You could WIN everything you need to build a Two Kings Boost from StewMac in this all-new giveaway! Ends April 9, 2024.
StewMac Two Kings Boost Pedal Kit
Can't wait 5 YEARS for an Analogman King of Tone? Now you can build a pedal that captures the tone of the amazing original. Raved about by players like John Petrucci, Gary Clark Jr, Samantha Fish, and Warren Haynes, you no longer have to wait to add it to your rig.
Inspired by a heavily-modded Marshall Blues Breaker, this 2-in-1 pedal is something completely different. It's transparent but still warm and gritty, with a full range of frequencies available, all while keeping the core tone of your guitar and amp.
Don't wait! Build it now
We're not that patient! We wanted to make a pedal that was faithful to the original, but you could get your hands on it now. After months of dialing in the sound, we finally captured it. Now you can open the box and handwire yours in a weekend!
Our columnist considers why we love to accumulate so much gear.
I’ve got stuff. Lots of stuff. It fills up my home and my shop. One of the many things that I’ve collected over the years are backstage passes. My occupation has taken me to a lot of shows—sometimes two or three a night. I’d come home and throw the evening’s pass into a box on a shelf in my coat closet. When the box got full, instead of tossing it, I’d put it away and start another one. This went on for decades. I probably just saved those passes for the same reason I’ve wound up with a lot of things—I like stuff. But not just any stuff. I like good stuff, quality stuff, interesting stuff. As a consequence, I have a lot of it. I’m betting a lot of you do too. Maybe you started young, by collecting trading cards. Maybe you came to it later in life. Maybe you’re thinking of tossing off the anchor and sailing away free.
In my dreams, I have a grand garage sale. I see table after table of NOS tubes, capos, cords, pedals, and straps, all laid out neatly and tagged with reasonable prices. There would be cabinets full of tools and electronic gizmos from ages past. I imagine a spread of guitars on stands and amplifiers lined up neatly like buildings on a boulevard—all plugged in and ready to demo. I’d say goodbye to all those years of guitar and automobile magazines organized neatly on my bookshelves, along with books about those two subjects. There would be a section for microphone and music stands, photo lights, cameras, and microphones. It would be a picker’s dream come true. Somehow this exercise gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling, and I’m not sure why, because I love my stuff.
So, why do we cling to these artifacts? You might say it’s your hobby, or if you are a pro, they are work tools. But that’s not the whole story. When I started playing, guitarists didn’t have collections. Professionals had one or two main guitars and maybe a 12-string. If you broke a string onstage, you’d either change it while talking to the audience or grab your one backup guitar. Studio cats might have accumulated a small array of stringed instruments (like banjos or mandolins) that they could deploy as needed in order to secure more work, but even some of the legends would borrow when the situation called for something different. Running parallel with the normalization of mass consumerism, it has become acceptable to own more than one or two guitars—maybe even 20.
"When I started playing, guitarists didn’t have collections. Professionals had one or two main guitars and maybe a 12-string."
That’s probably why when you think of the classic acts, you naturally picture those players with a certain guitar. John Lennon had his black Rickenbacker and George Harrison had his Gretsch. Paul McCartney is forever associated with Höfner. Clapton you have to define by era, but a few, like his “Fool” SG and his Bluesbreaker Les Paul—superseded by his now ubiquitous Stratocaster—were and are touchstones. When you think David Gilmour, you see a Strat. Likewise Rick Nielsen with his Hamer “Explorer” and Randy Rhoads on a white Les Paul. As different as they are stylistically, Elvis Costello, Thurston Moore, and J Mascis converge on the Jazzmaster. I could go on. For the first 40 years of its existence, the electric guitar wasn’t much of a collectible. But as we stand here today, most of us have a gaggle of guitars that may or may not be a collection.
So, do we or don’t we have collections? When I use a good piece of gear, whether it’s a guitar or a chisel, I feel joy. It’s a feeling that goes beyond mere possession, and it’s not just that the widget works. It’s recognizing that years of experience have led me to the point of knowing what quality is and why it’s important. I’ve read that holding on to physical things is hanging on to the past when we should be living in the present. I’m not going to dispute that, but my stuff and I have a grip on each other that’s more like a friendship than a psychological hardship. I’m not a working pro, but music has been my life since I was 12, and I don’t apologize for that.
Should I pare down my tools? Would I be happier without a selection of fine instruments? Perhaps purging the tonnage of stuff that anchors me down would open up a whole new take on life, but I’m not ready. Maybe you’ve thought about this too, but I wouldn’t worry too much. Chalk it up to whatever you like, but I’m fine with it for now, and I adore finding new things that make my life a little easier, and maybe a little more joyous.
Stedman’s USA-made PureConnect kits clean up your equipment jacks and cable connectors to help revive tone and retain signal clarity.
To help musicians reclaim their lost tone, Stedman has introduced two PureConnect kits for cleaning and revitalizing their electrical connections.
Dirty jacks and cable plugs in your signal chain can cause loss of tone clarity and high-end frequencies. Stedman’s USA-made PureConnect kits clean up your equipment jacks and cable connectors to help revive tone and retain signal clarity. Two kit sizes are available: The GP-2Gig Pack is a compact portable kit for stage or studio, and the PK-3 Pro Kit is for larger-scale applications including recording studio and sound reinforcement maintenance.
With a selection of disposable MicroFelt cleaning tips, a sturdy handle, and a supply of Deoxitcontact cleaner, the PureConnect kits contain everything needed to clean quarter-inch and XLRmale and female connectors. The GP-2 kit comes in a handy tin that can be easily stored inside any guitar case, and the PK-3 comes in a sturdy molded plastic case with a dense foam interior that reeks of premium quality.
GP-2 kit contains: 1-machined handle, 5-microfelt ¼” cleaning tips, 3-cotton cleaning pads, 9-1/10” XLR terminal cleaning tips, and 1-2 mL tube of Deoxit D-100 cleaning fluid
PK-3 kit contains: 2-machined handles, 27-microfelt ¼” cleaning tips, 12-cotton cleaning pads,50-1/10” XLR terminal cleaning tips, 1-7.4oz jar of Deoxit D-100L fluid, and 1-7.4oz jar of DeoxitG-100L fluid
The PureConnect kits are available at these street prices – GP-2 $29.99, PK-3 $129.99. For more information, please visit stedmanusa.com.