Video

A quick demo of an original 1960's John Hornby Skewes "THE ZONK MACHINE" fuzz pedal. This is one of only a handful made with a hybrid germanium/silicon transistor combination. I do not own this pedal, so please don't ask me if you can purchase it. This was mainly to demo the pedal for the owner before I ship it back to him, and also for anyone interested in vintage fuzz pedals.

An original 1960's John Hornby Skewes Zonk Machine came in for repair. It is a rare version loaded with a hybrid germanium and silicon transistor set. This is an overview of the repair.

Years ago I found this old Italian Geloso tape machine at a yard sale. I was told it probably didn't work and paid $15 bucks. Got it working just fine and found inside this recording of Paul Robeson giving a talk on integration at the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, CA on October 17th, 1957. The recording wed donated to the Paul Robeson foundation and is posted here for anyone interested...

Here's a quick and dirty way to test the polarity of film capacitors using only a fuzz pedal and an amplifier. No fancy test equipment needed. This is a MUST for building tube amps where you're running high B voltages, especially with heater currents nearby; but it can also help eliminate RF and other noises in stompboxes.

Just having fun playing with the Binson Echorec 2. Other toys included are the Acid Fuzz MKII, Repeater, and wah.

Quick and dirty demo of the Thomas Vinci 1010 L strings. This is the same gauge set that was preferred by Hendrix and they really let you nail the hendrix style and sound with a Strat. The chain is a Fender Strat strung with Vinci 1010 L, Acid Fuzz Yellow Sunshine Booster, Analog Delay set for slap-back, in to a 1966 VOX Berkeley Super Reverb Twin V8 tube amp. Enjoy! For more info. of Jimi's st...

This is a demo of the ONLY light gauge flat wound strings on the market, the Thomas Vinci 3005 SL 10-38 set. Brought to you by Thomas Vinci strings and Acid Fuzz pedals. If you love flat wound strings but are frustrated by the lack of a light gauge flat wound set, these are the strings for you. Amazing rich tone for any style from rock to jazz and you can bend and vibrato much easier with these...

In this video I go over how to service the Vox "palm wah" slide potentiometer. This is the third and last video in this series of Vox onboard effects service tutorials. I hope you found these tutorials useful and they help keep your vintage Vox guitar's effects going for years to come! Big thanks to Rob Campanella (Quarter After, Brian Jonestown Massacre, etc..) for letting me use his Ultrasoni...

One of my favorite bands of all time (The Clientele) playing one of my favorite songs (Lamplight). This was filmed @ the Satellite in Silverlake, CA on July 26, 2014. It was beyond amazing to see Alasdair using our Italian Fuzz (Vox Tone Bender clone) live! I'll blame Mark, James, and Alasdair playing so well together as the reason why I was too mesmerized to shoot this video in the proper aspe...

Quick demo of the Vox V260 Thunderjet guitar. All sounds are from the Thunderjet and it's onboard effects straight in to a Vox Berkeley Super Reverb Twin (V8), with a little of the amp's spring reverb.

This video covers common and not so common issues with the repeater effect, troubleshooting, tips 'n' tricks, and the often requested "no pop" and "unity gain" mods for the repeater.

This video is the first in a series of tutorials on how to service the onboard effects in vintage Vox guitars. This video is meant only as an introduction to servicing the effects. Topics range from useful tools, and how to identify each effect module, to why it's best to have the effects serviced locally by a competent technician.

I don't think I'll see another one of these for a while, so I thought I'd just have some fun blowing the onboard effects out a 12AX7's a$$. I tried to hit all the different switch combinations and also keep the VU meter in the red as much as I can, just like the Velvet Underwear.

Vox Phantom VI Special Demo

Zonk Machine Comparison With Humbuckers

Original 1966 Zonk Machine Demo

Selmer Buzz Tone by Acid Fuzz