
A powerful tone-carving tool that helps you transform a tired sonic recipe fast.
Intuitive operation. Streamlined design. Easy to dial in transformative sounds.
No dedicated footswitch for boost/overdrive.
$280
API TranZformer GTR
apiaudio.com
When it comes to underappreciated pedals, it’s hard to top the humble EQ. Yet these superficially unexciting stomp pedals can enable reproduction of elusive recorded sounds, salvage an unruly fuzz or amp, enliven a dull-sounding rig, or radically transform it from tune to tune. Why EQ pedals aren’t a more regular pedalboard fixture is puzzling. But the API TranZformer GTR underscores the immense potential of using a good one—particularly when you throw a nice preamp in the mix.
Kind of Blue
If the GTR looks familiar, it’s because you might have run across one of its rack-mounted antecedents in a studio. Anyone who has ever worked with a 550-series rackmount EQ on a recording project will recognize the API’s signature cut/boost knobs, the peak/shelf switch (which on the GTR works with the 5kHz band), and the same basic 3-band structure as the 550 series. The TranZformer circuit is based on the vintage 553 Program Equalizer, and by using similar, familiar controls and functionality, the GTR achieves the same intuitive feel that makes the 550 easy to work with in a studio.
Detents in each tone knob make tuning by feel and ear fast and easy. And the boost input gain knob starts at true 0 dB of boost, so you can dial in an initial EQ profile free of preamp color, add gain, and adjust the EQ again to taste in a natural, incremental process. It’s a great layout for finding tones fast—and even committing them to muscle memory.
There are three toggles situated below the EQ and preamp gain knobs. The rightmost toggle activates a -20 dB pad, which is critical if you want to utilize the full range of the pedal’s gain knob. The middle toggle switches between shelf and peak EQ settings for the high-frequency range. The peak setting, which emphasizes a specific section of the EQ curve, sounds airier in most positions, but it’s instructive to switch between the two at a given EQ setting to hear how shelved and peaked 5kHz-range settings interact with various settings in the other two bands.
A little extra treble and midrange, and a dash of overdrive-mode distortion, gives a Fender amp a cool, unmistakably Vox-y edge.
Switching into overdrive mode gives the pedal’s preamp an extra push. In low gain settings, the differences between overdrive and boost modes aren’t always wildly different. But the distortion gets meaner with just a dollop of extra midrange, and adding gain reveals an organic, growling tonality that feels direct and dovetailed with amplifier tones.
Room to Wiggle
The GTR’s EQ and gain controls give you many means for matching your guitar and pedals to unfamiliar amps. Better still, it helps you surgically shave, carve, recast, and bolster tones from the amps and pedals you already know. I love the sound and feel of the Telecaster/Tremolux tandem I used for most of this test. And I was pretty impressed at how the API could make the black-panel Tremolux sound like a bigger, more excited version of itself without compromising the amp’s personality. A little extra treble and midrange, and a dash of overdrive-mode distortion, gives the Fender amp a cool, unmistakably Vox-y edge. At even more advanced mid, treble, and bass settings, the pedal coaxed tweed-leaning voices when I tweaked the amp tone just right. All these colors were easy to find quickly and intuitively. And in a studio situation, where you like to keep things moving at a steady clip, I would probably much rather try to fine-tune a drive sound using a simple amp and the API than switch between a half-dozen overdrives to find some just-right tone recipe. If your amp is in decent working order, the GTR is likely to unleash some bigger, fatter, meaner, or more vibrant alter ego.
The Verdict
I love the GTR’s simplicity. And the high-quality build and low noise are evidence that API didn’t cut corners. Still, for $280 some might expect a second footswitch for the boost/overdrive section. And though the analog purity of the GTR is also awesome, I’m sure a lot of players will hear the breadth of extra colors the GTR enables and crave presets. On the other hand, the GTR is effectively three pedals in one, which makes the price look a lot more palatable. Plus, considering the way the GTR makes you less inclined to chase a new amp, perhaps you can consider pennies saved in the cost as well. The TranZformer GTR may not totally succeed in making EQ sexy, but its streamlined design, utility, and capacity to give new life to tired tone recipes are creative gold.
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PG contributor Tom Butwin profiles three versatile - and affordable - acoustic guitars from Cort, Epiphone, and Gold Tone. These classic designs and appointments offer pro-level sound for an accessible price.
Cort Essence Series ES-GA4 Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic Electric Guitar, Natural Semi Gloss (GA4NSG)
Epiphone Slash J-45 Acoustic Guitar - November Burst
The classic J-45 has been the choice of legendary musicians ever since it was first introduced in 1942. Known as The Workhorse, it is Gibson's most famous and most popular acoustic guitar model. Now Epiphone has released a new Inspired by Gibson"' J-45"' with all of the features players want, including all solid wood construction, a comfortable rounded C neck profile, 20 medium jumbo frets, the 60s style Kalamazoo headstock shape and a gorgeous Aged Vintage Sunburst finish. The Fishman® Sonicore under-saddle pickup and Sonitone preamp make this Workhorse stage-ready too. Optional hardshell or Epilite"' case available separately. A battery is not included. To power your pickup, you will need a 9-volt battery.
Gold Tone The Bell Acoustic-electric Guitar - Natural
Gold Tone’s Festival Series: The Bell stands out by blending classic craftsmanship with stage-ready versatility. Its all-solid wood construction—featuring a Sitka spruce top and mahogany back and sides—produces a rich, balanced tone that shines in any setting. The slope-shoulder design offers both comfort and clarity, perfect for fingerstyle or strumming. With a slim "D" neck, Fishman electronics, Grover tuners, and D’Addario strings, The Bell is crafted for players who demand tone, playability, and reliable performance—on stage or in the studio.
A beautifully realized mashup of two iconic guitars.
Reader: Ward Powell
Hometown: Ontario, Canada
Guitar: ES-339 Junior
I’ve always liked unusual guitars. I think it started when I got my first guitar way back in 1976. I bought a '73 Telecaster Deluxe for $200 with money I saved from delivering newspapers.
I really got serious about playing in 1978, the same year the first Van Halen album was released. Eddie Van Halen was a huge influence on me, including how he built and modded guitars. Inspired by Eddie, I basically butchered that Tele. But keep in mind, there was once a time when every vintage guitar was just a used guitar—I still have that Tele, by the way.
I never lost that spirit of wanting guitars that were unique, and have built and modded a few dozen guitars since. When I started G.A.S.-ing simultaneously for a Les Paul Junior and a Casino, I came up with this concept. I found an Epiphone ES-339 locally at a great price. It already had upgraded CTS pots, Kluson tuners, and the frets had been PLEK’d. It even came with a hardshell case. It was cheap because it was a right-handed guitar that had been converted to left handed and all the controls had been moved to the opposite side, so it had five additional holes in the top.
Fortunately, I found a Duesenberg wraparound bridge that used the same post spacing as a Tune-o-matic. I used plug cutters to cut plugs out of baltic birch plywood to fill the 12 holes in the laminated top. I also reshaped the old-style Epiphone headstock. Then, I sanded off the original finish, taped the fretboard, and sprayed the finish using cans of nitro lacquer from Oxford Guitar Supply. Lots of wet sanding and buffing later, the finish was done.
I installed threaded insert bushings for the bridge, so it will never pull out. The pickup is a Mojotone Quiet Coil P-90 and I fabricated a shim from a DIY mold and tinted epoxy to raise the P-90 up closer to the strings. The shim also covers the original humbucker opening. I cut a pickguard out of a blank and heated it slightly to bend it to follow the curvature of the top.
All in all, I'm pretty happy how it turned out! It plays great and sounds even better. And I have something that is unique: an ES-339 Junior.
The Gibson EH-185, introduced in 1939, was one of the company’s first electric guitars.
Before the Les Pauls and SGs, this aluminum-reinforced instrument was one of the famous brand’s first electric guitars.
It’s hard to overstate the importance of electric guitar in shaping American popular music over the last half-century. Its introduction was a revolution, changing the course of modern musical styles. Today, when we think of the guitars that started the revolution, we think of the Stratocaster and the Les Paul, guitars held against the body and fretted with the fingertips. But the real spark of this musical mutiny was the lap-steel guitar.
In the early 20th century, guitar music was moving out of the parlors of homes and into public spaces where folks could gather together and dance. Guitarists needed to project their sound far beyond where their wimpy little acoustic instruments could reach. Instrument manufacturers began experimenting with larger body sizes, metal construction, and resonators to increase volume.
Around this time, George Beauchamp began experimenting with electric guitar amplification. He settled on a design using two U-shaped magnets and a single coil of wire. Beauchamp was in business with Adolph Rickenbacker, and they decided to stick this new invention into a lap steel.
If we put on our 1930s glasses, this decision makes perfect sense. The most popular music at the time was a blend of Hawaiian and jazz styles made famous by virtuosos like Solomon “Sol” Hoʻopiʻi. Photos of Hoʻopiʻi with a metal-body resonator abound—one can imagine his relief at being handed an instrument that projected sound toward the audience via an amplifier, rather than back at his own head via resonator cones. Beauchamp and Rickenbacker were simply following the market.
As it turned out, the popularity of Hawaiian music gave way to swing, and electric lap steels didn’t exactly take the world by storm. But Beauchamp and Rickenbacker had proven the viability of this new technology, and other manufacturers followed suit. In 1937, Gibson created a pickup with magnets under the strings, rather than above like Beauchamp’s.
“When I plugged in the EH-185 I expected to hear something reminiscent of Charlie Christian’s smooth, clean tone. But what I got was meatier—closer to what I associate with P-90s: warm and midrange-y.”
The first page of Gibson’s “Electrical Instruments” section in the 1939 catalog features a glowing, full-page write-up of their top-of-the-line lap steel: the EH-185. “Everything about this new electric Hawaiian Guitar smacks of good showmanship,” effuses the copy. “It has smoothness, great sustaining power, and an easy flow of tone that builds up strongly and does not die out.”
Picking up the 1940 EH-185 at Fanny’s House of Music is about as close as one can get to traveling back in time to try a new one. It is just so clean, with barely any dings or even finish checking. Overall, this is a 9/10 piece, and it’s a joy to behold. Speaking of picking it up, the first thing you notice when you lift the EH-185 out of the case is its weight. This is a much heavier instrument than other similar-sized lap steels, owing to a length of thick metal between the body and the fretboard. The catalog calls it “Hyblum metal,” which may be a flowery trade name for an early aluminum alloy.
This 1940 EH-185 is heavier than other lap steels in its class, thanks to a length of metal between its fretboard and body.
Photo by Madison Thorn
There are numerous other fancy appointments on the EH-185 that Gibson didn’t offer on their lesser models. It’s made of highly figured maple, with diamond-shaped decorations on the back of the body and neck. The double binding is nearly a centimeter thick and gives the instrument a luxurious, expensive look.
Behind all these high-end attributes is a great-sounding guitar, thanks to that old pickup. It’s got three blades protruding through the bobbin for the unwound strings and one longer blade for the wound strings. When I plugged in the EH-185 I expected to hear something reminiscent of Charlie Christian’s smooth, clean tone. But what I got was meatier—closer to what I associate with P-90s: warm and midrange-y. It was just crying out for a little crunch and a bluesy touch. It’s kind of cool how such a pristine, high-end vintage instrument can be so well-suited for a sound that’s rough around the edges.
As far as electric guitars go, it doesn’t get much more vintage than this 1940 Gibson EH-185 Lap Steel. It reminds us of where the story of the electric guitar truly began. This EH-185 isn’t just a relic—it’s a testament to when the future of music was unfolding in real time. Plug it in, and you become part of the revolution.
Sources: Smithsonian, Vintage Guitar, Mozart Project, Gibson Pre-War, WIRED, Steel Guitar Forum, Vintaxe
J Mascis is well known for his legendary feats of volume.
J Mascis is well known for his legendary feats of volume. Just check out a photo of his rig to see an intimidating wall of amps pointed directly at the Dinosaur Jr. leader’s head. And though his loudness permeates all that he does and has helped cement his reputation, there’s a lot more to his playing.
On this episode of 100 Guitarists, we’re looking at each phase of the trio’s long career. How many pedals does J use to get his sound? What’s his best documented use of a flanger? How does his version of “Maggot Brain” (recorded with bassist Mike Watt) compare to Eddie Hazel’s? And were you as surprised as we were when Fender released a J Mascis signature Tele?