Check out the ALL-NEW PRS Pedals and more in this edition of our Stompbox Gear Finds!
Horsemeat - Transparent Overdrive
The PRS Horsemeat transparent overdrive pedal is designed to enhance your sound without coloring your tone. Horsemeat adds harmonic midrange richness and overdrives without cutting out your high notes – all while giving you more available headroom. It features a robust EQ section so you can dial in your tone and has a wide range of gain on tap. Depending on the setting, Horsemeat can be used as a clean boost, straight overdrive, or even enhance your amplifier’s distortion by slightly pushing the front end of the amplifier’s preamp section.PRS pedals were created to be high-end pieces of audio gear. Designed by PRS Guitars in Stevensville, MD, USA. Made in the USA.
Ranger Overdrive
Inspired by the overdriven tones of some of the world’s most cherished vintage tube amps, the Ranger is a modern, all-analog overdrive pedal featuring a Mode toggle switch that provides two different tonalities; a warm, expressive, amp-like overdrive and a second tonality that’s slightly cleaner and exceptionally touch-sensitive; it blends in some of the clean signal and is a great choice for use as an “always on” effect that can be controlled with your pick attack and your guitar’s volume control. The Ranger’s classic 3-knob layout provides
intuitive adjustment of Gain (amount of overdrive), Tone, and output Level, with plenty of volume on tap to go well beyond unity gain. You can easily use the Ranger Overdrive as a boost to hit the input of your tube amp harder for even more grit and dirt.
Tech 21 SansAmp Character Plus Series
The SansAmp Character Plus Series celebrates the unique chemistry between specific historic amplifiers and specific historic pedals, and cleverly unites them together in single packages:
- Screaming Blonde = Fender-style + Tube Screamer-style
- English Muffy = HiWatt-style + Big Muff-style
- Fuzzy Brit = Marshall-style + Fuzz Face-style
- Mop Top Liverpool = Vox-style + Rangemaster Booster-style
Each of the individually-voiced Character controls sweep through an entire spectrum of eras within their particular amp style. Screaming Blonde tones range from the ‘50s Fullerton to blackface and silverface. The English Muffy spans from classic UK rock to prog rock. Fuzzy Brit goes from classic hard rock to all current rock genres. The Mop Top Liverpool embodies the British invasion through “Bohemian” rock.
These 2-channel multi-function pedals are each like having a stompbox within a stompbox. You can use the SansAmp amplifier emulation on its own or just the effect on its own. The all-analog SansAmps Character Plus Series pedals can be used as stand-alone pre-amps to drive a power amp, a studio mixer, or a PA system, or to complement your existing amp. Other features include built-in speaker simulation individually tuned to match each of the speaker/cabinet configurations associated with each amplifier type; 3-band active EQ, XLR Output, included 9V DC Power Supply. Rugged all-metal housing measures 7.75”l x 2.5”w x 1.25”h and weighs just 12 oz.
EARTHBOARD Pedalboard System
Never before has an effects pedalboard been so effortless to build and painless to change or rearrange on the fly - So you can Focus on the Music, Not the Set-Up!
Our game-changing design incorporates Rare Earth Magnets ("cupped" so there is no risk to your pedals!) and a long-lasting Battery to give you the neatest, cleanest sounding and looking rig! All of the hassles of using a traditional board are gone. No more messy cobweb of cords and cables. No need to look for outlets and extension cords. No need to deal with dirty noise at gigs. Increase voltage and isolate those "picky" pedals without adding more mess and expense of separate power bricks and adapters. NO MORE SOUND OF RIPPING VELCRO!!!
Here's what's possible with EARTHBOARD:
- Your choice to use our Battery or AC Adapter
- Jacks are on both sides to accommodate YOUR style and the unknowns of the gig space
- All of our power supplies have built in circuit protection to safeguard your pedals
- Built-in cross board audio patch cable saves you money and the hassle of finding the right length cable to connect your top and bottom rows of pedals
- Ability to power large pedals off the board to maximize board real estate - make room for one more pedal!
- The built-in, under mounted, Blue LED lights enhance visibility and the "cool factor"
- Daisy-chain multiple boards and power them all with a single battery
- Rearrange or add pedals on the fly, between sets, in a matter of seconds
Gator Cases G-TOUR Large Pedal Board with Wheels
Large tour grade pedal board and flight case for 10-14 pedals with removable 24″x11″ pedal board surface and inline wheels
Features:
Pro-grade shock absorbing EVA foam interior
Removable pedal board surface 24" x 11"
Two (2) rubber-gripped handles for easy lifting in and out of the case
3M Dual Lock» hook and loop fastener for pedal installation
Cable and accessory storage under the removable pedal board
Retractable tow-handle and inline wheels
Plywood construction with aluminum edging to create a secure closure between lid and base
Protective ball corners at vulnerable points
Commercial grade Gator red signature hardware
Lockable latches
Spring-loaded rubber gripped handles
George L's Effects Cable Kits
George L's Effects Cable KitsEnhance the tone and clarity of your pedalboard with award winning sound.
The George L’s effects kit.
The kit comes with 10’ of cable, 10 right angle plugs and 10 stress relief jackets.
Available in black, vintage red and purple.
As easy as 1, 2, 3 no soldering!
Cut, poke and screw your way to 47 years of sound excellence.
The Philadelphia band looked back to classic disco and funk grooves to create Playing Favorites, the year’s dirtiest and most danceable power-pop record.
“There are two wolves inside me,” says Kyle Seely. “One of them wants to just bring the JCM800 and a distortion pedal, and the other one’s like, ‘I’m bringing the Helix and I’m making a different patch for every song.’”
Seely, who plays lead guitar in Philadelphia band Sheer Mag, is the designer and engineer behind the guitar sounds for the arena-gone-garage-rock outfit. Matt Palmer, his rhythm guitar counterpart, smirks. “Every single tour, Kyle is like, ‘I’ve finally figured it out, I’m going to simplify it.’ It’s never simpler,” he chuckles.
Seely’s self-described “endless tone quest” and the tight, gritty weave of his and Palmer’s guitars have helped grow Sheer Mag into one of the most beloved independent American guitar bands of the past decade. The core quartet, with vocalist Tina Halladay and bassist and producer Hart Seely, Kyle’s brother, emerged from Philly’s punk scene in 2014 with a string of bare-knuckled EPs. Their first full-length, 2017’s Need to Feel Your Love, scored spots on plenty of reputable year-end lists, and the track “Expect the Bayonet” was featured at one of Bernie Sanders’ 2019 rallies. That year, the band released A Distant Call, another fan and critic favorite, via their Wilsuns label.
Sheer Mag signed to Jack White’s Third Man Records for their new release, but they still did things their way, recording in an industrial warehouse jam space on the edge of Philadelphia.
Now 10 years in, they launched their third LP, Playing Favorites, in March with Third Man Records—their first step into “the proper label world,” says Seely. The record is a lo-fi riot, a hyper, tireless romp through the gasoline-slicked back alleys of disco, punk rock, glam, and metal.
But on Playing Favorites, more than any of their other records, the band is open about their compositional ambition and commitment to making songs that are just a blast to listen to. (The record’s title winks at this.) The thrifted and dirtied-up disco of “All Lined Up” is one of the band’s most impressive compositions to date, topped only by the Boston-ish funk-rock odyssey of “Mechanical Garden.” After a vintage metal intro, the track warps into a string section that slows and then, thanks to some careful tape trickery from Hart Seely, gradually melts upward to a new key and swaggering groove. Later, a scorching, treble-blasted solo from Tuareg guitar hero Mdou Moctar streaks across the stars. But the record’s highlight has to be the delicious strut of “Moonstruck,” which might have the best chorus of the year, and sports some of Kyle Seely’s most exciting lead work yet. (Seely’s Southern rock tendencies and the round, percussive tone of his Nashville Tele are virtually calling cards for the band at this point. “I can’t not add a ton of vibrato,” he says. “I love the Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker Band, a lot of the major, mixolydian kind of soloing.”)
Kyle Seely's Gear
Kyle Seely handles the bulk of the band’s tone-sculpting, digging for sounds between his JCM800 and his brother Hart’s effects units.
Photo by Joanna Roselli
Pedals
- TC Electronic Mimiq
- Ensoniq DP/4
Strings & Picks
- D’Addario XL Pure Nickel strings
- Dunlop Jazz III nylon picks
Despite the label association, the band recorded Playing Favorites in true Sheer Mag style, in a warehouse in Philly that doubles as a practice space for a bunch of bands. The space’s wiring produces an audible hum on any amp that plugs in there, a stamp that Kyle says can be heard at the very start of “Moonstruck.” Hart engineered the sessions using a 16-channel mixer to a Tascam tape machine—another piece of Sheer Mag’s rough-edged charm. And Hart’s bass lines, which often form a unique melody on their own, cement the band’s signature dual-guitar growl. Though they haven’t been quite as audible until now, disco and funk have always been cornerstones of the Mag sound, alongside classic rock and power-pop. Kyle and Palmer agree that the give-and-take of Chic’s Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards was particularly instructive. “They would do this stuff where they were just filling in the space between each other, so they weren’t all just playing the same riff, but there’d be a groove,” says Seely.
“We’re almost like a mashup band, where it’s original content, but we’re essentially mashing up different philosophies of rock.” —Kyle Seely
Those influences are especially present this time out—Playing Favorites is certainly the band’s most danceable record yet. But it’s still a hard-rockin’ power-pop record, and Sheer Mag are still jacking the best vibes from Duke Jupiter, Stampeders, the Records, Neil Diamond, Quiet Riot, Badfinger, and other oddities from the borders of ’70s and ’80s guitar music. Somehow, those sounds haven’t lost their luster. When Palmer returned to Philadelphia from a stint living in Australia, he started playing old Thin Lizzy, Bee Gees, and Twisted Sister records to prepare for making the new album. He was pleasantly surprised to find those classics still moved him. “It was a really special feeling to be as excited about the original influences of the band 10 years later,” says Palmer. “The initial Mag feeling was still there.”
Matt Palmer's Gear
Palmer, seen here with his Peavey T-60, revisited the band’s original influences to prepare for Playing Favorites. They hadn’t lost any of their magic.
Photo by Joanna Roselli
Guitars
- Peavey T-60
Amps
- Fender Hot Rod DeVille III 410
Pedals
- Boss TU-3
- Boss ME-90
Strings & Picks
- Tortex Standard Pick .60mm
- D’Addario .011s
But unlike some of the big-budget, one-note arena- and glam-rock records of the ’80s—which has become one of the most passé and snickered-about genres of the past 100 years—Sheer Mag bookend their hooks with production flourishes that deepen their impact: a weirdo delay here, a doubled vocal there, a grimy sonic palette flickering in the background, all rendered with delicious imagination and precision.
“You do want to punch them in the face with something memorable, but also, I think the record is built to reward repeat listening, and you can dig into the deeper textures and complexity the more you listen to it,” says Kyle Seely. “We’re almost like a mashup band, where it’s original content, but we’re essentially mashing up different philosophies of rock. I get excited when people are like, ‘That sounds like Jackson 5 meets Aerosmith.’”
Sheer Mag - Expect the Bayonet [Live at Urban Lounge]
Sheer Mag rip through their Bernie Sanders-approved warning cry, “Expect the Bayonet,” in Salt Lake City in 2022.
The Nashville guitar star shows off a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Burst "Gemini" she borrowed from Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian. Guitarist Grace Bowers is a 17-year old California transplant tearing it up in Nashville. Currently working on her first album with producer John Osborne of the Brothers Osborne, Bowers invited John Bohlinger and the PG team to walk through her studio and live rig.
To hear Phil Collen tell it, he joined Def Leppard almost by accident. He had loaned the band one of his amps, and when they asked him to play some leads on their upcoming record Pyromania, Collen thought he was just doing his friends a solid. The rest is history.
He and Shifty talk through Collen’s formative years on guitar, where he soaked up the scorching playing of classic guitar heroes: Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore, Mick Ronson, Michael Schenker, and Gary Moore all played a hand in Collen’s high-flying fretwork.
Collen’s solo on “Photograph” is a perfect example of the sort of “ear candy” that producer Mutt Lange encouraged the band to chase in the studio—and yes, he did record individual notes to build a single guitar chord on Pyromania. But there weren’t many tricks to Collen’s sound on the solo. His Ibanez Destroyer and a 50-watt Marshall were all he needed to get the job done for the slick, Blackmore-inspired solo. Tune in to see how he worked that two-piece setup to record one of the most influential guitar solos of the ’80s.
Credits
Producer: Jason Shadrick
Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis
Engineering Support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudion
Video Editors: Dan Destefano and Addison Sauvan
Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.