My first overdrive pedal ever was the TS9, so I compared it next to a ton of cool alternatives in a punk context. What’s the gist: Instead of trying to find the best TS-inpired pedal out there, I played a bunch of punk music through 8 different takes on the circuit to show what typeContinue reading “Is The Tube Screamer Circuit The Perfect Punk Pedal? I Tried 8 To Find Out”
Author Archives: Matt Dunn
Dual Stage Amplification Brings Boutique Tube Amp, Pedal Building To New Haven, CT
Fellow New Englanders at Dual Stage Amplification add yet another high end brand to the growing North East scene. Meet Dual Stage Amplification, a new amp and pedal brand based in New Haven, Connecticut. Always home to a bustling music scene, I have been surprised by the relative lack of gear that came from theContinue reading “Dual Stage Amplification Brings Boutique Tube Amp, Pedal Building To New Haven, CT”
Meet Audio! Audio!, A New Pedal Company From A Familiar Face
Lucky (the Monster), previously of Demonic Machines fame, has begun a new pedal building era with Audio! Audio!. Lucky (the Monster), as they often go by, has been one of my favorite pedal builders from the last few years of reviews. Their Homunculus was an all-time great Klon clone, and I also loved the FuktContinue reading “Meet Audio! Audio!, A New Pedal Company From A Familiar Face”
Fender’s $20,000 Joe Strummer Telecaster Confuses Me
It’s kind of the anti-thesis of punk, but also a major Gibson move? Image credit: Fender I’m a self admitted Fender fanboy. I tend to be far more attracted to their guitars, their marketing, and use their instruments in all my music projects. But even they are not immune to some Gibson-level price inflation. WhileContinue reading “Fender’s $20,000 Joe Strummer Telecaster Confuses Me”
Bulinski Effects Pedals’ ASD-1 Is A Smart, And Thunderous Spring Reverb
The Analog Spring Driver uses an external spring tank and some clever controls to craft a range of tones. What Makes The ASD-1 Different? The Bulinski ASD-1 is not like other spring reverb pedals you may have seen me cover on this site or on Ultimate Guitar. It uses intuitive but creative controls to allowContinue reading “Bulinski Effects Pedals’ ASD-1 Is A Smart, And Thunderous Spring Reverb”
My Decades Long Search For a Les Paul Junior Has Lead Me Here
It’s been years and there’s too many great guitars out there that can fill that void. My contentious feelings about Gibson are no secret. While I do not hate Gibson, nor am I ever ruling out buying from them again, I’ve kind of come to a point where I’m not sure covering their gear isContinue reading “My Decades Long Search For a Les Paul Junior Has Lead Me Here”
How A Simple Gift Reminded Me Why I Love Guitar Gear
Sometimes the sheer volume of gear to review and the deadlines make it hard to really enjoy new gear. The sad truth about reviewing a lot of gear is that it can sometimes chip away at your enthusiasm for new guitars and pedals. This is definitely more true of pedals than guitars, as they canContinue reading “How A Simple Gift Reminded Me Why I Love Guitar Gear”
Summer School Electronics Launches The Class Reunion, A Blendable High Gain Pedal
A spin on their popular Science Fair format, The Class Reunion packs Big Muff and their Trash Panda tone into one. Today one of my favorite builders, Summer School Electronics, announced their newest creation. The Class Reunion is a new spin on their blendable circuitry, which they first perfected with the Science Fair. This wasContinue reading “Summer School Electronics Launches The Class Reunion, A Blendable High Gain Pedal”
How Do I Actually Make Money Reviewing Gear?
Many angry commenters have asked the same question! I get asked this all the time. It may be my friends, it may be trolls online, or it may be genuine interest from others in the guitar community. So I thought it would be interesting to dive a bit deeper into this question as a quickContinue reading “How Do I Actually Make Money Reviewing Gear?”
A Perfect Throuple: Eddie Rifkind’s Karen, Karen X, and Ken Guitar Pedals
For a long time, I’ve thought these pedals were a hilarious joke, but it turns out they also sound alright! These is a lot to unpack with these three pedals! First off, they’re hilarious sporting a Karen silhouette, Elon Musk, and then Ken looks far too much like Julian from Trailer Park Boys. However, theseContinue reading “A Perfect Throuple: Eddie Rifkind’s Karen, Karen X, and Ken Guitar Pedals”
