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Video: Guitar World's Guide to Building a Pedal Board

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Are you a pedal-board dunce? Fear not! In this illustrated tutorial, Guitar World shows you everything you need to know, from choosing a board to powering up and laying out your pedals.

The more effect pedals you use, the more you need a pedal board. Even the most basic unpowered board can provide a useful platform to hold your pedals securely, provide cable management and keep everything from sliding around onstage.

Powered boards have the added function of supplying electrical connections to all your pedals, thereby eliminating the need for power strips and multiple wall warts that can take up space and create a nest of dangerous wires around your performance area. For more complex or specialized rigs, a custom pedal board can meet your specific switching requirements and make performance headaches a thing of the past.

Unfortunately for those who have never had a pedal board, the prospect of building or buying one can be overwhelming. You have to determine not only what size you’ll need for your set-up but also make sure it matches the power requirements of your pedals, some of which might take require, 12, 16, 18 or 24 volts. There’s also the matter of cables, of which you’ll need many, each cut to the minimum length to ensure signal integrity and keep your layout tidy. The confusion only gets worse once you go online and see the plethora of pedal board models and options available to you.

We wrote up this guide to make selecting and setting up a pedal board easier. In this tutorial, we’ll walk you through every step of the process, from choosing the pedal board, power supply and cables to laying out your pedals in the order that works for you and making it all work to meet your needs.

What Size?

The choice of a small, medium or large pedal board comes down to one thing: the number and size of the pedals you’ll need to use. If you use five or fewer standard-size pedals and don’t plan to add to your setup, a small pedal board should suit your long-term needs. If you have more than five pedals but fewer than 10, you’ll want to consider a medium board. More than 10 and you should choose a large board. And if you have only five pedals now but plan to add another two or three in the near future, it’s better to plan ahead and go for a larger board today.

Remember, too, that pedals with large footprints take up more real estate, and even a small set-up consisting of a few oversized pedals may require a larger pedal board to prevent overcrowding. When planning, remember to leave enough space between the pedals to facilitate cabling and create a clean, uncluttered and easily accessible layout.



Which Pedal Board?

Pedal boards can be purchased off the shelf, custom-built to your specs, or even built at home using readily available building materials, cables and power supplies. Music stores carry a range of boards, including bare unpowered platforms and boards with built-in power supplies and power strips. Other possible features include cable compartments, wheels, cases, heavy-duty corners and raised or pitched surfaces that make it easier to reach the pedals furthest away from you.

Need something special? Many companies are available to build custom pedal boards to your specs, using the materials, power supply, hardware, wire and cables of your choice. If you have specialized switching, looping or MIDI requirements, a custom pedal board can meet your specific needs, though at a greater cost than an off-the-shelf unit.

For this demonstration, I’m using medium and large Pedaltrain boards: the Pedaltrain 2 and Pedaltrain Pro, respectively. I like Pedaltrain boards for their lightweight frames and strong construction. The boards are slotted for easy management of cables and power supplies, all of which can fit under the board and out of sight.

Slotted boards are especially nice in clubs, where spilled drinks can make a mess of your pedal board; with a slotted board, spilled liquids drip off, unlike a solid board, which will allow liquids to pool. The Pedaltrain boards are also angled, which makes it easy to reach pedals that are furthest away from you without accidentally stepping on other pedals or knocking their control settings with your foot.

What Power Supply?

Whether you’re buying a pedal board with a power supply or choosing a power supply for an existing board, be sure that it meets your voltage requirements. Most pedals operate on nine volts of power, but many require 12, 16, 18 and even 24 volts.

Before purchasing a power supply, check the power requirements of every pedal you’ll be using. Then, choose a power supply robust enough to deliver the voltages you require and a sufficient number of outputs for as many pedals as you’ll use. Also be sure to choose a supply that has isolated output sections to eliminate ground loops, hum and undesirable interactions between your pedals.

Some examples of power supplies include Voodoo Lab’s Pedal Power series, T-Rex Engineering’s Fuel Tank offerings, the MXR DC Brick power supply, the Modtone Power plant, and the Pedaltrain Powertrain 1250 multi-output power supply.

For this example, I’m using Visual Sound’s 1 Spot power supply. The 1 Spot is a nine-volt adaptor that takes up just one power strip outlet, yet it can accommodate up to 20 guitar pedals. It works with more than 90 percent of the effect pedals on the market, including those that use popular adapters from Boss, Danelectro, Dunlop, Korg and others.

In addition, as you add more pedals to any setup, it’s possible to introduce noise and hum by having too many effects on the same power source. The 1 Spot makes it easy and affordable to expand your system and isolate noisier effects by placing them on their own separate power supply.

What Cables?

Two rules here: always use cables with right-angle plugs, which are more compact than straight plugs, and keep your cable lengths to a minimum in order to cut down on clutter and ensure the shortest and quietest signal path.

For these reasons, I prefer to make my own cables, as this lets me choose the exact hardware and lengths that I need. Planet Waves’ Cable Station pedal board kit is ideally suited for this. It features 10 feet of low-capacitance cable for signal transparency and 10 24k gold-plated right-angle plugs—pretty much everything you need for the average pedal board setup. The plugs are solderless, so you can create a cable in seconds, anywhere, to the exact length, and the kit even includes a cable cutter.

Layout

Before you start Velcro-ing pedals to your pedal board, take some time to think about the most efficient and easy-to-navigate way in which to arrange them. As a rule, you should lay them out left to right in order of how they connect together (more on this below). But pedal boards are typically deep enough, from front to back, to accommodate two and sometimes three rows of pedals, giving you yet another dimension to consider when planning your layout.

It’s best to keep your most-used pedals nearest to you, where they’ll be easiest to adjust and reach with your foot. Staggering the pedals between the front and back edges of the pedal board will also make it easier to navigate your set up and avoid confusion in the heat of performance.

What Order?

There’s an ideal way to lay out effect pedals, and then there’s an individual way to do it. The ideal way is based on practical considerations, like placing a reverb pedal last in the chain rather than in front of the distortion pedal, where it will muddy up your sound. The individual way is all about how you make things work for you.

Some guitarists like to place their wah before the distortion, while others put it after for a more pronounced and dirty tone. While there is no right or wrong way to order your pedals, it helps to understand the basic guidelines. In this section, I’ll show you the most logical, efficient and least noisy way to chain together your pedals.

In the most general sense, pedals that amplify should go near the front of the signal chain. This includes filters (which can boost and cut frequencies), compressors (which reduce dynamic levels but can also boost the overall signal), and all types of distortion and overdrive pedals. Tone modifiers such as chorus, phase and flangers go next, followed by ambience effects, such as reverb, delay and echo. The effects in a signal chain can be arranged and grouped into four general categories:

• First: Filters, pitch shifters, harmonizers and dynamic pedals (such as compressors)
• Second: Distortion, overdrive, fuzz, boost and EQ pedals
• Third: Modulation pedals (phaser, chorus and flangers)
• Fourth: Time-based effects (echo, delay, tremolo and reverb)

For example, if your pedal board consists of a distortion, a wah, a compressor and a reverb pedal, you would probably connect them as follows:

Wah > Compressor > Distortion > Reverb

In the next section, I’ll explain the rationale behind the ordering of these categories to help guide you along.

Filters, Pitch Shifters, Harmonizers and Dynamic Pedals

These pedals typically work best at the front of the signal chain, where they act upon the pure signal from your guitar. Filters include pedals such as wahs and low-pass filters. Pitch shifters and harmonizers also include the ever-popular Whammy Pedal, all of which benefit from having a strong and unaffected signal from your guitar so that they can track your notes cleanly and accurately.

Dynamic pedals include compressors, which “squeeze” a signal’s dynamic range—its quietest to loudest values—by reducing signal peaks as they occur. Compressors typically feature volume or make-up gain controls that let you boost the overall signal to compensate for the lower volume that results from compressing. For that matter, auto wahs/envelope filters are actually dynamic filters that allow a filter’s frequency cutoff to respond to changes in signal response due to variances in pick attack and volume.

Bear in mind that you should be careful of the effect order within these categories. For example, a compressor placed after an EQ pedal will be more responsive to the frequencies that the EQ is boosting, because the compressor seeks out the loudest part of the signal and reduces its volume. It’s probably better to place the compressor before the EQ, where it can respond to your guitar’s signal rather than the frequencies boosted by the EQ pedal.

Conversely, placing a compressor before an auto wah will reduce the guitar signal’s dynamic range of the and thereby impede the auto wah’s expressiveness (auto wahs thrive on dynamics). On the other hand, placing a compressor before a wah pedal can help you control some of the guitar signal’s inherent brightness that can make some wahs sound shrill and piercing at the top end of their range. Of course, some of these considerations change if you raise your compressor’s make-up gain to the point that it’s actually increasing the signal like a gain boost (see the next section on distortion and overdrive).

On the subject of wah pedals, it’s worth noting that some guitarists prefer to place wahs after distortion pedals, where they can be driven hard for a funkier sound. Again, none of this is carved in stone. Set up your effects as they work best for you, but try to be aware of the interactions that result from the order of pedal placement.

Distortion, Overdrive, Fuzz, Boost and EQ

Distortion, overdrive and fuzz pedals affect harmonic content by enhancing overtones and compressing peaks in the signal. Their purpose is to simulate the sound of a cranked amp through a speaker cabinet. In the natural order of things, these pedals go after filters and EQ, just like your amp’s output and speakers. They also follow the compression pedal, whose purpose is to flatten peaks and ensure the entire signal is “hotter.”

Which brings us to another reason why you shouldn’t put a compressor after a distortion pedal: they can add volume to everything that comes before them, including noise generated by effects like—you guessed it—distortion, overdrive and fuzz pedals.

Most modern fuzz pedals work very well after wah pedals, but the same isn’t true of some vintage fuzz units. If you have an older fuzz pedal that doesn’t sound good when placed after the wah, try moving it before the wah and see if it improves things.

If you use boost or EQ pedals to give your tone a kick for solos, try placing them after the distortion, overdrive and fuzz pedals. This will help to raise your overall level without having an undue impact on the sound. As always, experiment to see what works best for the pedals in your setup.

Modulation Effects

These are tone modifiers and sweeteners, and they include effects like chorus, phase, flange and vibrato. Traditionally, these can be noisy effects, and placing them before gain-increasing pedals like distortion or compression will tend to intensify their noise.

In addition, chorus, phasing and flanging all introduce time delays and pitch fluctuations that create a sense of spatial movement similar to what happens in the physical world. Placing them after amplification-style effects like distortions and overdrives produces results that are in keeping with naturally occurring sound. Plus, the extra boost a signal gets from an overdrive pedal can help emphasize the oscillation of modulation effects.

Of course, plenty of players like to put modulation effects like Uni-Vibes and phasers before distortion. Think Jimi Hendrix (Uni-Vibe) and Eddie Van Halen (MXR Phase 90). Doing this delivers more harmonic content to the distortion box and can result in more dramatic and animated effects.

Time-Based Effects

This one is pretty obvious. Reverb, delay and echo are ambience effects that imitate how sounds are affected within room environments. Naturally, they go at the end of the chain. Tremolo, for that matter, is amplitude modulation—amp on, amp off—and therefore goes at the end of the signal chain.

Tuners

Though they’re not effects, tuners are a part of every guitarist’s setup, so it’s important to think about where they’ll go in your signal chain. Some guitarists like to have them at the front of the chain, while others like them last or somewhere in between. If you place your tuner at the head of the chain, activating it will silence your guitar but not your pedals.

This is fine if you want to allow time-based effects to continue trailing off while you tune up, but it’s not ideal if you want to silence your rig between songs. For that you’ll need to place the tuner last in the chain, though doing so will require you to turn off your distortions and other effects prior to tuning. As you can see, there are trade-offs to either scenario. Pick the one that works best for you.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that pedal order is subjective and varies from player to player. If you’re trying to nail a certain guitarist’s tone, then it’s useful to know what effects he uses and the order in which they’re placed. But when it comes to your tone, you have to decide what works for you.

Experimenting can be fun, so start plugging away. And don’t worry, there is no right or wrong order. Besides, the best part about effect boxes and pedal boards is that you can always move things around as your needs and tone goals change.


Exclusive Premiere: Pilot For A Day's "A Little More (Acoustic)"

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There's something about breaking a produced track down into its acoustic elements that brings out the true heart of a song.

Take this acoustic version of Pilot For A Day's "A Little More."

With it's tentatively optimistic and expressive vocal and percussive solo guitar enhanced by some tight vocal harmonies and a few handclaps, "A Little More" gave me a bit of a chill. In a good way of course!

Undeniably catchy with a heartfelt message, "A Little More" has all the elements of a hit. In fact, I've been singing it all day.

The track has a home on Better Air (Deluxe Edition), which is set to release on July 1. With three exclusive acoustic tracks, Better Air (Deluxe Edition) is the extension of the band's debut album, which was produced by Marc McClusky (Weezer, Ludo, Hit The Lights).

"Recording the acoustic version of 'A Little More' was an awesome process for us. It's naturally a really fun and interactive song, so we wanted to capture that in the recording. We really tried to get the same feel out of it that we get from playing it live, and I think we nailed it," shares Nolan Smith (Guitar, Vocals).

Listen here:

Pilot For A Day is composed of Nolan Smith (vocals, guitar), Craig Harper (drums, vocals), Brandon Rimmey (guitar), and Harry Datkowitz (bass). Formed in November 2010, the band came together in their hometown of Kansas City, KS to make hard-hitting and uplifting music. Their inspiration comes from a wide range of ideas, including living life to the fullest extent and knowing that anything you can imagine is possible.

Influenced by bands such as Mayday Parade, Boys Like Girls, Cartel, The Maine, and Go Radio, Pilot For A Day hit the studio in February 2012 with producer Marc McClusky to create 10 classic, yet modern songs that could be appreciated by anyone. With help from Andrew Volpe (Ludo), who co-wrote the track "Extraordinary Life," and drummer Cory Muro (Badboxes, Punchline, The Composure), the band created their debut album Better Air, which released on January 21, 2013.

Better Air (Deluxe Edition) will include three new acoustic versions of "Take This Chance,""A Little More," and "From Somewhere to Here." Look for it on July 1!

For updates and to find out more, please pilotforaday.net.

Nirvana Perform with Joan Jett, Kim Gordon and St. Vincent at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony — Pro-Shot Video

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Although the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place almost two months ago, some pro-shot footage of Nirvana's lengthy segment of the show has turned up online.

Below, you can watch the surviving members of Nirvana — Dave Grohl, Pat Smear and Krist Novoselic — perform "Smells Like Teen Spirit" with Joan Jett, "Aneurysm" with Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon and "Lithium" with Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) — and more.

You'll also see some vintage Nirvana footage and the band's induction speech, courtesy of R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, followed by speeches by the band and Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain's widow.

Clearwater Festival Announces Lineup and Special Musical Tributes

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Great Hudson River Revival (Clearwater Festival) on June 21 and 22 in beautiful Croton Point Park, Croton-On-Hudson, NY marks the first event since the passing of its founders, musician and activist Pete Seeger and his wife Toshi Seeger.

Clearwater 2014 promises to be a special celebration of the Seeger’s and their legacy – hosting many Clearwater friends old and new, many of who will perform special musical tributes during the event.

“Pete and Toshi’s legacy is truly something to celebrate,” says Clearwater Festival Director Steve Lurie.

“We’re excited to host a variety of tributes throughout the weekend - both on and off the stages.”

Among the tributes planned is a set by the Clearwater Family Band featuring Clearwater friends Tom Paxton, Tom Chapin, Guy Davis, David Amram, Dar Williams, Holly Near, Josh White, Jr. and others.

There will also be a banjo tribute lead by Tony Trischka and featuring other great banjo players, and sets of both The Weavers’ music as well as the Almanac Singers, both of which Pete Seeger was a member.

In addition, a special set will feature songs from Seeger’s repertoire that were written in honor of the 3,000 Americans who volunteered to serve in the Spanish Civil War. Pete originally wrote the songs to pay tribute to those who fought against the fascist government led by Francisco Franco, and supported by the fascist governments of Italy and Nazi Germany.

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“A Square Dance in Memory of How Pete and Toshi Met” will be hosted by Clearwater friends Jay Ungar & Molly Mason on the Dance Stage. Pete and Toshi were very fond of dancing and personally funded the launch of Clearwater’s Dance Stage in the early 80’s, making it the first participatory dance stage at an American Folk Festival.

For 2014, the Clearwater Dance Stage will present global beats perfect for dancing with a wide array of artists, including Buckwheat Zydeco; Contra-Dance band Wild Asparagus; Congolese Salsa great,Ricardo Lemvo; Cajun band, The Revelers, featuring members of the Red Stick Ramblers and the Pine Leaf Boys; Cajun artist, Jesse Lége & Bayou Brew; Grammy award winners, The Klezmatics; Gnawa style Moroccan musician Hassan Hakmoun; NYC based Colombian band, The M.A.K.U. Soundsystem, mixing traditional music with psychedelic rock; and The Vanaver Caravan, paying tribute to Pete & Toshi on both days with special dance performances.

Last month Clearwater Festival announced its 2014 artist lineup, including:

Lucinda Williams
Puss N Boots (featuring Norah Jones, Sasha Dobson and Catherine Popper)
Rufus Wainwright
The Mavericks
Richard Thompson
moe.
Martin Sexton
Josh Ritter
Dar Williams
David Bromberg’s Big Band
Jake Shimabukuro
Bettye LaVette
Lake Street Dive
Laurie Berkner

Visit ClearwaterFestival.org for the complete list of performers by day.

Diamond Youth Release Acoustic ‘UK OK’ EP

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Baltimore, MD's Diamond Youth have released a digital-only acoustic EP titled UK OK via Bandcamp.

The EP features three previously-released songs, reworked acoustic and one new acoustic track.

UK OK will help raise money to cover costs for the band's upcoming UK tour with Citizen and Headroom.

Guitarist Sam Trapkin says, "If it was up to us, we'd make everything for free. But tickets to the UK this summer aren't even like, "Oh yeah, I could see why it costs that much."

"So one option is to disband and cut our losses. Another option is to start a Kickstarter, which is gross. A third option would be to actually make something and sell that, which is what we did."

Take a listen to the EP’s lead track below:

Purchase UK OKhere.

Tour Dates

Wed 16 Jul 2014 / Norwich / Epic Studios

Thu 17 Jul 2014 / Kingston / Fighting Cocks

Fri 18 Jul 2014 / London / Borderline

Sat 19 Jul 2014 / Southampton / Joiners

Sun 20 Jul 2014 / Plymouth / Tiki Bar & Diner

Mon 21 Jul 2014 / Bristol / The Exchange

Tue 22 Jul 2014 / Birmingham / The Flapper

Wed 23 Jul 2014 / Derby / Victoria Inn

Thu 24 Jul 2014 / Glasgow / Audio

Fri 25 Jul 2014 / Manchester / Star & Garter

Sat 26 Jul 2014 / Leeds / Cockpit

Robyn Hitchcock Releases First Track from Upcoming Album

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Yep Roc Records has announced the new album from psychedelic folk troubadour Robyn Hitchcock.

The Man Upstairs will be available on August 26.

The album sees Hitchcock uniting with legendary producer Joe Boyd (Nick Drake, Fairport Convention) for one of the most unique recordings of his already quite idiosyncratic career.

Rather than simply record a new selection of songs, Boyd suggested what he called 'a Judy Collins album' such as Elektra would have released in 1967 - part well-known favorites, part personal discoveries, and part originals.

The multi-tiered approach offered Hitchcock the rare opportunity to record as a performer, not "just another singer-songwriter laying their freshest eggs."

The first song Hitchcock is sharing from the album is a version of the Psychedelic Furs classic "The Ghost in You." Take a listen:

The album contains modern standards like Roxy Music's "To Turn You On," The Doors'"The Crystal Ship," and The Psychedelic Furs'"The Ghost In You" interlaced with lesser-known gems from such pals as Grant-Lee Phillips ("Don't Look Down") and I Was A King ("Ferries"), the latter featuring harmony vocals and guitar from the Norwegian indiepop combo's own Anne Lise Frøkedal.

Meanwhile, new Hitchcock originals like "Trouble In Your Blood" and "Comme Toujours" stand among his most fragile and heartfelt, his stark vocal and guitar cast by Boyd against simple, autumnal backing from longtime collaborators Jenny Adejayan (cello), Charlie Francis (piano), and the aforementioned Frøkedal (harmonies).

"I've always wanted to make a folk record produced by Joe Boyd," says Hitchcock, "and now I have: thank you, universe!"

For more information, visit robynhitchcock.com.

Mass Appeal: Guitars to Feature Alex Skolnick’s Planetary Coalition and Wise Girl

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Guitar World’s Acoustic Nation is excited to announce the performance acts for this year’s Make Music NY Mass Appeal: Guitars event.

Taking place on June 21, 2014 in Union Square Park from 4pm to 7pm, this FREE event is also co-hosted by the NYC Guitar School and sponsored by Martin Guitars and Tech 21.

Mass Appeal: Guitars begins at 4:00pm with check in and run-throughs of the play-along songs.

Guests can also sign up for a chance to win a Martin D-28 guitar, which will be given away on site at the close of the event.

The winner must be present.

The first featured performance begins at 4:45pm with Alex Skolnick and his world music act, Planetary Coalition, including some special surprise guests! Perhaps best known for his role in the celebrated metal band Testament, this project shows another side of this masterful player. Planetary Coalition is an ethnically flavored collective of diverse musicians that is funded through ArtistShare and features musicians and musical influences from all over the world. More at AlexSkolnick.com and http://artistshare.com/v4/Projects/Experience/325/439/1 Planetary C sm.png

Then at 5:30pm the play-along begins with songs ranging from Imagine Dragon’s “Radioactive” to Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down,” and Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and many more. The songs will be lead by local players such as Acoustic Nation editor Laura B. Whitmore, Jay Moran from VH1, NYC artist Dorit, NYC Guitar School instructors and more. Bring your guitar and play along! Full details and song information can be found at http://www.meetup.com/mass-appeal-guitars/events/183148802/

New wg sm.jpgThe final featured performance will get underway at 6:00pm featuring Wise Girl. Wise Girl’s sound combines indie and pop with a touch of folk for a sound that draws influences from classic ’60s pop groups like The Drifters and The Supremes, both favorites of frontwoman Abby Weitz. The band is about to release their forthcoming sophomore EP Sing Me To Sleep on July 1. Find out more about this exciting and energetic act at http://www.wisegirlmusic.com

The event will conclude with the announcement of the Martin Guitar winner and a final rousing play along lead by Wise Girl!

Grab your guitar and join us for this FREE event on June 21. More at http://www.meetup.com/mass-appeal-guitars/events/183148802/

Mass Appeal: Guitars is supported by Martin Guitars and Tech 21 with special thanks to Hal Leonard, Guitar Center and NAMM.

Gear Review: Cort MR600F Acoustic Guitar

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Below, Paul Riario checks out the Cort MR600F dreadnaught cutaway acoustic guitar.

The MR Series combines the advanced Fishman Presys EQ and Sonicore electronics with Cort’s tradition of quality craftsmanship.

The instrument’s unique single cutaway body design gives the player full access to the higher frets, while the Fishman electronics only enhance the MR600F’s big, warm sound.

The Solid Spruce Top provides a superior tone that will only improve with age, and the carefully scalloped bracing aids in producing big tone for this great-looking acoustic.

The features of the Cort MR600F rounds out with a dovetail neck joint, mahogany back and sides, mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard, die cast machine head tuners, rosewood bridge and a beautiful satin natural finish.

In terms of value, quality and sound, it’s hard to match the MR600F. Take a listen to the guitar below!

Find out more at cortguitars.com.


Custom Willys Distortion Pedal by EJC Custom Pedals and Guitarworks — Demo Video

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Below, check out a video demo for a new custom distortion pedal built by EJC Custom Pedals and Guitarworks.

The pedal, which was built for guitarist Ron Zabrocki (who writes the Session Guitar column for GuitarWorld.com), resembles a vintage, Forties-era Willys automobile. (Learn more about Willys here.)

The pedal was hand wired with a three-way voicing switch that changes the characteristics of the distortion. The guitar used in the demo video is a Fender Lone Star Strat through a Fender Blues Jr. amp.

For more about EJC Custom Pedals and Guitarworks, visit ejccustompedalsandguitarworks.com or follow the company on Facebook.

Ron says he'll be writing a review of the pedal soon, so stick around!

Download the July 2014 Issue of Guitar World Now at the Apple Newsstand

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The all-new July 2014 issue of Guitar World— including instructional video and audio — is available now at the Apple Newsstand!

You can check it out here.

In the new July issue, we sit down with guitarist and producer Jimmy Page as he prepares to release newly remastered recordings and rarities from Led Zeppelin's vault. Read how Page remasters his band's brilliant catalog and takes the opportunity to open and share their personal archives. Plus, GW explores the numerous package options and formats in which the new Zeppelin remasters are available.

Then, Guitar World features Ace Frehley. The legendary Kiss guitarist is clean, sober, engaged to a pretty blonde and enjoying life- much to the chagrin of some of his former bandmates. He speaks with GW about his healthy attitude, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame debacle and his upcoming solo album, Space Invader.

Later, we ask 26 guitarists — including Kirk Hammett, John Petrucci, Mikael Akerfeldt and Yngwie Malmsteen— to tell us about the album that changed their life and put them on a musical fast track.

Finally, we focus on the history of Taylor Guitars. Forty years ago, Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug built their idea of what an excellent acoustic guitar should be. Today, Taylor Guitars is the definition of excellence for players everywhere.

PLUS: Sean Ono Lennon, Down, the Strypes, Albert Lee and much more!

Five Songs with Tabs for Guitar and Bass

• Led Zeppelin - "How Many More Times"
• Ace Frehley - "Rip It Out"
• OneRepublic - "Counting Stars"
• Avicii - "Hey Brother"
• Born of Osiris - "Follow the Signs'"

Head to the Apple Newsstand now!.

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Seymour Duncan Lil' Screamin Demon SLSD-1 Pickup — Demo Video

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Below, check out a new demo video for Seymour Duncan's Lil' Screamin Demon SLSD-1 pickup. The clip features guitarist Steve Booke, who also happens to write the What in the World column for GuitarWorld.com.

From the company:

Like its big brother, the Screamin' Demon humbucker, this li'l savage combines a big, open sound with just a subtle hint of "glass." It screams and provides rich harmonics but cleans up when you back it off. Using a unique slotted and Allen head screw combination that gives each coil a slightly different magnetic field, the tone is big and percussive without being too harsh.

Fro more info, visit seymourduncan.com.

DiMarzio Releases Satch Track, Joe Satriani's First Single-Coil-Size Signature Pickup

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DiMarzio has announced the release of the Satch Track Neck hum-canceling pickup for electric guitars.

The pickup, which was created for Joe Satriani, is available for retail sale from DiMarzio.

From the company:

Satriani is continually refining and sharpening his sound. Two years in the making, the Satch Track Neck is Joe’s first single-coil size signature pickup. Articulate, vocal and musical, it is the company's most advanced Fast Track-style pickup to date.

The Satch Track Neck bridges the gap between classic humbucker and single-coil performance. It tracks pick attack and string vibration quickly and accurately like a single-coil, but the voicing is wider and stronger, like a humbucker. The highs are very warm, and clarity is created by keeping the mids and lows tight and focused.

DiMarzio’s Satch Track Neck pickup is made in the U.S. and may now be ordered for immediate delivery. Suggested List Price is $119.99. For more about the Satch Track Neck pickup, visit dimarzio.com.

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United Stringdom: Combining Sweep Picking and Fretboard Tapping to Forge Long, Flowing Melodic Phrases

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Hi, and welcome to my new Guitar World instructional column.

Over the next few months, I’ll be demonstrating to you many of the different techniques I use for the riffs and solos that I play with my band, Falling in Reverse. Hopefully, these riffs will prove useful and inspire you to discover some unique musical ideas of your own.

Some of my favorite musical sounds are those that consist of long, flowing arpeggios, whether they are present in rock, classical, electronic music or metal. The manner by which most guitar players execute lengthy arpeggiated lines is by using sweep picking, wherein the pick is dragged in a single motion across two or more adjacent strings using either a downstroke or an upstroke.

I like to expand on the standard sweep-picking approach by adding fretboard taps at the highest part of the phrase. As a right-handed player, I use my left hand for fretting and my right hand for picking and tapping. I like to make a correlation between the guitar and the piano, in that my left hand provides the majority of the notes of the arpeggio, as is often the case when playing long arpeggios on the piano, and my right hand likewise adds higher melodic notes, via fretboard tapping.

For those new to the fretboard tapping technique, a note is sounded by hammering onto a string with either a pick-hand fingertip or the edge of the pick, after which that note is then pulled off to a lower note on the same string, which is fretted conventionally. I myself prefer to tap with the edge of my pick, à la Randy Rhoads.

FIGURE 1 is an uninterrupted 16-bar run that progresses through a series of sweep-picked arpeggios to melodically imply a chord progression: Am G F Em. I ascend and descend each arpeggio four times and incorporate tapping to sound the highest notes, which I vary each time to add melodic interest and harmonic color to the run. The two minor arpeggios, Am and Em, are performed identically but five frets apart. Likewise, the two major arpeggios, G and F, are also executed identically, two frets apart.

Each arpeggio begins with a downstroke followed by a hammer-on, after which I continue the downstroke across all of the strings. After sounding the two taps and pull-offs, I descend the arpeggio using an upstroke sweep. I recommend practicing the sweeps alone first before adding the taps.

Try to keep the fretted notes separate and distinct by “getting off them” as soon as they’re picked or hammered. These techniques aren’t as difficult to perform as they may seem at first, but they will definitely take practice to master and integrate, so be persistent and patient.



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Sneak Peek: Wise Girl's "Sing Me To Sleep"

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Here’s a wonderful new song from NYC based group Wise Girl.

It’s a sneak peek from their upcoming Sing Me To Sleep EP titled, appropriately, “Sing Me To Sleep.”

It’s a lovely acoustic ballad that features the velvety voice of Abby Weitz, some solid strumming and a few strategically added embellishments.

The song builds into a strong chorus that highlights the longing of missing that one person who can make things feel all right.

I can’t wait to hear the rest of the EP, which releases on July 1. Lucky for us, Wise Girl will be showcasing some of their new material at the Acoustic Nation hosted Mass Appeal: Guitars in NYC’s Union Square Park on June 21. Come on out for that and find out more here.

Listen to “Sing Me To Sleep” now:

Sing Me To Sleep is Wise Girl’s second effort and showcases their softer side with a stripped-down acoustic style.

Frontwoman Abby Weitz crafts compact pop ditties with lyrics that are as honest as they are clever. Their newfound sound combines indie and pop with a touch of folk for a sound that draws influences from classic '60s pop groups like The Drifters and The Supremes, both favorites of Weitz’s.

Formed in 2010, Wise Girl is the brainchild of Weitz (vocals, guitar). Drummer Harry Keithline, guitarist Tim Basom and bassist Paul Taite round out the group’s current roster. The band’s unique direction is the product of Weitz’s individual view on the music making process.

Weitz, described as “a female Rivers Cuomo” (Electric Feast), deems no topic taboo while transferring her feelings into song. Weitz notes that present and past relationships inspired many of album’s tracks. This is reflected in the storytelling and honesty of the lyrics, creating a song-by-song memoir.

Wise Girl is known for their energetic and quirky live performances. The band has graced the stage of numerous legendary New York venues such as The Knitting Factory, Mercury Lounge, Piano’s and The Greene Space (WNYC’s performance stage). Wise Girl has also appeared on numerous famed media sources to include: Bust Magazine, Bitch Magazine, Modern Drummer, Beta TV, Playboy Radio and many more. "[Wise Girl] is the perfect musical combination of poppy melodies, rocking guitars, and fun, quirky songwriting," says Bella Online.

Stay tuned for more from Wise Girl!

The Bones of J.R. Jones: On Recording

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Recording like song writing is usually a slow process for me.

I start by cutting some very rough demos of songs on my own.

I usually just hit record on my computer and start to play.

I see what I can lay down and build it up from there.

I send it over to Charles Newman at Motherwest (my producer) and we take it in to his studio and talk about the arc, the mood, the options of the song.

But this is all just the beginning.

It can be very difficult to negotiate the translation of idea to reality. When I record I try to keep in mind that it's just me on the stage… I try to keep it simple and not over indulge myself just because I'm in a studio.

Sometimes I have success at this, sometimes I don't. But I do believe the greatest recordings out there are the ones that are so stripped, so simple, so to the point, that they have the ability to reach everyone.

Bones of J.R. Jones Recording 2 260.jpgI don't think I've ever succeeded at this, but I'm trying. I play as much as I can when I record. I've learned that I'm not very good at articulating my thoughts for songs to other musicians, so to circumnavigate that I choose to do as much as I can on my own…which in turns informs my live shows.

It's easy to fetishize recording to tape. It's real. It's tangible. It has it's own character that for better or worse will leave it's footprint on your recording.

When you are finished, you can put it on your shelf and have physical record of everything that happened in the studio. It works for me. It does take longer. It is more expensive. But at least for my type of music it makes sense.

All that muddled warmth and quiet hum it produces… it's beautiful. I love the sound of the tape rewinding in my headphones… in some ways it helps me relax after a bad take.

Even on metaphorical level it acts as a reset button. And when I'm recording, I tend to need to reset a lot.

Listen to “A Good Friend of Mine” from Dark Was The Yearling

The Bones of J.R. Jones is the brainchild of Jonathan Linaberry. Linaberry performs and completely inhabits the persona of the early-twentieth-century blues musician, The Bones of J.R. Jones. “For me it’s an outlet more than anything else.” His new EP Dark Was the Yearling, is out now. More at ttps://www.facebook.com/TheBonesofJ.R.Jones


Brad Paisley Uses Fan's GoPro Camera As Guitar Slide — Video

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GuitarWorld.com has posted several guitar-centric videos that involve GoPro cameras — light-weight, rugged little cameras that can go pretty much everywhere (like inside James Taylor's guitar, for instance).

So it shouldn't be surprising that in the clip below, guitarist Brad Paisley grabs the GoPro camera out of a fan's hand and uses it as a slide during a guitar solo.

Says Mike Perlof, who posted the clip to his YouTube channel:

"Brad Paisley, Charlie Worsham and Randy Houser are rocking out ... it was the perfect storm because I happened to not have my case on my GoPro, which would have made it nearly impossible to play slide guitar with the camera at that angle Brad got.

"Not to mention passing the camera without skipping a single note and throwing it back to me perfectly. INSANE! It's magical moments like these that make live music."

Enjoy! And no, this is not a GoPro commercial! I've never even seen a GoPro camera up close ...

Kevin Drew Teams with Zach Galafianakis in "You In Your Were" Music Video

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Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene released his critically acclaimed sophomore solo album entitled Darlings earlier this year, and today he debuts a brand new music video for “You In Your Were.”

The video features comedian (or, in this case, music video expert and choreographer extraordinaire) Zach Galifianakis.

Galifianakis lends his typical arrogantly dry humor to the piece as he directs Drew on his "artistic" vision. Best quote, "If you're gonna sit here and sing your art shit, I'm not into it. Nobody likes good music any more!"

Check out the gorgeous and totally hilarious video for “You In Your Were” now via Funny or Die, and keep your eyes and ears peeled for another special guest.


Here are some upcoming tour dates for Kevin Drew:
June 7: Field Trip Arts & Music Festival / Toronto, ON
June 8: Field Trip Arts & Music Festival w/ Broken Social Scene / Toronto, ON
June 10: The Music Of Daniel Lanois at Massey Hall / Toronto, ON
June 28: The Club Theatre Complex / Banff Centre
July 22: MacEwan Hall / Calgary AB*
July 24: Shaw Conference Center / Edmonton, AB*
July 25: Conexus Art Center / Regina SK*
July 26: O'Brian's Event Center / Saskatoon SK*
July 27: Burton Cummings Theater / Winnipeg, MB*
July 31: London Music Hall / London, ON*
Aug 2: Osheaga Festival / Montreal, QC
Aug 9: Squamish Festival / Squamish, BC
Aug 12: Bitterzoet / Amsterdam, Netherlands
Aug 13: Postbahnhof / Berlin, Germany
Aug 15: Festival Im Fluss / Basel, Switzerland
Aug 16: Frequency Festival / St. Polten, Austria
Aug 18: XOYO / London, UK
Aug 18/23: Arboretum Festival / Ottawa, ON
* with Modest Mouse

Find out more at http://kevindrewmusic.com

Bad Luck Premiere New Song, "Threat Level Midnight"— Listen

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Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the exclusive premiere of a new song by Daytona Beach, Florida-based punk rockers Bad Luck.

The song, "Threat Level Midnight," is from the band's new re-release of Cold Bones, which will be available July 15.

Bad Luck — which features brothers Dom and Joe Fox, Evan Blaine and Jake Kneer — captured the attention of Tragic Hero Records, which signed the band earlier this year. The band entered the studio with Brett Romnes (drummer for I Am the Avalanche) and producer Jim Wirt (Incubus, Hoobastank, Something Corporate) to record the re-issue of their release acclaimed Cold Bones.

"We're all really excited and thankful for the opportunity to be a part of the label,” says Kneer, the band's drummer. “We can't wait to move forward.”

Pre-order the album HERE and follow the band on Facebook HERE.

Jack White Premieres "Lazaretto" Music Video

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Jack White will release his second solo album, Lazaretto, June 10 — but he's already supplied three of the disc's new songs to the music world at large.

Now he's created the official music video for one of the three already-available songs — the album's title track — and you can check it out below.

The black-and-white clip for “Lazaretto” is just right for the track’s quirky pacing; there's plenty of glass breaking, a bull stomping and a car burning rubber.

Check out the video below and let us know what you think it the comments or on Facebook!

Guitar World DVD: 'Heavy Metal Hybrid Picking' Featuring Revocation's Dave Davidson

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Check out Guitar World's latest instructional DVD, Heavy Metal Hybrid Picking featuring Dave Davidson.

With more than 60 minutes of lessons, you'll learn how to combine sweep picking with fingerpicking, one-note-per-string arpeggios and hybrid picking double-steps.

Plus, you'll get access to:

• Zakk Wylde-style chicken pickin' techniques
• "Jimi Hendrix-chord" arpeggio rolls
• Hammer-ons, open strings, palm muting and note clusters
• Wide-interval licks with string skipping
• Legato seventh-chord arpeggios
• Whole-tone and diminished scale runs
• Blues organ licks

... and much more!

Please note: To access the written music for this DVD, insert the disc into your PC or Mac computer and browse the disc for the PDF.

Head to the Guitar World Online Store now!

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