Barry O’Neal

Barry O’Neal is the Chief Puzzle Solver at XAct Tone Solutions in Nashville, Tennessee. He and the team at XTS design and build guitar rigs and effects pedals for musicians of all styles, from Tom Bukovac and Peter Frampton to Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber. He studied at Tennessee Technological University. When not designing stuff for guitar players, Barry enjoys time with his family … and thinking about designing stuff for guitar players. Check out his work at www.xacttone.com.

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Barry O’Neal

A Guitarist’s Guide to Compression

Compression might be the most misunderstood effect on your board—until now.

Take It from a Pro: Tips on Pedalboard Assembly

Here, our XAct Tone Solutions columnist walks you through every aspect of how to put together your ideal pedalboard.

What Does It Really Mean to Have a Signature Pedal?

Parsing the (mostly) good and the bad in the world of stompbox endorsements.

How to Boost Your Guitar Tone with EQ Savvy

Ever think of adding EQ to your signal chain? Here’s a brief but definitive guide on how to get started.

Keep Cool with an Uncooked Supply

Without more knowledge about heat and electronics, you might be complicit to the slow but deadly effect of accidentally overloading your power supply.

Is There Really Stompbox “Mojo?”

Pedal users often get a sense of “mojo” from their stomps, but how technical is that magic? In the end, it may just come down to personal experience.

A Pedalboard Pro’s Dream Pedalboard

We asked Barry O'Neal of Nashville’s XAct Tone Solutions for his vision of a ’board that would cover all the sonic bases for most pop, rock, and country sounds. Here’s what he created.

Maximizing Your Acoustic Rig

Preamps, compressors, and space—these are the staples of acoustic setups. But be prepared to adjust your settings to fit the room you’re playing in.

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Barry O’Neal

Compression might be the most misunderstood effect on your board—until now.

Here, our XAct Tone Solutions columnist walks you through every aspect of how to put together your ideal pedalboard.

Parsing the (mostly) good and the bad in the world of stompbox endorsements.

Ever think of adding EQ to your signal chain? Here’s a brief but definitive guide on how to get started.

Without more knowledge about heat and electronics, you might be complicit to the slow but deadly effect of accidentally overloading your power supply.

Pedal users often get a sense of “mojo” from their stomps, but how technical is that magic? In the end, it may just come down to personal experience.

We asked Barry O'Neal of Nashville’s XAct Tone Solutions for his vision of a ’board that would cover all the sonic bases for most pop, rock, and country sounds. Here’s what he created.

Preamps, compressors, and space—these are the staples of acoustic setups. But be prepared to adjust your settings to fit the room you’re playing in.