San Rafael, CA (July 5, 2018) -- Bob Weir’s Real Deal Acoustic Preamp by Pigtronix provides crystal- clear, super-loud acoustic guitar tone while faithfully maintaining the organic wooden sound of the instrument like no other pedal has ever done. “A real acoustic guitar has three-dimensional depth. The only way to capture that is with a microphone,” says Weir. “We’ve figured out how to cut out 90% of the feedback that comes with the microphone—while keeping the depth and dimensionality at appreciably high volume levels. We think you’re gonna like this.”
Bob Weir and long-time Grateful Dead tech guru and Weir’s personal front-of-house engineer, Mike McGinn, developed the principle behind the Real Deal in an effort to crank Bob’s acoustic guitar loud enough in the live mix while retaining the natural, unplugged sound of the instrument. The technology they developed to achieve this goal involves using a pair of complimentary filters to split the acoustic guitar signal into low and high frequency bands, with independent preamp gain applied to each signal path. A mastering stage then combines the various inputs into a single mono output, resulting in a powerful world-class acoustic guitar tone.
Bob Weir challenged Pigtronix to design a pedal to perform this unique type of processing using a low- noise, all-analog circuit, to deliver the ultimate live acoustic guitar sound. The engineering challenge involved with developing this pedal to create a realistic and amplified acoustic guitar sound in this way is no joke! First, the cutoff points of the two filters would need to be precisely matched and calibrated to avoid undesirable dips or bumps in the frequency response at the pedal’s output. Second, in order to optimize the acoustic sound from venue to venue and for each different guitar, the cutoff point where the two filters overlap also would need to be variable across a huge frequency range.
As a solution, Pigtronix created a totally unique tracking filter. It allows the musician to adjust the cutoff point of both filters with a single knob, sweeping over a full decade of frequency range from 300 Hz to 3 kHz. This analog filter array—at the heart of the Bob Weir’s Real Deal acoustic preamp—uses Pigtronix custom-made optical components and 18VDC power to achieve the ultra-low noise and high headroom required when processing acoustic guitar.
Bob Weir’s Real Deal acoustic preamp is universally compatible with any type of acoustic guitar pickup—from a simple, passive piezo element to complex active systems that use internal microphones, contact elements and/or magnetic pickups. A source switch determines whether the high and low bands are fed by independent sound elements (such as a mic and piezo installed in one guitar) or a single pickup that is then split and sent through both filters. Single-source mode has the additional benefit of allowing the Real Deal to be used to process the sound of an electric guitar or any other instrument. An additional TRS balanced input, equipped with switchable 48V phantom power, allows external microphones of all types to be incorporated as well.
"Bob Weir's one-of-a-kind sonic ambition has challenged the Pigtronix sound design team to reach beyond the realm of conventional guitar effects,” says Pigtronix president David Koltai. “As an artist and a mentor, Bob has inspired our most cutting-edge work for over a decade. Pigtronix is honored to have been selected to develop Bob Weir's Real Deal Acoustic Preamp, fulfilling the promise of an analog future where acoustic guitar can be made to sound intimate and wooden even while cranked up to rock concert volume levels."
In presenting Bob Weir’s Real Deal acoustic preamp, Pigtronix is honored to make a contribution to Bob’s continuing legacy of sonic innovation. This legacy dates back to the late 1960s, when the Grateful Dead and their associates revolutionized the technology of live sound—re-defining the rock & roll concert experience. Over 50 years later, and in partnership with Pigtronix, Bob Weir is still innovating.
Features:
- Single (TS) or dual-source (TRS) input
- Balanced (TRS) input for external mic
- Low-noise 24db / octave optical filters
- Crossover sweeps from 300Hz to 3kHz
- 60db gain on microphone channel
- Phantom power & phase inversion
- 18VDC power supply included
The brand-new Pigtronix Philosopher Bass Compressor Micro brings the heralded Philosopher's Tone compressor circuit to bassists in a micro-sized stompbox format. The SUSTAIN control on this pedal varies the compression threshold to provide everything from subtle peak limiting to infinite clean sustain, all with incredible low-end response. The Philosopher Bass Compressor also sports a BLEND knob, allowing the clean sound of your instrument to be heard in parallel with the optical compression. Blending some clean signal into the mix restores the instrument’s natural string attack, while simultaneously providing the musical benefits of additional punch and sustain.
In addition to the wide-range analog compression circuit with unrivaled sustain and parallel blend, the Philosopher Bass Compressor’s GRIT knob blends in a harmonic distortion tuned especially for low-frequency domination. Used with a tube or solid state amp—or even straight into a mixing board, DI or DAW—the Philosopher Bass Compressor Micro delivers a new level of control and power to bass players at an affordable price. The Philosopher Bass Compressor features true-bypass switching and runs on standard 9VDC power with an internal, voltage- doubling circuit providing 18VDC power rails for superior performance with active basses. Never before has so much bass-friendly compression been squeezed into such a small package.
Features:
- Noiseless clean sustain
- Blend control for parallel compression
- Grit control mixes in bass distortion
- Runs on standard 9V external power
- Internal 18V power for max headroom
- True bypass switching
- Size = 3.75” x 1.5” x 1.75”
The Philosopher Bass Compressor Micro retails for $119 USD.
For more information:
Pigtronix
Over the decades with Hüsker Dü, Sugar, and solo, Bob Mould has earned a reputation for visceral performances.
Mould’s album landed in a world of cloistered listeners, so he never knew how it impacted people. For a musician from punk and hardcore scenes, it was a disquieting experience. So when he got back out on the road in 2023 and 2024, playing solo electric sets, the former Hüsker Dü and Sugar frontman was determined to reconnect with his listeners. After each show, he’d hang out at the merch table and talk. Some people wanted their records or shirts signed, some wanted a picture. Others shared dark stories and secret experiences connected to Mould’s work. It humbled and moved him. “I’m grateful for all of it,” he says.
These are the in-person viscera of a group of people connecting on shared interests, versus, says Mould, “‘I gotta clean the house today, so I’m going to put on my clean the house playlist that a computer designed for me.” “Everything has become so digitized,” he laments. “I grew up where music was religion, it was life, it was essential. When people come to shows, and there’s an atmosphere, there’s volume, there’s spilled drinks and sweat–that’s what music ritual is supposed to be.”
His experiences on tour after the pandemic heartened Mould, but they also gave him traction on new ideas and direction for a new record. He returned to the simple, dirty guitar-pop music that spiked his heart rate when he was young: the Ramones’ stupid-simple pop-punk ecstasy, New York Dolls’ sharp-edged playfulness, Pete Townshend’s epic, chest-rattling guitar theatrics. In other words, the sort of snotty, poppy, wide-open rock we heard and loved on Hüsker Dü’s Flip Your Wig and Candy Apple Grey.
Mould’s time on the road playing solo in 2023 sparked the idea for Here We Go Crazy.
Photo by Ryan Bakerink
Mould started writing new songs in the vein of his original childhood heroes, working them into those electric solo sets in 2023 and 2024. Working with those restraints—guitar chords and vocal melodies—put Mould on track to make Here We Go Crazy, his new, 15th solo record.
Lead single and opener “Here We Go Crazy” is a scene-setting piece of fuzzy ’90s alt-rock, bookended by the fierce pounding of “Neanderthal.” “When Your Heart is Broken” is a standout, with its bubblegum chorus melody and rumbling, tense, Who-style holding pattern before one of the album’s only solos. Ditto “Sharp Little Pieces,” with perhaps the record’s chewiest, darkest guitar sounds.
“It’s a very familiar-sounding record,” he continues. “I think when people hear it, they will go, ‘Oh my god, this is so Bob Mould,’ and a lot of that was [influenced by] spending time with the audience again, putting new stuff into the set alongside the songbook material, going out to the table after the show and getting reactions from people. That sort of steered me towards a very simple, energetic, guitar-driven pop record.”
Of his new album, Mould says, “I think when people hear it, they will go, ‘Oh my god, this is so Bob Mould.’”
Mould recorded the LP in Chicago with longtime bandmates Jason Narducy and Jon Wurster at the late, great Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio. Then Mould retreated to San Francisco to finish the record, chipping away at vocals and extra guitar pieces. He mostly resisted the pull of “non-guitar ornamentation”: “It’s a rhythm guitar record with a couple leads and a Minimoog,” he says. “It’s sort of cool to not have a 64-crayon set every time.”
Mould relied on his favorite, now-signature late-’80s Fender Strat Plus, which sat out on a runway at O’Hare in 20-below cold for three hours and needed a few days to get back in fighting shape. In the studio, he ran the Strat into his signature Tym Guitars Sky Patch, a take on the MXR Distortion+, then onto a Radial JD7. The Radial split his signal and sent it to three combo amps: a Fender Hot Rod DeVille, a Fender ’68 Custom Deluxe Reverb reissue, and a Blackstar Artisan 30, each with a mic on it. The result is a brighter record that Mould says leaves more room for the bass and kick drum. “If you listen to this record against Patch the Sky, for instance, it’s night and day,” he says. “It’s snug.”
Mould explains that the record unfolds over three acts. Tracks one through five comprise the first episode, crackling with uncertainty and conflict. The second, spread over songs six to eight, contrasts feelings of openness with tight, claustrophobic tension. Here, there are dead ends, addictions, and frigid realities. But after “Sharp Little Pieces,” the album turns its corner, barreling toward the home stretch in a fury of optimism and determination. “These last three [songs] should give us more hope,” says Mould. “They should talk about unconditional love.”
The record closes on the ballad “Your Side,” which starts gentle and ends in a rush of smashed chords and cymbals, undoubtedly one of the most invigorating segments. “The world is going down in flames, I wanna be by your side/We can find a quiet place, it doesn’t need to be the Albert Hall,” Mould starts. It’s a beautiful portrait of love, aging, and the passage of time.
Bob Mould's Gear
Mould paired his trusty Fender Strat Plus with a trio of smaller combo amps to carve out a more mid-focused rhythm-guitar sound in the studio.
Photo by Mike White
Guitars
- Late 1980s Fender American Standard Strat Plus (multiple)
Amps
- Fender Hot Rod DeVille
- Blackstar Artisan Series amps
- Fender '68 Custom Deluxe Reverb
Effects
- Tym Guitars Sky Patch
- TC Electronic Flashback
- Electro-Harmonix Freeze
- Wampler Ego
- Universal Audio 1176
- Radial JD7
Strings, Picks, & Power Supply
- D'Addario NYXLs (.011-.046)
- Dunlop .46 mm and .60 mm picks
- Voodoo Labs power supply
And though the record ends on this palette of tenderness and connection, the cycle is likely to start all over again. Mould understands this; even though he knows he’s basking in act three at the moment, acts one and two will come along again, and again. Thankfully, he’s figured out how to weather the changes.
“When things are good, enjoy them,” he says. “When things are tough, do the work and get out of it, somehow.”
- YouTube
Many of the tracks on Here We Go Crazy were road-tested by Mould during solo sets. Here, accompanied only by his trusty Fender Strat, he belts “Breathing Room.”
Reader: Federico Novelli
Hometown: Genoa, Italy
Guitar: The Italian Hybrid
Reader Federico Novelli constructed this hybrid guitar from three layers of pine, courtesy of some old shelves he had laying around.
A few years ago, at the beginning of Covid, an idea for a new guitar flashed through my mind. It was a semi-acoustic model with both magnetic and piezo pickups that were mounted on a soundboard that could resonate. It was a nice idea, but I also had to think about how to make it in my tiny cellar without many power tools and using old solid-wood shelves I had available.
I have been playing guitar for 50 years, and I also dabble in luthiery for fun. I have owned a classical guitar, an acoustic guitar, and a Stratocaster, but a jazz guitar was missing from the list. I wanted something that would have more versatility, so the idea of a hybrid semi-acoustic guitar was born.
I started to sketch something on computer-aided design (CAD) software, thinking of a hollowbody design without a center block or sides that needed to be hot-worked with a bending machine. I thought of a construction made of three layers of solid pine wood, individually worked and then glued together in layers, with a single-cutaway body and a glued-in neck.
For the soundboard and back, I used a piece of ash and hand-cut it with a Japanese saw to the proper thickness, so I had two sheets to fit together. Next, I sanded the soundboard and bottom using two striker profiles as sleds and an aluminum box covered in sandpaper to achieve a uniform 3 mm thickness. A huge amount of work, but it didn't cost anything.
“It was a nice idea, but I also had to think about how to make it in my tiny cellar without many electric tools and out of old solid-wood shelves I had available.”
The soundboard has simplified X-bracing, a soundhole with a rosewood edge profile, and an acoustic-style rosewood bridge. For the neck, I used a piece of old furniture with straight grain, shaped it to a Les Paul profile, and added a single-action truss rod. The only new purchase: a cheap Chinese rosewood fretboard.
Then, there was lots of sanding. I worked up to 400-grit, added filler, primer, and transparent nitro varnish, worked the sandpaper up to 1,500-grit, and finally polished.
Our reader and his “Italian job.”
For electronics, I used a Tonerider alnico 2 humbucker pickup and a piezo undersaddle pickup, combined with a modified Shadow preamp that also includes a magnetic pickup input, so you can mix the two sources on a single output. I also installed a bypass switch for power on/off and a direct passive output.
I have to say that I am proud and moderately satisfied both aesthetically and with the sounds it produces, which range from jazz to acoustic and even gypsy jazz. However, I think I will replace the electronics and piezo with Fishman hardware in the future.
