Be My Friend, Friend!

I haven’t been able to post much here at tonefiend.com recently because I’ve been overwhelmed by two big-ass projects that have occupied most waking hours, plus some sleeping hours as well. (I’ll share the details as soon as I’m allowed.)

Yet somehow, I’ve found time to post various things to Facebook. I know […]

Pinch Me. My Three New Pedals Are Finally Out!

Holy crap, I can’t believe it! My three new pedals are actually in stock and for sale at Vintage King.

The new arrivals are Filth Fuzz, Cult Germanium Overdrive, and Gross Distortion. (Meanwhile, Duh Remedial Fuzz, which debuted last year, is back in stock after the last batch sold out.)

Here’s an overview video […]

“God Only Knows”: A Golden Anniversary Tribute

It probably wins my vote for prettiest pop-rock song of all time, and it’s a far-from-controversial opinion. “God Only Knows” and all the other great tracks from the Beach Boys’ incomparable Pet Sounds album are 50 years old. (The album was released on May 26th, 1966.)

I owe a big thanks to my pal […]

My Favorite New Amps: Carr Skylark & Lincoln

Carr Lincoln and Skylark amps.

I’ve been using my Carr Skylark amp incessantly for the last 18 months or so. I’d originally reviewed it for Premier Guitar magazine, and then I bought one for myself. I dig the fact that, while Skylark is inspired by 1960s Fender amps, builder Steve Carr made numerous […]

“Eleanor Rigby” Rehearsal

Lucky me: I just started rehearsing for a duo project with one of my guitar heroes, the brilliant Mark Goldenberg. Here’s a run-through of “Eleanor Rigby,” one of the tunes we’re working on. It’s pretty rough still, and the recording quality ain’t great. But I love Mark’s playing so much here that I couldn’t resist […]

Cult Is Coming!

Of the four pedals new I announced at NAMM, Cult is probably closest to my heart— it’s my favorite overdrive circuit. If you’ve watched many of my videos, you’ve heard it. I even built it into a few guitars, including this one, this one, this one, and this one. And now Cult is coming […]

NAMM and Not NAMM 2016

How to tell holiday season is officially over: It’s time for NAMM 2016! And this will be the first time I attend not as a music magazine writer, but as a guy trying to sell guitar pedals. Or as Ray Liotta put it in Goodfellas: “Just another schnook.”

Not like I can afford a proper […]

Filth Fuzz is (Almost) Here …

My Filth Fuzz pedal is finally in production and will be shipping within a few weeks. It’s one of three new pedals I’ll be showing at this week’s NAMM show in Anaheim, California. I just finished the demo video, and I’m stoked about how it’s sounding.

I’ll also be debuting three other new pedals: […]

My Brushes with Bowie

My morning, like everyone’s, started with a devastating gut-punch: “David Bowie died.”

I can’t say I knew Bowie, but I was lucky enough to spend a few hours with him back in the ’90s. And he was every bit as cool as his music.

I’d done a Guitar Player interview with Reeves Gabrels after the […]

Mastur Class!

Happy 2016! I hope everyone’s holidays were epic, and that you got lots of good stuff.

There’s no better way to ring in the new year than to highlight the … um … peculiar culture that somehow got attached to our instrument. You can’t make this shit up.

Hard to believe, but […]