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Who is Indyguitarist?

I've been playing guitar since I was 7. I'm 34 now. 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" my 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 "www.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 "http://www.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 encourage to check out my blog about my personal beliefs: http://unchristianchristian.blogspot.com/ 

Our view on the effect pedal world...

There is a disturbing trend that has been going on the past couple of years...I've noticed there are many 'builders' on the web who can build you an overdrive, distortion, or fuzz pedal that isn't much different from the next. I'll admit, many of them look very nice! Having played many of them, I don't understand just what they are offering that is different from the other thousands of builders trying to push their pedals on the web. Seriously -- aren't you tired of buying the 'latest and greatest' and then selling it months later when it just doesn't inspire you to play? Shouldn't EVERY pedal make you want to play more, create more, and do it with passion?

Actually, now that I think about it I think I can explain it fairly simply. It all comes down to you - the customer. Do you want another pretty pedal with a pretty paint job, or do you want to be knocked on your butt with hellacious tone?! I for one have NO intentions on concentrating solely on the outward beauty of a pedal...though doing that would allow me to sell more pedals, I know first hand that that warm fuzzy feeling will fade over a few months after you play through it over and over. Been there, done that, over it.

What I provide for my customers is my 20+ years of guitar playing experience which has brought what some might call a good ear (see our reviews from well known pro players who agree). A good ear for good tone so to speak. When you plug into an Indyguitarist modified pedal or one of our custom pedals, you'll understand the difference instantly. I go to great lengths to insure that each and every pedal is exceedingly inspiring to guitar players -- NOT guitar collectors. For those wanting to own the next generation of $500-900 pedal with a pretty paint job, we aren't it. You'll want to look elsewhere. 

If you are a gigging musician or just a musician who's tired of trying pedal after pedal after pedal, and tired of each of them falling short to your expectations, give us a try. Our money-back guarantee proves that you won't be disappointed!

Take care,
Brian & staff ;)

"Yep - this one checks out OK, Dad!"