Instrumental rock arrived with a growl and a twang in 1958. The growl was from Link Wray’s fierce “Rumble,” which put distorted guitar on the pop charts—at No. 16—for the first time. The twang was the low, reverb-bathed sound of Duane Eddy’s Gretsch 6120 on “Rebel Rouser,” which reached No. 6 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in May. For the next 66 years, Eddy and his 6120 were inseparable, and he remained the undisputed “King of Twang,” releasing 21 albums over the next nine years that influenced the sound of guitar, from the Shadows and the Beatles to John Fogerty and Bruce Springsteen to the compo ..read more

A heavy-duty, isolated power supply that costs $200 to $250? Nah, I’ll just find a cheap off-brand one on Amazon. But a $450 point-to-point, 2-knob fuzz pedal? Heck yeah! I’ve been going on rants in the shop lately about pedalboard rigs that feature expensive effects pedals but are powered by inexpensive and less-than-desirable power supplies. Why would this scenario ever show itself? My hypothesis comes down to “allure.” By this, I mean that power supplies, compared to pedals, aren’t exactly exciting. They’re not something that we get to use artistically. We don’t pine for them or get to c ..read more

Every instrument is a tool for expressing feeling. But when you have to convey a certain range of emotions spanning anguish, the rush of sonic anarchy, and the exhilaration of total liberation, octave fuzzes are tops. Generally speaking, octave fuzz isn’t an effect you use casually. And it often leads to hairy places where you are forced to surrender control. But if you have something to say with an electric guitar and you want to punctuate it with an exclamation point, adding octave fuzz can do the trick. Need further convincing? Kick back, close your eyes, listen to Jimi’s “Machine Gun ..read more

Featuring a 12AX7 tube, 3-band EQ, and true bypass switch, this pedal is designed to deliver versatile tone control and stage-worthy durability. "We chose to base our pedal on one of the best tube-driven bass amps ever made, the AD200B. From full, powerful cleans to beautiful harmonic break up to full out fuzz this pedal covers it all. To build a true amp in a box we run a 12AX7 tube at 250vdc, full tube amp voltage, and use MalloryMl50 and Silver Mica signal capacitors just like you would see in a real, high-end tube amp." 3 Band EQ for total tone control True Bypass on/ off switch 9-vol ..read more

Unless you’re in a Sonic Youth tribute band, or maybe you’ve finally realized your dream of starting an avant-garde tribute to Neil Diamond, you might have a bit of noise in your signal chain you would want to eliminate. These 10 options aim to slam the door on extraneous buzz and hum, and at high-gain settings, they will keep your rhythm chugs tight. Boss NS-1X Noise Suppressor Centered around the company’s MDP technology, this gate aims to eliminate noise without sacrificing feel or response. It also includes an effects loop and a mute mode. $199 street boss.info GUPTech MWAC Noise Gate ..read more

Marty Friedman's new single "Dead of Winter" from his upcoming album Drama features vocals by Chris Brooks. Marty Friedman shares "Dead of Winter" the second single from his upcoming new solo album 'Drama', due out May 17th via Frontiers Music Srl. The track features vocals by Chris Brooks from Like A Storm and while normally an instrumentalist, this is Marty's first solo release featuring a vocalist. "Dead of Winter" is accompanied by a new music video starring Skylar Erna and is available below. About the track, Marty had this to say: "The lyrics of 'Dead of Winter' as well as the story ..read more

Dive deep or keep it simple with an ultra-flexible, affordable amp that covers huge stretches of the sonic waterfront ..read more

Hello and welcome back to Mod Garage. This year, the Fender Stratocaster is celebrating its 70th birthday. Happy birthday, and all the best for your next 70 years! To celebrate, I chose a Strat as our guinea pig for this month. But everything we are talking about applies to all single-coil-equipped guitars. Let’s have a deep look into what can be done to get rid of single-coil hum, which can be very annoying, especially when playing live. I’m sure you all know the situation: Your band managed to get an important Friday night gig at, let’s say, Bob’s Country Bunker. You and your bandmates ar ..read more

The Aerosmith axeman recounts how he ripped the blazing lead on the Rocks hit, dishing some critical history along the way. Behind Steven Tyler’s unhinged howls, Aerosmith’s twin-guitar attack with Joe Perry and Brad Whitford cemented them as one of the greatest hard-rock bands of the ’70s. “Last Child,” the street-strutting, hard-blues hit off their breakout 1976 record Rocks, is one of the greatest demonstrations of this dangerous duo’s interplay. While Perry holds down the funky rhythmic chord stabs, Whitford burns through a volcanic, first-take solo. Did any pedals help snare that scre ..read more

The guitar legend passed away after a battle with cancer Tuesday at the Williamson Health hospital in Franklin, Tennessee, according to his wife, Deed Abbate. Duane Eddy, along with producer Lee Hazlewood, effectively defined “twang” and set the gold standard for instrumental guitar rock in the late ’50s with his songs “Rebel-’Rouser” and his version of the theme to “Peter Gunn.” In addition to his playing and exceptional approach to his instrument, he experimented and expanded the tone of the electric guitar, notably using a 2,000-gallon water tank as an echo chamber on some early recordin ..read more