Gretsch Jim Dandy and New Camera set up!

Playing my lovely Gretsch Jim Dandy guitar and testing out my new Live Streaming camera set up!

It was a lot of work and late nights trying to get all of this gear to sync up together. I am really happy with the result. Plus I think I played guitar nice in the video too.

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5 Must Try Earthquaker Devices Effects Pedals

Earthquaker Devices (EQD) are some of the coolest and most innovative pedals being made today.

If you are looking for something help inspire you to make music in new and refreshing ways, then Earthquaker Devices is a company to check out.

Here is my video review of the 5 coolest pedals in their lineup.

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Check the prices for EVERY pedal I mention:

Arpanoid: http://amzn.to/2lL8jSw
Hoof: http://amzn.to/2ml6uNI
Hoof Reaper: http://amzn.to/2l2eN0w
Tone Reaper: http://amzn.to/2mli1fL
Tentacle: http://amzn.to/2lWeZ0D
Dispatch Master: http://amzn.to/2mlbW2Q
Avalanche Run: http://amzn.to/2lfe8Ep
Night Wire: http://amzn.to/2l2btSW
Terminal: http://amzn.to/2m1cquz

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Watch my other guitar videos:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaTbnoUuEbU13IzfvajrEPhcxJszjIbE9

How To Tune Your Guitar: The Easiest Way

In this video I teach a super easy method for how to tune your guitar.

I cover a technique of listening for “warbles” between two notes and how the speed of those can indicate if your strings are in tune with each other.

This is extremely useful when getting yourself in tune with other instruments, like a piano or another guitar player. If you do use a guitar pedal, app, or a built in tuner this method of listening to “warbles” is still useful and can help you get in tune quicker.

Best of all, this technique of listening to “warbles” in the note applies to tuning other instruments as well.

Please let me know if you ave any questions.

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Gretsch Jim Dandy Unboxing and Demo

I just received the Gretsch Jim Dandy guitar as a Christmas gift. Here is my unboxing and demo so you can see and hear this amazing low cost instrument.

This thing plays GREAT and I love the vintage sound.

This is a killer guitar for blues!

Check prices: http://amzn.to/2iZgs1z

Audio recorded with the SM57 microphone: http://amzn.to/2iZglTD

Faithful to the Gretsch® “Rex” parlor guitars of the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s, the G9500 Jim Dandy Flat Top parlor-style model embodies everything that was great about those original models. The G9500 is crafted with select guitar woods and is fully lined and braced for warm and pleasing tone, with a 24″ scale for endless hours of playing comfort.

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Five Must Have Electro Harmonix pedals

Electro Harmonix pedals (EHX) are some of the oldest and most respected effects for guitar and bass.  Founder Mike Matthews is crazy in all the right ways and having come from a keyboard background he has a unique perspective on sound and music that normal guitarists might not think of.

Since EHX made their first release with the LPB-1 in 1969, they have continued to release distinct pedals with signature sounds.

So what’s the catch?  EHX releases a LOT of pedals, and sometimes multiple versions with slight changes. I’ve done the work to sort through all that.

Below is my list of the MUST HAVE Electro Harmonix pedals.

These are my top “get ’em while their hot” pedals.  This would make a killer pedal board too. Best of all, everything is designed and assembled in New York City.  Amazingly, EHX pedals have some of the lowest prices for guitar effects making them an amazing deal.

1: Micro POG (check prices)


EHX rewrote the rules when the Micro POG was released. This is the smaller and simplified version of the larger POG2 and the huge HOG, both a crazy pair of powerful guitar synths, the Micro POG creates beautiful glitch free octave down and octave up versions of your guitar tone. This allows you to expand your sound in a way that was previously not attainable. From church organs and celestial choirs to dark metal riffs that burn a hole in your amp, the Micro POG does it all. Users include everyone from Jack White to Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age.

EHX also makes the Nano POG, an even smaller and less expensive version.

This technology has also been used in the recent series of EHX pedals designed to make your guitar sound like dedicated organ or keyboard such as the:

  1. B9 – Classic (Hammond) organ sounds
  2. C9 – Clavinet sounding tones
  3. KEY9 – All those electronic keyboard sounds we love.
  4. MEL9 – Mellotron tape style keyboard sounds (Think “Strawberry Fields Forever”)

2: Soul Food (check prices)


Have you heard of the Klon Centaur?  If not, the Klon was/is a guitar overdrive pedal that Bill Finnegan developed and hand built between 1990 and 1994. The Centaur is characterized as a “transparent” overdrive, meaning it adds gain without significantly altering the tone of the guitar.  Oh… And they sell on E-Bay for THOUSANDS of dollars.

Hundreds of third party manufactures have tried to clone the original. You often see these “Klones” running $200-$300.

In Classic Mike Mathews fashion, EHX released there own version of this pedal and priced it less that $100.

Oh… and people LOVE it.  Enough said.  Done.  Get one.  Enjoy.

And to make things even more fun, Continue reading

Short Robots are Screaming: Crazy MF Flange Sounds

This video is an outtake from my series of improvised guitar solos.

The loop I recorded is way too loud but I still liked a small section of the solo and I wanted to share it regardless.  So, here is that outtake.

The super metallic sound of the loop is created by the MF Flange.

I also ran the flange under a lot of the solo giving it extra bite.  This one is a bit rough on the ears!

This song is called: Short Robots are Screaming

Gear Used (click links for prices):
Moog MF Flange: http://amzn.to/29NjGU
Boss Blues Driver: http://amzn.to/2e35VSc
Buddy Guy Wah: http://amzn.to/2drwkub
Line 6 FM4 http://amzn.to/2evW8Uf
Boss RC-2 looper: http://amzn.to/27R1qjl

PedalTrain Pedal Board: http://amzn.to/1rveVDG
Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus Power Supply: http://amzn.to/1YyVV4u

Fender Stratocaster: http://amzn.to/29zse2t
Guitar Amp: Fender Mustang 3 http://amzn.to/1T1Ex5I I love the ease of the USB interface for recording.

Recorded in LogicX. EQ and Delay added in post.

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The Five Best Guitar Effects Pedals for New and Pro Players


If you or someone you know is looking to build a collection of the best guitar effects pedals then let me start by saying, “Welcome to the best club ever.”

I love guitar gear.  It’s an obsession for me.  I spend so much of my free time researching gear that it only seemed logical that I should start putting some of this passion into a website. So, if you want information, I have already done the research.

Why trust me?  I have been playing guitar for over 20 years and I have experimented with tons of pedals. During my lunch breaks, I sneak off to Guitar Center and New York City’s boutique guitar shops to try out all the new (and vintage) toys.  I have the product lines practically memorized for all of the major guitar companies.  My brother is also a gear head and it’s all we talk about.  Did I say that I love gear?

Now is perhaps the best time to buy guitar effects pedals because there are tons of options, quality is at an all time high and prices are cheap.

Below is my list of the five perfect pedals to start with. I tried to keep prices in the $100 range with one pedals as low as $49. (Click on the links to check the prices on Amazon.)

I have strived to suggest pedals that are easy to use, sound amazing (duh) and have stood the test of time.

Anything you pick from the list below will be cool today and something you will still use years later.  Many of these pedals appear on the boards of touring rock stars.

I’ll list these in the order I think you should buy them and then I’ll list the order you should connect them once you hook them all up together.  Here we go!

1: Tube Screamer – Classic or Mini (click links to see prices):

This is the most famous overdrive pedal and with good reason. The Tube Screamer has managed to remain in constant use by professional guitarists for decades.  Everyone from your weekend warrior to Stevie Ray Vaughn have used a Tube Screamer to define their sound.

The Tube Screamer is now available in a less expensive “mini” option, making it easily fit onto a pedal board.  Please note that if you buy the Mini you will need an external power supply.

If size isn’t a concern, I would suggest getting the full size Tube Screamer because you can run it off of a battery.   You can see the size difference in the video above.

Why start with this as your first pedal?

Continue reading

DryBell Vibe Machine V-2 demo

Holy Shiznit! This demo for the DryBell Vibe Machine V-2 is just amazing. I’m a big fan of the Univibe effect and I have (and love) my Fulltone DejaVibe. But I have to say, this pedal by DryBell sounds killer. And, the playing by Kruno Doma?inovi? is just OUTSTANDING. You have to listen to this. Jimi would be proud!

Check prices:
DryBell Vibe Machine V-2 on Amazon.
FullTone DejaVibe on Amazon