Dipped In Tone

Thanks so much to the sponsor of today's episode, Sweetwater! Make sure to check out all the gear we use here and more: https://www.sweetwater.com/shop/dipped-in-tone/

We're back! Rhett just wrapped the biggest touring year of his life — 60 shows, ten months, three continents, including a 31-show fall run with The Midnight he's calling the best tour experience he's ever had. After catching up (GTA 6 hype, a wild Halo community-modding scene, and a cosplay build), a viewer hot take about keeping pedalboards simple turns into a real conversation about knowing your gear inside and out, plus Zach's go-to trick for not freezing up when you sit down with an unfamiliar guitar at a shop. 

Rhett also gets honest about his Mexico fly dates — why a Quad Cortex-based fly rig technically worked but never felt as good on stage as his full amp rig, and what that actually comes down to. We rate a viewer's rig, and Rhett closes with a shill that might be the biggest thing we've talked about all year: community-hacked firmware on his Elektron Octatrack, and an experiment using AI to reverse-engineer 20-year-old hardware so it can run modern amp modeling — and why that might mean your gear never has to become e-waste again.

JOIN US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/dippedintone 

DIPPED IN TONE IS: 

00:00:00 Intro

Gear We Use

Universal Audio Apollo Twin X Duo Gen 2 → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/gRVWQg

Dipped in Tone goes live for the first time at Fretboard Summit 2026 at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. Rhett, Zach, and Addison open with the most interesting things they’ve found at the show: Addison is carrying a limited edition acoustic from a Quebec builder — only 15 made, Adirondack spruce top, maple back and sides, slotted headstock — and it plays warmer and more balanced than it has any right to. Rhett found a fully analog speaker cabinet emulator prototype at the Bartle Amplification booth that looks like it came out of an Abbey Road session circa 1964. Then comes the hot takes — John O’Keefe argues vintage guitars aren’t worth the premium over modern alternatives, a live audience member makes the compelling case that the true sound of rock and roll is amplification rather than guitar or drums, and a second live take on whether music notation is uniquely hard for guitarists gets a detailed rebuttal from Corey Congilio that actually settles it. Four rigs get dipped live: an ambient backyard board with vintage classroom projector cabs, a pristine JM and Alessandro Fiore combo that earns a rare ten, a “trigger warning” rig stuffed with headless guitars and a switcher, and Josh Scott’s expression-pedal-controlled monster board — built during mountain bike crash recovery — with two redacted upcoming JHS releases hiding in plain sight. Jonathan Stout closes the show with the best single take of the day: gear is simultaneously the least and most important thing.

Submit your hot takes: [email protected]

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Affiliate Links

Gibson Custom Shop SG → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/qWq20O

Gear Dipped — Matthew’s rig

Fender Player II Stratocaster → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/X4qXrM

Gear Dipped — Josh Scott’s rig

Gear We Use

Today we're joined by friend of the show  @coreycongilio  A fantastic guitar player and educator with countless gigs under his belt, we dive into to preparing for early days of gigging. The guys walk through some of things you have to do before and during a gig to help be ready, battle nerves, and being a good hang.

Learn more about Corey's Lessons Here https://workingclassguitar.com/

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Timestamps

Rhett and Zach catch up while Rhett is on tour with The Midnight. We dive into all that's going on and go deep on why Zach want's a Pearly Gates Les Paul now that they are coming back. We touch on why Collings are some of the best guitars in the world and much more. 

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Time Stamps

On today's episode, we test out YouTube's new Gemini-powered AI thumbnail generator on a clip of Rhett — and the results are so uncanny that we go on the record: any channel using AI-generated thumbnails or AI B-roll gets an instant "do not recommend" from us. Plus a quick follow-up on the D'Addario/Suno AI controversy, a spicy hot take on whether Stratocasters or Telecasters are more versatile, and an announcement that Fretboard Summit rig-dip submissions are now open to anyone attending in person. Then we get into the real stuff: Addison, Zach, and Rhett each walk through their actual current rigs — Addison's in-ear-monitor church gig board built around a Quad Cortex Mini, Zach's stripped-down Marshall JCM800 and modified Flying V, and Rhett's elaborate Axe-Fx III touring rack built to sound like his records live. We close it out by rating a viewer's wet/dry rig submission from Renan.

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DIPPED IN TONE IS: 

00:00:00 Intro

On today's episode, Rhett gives an update on the AI channel that was impersonating him — it's been taken down, but the bigger story is what's happening across YouTube right now: a cycling channel getting its video ripped off nearly scene-for-scene with AI voiceover, deepfake channels targeting female guitarists, and real creators quietly slipping AI-generated B-roll into otherwise genuine videos. Then a viewer hot take — "guitar culture and music culture aren't the same thing" — kicks off a real, personal conversation about hobbyist vs. professional identity, why we all feel pressure to monetize our passions, and why keeping something just for yourself might be the healthiest thing you can do. Plus a Patreon Q&A on how to find people to jam with if you're not on social media, a round of new music recommendations, an update on our live show at Fretboard Summit in Chicago, and we rate a viewer's genuinely wild daw-less synth-and-guitar rig.

JOIN US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/dippedintone

DIPPED IN TONE IS:

TIMESTAMPS

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On today's episode, Rhett, Zach, and Addison tackle a hot take that gets genuinely spicy: do all guitars actually sound the same? Then Rhett opens up about having his channel ripped off by an AI slop account (and what that's revealed about how broken YouTube's copyright system is), before the three of them dig into the state of the guitar store industry — why local shops are struggling, how Fender's direct-to-consumer push is undercutting its own dealers, the disappearing amp-repair trade, and what shop owners can actually do about it. Plus, an update on our live show at Fretboard Summit in Chicago, and we rate a viewer's rig — Gibson Flying V, Les Paul Jr., Dr. Z amps and all — to one of the highest scores we've ever given.

JOIN US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/dippedintone

DIPPED IN TONE IS:

TIMESTAMPS

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On today's episode, Rhett, Zach, and Addison dig into a stack of Patreon questions: how to properly gainstage your drive pedals into an amp without going harsh and farty, whether the Jazzmaster's bridge design cost it the throne from the Stratocaster, and the non-gear skills every guitar player should be building (learn to solder, learn to play bass, record yourself). Plus, an update on our live show at Fretboard Summit in Chicago, and we rate a viewer's rig — and it does not go well./

JOIN US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/dippedintone

DIPPED IN TONE IS:

00:00:00 Intro

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On Today's episode, Rhett & Zach address one of the biggest questions in tone: does one really need an always on pedal in their rig? 

Big thanks to the sponsor of today's episode, Sweetwater! Make sure to check out all the gear we use here and more: https://www.sweetwater.com/shop/dipped-in-tone/

JOIN US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/dippedintone

DIPPED IN TONE IS:

00:00:00 Intro

BUY COOL GEAR (Affiliate Links):

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The three of us finally get into something that's been on the calendar for a while: what actually makes a good Les Paul. Zach brings out all his Les Pauls, Rhett has his R9, and Addison shows off the 2007 Studio Faded he's had since he was 15. We talk about what to listen and feel for when you're shopping — weight, acoustic resonance, how the D and G strings behave, and why the nut is almost always the reason your Les Paul won't stay in tune. Plus PAF pickup obsession, the case for unpotted pickups, top wrapping, tone woods, and why the inconsistency of Gibsons is a feature, not a bug.

Rig dip goes to Matt, who spent his life working in music stores and trading his way up to a rig that might be the most expensive we've ever seen. 1964 SG, 1957 Strat, 1964 ES-335, 1952 Telecaster, two Two-Rocks, a Friedman, and a pedal board with too much gain?

Thanks so much to the sponsor of today's episode, Sweetwater! Make sure to check out all the gear we use here and more: https://www.sweetwater.com/shop/dipped-in-tone/

Check out our website & merch: https://www.dippedintone.com

Dipped In Tone is:

00:00:00 Intro