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Tonal Tinker Toys: Reader Pedalboards 2018

When it comes to pedal puzzles and putting together your dream sound rig, there’s no right way—just your way. Check out these boards from your fellow readers, and be inspired!

Lior Blatt: TC Mini Board

This compact rig comes from a guitarist in Israel who chose almost all mini stomps for his Pedaltrain Metro 24 board. Here’s the gist: TC Electronic PolyTune 2, Wampler Mini Ego Compressor, TC Electronic Spark Mini Booster, Wampler Tumnus, Pro Co ’85 reissue RAT, TC Electronic Corona Mini Chorus, TC Electronic Flashback Mini Delay, and a TC Electronic Hall of Fame Mini Reverb.

It’s that time of year, when Premier Guitar readers from such disparate places as Florianópolis, Brazil, to Katy, Texas, share with us their prized collection of sonic goodies. All kinds of players write in: Sunflower Bean’s frontman/guitarist Nick Kivlen goes down memory lane, describing how he acquired, through many years and sources, all the pedals he loves. Simon Gotthelf, who has his own YouTube channel dedicated solely to the world of guitar and demoing gear, shows us his fave pedal configuration. A few session guitarists give advice on grab-and-go stomp setups. And then there are dozens of players who call themselves “bedroom” guitarists, many of whom know more about how to wire up a board than some stars featured on Rig Rundowns. Now, let’s dig in!

Onstage, Tommy Emmanuel executes a move that is not from the playbook of his hero, Chet Atkins.

Photo by Simone Cecchetti

Recorded live at the Sydney Opera House, the Australian guitarist’s new album reminds listeners that his fingerpicking is in a stratum all its own. His approach to arranging only amplifies that distinction—and his devotion to Chet Atkins.

Australian fingerpicking virtuoso Tommy Emmanuel is turning 70 this year. He’s been performing since he was 6, and for every solo show he’s played, he’s never used a setlist.

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Photo by Ryan Russell

Minus the Bear announces nationwide tour celebrating 20th anniversary of Menos el Oso album.

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An overdrive and mangled fuzz that’s a wolf in a maniacal, rabid wolf’s clothing.

Invites new compositional approaches to riffs and solos. Gray Channel distortion is versatile and satisfying. Unpredictable.

Unpredictable. Footswitches for distortion and fuzz are quite close.

$199

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4
3.5
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Fuzz can be savored in so many ways. It can be smooth. It can be an agent of chaos. But it can also be a trap. In service of mayhem, it can be a mere noise crutch. Smooth, classy, “tasty” fuzz, meanwhile, can lead to dull solos crafted as Olympian demonstrations of sustain. To touch the soulful, rowdy essence of fuzz, it’s good to find one that never lets you get quite comfortable. The EarthQuaker Devices Gary, a two-headed distortion/overdrive and rabid, envelope-controlled square-wave fuzz designed with IDLES’ Lee Kiernan, is a gain device in this vein.

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Blackberry Smoke will embark on a co-headline tour with Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs. Lead singer Charlie Starr shares, “What could be better than summertime rock and roll shows with Blackberry Smoke and the one and only Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs?”

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