MXR Phase 90
Guitar

52 pedals, week 7—MXR Phase 90

As I mentioned in my previous article, time has slipped away from me lately. Not posting my weekly articles on time bothered me greatly. I’d let myself down. My family however did not share my pain. Actually, they didn’t appear phased at all. That’s when it came to me. They should be phased. This is a big thing. And when it comes to big things in the phase pedal market, few come close to the MXR Phase 90. It’s been the pedal others aspire towards since 1972.

Time to get phased. … 52 pedals, week 7—MXR Phase 90

Bad Monkey
Guitar

52 pedals, week 6—DigiTech Bad Monkey

For over two years I’ve been writing weekly posts about random pieces of guitar gear I wish I owned. Now that I think about it, why does anybody come back to read this stuff? I’ll never know. Having said that, last week I dropped the ball. I let my real-world life get in the way of a good article. When I say good, I don’t mean it. Clearly I was naughty. Bad Monkey!

And with that piece of honesty I’ve linked to this week’s pedal. Last week’s pedal really. Let’s kick it into overdrive.

See what I did there? … 52 pedals, week 6—DigiTech Bad Monkey

Mystic El Rey Effects
Guitar

52 pedals, week 5—El Rey Effects The Mystic

I enjoyed writing last week’s article in the 52 pedals series so much that I decided to stick with the same theme I’d chosen for that week—pedals I’ve actually played through. The Mystic by El Rey Effects is one of those pedals. And just like last week’s entry, this is a pedal I came across at the 2015 NAMM Show.

As I have played this pedal I will let you know that the settings in the photograph I’ve included with this article are all set to the pedal’s sweet spot. To my liking at least. This pedal has it going on. … 52 pedals, week 5—El Rey Effects The Mystic

Loknob
Guitar

Loknob—knob upgrades for your pedals, amps and more

Loknob was another of the cool pieces of initiative I came across in Hall E at the 2015 NAMM Show. Loknob allows you to easily switch out the knobs on almost any guitar pedal or amplifier with knobs that can be locked into place (stopping accidental adjustments in the live setting). Now you can slam your foot all over that guitar pedal like the badass you are knowing your sound is not going to be affected. Your fans will love you for it. … Loknob—knob upgrades for your pedals, amps and more

Campese Guitar Tone
Guitar

Mike Campese performance at the Sonoma Wire Works booth—NAMM 2015

Last week at NAMM I was lucky enough to catch Mike Campese perform at the Sonoma Wire Works booth at the 2015 NAMM Show. Mike was showcasing the tones the iOS app GuitarTone is capable of. Even though I’ve used GuitarTone several times in the past—even writing about them a few times over the years—I was blown away by the audio quality. My embedded video is not going to do that audio any justice because I was only using an iPhone to capture video/audio, but trust me … It sounded awesome and was loud enough to ensure the NAMM decibel police were on hand to protect all sensitive ears.

Everybody won on this day. … Mike Campese performance at the Sonoma Wire Works booth—NAMM 2015

Strap On
Guitar

Grover Allman launches custom leather guitar straps

Last year I wrote about the custom leather guitar strap I purchased from Grover Allman. Today they officially released them to the masses. That’s you. You can now purchase one of these cool custom guitar straps with just about any design you can imagine printed onto it. Well, you can if you go to the Custom Printed Guitar Strap page of the Grover Allman website. But you’d need a link for that. Oh wait … … Grover Allman launches custom leather guitar straps

Fluff
Guitar

Ryan Bruce performance at the Cleartone Strings booth—NAMM 2015

One of the things I liked the most about the 2015 NAMM Show was how easy it was to come across people I’ve recognised from the Internet and/or bands. For example, I saw John Petrucci, George Lynch, Paul Riario, The Tone King and Ryan Bruce. I know those people aren’t all huge on Twitter, but that’s where I like to hang out (hence the Twitter links). I also came across people who knew who I was (once I gave them one of my business cards or plectrums). That was flattering and weird. Because I am nobody.

Better than just seeing someone I recognised, was watching and listening to them play live at NAMM. That’s exactly what I did when Ryan Bruce played at the Cleartone Strings booth. It was pretty impressive to be honest. … Ryan Bruce performance at the Cleartone Strings booth—NAMM 2015

One Shot
Guitar

52 pedals, week 4—Main.Ace.FX One Shot

This week I get to do something that I imagine I’ll do rarely during this series of 52 Pedals. I’ll get to write about a pedal I have actually played through. A pedal I have tried and obviously liked. If I didn’t like it, why would I write about it? I wouldn’t obviously. So hopefully that gives the One Shot by Main.Ace.FX a little bit more street cred. Because it is tried and tested—by me.

Conveniently, it’s also now available for purchase. Timing is everything. … 52 pedals, week 4—Main.Ace.FX One Shot

BOSS Roland
Guitar

Roland releases a whole heap of awesome

Yesterday afternoon Roland let slip that a few new products would be unleashed at NAMM. Actually, they’ll be unleashing a fair amount of innovation this year if all goes well. Unleash is their new thing. I like it. In particular, I like the look of the newly released Eric Johnson Blues Cube Tone Capsule and the BOSS ES-8 Effects Switching System. I was lucky enough to see them working first-hand at the Roland pre-NAMM launch. Pictures below! … Roland releases a whole heap of awesome