Hey gang... most of you know that for a while we were in talks with Jeff Loomis to produce a signature pedal. Well the idea has been shelved- no hard feelings anywhere... its just business.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgBZ2Ma4Vro

By popular demand...

 I'm excited to say that the Premium Overdrives are almost done. The Red Label and the Gold Label overdrives are both 100% complete... Final prototyping of the Black Label is this week. 

If you watched the video I put together on distortion noise, then you have a preview into this rant:

Eddie Van Halen and Stevie Ray Vaughn are liars!

I've never met either of them- but I saw Stevie play with Jeff Beck just a few weeks before he died. Either way... I've never met them, I'm sure they're both cool cats, but lets call a spade a spade here:
Both SRV and EVH are famous in part for their legendary use & abuse of booze and cocaine.

But whats this got to do with anything?

For years we've been force fed the myth that SRV can hear the difference in the chip used in his Tube Screamer and that EVH can hear the difference in short cable lengths... I call bullshit!

The argument
First lets look at the common sense side of my bullshit argument- As musicians we've all PROBABLY known a drunk or 2... and chances are good we've come across a few coke heads in our time. Now let me ask this- how often did you trust a word out of their mouths? How often did they make exaggerated claims, or just flat out fucking lie?

Now lets look at the medical fact that cocaine use effects your hearing. 
Its pretty common knowledge that cocaine causes 'auditory hallucinations', but one thing that folks don't realize is how it destroys your ability to hear high end. It tends to muddy your hearing. Need proof?  Listen to albums for the 70s and 80s... hear all that treble? They couldn't hear how much treble they put in the mix! 

What am I getting at
This is NOT an anti drug and alcohol post. This is a don't believe the hype post. Let your ears be the judge of your equipment. Fuck the Gear Page, Harmony Centrals boards and the rest of them with self proclaimed gurus with nothing better to do then work on increasing their post count. They spend more time in front of a keyboard then they do behind their instrument... dont listen to them, unless of course they tell you to buy Pro Tone Pedals.

When it comes to your tone
Let your ears decide whats best for you! If you've got a shrill guitar and like the way a long cable run mellows it out, then run with it. If you've got an overdrive that isn't based on the TI4558 chip but you love what it does to your amp... then be proud of it! Who gives a shit what a couple of old drunks think... its your fucking tone!

Dennis

PS-
For what its worth- I honestly believe that SRV and EVH had the best tone in the respective genres.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LciuGjsiBM

Heres a collection of clips of Max playing the Becker distortion at NAMM... we've got a close mic on the amp used (a small Randall practice amp) so you dont have the normal background noise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2f7NKO6JlA

This dude is just a monster... which is why we love him!