“Our product is made with the highest quality stuff,” Jeff tells me in this 4OnTheFloor podcast episode. “We didn’t pull any punches. We didn’t cut any corners…I want to believe in what I’m doing. If you’re going to build something and you’re going to take shortcuts, and try cheapen it up, eventually people find out.”

We’re also enamored with Jeff and Dave’s generosity! In this interview we announce a new joint project between Re-Axe and GearPipe, to benefit our Pick Education program. Starting today, Re-Axe will be selling a GearPipe-branded Axe-Hander. Sold at $17.95 (the same price as a standard Axe-Handler), the GearPipe Axe-Handler will come packaged with three GearPipe picks, in your choice of thickness. PLUS, from each sale, $3.00 will go to fund Pick Education, and I will donate three picks to the current week’s music ed program partner.

GearPipe Axe-Hander portable guitar stands will be sold directly on the Re-Axe website.

That’s why members of the three man band (Tony Karlsson, Bobby Amaro, and Dave Mattera) volunteer at Washington Middle School, along with community centers and other schools in La Habra, California, teaching students to play music.

The band speaks at a school about the importance of music education programs

The issue in La Habra, like many other communities across the country, is a lack of funding for music education classes and supplies. The band teaches for free on their own instruments because, although the school has some acoustic guitars, most don’t have strings. There are virtually no extra picks or accessories for the kids to use.

Now, in addition to teaching, Tony, Bobby, and Dave have taken on the added challenge of raising funds for the gear these kids need to learn their instruments. For example, the band recently played a show at a bowling alley, and much of the money taken in at the door will be used to buy guitar strings. They are also working with a local music store to match their donation.

Drummer Bobby Amaro watches over a "drum-off"

They’re making such a difference that they’ve gotten the attention of the Chamber of Commerce for the city of La Habra and Orange County, plus a few local politicians. They are now working together to get more music education programs started up at other area schools.

This is an incredibly inspiring story, which is why we are excited to team up with Nude as this week’s Pick Education partner. Through midnight on May 20th, for each guitar pick sold in the GearPipe Shop, we will donate one pick to the kids of Washington Middle School and La Habra.

If you’re new to GearPipe, here are a few suggestions:

Singer Tony Karlsson works with a student on his chord changes

I took pretty much everything we sell in the GearPipe Shop (all three items) and threw them together in a box (actually, placed them nicely in a poster tube), and cut the price a bit.

Buy the new Pick & Poster Pleasure Pack, just $25, and you will receive:

The “Trustworthiness of Guitars” poster, one of our most popular items, was designed by renowned poster artist Chris Gregori. Chris has crafted concert posters for Freelance Whales and Leftover Salmon, among others, and has provided illustrations for Daytrotter. This 8.5″ x 39″ high quality poster is printed on 100 lb. matte finished poster stock using brilliantly colored inks.

Along with the poster, you’ll score 36 GearPipe Classic Guitar Picks. Manufactured in the USA out of the highest quality celluloid, GearPipe picks are available in your choice of thin, medium, or heavy, with the GearPipe.com logo stamped in gold.

But that’s not all! We’ll also throw in four GearPipe Guitar Pick Refrigerator Magnets. These industrial strength magnets will not only hold years of report cards up on the ol’ Frigidaire, but will serve as emergency plectrums when all other picks have mysteriously disappeared under the couch cushions.

Order now and this collection of GearPipe swag, already sold at an insanely discounted price, will include a heavy-duty, GearPipe sticker. This is no cheapy. This sticker includes a hard core sticky icky backside, plus a laminated top coat for serious strength, whether affixed to your road case or Trapper Keeper.

Oh…and this order qualifies for our Pick Education program. With each Pick & Poster Pleasure Pack order, we’ll donate 40 GearPipe guitar picks to our current partner.

As a refresher, Pick Education program lets all musicians give back, just a little bit. It’s no secret music education funding has been cut drastically in schools across the country, and all of us are going to have to pull together to give today’s kids the opportunity to play music. At GearPipe, we take this challenge seriously. That’s why, for each GearPipe guitar pick sold, we will donate one pick to a music education program for kids in need of musical tools. It’s a small thing, but together we can keep music alive for the next generation.

I’m very excited to announce our first partner, Musical Directions, which is run by GearPipe reader Jeffrey Vastine.

Located in East Saint Louis, Musical Directions is part of the Love’s Peaceful Rain organization. Started shortly after 9/11, this program’s goal is to help the youth in East Saint Louis. As Jeffrey put it, many seem to be lost and without direction in life, a situation that was amplified by the fear and uncertainty of that period.

Musical Directions uses the natural gifts and talents of each individual to do everything from the design and creation of instruments, creating and recording music, to promotion and airplay. The organization works with both urban and suburban youth of all races, creeds, and religions. To participate in Musical Directions, kids are required to remain in school and if they have a GED or diploma, they must seek some form of secondary education. They provide tutoring services and use those who exhibit a higher academic propensity to tutor those who are struggling, which demonstrates how humanity will benefit from people working together in cooperation.

Currently working out of houses and using the shops of friends, the outreach is in the process of trying to find a building, which would include a woodworking shop, metalworking shop, electronics lab, computer lab, video lab, and a studio.

Through midnight, May 13, 2012, for each guitar pick sold we will donate one pick to Musical Directions. Thanks for your support!

That’s all well and good, but I like products that understand who we really are. “Sometimes you’re lazy and lean your $2,000 guitar up against your amp instead of cradling it in a stand.” Or “You tend to leave your guitar stand at home because you’ve got enough stuff to carry to a gig and the stand just doesn’t fit in your gig bag.”

Sound familiar?

The Axe-Handler portable guitar stand, the first product from Re-Axe Products, understands the real you. The designers took a real problem – delicate instruments in a dangerous world – and made things a bit safer for your guitar.

The product itself is very simple. Weighing in at about a pound, the metal plate at the core of the Axe-Handler is surrounded by rubber. At the end that holds the guitar, a long rubber edge hangs over the table or amp to keep the Axe-Handler in place, while more rubber extends from either side to keep the guitar neck sturdy.

The Axe-Handler is extremely compact – small enough to fit in the back of your amp, your guitar case, or even your pocket. And at $17.95, this product is cheap enough to have a few lying around in strategic spots. Think of it as a $18 insurance policy!

The guys at Re-Axe sent me an Axe-Handler for review, and overall it works like a charm! It’s certainly heavy enough to stay put, and the rubber grips the neck for extra security. I did feel a bit more secure when the Axe-Handler was higher off the ground. For example, it seemed sturdier placed on a high chair or low table vs my amp.

The one warning I would attach to this product is that it works much, much better on carpet than hardwood floors. When your amp or table is sitting on carpet, the guitar’s strap button is able to dig into the carpet, giving it extra grip to prevent sliding. On carpet I felt very confident that my guitar was safe. On a wood floor, the strap button didn’t have that grip and tended to slide out from beneath the guitar. This got worse the greater the angle of the guitar’s lean.

If I had a wish list for the next iteration of this product, I would make two suggestions. First, I think some sort of strap that fits around the neck would give me some extra piece of mind. Second – and this might be something that no one would actually use (see laziness above) – perhaps an extra rubber piece that fits over the strap button would keep the guitar from sliding on non-carpeted floors.

All-in-all, this is a great new product that fills a void! If you’re interested in buying an Axe-Handler, they can be purchased on the Re-Axe website.

I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t disappointed. We could have done a lot of good with the $2,500 prize, but it was not meant to be. Nevertheless, I think this program’s potential for good is too great to ignore, and I think now is the time in my life to start giving back.

Today is my 35th birthday, which demands reflection. I live a wonderful life. I have a loving partner. Her and I live in a nice house in a great neighborhood in a wonderful city. We have our health, great friends, and two odd, yet loving, dogs.

But I don’t perform many selfless acts, and I think this is my opportunity. Playing music is important to me, and I think it’s helped shape who I am today. I want to focus my life on giving kids the musical opportunities I had when I was growing up.

On that note, I am announcing that we will move forward with Pick Education. Expect an official launch in the next few weeks. We will be featuring the “get one, give one” model with guitar picks and, with luck, a surprise partner.

Stay tuned for more and thank for your support!

– Jeremy

The descriptions below are from Josh. Make sure you click on the thumbnails for full-sized photos. Awesome stuff!!!

#1Black Cherry double rack space with baffled ported backrest…This is my favorite Atlas Stand of all time because of the way it made my amp sound. Bottom line is if it doesn’t sound good it won’t make the list, but this one sounded the absolute best. It has a thin back panel that redirects the sound out of the back of the amp downward and then the sound bounces out from under the stand in all directions. It added the best full punch and warmest natural tones to my amp that I’ve ever heard.

#2 Black Walnut studio with spiderweb graphics and illuminated red and blue 3D logo. This stand takes second. The spider web graphics were applied by spraying a real spider web with paint and draping the wood through it to transfer the web directly to the wood, then a clear coat was immediately applied to get the web to soak into the pores of the wood. The logo was melted into plexiglass and is illuminated by blue and red LEDs that work off button cell batteries. It was a super cool stand.

#3 Curly Maple Low Rider with Guitar Stand and Table Top. Due to the AAAA grade wood used for this stand, and the fact that it was built to match a Fender cab made of the same wood, not to mention it has a killer guitar stand and table top that match as well, this is #3.

#4 Black Walnut Studio…This was the first “featherweight” studio I built. It weighed less than 7 pounds when it was done and was so easy to carry, yet it still easily held 300+ pounds of weight. I fell in love with this stand, it was the first stand to have a two panel seat to cut down on weight. Now we regularly use two book matched panels for the seats of the stands.

#5 Butternut and Walnut Studio. This was the first stand that had a mic attachment. It may look heavy but it is actually super light weight due to the type of wood used. I think it looks like a battle tank. I can’t wait to build another one. This is the first studio with a double T’ed Backrest as well.

#6 Cherry, Butternut, and Mahogany Low Rider…this stand is in the top ten because of its awesome assembly. I just love the way it looks, and it reminds me of a ’50s cafe or diner, or a classic car.

#7Butternut Low Rider with Table Top…this stand weighed practically nothing, and it had some of the most beautiful lines and I accented it with Walnut. If I had a Low Rider to gig with this would be it.

#8 Butternut Low Rider to fit multiple amps. This is a workhorse amp stand. The backrest actually slides off and turns around so that smaller amps can be used with it as well. The guy who had it built plays 250 shows a year! It is the first and only stand made this way so far. A great stand!

#9 Ambrosia Maple Single Rack Unit with fold out pedal board – This is just a sweet stand all around. It was the first pedal board design I built, it protects the pedals when closed and fits a specific power conditioner as well. The finish on it was like a mirror when I finished it.

#10 Pecan Studio – This stand was amazing. It had such a solid feel and sound to it, it was the first studio that received curved panels. This is in the top ten because I just love the way it looked and sounded after it was complete. Pecan and Hickory are amazing hardwoods.

Josh has done just that. In less that a year since announcing his first products to the public, custom designed hardwood amplifier stands, Josh and partner John Schramlin have created excitement in what was a stale and static product category.

When I asked Josh why he started Atlas, he described more of a calling than solely a means to pay his mortgage. “I bought myself a really, really nice tube amp two years ago and realized I didn’t have anything nice to put it on. When you’re searching for your tone for 20 years, and you finally find it, you don’t want to put your Ferrari on steel wheels.”

Fuzz Box Girl is recovering, but as one of the many Americans without health insurance, her medical bills are piling up. In a nice twist to this unfortunate story, she’d written on her Facebook page about a band called The Broken Places, whose Christmas album she’s been enjoying during her recovery. The band saw the post, and offered to donate all of their December album sales to help her pay for medical bills. Fuzz Box Girl said it’s “sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me,” and I agree it’s a very generous gesture.

I will be purchasing a copy of the album, called Spirited. If you’re interested, check it out on iTunes.

Chris & Rich Rice

In this 4OnTheFloor podcast interview, we discussed their philosophies on guitar making, the challenges that come along the way, and what it means to them to be a true custom shop.

Chris Rice told me “when they’re finished, they feel and sound so different. It doesn’t feel like a parts guitar. It’s a crap shoot when you’re building a guitar from aftermarket parts, but when you’re building a guitar from the ground up, you have an end goal in your sight, and you do everything to get there.”

Although in the past 10-20 years we’ve seen a onslaught of great bass-centric effects pedals, Chad’s advice is to throw the rules out the window and experiment.

“My whole thing is I just recommend trying whatever you want…whatever works, and there will probably be some guitar effects you want to use on your bass. But really they’re just stompboxes, they’re effects pedals, and they’re pretty much up for grabs to anybody who wants to incorporate them into their playing, developing their tone.”

When our conversation turned to design philosophy, it was obvious that, although he certainly has the technical chops to invent radical new sounds, Spencer has a soft spot — and passion — for perfecting more traditional effects.

“People tend to like things that are more on the familiar side. So the effects that tend to be the most popular are the ones that are pretty heavily based on older stuff. But it can be a lot of fun to try new things!”

Cory from Prymaxe carries just about every quality pedal known to man, and he wants you to have some extra incentive to give him a call or click to his site, an extra 10% off your next pedal purchase, excluding Fulltone and Tech 21 products.

This is only good on one purchase, so make it count! To take advantage of this generous offer, just use the coupon code GiveME10Off when checking out.

In a previous post, The Cellist of Sarajevo, I described how one Bosnian man became a symbol of peace and hope in a country devastated by war. He defied the violence, tragedy, and hopelessness surrounding him and transcended his reality with the use of a single instrument, his cello. He also has emphasized a profound, grander concept. Music is powerful.

It can elicit latent emotion, enhance an already present emotion, describe feelings you may not know how to articulate, and draw you out of a current time and space into an alternate reality. Just look closely at any musicians’ faces as they play their instruments. It doesn’t matter what instrument, it is obvious they are passionate about and moved deeply by what they are playing. They are raw, unguarded, and connected with their core. Consequently, we can connect with them on a personal level. This association is so potent and commanding, people spend valuable time and money chasing it for months, or even years, at a time. Watch this short video and examine the musicians as they play, but more importantly, actually feel the emotions this raises. Connect with yourself.

Music also requires and coerces collaboration. I find the best collaborations to be unexpected and unusual because, if executed in a careful manner, these are what can result in the most beautiful, harmonious, creative outcomes. Think of two artists you were surprised to see work together, but ended up producing music that was reminiscent of them both, yet created a novel, unique sound and vision. Personally, one of the best examples of this Alison Krause and Robert Plant’s Grammy-winning collaboration Raising Sand. These artists both have roots in blues and folk, but took alternate routes when it came to their distinct musical sounds. However, this album exemplifies what can emerge from attempting something different, from not taking the obvious route, and working together with someone you never thought you could or would. Listen to this one song off of this inspiring and interesting album.

Ask people what they can’t live without and, besides the obvious, I bet most of them will say music. Although we all have personal tastes and opinions about our choices in music, it is still one of the world’s ultimate unifiers. It has the ability to take individual, completely different units and transform them into a cohesive, beautiful whole. This statement is true for both individual instruments in a band or autonomous members of society.

Like music, building lasting peace requires being raw and unguarded with your emotions and unexpected collaborations. See what happens when you let your guard down and reach out to someone unanticipated, it could fail miserably, but it could be one of the best choices you have ever made.

I don’t really know how to play this thing, but I absolutely want it! D’Addario is giving away an NS NXT4 electric double bass guitar, worth $1,695, along with a bunch of strings and accessories.

This is a great instrument, and the contest winner is going to be one very happy person!

The Axe Balancer is a product that claims to keep your guitar or bass in playing position at all times. Looks cool, but does it work? You could find out if you win the Reverend Guitars Dub King Bass that the company is giving away.

Guitarists love to drool over expensive instruments and amps, but the truth of the matter is our cash most often goes toward strings and picks. JustStrings.com is here to lighten the load!

Enter to win a $300 coupon towards the purchase and shipment of any combination of string and accessory products at their online store.

Click Here to Enter

I don’t think I have to tell you how awesome Peterson Tuners are, but they are awesome. Peterson recently introduced the Stomp Classics – “the only foot pedal strobe tuner that combines the iconic look of the legendary Conn ST-11 Strobotuner with the convenience, reliability and portability of a rugged floor device.”

Sound good? Enter to win 1 of the 3 Stomp Classics that are being given away. BTW…this is a worldwide giveaway.

Click Here to Enter

It’s nice to see an uptick in bass giveaways. In the past week we had the chance to win entire bass amp rigs from Ampeg and TC Electronic. Here’s a chance to win something that could drive your current amp!

Enter to win a Lakland Skyline 55-02 Deluxe bass guitar with quilt top and rosewood fingerboard from Premier Guitar.

Click Here to Enter

Here’s the back story. I used to buy picks for a major guitar manufacturer (who sells a similar looking pick…can you guess?), so I have relationships with many factories. My guitar pick factory was kind enough to let me print a small run of picks with the GearPipe logo, made from the same high-quality celluloid that the other company uses.

The BH500 is one of the newest bass amps offered by TC Electronic. It’s gotten rave reviews, and now you have a chance ton win one of these powerhouses.

Enter to win a TC BH500 bass head, signed Uriah Duffy, KenKen, and Frowin Ickler.

Click Here to Enter

This is a really killer giveaway for the men and women who hold down the low end. If you do play bass, you know Victor Wooten is awesome. That goes unsaid (although I just said it). You know what would make you sound EXACTLY like him? His amp.

Enter to win a Hartke LH1000 amp, 4×10 cab and a HyDrive 1×15 cab. Just like Vic plays!

Click Here to Enter

I have to admit, I still get chills when I listen to “Appetite for Destruction.” Since leaving the band, GnR’s bassist, Duff McKagan, has stayed busy!

To celebrate the launch of his new album “The Taking,” Fender is giving away an autographed signature model Duff McKagan P Bass and a copy of the album.

Click Here to Enter

It’s tough to please everyone. I post a guitar giveaway, bassists feel left out. Hook up the bass players? Guitarists get all emo on me. Today’s giveaway will satisfy both of you.

Ampeg is giving one lucky person a PF-500 bass head & PF-210HE bass enclosure for the guy holding down the low end, and GVT52-212 amp for the guitarist. Total value: $1699.97.

Click Here to Enter

If you’ve been around for a while, you’ve seen some amazing instruments given away. But have you had the chance to build your own custom instrument from the ground up?

No treble is giving one very lucky person the chance to build their own custom bass guitar from Ansir Music. This is a totally custom bass built with Ansir’s custom angled neck, worth $2,000!

Click Here to Enter

Win this!!!

The Rules:

• Must be 13 years of age or older to enter
• This is a worldwide giveaway
• Entry deadline is April 14, 2011, at 11:59:59 PM, Mountain Time

Here’s a better look a the baseball:

Limited-Edition Fender Baseball

Today David let us know he won last week’s Reunion Blues electric guitar case giveaway. Congrats to him!

If you’re a bassist, this is your week! Enter for a chance to win a Reunion Blues Continental RBB4 electric bass guitar case.

Click Here to Enter

Unlike many Guitar Center coupon codes, this discount can be taken online, in-store, or over the phone. Just follow the link below to print off your coupon.

Recently, bassist Tony Levin, Ampeg Artist Relations Manager Chrys Johnson, and Ampeg Senior Product Specialist Dino Monoxelos met with Jess Oliver, the man behind the Ampeg B-15, at his Massapequa Park, Long Island home.

Oliver tells us how he first got a job with Ampeg, why Ampeg founder Everett Hull would not allow Oliver to use a Fender electric bass to develop the B-15, and talks about his role in the development of the Ampeg B-15R reissue.

Check out the entire interview from Bass Player magazine.

Electro-Harmonix Big Muff

For those under age 70, the sound of a distorted guitar might as well be violins. This “broken” sound is so natural to us, most can’t imagine popular music — especially rock — without it.

Fuzz (being different than distortion or overdrive…hang with me), is fifty! And to celebrate? We shall talk and write articles about this event. Check out fuzz connoisseur William Weir’s article in The Atlantic, “50 Years of Making Fuzz, the Sound That Defines Rock ‘n’ Roll.” This article includes some great sound samples of early fuzz adopters.

Also, from WNYC Public Radio, an excellent conversation with Weir and Mike Matthews, founder of Electro-Harmonix, who talks about the fuzz boxes he’s been building since 1969, including the ever-popular Big Muff.

Here’s another giveaway that I’m catching on the tail end. Go like the Reunion Blues Gig Bags Facebook page, and you could win a free bag (they have a bunch of different instrument bags). Saturday is the last day of this promotion.

Click Here to Enter

I woke up this morning with WAY too many giveaways bookmarked. I usually post one per day, but there were just too many great contests. So, I am making today effects pedal giveaway Wednesday.  Here’s what we’ve got:

Our first pedal giveaway today is not an FX pedal, but a stompbox all the same. Head over to The Soundcheck Sessions for a chance to win a TC Electronic PolyTune pedal tuner. Click Here to Enter

This is a killer boutique pedal giveaway from What’s That Dude Play?. Enter to win a Rockbox Electronics Red Dog Overdrive pedal. Sweet! Click Here to Enter

Here’s another TC Electronic giveaway. Enter to win a Nova System signed by Jess Hughes of Eagles of Death Metal. Click Here to Enter

Of all the pedal giveaways I’m posting today, this is the only one you have to work for. But, even if you lose you get to download a free backing track to jam along with. If you do win, you’ll score a Morley Mark Tremonti Patriotic wah pedal. Click Here to Enter

Another killer pedal giveaway (when will they end???)! Humbucker Music is giving away a Fulltone Catalyst Fuzz Pedal. Get on this, people! Click Here to Enter

What a day, yes? This is it, the final pedal giveaway of the day (and the most unique!). To celebrate the release of the new documentary “Cry Baby: The Pedal That Rocks The World,” Jim Dunlop Guitar Products is giving away a very rare Cry Baby wah pedal encrusted with approximately 5,500 Swarvorski stones. Bling! Click Here to Enter

And don’t forget I’m giving away over $1,200 in effects pedals and accessories. Click Here to Enter!

Bass guitar giveaways are good. So are one-of-a-kind instruments. Today you have a chance to pick up a Fender Jazz Bass. Not just any jazz, though! This one is hand painted by Emma Richardson of Band of Skulls.

Click Here to Enter

If you often find yourself surrounded by a sea of pedals and a wall of sound, this giveaway is for you! I’ve assembled a package of products from some of the most innovating gear manufacturers on earth, and it’s all going to one lucky person.

Up for grabs in the ‘Ultimate Shoegazer Giveaway’ is:

Tweet for another chance to win

Want a second chance at all this gear? Just tweet a link to this page. You can either click the Tweet button below or tweet this message (feel free to edit the tweet, but you’ll need to keep the hashtag & link to be entered in the giveaway):

Learn More About the Gear in this Giveaway

GCB95 Crybaby Wah Wah Pedal

When people talk about wah-wah pedals, they’re talking about the Cry Baby Wahs. This is the one that created some of the most timeless sounds in rock. The pedal that would eventually become the Cry Baby was first created in 1966 by engineers at the Thomas Organ Company. This new and expressive effect was an instant hit with players like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, who have contributed to the Cry Baby Wah’s huge popularity to this day. While other effects have come and gone, the Cry Baby Wah just keeps getting better with age.

MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay Pedal

Go from crisp “bathroom” slap echoes to epic, Gilmouresque delays with the MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay. Featuring 600ms of delay time with optional modulation, and a three-knob layout that controls Delay, Mix, and Regen. In addition, there are two internal trim pots that offer user-adjustable width and rate control of the modulation for even more tonal options. All done by a completely analog audio path for authentic rich, warm analog delay—made possible only by old-school analog bucket brigade technology.

Way Huge Green Rhino Overdrive Pedal

The legendary Way Huge Green Rhino has returned! The Mk II has all the gorgeous classic overdrive that you crave but it has evolved to include cool new features that make it even more rhinoceriffic. In addition to the Volume, Tone, and Drive controls, you get a 100Hz EQ knob to cut or boost your low end by 12dB. Your low notes can either shake the ground like a stampede across the savannah or cut through the mix like a charging rhino’s horn. This pachyderm of a pedal also sports a Curve control to fine-tune the corner frequencies of your tone. All this amazing tone shaping makes other overdrives seem boring and one-dimensional by comparison. In front of a clean amp, with the Volume and Drive set at noon, you can go from pristine purity to a punchy, dynamic rhythm tone. Set the Drive low and crank the Volume and add tons of boost to wallop the input of any amp. Turn up the Drive control with the Rhino in front of a distorted channel and hear more gain and sustain than you ever thought your amp was capable of. And no matter how you use it, the Green Rhino Mk II will deliver clean operation, quiet relay-based true-bypass switching, and the rock-solid construction that Way Huge is famous for.

Visit Website

Pedaltrain 2 + Gig Bag

The Pedaltrain 2 is Pedaltrain’s most popular model. This unit will easily hold a wah and a dozen standard sized stomp boxes. The Pedaltrain 2 comes with a tough cordura nylon gig bag with highly protective panels incorporated into the top and bottom of the case to keep those valuable pedals safe.

These revolutionary pedalboards are made of welded aluminum alloy tubing to ensure that every Pedaltrain is as strong and lightweight as possible. There are no moving parts to loosen or wear out. A durable powder coat finish ensures your Pedaltrain will look great and last a lifetime.

Visit Website

Bullet Cable SLUG Connector Kit

Clean up your tone and your pedal board with the Bullet Cable SLUG™ connector kit. SLUG™ angle block connects jack to barrel keeping effects close. Pre-gauged hex grounding screw guarantees fault-free connections.

The SLUG™ Connector kit is the perfect answer to pedal board and rig setups requiring tight pedal spacing and dependable signal delivery for your performance.

Kit includes: 10 SLUG™ Angle Connectors, hex key, 10 ft / 3.05 m DIY Cable, Bullet Cable Sticker, and instructions.

SLUG™ Angle Connector features:

Bullet Cable DIY Cable features:

Sanyo Pedal Juice Rechargeable 9V Power Source

The Sanyo KBC-9V3U Pedal Juice™ is equipped with high-capacity Sanyo eneloop rechargeable lithium-ion battery technology which provides stable, long-lasting 9V power for music effects devices. Power to the Pedal!

For more than 35 years, Sanyo has pushed the envelope in the development of rechargeable battery technology. Today, Sanyo is recognized as the leading manufacturer of Li-Ion batteries in the world. Sanyo battery products are used for many commercial/industrial applications ranging from automotive, power tools, portable computers and telecommunications. Pedal Juice is built upon this legacy of industry leadership.

For more info, check out my Sanyo Pedal Juice review.

Visit Website

Power-All Power-Grip Pedal Board Tape

For the best Pedalboard Velcro Alternative try Power-All® Power-Grip! Simple yet ingenious, Power-Grip pedal board tape mates to itself via rows of tiny mushroom-shaped posts that form a much stronger bond than traditional “hook & loop” velcro fasteners. Just cut to size, apply, and GRIP!

POWER-GRIP is the best Solution for your securing your guitar pedals to your pedalboard (No Hype).

Watch this video and see the comparison for yourself.

Visit Website

There’s a lot of black magic in the audio cable business, and I always cringe when manufactures up-charge for features you’ll never hear. This is one reason I’ve always respected Ted. The guy makes great sounding, tough as nails cables, and found a way to make guitar cables cool, something that had rarely been done previously.

At Winter NAMM 2011, Bullet Cable introduced a new DIY patch cable kit, the SLUG Connector Kit. SLUG is far from the first solder-free patch cable kit on the market, but I think it’s the easiest to use, and the highest quality. Each SLUG connector only measures .470″ wide, smaller than other connectors on the market. Important? If you have a pedalboard, you know every fraction of an inch matters.

Each kit comes with 10 feet of cable, 10 SLUG right angle connectors, and the hex key you’ll need to build the cables. And building one of these cables is so simple! You stick the wire in the connector and tighten the hex grounding screw on the side of the plug (come to think of it, I have more confidence in this set screw than I do a fragile solder joint). That’s all there is to it!

In fact, Ted challenged me to build a cable in under one minute. His time is 48 seconds. Let’s see if I can do it!

So what’s the Pedal Juice all about? Taking a cue from the product’s Apple-inspired look, the Pedal Juice could not be simpler to use. Unbox the Pedal Juice; charge it for a few hours; plug it into your pedals. That’s it!

Depending on the number of pedals in your set-up the Pedal Juice can go up to 50 hours before a recharge is needed. You might be looking at the photo and thinking that you can only power two pedals at once (the third jack is used to charge the Pedal Juice). This is where that perfectly simple design comes in. If you have a large pedal board, position the Pedal Juice in the middle and daisy chain jumper cables to power the individual pedals (Godlylke’s Power-All cables would be perfect).

We now know the Pedal Juice is convenient, but is it better than just using the 9V power adapters that came with your pedals? In many cases, yes.

These days I do more remote recording that playing, where ground loop noise can be a big problem, so I was really excited at the notion of powering my digital recorders with the Pedal Juice. A few times a year I’ll record at conferences where audio lines from many rooms are pulled into a central location. In some of the older convention centers, ground loops can be huge obstacles for recording a clean, quiet signal. In fact, last year I recorded an event where the buzz was so bad, I had to run a dozen recorders on batteries for three days. Even with the Pedal Juice’s $150 price tag, this would have been a steal considering the small fortune I spent on AA batteries!

This brings me to my one small beef with the Pedal Juice. Although it is promoted as a power source for “portable recording devices,” the included cables don’t fit my recorders’ smaller-than-a-pedal’s 9V jacks. A bummer! I record on an Edirol R-09 and Tascam D-07, which are industry standard. However, I’m assuming this problem could be solved by hunting down the right 9V jumper cables.

Sanyo Pedal Juice with Fender Blender Custom & Fender PT100 Tuner

Without the chance to try the Pedal Juice on a recording session, I plugged in a few pedals. It works exactly as expected! The whisper-quiet performance provided a nice change from the sometimes noisy AC in my 80-year-old apartment. I left the pedals on all day and the LED indicator never even turned from green to red, noting 30-60% power left.

In all, I think the Pedal Juice is a great product for any musician to keep in his or her toolbox!

Thanks to customguitarboutique.com, one of you could score a killer cable without shelling out a dollar. This month, the online retailer is giving away a $50 David Laboga guitar cable.

They are giving you two ways to enter this giveaway. First, you can simply “Like” their Facebook page and post “David Laboga Cables wanted” on their wall. Double your chances of winning by emailing them directly at mailinglist@customguitarboutique.com with “David Laboga Cables wanted” as the subject line.

A bit about David Laboga guitar cables:

Entry Deadline: February 27, 2011

Click Here to Enter

Here’s the second Sanyo Pedal Juice giveaway we’ve seen in the past few weeks (and I might just know of another coming up!). This time it’s from Peter at I Heart Guitar. Peter lives in Australia, so I’m assuming this is a worldwide giveaway. Good luck!

Click Here to Enter

We’re going for two TC Electronic giveaways in two days, this time for the bassists!

Website No Treble is giving away a BG500 bass amp worth $999. But, they will also announce four first prize winners who will each score one of two TC Electronic PolyTune tuners, a Nova Delay pedal or a Nova Repeater pedal.

Click Here to Enter

The Taffy Box, an online store specializing in unique gifts, is going to give one lucky person a metal guitar pick (their choice of aluminum, copper, nickel or brass), hand stamped with “I Pick You.” Clever, yes? I think this is a great gift, either to or from a musician, or for any couple who shares a love of music between them.

So, what do you have to do? I’m going to make this really easy! Head over to the GearGiveaway365 Facebook page and, on the post about this contest, leave a comment. Tell us why you think you should win the pick. Who’s it for? Why would it mean something to them? Then, everyone else will “like” the comments of those they feel are deserving of this prize. The person whose comment gets the most “likes” wins. Simple as that!

Entry Deadline: January 30, 2011, 5:00 PM MST

Eligibility: Worldwide Giveaway

Get It: Click Here to Enter

For daily links to musical instruments giveaways, make sure you follow me on Twitter or become a fan of my Facebook Page.

You might not be into classic, thumping, pound-your-chest bass tones. Oh…you are? Then read on.

Ampeg is giving away a Portaflex bass set-up, including a PF350 (350 solid state watts) head and PF115HLF (Eminence 15” driver) speaker cabinet. This killer bass rig is worth $1079!

Click Here to Enter

One of you will be saying goodbye to batteries!

Pedal Nerd is giving away a Sanyo Pedal Juice, which is a rechargeable mobile power supply that can charge your entire pedalboard at the same time. A Pedal Juice until usually sells for $150, but you just have to become a fan of the Pedal Nerd Facebook page to enter this giveaway.

Click Here to Enter

But, you probably know that I am extremely dependable when it comes to posting gear giveaways on Facebook and Twitter (and more recently, Tumblr). In fact, I started GearGiveaway365 over a year ago and have only missed a few days (he says as he pats himself on the back).

Not only that, but dozens of people have won gear. My guess is that members of the group have scored over $20,000 in musical instruments.

Since I know how to keep with a good thing, I’ve now added an email newsletter to the mix. I’m offering a daily email, which will be delivered each morning and will include a link directly to the giveaway sign-up page. Or, if you’re pretty good about following this already, get the weekly digest, just to make sure you don’t miss anything.

Click here to sign up!

It’s been a long time since we’ve had a bass guitar giveaway!

Lace Music is giving away a Helix Bolt-on 4-string bass guitar, a very nice bass that retails for $599. The winner will also be featured in the Lace Artist Gallery for a year. Cool!

Lace is also giving away 8 sets of pickups of …the winner’s choice, for either guitar or bass.

Click Here to Enter

In this GearPipe podcast episode, I speak with Steven Cox, CEO and Founder of TakeLessons, America’s leading source for private music and voice lessons.

We talk about the state of music education, the strict guidelines TakeLessons private instructor applicants are judged on, and even the role Guitar Hero and American Idol have had on music lesson enrollment.

In the end, Steven leaves me with a great deal of hope about the future of music making, telling me that “even if music (education) is cut, what’s really wonderful about music is that this is not going to stop the level of curiosity and the level of interest that people naturally have in music.”

As Christmas rapidly approaches, and gift-buying deadlines loom near, please consider a TakeLessons gift certificate for the young (or old) musicians in your lives. Through December 24th, TakeLessons is offering 30% off all lessons packages.

Want to hear more? Subscribe to GearPipe Podcasts on iTunes!

The legendary rock ‘n’ roll photographer and subject of the new documentary Rock Prophecies shot Led Zeppelin’s first U.S. show at the Whiskey a Go Go in Hollywood. He shot Hendrix AND Stevie Ray Vaughan’s final shows. For over forty years, Knight has been what Rock Prophecies producer Tim Kaiser calls “the Forrest Gump of rock ‘n roll. He just had this knack for being right in the middle of history in the making.”

In this podcast episode Knight tells us that, all things being equal, he prefers when great guitars play a front and center role in these history-making events. “I’m guitar-centric. Everything that I’m really interested in has major great guitar in it, and I wouldn’t photograph bands back in the day that didn’t have good guitar.”

Knight also finds that some legendary guitars have taken center stage in his photographs. “Stevie Ray Vaughan and that beat up old Strat of his. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. The first time I saw Stevie Ray and I saw that guitar, it was like ‘I need to photograph that guitar.’ When I did some studio shoots with Stevie, I asked if I could actually shoot some of the guitars because they almost had their own personality.”

“In a way some of the instruments themselves have become rock stars, like Blackie, Eric Clapton’s guitar, or Eddie Van Halen’s guitar.”

If you’re interested in watching the film (and you should be…it features interviews with and performances by Jeff Beck, ZZ Top, Carlos Santana, Slash, Panic at the Disco, Sick Puppies, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, and Steve Vai, among others), you can buy the DVD on Amazon and many other retailers, or watch for free during September and October on your local PBS station.

Want to hear more? Subscribe to GearPipe Podcasts on iTunes!

Check out the official Rock Prophecies trailer:

YouTube Link

• Save 10% on a single item at Guitar Center. This coupon is good thru 7/31/10, so you have to use it by the end of Saturday. It’s good for a discount of up to $500 on one item. If you’ve been waiting to pull the trigger on a big ticket item, this might be your time!
• Score a FREE Paiste 10′ 2002 Splash Cymbal. Thru 8/31/10, buy a pair of Paiste Hi Hats or a 16′ or larger cymbal from the Twenty, 2002, RUDE, or Giant Beat series from Musicians Friend or Guitar Center and score a free splash cymbal. Download the rebate form here (PDF).
• Fender Original ’57/’62 Stratocaster Pickup Set for just $83.99! This could be a mistake, but The Perfect Guitar has placed this fantastic sounding set of pickups into their clearance center. The regular selling price is $159.99.
• Buy two Audix OM2 Dynamic Vocal Microphones and get a third microphone for FREE from All Pro Sound. MSRP: $447.00. Your Price: $199.00. Save $248!
• Save 64% on an ESP LTD SURVEYOR-414 4-String Electric Bass Guitar. Musicians Friend has a factory restock that’s on sale for $359.00, a savings of $640.00 off the $999.00 retail price.

Here’s Diego to tell us about how he built this instrument:

Few days ago I started thinking about how I could re-purpose the keyboard of the dismantled piano I keep in the garden, so I thought to build a new instrument by combining it with some other parts I had laying around. I ended up with this mechanical hybrid thing I thought to call “Bassoforte” (bass + pianoforte).

The track I created is a tribute to my Dad who is a big fan of Western comic books and “spaghetti western” films, and because of him I am too.

Vimeo Link

The most obvious example to many of us would be rock bands who make the leap form playing clubs to theaters to arenas. When you’re playing a small room, you can play intricate guitar solos and drum fills that would get lost in the reverberation of an building meant to host hockey games. So, as bands play larger rooms, they tend to play less notes, taking advantage of the sound of the rooms they find themselves playing.

This is the easy example that many of us have probably thought about. Byrne runs through some other great examples that may not be as obvious to us. How does the outdoor environment in Africa influence the rich African rhythms? Why did the music of Bach and Mozart differ so much? It may have had quite a bit to do with the rooms they knew they’d be playing their latest pieces in.

Very interesting. I hope you enjoy it!

YouTube Link

Since that time, I’ve gotten to know Ansir Music founder Jody Michael and have been impressed with the passion he has both for craftsmanship and innovation. In addition to his use of the highest quality tonewoods and electronics, Ansir has one thing going for them that no other guitar or bass builder has: a patented technology that builds your personal playing angle into your instrument.

In a nutshell, here’s how it works: You strap on your guitar or bass and it wants to hang parallel to the ground. Unless you’re one of those people who slings your axe down low, this is not how you play. So, you pull up on the neck to get it in the position you’re comfortable playing in, which is not the instrument’s natural position. This has been happening since the beginning of time and I’m sure most of you have given it little thought.

The solution? Build the exact angle that you play the instrument into the guitar or bass. Simple yet brilliant, right? A truly custom instrument.

So, Jody and I were talking one day and he asked me what we could do to make more people aware of this great feature. What we came up with was a way to give everyone out there a free report that provides them with their personal playing angle. It’s pretty simple. All you have to do is strap on your guitar or bass, hold it in playing position, then have someone take a few measurements. Then Jody will crunch the numbers and email you a personal report. No strings attached, just a cool thing to hang on to that will make you a little more aware of how you interact with your instrument. If you’re interested in one of these reports, instructions and an online form are on the Ansir website.

Click here to get your free personal playing angle report from Ansir Music.