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Rig Rundown: Blackberry Smoke

The Southern rockers take no prisoners with their twin-guitar attack.

Jackson’s main squeeze is a ’79 Gibson Les Paul with a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates in the bridge and a Gibson 496R in the neck.

Premier Guitar hung with Charlie Starr and Paul Jackson of Blackberry Smoke just a few hours before they blew the roof off of Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. The boys shared their recipe for Southern rock tone that’s as thick as grits and gravy. Special thanks to the band’s tech, David “Doc” Oswalt, for details.

SWShopTheRigButton

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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“I do think that PTP circuits should stay that way, and circuits made for PCB sound great and don’t need to be handwired to sound good,” says R2R Electric's Cris Vincent, who is especially adept at creating vintage-flavored fuzz machines.

Do vintage parts make better pedals? Not always.

Treble boosters have been used by legends like Brian May, Tony Iommi, Rory Gallagher, Marc Bolan, Stevie Ray Vaughan—you name it. They have empirically proven their place in the evolution of rock ’n’ roll, and even paved the way for entirely new music genres. Naturally, as a pedal builder, I had to make my own. In fact, I was building treble boosters even before Sehat Effectors was born. Technically speaking, the circuit is simple—just a single transistor and a few components.

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