Sweetwater CEO Mike Clem recently stopped by the Know Your Gear podcast for a look inside how one of the largest music gear companies operates.
In the conversation, Clem talks about the ways Sweetwater listens to customers, employees, and the broader market when making decisions. He shares how the company responds to challenges in the industry, from supply chain issues to evolving technology, and how those challenges shape everyday operations.
Clem also touches on leadership and supporting employees in their roles, offering insight into how a large company keeps everyone moving in the same direction without losing sight of its culture. It’s a detailed look behind the scenes, full of takeaways for musicians, gear enthusiasts, and anyone curious about running a growing business in a competitive industry.
EMG Pickups introduces the all-new E-Series line of active bass pickups. Featuring the commonly used slim soapbar cap design, the E-Series pickups unlock a multitude of bass models for simple, drop-in EMG upgrades.
Unlike any other EMG design, the E-Series pickups feature wide aperture coils withceramic magnets. This potent combination delivers powerful low end while retaining thecutting articulation that the modern bass player requires. Designed with versatility inmind, the E-Series can excel in a wide range of genres and play styles and areavailable in 4, 5, and 6 string sizes. Just like all EMG active pickups, the E-Series arefree from hum and buzz and include solderless wiring kits for DIY installation.
For further tonal shaping, the E-Series pickups are compatible with EMG’s wide rangeof bass EQ’s and accessories, so the possibilities are virtually endless.Unlock the potential of your bass with the EMG E-Series pickups.
Individual E-Series pickups start at $109.00, with sets starting at $209.00.
The prolific Australian guitarist brought his mastery to east Nashville, where we got a look at the gear he’s trusting overseas.
Adam Miller has been compared to plenty of his most sacred influences—Tommy Emmanuel, Chet Atkins, Charlie Hunter, Bill Frissell—but he’s certainly carved a path of his own. This year alone, he’s released three records and undertook a U.S. tour to bring his delightful mix of jazz, groove, and beyond to eager listeners.
Before his show at the Underdog in east Nashville, Miller took some time to show PG’s Chris Kies around his trusted tools for international touring, including a gorgeous custom Huber electric, a Collings acoustic, and some key items on loan.
Calling a Huber
This custom-built Huber electric, by German luthier Nik Huber, was crafted over the last five years, working in elements of Miller’s previous Huber and several other designs. It has a heavily chambered mahogany back and redwood top, bolt-on maple neck, rosewood fretboard, trapeze tailpiece, and nylon saddles, plus Kloppmann Electrics mini humbuckers and a single 250k volume pot, which rolls off for a jazzy archtop sound. Miller strings it with D’Addario NYXLs (.011–.049s).
Borrowed Bari
Since Miller can’t bring all his favorite instruments on tour, he often borrows guitars from local friends and fans on tour, like this baritone Novo Serus J.
Collings Calling
Miller bought this Collings acoustic at Gladesville Guitar Factory, just outside Sydney, about 10 years ago. He runs it with a Seymour Duncan Wavelength duo pickup system, but swapped out the kit’s undersaddle piece for soundboard transducers and modified “the circuit so they’re at a crossover, so you’re only hearing the bottom end of them and all the top end’s coming from the condenser mic.” He uses D’Addario Nickel Bronze (.012–0.53s) on his acoustic.
Can I Bum a Studio Sig?
Miller has been a Two-Rock devotee since 2007, and on one of his first trips to the U.S., he visited the factory and picked one up. He doesn’t travel with his unit, so he borrowed this one from Nashville legend Cory Congilio. For Miller, an amp is the soundboard for an electric guitar; if he doesn’t have a Two-Rock, he struggles.
Adam Miller’s Pedalboard
Miller’s Collings runs into a Grace Design ALiX preamp, which helps him fine-tune his EQ and level out pickups with varying output when he switches instruments. For reverb, sometimes he’ll tap the Strymon Flint, but often he’ll let the front of house weave it in.
Aside from the ALiX and Flint, Miller relies on a Vemuram Jan Ray, Free the Tone SOV-2 Overdrive, Chase Bliss Mood, and Line 6 DL4 Mk II.
PG contributor Tom Butwin walks us through a rugged, pedal‑board‑friendly delay that lets you shape time, feedback, and blend entirely with your foot. The Roto Echo features warm, gritty analog‑style echoes, intuitive real‑time control, and a design tough enough for full body weight. It sounds great on its own, but this wheel‐driven innovation opens up worlds of expressive possibilities.
Third Man Hardware and Black Mountain are excited to announce the innovative Roto-Echo delay pedal. Instead of tweaking delay parameters with your fingers, the pedal’s Freewheel® Technology allows players to change them with their feet in real-time as they play – a small change that leads to tons of creative possibilities. The Roto-Echo is built tough and players can put their full weight onto the pedal with no problem. It’s the same size as a regular Boss-style guitar pedal, and fits on any pedal board.
Key Features ● Foot-Controlled Adjustments: Change Time, Feedback, or Blend while you play. ● Analog-Style Delay: Warm, gritty echoes up to 600ms. ● Rugged Build: Built to handle full body weight on stage. ● True Bypass: Keeps your tone pure when switched off. ● Play Sitting or Standing: Built for performance. ● 9V, Center Negative Power ● Morph feedback from short to infinite repeats ● Ramp wet/dry mix for dramatic effect ● Sweep delay time to bend and warble pitch, and so much more
Voltage Cable Co.® has introduced a new hardware option to its best-selling Voltage Vintage Coil® V2: a long-frame right-angle “Tele” plug by G&H USA. Purpose-built for recessed Tele guitar jacks and vintage-style guitars, this new plug ensures a tighter fit and improved seating depth - solving a long-standing problem for players using standard short right-angle connectors.
Each cable continues to feature Voltage’s hallmark component stack: 21 AWG spiral-shielded conductors, Cardas Quad Eutectic silver solder, and the patented ISO-COAT® hermetic seal, now officially granted under Australian Standard Patent No. 2024204464 as of June 26, 2025. The result is an elite-class instrument cable with lifetime-grade durability and signal reliability, built specifically for working musicians.
The Voltage Vintage Coil® V2 is available in seven vintage-inspired colors and ships globally.
Miller’s Collings runs into a Grace Design ALiX preamp, which helps him fine-tune his EQ and level out pickups with varying output when he switches instruments. For reverb, sometimes he’ll tap the 
