Revisiting Dan Phelps

We first interviewed Dan Phelps three years after the release of Modular, his collaboration with drummer Matt Chamberlain and bassist Viktor Krauss. His fourth release, Arc, continues his er, arc, of making records that employ great drummers (in this case, the legendary Jim Keltner), great guitar tones and technique, and an exemplary command of both live and studio effects. It seemed like a good time to pay Phelps another visit, this time for a wide-ranging discussion about his new record and his awesome gear.

Live Atmospheres: Dan Phelps, James McAlister, Steve Moore from Dan Phelps on Vimeo.

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Eventide H9 SpaceTime and Routing

Things have been so busy I just got around to checking out the SpaceTime algorithm that showed up in my February H9 Max app update. In addition, since my H9 Max review I have had my main pedalboard rewired, replacing the Electro-Harmonix Ring Thing with the Maxed out H9. The H9 covers all the sounds the Ring Thing provided—octaves, “baritone,” “Leslie,” “12-string,” ring modulation, and, of course, the H9 does so much more. Consequently, now seemed like a good time for an update on this amazing pedal. Since Brett Kingman did such a good job of demoing the various SpaceTime presets, I offer his video, and then will discuss my experience with the new algorithm, as well as how the H9’s pre and post routing feature came in handy on my board.

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Spotlight: Mike Baggetta

New York guitarist Mike Baggetta has it all, from swinging modern bop chops that flow like John Abercrombie to whammy bar pedal steel licks admittedly influenced by his first guitar hero, David Torn. In the videos below you will see him go from standard format (drum, bass, sax) groups playing standards, to small orchestras, to a duo doing twisted versions of pop tunes. Through it all Baggetta maintains a level of technical proficiency, tone, creativity, and never faltering musicality that make him one of the most interesting players in a city full of distinctive guitarists.

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