Gear & Rigs
Deep-dive into the setups that define rock and metal. Guitars, amps, pedals, pickups, and full signal chains — analyzed, explained and recreated. Learn exactly how the pros built their legendary tone.
King Tone Blues Power: The Transparent Overdrive That Hid a Fake Transistor to Keep Its Secret
King Tone Blues Power guide: the decoy transistor, the Timmy circuit inside, Glass-Stock-Edge explained, verified players, settings and 2026 buying advice.
Chasing the Brown Sound: Inside the Wampler Pinnacle Deluxe V2
The Wampler Pinnacle Deluxe V2 puts EVH's brown sound, classic rock crunch, and screaming metal gain into one pedal with a 3-band EQ and independent boost.
Poison for the Rodent: The Wampler Ratsbane and the Art of Improving a Perfect Circuit
The Wampler Ratsbane packs a modified RAT circuit into a mini enclosure with three gain stages, a voice switch and a socketed, swappable op-amp.
The Crown Nobody Claimed: How the Wampler Sovereign Became the Best Distortion Pedal Almost Nobody Talks About
The discontinued Wampler Sovereign Distortion explained: real control names, Advanced Gain Structure settings, verified players and used-buying advice.
Eleven Ways to Make the Air Move: The Wampler Terraform and the Multi-FX Pedal That Refused to Have a Screen
Wampler Terraform explained: all 11 effects, the hidden 2023 firmware update, real power draw, pre/post routing, verified players and settings.
Good Grief, That Crunch: The JHS Charlie Brown V4 and the Sound That Built British Rock
JHS Charlie Brown V4 puts the legendary Marshall JTM45 on your pedalboard. Five controls, true bypass, 9mA draw — the definitive vintage British overdrive.