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I've been playing guitar since 1981. I distinctly remember how it happened... My brother was in a high school rock band, and they were practicing at our house one day. I was enamored by the guitarist... He had a Gibson Flying V, and they kept practicing the same song over and over... "don't tell me you love me" by Night Ranger. Sad but true! That is the point that started it all! My Grandparents were even in a band in their youth, and even received quite a bit of radio play in their day. So I guess in one way or another, I was bitten by the music bug genetically.
I always have been kind of a 'gear geek'... Always trying different guitars/amps/effects to achieve certain sounds. It wasn't until 2001 or so when Paul Weller (FiremanFx) modified a pedal for me, and I was amazed at how much better it sounded. I immediately opened it up, wondering what he had done to make it sound so much better...
That is what sparked my interest in the Effects modification world... I had always been good with my hands and a quick learner, so I dove in head first and read, and read, and read some more. Then I bought several different effects and tested other's ideas, as well as my own. I was astonished at how one capacitor or resistor could make a pedal have much more bass/mids/treble/distortion/etc.
I actually holed myself up in my garage for about a month, replacing components in key areas, one at a time, and recorded the results on the first 'mod sheets'. These were just notes for myself to remember what I did, and what the change effected.
I did this one at a time, for every pedal I could get my hands on... Each time recording the results, and recording the before and after tones from the pedal through the same setup.
I modified a few for the folks at Harmony-central effects forum, and the response was crazy... Almost immediately I saw there was a demand for a service modifying pedals, even though a few were already doing it. Word of mouth grew quickly, and I started my website indyguitarist.com
Within about a year I was literally working 18 hour days, modifying pedals like crazy... Even famous musicians were calling me asking me if it would 'be alright' for them to send me their pedals... Some even invited me to come with them into the recording studio, so they could get the exact sound they were wanting... Sort of an audio consultant... What an exciting time!!
The good thing is it hasn't slowed down -- in fact, its picked up quite a bit!! Nowadays I can turn on many radio stations and hear my pedals -- in fact my pedals are being played on most of the country songs you hear on country radio nowadays as well as a ton of pop, and rock stations!
During the course of this time, I had so many emails pouring in asking how I did this or that, so I decided to sell my secrets... This was the beginning of my website guitartone.net
Many many updates, new pedal modifications, and several years later, we now have several books on modifying pedals, videos on playing guitar better, videos on modifying and building pedals, and we are ALWAYS striving to be THE best at what we do. I feel the best way to do this is to provide the best possible products for the lowest possible price, and treat everyone, customer or not, famous or not, with the same respect I treat my family.
Since 2004, this is my full-time 'job'. I can't say 'job' really -- I love it, and its a huge passion! It's sort of like a paid vacation every day!
I would appreciate it if you would check out my blog about my own personal beliefs here.
~BW
I always have been kind of a 'gear geek'... Always trying different guitars/amps/effects to achieve certain sounds. It wasn't until 2001 or so when Paul Weller (FiremanFx) modified a pedal for me, and I was amazed at how much better it sounded. I immediately opened it up, wondering what he had done to make it sound so much better...
That is what sparked my interest in the Effects modification world... I had always been good with my hands and a quick learner, so I dove in head first and read, and read, and read some more. Then I bought several different effects and tested other's ideas, as well as my own. I was astonished at how one capacitor or resistor could make a pedal have much more bass/mids/treble/distortion/etc.
I actually holed myself up in my garage for about a month, replacing components in key areas, one at a time, and recorded the results on the first 'mod sheets'. These were just notes for myself to remember what I did, and what the change effected.
I did this one at a time, for every pedal I could get my hands on... Each time recording the results, and recording the before and after tones from the pedal through the same setup.
I modified a few for the folks at Harmony-central effects forum, and the response was crazy... Almost immediately I saw there was a demand for a service modifying pedals, even though a few were already doing it. Word of mouth grew quickly, and I started my website indyguitarist.com
Within about a year I was literally working 18 hour days, modifying pedals like crazy... Even famous musicians were calling me asking me if it would 'be alright' for them to send me their pedals... Some even invited me to come with them into the recording studio, so they could get the exact sound they were wanting... Sort of an audio consultant... What an exciting time!!
The good thing is it hasn't slowed down -- in fact, its picked up quite a bit!! Nowadays I can turn on many radio stations and hear my pedals -- in fact my pedals are being played on most of the country songs you hear on country radio nowadays as well as a ton of pop, and rock stations!
During the course of this time, I had so many emails pouring in asking how I did this or that, so I decided to sell my secrets... This was the beginning of my website guitartone.net
Many many updates, new pedal modifications, and several years later, we now have several books on modifying pedals, videos on playing guitar better, videos on modifying and building pedals, and we are ALWAYS striving to be THE best at what we do. I feel the best way to do this is to provide the best possible products for the lowest possible price, and treat everyone, customer or not, famous or not, with the same respect I treat my family.
Since 2004, this is my full-time 'job'. I can't say 'job' really -- I love it, and its a huge passion! It's sort of like a paid vacation every day!
I would appreciate it if you would check out my blog about my own personal beliefs here.
~BW
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