Electric blues guitarist Cedric Burnside joins PGstaff and reader Dominic von Riedemann in cheering on their favorite pedals—or lack thereof!
Question: What effects pedal can you not live without?
Guest Picker - Cedric Burnside
Mr. Burnside's no-frills pedalboard.
A: I only have two pedals—one is a tuner and one is an AB box. I just like the AB box because I can play both amps at the same time—the lead amp and the bass amp. But I can live without any pedal and just play my guitar.
Current Obsession:Juke joints. I’ve just noticed the lack of them here in the hill country. It used to be a staple of this area, and I’ve been working to see when and where I could possibly open my own to bring that culture of music back to the area. Hopefully I’ll have my own here sooner than later.
Reader of the Month - Dominic von Riedemann
Mr. von Riedemann's pup, standing in for Mr. von Riedemann.
A: My Way Huge Green Rhino MkII has been a staple on my board since I bought it in 2012. The adjustable midrange and bass controls give it a lot more versatility than your typical TS type, and it loves pretty much every guitar and amp I’ve tried it with.
Current Obsession: I’m hard at work recording with my band the Boardwalk Cowboys, plus I’m listening to new music from Jason Isbell, symphonic metalsmiths Therion, and dance-punk outfit Model/Actriz.
Publisher - Jon Levy
Jon’s pedalboard
A: My gigging pedalboard is constantly morphing, but it centers around this essential item: a low-gain, always-on overdrive. The Timmy pedal has been my mainstay for about 10 years, but recently I’ve been test-driving (awful pun intentional) two impressive new contenders: the Keeley Blues Disorder and Messiah Guitars Billy overdrives.
Current Obsession: Playing guitar with dynamics. And being a better listener. Like many guitarists, I find this very challenging. I’m prone to using my guitar as a firehose: Once I get going, you’d better run for the emergency exits because I will not curb this awesome power! I gotta learn to shut up, or at least improve my right-hand technique to allow the song to breathe a bit.
Gear Editor - Charles Saufley
Mr. Saufley, represented by a mallard.
A: When push comes to shove, I guess I would say a Deluxe Memory Man. Delay is probably the effect I need above all others—especially if my amp has tremolo and reverb (and it had better). But the Deluxe Memory Man is more than a perfect analog echo. The level control can add grime to a too-polite signal, and a touch of the DMM’s vibrato is always woozily delish. Plus, a guitar, a Deluxe Memory Man, and a good-looking amplifier is about as stylish as a rig gets.
Current Obsession: Playing along with windchimes. There’s a beautiful, fascinating, and most instructive mix of structure and chaos in the springtime ring of windchimes.
From the tough economics of touring to building a personal style without theory, the Welsh guitarist talks about his journey from social media to sold-out shows.
On this episode of Dipped in Tone, Rhett and Zack are joined by Wales-born guitarist Chris Buck. Buck is gearing up for a string of US tour dates with his fast-rising rock band Cardinal Black, including a date at Nashville’s Basement East after the original venue sold-out within a few hours.
Luke Ottenhof HED: How Chris Buck Went From YouTube to the Royal Albert HallTEASER: From the tough economics of touring to building a personal style without theory, the Welsh guitarist talks about his journey from social media to sold-out shows.On this episode of Dipped in Tone, Rhett and Zack are joined by Wales-born guitarist Chris Buck. Buck is gearing up for a string of US tour dates with his fast-rising rock band Cardinal Black, including a date at Nashville’s Basement East after the original venue sold-out within a few hours.Buck starts off digging into the details of his custom Yamaha Revstar and why he chose the versatile guitar over better-known offerings from legacy brands. Buck’s rise has been nearly meteoric: He started off posting videos on Facebook and Instagram before his wife suggested he give YouTube a try. His channel now counts 226,000 subscribers, thanks to his popular Friday Fretworks videos. But as Buck explains, his content is a tool to help fund his original music—a very successful tool.
Still, it’s not all sunshine. Buck details how he and his band navigate the brutal economics of touring, including some horror stories of how they ended up losing money on merch sales. Later, we learn how Buck built his signature playing style—mostly by ear and by accident. “I don’t think anyone has ever ended up sounding like themselves through sitting down and going ‘Right, im gonna try to sound unique,’” he says. “It just happens over time.”
He’s gone from YouTube to the Royal Albert Hall, but Buck reveals a quiet concern that he’s peaked too early. What do Rhett and Zach make of that fear? Tune in.
Summer School Electronics Class Reunion combines 90’s Russian Muff with 2020’s Trash Panda for a versatile drive pedal.
Each side features its own Drive and Tone knobs as well as Diode Selection toggle. (BLACK KNOBS= 90’S MUFF, GREEN KNOBS = TRASH PANDA) By tweaking the parameters, the user can open a world of tones which makes The Class Reunion a versatile drive, as well as a Riff-Writing-Machine.
The silicon setting on the muff side (BLACK KNOBS) is a more standard classic muff sound, while the LED setting creates a darker sound with more low-end. The LED setting on the Trash Panda side(GREEN KNOBS) is the classic amp-like overdrive from our Trash Panda, while the silicon setting is a lower output, but provides a crispier fizzier drive. By mixing these diode settings with the blend knob, the user can create so many sonic flavors, making this a reliable pedal for studio or live performance, as well as an addicting pedal to play at home and explore new tones and ideas.
Each pedal offers the following features:
- Independent Drive, Tone and Diode selection for each side of the circuit
- Master Volume and Blend controls
- Hand Built in Syracuse, NY
- Lifetime Warranty
- 9-volt operation and standard DC input
The Class Reunion is available at Summer School Electronics dealers, at a street price of $179.99.
For more information, please visit summerschoolelectronics.com.