Signal To Noise

Episode 42 Comes to you live (sort of) from my hotel room in Tampa, Fl! It was my first time in Tampa and so I checked out a couple guitar shops (check out my Instagram feed for pictures) and some local beer (Thank you Tampa Bay Brewing Company!) While I was there I met a couple young guitarists, one who was just starting out and another who absolutely blew me away with his skills. And that's the topic of this episode. Guitar shops...

In Episode 39 I spoke with David Karon of KHDK electronics about their line of effects and especially the Scuzz Box. After the interview (and during a hurricane) I ordered my Scuzz Box from The Guitar Guru Network on Reverb.com and waited with excitement for it to arrive. Well....IT's HERE!!!! So I opened it, put it on the board and recorded my first impressions for the show. My set up for the show was my Epiphone SG and Mexican St...

In Episode 40 Sue Decree returns to talk guitar rigs. Sue and I have been making music together for the last 20 plus years and in that time she has maintained a predominantly digital rig. With advances in technology her rig has not gotten better and better sounding over the years, it also shrunk. She's gone from 14 guitars, 4 synths, a drum machine, and a 4-track recorder and an Apple II se to 4 guitars, her Mac laptop and line 6 p...

My Ghoul Screamer arrived in April. I unboxed it with giddy excitement and have not stopped gushing about it since. I am still THRILLED with that pedal and watch eagerly for every bit of news that KHDK puts out. Fast forward to July when the teaser video hit for the Scuzz Box. Now that giddy excitement has turned into a tone obsession, and getting the chance to talk with David about the KHDK approach to tone was a great experience....

Welcome to Episode 38! This episode is all about the Wiretap by TC Electronic. A few weeks ago I wandered into a Guitar Center and found the Wiretap featured as the "Pedal of the week". I really didn't know much about it other than it was a recorder. So I sat down, plugged it in and started noodling. Right away I fell in love it. It's not sexy, it does not change my sound at all, but as I noodled with it I realized that with as eas...

A running theme in my episodes lately has been around the music industry itself. What's the current state? Where is it headed? In Episode 37 I sat down with Sue DeCree and Liz Tapia to talk about the music industry and how two women who also happen to be Metal Heads are making their mark on music. Sue and Liz are very talented musicians who not only like the heavy stuff but also happen to have some classical training as well. Their...

In episode 36 we discuss the new Pete Townshend signature stratocaster from Fender. I'm really torn on this guitar as I discuss in the episode. Until early this guitar came out I did not bat an eye at signature guitars, but this one made me question everything. Also in this episode I am trying something new. I'm using an audio OM-2 mic to record myself and I'm also demoing pedals live at the same time. It's the first time I've tr...

This Week's episode is all about the Radio! Growing up I was fascinated by radio. It was my only way to consume new music as a kid so I searched up and down the dial and would wait for hours to tape my favorite song. I am joined by Bryan Ganey who used to work in Radio. Bryan pulls the curtain back and exposes the mysteries of radio for us. For more about Bryan and his amazing journey that he shares at the end of the show visit his...

After Episode 33 went live, I got a message on Instagram from my buddy Bob asking when he could be a guest on the show. I asked what his ideas were and next thing you know we had the outline for this week's episode. Bob has a background in graphic design and has not only made graphics for me to use at work, he also taught me just enough in photoshop to be dangerous. Since he has an extensive knowledge in design, iy was fun to sit...

It was a dark and stormy night… no….really. We recorded this podcast on June 6th and it was raining cats and dogs. Skype was giving us issues and we had to re-connect several times. It was a rough night with great conversation and in the end a good time was had by all. Due to a technical issue on my part, about half or better of the recording is missing. I explain in the podcast. Anyway, these guys are all great guys with interest...

My Holey Board covered in pedals.

For years when ever I would use pedals, I would just toss them in my gig bag. When I finally decided to get a pedal board, I bought an SKB. At the time SKB was noted for its durable products and I got a lot of mileage from that board. It had built in power and a soft case. It did the job and saw a lot of mileage. Eventually I outgrew the board. It was big and bulky, but did not hold that many p...

Sue’s Epiphone Les Paul holding pictures of us at a Nashville NAMM show

My friend Sue is launching a new website (suzannedecree.com) so I had her on the how to talk about the new website and a few other other things. Sue and I have know each other for 20 years plus, have been to a few NAMM shows, several guitar shows, and have written a bunch of songs in that time. During this time we have had countless discussions on teaching ...

My trusty Yeti microphone and Coke.

In this episode I am joined by my friend Chris. Chris and I talk about everything from art and awards to baseball and building pedals. The big topic is “are we losing knowledge from generation to generation?”. Everyday I look around and feel like the world is lowering the bar instead of raising it. But then other times I feel like we have made quantum leaps forward. The whole show was inspire...

I’m still on my Metallica kick, so be prepared for more Metallica. And I mean LOTS more Metallica. I love the bonus material on the “Ride the Lightning” box set and share my thoughts, plus I explain why this magazine from 1986 is the featured image this week. I also talk about how I look like Mr. Rogers, yet listen to Heavy Metal, my Buddy Don and just being nice. Plus the topic of the day: Why I use pedals. Follow me on Twitter a...

I have been talking about this pedal for the last three episodes, and it’s finally here! This podcast was done partially along with a YouTube video of the unboxing of the pedal and partially as a stand alone quick and dirty demo. It was supposed to match up with both of the YouTube videos I posted, but hey I forgot to hit the record button on part 2. What can I say? I’m REALLY excited about this pedal. I will post more as I play w...

I got up early and went down to Monster Music and Movies today for Record Store Day. It was a GREAT time! It was great to see so many people out buying music rather than downloading it for free on the Internet. So many different people of all ages were out getting music, and of all styles and genres. I put this episode together on the fly today to talk about Record Store Day and why I love it. In fact, if you listened t the last e...

My Zorlac Metallica skate deck and my Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal Pedal

This Saturday is Record Store Day and one of my Favorite bands from youth are the ambassadors. I’m joined by Roch of the Radioactive Metal Podcast to discuss Roch’s gear from his band days, Kirk Hammett’s “Ghoul Screamer” pedal, our first Metallica shows, and what Metallica Release we are most excited about: the potential new record coming this year, or the Remas...