Understanding the differences between overdrive, distortion, and fuzz is essential for guitarists looking to nail the tone that they hear in their head (or one they are trying to mimic). Each effect alters the signal in different ways, affecting everything from dynamics to harmonic content. This article compares the technical aspect of each effect, covering […]
Have you ever played a pedal that blew your socks off when you hit that first chord? Well this is one of those pedals. Let me introduce Cornerstone Music Gear’s Gladio double preamp pedal. Cornerstone is a small family-owned and operated company based in Italy, run by the trio of Emilio Massari, his beautiful wife […]
I’ve spent the better part of my professional career as a guitarist looking for great gear that doesn’t break the bank. I’ve never let the price tag discourage me from respecting a pedal enough to try it. Growing up in India, I had very little access to grade-A gear through my formative years, so I […]
So you finally have a boatload of effects pedals to play around with and a beautiful pedalboard to mount them on… Now comes the difficult part — figuring out what order to put your pedals in. After hundreds of gigs and studio sessions over the years, not to mention many hours of arduous experimentation, I […]
One of the ultimate pleasures of being a guitarist is setting up your pedalboard. Whether you’re new to the guitar realm or a veteran shredder, curating a solid set of stompboxes can pave the way for tons of creativity.
Many times in guitar shops, especially when talking about distortion or overdrive effects, we hear the terms “hard clipping” and “soft clipping” used to describe the different sound effects that are created by pedals. It can be confusing if you don’t understand these terms or how they affect your sound.
Class A vs Class B Amplifiers Let’s discuss Class A and Class B amplifiers and what makes them different. We hope that after reading this article, you’ll be able to choose the best type of amp for each kind of playing situation you come across.
Overdrive Overdrive is usually a naturally occurring clipping of the signal. It’s often created by turning the volume up too loud on the gain stage of the amp, or by using a gain-boosting pedal that makes the signal too hot going into the amp or another pedal. Often, this will drive the later stages of […]
Let’s talk about the difference between germanium and silicon transistors and what it means to guitar players and audio in general, especially fuzz. The Fuzz Effect Fuzz is a type of distortion that guitar players use. It is most often found in an effect pedal and it creates a buzzy tone that’s associated with an […]
In discussing the differences between overdrive and distortion, what creates them, and how they’re used, we’ll begin with the relationship between a device’s maximum signal level and its threshold. Every device in your guitar rig, or your home recording studio, has been designed to accept a maximum signal level. The maximum signal level that a […]
Catching That Wave The “Holy Grail” of overdrive pedals is a lot like that perfect wave that a surfer desperately seeks. Well, good news folks; I think I may have found it! The Fulltone OCD is one hell of a little pedal. Granted, there are others out there that offer an actual 12AX7 tube, and […]