Michael Soldano had no intentions of becoming a guitar amp maker. Prior to the launch of the first Soldano Super Lead Overdrive (SLO), he dreamed of rock stardom and not amp building. But it was during these early days while he was on his tone quest that he realized he wasn’t fully satisfied with the amplifiers that were available at the time.
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Tone Obsession: The Devil’s in the Details
Knowing about the details of most anything can be a curse. Really. The devil truly CAN be in the details. I’ve been on the guitar tone journey for a long time and it all started when I was a young player in my early teens. I wanted to capture and emulate the exciting tones I heard from my favorite guitarists. That’s normal.
Over the years I’ve learned that the gear is only part of the equation. There is a lot of truth when people say, “Tone is in the fingers”, but we’ll get to that discussion in detail another time. It took me a long time to live by the thought and remind myself of this fact.
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Last Boutique Builder Standing: Richard Coibion of Monsterpiece Fuzz
Richard Coibion was hit by the effects building bug back in 2001. With a background 
and education in electronics engineering and having a steady career in IT, Coibion dabbled in modifying fuzz circuits and tuned them to his liking. He hadn’t ever considered making a career out of building effects however.
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Keeley Oxblood Overdrive Pedal Giveaway!
We’re thankful for YOU, our readers! And to show our gratitude, we’re giving away one of Robert Keeley’s most in-demand new releases, the Keeley Oxblood overdrive pedal. All you need to do to enter is insert a comment below with a topic you’d like us to research and write about next year! It could be anything from a review request for a specific product, a tone tip or question, a profile of a favorite artist or an interview, etc. We’ll select a winner randomly on DECEMBER 18, 2015! Good luck and wish you all a wonderful holiday season!
Analogman Mods Our Favorite Reissue Tube Screamer: The 35th Anniversary TS-808
In 2014, Ibanez introduced its 35th anniversary TS-808 Tube Screamer overdrive pedal, based on the original it created in 1979. What’s now known as the “narrow box 
model” by collectors, has returned in its original smaller footprint, with the rare “flying fingers” graphics along with side-mounted 1/8-inch 9v DC adapter jack just like the original. The lightweight aluminum 35th anniversary TS-808 was also changed under the hood to be closer to the original, and is outfitted with a pair of op amp chips. This is a variation that is the main difference between it and the single op amp version of the 1980 TS-808 Tube Screamer and others including the TS-9 that followed. These later TS-808 and TS-9 models deployed input and output transistor buffers rather than the additional chip used in the original and now reissued narrow box model.
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Maxon OD808X Extreme…Just Another Modded Tube Screamer?
The Tube Screamer is arguably the most copied and modified overdrive circuit ever. With good reason, this classic effect delivers a soft compression that truly is amp-like 
in response, feel, and tone. Maxon, the original manufacturer of the Tube Screamer, has now released its own response with a modified design and dubbed it the Maxon OD808X Extreme. But will the OD808X Extreme just provide more gain and the “same old” sound, or will it provide something truly unique?
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Vintage Jensen Speaker Rebuild Project – Part 2
Two months ago we posted part 1 of our project Jensen speaker rebuild for our 
original 1964 pre-CBS Fender Super Reverb. The amp has original transformers and used to sound wonderful – but the original Jensen speakers were in rough shape. The cones had tears, and the magnets on two of the speakers had shifted off-center, causing the voice coils to freeze and no longer produce any sound.
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Wading Through the Sea of Opinions
I recently sold an amplifier and stirred up a fun conversation with the buyer when we met in person. He was still lamenting about his amplifier choice, as he spent considerable research time – as many of us do these days – and sought out guidance online.
The problem, he discovered as he waded through countless forums, websites and video reviews, was that the opinions he found varied greatly. How could an amp be described as unreliable, shrill in tone, or lifeless and sterile in feel, while at the same time also being defined as being bullet-proof, a “holy grail” amp, and smooth with perfect overdrive bite?
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Vintage Jensen Speaker Rebuild Project Part 1
At LegendaryTones.com, when we’ve taken on amplifier upgrade projects in the past, 
often we have recommended replacing stock factory speakers in the process with new models. This is especially true with Fender reissue amplifiers, as often the reissue models include speakers that do not sound or respond anything like the originals – regardless of the brand name they are badged with.
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Reverb Pedal Buying Guide for Various Applications
Deciding which effects pedals are right for you can get pretty tough. There are a lot of great options out there, and, let’s face it, it’s hard not to feel like you want them all. Unfortunately, our rockstar aspirations rarely jive with our less-than-rockstar budgets. So we’re forced to choose between various pedals. If you are currently trying to decide on the right reverb pedal for your board, we’ve got some advice to help out. Today we’ll be looking at a few fantastic reverb pedals and discussing which applications each of them is best suited for.
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