Marshall and Blackstar—if you’re looking for a classic British amp tone, odds are you’re looking to buy one of these two. The companies share a similar aesthetic, both in terms of sound and design. And there’s a very good reason for that: Blackstar was founded by former Marshall sound engineers in 2007, nearly 50 years […]
Continue reading →Distortion pedals for solid state amp – the prevailing wisdom in the guitar equipment world is that effects like boost, distortion, and overdrive don’t play nicely with such amplifiers. In fact, if you ask most guitarists for a recommendation, they’ll tell you the best way to get more distortion is to buy a tube amp. […]
Continue reading →So . . . P90 vs humbucker for jazz—conventional wisdom says the humbucker is the hands-down best pickup for this music genre. But this wisdom was coined decades ago, and modern jazz encompasses a much broader sonic landscape. This begs the question of whether the humbucker is still the best pickup choice for jazz guitarists, […]
Continue reading →The doom metal subgenre is often said to go back to the iconic band Black Sabbath, though it really came into its own in the 1980s when the Candlemass album Epicus Doomicus Metallicus gave the genre its name. While there’s a lot of variety in modern doom metal, they all share a plodding, bass-heavy sound […]
Continue reading →Finding the right vocal amp for screaming is a bit difficult. The human voice is a pretty complicated instrument, sonically speaking, and it’s difficult to capture its depth and nuance right in an electronic signal, especially when screaming. The kind of microphone you’re using is the most important factor, but once you have that piece […]
Continue reading →Getting a guitar amp with a headphone jack makes a lot of sense. Sure, you can always play softly by unplugging entirely but then you don’t hear your true tone through your amp. A headphone jack is a great alternative for quiet practice. You’ll still hear what you really sound like—without treating your entire neighborhood […]
Continue reading →Mounting a P90 in a humbucker slot makes a lot of sense. After all, switching out your pickups is one of the easiest (and cheapest) ways to customize your guitar’s sound. Changing from a humbucker to a single-coil pickup will give you the most dramatic sonic shift. Unfortunately, it traditionally means other shifts, too, since […]
Continue reading →Versatile guitar amps are a great investment. Some amps do one sound really well, but you’d also want something that can give you a range of sonic possibilities. If you play in multiple styles or genres, you’ll save yourself a lot of hassle and money if you get an amp that can do it all. […]
Continue reading →Finding the right metalcore pedal isn’t the simplest process. After all, it takes a special kind of distortion pedal to handle the heavy, fast riffs played by a good metalcore guitarist. Even though the tempos tend a bit slower than in genres like thrash metal, you still need effects that won’t muddy your sound or […]
Continue reading →With psychedelic bass pedals, there’s no one size fits all answer. Ask a player in the genre and they’ll tell you almost any effects pedal will work—it’s all about the way you use it. Having said that, though, there are some effects categories you’ll find on the pedal board of pretty much every psychedelic bassist. […]
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