screwdriver to get to the battery! An extra nice touch is the battery door is hinged to the pedal which greatly minimizes the chance of losing it.

SHIFTING INTO OVERDRIVE!

Being in a vintage mood I chose to test this pedal with my Goldtop Epiphone ES-295 which is a hollowbody sporting a pair of P90’s. I used the blend of neck and bridge pickups and took this signal through the overdrive into a Blackheart Little Giant Half Stack. No other effects were used. Here’s the clean unaffected sound.

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With the tone knob set “flat” at 5, I turned the gain knob halfway as well and “kicked into overdrive”. The bright red LED gave me clear indication I was good to go but I was surprised by the lack of feedback from the footswitch. I’m used to a nice ‘ka-chunk’. This footswitch doesn’t ‘ka-chunk’, rather it smoothly presses down and springs back up. At first I was put off by this, but the more I used it, the more I liked it – something I could get used to. More importantly, switching the pedal on and off is totally silent! No pops of any kind. Sweet! Overdriving away, my tone got crunchy with real grit. My biggest problem with a lot of overdrive pedals is how they suck away the lower frequencies while pushing the mids making for a harsh sound. This pedal pushes that mid level crunch but maintains the bottom end so it is more of a full signal. The quality of the crunch is a bit clippy which affects warmth and clarity but the fullness of the tone helps make up for it.

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With gain turned up to 10, I rocked to full overdrive. My tone was dirty, aggressive, and wanted to punch you in the face. The pedal came into its own and I really enjoyed dishing out raw overdrive. Comparing the previous setting to this one, the gain knob feels almost like a blend control in that it’s controlling a mix of dry signal and overdrive rather than the dry signal itself going into overdrive. Still a bit clippy for my taste, but this pedal definitely dishes out the dirt.

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Though not advertised as a clean boost, I tried this pedal with no gain to see how clean a signal I could get. I achieved equality in volume with the pedal both on and off between 3 and 4 on the level knob. This left plenty of room to boost volume to taste. But this pedal is not a clean boost – there’s a little bit of grunge no matter how the pedal is dialed in. This grunge doesn’t change throughout the range of the level control, however, which is helpful in dialing in your sound. The following example starts with a few bars of the dry signal and then you’ll hear the boost kick in. My level setting for this example was halfway at 5 so you can imagine how much more this pedal can be cranked.

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Finally, I tested the range of the tone control. With gain set between 7 and 8, I dialed tone all the way up. This emphasized, as you would expect, the higher end. Happily the lower end was preserved and T-Rex found the right spot to push resulting in brighter, sharper sound without going overboard into piercing harshness – in other words, the tone control is useful all the way to its max setting. The first few bars of the audio example are dry followed by overdrive.

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T-Rex scored again with tone turned all the way down. I was prepared for mud. I was met with a boost in the low to mid frequencies that worked in conjunction with my original sound, preserving the quality of the signal while giving it a round bottom boost.

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THE FINAL WRAP

T-Rex hits the bullseye for simplicity and quality. This pedal is built as well as any I’ve ever used. It looks cool and the controls serve the intended purpose – no more, no less. I’m impressed by how quiet this pedal is even when maxing out the settings. My only two requests would be to trade in the clipping quality of the overdrive for more natural sounding crunch and the ability to completely dial out the gain for boost that is pure and clean.

PROS: Built like a tank. Quiet! Maintains dry signal integrity. Great vintage look.

CONS: No clean boost. Overdrive is a little artificial sounding.

MSRP – $129

* * * * *

Dan Coplan is senior staff writer at SMG. Dan is a Los Angeles based cinematographer and self-admitting guitar junkie. Email: dancoplan@sharemyguitar.com

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Danelectro recently phased out their Cool Cat Transparent Overdrive CTO-1 pedal for the CTO-2 which adds features to let guitarists further customize their sound. These additions come in the form of four DIP switches located inside the battery compartment. Otherwise the look and function of the pedals and external controls are identical.

Danelectro Transparent Overdrive: version 1: CTO-1 and version 2: CTO-2

A Guitar, Effects Pedal, Amp & Mic

The audio examples were played with a Westone Prestige (Les Paul style double humbucker) using the bridge pickup into a Blackheart Little Giant Half Stack with EQ (bass, mid, treble) set flat at 12 o’clock. The amp was mic’d with a large condenser mic and recorded into Apple’s Logic Pro. No processing was added anywhere along the chain aside from the pedals. Here is an example of the clean signal:

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The CTO-1 is a great pedal and “transparent” is an accurate description. I’ve tried a number of OD’s and have often been disappointed by the way they tend to drop the bottom out of the tone and emphasize the mid range. The CTO-1 maintains sonic integrity qualifying it by my definition as “transparent”. With gain set to zero and volume turned all the way up this pedal acts as a clean boost. It’s not much of a boost at these settings but there is a little bump and the sound is warm and full. As gain is turned up, output is increased and you can get more clean boost this way until the signal starts to give way to overdrive around 3 or 4 o’clock. This pedal gets loud so I had to balance the increase in gain with a decrease in volume. Here’s an audio example of the CTO-1 with gain turned up halfway:

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Pump Up the Volume

With gain cranked all the way the pedal spits out a raw and heavy crunch which is very tasty! EQ controls include treble and bass. The pedal is in its flat setting with these two set halfway. Increasing the treble predictably increases noise but it was quieter than expected. The amount of gain plays a role as an increase smooths out any harshness and offers a razor like crunch. With gain dropped to zero the pedal becomes surprisingly quiet and in this case the increased treble gives the sound presence. In cranking the bass and gain knobs I got beefy, heavy fuzz sounds that made me want to play the riff from “Smoke on the Water” over and over. Dialing gain down to zero resulted in a more muted sound but still with a little extra body.

With the CTO-2 Danelectro reworked the circuity to allow for various degrees of compression by means of three DIP switches, each one offering more compression. A fourth switch offers additional gain of 6 dB. I love options but in this case the re-engineering of the pedal resulted in tone that is more harsh and metallic sounding than its predecessor. The following audio example is the CTO-2 with identical settings as the CTO-1 above with no DIP switches engaged:

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A mid-level emphasis starts to give the sound a harsh and metallic feel that’s more like an electric-sounding boost than a warm analog crunch. For the next example I engaged DIP switch 3 which is J-Fet compression, the most restrictive of the choices. The concept is that headroom is reduced as transients are contained:

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I found that this had a thinning effect and made the sound more brittle and harsh.

With gain turned all the way up on the CTO-2, the sound was very crunchy but not warm at all and it felt like my signal was clipping. Bass frequencies from my original tone were still there but were overpowered by an electronic feeling grit. With gain turned all the way down this pedal shined as a clean boost offering more of a bump than the CTO-1 and with the boost switch engaged, an additional 6 dB of gain is made available.

Cranking the treble is surprisingly quiet – Danelectro nailed that one. It gives a little clarity but not the more pleasant presence of the CTO-1. Adding gain with the treble cranked just adds harshness. Cranking the bass is like adding mud and as this control is increased, the pedal gets farty. Add gain and you get farty distortion. But there is a point at which it starts sounding like a synthesizer. While I’m sure this wasn’t Danelectro’s intention, it’s actually kind of cool for specific applications.

The Low Down

I have a lot of respect for Danelectro as the quality of their gear with respect to price is truly impressive and their pedals are fun! Unfortunately they’ve lost sight of the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” because the CTO-1 is a killer pedal all around while the CTO-2 comes up short in too many ways. I hope they realize their mistake and revert back to the original version because the CTO-1 is nearly impossible to find. If you do come across one, grab it!

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Danelectro Transparent Overdrive: CTO-1

PROS: Great sounding warm, analog, transparent overdrive! Great value.

CONS: None except you can’t find them anymore.

BUILD QUALITY – 8

TONAL QUALITY – 10

DESIGN – 8

VALUE – 10

OVERALL – 9

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Danelectro Transparent Overdrive: CTO-2

PROS: Quiet treble EQ. Up to 12 dB of boost. Affordable.

CONS: Harsh and artificial sounding. Compression switches limit sound even further.

BUILD QUALITY – 8

TONAL QUALITY – 4

DESIGN – 8

VALUE – 7

OVERALL – 6

Oscar Jordan of SMG Reviewing The HardWire CM-2 overdrive pedal from DigiTech

The DigiTech HardWire CM-2 is a tube overdrive pedal that knocked our socks off. This versatile effects stomper can accommodate everything from a little gain bump to enhance those bluesy tones to a killer turbo boost for that screaming distortion you’ve been looking for. The DigiTech HardWire pedal gives you true bypass and high voltage operation. It’s a well made and rugged all-metal casing that is wide enough for your big foot and looks like it can handle a beating. We can go on and on about the features but why not just watch Oscar Jordan explain it live on video, check it out….

From DigiTech: Overdrive should be transparent and responsive to your touch and the CM-2 Tube Overdrive offers this with two modes of operation: Classic and Modified. Classic is transparent and articulate while Modified adds more gain and a “bigger” low end.

MSRP: $139.95

Technical Specifications:

Inputs/Outputs

* Input: 1/4” Unbalanced (Tip-Sleeve)
* Input Impedance: 500 kOhms – effect on
* Output: 1/4” Unbalanced (Tip-Sleeve)
* Output Impedance: 1 kOhm – effect on

Controls

* Level, Low, High, Gain knobs
* Classic/Modified switch, On/Off foot switch

Power Requirements

* Power Input: 9 VDC
* Power Consumption: 220mW
* Current Draw: 25mA
* Battery Type: Single 9 VDC
* Battery Life: 17 Hours

Get ready guitar maniacs! The NAMM 2010 convention begins tomorrow in Anaheim, California. SMG will be there reporting on the sites, sounds and oh yes… the gear. You can follow us on Twitter where will be sending out a steady stream of live tweets straight from the source. Our Facebook page will also be regularly updated and you can even be one of the first to join the Share My Guitar Social Network for Guitarist, where you can expect to find plenty of buzz from NAMM.

As discussed in my last post, tone is a very personal thing and what I enjoy may not be loved by each and every person.  With that in mind, this will be a general article. I’m not going to tell you to buy this or that, but rather try to encourage you to explore your options. I would highly recommend that you experiment and research what your looking for so as to not waste time and money. A tip is to use websites like craigslist or ebay, where great or hard to find gear can be acquired at pennies on the dollar. I know many guitarist and musicians in general do this with great success. So on to the article……

This week I would like to discuss pedals and effects. Besides having a quality amp and a great guitar, owning a few or several pedals can open up a world of tonal possibilities you may never have even knew existed. Guitar effect pedals are usually left between the guitar and front of the amp, although some pedals can be run through the effects loop with better results (delay pedals) or different sonic ranges.

Another cool thing with pedals is how they interact with one another and how putting them in different orders between your guitar and amp can yield vastly different tones. Remember that you must experiment a bit to find the tones you hear in your head.

The most common effect pedals are; overdrive, distortion, chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo, wah, reverb, and delay. Some other effects not as commonly used but just as cool are ring modulators, harmony/pitch shifting pedals, compressors, looper, octave, and synth. Lets look at each one individually.

Overdrive: Overdrive pedals are cool in a few ways that I know of. The first is in front of an already gainy Marshall type amp. If you crank the level, keep the gain low and the tone in the middle you can
make your amp a tight hard rock/metal sounding monster. When this is done the amp gets added compression and punch so playing seems easier and the amp is more fluid sounding. Many players like Zakk Wylde do this for their core sound. Also, in front of a clean amp you can use an overdrive pedal to get a nice gritty sound for blues or some classic rock.

Distortion: Distortion pedals are cool for many of the same things I mentioned with overdrive pedals. The difference is that these pedals have more gain and can get a much heavier sound when used with a clean amp.

Chorus: Chorus pedals add a nice sparkle or depth to your tone. When I think of chorus pedals I think of guys in hard rock bands using them to add a depth or width to their tones. On the other hand, using chorus pedals can add a certain wetness to your sound which take away from the amp’s attack and punchiness. I use the beginning of Knocking on Heaven’s Door by Guns N Roses as a reference.

Flanger: My personal favorite effect…sorry I had to interject that point. These pedals can give you the jet plane taking off sound, to a crazy vibrato warble, to just about any crazy demented sound you have in mind. They are similar to chorus in that they thicken the tone as well, but add a certain wetness that some won’t like. Listen to Van Halen’s Unchained for a good example.

Phaser: When I think of phasers I think Eddie Van Halen. He would often leave one on for many rhythm and lead parts. It would add this sort of rising and falling sound, which is the phasing sound. Again, these are similar to chorus and flanger pedals.

Tremolo: This effect is often heard on old 50s and 60s surf rock. It sounds like the amp is increasing and decreasing in volume. When sped up super fast they sound intense and kind of like a chocking on and off sound. Think about the beginning of Green Day’s Blvd of Broken Dreams.

Wah: The most used, abused and often overused effect. From Clapton, to Hendrix, to Slash to virtually every rock player, this effect is king. It mimics the sound of turning the tone pot from bass to treble on your guitar. It’s a very vocal effect and can be used to express yourself by making the guitar speak. My favorite wah song is Hendrix’s Voodoo Chile.

Reverb: Reverb is basically another way of saying echo. Its like standing in a big room and letting the air and largeness of the room hold your sound.  Also in front of a clean amp this effect makes your sound insanely lush and pretty, a la Santana.

Delay: Delay is another personal favorite of mine. Delay is basically a step past reverb in that it is echo but it also adds repeats to your playing. So you can play a note and that note will keep echoing or repeating for a length of your choosing. Playing lead guitar with some delay added in is an amazing sound that can make you sound like a million bucks. Also add it to your rhythm playing like the Edge from U2 for a cool layered type sound.

For other effects like synths, ring modulators and pitch shifters look into what is out there. Musician’s friend and other online music stores have a huge catalog on gear. I would investigate into what you like and see how it is done. Also check out effects on youtube because people like to post videos showing off the cool tones they are getting from their gear. Often times as a kid I would try and read articles on my favorite players to see the gear they used. Now you can simply google “Slash Guitar Gear” and within seconds have an idea of how Slash gets his sound.

While you now know about the basics of using guitar effects, remember that effects are meant to take your playing to a new level, and not to make up for not being able to play. Start with your dry or ‘uneffected’ sound and go from there. As you begin to add in effects, remember that it all starts with your hands and most importantly, your guitar.

Great tone is a very subjective thing that is unique and personal to every person. Let me begin this article by saying that. Let me also say that tone is caused by many things which all go into a blender so to speak and as a result you have a “tone.” While I freely admit to being a guitar geek when it comes to gear, this article is not going to dive into whether Seymour Duncan or EMG makes better pickups or whether you ought to use Ernie Ball or GHS strings. We have harmony central message boards for that, but what I am hoping to accomplish is more so a broad or general how to, on how to get a great tone for you and your needs.

The Guitar: Between your hands and the guitar are three vital things. The pick, the strings and the guitar’s pickups. Each item is worth looking at.

Do you use a thin, medium or heavy pick? Each pick is excellent at causing a certain tone and vibe. If you’re playing hard rock, I would suggest you use a heavy pick. If strumming chords on an acoustic, it’s preference, but lighter picks often sound beautiful in that application. Also for finger picking you can buy finger picks.

What gauge strings are you using? This should depend on what you tune to, and what your style is. Light gauge strings are brighter and give more when played. With 8 or 9 gauge strings player can do 2 whole step bends and playing and vibrato are very easy. With heavy strings, 10s or 11s, the player can dig in more and the guitar plays heavier with more resistance like an acoustic guitar. Also, if you drop tune think of this equation. If you use 9s in standard tuning and want to tune down to Eb use a higher gauge string like a 10. The resistance will feel similar and strings wont be too easily bent or feel loose.

What pickups are in the guitar? Are they the stock pickups that came with your guitar, or are they higher grade makes from companies that only are know for making pickups. I would tell you to go for pickups made from manufactures who only make pickups. In general they are just better and often time great pickups in an inexpensive guitar can sound just as good as average or stock pickups in an expensive guitar. Also, are your pickups passive and use magnets, or are they active and use a battery? Again this difference is enormous. Passive pickups allow the guitar’s tonal character from the wood and glue to be heard more so than active pickups. Please remember that pickups are a key in getting certain tones from your guitar.

The Amp: If I had to have a great guitar and a so so amp, or a so so guitar and a great amp I would take the latter. An amp has so much to do with your tone. If you plug into a Fender Twin and expect high gain rock sound you won’t like what you find. You really need to search for what it is that you are looking for tonally from an amp. Do you want a beautiful clean channel? A searing metal lead sound? Think of what sound you are really going for, and then do your research. In general I think of amps in families for lack of a better idea. If I want a nice clean channel for blues, or jazz, or some pop I would go with a Fender-type amp. These amps typically stay clean even when very loud and do not distort very easily. If I want a rock or hard rock sound I would go with a Marshall-type of amp. These amps distort and have a vocal mid-range that lets you cut through a rock-type rhythm section. If I want a more metal sound, I would go for a Mesa Boogie-type of amp. These amps sound punishing and very aggressive with a heavy low end sound.

When looking at an amp you need to know a few other things as well. Are they tube or solid state? Tube amps are know to “sound better,” and are often preferred over solid state. That being said, solid state amps such as Randall have amazing metal sounds and Roland Jazz chorus amps have amazing clean tones. If you decide to buy a tube amp, know what tubes they use. Marshall-type amps usually use EL34 tubes which break up and distort right away. On the other hand, Fender-type amps use 6L6 tubes which do not break up much even at high volumes preserving their clean tone. There are many tubes on the market so again do your research.

Do you want an effects loop? Often times people run certain effects into an effects loop so that the effect(s) perform at their best. An effects loop comes between an amp’s preamp and power amp section. Think of it as a cup holder between the front seat and passenger seat in a car. Here people place effects like delay or effects that they do not want before their amp’s preamp if they run it with a lot of gain.

Lastly with amps, do you want a combo or a head and cabinet? Combo amps are usually seen in amps like a Fender Twin while Marshall stacks are a head and cabinet. Remember to look into what speakers are in your combo amp or cabinet. Changing the speakers or using different speakers can cause very different tones. For example low watt speakers like Celestion Greenbacks distort at lower volumes than say Celestion vintage 30s which break up or distort at higher volumes. Often times blending speakers in your cab (using multiple different speakers) can cause cool results since you can get a wide array of tones in one cab or combo.

I hope that this helps anyone out there trying to get a basic idea of your tonal options in guitars and amps. Of course I could go into more detail but this is an excellent starting point for anyone who isn’t a guitar geek like me. One last tip though, play your guitar!

Who doesn’t remember their first pedals without feelings of nostalgia? For me it was back in junior high. I had recently bought an electric guitar (cream white Squier Strat that I still cherish and play to this day) and a raging Peavey practice amp with raunchy distortion and mega output for such a small box (I kept it for over 20 years). The next step in my discovery of everything guitar was effects pedals. My newspaper route didn’t allow for higher end gear, at least not as soon as I wanted to get my hands on those suckers, so I went with the cheapest I could find – Arion. Anybody remember these? All plastic chassis and controls, but rugged. The easiest battery access I’ve seen in any pedal since with the 9V hiding just under a clip-on plate between the foot switch and controls. The name of the pedal was printed in bold black letters on this plate which was a different color for each pedal. I LOVED these things! I didn’t have anything to compare them to but they sounded great. I started with the stereo chorus and this opened my eyes so wide to the possibilities of limitless tone crafting that it was followed quickly by a stereo phaser and stereo flanger. When it came time to grab a delay, I was so entranced by what I had already experienced, I saved up extra coinage for a bright yellow metal encased Yamaha pedal. I can’t even begin to count the hours spent dialing in wacky space-aged sounds as I tweaked the repeats and delay speeds on the fly.

Eventually my small pedal collection and guitar playing took a backseat to college and establishing life in the “real world” (a downright horrible excuse and one of much regret). It wasn’t until the advent of amp and effect modeling that I was sucked back into the pure joy of rocking my 6-strings. I was at a friend’s house and he pulled out this red kidney-shaped object with a bunch of dials and a wicked cool amber display. Line 6’s POD. The heavens opened and a string symphony in my gut announced the Second Coming of guitar nirvana. I was 15 again, but 15 on auditory steroids. How pathetic those four cheap Japanese pedals when I now had in front of me a multitude of amps and effects in a single unit. Fast forward to the internet in full swing and Line 6’s interface with which I could not only download custom tones but tones designed specifically for my favorite songs! What would you do? Exactly. I joined a cover band. I bought Line 6’s way cool short-board to bring pedal power to the POD and downloaded dozens of tones to match the songs the band was learning. I would practice at home through headphones and the sh-t sounded amazing. But a funny thing happened at rehearsal.

I played rhythm to the band leader’s lead guitar. There I was with my fancy POD, slick short-board, and custom tones. He had a simple pedal board with a handful of kickers. I felt smug. And then we started jamming. He played with ease transitioning smoothly between songs clicking on a pedal here, off a pedal there. His tones were rich and organic. I scrambled between songs to remember which patch was where and I sounded…kinda synthetic. I no longer felt smug.

It was a tough decision considering the investment of time and money I put into what I thought was the quintessential guitar effects rig, but ultimately I had to face my feelings of inadequacy and come full circle – back to rocking pedals. The effects of my youth vaporized a long time ago but I’m now running a Crybaby wah, Fulltone GT500, Keeley compressor, MXR Carbon Copy delay and 6-band EQ, and a BOSS TU-2. I’m keeping it simple (for now!). My tone has improved, everything is simpler and more manageable, and there’s just something grounding about stomping on pedals – I feel closer to my rig. I’ve even gone so far as to design and build my own pedal board, but those details are for another article.

Alright, I’ve been stewing for a while over what irks me. I am not big on mixing new technology and guitars. There, I said it.

First off, I know Guitar Hero is just a game. The game teaches the masses nothing about playing a guitar. It might as well be in the shape of a plastic armadillo with buttons on it. It would get the same job done. The Johnson Smith Company is selling a contraption called an E-Z Chord device that clamps on your guitar neck and you can play chords with one finger? At least do that. It involves a guitar AND teaches you nothing. Go to skymall.com and pick up one of those for under $50. That’s right, a Swap Meet guitar and one of those is still cheaper than Guitar Hero, and you will instantly be fully qualified to join SMG.com as a guitarist. Please post a picture of your new axe and that awesome alien device clamped to its neck, which renders the guitar unplayable.

Guitar Effect Pedals – Photo by BTBAM

There are folks in the industry who dream up stuff that is unnecessary and market it to the masses as mandatory equipment. Like what you ask? How about guitar tuners. I took a few, and I mean a few lessons when I was a kid. On my first lesson, the instructor showed me how to tune a guitar by ear. On my second visit, he twisted all the tuners up and down in different directions and handed the guitar back to me and said “fix this”. I did, and lesson #2 began. It didn’t require a $99.99 tuner from the mega guitar store (I don’t need to say the name, do I?).

How about guitar pedals? What? Seriously, I have a couple I like. The gain and tone knobs do it for me most of the time. Some guys I know have a suitcase full of them for gigs that takes up as much space on the floor as a drum kit. I watch these guys during shows and most only step on a couple, maybe three the whole night. The rest are brightly colored “flair” that serve as a shoulder rotator cup irritant for the person who has the honor to lug that suitcase around. I remember how Great Grandma had an organ in the parlor that had some settings that made weird sounds. I would mess around with them. I also remember that after 5 minutes of playing with those switches it made everyone in the rooms’ pupils turn red as they all contemplated my early demise! Enough said about that. Besides, I never saw live or on video, B.B. King , Eric Clapton or Jeff Beck standing on a mountain of pedals.

Fender Road Worn Strat

Road Worn guitars also drive me nuts. Sorry Fender, I love you guys but the whole idea of selling “pre-damaged” guitars at an extra cost does not sit well with me. We used to call new guitars with flaws “seconds” and they were sold at a substantial discount. The guy or girl that came up with that idea should get a Nobel Prize in AUDACIOUS MARKETING. I am not intentionally hard on my guitars, but most dings, cracks and finish fades I have inflicted on my guitars were not only accidental, but were so sickening to me when they happened, I actually was grief stricken and felt nausea coming on. Why not throw $1,500 bucks out your car window the next time you are on the freeway and call it a “pre-stolen” guitar? Rather than make up stories about world tour gigs where your guitar got banged up, you can tell a wild one about how your guitar was stolen out of your Lamborgini while you were dining with Jimmy Page. You can be a Guitar Hero master and pull that one off. No guitar playing required. Ah, but what about the Lamborghini you ask? Stolen the next day. Who would have guessed?!

I didn’t mention the Gibson Robot Guitar. Why? Because I want one! The thing about me not liking mixing technology and guitars? As it turns out, I lied. To my friends at Gibson, I like the blue one the best.

Guest post by Jennifer Gamble

I don’t use a guitar amp anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the amp sound! What I don’t love is lugging the thing around, trying to find a spot on the stage where it will fit, and then the volume battles between myself and the other band members. So I plug my pedals directly into the house mixer. My guitar comes through our huge main speakers in all its full glory, while I hear a controlled sound through my wireless in-ear monitors.

Let’s face it; there are some really good pedals out there today that have everything a player needs. Combined effects, pedals, amp simulators, and cabinet modelers give you the best of all worlds rolled into one and they are fairly inexpensive. I chose an effects unit with a built-in tube, because I found that the tube gave a warm, amp-like quality to the sounds. However, the key is in the programming.

To begin, have a sound in mind that you are going for. My goal was to capture my old Marshall Amp sound. I plugged my guitar into an AB box which I ran to both my Marshall and a JBL floor monitor with my effects plugged into it through the mixer. This way, I could easily switch between the two for comparison. My advice to those of you who are programming new sounds is start with a clean, flat sound, with all the effects off. Now use your ears people! Try to match your EQ to the sound you are trying to emulate. Remember, if you want to change guitars, it will most likely change the sound of your EQ. You may want to store a separate bank of patches for each guitar that you plan to use. Once you have your EQ set, you can move on to the distortion settings. You can use compression to add to your overdrive effect and give it more sustain. Be careful with the distortion, though. Unless you are slamming death metal, you may not want an explosion of noise every time you touch the strings. Satisfied with your sound so far? Go ahead and make a copy of it into another patch now – before you mess with it and lose it!

As for adding reverb, delay, chorus, and flange, my rule of thumb is “don’t go overboard”! When setting these types of effects, you should focus first on the timing and depth of the effect. Once you have it sounding the way you want, mix it into your existing sound by bringing the overall effect level down. Aim for being able to hear the effect without it drowning out the original sound.

Proper programming of effects takes patience. You don’t have to read and memorize the entire manual. Use it as a reference guide. Whether you use your pedals to enhance your amp sound or for your main guitar sound, do everyone a favor and take the time to tune them. How can we hear your guitar if it is buried under a wall of wailing effects?