Gearbuds

Doing a little grilling today? Kick back and crack a barley pop with Hank and Dave while joined by everyone’s favorite space-shredder, Jason Milbank.

Tall drink of H2O and superhunk Jason regales us with the story of his development in the music world, taking us back to simpler times when playing trumpet was rendered too painful by a mouth full of braces, all the way through to today and working with acts such as Senses Fail, A Wilhelm Scream, and his own project The View, The Life. We talk about launching the Kugescreamer with Chicago Music Exchange and Rigs of Dad, preferring Ernie Ball axes, Evertune, Kemper vs. Axe FX, and even some Disney covers.

We also got into a new Valhalla plugin giveaway, Balthazar Amps Cabaret 13 demos, David Bowie, Bit Brigade Zelda music and video game talks, Guitar Center reopening, and Bach shredding a mean organ.

Say yes to every opportunity, and don’t be an asshole.

Do you enjoy on-demand cat meowing, angry amps catching on fire, and dead-ringer Jersey accents? Duuuuuuh. In this barn-burning episode with singer, songwriter, guitarist, and all-around excellent human Sophia Nadia from Cold Beaches, we’ve got you covered fam.

Our newest bud talks to through her history in music, acting as a cross-country band leader, seeking inspiration and songwriting during the global pandemic, and cloning yourself to make the ultimate band. It wouldn’t be Gearbuds without the nerdery so we also made sure to talk about her gorgeous Gibson SG and cranky Peavey amp, as well as The Doors, Chicago punk, Universal Audio updates, the Moog Subharmonicon, Balthazar Amps demos, and the Quebe Sisters.

Preorder the new record Drifter on Bandcamp on Tuesday May 19, dropping summer 2020. Play your instrument, and drink some water.

In case there was any doubt, let us disabuse that notion; your buddies are d i n g d o n g s. We thought our one year anniversary was last week, turns out it’s this one. WELP.

We celebrate this memorial ineptitude with our top 10 favorite Gearbuds memories (and top 5 favorite Dave’s Docs!) and a deep dive into the surprisingly positive state of the gear industry during COVID-19. Lots of talk about past guests and good times were had.

We also found time to chat about how it’s possible that Spotify is gaining millions of users yet losing money, Dischord is streaming their entire catalog on Bandcamp, and that Duran Duran’s John Taylor is giving us all white hot bass lessons to pick on.

Be yourself, by yourself.

This week your buds celebrate the one year anniversary of the podcast in style - with remote recording technical difficulties!

Even through the starts and stops, we still managed to talk about how Dave’s a NARC for carrot cake, rock stars are quarantined just like us and offering lessons (specifically Robby Krieger and Johnny Marr), Chicago love for The Last Dance, a Local H video contest, VH1’s Behind the Music and stanning The Who, and ignoring the lyrics in Talking Heads Remain in Light. We even found a little time to talk some new apps including Kovaluu Beats and Loops and the Library of Congress unleashing Citizen DJ.

Finally, we dove into CJ’s path through the music world, taking the leap into audio engineering, transitioning into a successful life as a film composer, and how as always it’s Tom Schraeder’s Ego connecting us all.

Be your own voice.

The buds keep it short and sweet after a last minute guest cancellation; that just means more time for Hank and Dave to be buddies and talk shop, so no complaints here.

This week we talk about the joys of using a wireless unit at home, bathroom guitars, a Gearbuds website redesign, the Baby Audio Magic Switch plugin, live streams and old performances by Post Malone and Radiohead, Soundation Collab Live, and debating the near future of live music.

Time is also spent on the new Beastie Boys Story, Eddie Van Halen pulling a gun on Fred Durst, Circle Takes the Square’s As the Roots Undo, the Finegear Dust Collector analog multi-effect unit, and Leo Fender’s Breadboard Bass.

Be kind and don’t ghost.

Happy weed day, weedians! This week we are giving thanks for good friends and the opportunity to create. We talk ToneTubes, recording to a click, Spinal Tap, the new records from Fiona Apple and Ed O’Brien, and a Gearbuds Spotify playlist. We also review a couple livestream events, including one for bassbois with Victor Wooten & Justin Chancellor, as well as screening That Thing You Do live with the cast. V neat.

The main topic involves Hank overcoming personal distress and a lack of focus by creating alone in quarantine with tools from Taylor, Universal Audio, Gibson, Neumann, Ableton, Shure, Warm Audio, Behringer, and GoPro, resulting in a new “acoustic prog pop folk” Travails track being foisted on the world.

Draw a line in the sand and focus on intention and sincerity.

Have you ever considered what it means to look yourself in the eye as an artist? On this week’s episode we have an excellent (and slightly buggy - sorry!) chat with Sam Porter, guitarist and vocalist from Kali Masi and product photographer from Chicago Music Exchange.

We talk through his artistic journey with Kali Masi, run-through his rig including pieces by Fender, Science Amps, and 1981 Inventions, the crossover between songwriting and photo composition, tips for taking product photos that sell, and the importance of a light source in your photos.

We also touch on the Peterson iStrobosoft tuning app, Summer NAMM cancellation, Evans drumheads and Thalia capos stepping up to make PPE, Frank Zappa, Jeff Buckley’s Grace, and the Universal Audio Luna.

Put your space helmet on and take a dive in.

Weeeeeee’re 50! In a follow-up to our infamous lost NAMM interview, we were joined (remotely, natch) by everyone’s favorite Rig Doctor Mr. Mason Marangella, owner of Vertex Effects.

Henry, Dave, and Mason have a very open and candid discussion about the origin and rise of Vertex Effects, his widely publicized and possibly misunderstood past controversy, and how he overcame and applied what he learned to create the successful business he has today.

We also talk about Musicares, The Monkees and Van Halen, the Critter & Guitari’s Eyesy, the Vertex Steel String Clean Drive Mk. 2 and Dynamic Drive pedals, using batteries vs. power supplies, being a pedal builder and business owner during this time of COVID-19, demystifying buffers, soldered vs. solderless cables, and putting your pedals in context.

Keep an open mind and an open heart.

Is it a good idea to release new music during the lockdown quarantine? This week your buds dig deep into this question, while also talking about Dave’s homemade pop filter, imposter syndrome, scouring Reverb, Craigslist, and eBay and the comfort in sleazy eBay ads, the Gibson Dongburst, sports, The Eagles, and Harry Nilsson (again).

Also discussed is the Daredevil Pedals Hype Pedal coming out April 1, Balthazar Audio Systems Cabaret 13 coming out May 1, adding a new section to gearbudspodcast.com for free stuff by folks like Neural DSP, Apple, Arturia, Audio Modern, & Hornet Plugins, and how how Black Market Droidsmith is handling the distance while dealing with quarantine.

Fill out your census, Americans!

Another Monday, another episode to get you through. Listen in to hear how the guys are getting down with the sickness by practicing social media distancing, Uncle Hank sharing his story about meeting Disturbed as a lad, finalized pedalboard builds, a ToneTubes update, and more Gibson news.

Then the G-buds get into Baroness’ Red Album, THREE Dave’s Docs including Harry Nilsson talks, all sorts of rad free stuff from Fender, Moog, Korg, Native Instruments, and Cherry Audio Voltage Modular, the Soundforce SFC-5, and synth sell-off anxiety.

Keep your heads up and your hands clean.