Benicia, CA (January 23, 2014) -- Dunlop announced their new product line for 2014. Here are the details from their website:
Clyde McCoy Cry Baby Wah Wah The CM95 Clyde McCoy by Cry Baby Wah Wah is a tribute to the first production wah wah ever made. This modernized classic captures the throaty voice and expressive sweep of the original while offering gigging players the consistency and convenience they need on the road.
As heirs to the wah wah lineage and guardians of its legacy, Dunlop drew from decades of wah wah design and building experience to ensure that the CM95 faithfully represents the tone and spirit of the very first wah wah. Years ago, we inherited the original tooling and machinery used to design and manufacture the first Clyde McCoy pedals from the Thomas Organ Company and Jen Electronica. Combining these resources with our own 30+ years of experience developing and manufacturing wah wahs allowed us to create the most fitting tribute to the original Clyde McCoy Wah Wah.
The most important element of any wah wah pedal is its voice. The Thomas Organ Company and Jen Electronica used a special component called a Halo™ inductor to give the original Clyde McCoy pedals their highly-coveted smooth vocal quality. Because of the way those original Halo inductors were built, however, they often added undesirable microphonic noise. Our engineers created the Dunlop HI01 Halo Inductor to solve this problem, updating the original design with a stabilized cup core to preserve the unique Clyde McCoy sound while minimizing unpleasant microphonics.
The rest of the CM95’s circuitry is just as faithful to its forebear, featuring thru-hole components built into a classic housing with a premium pot, switch, and jacks. Now, you can take the classic Clyde McCoy sound out on the road and leave your vintage wah wah safely at home.
- Faithfully represents the tone and spirit of the very first wah wah pedal
- Proprietary Halo inductor reproduces the Clyde McCoy’s famous vocal sound while minimizing microphonic noise due to its stabilized cup core
- Thru-hole components built into a classic housing with premium hardware
MSRP: $285.70 SHIPPING FEBRUARY 2014
Echoplex Preamp
When the Echoplex EP-3 came out, guitar players were hooked by the way its preamp sweetened up their sound. Soon, the EP-3 made its way onto the records of top guitar players—from Jimmy Page to Eric Johnson—as much for its tone conditioning ability as its tape echo effect. Now, you can put the EP-3’s legendary secret sauce right on your pedalboard.
Dunlop’s EP101 Echoplex Preamp recreates the magic of the EP-3’s front end, featuring a Field-effect Transistor (FET) just like the original and following the exact same signal path. The Gain control allows you to boost your signal by up to +11dB, with light asymmetrical clipping at higher settings for a bit of nice organic grit.
The Echoplex Preamp runs on standard 9-volt power and contains power management circuitry to guarantee constant headroom performance throughout the normal life of a 9-volt battery. With a heavy-duty Phase 90-sized housing, a replica EP-3 knob, true bypass switching and a status LED, the Echoplex Preamp is built to take a beating on the road so you can leave your fragile vintage piece at home.
- The EP-3’s legendary tone conditioning mojo in a Phase 90-sized box
- Adds up to +11dB of gain
- Light overdrive at higher levels
- True Bypass
MSRP: $171.41 SHIPPING FEBRUARY 2014
DVP1XL Volume (XL)
Create incredibly smooth volume swells or control your effect pedal parameters with the Dunlop DVP1XL Volume (XL), big brother to the DVP3. Featuring a larger footprint, the DVP1XL is solidly-built in an aluminum chassis with aggressive non-slip tread. Our patent-pending Band Drive allows for a smooth range of motion without the fear of breakage or change in feel or range, and for maximum comfort and precision, the DVP1XL’s rocker tension is fully adjustable.
When using the DVP1XL as an expression pedal, you can use the internal pot to set the minimum level of the parameter you’re controlling with the rocker. If you want to reverse the function of the heel-down and toe-down positions, the DVP1XL has an internal switch that allows you to do so.
Along with Volume, FX and Output jacks, the DVP1XL also features a convenient Tuner output for silent tuning onstage.
- Control your volume levels or effects pedals with exacting precision
- Big brother to the DVP3 Volume (X) for players who want a larger footprint
- Pat. Pending Band Drive for frictionless, highly reliable action
- Fully adjustable rocker tension
MSRP: $171.41
SHIPPING MARCH 2014
MXR Custom Shop Micro Amp +
For more than 20 years, the MXR® Micro Amp has been a staple among the world’s top artists because of its ability to boost and sweeten up your guitar or bass tone and drive the front of your amp. The MXR Custom Shop team has combined those features with a specially-tuned EQ section and low-noise op-amps to create the Micro Amp+.
With its Gain knob, the Micro Amp + allows you to dial up just as much gain as the original—up to +26dB—but with added EQ controls, you can now finely sculpt your boosted signal. For the classic Micro Amp sound, set the Bass and Treble controls to noon.
Along with these upgrades, the MXR Custom Shop team added low-noise op amps—so you don’t get any extra noise at super high levels—and true bypass switching. With the sturdy housing and durable components that MXR is known for, this pedal is ready for the road.
- Up to +26dB clean boost
- Specially-tuned Bass and Treble controls for fine tonal shaping
- Classic Micro Amp sound with EQ controls at 12 o’clock
- Low-noise circuitry
- True bypass switching
- Sounds great on bass as well as guitar
MSRP: $171.40
SHIPPING FEBRUARY 2014
MXR Custom Shop Phase 99
The MXR Phase 90 sits with the Cry Baby Wah Wah and the Fuzz Face Distortion as one of the truly iconic effect pedals in music history, setting the standard by which all others in its category are judged. For years, experimental players have used two Phase 90 pedals side by side to create amazing textures from the way the two circuits interact with one another. Now, you can access the same sounds in a single pedal.
The MXR Custom Shop Phase 99 opens up the sonic palette of the iconic Phase 90 by combining two phase circuits into a single Phase 90-sized housing. Separate rate controls for each circuit allow you to create intense complex phasing, and a Vintage switch toggles between modern and vintage style phasing. Further, the Phase 99 features a P/S switch to toggle signal flow between the circuits from series to parallel, and a Sync switch to synchronize the rate of each phase circuit.
- Two Phase 90 circuits in one Phase 90-sized pedal
- Run both circuits independently or feed one into the other
- Toggle between modern and vintage phase sounds
- Can be run in stereo
MSRP: $214.27
SHIPPING MARCH 2014
MXR Custom Shop La Machine
The MXR Custom Shop La Machine serves up thick, shaggy retro fuzz that’s tailor-made to drive the raw sounds of ’70s-style hard rock and modern garage rock.
Based on a vintage circuit, the La Machine features an Octave switch that adds an octave up tone to your fuzz signal to create a raw, searing sound. Use the simple Output, Tone, Distortion control interface to shape the sound of your fuzz signal.
- Thick, shaggy retro fuzz
- Tailor-made for raw ’70s-style hard rock and modern garage rock
- Octave switch adds searing octave up fuzz voice
- True bypass switching
MSRP: $199.99
MXR Uni-Vibe Chorus/Vibrato
The Uni-Vibe Chorus/Vibrato is one of the most iconic effects in music history. Since the late ’60s, groundbreaking guitar players have used it to expand the tonal and textural palette of the electric guitar.
The MXR team has just remastered the classic effect for modern players. The MXR Chorus/Vibrato delivers the same chewy, Leslie-sounding goodness with a smaller footprint.
With its simple three-knob interface, you can dial up the iconic effect to your taste in short order. First, use the VIBE switch to select either Chorus Mode—dry signal mixed with pitch-shifted signal—or Vibrato Mode—only pitch-shifted signal. Then, use the LEVEL control to set the effect volume, the SPEED control to set the sweep rate, and the DEPTH control to set overall intensity.
The MXR Uni-Vibe Chorus/Vibrato comes in a Phase 90-sized housing—a fraction of the size and weight of the original Uni-Vibe pedal—and features true bypass switching. Perfect for taking this lush, swirly pedal out on the road.
- Legendary effect in a smaller housing
- Chorus mode sounds rich, lush
- Vibrato delivers a deep, shimmering texture
- True bypass switching
SHIPPING FEBRUARY 2014
MXR Bass Preamp
The MXR Bass Preamp combines a pristine bass preamp with a studio-quality Direct Out in a Phase 90-sized box, providing clear tone without hogging precious pedalboard space. Use it to add a new voice to an old passive bass, sweeten up any amp, or put some special sauce on a particular song. Dial it in just the way you want it and send it straight to the house—pre or post-EQ.
The Bass Preamp features separate Input and Output level controls and a 3-band EQ section with sweepable midrange—from 250hz to 1khz—for extensive tonal flexibility. It’s all delivered super clean with high headroom thanks to our own Constant Headroom Technology™, and you can use the Pre/Post EQ switch to set whether or not your Direct Out signal is affected by the Bass Preamp’s EQ section. And of course, the Bass Preamp features a Ground Lift switch in case you encounter ground loop hum.
The Bass Preamp is factory preset to operate in 1/4” out buffered bypass and Direct Out active. For players who only want to use the 1/4” out, there are two internal switches that disable the Direct Out and 1/4” out buffered bypass for true 1/4” out bypass mode.
- Constant Headroom Technology provides super clean tone
- 3-band EQ with sweepable midrange
- Studio-quality Direct Out
- Pre/Post EQ switch for Direct Out signal
- Ground Lift switch
- Quiet operation
- Lightweight, small footprint
MSRP: $242.84
SHIPPING FEBRUARY 2014
MXR FET Driver Featuring a unique circuit design, the MXR FET Driver captures the rich, creamy sound of an overdriven tube amplifier by cascading an op-amp gain stage into a FET stage. This pedal thickens up lead tones with musical, amp-like distortion and sustain without the fragility and inconsistency associated with tubes.
The FET Driver features a simple but responsive set of controls. Set your volume level with the Output control, and then use the Drive control to dial in the grit, from subtle soft-clipping to early stage distortion. Fine tune the FET Driver’s sound by tweaking Hi and Lo boost/cut controls, and push the Hi Cut switch to roll off high end frequencies for a rounder sound or when playing in high volume situations where excess noise is apparent.
- Organic, amp-like overdrive and distortion
- Two-band EQ section for detailed shaping of distorted signal
- Hi Cut switch rolls off high end for rounder, warmer sound
- True bypass switching
MSRP: $214.27
SHIPPING FEBRUARY 2014
Way Huge Havalina Germanium Fuzz
The Havalina Germanium Fuzz from Way Huge® Electronics is a germanium-powered fuzz box inspired by a vintage 3-transitor design was a psychedelic shot-heard-round-the-world for guitar players, ushering in the new sound of rock. Designed around hand-selected Russian germanium transistors and a passive tone circuit, this peccary of a pedal can go from a soft, mellow crunch for meaty chords to a maelstrom of sonic fur that will make every note feel like a summer of love. Prepare to have your mind bent when you ride the Havalina!
- Based on a ’60s UK germanium fuzz circuit
- Simple three-knob layout
- Features hand-selected Russian germanium transistors and a passive tone circuit
- Go from soft, mellow crunch to gnarly sonic fur
MSRP: $171.41
SHIPPING MARCH 2014
Way Huge Swollen Pickle Jumbo Fuzz Dirty Donny Edition
The Way Huge Swollen Pickle Jumbo Fuzz Dirty Donny Edition serves up the same burly high-gain fuzz as the full-sized Swollen Pickle but in a more petite package, featuring a simplified control set up and a corpulently cool new paint job.
The Dirty Donny Edition retains six of the Mark II’s seven controls, and they’re all on the front of the pedal, so you can tune the portly saturation to your mad heart’s content without any fuss. The Sustain control takes you from mild crunch to burning Armageddon, while the Filter control lets you finely sculpt your fuzz tone, and the Loudness control has enough volume on tap to force the surrender of a Panamanian dictator. The Scoop control can elicit the classic Swollen Pickle mid scoop or a flat mid-frequency sweep, the Crunch knob adjusts the compression intensity of the fuzz, and the Clip control varies between two sets of clipping diodes for smooth or opened fuzz sustain.
To top it off, this pedal is emblazoned with limited edition artwork from legendary rock artist Dirty Donny.
- Swollen Pickle circuit in a smaller housing
- Six controls, all on front of pedal
- Limited edition Dirty Donny art
MSRP: $214.27
SHIPPING MARCH 2014
For more information:
Dunlop
Dr Strings Dragon Skin+ Coated Accurate Core Technology 6-String Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings 12 54
Guild M-20 Concert Acoustic Guitar - Natural Finish
Guild’s iconic M-20 was the first guitar off the production line in 1967, when the company had grown so much that they relocated to a new factory in Westerly, RI. Nearly 50 years later, history has repeated itself in a brand new, state-of-the-art facility in California. The M-20 is a concert size acoustic guitar built with solid mahogany top, back, and sides, informally nicknamed “the Nick Drake guitar” for its inclusion on the album art for Drake’s album, Bryter Layter. It features a rosewood bridge and fingerboard, bone nut and saddle, and an extremely light satin finish that allows this guitar to truly sing. The M-20’s modest appointments include a vintage style rosette and Guild’s peak logo inlaid in Pearloid on the headstock. Each M-20 comes with a hand-signed, numbered certificate of authenticity, and ships with a hardshell case. Available in Natural, Vintage Sunburst, Natural with LR Baggs pickup (M-20E Nat), and Sunburst with LR Baggs pickup (M-20E VSB).
Positive Grid Spark LINK Guitar Wireless System
Enjoy a stable, noiseless experience with a compact wireless unit design, ultra-low latency, and an extended range. Other features include 6 hours of playing time per charge and a secure 110-degree hinged input plug connection.
NUX B-8 Professional Wireless System - 2.4GHz
A pedal-style professional wireless system geared for electric guitars, acoustic-electric guitars, bass guitars, and even electronic instruments, and transmits 24-bit 48 kHz high-quality audio.
Blackstar Airwire i58 Wireless System
This professional wireless instrument system is designed for guitars, basses, and other instruments with 1/4" outputs. Operating in the 5.8 GHz frequency band, it avoids interference from crowded Wi-Fi signals while delivering authentic tone, ultra-low latency (<6 ms), and high-resolution sound with no treble loss.
Elliott Sharp is a dapper dude. Not a dandy, mind you, but an elegant gentleman.
I am writing this piece for a guitar magazine, so, necessarily, I must serve up info that is guitar-centric. And I can do that, at least a little bit. But Elliott is also a noted composer, runs his own little record label, plays woodwinds proficiently, is a guitar builder/tinkerer, author, gracious supporter of other musicians’ efforts, family man, and killer blues player—a blues scholar, in fact. So where do we, the public, conditioned to needing categories, pigeonholes, and easy assessment signals, put Elliott Sharp—an artist with a powerful work ethic and a long, illustrious career of making mind-bending sounds and conceptual works? How about putting him in the pantheon of the maverick and the multifaceted? Surely this pantheon exists somewhere! In mind, in heart. To those for whom such things resonate and inspire, I bring you Elliott Sharp.
One can obviously go to the information superhighway to find info on Elliott, and to hear his music, so I won’t go into too many details about where he was born (Cleveland) and when (March 1, 1951; as of this writing, Elliott is 74), or what he is best known for (being a crucial figure in the downtown New York City scene from 1979 to the present). He is Berlin Prize winner and a Guggenheim Fellow (among other honors). And I have never asked him what strings and picks he uses, so maybe I have already blown it here. But I realize now, having taken on this assignment, that inherent in writing about and trying to explain Elliott Sharp is an implicit TMI factor. There is so much going on here, so much diverse information that could be imparted, that I would not be the least bit surprised if some readers eventually glaze over a bit and start thinking of their own life’s efforts and goals as rather paltry. I get that! Although you shouldn’t.
E# @NaturalHabitat
Here, now, is my portrait of Elliott, accompanied by what I imagine is a day in the life of Elliott when he’s at home in New York City.
Elliott Sharp is a dapper dude. Not a dandy, mind you, but an elegant gentleman. He, like so many in New York and in the world of music/art/guitar, favors dark-hued clothing (yeah, a preponderance of black) and is most often seen wearing a classic slouch hat of obvious quality. He relocated from Buffalo via Western Massachusetts to lower Manhattan in 1979 to a zone that was, back then, quite treacherously decrepit, in an apartment that offered only an hour or so of heat in the winter, etc., etc. It was cheap, and things were always happening, and, in fact, it was the 1950s domicile of William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, and Jack Kerouac.The area became the nexus of an ever-expanding circle of iconoclastic, experimental artists of many stripes.
Sharp plays what passes for a fairly staid instrument in his collection: a bass and guitar doubleneck, in 1992.
Elliott is still in that building in the East Village, though it is now only his workplace and not his living space. I am trying to remember exactly when I met Elliott, but it was probably about 25 years ago, and he still had only the one small, original apartment and a shared music space in the Garment District. I, like countless others before and after me, stayed in that East Village apartment whenever I needed a place to crash and Elliott was elsewhere, and eventually he was able to secure the next door apartment and expand his space. This is where Elliott Sharp works every day that he is not touring, pretty much 9 to 6. The place is a bit funky and dusty, and it is filled with instruments, amps (some classics, like a mid-’60s Princeton Reverb and a tweed Champ), and other tools accumulated over many decades—in spite of the many times that certain ones had to be sold to keep bread on the table.
When he’s not composing, scoring films, recording other artists, or gigging with the bands he has been in or led for the last several decades (Mofungo, Carbon/Orchestra Carbon, SysOrk, Terraplane, The Bootstrappers, Aggragat), Elliott tinkers with guitars, pedals, mandolins. Elliott is, to me, the king of guitar transformation, and his tinkering is stunningly Frankensteinian as he guts, rebuilds, and alters all kinds of stringed instruments, both electric and acoustic. He recently told me that in the ’60s he built fuzz boxes out of tobacco tins to make money. How cool would it be to have one of those now?? If one does a search on Elliott Sharp, many photos will reveal what I'm talking about: the handcrafted doubleneck he was most often seen playing in the ’80s (there was maybe more than one), 8-string guitars, modified Strat-type guitars with completely different pickups.. He also has a fancy guitar or two, such as his Koll fanned-fret 8-string, upon which he has played many a solo recital. During Covid time,, things were a little slow in the cash-flow department and, as a family man with twins, a little extra income was needed. So Elliott started building really cool-looking guitars out of cheap
ones and parts from wherever and refinishing them in hip and attractive ways and called them Mutantu. He sold them to friends and friends of friends. Yours truly basically only changes strings on his guitars, appealing helplessly to experts to do any kind of work on his guitars and amps, afraid of costly errors. The maverick and multifaceted among us, like Elliott, possess no such fear.
Even a leader in experimental 6-string gets a little guitar face now and then—especially when he’s playing blues.
Photo by Scott Friedlander
So, back to that promised day in the life of Elliott Sharp (as imagined, with some degree of knowledge, by me): It’s early morning, and there is family to contend with. No bohemian lollygagging! So it’s feed the kids breakfast, do what parents must do. Then it’s off to the office (his studio), so Elliott dons a fine gray shirt (is that silk?), dark trousers, coat, and hat, and walks north from the family apartment on nearly the lowest point of eastern Manhattan to the East Village. The traffic and endless refurbishing of the Williamsburg Bridge roars familiarly overhead, the East River flows, and eventually a river of another kind, Houston Street, is crossed. Up the stairs to the fifth floor and the studio door is unlocked. Espresso is made. (There will be more of this.) The computer is turned on. And then ... who knows? Anything could be on the docket, but some sort of work will ensue for a good eight hours. Maybe a new graphic score for a German symphony is in the works (some of these have become visual artworks, too), or maybe it's time to try another mix of that Terraplane track, the one with Elliott’s friend, hero, and inspiration Hubert Sumlin—the one Elliott recorded not long before the famed Howlin’ Wolf guitarist joined his ancestors in the Great Beyond. Or maybe he’s recording a variation on his trio ERR Guitar (where he was originally joined by Marc Ribot and Mary Halvorson), called ERE Guitar Today, with Sally Gates and Tashi Dorji. Could happen—and it did. You can see Elliott’s studio in the ERE Guitar CD booklet.
Or maybe it’s guitar tinkering/building time. Where’s that delightfully chunky neck from China that would be awesome on that fake Tele body that was just refitted with no-name humbuckers (“sounded good once I removed the pickup covers,” Elliott observes) and a resophonic guitar tailpiece? By 5 or 6 it’s time to go home, maybe cook dinner tonight. And then ... my little imagined epic ends with a tasteful cinematic cliché: the dissolve.
The E# Way
Elliott Sharp has techniques that, in some cases, are all his own. No stranger to open tunings, prepared guitar, and other extended techniques, he often utilizes rhythmic, two-hand tapping to create spiraling, hypnotic patterns. His composing over these many years has employed and embraced genetics, Fibonacci numbers, algorithms, and fractal geometry. Though a mathematics and physics know-nothing myself, I see and hear a relationship between these elements as he has applied them to his uncompromisingly avant-garde compositions and these tapping patterns often heard in his solo work. Once he kicks in signal processing, stand back! What one hears sounds like four people (or other species and life forms), and the sensation is exhilarating. Sure, there could also be evidence of (here it comes) skronk (I can't believe I used that word), but Elliott certainly does not reside permanently in that world. Enjoying all kinds of sounds, from the lonesome moan of a resonator guitar to the aleatoric sputterings and squeals of a tormented electric guitar, is something he and I share, after all. Take, for example, two of his latest recordings on his zOaR imprint, Mandorleand Mandocello, which document his solo work on the two instruments, respectively. Both recordings investigate the instruments’ acoustic characteristics before, about half-way through, switching suddenly to electric, ultra-processed sounds. It’s a bracing experience that explains a few things about this man and the breadth of his aesthetic sweep. The sounds bring up images of recombinant DNA (information on which he has also imbued into his work), roiling lava, and the ever-expanding universe. Recommended!
Sharp applies his wicked two-handed-tapping technique to his 8-string, fanned-fret guitar built by Saul Koll.
Photo by Scott Friedlander
So, this might fit into the aforementioned TMI category, but Elliott Sharp puts out a staggering amount of recordings. Every time I see him (which is not often enough), he has a little pile of compact discs for me, often on zOaR. I saw somewhere recently that he has released 165 recordings, but I think there are probably more than that. It’s hard for even the data lords to keep up! But it’s not always Elliott Sharp pieces or improvisation/collaborations on these albums. Other artists whom Elliott knows and respects can be represented, such as Spanish electric guitarist/conceptualizer A. L. Guillén, late bassist/producer Peter Freeman, Italian voice and guitar duo XIPE, or Hardenger fiddle player Agnese Amico—all articulate and singular musicians whom Elliott assists by releasing their music. I am grateful for this. It’s obviously more “work” for Elliott, and he accomplishes it, along with everything else he takes on or imagines doing, with elegant aplomb. Though obviously a nose-to-the-grindstone worker, Elliott is generally low-key and relaxed, even after those espressos.
The last thing I want to write about is Elliott's interpretations of the music of Thelonious Monk. Are you surprised, even after everything else you have just read, that something like that exists? In 2003, Elliott released a solo acoustic guitar recording called Sharp? Monk? Sharp! Monk!, and stunned the world (well, those few who pay attention to such things). However, my first exposure to Elliott's Monk interpretations was the more recent Monkulations, expertly recorded live in Vienna in 2007. (You can hear it on Bandcamp). These recordings are, justifiably I suppose, controversial in certain corners, because they do not adhere to Monk's exact written particulars note-for-note. Yet the mood, gestures, rhythmic wonders, and even the harmonic depth of Thelonious Monk often emerges, and frequently in astonishing ways. I understand why some would take issue with this approach because it departs significantly from the jazz tradition, but I find it remarkably fresh, bold, and so delightfully E#. They reveal an aspect of Elliott’s thinking and playing that is surprising in some ways, but also so him. It is clear to me that Elliott has seriously examined and internalized Monk’s repertoire.
Spring(s) in the garden: Sharp can use just about any tool in his improvisations.
Photo by Norman Westberg
Elliott is an artist who plays more than one instrument, plays them all in unique, startling, and often innovative ways, composes rigorous conceptual works from chamber music to operas, makes electronic music with no guitar, plays mean blues guitar like a swamp rat, authors books (I highly recommend his mostly memoir IrRational Music, and a second book is emerging this fall), builds and modifies guitars and other devices, is stunningly prolific, and is an elegant gentleman. The planet is a better place with him and his work in it. The maverick and multifaceted often have a rough road to tread, as we all know. So check out Elliott Sharp's vast world if any of this seems interesting to you. Thanks, Elliott!
YouTube
Watch Elliott Sharp and Marc Ribot deliver a masterclass in free improvisation at Manhattan’s Cornelia Street Café in 2010—Sharp’s two-handed tapping and slide playing included.
Elliott Sharp’s Favorite Gear
This doubleneck guitar accompanied Sharp on many of his ’80s performances and is one of his earlier experimental instruments, as is this 8-string.
Road
Guitars
• Strandberg 8-string Boden
• 1996 Henderson-Greco 8-string
Amp
• Fender Deluxe Reverb or black-panel Twin Reverb (depending on size of venue)
• Trace-Elliot bass amp w 4x10 cabinet
(live rig uses both amps, run in stereo)
Effects
• Eventide H90 w/ Sonicake expression pedal
• Sonicake Fuzz
• Hotone Komp
• Hotone Blues
• TC Electronic Flashback 2
• VSN Twin Looper
Accessories
• Slides, EBows, springs, metal rods and strips, small wooden and ceramic square plates
Home
Guitars
• 1946 Martin OO-18 acoustic guitar
• 2006 Squier 51 (Sharp explains: “On New Year's Day 2007, I took the twins down to the East River in their stroller. They were 15 months old and knew a few words. As we rolled along, they started shouting “guitar, guitar,” and, sure enough, sticking out of a garbage can was a black Squier 51 that someone had attempted to ritually sacrifice. Brought it home and cleaned it, and it’s become a favorite couch guitar.”)
Obviously, any sound that emerges from the Triple-Course Bass Pantar is likelly to be interesting.
Studio
Guitars and stringed instruments
• Fender 1994 ’50s Telecaster built from a Fender-offered kit
• Mutantum lime green metalflake Strat w/Seymour Duncan Little ’59 pickups
• Mutantum solidbody “manouche” Strat w/classical neck
• Saul Koll custom 8-string
• Rick Turner Renaissance Baritone
• 1966 Epiphone Howard Roberts
• 1965 Harmony Bobkat
• 1984/’96 Heer-Henderson Doubleneck
• 1956 Gibson CF-100 acoustic guitar
• 1968 Hagstrom H8 8-string bass
• Mutantum Norma fretless electric
• Godin Multiac Steel Duet
• 2001 Dell’Arte Grande Bouche
• 1958 Fender Stringmaster 8-string console steel guitar
• 1936 Rickenbacker B6 lap steel
• 1950s Framus Nevada Mandolinetto
• Mutantum Electric Mandocello
• Arches H-Line
• Triple-Course Bass Pantar
Amps
• 1966 Fender black-panel Princeton Reverb
• 1980 Fender 75 (Per Sharp: “Cut down to a head and modded by Matt Wells into a Dumble-ish monster! For recording, it plugs into a 1x10 cab with a Jensen speaker or a Hartke Transporter 2x10 cab
• 1970 Fender Bronco
• 1960 Fender tweed Champ modded by Matt Wells
Effects and Electronics
• Vintage EHX 16-Second Delay w/foot controller
• Eventide H3000
• Eventide PitchFactor
• Lexicon PCM42
• ZVEX Fuzz Factory
• Summit DCL-200 Compressor Limiter
• SSL SiX desktop
• Prescription Electronics Experience
• Zoom Ultra Fuzz
• Korg MS-20 analog synthesizer
• Korg Volca Modular synthesizer
• Make Noise 0-Coast synthesizer
• Moog Moogerfooger Ring Modulator
• Moog Moogerfooger Low-Pass Filter
• Softscience Optical Compressor (for DI recording, custom made by Kevin Hilbiber)
Strings
• Ernie Ball Regular Slinky (.010–.046) or Power Slinky (.011–.048), for conventional guitar.
Jedd tells us how his dream came true and how he first started playing with Vince. We dig deep into how everybody’s favorite country guitarist raises the bar every time he picks up the guitar, how he gets his amazing clean tone, and we take time to appreciate all aspects of his solos—including how he builds them and how he plays such clean bends. As for why his concerts are so long? “He loves to play.”
In our current listening segment, we’re covering the Black Crowes and Jimmy Page’s Live at the Greek box set and a live recording from Burlington, Vermont’s Breathwork.
