Gearbuds

Hope everyone is safe and making smart choices in this crummy time. Take your mind off of the crazy and listen to your buddies catch up on gear talks for an hour, why dont’cha? Also - please support your favorite artists by buying some records or merchandise, if you can.

The dudes talk about bringing ToneTubes to the next level, using Ludwig drums with the Nord Drum 3p synth, reconnecting with gear buddies and other gear trading fun, stereo Ampeg VT-40 rigs, the Framus Television, going full Gibson, Hank buying Tosin Abasi’s MXR Sub Machine, comparing original Harmonic Percolator and Systech Harmonic Energizers to clones, and the legacy of GG Allin.

We also get into John Vanderslice’s Life and Death of an American Fourtracker, taking your mind to tone town, Subfretboard, Imogen Heap’s MiMu MIDI controller gloves, the Death By Audio Echo Master vocal effect, and harvesting old paint and vintage nitro.

Gearbuds are moving on up! To a new studio!

We say this every week... but you are NOT going to want to miss this show. Old friend and new Gearbud Soren Pedersen, Product Manager of Wired Microphones at Shure, joined in to not only teach us so dang much about microphones but also spin some hilarious yarns for you to unravel. We go DEEP into microphone nerdery and all things Shure with everything you’d ever want to know about the SM series (55, 57, 58, 7, KSM - did you know the SM7B has a freaking humbucker?!), the MV88+, explaining mid-side techniques, debunking mic myths, and exploring what it’s like spending a decade at the biggest microphone company in the world. Time was also found to discuss Hank’s first (vintage Ludwig) drum kit, paid ads on Spotify, ZZ Top, Mahavishnu Orchestra, ear rumbling, the Rainger FX Minibar, and Pantera. Learning is neat.

Strap in buddies; this week we interview raconteur of the highest order and our dear friend Marc Najjar. If you don’t already know, Marc is Brand Manager for Sandberg Guitars, bassist in Huntsmen, host of Bass Nerds Podcast, originator of the Bassment at Chicago Music Exchange, and everyone’s favorite internet Bassdad.

On top of digging through his personal and musical journeys, ya boys also get into new Gibson litigation, Dunable basses, summiting pedal Everest via the Interfax Harmonic Percolator, Access Analog’s partnership, playing Phil Lesh’s Alembic Big Brown, and we even unveiled a new segment!

The ToneTubes giveaway is complete and we will announce the winner next week. 4 out of 4 bassists would recommend you check out Marc’s new record Mandala of Fear out March 13, 2020. Get thumpin’.

This week we had a lovely chat with James Pepper, guitar tech for Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats and formerly with Frightened Rabbit. On top of filling us in on a day in the life of a guitar tech on a major tour and all of the usual gear stuff we love, we also have an important discussion on mental health specifically among artists and crew.

We also found time to delve into why Gibsons were good from late the 90s until 2004 or so, turning a Goldtop into a 335, celebrities turning into rockstars, the Banananana Effects Mandala, touring the UK post-Brexit, and 30 foot guitar throws.

The ToneTubes giveaway is still live as is our partnership with Access Analog; check the ‘sode for details. While you’re at it go donate to Marigold Project and Tiny Changes. Love.

Do you like free stuff? Of course you do! Not only are we doing a ToneTubes giveaway, we also have announced our partnership with good buddies Access Analog; use those fingies to smash that listen button and check the ‘sode for details. We also dig deep into the Walrus Audio D1 High Fidelity Echo Machine from their new Mako Series, some cool old vintage music books, a review of the Gizmotron 2.0, an update on the Barym G-Bender, famous guitarists selling guitars, copyrighting melodies, and the new T-Minus app to help those suffering from tinnitus.

Buddies! We had the absolute honor of welcoming hometown hero Scott Lucas from Local H into Gearbuds Studio (aka Hank’s living room). We talked about the new Local H record Lifers (out April 10), the Academy Awards, Scott’s unique approach to and history with gear and songwriting, playing with Metallica, side projects, REM, and maintaining “the sexiest scream in rock and roll.” Go listen, like nowish.

Want to hear how sexy Hank sounds when he gets sick? Tune in to hear the Super Bowl Superbuds talk Black Market Droidsmith, Hank’s new Taylor, The Smiths, Taylor Swift, good friends The Bonfires Vintage and Reverb, MIDI 2.0, and Fender changing ownership. There’s also altogether too much titillation this week. Just listen, yeah?

Want to hear the story of where the springs came from in the original Bigsby vibrato units? Tune into this week’s episode to learn about that, why Dave’s calves were mooing, missing Dan Leu, SG headstock repair, and Mesa cabs. Then dive in on Grammy thoughts, Aerosmith drama, our first amps, the final Winter NAMM 2020 recap (we promise), Wesley Willis, becoming Best IG buds with Fred Durst, and thoughts on new gear from Anasounds, Lag Guitars, and Jamstik.

That's a wrap, buds. We survived three days in Anaheim and here is our final podcast of the event. We get into some of our favorites from today including the Gizmotron, Serek basses, Bergantino, Fano, and Catalinbread, then get attending the 35th Annual NAMM TEC Awards. We closed Winter NAMM 2020 with a good one folks, so give a listen.

Our ears are ringing but we’ve got smiles on our faces after Winter NAMM 2020 Day Two. We recap our favorites of the day including a demo by Nita Strauss at Marshall, Mike Einziger from Incubus and Polyphia demoing Mix Halo, Interviewing Johnny Wator from Daredevil Pedals, exploring the often sketchy basement of NAMM with Balthazar de Lay from Balthazar Amps, and closing out the day with the most epic JammJam with Fender and a bunch of bonkers musicians.