I had tried a friend's EH Holy Grail pedal and was surprised at how realistic the spring reverb setting sounded through a guitar amp. Great pedal to have, especially if you're using a reverb-less amp....
It's a nice story. A few years ago Planet Waves was a modestly successful company that made good-looking guitar straps. Then the J. D'Addario string company acquired it. Instead of being chewed up and...
Ever try to get the best of both worlds by sending a guitar signal through two amps using an A-B-Y box? I used to love this technique in theory, but every time I tried it, I was left severely...
Is it me, or is modeling getting a bit out of control? Seems like every plug-in, amp, outboard effect, keyboard, and even guitar these days relies on modeling circuitry to simulate some classic sound...
DI boxes. We all rely on them to record electric instruments directly and to perform impedence matching chores. They've never been known as the most glamorous piece of studio gear, but they're surely...
Love it or hate it, the Pod by Line 6 is here to stay. And now it's got a companion, the Variax modeling guitar. Just as the Pod was intended to replace a warehouse full of amps and effects, the...
Crazy as it sounds, well-financed producers, engineers, and studio owners have for years been willing to pay upwards of $30,000 for a genuine Fairchild 670 stereo compressor. These back (and bank)...
The MXL V69 Mogami Edition is the latest in a parade of low-priced tube condenser mics on the market today. MXL's parent company, Marshall Electronics, has been the North American distributor for...
Every once in a while, a signal processor comes along that does so many things so well that you feel like it's the last 19" wide box you'll ever have to buy. In the '80s, it was the Yamaha SPX-90. In...
SE. Electronics is one of many companies these days who are marketing Chinese-made condenser microphones for prices which border on the absurd. The company offered my studio a discount rate (on top of...
All right, this thing is really cool. Sadly, it's also very expensive and is an extreme example of a "one trick pony." But what a trick, man! The Seek Wah sends your signal through a series of...
About five years ago I was one of the many folks who "rediscovered" the late Clarence White's super-cool faux- pedal steel guitar techniques with the Byrds and very much wanted to install a...
