Speaker basics from Tony Pasko
Greetings, I am very excited to be here at Premier Guitar and I hope to bring a different point of view through my articles. For the past 15 years I have held management positions at top instrument manufacturers, where my responsibilities were to design products for musicians. Iām a musician, and thatās what I brought to the products: What are the fit, the form, and the function to the musician? Does the feature set justify the price? Iāll lay out the facts, so you can make more educated purchases.
So Letās Get Started
There are tons of great speakers in the market today, and they all fit a function, but how do you know which one is the right one for you? Speakers are one of the most overlooked elements about your guitar tone. Most of us spend an agonizing amount of time tweaking and fine-tuning our gearāwe fuss with our ampās EQ, add multi-effects, buy pedals, swap out pickups. All these things you can do to help shape your guitar tone, but it always comes down to one thing: how is that signal being represented through the speaker?
The thing you want to consider is that what you like or dislike about your guitar tone could very well be the speakerāit is after all 40 percent of your tone. Picture your amplifier as a sports car. Now picture your speakers as the tires. The wrong speaker in an amp is like having bicycle wheels on your sports car. Thatās how important the speakers are.
Wattage vs. Volume
This is a huge misconception among musicians. These two ratings are not the same. 50 watts isnāt half as loud as 100 watts. Wattage really comes into play when you start considering your functionāhow many watts is going to produce the level of volume you need for band practice, or playing a club?
Chart 1 (left)Ā answers this question. As you can see, lower wattage amplifiers can produce quite a bit of volume. The biggest thing the chart points out is that 60 watts is only 3dB less in actual volume than 120 watts. Amplifiers by nature distort the louder they go, which brings you back to how clean you need to be at a certain volumeāand how loud is 108dB, anyway?
Chart 2 (right)Ā shows how decibel levels translate to everyday life. Remember, if you have a 120-watt head and a 4x12 cab with four 30-watt speakers, you have to turn up pretty loud to use your speakers correctly. If youāre playing in an average-sized bar, then maybe you have too much power for your function. Youāll have to turn down your amp and sacrifice tone, and we all know how that blows.
This is a little food for thought. Now that weāve opened this Pandoraās Box, weāll look next time at how speakers distort, and the difference between good distortion and bad distortion. Knowing what to listen for can make all the difference in the world when picking out the right speaker.
Tony Pasko
For more than 15 years Tony has been a music industry professional, conducting clinics and in-store training seminars world-wide for Peavey, Washburn, Eden Amps and Parker Guitars, as well as involvement in product development. Heās also an experienced performing musician.
Itās almost over, but thereās still time to win! Enter Stompboxtober Day 30 for your shot at todayās pedal from SoloDallas!
The Schaffer Replica: Storm
The Schaffer Replica Storm is an all-analog combination of Optical Limiter+Harmonic Clipping Circuit+EQ Expansion+Boost+Line Buffer derived from a 70s wireless unit AC/DC and others used as an effect. Over 50 pros use this unique device to achieve percussive attack, copious harmonics and singing sustain.
On this Wong Notes, the legendary Doobie Brother, Steely Dan member, and session weapon talks the science of music and how to defuse conflictāwhether on the world stage or in the sound booth.
āSkunkā Baxter has had an interesting career. The Washington, D.C.-born musician was one of Steely Danās founding members in the early 1970s, and played on some of their most iconic numbers, like Canāt Buy a Thrillāsā āReelinā in the Yearsā and āDo It Again,ā or Pretzel Logicās āRikki Donāt Lose That Number.ā Then, he moved on to join the Doobie Brothers, from roughly 1974 to 1979, where he fatefully invited Michael McDonald into the band. After that stint, he became a go-to session player for artists like Rod Stewart, Joni Mitchell, Dolly Parton, and Donna Summer, and a touring performer for Elton John and Linda Ronstadt, among others.
That was just the beginning. Baxterās interest and background in electronics, science, and recording technology gained him a position in the U.S. defense industry. Turns out, a lot of digital music gear shared similar principles with emergent defense tech. āBasically, a radar is just an electric guitar on steroids,ā says Baxter, noting the same four fundamental forces at work over everything in our universe.
Wong and Baxter trades notes on how to navigate studio sessions (āJust shut the hell up,ā offers Baxter), early conversions of pitch into digital signals, and how Baxter cut his solo on Donna Summerās āHot Stuffā on a $25 guitar. And can mediating between artists and producers feel like high-stakes hostage negotiations? Sometimes. Tune in.
Wong Notes is presented by DistroKid.
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Featuring presets by Jack White, this pedal is designed to offer intuitive control, precise filtering, and flexible expression pedal integration.
Eventide, in collaboration with Third Man Hardware announces Knife Drop, a commanding new effects pedal that merges aggressive octave fuzz with earth-shaking analog synth tones.
Born from the collaborative vision of two pioneering forces in music technology, Knife Drop opens a new chapter in effects processing. The pedal combines Eventideās decades of digital audio mastery with Third Man Hardwareās innovative vision, resulting in a product thatās as intuitive as it is deep, as fresh as it is familiar.
"The Third Man crew have amazing product design instincts and we learned so much throughout our collaboration. It didn't feel like work, it felt like Rock 'n Roll.ā āRussell Wedelich, Eventide Audio CTO
"Collaborating with Eventide on the Knife Drop has been an inspiring and exciting experience that expanded into some amazing sonic possibilities. We're so excited to get the Knife Drop into people's hands, to make their own sounds and feel the same excitement we had." ā Dan Mancini, Third Man Hardware
Core Features:
- Rich blend of octave fuzz and analog synth capabilities
- Dual octave control with dedicated footswitch
- Precise filtering options with pre/post distortion routing
- Intuitive preset system with instant recall
- Stereo I/O with switchable guitar/line level inputs
- Flexible expression pedal integration for dynamic control
Intuitive Control
The Synth Mix knob allows players to blend between raw guitar signals and bold synthesized tones, while the Drive section delivers everything from a subtle boost to intense, biting distortion. The expressive filter section includes responsive envelope control, adjustable resonance, and switchable routing, putting total tonal flexibility firmly in the userās hands.
Knife Drop features an LED ladder display for precise preset navigation and a secondary function layer that unveils additional sonic territory. The dual I/O configuration supports both mono and stereo operation, while the switchable input accommodates various signal levels for versatile applications, whether onstage or in the studio.
Knife Drop will be available for purchase on October 29, 2024, in the United States through Third Man Recordsā website and internationally through Eventide's authorized distributors, with an MSRP of $299. Additionally, a limited-edition yellow model will be offered exclusively on Third Man Records' website for $333.
For more information, please visit eventide.com
Knife Drop Pedal: Presets Playthrough and Sound Demo - YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.PG contributor Tom Butwin details RAB Audio GSRS ā a studio racking system purpose-built for guitarists looking to declutter, customize, and elevate their creative space. Whether youāre a pedal enthusiast or amp collector, RAB Audio has a solution for your recording setup.