Blog: Why My Live Rig Is Pedalboard Based

Why do I have my rig centered around a pedalboard instead of an amp? Read on to find out!

Gear Review: Orange Micro Dark Terror

Street Price: $189 OverviewOrange really revolutionized the amplifier market with its original Orange Tiny Terror series of "lunchbox" style guitar amps.  Typically about the size of a lunchbox, simple controls, lower power, "lunchbox" amps are great bang for the buck as far as portability, tone, and power.  Every manufacturer has a "lunchbox" amp now.  So...

Guitar Memes, Vol 1

In addition to guitar, I love comedy too. Every now and then I try my hand at memes. Here are some of the ones I've made. Anyways, be sure to follow my social media's to catch these puppies fresh out of the oven when they pop in my mind. Cheers, Chuck Support This Blog Each...

Contrarian Guitarist: I Actually Like Solid State Amps

I don’t think solid state amps deserve the bad rap they get. Here’s why

How Many Watts Does Your Guitar Amp Actually Need? (At Least In My Opinion)

This week in the blog, I take a realistic exploration of how many watts I think you really need for your guitar amps.

NAMM 2019 Gear Announcements That Excite Me, Pt 1

Hotone Ampero While this was apparently announced last year at Shanghai Music China 2018, it is being announced in the US.  It's being touted as a budget competitor to Line 6's Helix series.  At an approximate price point of $300 (I can't find much pricing info so far..), It has 24 bit processing, dual processors,...

Tone Tip: Low To No Volume Practice

As I've gotten older, it seems like my guitar playing needs to be quieter and quieter.  As a teenager, I'm surprised my parents even tolerated the volumes I would play at all the time.  When my wife and I moved into our first house, we had very close neighbors.  So that was the first detriment...

New Gear That Excites Me: Boss Nextone Amp

Welcome to the inaugural installment of "New Gear That Excites Me."  As gear companies release new gear, I'll try to share with you the gear that catches my attention and gives me a major case of GAS.  Today Boss announced their new Nextone line of amps.  It utilizes Roland's "Tube Logic" technology, a marriage of...

Gear Review: Bugera G5 INFINIUM

Street Price: $249.99 The Bugera G5 Infinium head, to me, is the ultimate bedroom amp.   I feel like the G5 often gets overshadowed by its one-trick-pony cousin, the V5 combo, but for similar money, this head outshines the V5 in almost every way.  It is a Class A tube amplifier powered by 12BH7 power tube...