In a return to my quest to inform, educate and entertain on this blog, I wanted to do the first of what might be a series of dispelling some myths behind the jargon used in the pedal industry –which, even in 2024, is used to try to dupe and confuse the consumer!

ABL Pedals presents the first inaugural Glasgow Stompbox Social!

A Stopbox Social is an opportunity for local musicians to try pedals built by small builders and get to know them in the process! All in all – a fun day out for guitar players of all ages and skill levels.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock over the last few years, you can’t deny the rise in popularity of digital modeller set-ups. From the Line 6 Helix, Fractal’s Axe-FX, Kempers... There’s a lot of choice out there!

The last one was such a success that we’ve decided to host another! Get yourself to the Wee Guitar Company in Mount Florida on June 5th to join us nerding out and having fun!

When I first heard Dry Cleaning I was immediately struck by the interesting guitar sound sitting in a post-punk arrangement. So it was an absolute pleasure to meet with their guitarist Tom Dowse ahead of their Glasgow show at St. Luke’s earlier this month. We chatted about the band and his approach to guitar playing.

Having met and worked for New Zealand indie poppers (and personal ABL favourites) The Beths I JUMPED at the chance to interview Jon from the band about his journey as a guitar player and how the band have evolved over the last few years.

Something that’s come up quite a few times in conversations with clients is about why they should have their pedals modded. And it’s a good question. If you’re perfectly happy with how your pedal sounds and operates as it is and how the original manufacturers intended, then why should you?

True bypass… buffers suck… tone suck… soft switch technology…

Do any of those sound familiar? The guitar industry sure loves its jargon. With this in mind, I embark on my journey to inform, educate and entertain [link to PSB song]. This post launches a series of helpful (I hope) explanations of some of the nonsense which comes with the pedal and guitar industry, starting with one that comes up all too often. It repeatedly leads to “healthy debates” on forums and groups with not much of an outcome.

It’s been a great year for music! Here’s a small selection of the albums I’ve been enjoying while at my workbench this year. In no particular order…

Guitarists and musicians in general aren’t always the easiest to buy gifts for. Believe me, I know. Often, when we want a piece of gear, we go out of our way to justify getting it. With that in mind, I thought I’d put together a handy gift-guide for the noise-maker in your life.

Calling all Glasgow guitar players!

Want to try out new pedals but need to make space well we maybe have just the thing:

A Guitar Pedal Swap!

My Album of the Month this month is Kurt Vile’s 2013 album Walkin On A Pretty Daze, which is a personal favourite of mine, I just keep coming back to it! It gets pretty regular rotation both in the “workshop” and “staff room” here at ABL Pedals.

I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Adam and Sam from Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs ahead of their (very LOUD and very HEAVY) Glasgow show about all things guitar and guitar pedals and their rigs!

After debating over it for some time, I’ve decided to start a blog on my website. It will work as a slight extension of my social media and mailing list, starting with an album of the month. This month it’s Talking Heads’ classic Speaking in Tounges.