Cloud Tapes

In addition to a gorgeous Fiesta Red finish, the unusual pickup magnet combinations create those classic Strat tones while still remaining incredibly versatile. The neck is probably the most comfortable guitar neck I've ever played. I absolutely love this guitar, and it's a steal for the price it was sold at.

Made in 2006. These things can take a beating and are a great modding platform. I have a SH-4 in the bridge, a Dimarzio Chopper in the middle, and a custom-wound bluesy-single coil in the neck. The 2006 model has a fairly chunky neck, a proper C. Tuners are quite good.

John has one of these. We call it a Les Faux. It's good for needing that bit of difference in tone.

Along with my MAG 300 head, this cab has been the source of my tone. It's clear. It's deep. It's everything you want it to be. It's held up well to abuse and still looks like new. Built to last, it's never given me a single problem.

Light as a feather at 36 pounds and pretty compact, which is great considering its output. I believe it puts about 180 watts on its own. You would need an 8ohm extension cab to get the full 300. It's quite loud, though. I like the headphone out, the line in, and the speaker and tweeter mute, which is great for quiet practice or recording if you're using the amp's DI. It's the main reason I chose this amp. There are a lot of knobs--tube-emulation in the drive section, vintage/modern push buttons for different curve presets, and some EQ knobs. There's also an APPTEK input if you use Agile's software to run the amp as a modeling rig. I haven't used that very much, as the software's modeling options are pricy at $3 each. I like the amp a lot. There are a lot of great features, but, in my opinion, it's lacking something of the signature Ashdown character.

I purchased a used MAG300 about 5 years ago when I needed more oomph. I still use it regularly, and it still powers my 4x10 with enough juice to keep me heard about a loud drummer. The EQ is great, and the low and high boosts are a welcome addition when you need 'em for that little bit extra for a song. I personally haven't used the subharmonic feature, but these things are built like tanks. It's been outdoors, it's gotten caught in rain, and it's been bounced around car trunks. Can't ask for much more out of an inexpensive head.

When I was looking for a DI, a few things were important. Of course, you want something that is flexible in case your signal is lacking somewhere. This DI towards the end of my chain keeps everything organized, and I can add whatever may be lacking with the EQ. The pedal itself is dead simple. You have your DI out, an output, and then a parallel out. Use the left foot switch to turn on the EQ, which has treble, mid, and bass knobs. The volume knob can give you a bit of a boost, and the "color" switch gives you an Ampeg sort of tone. Use the right one to turn on the Distortion, which has very usable tones and a wide spectrum of gain. Use it for a little overdrive to give a bit more bite to your notes, use it as a volume boost, or get tones not unlike the opening bass line in Muse's "Starlight." The noise gate and blend knobs are nice features as well if you have a bit too much noise in your chain or want just a little bit of distortion blended in. A really versatile little pedal with a small footprint.

So this isn't a bass pedal, but it helps fill out my tone if I play leads or intros. I've used it on a few recordings, and it always sounds great. Just a really versatile pedal. My only complaint is that I've never had much luck with EHX pedals lasting. I tend to have problems with switches loosening or flat-out breaking. I end up opening it to fix things fairly often.

I use this along with my EHX Small Clone to get some cello-esque sounds. I used to spin the volume knobs to make it happen, but this just makes life a lot easier. Plus I can rock back, mute my bass, and have dead silence between songs. This pedal allows for a lot of control, especially with the dipper switch.

You need to really spend time with this pedal to find the sweet spots. Might be Kurt Cobain's secret weapon, but I've moved it off of my board in favor of others pedals. I still use it in the recording process on occasion.

The metal enclosure can feel a bit flimsy at times, but my old guitarist had this phaser and I liked it so much that I ended up buying one. The phase switches give a lot of options, and the rate knob is effective. It would be nice to have a little more control over some of the parameters, but, for how inexpensive it is, it's a nice phaser.

I love my DD-3. This one adds a few more options to that, along with a tap tempo switch in. My only real gripe with this pedal is that the reverse feature, which is a great idea, mixes the current note with the reverse option. I would've like to have just the wet reverse sound, but it's a minor gripe for what is otherwise a good pedal.

Really loving this fuzz at the moment. It gets a wide variety of tones, from over-the-top blazing fuzz to more subtle pushes of tone. They got a lot of things right here.

I'm still getting to know this pedal, but I'm loving the variety of tonal options. Supposed to also work really well for other instruments.

The 9v+12v options are great for those of us out there with some more power-hungry pedals.

I have a number of pedals on my bass board--Sansamp Bass Driver, an MXR M80 DI+, but this one is my favorite by far. There's a wide variety of chorus tones available, from subtle to all-out. If you're looking to get some of those Joy Division-esque bass chorus tones, this will get you there.

I picked up my P-Bass back in 2010. It's a 2002 Agave Blue MIM. I kept it stock for a long time before upgrading the pickup to a Dimarzio P. The neck might be a bit thick for some, but I always preferred the wider neck. The bass gets that classic P-bass grind and fits into anything and everything. My only problem with this bass was that it seemed to be on the heavy side. Still, I've used it for every recording over the last 7 years.

Okay, so mine isn't a REAL MIM Jazz. My bass was Squier Series made in Mexico by Fender around 1994. I believe these were extra parts from American models that were made with cheaper electronics and parts. Still, it sat in a basement for ten years before I dug it out when I was 14. It was my first bass, and it's help up to the last 12 years of abuse, lots of shows, and some recording. I switched over to my P-Bass around 2010, but before then, this was my main bass. these basses were a bit weird, as they had a one-piece plastic pick guard instead of the pick guard and metal control plate you most commonly see. It also has the two shorter-length Jazz pickups. I recently had it cleaned up and had the electronics cleaned. It still looks and sounds great.

I'm usually a Fender guy, but when my bass was recording with a bit too much fret noise, I borrowed John's bass. The tone was thick and smooth with clarity. Neck is comfortable, and the pickups have places to anchor your thumb. Very comfortable bass.

The Squier artist instruments were always a bit more pricey, but, in my experience, always extremely well-built. I had one of these basses for about a year or so, and it was always reliable. I used it on a few recordings. The sound was tremendous, thought not incredibly versatile. The neck was great, it was light, and the finish looked cool as hell I finally found another one in 2020.

We used two of these while recording our first two albums. The sound quality was always excellent, and the mic pres are what you expect from Focusrite. Three years later, and both are still running as new.

We've used this mic on all of our EPs and records since John got it.

It'll get you started. Once you start comparing it to more expensive mics, it lacks both the high and low end ability.

As much as I love my P-Bass, I wanted something a little different, a little lighter. Enter the PJ mustang. I get those familiar P-Bass tones with a little extra oomph thanks to the 3-way selector and J pickup. On its own, the J can be pretty thin-sounding, but put the two pickups together and it's the sweet spot. The short scale takes a little while to get used to. I had a Mikey Way Squier Mustang I liked, but I ended up selling it. I regret that one a bit. It was a nice bass. This is the redemption for that. We tend to down-tune to Eb, so I end up with a little extra slack on the strings than I would like, but this bass is light as a feather, and I appreciate that immensely. EDIT: I could never quite get the tone I was after with these pickups. An upgrade might've solved it, but since we tend to down-tune, I ended up selling it since it wasn't seeing much use.

This was a fun guitar that I bought when I was about 16 or so. It only really had one tone, but it did it very well with the Duncan-Designed pickup. The neck was a standard Tele neck that I don't remember falling in love with, but the guitar sounded nice, so I kept it for quite a while. I remember the one thing that drove me crazy about this guitar was the input jack, which seemed to pop out of its side position from time to time.