Boss DN-2 Dyna Drive
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Boss released their “Dyna Drive” pedal in the Winter NAMM of ‘07. The pedal was designed so that your picking velocity determines the amount of gain on the pedal. So basically, the harder you strum, the more distortion there is. If you want to hear what it sounds like, Boss has a audio demo of it on their website (link). Of course, they probably have a five-thousand dollar guitar and a ten-thousand dollar amp in their studio, so it might not sound exactly like that when you get it. Anyways, here you go, a review of the Boss DN-2 Dyna Drive Pedal. Read more »
This year’s NAMM show was host to many new product releases. Actually, it was host to over 4000 product releases. And I’m sad to say this, but most of it was crap. Just some more pointless products that everyone will forget about in two years. On the flip side, there was also a lot of kick ass products out there. But hey, am I the kind of guy that will leave it to you to sort them out? Fortunately no. So here you go, a list of the 5 best new products of the 2008 NAMM Show. 
Ask any inexperienced guitarist how they would write a song, and I bet you they’ll say something like “Oh, I get my guitar, some blank music sheets and a pencil, and I just play until something sounds right.” I know only one band that has made it big like this: Fall Out Boy (knock on wood). So, are you ready for the hardcore method of writing songs? No you’re not. You first need to get a portable voice recorder. Most newer cell phones have this capability. If you don’t happen to have a cell phone like that, I’d suggest picking up a portable voice recorder of somewhat decent quality. Ok, now you’re ready. 
The “wah” sound was originally found in 50’s country songs, achieved by playing around with the tone knob. Some guitar manufacturers such as Vox and Ampeg picked up on the idea and began experimenting, but Vox was the first to have commercial success with the “wah”. And this was all thanks to Brad Plunkett, a twenty-five year old engineer. Brad was working on a design that could replace a 3 position MRB voicing switch with a potentiometer, which was a much less expensive alternative. However, one of friends suggested that he try using an oscillator circuit instead, so he whipped one up and plugged a guitar into it. BAM! The Wah Pedal was born. Since then, many great guitarists have added that to their repertoire of pedals, including Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and even Jimmy Page. But wait, that list of guitar legends is missing someone, me. I went to my local guitar store today and picked up one of those beauties. Anyway, for your viewing pleasure, I present to you my review of the Vox V847 Wah-Wah Pedal. 
