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Dip a toe in the jazz-blues pool with these simple chord subs.

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Isolated power supplies like this 1 SPOT Pro from Truetone helped silence the groans, whines, and ticks once common to pedalboards.

All 9V blocks are not created equal. Here's what to look for to avoid hiss, hum, and crackle.

(Originally published April 22, 2020)

At the dawn of the guitar-effects age, powering pedals was relatively simple. If an effects pedal didn't take a standard 9V battery like your AM transistor radio, it plugged into the wall like your avocado-green toaster. Forever dissatisfied, guitar players eventually grew weary of changing batteries, and plugging stuff into the wall was kind of a drag, too.

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A somewhat rare 6-string puts the groovy and gonzo guitar design aesthetic of 1960s Japan on full display.

Does size matter? Well, according to yours truly, size does matter—especially when it comes to guitars. Being an extra-large dude, I've often gravitated to guitars that are, well, extra large. I love my big Gretsch Tennessee Rose and old Harmony Rocket because they just feel right in my hands and strapped up. I've owned plenty of “tiny" guitars, but I've never really bonded with any of them. Even a Telecaster seems a little small to me! So, I'd like to talk about one of the biggest of the vintage made-in-Japan electrics: the Marlin PA-25.

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