Last month, we checked out an extremely underrated pedal from the past, one that really deserves to be talked about more: the DigiTech HardWire DL-8 Stereo Delay Looper. Not being able to help ourselves, we found a counterpart pedal to that beauty, and have it for you today. The RV-7 Stereo Reverb fits in perfectly next to its delay brother, offering up reverberated tones featuring everything from jazz room to surf rock spring to...
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There are certain series of pedals that seem to really stand the test of time, and stand out themselves, as individuals and as a collective group. The 9 Series and Tone-Lok pedals from Ibanez. Mid-80’s Boss pedals. The late 70’s DOD bigboxes. And, the group we’re going to venture into today: the Hardwire Series from DigiTech. This 10 pedal series featured a wide range of genres to choose from, and today we want to...
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Sometimes, you just know an effect is going to be rad based solely on its name, and today’s pedal proves that once again. The Dirty Robot from DigiTech is a mini-synth pedal, turning your guitar or bass into a close-to-full-blown synthesizer, without having to worry about a second pickup or interface to haul around. A powerful effect indeed, there’s lots to learn about it, so let’s dive right in! There are a bunch of...
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Today’s wicked rad and partially insane pedal is of the delay variety – a shocker, I’m sure, given how much we love delay around here. This one really steps it up a notch, though, and introduces some great features to accentuate and exasperate your delayed tone, feel and sound. DigiTech has been immersed in the delay world for years now, and the TimeBender Digital Delay might just be their most complex and...
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When I first got really into doing these reviews, reverb was sort of a take-it-or-leave-it effect. Now, before you chastise me too much, I have seen the proverbial light, and reverb has slowly crept up on my subconscious, and become one of my favorite effects to use. Especially when you have one like today’s pedal, the Polara Reverb from DigiTech, that’s loaded with a ton of options and a ton of great sounds as well. The...
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Delays with lots of options, bells and whistles have always intrigued me, and many other players, I’m sure. I like these delays even better when they’re housed in a small enclosure, still offering the tones and sounds of some of the big boxes, but with a smaller pedalboard footprint. One I came across recently that met all of these criteria and more was the Obscura Altered Delay from Digitech. This pedal looks wicked,...
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As a self taught guitar player, I’ve been trying to find ways to get some practice playing along to a rhythm track. CD’s, prerecorded backing tracks, loopers, you name it, I’ve tried it. They get old pretty quick, or my playing skill isn’t good enough. I started hearing about the Trio a few months ago and was pretty curious. I got the chance to get a demo of the pedal and was hooked.This thing is super user...
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Chances are, you’ve heard of the infamous Whammy WH-1 Pitch Shifter pedal if you play guitar. Made popular by such guitar gurus as Tom Morello, The Edge, Steve Vai and more, it’s a staple of many famous guitar rigs, and capable of creating some of the most unique tones ever played, live or in the studio. The Whammy II was next generation pedal that followed the WH-1, and although it boasts the same internal chip and...
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This Digitech Hardwire TR-7 Tremolo/Rotary pedal is amazing, with 7 different modes it’s a blast to tinker with. 4 basic knobs: Speed, Depth, Modify and the Type Selector knob. The first two knobs are self-explanatory, but the modify knob does many different things depending on what setting you’re on. It either changes waveform, tone, secondary speed, dry mix, chorus or vibrato mix or phase. You can get amazing sounds out...
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First off, to be perfectly honest, I’m not entirely sure why the TimeBender from Digitech is not on the delay pedal A-list. This thing is super powerful, sounds great and is relatively inexpensive. DigiTech has a prolonged history of making incredibly innovative pedals. The TimeBender combines conventional effects with some nutty, yet still sweet delay effects. The interface is great, and the ability that it gives you to...
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The Digitech XP 400 Reverberator pedal is one of the first reverb stompboxes with a expression pedal. It was a part of the “XP Series” along with the legendary XP 100 Whammy Wah and the extremely popular XP 300 Space Station. It’s extremely simple to use since you can’t change the actual programs. The only and main control you have, is over the wetness of the reverb and you can control it with the expression...
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Not every guitar player uses a looper, but for those that do, it’s an essential ingredient in their setup. They can also tend to be quite large, sometimes overly complicated and difficult to figure out how to use, much less be reliable during a show. That’s where Digitech comes in, with the JamMan Express XT Looper pedal. One knob to control the output volume. That’s it. One tap of your foot records. The next tap...
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The legendary Whammy pedal is the premier pitch-shifting pedal for any guitarist’s board, and it only gets better with time. In addition to the classic Whammy sound, we’ve added chordal Whammy pitch-shifting and true bypass. The Whammy can bring new depth to your artistry. Turn your solo into raging, rebellious screams of tone or tame your crowd with highly expressive, ambient chordal bends. Energize your audience with a scratchy note...
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Alright, I gotta tell ya, I was a little skeptical about this Bad Monkey being a really good overdrive. I have played many sub-$50 overdrive over the years, and that has been exactly what they all sounded like: sub-$50 Overdrives. So, when I stated reading about this pedal and the ‘Badder Monkey’ mod from Humphrey Audio, I didn’t run out and get one immediately. But it kept showing up and getting rave reviews, and...
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(This article comes from our friends at GuitarTricks.com – check out their site for tons of guitar-related tips and tricks!!) Guitar Tricks presents A Look at the Vintage Pedal Market By Shawn Leonhardt for Guitar Tricks and 30 Day Singer, the original platform for online guitar lessons. Vintage pedals are so popular that many modern manufacturers attempt to replicate them so there are more to go around! Not only do some pedals...
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(This article comes from our friends at GuitarTricks.com – check out their site for tons of guitar-related tips and tricks!!) Top Ten Iconic Guitar Pedal Effects Moments By Shawn Leonhardt for Guitar Tricks and 30 Day Singer, the original platform for online guitar lessons. There are so many guitar pedal moments to choose in songs, especially in hits starting in the 1980’s. Once pedals increased in popularity they became mixed...
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Hi, I’m Josh Gardziel, I’m from Halifax West Yorkshire (UK) and I play guitar in L.O.E (Last Of Eden) Facebook: https://facebook.com/weareloemusic Instagram: https://instagram.com/weareloemusic Twitter: https://twitter.com/weareloemusic Bandcamp: https://weareloemusic.bandcamp.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I have been playing guitar for 21 years. I started when I was 14 which...
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(This article comes from our friends at GuitarTricks.com – check out their site for tons of guitar-related tips and tricks!!) Effects Pedals for the Guitarist Who Has It All By Shawn Leonhardt for Guitar Tricks and 30 Day Singer, the original platform for online guitar lessons. If you’re a guitarist who has moved beyond beginner guitar lessons, you might have all the standard guitar effects pedals you’d need. Now you may be...
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Hello all! My name is Sam Ralbovsky and I play guitar in the Adirondack jam band The Hasbens (The band that has Bens. We have two) Instagram: @thehasbensband Facebook: The Hasbens How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I first picked up the guitar when I was in the fifth grade. The guitar, at that time, was an escape from the monotony of trudging through each Suzuki piano book I was assigned...
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Peter Anspach Connecticut Goose goosetheband.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? My mom would say I’ve always been a musician. She’s a music teacher, so before I could walk, I was being taught to play rhythms on drums and dance. I started playing cello when I was 9, then graduated to the electric guitar when I was 12, which I have been playing seriously ever since. I picked up keyboards...
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Let’s be honest: ring modulators are just not for everyone. However, for those of us that love innovation, chaotic noise and aggressively distorted sounds, you can’t go wrong when in this genre of effects. The original Gonkulator from DOD was released in the 90’s, and has become somewhat of a cultish, sought-after pedal, which usually leads to becoming overpriced and difficult to obtain. Luckily, for a little while...
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Phil Tessis Toronto, Ontario, Canada After Funk www.afterfunk.ca How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve been playing guitar for around 20 years now. I first became interested in playing by watching my cousin play and thinking that it looked like a lot of fun. I bugged my parents for a guitar until they finally gave in and bought me one and signed me up for lessons. I loved it right away and...
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Joey Lewis Buffalo, NY Funktional Flow www.funktionalflow.com facebook.com/FunktionalFlowMusic youtube.com/user/funktionalflowmusic/videos How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? From what I can remember, a man in our neighborhood growing up gave an acoustic guitar to my older brother Justin and he quickly lost interest in it. That’s when I swooped in and nabbed it lol. But it was ok...
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If you haven’t noticed by now, we like delay pedals here…a lot. Needless to say, we were pretty stoked to hear about the release of the Rubberneck Analog Delay from DOD / DigiTech, and were finally able to get our hands on one to review and demo for you. Let’s just say this machine has a cool retro vibe, with echo sounds spanning decades, and more options in an analog delay pedal than we may have ever seen. Buckle...
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Karina Rykman NYC Marco Benevento Homepage Follow the Arrow How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I started playing guitar when I was 13. A friend at school put a guitar in my hands and showed me how to play Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes. I started playing bass shortly thereafter. The last ten years of my life (I’m 23 now) have been consumed by all things music. Who have been some of...
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Michael Parker Seattle, WA – The People’s Republic of the USA I play guitar & keys in the band Pickwick www.pickwickmusic.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I started playing guitar when I was in the 8th grade on a whim. I had a friend who was a drummer and needed some people to jam with. He recruited me basically because I was in the room and had nothing better to do. He...
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Mihali Savoulidis Vermont Twiddle twiddlemusic.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve been playing guitar since I was 14, but I really had just been playing in my bedroom and writing songs and working on my lead playing. I went to college to form a band and play all these songs I had written during high school, and the end result is Twiddle. I started really gigging out when I was 18,...
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My name is Trevor Shelley de Brauw. I’m from Chicago, IL and I perform in: Pelican: http://pelicansong.com/ RLYR: https://www.facebook.com/RLYRband/ Chord: https://chordgroup.bandcamp.com/ And solo: https://trevordebrauw.bandcamp.com/ How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve been playing guitar since junior high school. At some point around age twelve or thirteen or so music became a complete...
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Matt Jalbert New York TAUK http://taukband.com/ How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve been a musician pretty much all of my life. My mom had me and my brothers learning how to read music and play from a young age. I started out on the violin and it lasted maybe a couple of weeks before I decided it wasn’t for me and asked if I could try guitar. Right away there was a connection...
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Chris Houser Dayton, Ohio The Werks thewerksmusic.com We’re trying something new today – our first face-to-face Interview! We were lucky enough to sit down and chat with Chris when he was in Boise for Treefort a couple weeks ago, here’s what we talked about: [Pedal of the Day] Where are you guys from? [Chris Houser] I’m from Dayton, Ohio. Overall, we’re just from Ohio – half the band lives in Columbus,...
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Sef, lead guitarist in the band Your Favorite Enemies. Montreal, Quebec, Canada www.yourfavoriteenemies.com www.facebook.com/yourfavoriteenemies www.instagram.com/yourfavoriteenemies www.youtube.com/yourfavoriteenemies www.twitter.com/yfeofficial As you can see in some of the pictures, we have the crazy privilege of living in a former catholic church that we turned into our own professional studio a couple of years ago. It’s pretty...
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Peter D’Amore Waukesha, WI www.peterdamore.com www.facebook.com/peterdamoremusic www.youtube.com/peterdamoremusic How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I always enjoyed making skits and songs on cassette recorders since I was five. Recording and editing is still my very favorite thing to do, and it always feels like a privilege. Besides Marty McFly and Van Halen references that heavily...
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FUNK. You may dig it, you may not, but no one can deny the effects it has had on pretty much all genres of music, and musicians from said genres as well. One of the key tools in this head-bobbing odyssey of slap bass and synth-ish bliss is the beloved Envelope Filter effect, made popular by a list of artists too long to name at the moment (just Google it, k?). One of the most revered of these filters is the classic 440 from DOD, who...
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Andrew Scherzer aka Goody aka Dewey aka StheNFA aka Daylicker aka Bruce Loy Portland, Maine JAWGEMS – facebook.com/JAWGEMS/ Sara Hallie Richardson – sarahallierichardson.com/ How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve been playing for about 13 years. I literally started playing bass because my best friend Lee Crossen got me a ticket to see George Clinton and the Parliament...
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Scott Hachey Denver, CO I play guitar and make faces with The Magic Beans: magicbeansmusic.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve been a gigging musician for almost 6 years now. Been playing music for over a decade now. Probably 15 years. Started on trumpet and moved on to guitar soon thereafter. Who have been some of your major musical influences, past or present? Growing up in...
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Sean Williamson Milwaukee, WI, USA seanwilliamson.net twitter.com/thesituation Sam Llanas – samllanas.com Velocihamster – velocihamster.net Shonn Hinton & Shotgun – shonnsshotgun.com Who have been some of your major musical influences, past or present? David Gilmour has been a hero of mine since as long as I can remember, and was my inspiration to begin playing lap steel guitar, but like so many others my age, my playing was...
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Andy Greene Escape Plan Pedals http://www.escapeplanpedals.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve played music for pretty much my entire life. I got my first guitar, a miniature steel string acoustic, when I was 5. I learned simplified versions of most of the standard position major chords and a few minor chords and would try to put on concerts for my family. I really got interested in...
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Mike Gantzer Guitarist for Aqueous Buffalo, NY https://aqueousband.com/ https://www.facebook.com/aqueousband/ How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? Incidentally, when I first started playing music was in the 3rd grade with the standard issue recorder they give out to everyone, and i HATED it. haha I picked up trumpet for awhile, but I recall being sort of turned off with the rigidity of the...
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John Snyder Electronic Audio Experiments Boston, MA http://www.electronicaudioexperiments.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? My first instrument was actually the violin, which I began playing at age six. I took private lessons for about twelve years, firmly establishing classical music as a big part of my musical DNA. I listened to all types of music growing up, but I only started...
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Rob Compa Guitarist for Dopapod Wayne, NJ www.dopapod.com www.facebook.com/dopapod How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve been playing guitar since I was 12, so if my math is correct that’s about 17 years, I think. My Dad always played guitar around the house, so that got me into it initially. Eventually, we played a little guitar in our music class in middle school, playing little riffs...
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The previous pedals we’ve reviewed from our friends over at Center Street Electronics have been some of the most innovative and fun pedals we have ever delved into, and they all had a common theme: heavy. Fuzz, Drive and Distortion was the name of the game with those other pedals, so the new and improved StellarVerb was an interesting transition, and a nice and inspiring one at the same time. The new version of this classic...
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Some pedal companies (well, a lot of them, actually) are small, unique and hail from a different country. I always like to see what other countries and cultures are doing in the massive pedal world, to see what influences they are using, and how their ideas about pedal building differ from the ones here in the U.S.A. I’ve recently been in contact with Fuse Electronics, all the way from Chile in South America, and they sent a...
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I bought the TC Electronic Corona Chorus pedal used off a gear page. I have had about every chorus pedal you can imagine…Strymon, Boss, Visual Sound, Earthquaker Devices, Digitech…you name it. I was floored at the quality of tone coming from the TC. Fantastic tweakability. Their “Tone Print” feature is pretty killer as well. Strongly recommend getting one of you like chorus in your sound. Specs: TonePrint 3...
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(8/8/14) Guitars: PRS Custom 24 SE w/ Seymour Duncan TB-4 JB Trembucker (bridge) & SH-2N Jazz Humbucker (neck) “The Trooper” Fender Standard Telecaster w/ Seymour Duncan STL-1b Broadcaster Lead (bridge) & STR-1 Broadcaster Rhythm (neck) Alvarez AD60SC Dreadnought Acoustic-Electric Amps: Ampeg GVT 15-H All-Tube Amp Head > Dr. Z 1×12 Cabinet (loaded with a Celestion Vintage 30) Orange Micro Terror 20W...
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