We go over the semi-filling, arena-rocking loads of gear that John Shanks, Phil X, and Hugh McDonald brought on the road to support This House Is Not for Sale.
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B. K. Butler Tube Driver
Johnny A.’s New Tribute to Jeff Beck and John Lennon
The signature-Strat-slinging melodist releases an instrumental version of “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,” paying homage to two musical legends.
To All the Techs Who Make Sure the Show Goes On
The life of a tech is where art, craft, science, and sorcery collide. My story isn’t so different from thousands of others in the performing arts world. It began at an extremely young age, in what they now call middle school. As much as I wanted to play music, draw, paint, and photograph, I was also drawn to the technical side of the creative pursuits.
Death By Audio Bass War Review
If you like your fuzz measured in megatonnage, the Death By AudioFuzz War is one of life’s great joys. And if you’re a bass player with similar predilections and accustomed to watching guitar players have all the fun, the new DBA Bass War will be sweet revenge.
Why the State of Stomps Is All About E-Commerce
Our columnist ponders the business-to-consumer model, and how the design of online stores might be more crucial to the stompbox industry than we’d like to admit.
Which Solidbody Guitar Is Best for You?
PG contributor Tom Butwin takes us through three exceptional solidbody electric guitars: the versatile Gibson Les Paul Studio, the uniquely styled Zemaitis SCW22, and the dynamic PRS CE 24. Each brings a distinct flavor—find out which one matches your style!
Latest News
Adding thoughtful features not seen on a Klon-style circuit before, the Voyager MKII gets five variations of overdrive texture selectable by rotary, and a foot-switchable parametric midfrequency EQ.
"The year 2011 was a big one with memorable events like Prince William and Kate’s wedding, “Party Rock Anthem” was everywhere, but maybe the most relevant to you since you’re reading this, was the birth of effect pedal creators, Walrus Audio. With only a couple of employees and a tiny shop, Walrus burst into the guitar effects world with their first pedal, the Voyager Overdrive, turning heads of guitarists like Joe Bonamassa, Ed O’Brien, and Nels Cline."
The five-way rotary switch includes the following modes:
1: Classic 1N34A Germanium Diodes (most compressed). This is the original Voyager sound.
2: Classic 1N34A Germanium Diodes with bass boost (trust us).
3: Symmetric Silicon Diodes (more open and dynamic).
4: Asymmetric Silicon Diodes (least compressed, open & driven).
5: Asymmetric Silicon Diodes with bass boost (least compressed, open & driven with a bass boost.)
External updates include top-mounted jacks, and true bypass, soft-touch relay switches. The Voyager MKII is available in two different versions:
1. Seafoam with black ink and the Voyager satellite illustrated by original Voyager artist, Nathan Price.
2. Matte black with cream ink and space helmet illustrated by Christi Du Toit. The die-cast enclosure’s exact size is 4.77” x 2.6” x 1.39” including knobs. Power requirements are 9VDC, center negative (100mA minimum).
Walrus Audio is offering The Voyager MKII for a retail price of $249.99 and is available now at walrusaudio.com.
PG contributor Tom Butwin takes us through three exceptional solidbody electric guitars: the versatile Gibson Les Paul Studio, the uniquely styled Zemaitis SCW22, and the dynamic PRS CE 24. Each brings a distinct flavor—find out which one matches your style!
Gibson Les Paul Modern Studio Electric Guitar - Worn White
When a guitar is “the one,” you know it. It feels right in your hands and delivers the sounds you hear in your head. It becomes your faithful companion, musical soulmate, and muse. It helps you express your artistic vision. We designed the Les Paul™ Studio to be precisely that type of guitar: the perfect musical companion, the guitar you won’t be able to put down. The one guitar you’ll be able to rely on every time and will find yourself reaching for again and again.
PRS CE 24 - Faded Blue Smokeburst
Classic PRS design and quality meets bolt-on construction with the CE 24. Its 25” scale length sits comfortably between short and longer scales and dual 85/15 pickups and patented PRS tremolo bring modern appeal.
Zemaitis SCW22
The body shape without metal top but developed based on an iconic Zemaitis Disc Front model.
Zemaitis guitar without a metal top, but you still see the legacy of Zemaitis in detail.
Our columnist ponders the business-to-consumer model, and how the design of online stores might be more crucial to the stompbox industry than we’d like to admit.
Let’s open things up with a TV/movie trope. The character on screen has a speech that they’ve been preparing for once they’re called up onstage to address the audience. When they finally get up to the lectern to deliver it, they pause, give the attendees a look over, and rip up their script in a dramatic fashion before pursuing an off-the-cuff, heartfelt message that goes on to invigorate the crowd and inspire a roaring ovation. For right now—I’m at least doing the first part of that. I’m abandoning my planned topic. Consider this me ripping up my finely curated index cards.
Before sitting down at the computer, I was thinking about the title of this column—“State of the Stomp.” Perhaps I’m being a bit too on-the-nose, but I started to ask myself, “What is the state of the stompbox world?” As in, this niche section inside of this niche industry that we find ourselves traversing. But, I can only speak for myself and what I’ve experienced firsthand and heard secondhand. That being said, let’s chat about the current state of the stompbox world.
This year marks my 10-year anniversary in the boutique-effects world. In speaking to the state of affairs in those 10 years, I’ve witnessed trends, domestic growth, international growth, product collaborations, companies closing doors, others opening doors, dealer decline, e-commerce growth, and more. The last, e-commerce, is the current state that we find ourselves in—an ever-growing, bustling digital presence that brings with it the B2C (business-to-consumer) model.
This isn’t completely new terrain for us by any stretch. It is, however, something that was only a minor percentage of our business. I have often referred to our sales as being 80 percent dealer and 20 percent direct. I would say that was the case from 2014 to 2020, but over the last few years the dealer vs. direct numbers have pretty much flipped.
Why has it flipped in favor of direct sales? That’s a simple yet complex question that would rob me of sleep if I let it. I would also frame the question in the inverse: “Why have dealer orders and reorders slowed down?” Market oversaturation? Economy? I would find it difficult to imagine that economic changes haven’t been trolling consumer purchasing. Us manufacturers know that it has directly impacted raw materials. As a niche corner of the MI world, that’s scary. Especially when you’re a manufacturer of nonessentials. When essentials go up in cost, it doesn’t feel great, but more easily gets shrugged off. When nonessentials go up, purchases of them get scaled back or hauled off completely.
“Why has it flipped in favor of direct sales? That’s a simple yet complex question that would rob me of sleep if I let it.”
In conversations I’ve had with industry colleagues, there’s almost a universal trend—sales are slow. This brings us back to the “why?” A place that my company finds itself in right now is close to the opposite. We are swamped with direct orders and dealer orders. However, of all the direct and dealer orders that we have been flooded with since May, 90 percent or more are for our DIY offerings. A big reason for this is due to the fact that the DIY market is smaller than standard pedals, we offer tools that don’t already exist, and the pricing is very attractive.
In May, “Short Circuit” launched. A recurring segment on the ever-popular JHS Show on YouTube, “Short Circuit” features founder Josh Heath Scott explaining effects-circuit basics while breadboarding them—using our DIY products. This, along with giveaways and kit collaborations between CopperSound and JHS, has led to a huge sales influx in what the community has coined “the JHS effect.”
I also find it important to highlight that my affinity for the brick and mortar has not diminished. But I will say that their ability to offer an array of gear from various manufacturers feels like a double-edged sword. If a particular store carries 20 brands, they can more easily give appropriate attention to each brand and subsequent model they stock. This includes website pictures, videos, copy, and SEO for each product. Now, if that same store expands to 200 brands, the bandwidth for each product gets significantly decreased.
So, while that dealer has 200 brands to focus on, we, the manufacturer, only have ourselves, making it easier for us to tend to our website. In a world where 70-plus percent of consumers shop online, it really makes me wonder if this is the make-or-break factor when it comes to where and how people choose to do that shopping.
And now, I’d like to thank you all for the standing ovation in response to my inspiring, off-the-cuff speech.