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The sound of a distorted guitar or bass is so recognizable to anyone who either listens to or plays music, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone unfamiliar with that sweet sonic bliss, heavy crunch, or nuclear meltdown that comes from a great distortion pedal.  While the classifications overdrive, distortion, and fuzz tend to be used interchangeably, there is a true difference and use for each of these pedals.  Overdrive pedals can create both subtle warm tones at lower volumes and nasty harsh tones as the volume increases. You'll find overdrives used more commonly with blues and rock.  Distortion pedals create...

Over the weekend, musicians and fans alike said goodbye the one and only Chuck Berry. While Chuck lived a long and eventful ninety years, the loss of yet another memorable musician always symbolizes an end of significance. The passing of greats like David Bowie and Glenn Frey over the last 18 months, symbolizes the end of their artistry, but Chuck's passing feels more like the end of a true and innovative pioneer in the beginnings of rock and roll music. I dare say that Chuck was the one that brought a sound, rhythm, and soul to the masses in a...

Using Pedals with Synths - Creative Connections Combining pedals with synths seems like a obscure idea to those of us who are using them with our guitars and basses. Electronic artists have been using them for some time. I vividly remember putting my Ensoniq Mirage’s cowbell sample through my trusty Boss Turbo Overdrive and just being blown away with the growling new texture I was able to add into my music. That was way back in the 90's. As there are so many great synths and pedals, I thought it might be interesting to demonstrate what's possible with today’s latest...

Introduction  Part of the fun in collecting pedals is finding new ways to use them creatively in the never-ending quest to define your tone. And while there are no rules when it comes to how one should use a pedal with your guitar and amp setup, there are two ways to introduce your pedals into the signal flow, the front input of the amp and the FX loop, typically found on the back of your amp head or combo. These both serve a specific purpose in how they interface with your pedals and as such can produce substantially different results....

For anyone that's been using pedals for nearly 30 years, I would bet the farm that they wouldn't remember, or for that matter still own their first pedal. While the older versions of us tend to collect and hang on to those precious little stomp boxes, the kid in all of us likely traded in that first pedal to go to the next level.  This was not the case for me. I actually still own and use my first pedal, which is a classic Boss Turbo Overdrive (OD2) from way back in the late 80's. It was a Christmas gift from...