13. Jim Grana: Vibey Guy
Chicago Southsider Jim Grana enjoys playing in classic-rock bands, covering anything from AC/DC to ZZ Top. His go-to favorite stomp is his Dunlop Cry Baby that he’s had for over 40 years. Moving counter-clockwise on his pedalboard is another pair by Dunlop—an MXR Dyna Comp and a Phase 90. He uses a J. Rockett Animal for a “brown sound” distortion, and a DLS RotoSIM for swirling solos. Coming around after that is a JHS Unicorn Uni-Vibe (his favorite), an Analog Alien Rumble Seat for rockabilly, a Fulltone Supa-Trem, and a Strymon Deco.
His second board starts with the Strymon Mobius and includes a plethora of great studio-type effects: the Tube-Vibe by Effectrode (his newest toy), a Strymon El Capistan dTape Echo, a Catalinbread Echorec, and an Option 5 Destination Delay X2.
“I’m always changing it,” Grana says. “I've got about 100 pedals. Funny thing is,
I just bought a Line 6 HX multi-pedal unit. Oh Jim, will you ever learn?”
It’s that time of year, when Premier Guitar readers wow us with the intricate details of their pedalboards. A few highlights for 2019 include a surf board station, a bright board with LED lighting, a Nashville guitarist who gigs on Lower Broadway, and a pedal setup with no frills … and literally no board at all. (All this player needs is beer and broken glass.) As an added bonus, a pro pedal builder shares his demo board and tells us why and how he started building pedals from scratch. Read on, play on, stomp on!
