Tim McGraw''s guitarist talks to Rich about his career and his gear.
I consider myself fortunate to be among a
select group of guitarists who make a living following
their passion of creating music. Less than
two percent of all the players in the Nashville
Musicians Union make 100 percent of their
living playing music. When you remove the
drummers, bassists, keyboardists, fiddlers, and
members of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra
from that two percent, youāre left with a very
small group of guitarists. Weāre not household
names like Eddie Van Halen, Les Paul, or Eric
Clapton, but weāve dedicated our lives to the
craft of playing the guitar just the same.
Guitarist Darren Smith lays it down onstage with Tim McGraw.
After performing together for McGrawās Nashville Rising flood relief concert, I sat down with Darren and talked to him about his years on the road with country superstar Tim McGraw as well as the early days of his career.
Darren, weāve been friends for over 20 years. Early on we were both playing the clubs around Nashville. How did you go from there to a gig with Tim McGraw?
I was playing a regular gig at Skullās Rainbow Room in Printerās Alley and Tim used to come down and sit in and sing. This was prerecord deal. He asked me if I wanted to go to Delaware and do a honky tonk for a of couple weeks and I said sure. We hit it off and had a great time. He told me he was on the verge of getting a deal with Curb Records and that when he did, he wanted me to put a band together for him. Having heard this story a lot in Nashville I was not too convinced. But a couple of months later he called and said put something together, we are going on tour with Joe Diffie. So I did and Iāve been there ever since.
How long ago was this?
That was 21 years ago, come September.
What other bands did you play with before Tim?
David Frizzell, Shelly West, Helen Cornelius, and endless club bands.
So you played with a lot of the traditional country stars. Who were your early influences on guitar?
Early on my influences were Johnny Cash, the Allman Brothers, the Eagles, Wynn Stewart, Buddy Holly, and Elvis.
Whatās the first song you remember learning?
I was 7 or 8, and it was āMilk Cow Bluesā by Jimmie Rodgers. I learned it on an old Sears nylon-string my mother got me.
What gear were you using when you first started with McGraw?
I had an old Fender Strat I used to call āBlackieā and a Peavey Stereo Chorus 2x12 amp. That was it. No pedals except for a tuner.
Back in the day I always saw you with a hollowbody Tele with f-holes. What are you playing now?
Now I have numerous G&L, Gibson, PRS, and Gretsch guitars. I guess my favorite is a green G&L Legacy Special. It was the first one I got from G&L and it can do almost anything I need. I play it the most. As far as amps, live I use two Peavey Classic 50s in isolation boxes. On Timās records, my amps include a ā65 Fender Deluxe Reverb and an old 50-watt Marshall.
Iāve used the same pedalboard for years. It includes a Line 6 delay and chorus, an old green Ibanez Tube Screamer, a Fulltone Fulldrive 2, a Boss Blues Driver, a ProCo Rat, an MXR DynaComp, a Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Crybaby wah, and an Ernie Ball volume pedal. My guitar tech, John Prestia, and I experiment all the time with new stuff, though.
Do you find time to do any projects outside of McGraw?
Not so much nowadays. Iāve done some projects for Lofton Creek Records and Iām still co-producing Timās records. Touring keeps me pretty busy.
What are you listening to these days? Who do you draw inspiration from now?
Call me old-fashioned I guess, but I still listen to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Danny Gatton, Eddie Van Halen, and ZZ Top. Although I do like cranking up a good Kid Rock song every now and then.
Do you have any advice to anyone who wants to jump in and try to do what you do for a living?
Yeah, just a little advice for the newbies to Nashville: Stick with it, play wherever you can, to whoever you can, whenever you can.
Rich Eckhardt
Rich is a highly sought-after Nashville guitarist who has performed with singers ranging from Steven Tyler to Shania Twain. He currently plays lead guitar for Toby Keith, and also works as a spokesperson for the Soles4Souls charity (soles4souls.org). His new album, Cottage City Firehouse, is available at richeckhardt.com and CDBaby.com.
The Smashing Pumpkins frontman balances a busy creative life working as a wrestling producer, cafĆ©/tea company owner, and a collaborator on his forward-thinking, far-reaching line of signature guitars. Decades into his career, Corgan continues to evolve his songcraft and guitar sound for the modern era on the bandās latest, Aghori Mhori Mei.
āForm follows function,ā explains Billy Corgan when asked about the evolution of his songwriting. These three words seem to serve as his creative dictum. āEarly Pumpkins was more about playing in clubs and effecting a response from the live audience, because thatās where we could get attention."
When the Smashing Pumpkins formed in 1988, they were ripping in rock clubs with psychedelic-inspired sets that drew on ā60s-rock influences like Blue Cheer, Jimi Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin. But by 1992, after the breakout success of the previous yearās swirling alt-rock masterpiece, Gish, āSuddenly, weāre on a major label,ā recalls Corgan. āPearl Jam sold a gazillion records. Nirvana sold a gazillion records. Alice in Chains is selling a gazillion records. And somebody puts a finger up to my temple and says, āYou better figure out how to write pop songs or youāre going to go back to working at a record store.ā
āSo, how do I translate this kind of hazy psychedelic vision into something that sounds like pop-rock radio? Iād better figure this out, and fast.ā On 1993ās Siamese Dream, Corgan had obviously gone far beyond simply figuring out how to fit his vision into a radio-ready format; heād pushed alternative rock to new heights, masterfully crafting hooks fit for the bandās unique, massive guitar-driven sound.
More than three decades later, Corgan hasnāt stopped evolving his artistry to fit the times. On the firm foundation of his extremely well-developed, instantly recognizable musical voice, heās made his career one of the most interesting in rock music, branching out into unpredictable trajectories. In 2017, he launched a new career as a professional wrestling producer when he purchased the National Wrestling Alliance, the source of the limited TV series Billy Corganās Adventures in Carnyland.The Smashing Pumpkins - "Edin"
And heās applied that knack for spectacleāa de facto pre-req for anyone in the pro wrestling bizāto the bandās social media presence. In January 2024, when guitarist Jeff Schroeder split with the Smashing Pumpkins, they turned to the internet for an open call. Not only did the band eventually find new-hire Kiki Wong, but they effectively got every guitarist on the internet dreaming about joining the Pumpkins.
Corgan has also found a creative outlet as a guitar conceptualist. His four signature Reverendsāthe Billy Corgan Signature, Terz, Z-One, and Drop Zāwere created in collaboration with Joe Naylor, the companyās visionary builder. Taken together, these models go well beyond standard signature artist instruments protocols. Not content to just design his own dream guitar, Corgan is equally concerned with contributing to the guitar community. The Billy Corgan Signature and Z-One models are forward-thinking electric guitars well-outfitted with hip, futuristic aesthetics and custom pickups; the Terz and Drop Z break new ground in guitar design. The Terz is a 21 1/2"-scale model meant to be tuned one and a half steps upāG to Gāand the Drop Z model, at 26 1/2" scale, is intended for D standard or lower tunings. In the case of these alt-tuned guitars, the instruments are specifically voiced for their tunings, with custom pickups.
āIn that quiet solitude of just you and the guitar, this communication can happen that sort of expresses something about yourself that is surprising.ā
With all this actionāplus signature Yamaha acoustics and his Highland Park, Illinois, cafĆ©, Madame Zuzuās, which he owns with his wife, ChloĆ© MendelāCorgan must be dialing into a deep, super-focused state when working on music, because heās been prolific. In 2023, the Pumpkins released the epic ATUM: A Rock Opera in Three Acts, the third part of the trilogy that began with the Pumpkinsā smash-hit Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadnessin 1995, followed by 2000ās Machina/The Machines of God. In 2024, the band released Aghori Mhori Mei. Pitched as a stripped-down guitar record, and exempt from the formerās grandiosity, the songs are often riff-centric guitar jams, full of dark, in-your-face tones. But that pitch might belie the albumās rich compositional complexity and intense emotional breadth. Corganās writing on Aghori exemplifies all the nuance and finesse of his broader work, as do the dynamic, thoughtful guitar arrangements and hard-hitting performances.
With so much going on, how does Corgan keep his artistic vision focused and in step with the times? How does he find time to tap into the creative essence that has made his music so special? What drives his process? The only way to find out is from Corgan himself.
The Smashing Pumpkinsā Aghori Mhori Mei was pitched as a more stripped-down guitar record, but donāt let that description, fitting as it may be in comparison with their recent work, belie its majesty.
The premise of Aghori was to be more of a stripped-down guitar record. How did you approach this album from a compositional perspective?
Corgan: The idea was to return to the early language of the band and see if it had a modern application. If you were making a movie, it would be akin to: Weāre going to shoot this on VHS cameras and edit in an old analog bay and see if you can make something that a modern audience would actually enjoy and appreciate.
The way most rock records are made these days is āin the box,ā which is Pro Tools or whatever people use. You can hear that the digital technology is very important to the way modern rock music, whether itās metal or alternative, is made. Itās become the fifth band memberāyou know what Iām saying? Theyāre able to do things and effect changes and musically innovate in a way that you wouldnāt if you were just on a floor with the band playing in a circle, like we used to. So, for us, we could continue down this digital path, and Iām not that interested in gridding out my guitars.
When you go listen to a Pumpkins record, thatās live playing. Thatās not all chopped upā99% of what you hear is literally from our hands and mouthsāweāll still fly in a chorus here and there. If youāre at a particular crossroads, do you continue to move forward and with technology as your ally? Or do you kind of go back and see if that old way still has something magical about it? That becomes the sort of the existential debate of the record, both internally and publicly, which is: Is there a there, there?
But to clarify, this isnāt an analog recording.
Corgan: We record to Pro Tools. Itās using the technology of Pro Tools to make your records that we donāt do. Iām not trying to make a point. Iām saying using the technologies that are present to write your music or using it to do things that you canāt humanly doāthat we donāt do.
Listen to your standard metal record. Everything is gridded to fuck: All the amps are in the box, all the drums are in the box, thereās not a missed note, everythingās tuned to fuck. You know what I mean? Thatās modern metal, and I like it. Itās not like I turn up my nose at the thing, but thatās a way of making music for many people in 2024. We decided to try and go back and make a record the old-fashioned way, not to make some sort of analog point.
āThereās a certain loneliness in the way I play because I didnāt have anybody else to play guitar with.ā
You write mostly on acoustic and piano. Where do the guitar arrangements come in?
Corgan: The fundamental process, going back to the beginning, is to create the basic track; the vocal then becomes the next most important thing, and then the icing on the cake is the guitar work over the top of that, basically to support and supplement the vocal and create more melodic interaction.
I got a lot of that from Queen and Boston and some Beatlesāthe idea that the guitar takes on a lead voice of its own thatās distinctive and almost becomes another lead singer in the band.
That stuff doesnāt show up literally until the last day working on the song. Itāll come off wrong, but we donāt spend a ton of time on it. And I donāt know what that means other than it seems to be like everything is done, and then you go, āOkay, time for the guitar work.ā Youāll spend three hours, six hours just going through and trying stuff. Then it sort of just appears, and you go, āOh, that sounds cool,ā and you move on. It benefits from being fresh or feeling kind of like an emotional reaction.
I remember being in a car circa 1975 or ā76 and āKiller Queenā by Queen was on the radio. Youāre listening to a song, the song sounds cool, and thereās flange vocals, and Iām 10 years old, in the backseat. All of a sudden, that lead break comes in; itās just fucking loud. It has that feeling of somebody stepping forward into a spotlight. Itās not a show-off thing. Itās the way it makes you feel. Itās like a lighter type of moment. Weāve always chased that feeling.
Billy Corgan's Gear
Corgan with his signature Yamaha LJ16BC in 2022.
Photo by Mike White
Guitars
- E standard: Billy Corgan Signature Reverend Z-One Black
- E backup: Billy Corgan Signature Reverend - Satin Purple Burst
- Eb standard: Billy Corgan Signature Reverend Z-One - Silver Freeze
- Eb backup: Billy Corgan Signature Reverend Z-One - Orchard Pink
- Eb standard: ā70s Gibson ES-335 walnut
- C# standard: Billy Corgan Signature Reverend Drop Z - Pearl White
- Prototype Gibson Firebird
- Billy Corgan Custom Signature Yamaha LJ16BC Black with Silver Star
- Billy Corgan Custom Signature Yamaha White with Black Star
Amps
- Ampete 444 Amplifier & Cabinet Switching System
- Korg DT-1 Rack Tuner
- Carstens Cathedral
- Orange Rockerverb MkIII
- Carstens Grace Billy Corgan Signature Head
- Laney Supergroup LA100SM
- Laney LA412 4x12 Black Country Custom
Pedals
- RJM Mastermind GT/22 MIDI Controller
- Lehle D.Loop
- Warm Audio Warmdrive
- MXR Phase 90
- Catalinbread Zero Point Tape Flanger
- Behringer Octave Divider
- Strymon Brigadier dBucket Delay
- EarthQuaker Devices Time Shadows II
- Custom Audio Electronics MC-403 power supply
Strings
- Ernie Ball Regular Slinky (.010ā.046)
- Ernie Ball Power Slinky (.011ā.048)
- Ernie Ball Not Even Slinky (.012ā.052)
- Ernie Ball Earthwood Medium Light (.012ā.054)
Guitar starts out for so many of us as this really personal thing that we spend all our time doing, and then as life gets more complicated, you just have less time. What is your relationship with the guitar like in 2024? Do you have a day-to-day relationship with guitar playing?
Corgan: I do not. I donāt really pick up the guitar much unless Iām working.
When you do pick up the guitar, is it with intent? Do the ideas come inspired by the guitar, inspired by something you play? Or are they up in your head, and then youāre grabbing a guitar to realize it?
Corgan: If I pick up a guitar, Iām looking to play something that surprises me. Itās whatever comes out. And sometimes you hit the wrong chord and go, āOh, thatās interesting.ā Or you find a new inversion or something that you never thought of before. You try to play a different scale run than youāve played 10,000 times, always landing on the same note. Itās just looking for something just a little bit new. I find oftentimes, in that quiet solitude of just you and the guitar, this communication can happen that sort of expresses something about yourself that is surprisingāan emotional feeling or a way of approach.
āYou could say to me, āHey, play me some Siamese-type thing that you wouldāve done in ā92,ā and in five minutes, I could write you something that would sound like a song that wouldāve been a Siamese song in ā92.ā
The style of my guitar playing came out of taking care of my disabled brother when I was a teenager, so I was stuck inside a lot. To paint a simple visual, imagine being stuck inside on a summerās day and watching people play outside through the window as youāre playing the guitar. That was my life for much of my teenage years, because I was in this position where I had to look after somebody who was not so much homebound, but it wasnāt like the type of child at his stage of development that you could take him in the backyard and let him run around. You kind of had to look after him. It often became easier to stick him in front of a television or let him take a nap while youāre practicing.
Thereās a certain loneliness in the way I play because I didnāt have anybody else to play guitar with. I developed a style that had a kind of call-and-response aspect to it in the open strings and the drone playing, because it was a way to effect a larger conversation without somebody else in the room.
Then, when it was James [Iha] and I in the early days of the band, James would basically do different versions of what I was playing. That created an even bigger conversation that seemed to create almost like a third guitarist. You can hear that in the whistling harmonics in the background. Thatās just two guitars playing, but you create a ghost effect. Iāve done a lot of guitar work in the studio where people would be visiting me, and they look at the speakers, āWhatās that sound?ā And Iām like, āThatās just two guitars.ā They donāt believe me. I literally have to solo the two guitars and just show them. Thatās the harmonic effect.
I still have that inner relationship with my playing, where I could just sit down and play and find something that sounds like a bit of a conversation.
The Reverend Billy Corgan Signature in the hands of the man himself alongside drummer Jimmy Chamberlin and guitarist James Iha.
Photo by Ken Settle
When youāre writing, picking up a guitar, looking for those things, like you said, are you still after the same feeling you had initially or has the feeling changed?
Corgan: I think itās more trying to find something that seems to signify whateverās happening at the moment. Itās a truthfulness. You could say to me, āHey, play me some Siamese-type thing that you wouldāve done in ā92,ā and in five minutes, I could write you something that would sound like a song that wouldāve been a Siamese song in ā92. I can dial in any era of the band or my writing at will, because theyāre all based on methodologies and certain emotional templates. So, Iām trying to do that for today. What is the 2024 version of that that makes me feel somethingāanything at all?
Thereās this other creative side to your work, which is your signature gear. You have four Reverend guitars, and theyāre all very different from each other. Youāve created them with Joe Naylor. Can you tell me about that collaboration?
Corgan: Somehow, Joe is able to go back and listen to what Iām referencing, and then translate that into something thatās physically tangible and consistent.
I donāt think a gimmicky guitar serves anybody. My signature guitars need to be useful to anybody else doing their music, not just my kind of music. And Iām very proud of that. I think thatās what makes a great guitarāit has application to whoever picks it up. And a lot of credit to Reverend to be willing to take these chances that Iāve sort of set them off chasing.
The Reverend Billy Corgan Drop Z is specially voiced in feel and sound for D standard and lower tunings.
Theyāre all bold guitars, but especially the Terz and the Drop Z, which are built specifically for alternate tunings. What were you looking for when you came up with the idea of those instruments?
Corgan: The thing with the Terz, which is G to G as opposed to E to Eāa step and a half higherāwas in listening to guitarists like Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead and other guitar players of that generation, I noticed that the function of the guitar for many alternative guitar players was becoming more atmospheric and less elemental. I thought maybe they would like to have a higher tonal range to work in. Because, ultimately, in 2024 logic, you want to get the guitar away from the vocal. If you think of the classic Telecaster sound, well, if youāre playing in the key of G on a Telecaster, that sits exactly where the vocal is. Itās like the worst possible place for a guitar in the 21st century. But if you can increase the harmonic range of the guitar, it does sort of sit, elementally, a little higher.
I donāt think people have figured that out yet about that guitar. But I have a funny feeling that at some point somebody will, much like when Korn took the Steve Vai guitar and took it in a completely different direction and made a whole new genre of music with it. I think the Terz opens a player up to a different tonal range.
āI donāt think a gimmicky guitar serves anybody. My signature guitars need to be useful to anybody else doing their music, not just my kind of music.ā
A lot of these modern alternative guitar players, they donāt play super complicated stuff. Whether they were inspired by Jonny from Radiohead or the guy from Coldplay, itās more like a tweedle-y guitar, like twilight, vibey.... You look at their pedalboards; itās a lot of reverbs and bucket delays and stuff like that. I get it.
On the Dropāon making Aghori, I found myself thinking a lot about Mick Marsās guitar sound and where Mickās guitar sat in Mƶtley CrĆ¼e. Early Mƶtley CrĆ¼e was basically a guitar tuned down a step. Something about the D rangeāyou could do it on a normal guitar, but it gets a little sloppy with the tuning and certainly the intonation. So, I talked to Reverend about making a D-to-D guitar that doesnāt feel like a baritone guitar, that plays and feels very much like an E-to-E guitar, but gives you range. For a modern guitar player who wants to make music that ends up on the radio, the specificities of where that guitar needs to sit tonally and how it would be mixed is what I was thinking of.
So, these are instruments for the modern player who wants to make music that can reach people vis-Ć -vis what is the media these daysāstreaming or whatever. If you want to take an old guitar and tune it down to F and all that ā¦ I did all that crazy stuff, too. I wouldnāt discourage anybody from doing it. But these are specific instruments with a very specific purpose, primarily for recording.
On āEdinā [from Aghori Mhori Mei], well, thatās that guitar. I think in that song, itās dropped, so the low string is a C. But you can hear how that guitar sits so forward in the track. Thatās a credit to Joe making that guitar exactly what I wanted, and the pickups really doing their job with how it sits in the track.Corgan has an early memory of hearing Brian Mayās lead break on āKiller Queenā: āIt has that feeling of somebody stepping forward into a spotlight. Itās not a show-off thing. Itās the way it makes you feel. Itās like a lighter type of moment. Weāve always chased that feeling.ā
I want to come back to how that affects your playing. You have these instruments that are now specifically voiced to your vision. When they get in your hands and youāre working on something, how do you exploit the sonics of those guitars? Maybe you wrote a song on acoustic, but now you have this instrument that youāve helped ideate, and you can do stuff that your other guitars canāt. Where does that come in the creative process?
Corgan: I donāt think I have a romantic answer. For me, itās more about recording accuracy or clarity. If you compare, letās call it the āMellon Collie ā95ā guitar sound, where we were mostly a half-step down; itās clear, but itās very sludgyāa lot of midrange and not a lot of stuff above, say, 17k, because I was using those Lace Sensor pickups. Modern recording; everybody wants the guitar as far forward as you can get it.
These days, Iām mostly using these Carstens amps, which is a Chicago amp-maker, Brian Carstens. I used one amp that he made for me, the Grace, which he does sell, which is kind of a modern take on the Eddie Van Halen brown soundāa ton of gain, but clear. And then he has another amp called Empire, which is more for a metal player. I use that as well. And in some cases, I stack both amps on top of each other by reamping. He has another amp, called Cathedral, which is like a cross between a Fender Twin and a Hiwatt. Again, very clear.
āModern recording; everybody wants the guitar as far forward as you can get it.ā
The best way I can explain it, and this is my poor language-ing, but if I was to take a vintage Marshall plexi and a Les Paul, like a classic amazing guitar sound, and record the riff for āEdin,ā and then I was to take my Reverend Drop Z run through a Carstens amp, and you listen to the two tracks, the modern stuff Iām using, the guitar is like six more feet forward in the track; the vintage stuff sounds kind of back there. You can hear itāa little gauzy, a little dark, and the modern stuff is right in your grill. Itās not harsh; itās not overly midrange-y. It just sounds really good and present.
So thatās the key. Because I play so distinctively that I kind of sound like me whatever you put me through, my focus is more tonal and how it sits in the stereo field.
Are pedals just pragmatic means to achieve a tone? Or is there exploration involved there?
Corgan: Since Siamese Dream, where we famously used the op-amp Big Muff and EHX Micro Synth, and some MXR stuff, the main sound of the band is just crank through something. Going back to something my father told me many, many moons ago: guitar, chord, amp is the key. I worked in the studio with Tony Iommi. Those hands, a chord, an ampāand when he plays, Godās moving mountains. We get super granular when Iām in the studio; I might play a chord thatās no more than seven-feet long, anything so I can be as close to the amp as possible, so thereās the least amount of chord from the guitar to the amp.
Itās all about driving the amp and moving that air and moving those electrons in the tubes. Thatās just the key for me. If thereās pedal work on any Pumpkins albums in the last 25 years, itās for solos and little dinky things on the top. The main guitar sound is always pure power. We want as much pure power as possible.
YouTube It
The Smashing Pumpkins kick out āSighommiā from Aghori Mhori Meilive on Kimmel with new-hire Kiki Wong joining Corgan and James Iha in the guitar section.
Behind every great guitarist is probably a great tech.
The life of a tech is where art, craft, science, and sorcery collide. My story isnāt so different from thousands of others in the performing arts world. It began at an extremely young age, in what they now call middle school. As much as I wanted to play music, draw, paint, and photograph, I was also drawn to the technical side of the creative pursuits.
Luckily, schools at the time offered classes in photography and art right along with printing, drafting, woodworking, stage crew, and auto repair. I never thought of them as disparateāeven then I knew they were all interconnected. There wasnāt a master planāthere was only a path.
Along the way, I met others who shared a passion for music and mechanics. One of the first was a ham-radio fanatic who also loved music. He was referred by a classmate for electronic repair on my guitar amp, and we soon found we had a lot of common interests. Vince was a high school student by day and a radio-phone operator by night. These were the days before cell phones, a time when car phones were huge radio transceivers stowed in the trunks of wealthy peopleās cars. To place a call, the driver had to radio in to an operator who would connect them to a landline. Vince would make the connection and then go back to waiting for the next call. We got to talking about repairing guitar amps, or even the possibility of building one from scratch, and started work on an amplifier within days. While Vince worked on the amp chassis, I constructed a plywood speaker cabinet and stuffed it with 15" Utah speakers. After a few weeks and a dozen trips to the electronics store, we had a functioning, terrible-sounding amplifier. Vince was convinced it had something to do with the plate voltages. āNeeds more pressure,ā was his cryptic explanation. After that, we lost interest, moved on, and lost touch. But Iād learned enough to be dangerous to myself.
That was the beginning of my long-standing respect for technicians of all sorts. There was Gary, who owned a fledgling amplifier company and rental shop on the West Side of Chicago. His amps were robust and had plenty of clean headroom, which really wasnāt what guitarists were looking for by the end of the 1960s. Still, my long drives to his shop were rewarded with free-flowing lectures about amp design. It was a prototype for a DIY music gear business, which was inspiring.
āBecause pros rotate through different tours, their experience and expertise come from an infinitely deeper and wider range of real-world experience than working in a music store or watching YouTube videos.ā
Similarly, Bruce Gordon had a repair shop shoehorned into a tiny space off Dempster Street in Evanston, just north of Chicago. Gordon started his repair business while playing in local bands, including one that had a string of regional and national hits. I used to walk past his open door on my way to work in the morning and would often stop to talk to him. He might have been the first pro musician that I had ever met who was also a technician. Once again, I found a person who was willing to share information and tips readily. I worked at a later incarnation of his expanded business where I learned from more seasoned techs who were always comparing notes and helping each other.
Over the decades, I learned to lean on the expertise of pro guitar technicians. As the touring business grew, being a tech became a serious profession, and knowing the techs on the road was a constant source of great information and camaraderie. Because pros rotate through different tours, their experience and expertise come from an infinitely deeper and wider range of real-world experience than working in a music store or watching YouTube videos. When I deal with pro musicians as a guitar builder, itās often through an introduction made by a tech as much as the other way around. If I find a guitarist to be lacking in the ability to verbalize their ideas, often a great tech is there to sort things out.
So hereās to all those who make the big wheels roll. They learn from each other and pass their lessons along to others freely with no strings attached. Like Jackson Browne sang: āTheyāre the first to arrive, and the last to leave.ā They donāt get the spotlight, but the artists know that without them, there is no show. Without them, I wouldnāt be here today. Thank you to every one of you.
Meet the Wampler Catacombs and the Syntax: The Catacombs offers delay and reverb pedal with 11 iconic sounds in one intuitive package. While the the Wampler Syntax features a compact and versatile MIDI program selector, tap-tempo controller, and amp channel switcher.
Ever since Brian Wampler first picked up a guitar, he's been chasing the perfect sound - a quest that led him to build pedals in the first place. One challenge kept coming up, both for him and the countless musicians he's talked to: the struggle to have a wide range of sounds with complex editing capabilities while keeping the pedal interface manageable. Musicians either compromise on versatility or sacrifice precious space. Brian knew there had to be a better way. That's why he created the Catacombs - a pedal that eliminates the compromise altogether. It packs 11 of the most popular delay and reverb sounds into one intuitive, powerful package. Whether you're after a trusty digital delay and a plate reverb or a musical shimmer and a spaced out echo we have you covered!
The team at Wampler have worked for a long time on ensuring Catacombs will become an indispensable part of your rig. Each program offers tap-tempo control and can be saved into one of the pedal's eight front panel preset locations for instant recall. Delays and reverbs can be run in Stereo, in parallel or in series. But it doesnāt end there - the pedal also comes with a complete software version as a plugin for your DAW in AAX, AU, and VST3 format for both Mac and PC. The Catacombs plugin is FREE to all customers that register their Warranty online ($49.99 if purchased separately).
Legendary Delays
When designing the Catacombs, Brian wanted to put a whole universe of sonic textures at your fingertips. With six delay programs, you can feel the warmth and depth of analog delays (ANLG), the harmonic nuances of a Bucket Brigade Device delay (BBD), or the nostalgic modulated vibe of classic artisanal tape and mechanical delays (TAPE). Feeling adventurous? The other-worldly Echo-Space Delay (SPC) awaits. The favorite Wampler Faux Tape Echo (FTE) and an accurate recreation of the classic 2290 digital delay (DIGI) also feature. Each setting offers tap-tempo control and can be easily saved into one of the pedal's eight front panel preset locations for instant recall. It's like having a studio's worth of delay effects right at your feet.
Iconic Reverbs
But he didn't stop at delays. The Catacombs also houses five finely tuned reverb programs that Brian and his team honed to perfection. With just a twist of a knob, you'll discover expansive halls (HALL), a warm vintage plate (PLT), and that classic spring reverb (SPR) with plenty of "drip." The shimmer reverb (SHMR) allows a whole new layer of sonic texture, especially when paired with an expression pedal, and the intimate ambiance of the ROOM setting creates that perfect studio reverb. Just like the delay programs, each reverb is easy to control and can be quickly saved into one of the eight onboard presets. The Catacombs is all about giving you the tools to shape your sound effortlessly.
Stompbox-like Control
Like the Terraform and Metaverse before it, the Catacombs is designed to be as quick to dial in as possible. We replaced confusing menus and fiddly touch screens with clearly marked knobs you can adjust on the fly. Controls for Time, Feedback, Modulation, and Level (with Alt functions for each effect type) put all the essential tools right at your fingertips.
Digital Power with an Analog Soul
In creating the Catacombs, Brian wanted to blend the best of both worlds. It uses a
high-performance DSP engine to bring each effect to life with authentic character, and gives you eight front panel preset locations where you can save and instantly recall your favorite settings. If you're looking to expand even further, you can access up to 128 presets with full MIDI control, it has optional stereo routing, a parallel or serial switch, and an assignable expression pedal input to control any parameter (or multiple parameters) in real time. It's a pedal that can grow with you, adapting to any musical situation.
Brian Wamplerās attention to detail and commitment to designing the best and most player friendly products out there is second to none. Those qualities are on full display within the Catacombs. From its convenient form factor to its flexible controls and full MIDI implementation via mini-TRS jacks, the Catacombs is all Wampler.
- Studio quality conversion 48 kHz sampling rate with 24-bit audio
- Full 20Hz to 20kHz frequency response
- Studio-quality vintage and modern effects - 6 Delays and 5 Reverbs designed and realized in-house at Wampler
- Simple user interface making your sound design instantaneous
- All parameters controllable via an outboard expression pedal
- 8 onboard preset locations to save your favorite patches, 128 total via MIDI
- Full MIDI control with CC and PC commands and MIDI clock compatibility
- True Stereo or Mono I/O
- Complete set of AAX, AU, and VST3 plugins FREE when pedal registered online
- Pedalboard friendly enclosure with minimal footprint
- Power draw - 9V DC center pin negative, external supply only: 130mA at 9V
- Dimensions : 4.5ā x 3.75ā x 2.25ā (114 x 95 x 56mm) Weight: 2 pounds (910g)
- Includes Wamplerās limited 5-year warranty
- Designed and Built in the USA
The Wampler Catacombs carries a street price of $299.97.
For more information visit wamplerpedals.com.
Wampler Syntax
The Wampler Syntax Rig Control Pedal offers dual-sided functionality and easy setup via slide switches, and seamless integration with your favorite gear.
Let me know if this sounds familiar: you have a powerful effects pedal with a ton of built-in features, but they're buried under menus. The onboard footswitches won't cut it, so you add a dedicated MIDI controller, maybe a tap tempo pedal, maybe an external footswitch. Before you know it you have removed the convenience that an all-in-one pedal was supposed to offer.
Brian Wampler feels your pain. That's why he designed a dual-sided MIDI program selector, tap-tempo controller, and amp channel switcher and put it in a tiny housing. We call it the Syntax: a micro-format, multifunction switcher that lets you go deep with your favorite delays, modelers, amps, and other gear with the press of a footswitch.
Effortless Setup
Syntax has way more power than its small enclosure suggests. Even more impressive is you get all its functionality via simple, independent slide switches. A quick slider push can set one footswitch to scroll MIDI program changes while the other taps out your delay's tempo. Or connect Syntax to your amp in latching mode to swap channels. It's up to you, and it really is that easy.
MIDI Switching from a Micro Pedal
Syntax is a full-fledged MIDI preset controller in a mini-stomp housing. Able to output PC messages 1 through 8, this little stomp can set presets on all your favorite MIDI-enabled gear - including the Catacombs, Metaverse, and Terraform. All three can be daisy-chained together via MIDI and synchronized presets can be selected from the Syntax with ease. No complex menus, just a simple setup and plug-in, and you're ready to scroll through up to eight of your favorite tones. With a dedicated MIDI In port it can also be integrated into a larger MIDI environment.
Tap Tempo & Latching
Here's something Brian has always thought: why should we settle for pedals that do just one thing when they could do more? Latching and momentary footswitches might look the same externally but they perform different and equally important functions with different rigs, so he figured, why not create a pedal that can handle both? Want to switch amp channels or toggle effects seamlessly? Or maybe you need a rock-solid external tap tempo? You got it. It's all in the Syntax, ready to adapt to any rig you throw at it.
A Lot More Control in A Lot Less Space
Whether you lean heavily on MIDI, need tap-tempo for your favorite delay, or want to free up some pedalboard real estate for a new Catacombs (hint, hint), the Wampler Syntax is the perfect choice. Designed to be placed either horizontally or vertically on your board, it works seamlessly with all digital Wampler pedals, as well as your other favorite gear. It brings your entire rig together while giving you even more room to expand.
Brian Wamplerās attention to detail and commitment to designing the best and most player friendly products out there is second to none. Those qualities are on full display within the Syntax. From its convenient form factor to its ease of use and versatility, the Syntax is all Wampler.
- Rock solid construction and high-grade components selected for optimal performance
- Compact 2 footswitch preset switching remote via MIDI (PC1-8)
- Latching and momentary function through Ext out TRS socket - function selectable via dual slide switches
- Dimensions: 1.5ā x 3.5ā x 1.5ā (38.1mm x 88.9mm x 38.1mm) - height excludes knobs and switches
- Power draw: 20mA at 9V - 18V 9-18V power jack ā DC supply only, no battery connection within
- Includes limited 5-year warranty
- Built in USA
The Wampler Syntax carries a street price of $99.97.
For more information visit wamplerpedals.com.
Ferocious fuzz forces, a +/- 2-octave range, and the capacity for odd intervals make this menacing machine almost as much synth as dirt device.