Annoucement: ZAVALAZ
I’m excited to tell you that ZAVALAZ, the band I am in with Cedric, Greg Rogove and Dan Elkan, was just announced via our new website, Facebook page, Instagram, Tumblr, MySpace and Twitter. Most importantly, we’re hitting the road in June so I hope to see you ALL out at the shows. More dates are [...]
Gear Repair- Take it Seriously
Last year, Big Sir was on tour in Europe and we had a string of shows in France. As we all know, the voltage in Europe is not the same as in the US, and the AC plugs are different. As you can imagine, this can lead to problems even if you have the [...]
How To Chain Pedals Part 1
Here is a post that is long overdue, because the #1 question I get on this site, hands down, is : “How do I chain pedals on a pedalboard?” It seems that many of you think there is a right way and a wrong way. I am here to tell you that your “perfect” pedalboard [...]
How To Build A Great Pedalboard
This was on top of the SVT cabinets at one point. The pedalboard you see here was the one I used on a Frances The Mute tour, and that was the last time I used such a massive one. It was comprised of three boards which surrounded me, then one more pedalboard on top [...]
My Classes at Los Angeles Music Academy (LAMA), Pasadena
I was asked a few months ago by the Los Angeles Music Academy‘s (LAMA) bass department director, Jerry Watts, to come in and do a clinic at their school. I was excited that they wanted me and was even more thrilled to get my teaching chops back up. Back in the day, I used to [...]
A Look Back: Jon Theodore
As you probably already know, my close friend, former bandmate and one of the world’s greatest drummers, Jon Theodore, is now drumming for another amazing band, Queens Of The Stone Age. He called me when he got back from South America, having played to thousands of fans on his very first show with them, and [...]
Review: Strymon Lex Rotary + Earthquaker Devices Speaker Cranker Overdrive
This one is for all of you guitar players out there, since I know not all PedalsAndEffects readers are bassists. I will showcase both of these pedals on bass in a future video, but today, I once again have the assistance of guitarist Mason Stoops to help me showcase these two amazing pedals and how [...]
NorCal Bassix Bass Day 2013
A few months back, I was asked by NorCal Bassix to perform at their Bass Day event which happens this Saturday, April 20th at Music Max in Palo Cedro (about a 3 hour drive from San Francisco, 2.5 from Sacramento). I spent a few days trying different configurations of some of my current favorite pedals [...]
Circuits to Cure Cancer for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
A few weeks ago, Blake Hickey from Blakemore Effects emailed me about Circuits to Cure Cancer, a group of guitar pedal builders, retailers, reviewers, and musicians who have donated either their products or their time to help raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. From April 18th through April 28th over 30 guitar pedals will [...]
Photo Friday: A/DA Flanger
In an effort to increase content here on PedalsAndEffects, we’ll be introducing a few new features over the coming weeks. “Photo Friday” is one, where you’ll see an image of one of my pedals, or maybe other pieces of gear, or maybe even something completely different, then I’ll talk a little bit about the photo. [...]
The Unknown Russian Distortion Pedal…Solved! Lell Pedals
A little while ago, I did a post called The Unknown Russian Distortion Pedal where I discussed this pedal which I bought, used, at a local music store. This distortion pedal is so weird, out of control and so unlike any distortion I own. Most US builders would never think to make something so over [...]
REVIEW: EARTHQUAKER DEVICES DISASTER TRANSPORT SR
A couple of years ago, Earthquaker Devices was kind enough to send me one of their limited run Ghost Disaster pedals from 2010. I love this pedal and it’s been on my touring pedalboard since I received it (you can see the Ghost Disaster on my pedalboard in this Premier Guitar’s Rig Rundown). The pedal has [...]