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Gallery: Riot Fest 2019

Chicago’s three-day, punk-rock carnival was host to Slayer, Jawbreaker, Raconteurs, Patti Smith, Rise Against, Bob Mould, Rancid, Bikini Kill, Lucero, the Struts, and more. Here are our favorite guitar-related moments from the 15th annual gathering.

Cherry Glazerr

Clementine Creevy had a one-two punch of quiet (jab) and the heavy (uppercut) during her Riot Fest set. She rocked her Fender American Professional HSS Shawbucker Strat (also featured on her newest album Stuffed & Ready) for the whole set. It’s modded to have nothing but the bridge ’bucker (wired straight to the output jack), which is the only thing living inside the guitar. She explained during our 2019 Rundown: “I ripped out the guts, basically, and all that’s left is a volume knob. To me, it sounds much better, as well as being lighter, which is nice when you tour as much as I do. But mostly, I did it because I don’t use the tone knobs. I was always keeping the guitar on my humbucker pickup. So, I just have one humbucker and a volume knob. It sounds very cool. It sounds a little bit louder and a little bit tougher and clearer to me.” The lone axe stays loaded with Ernie Ball Power Slinky (.011–.048) strings and she hammers away with Dunlop Tortex .73 mm (yellow) picks.

Guest columnist Dave Pomeroy, who is also president of Nashville’s musicians union, with some of his friends.

Dave Pomeroy, who’s played on over 500 albums with artists including Emmylou Harris, Elton John, Trisha Yearwood, Earl Scruggs, and Alison Krauss, shares his thoughts on bass playing—and a vision of the future.

From a very young age, I was captivated by music. Our military family was stationed in England from 1961 to 1964, so I got a two-year head start on the Beatles starting at age 6. When Cream came along, for the first time I was able to separate what the different players were doing, and my focus immediately landed on Jack Bruce. He wrote most of the songs, sang wonderfully, and drove the band with his bass. Playing along with Cream’s live recordings was a huge part of my initial self-training, and I never looked back.

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A reverb-based pedal for exploring the far reaches of sound.

Easy to use control set. Wide range of sounds. Crush control is fun to explore. Filter is versatile.

Works best as a stereo effect, which may limit some players.

$299

Old Blood Noise Endeavors Dark Star Stereo
oldbloodnoise.com

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The Old Blood Dark Star Stereo (DSS) is one of those pedals that lives beyond simple effect categorization. Yes, it’s a digital reverb. But like other Old Blood designs, it’s such a feature-rich, creative take on that effect that to think of it as a reverb feels not only imprecise but unfair.

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Introducing the new Gibson Acoustic Special models, handcrafted in Bozeman, Montana, featuring solid wood construction, satin nitrocellulose lacquer finishes, and L.R. Baggs electronics.

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Great Eastern FX Co. has released the limited-edition OC201 Preamp, featuring vintage Mullard OC201 transistors for a unique fuzz sound. Part of the 'Obsolete Devices' series, this pedal combines classic circuits with modern components for optimal tone and reliability.

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