Our battle-weary hosts have returned from the scorched trenches and badge-strewn wastelands in Anaheim, California, and they’re ready to recount what they saw. Welcome to the NAMM 2024 airing of the grievances. Zach and Rhett are coming at this from two different angles: Zach as a vendor with Mythos Pedals, and Rhett as an attendee and noted YouTuber-about-town. This year marked Zach’s first on the vendor side, an experience he calls “trial by fire on the show floor.” It ain’t cheap to showcase ...
Feb 12, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 101
Rhett and Zach kick off the new year with renewed commitment to an old habit: making a daily to-do list, or as Rhett calls it, “the shit list.” The guys debate the finer points of which stationary makes the best to-do list backdrop before they’re joined by Tom Murphy, the preeminent craftsman of guitar-aging and namesake of Gibson’s high-end Murphy Lab. Murphy, who has been with Gibson for 25 years, takes Rhett and Zach back to the starting line, when he and his friends would buy, trade, mod, po...
Jan 08, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 100
Intervals bandleader Aaron Marshall joins Rhett and Zach for this installment of Dipped In Tone , which is essentially a crash-course in touring, merch design, road-ready rig planning, and keeping your head above water as an unsigned act. The trio start off with a deep dive into Intervals’ focus on high-quality merch, and Marshall outlines his design and marketing philosophies. Increasingly, these elements are the lifeblood of any band that wants to make a living in music: “A touring band is jus...
Dec 18, 2023•1 hr 29 min•Season 1Ep. 99
It’s the most wonderful time of year: the “year in gear” season is finally upon us, and we’re celebrating with this special in-person episode of Dipped In Tone. Zach and Rhett gang up at Zach’s place to rundown the best of the best of musical excellence and oddities in 2023. The guys start in with their favorite stompboxes. Rhett tips his hat to Old Blood Noise Endeavors’ Beam Splitter, Hologram’s Chroma Console, and Universal Audio’s 1176 pedal, which he runs as a hard-clipped overdrive. Some m...
Dec 04, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 98
This episode of Dipped In Tone features Rhett flying solo with veteran jazz guitarist Oz Noy. Born in Israel, Noy started gigging at age 13, and 37 years later, he’s still going strong as a celebrated live musician—including a 17-year run at New York City club The Bitter End. Noy explains that he grew up with a foot in both jazz and rock music worlds. The former taught him intricate playing, while the latter schooled him on tone and sound. “I was playing heavy metal on one hand,” he says. “On th...
Nov 15, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 97
On this week’s Dipped In Tone, Rhett and Zack are joined by contemporary jazz guitar legend Adam Levy, the thoughtful, soft-spoken accompanist known for his work with Norah Jones and his own jazz trios. Levy’s new book, String Theories, which he co-authored with fellow sideman-to-the-stars Ethan Sherman, collects a series of tips, challenges, and reflections for guitarists to deepen their playing. “I need it to sound like Solomon Burke is singing,” Levy says of his style and philosophy, centered...
Oct 23, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 96
Zach goes it alone on this episode to interview session guitarist, 6-string storyteller, and prominent YouTuber and online guitar instructor Tim Pierce. As a player, Pierce’s guitar has spent decades at the top of the charts by way of songs by Bon Jovi, Goo Goo Dolls, Phil Collins, Madonna, Dave Matthews Band, Bob Dylan—whose recent Shadow Kingdom features the guitarist holding down the rhythm—and so many others. Pierce discusses his biggest influences and favorite guitar sounds, seeing ZZ Top i...
Oct 09, 2023•52 min•Season 1Ep. 95
Rhett and Zack kick off the episode with a chat about which video games they’re loving and Rhett’s cross-country adventures with his wife before Eli Lester, owner of Two-Rock Amplification, joins them for an in-depth exploration of his amp-building philosophies. Lester walks Rhett and Zack through his origins in amp-building, repairing instruments and amps in the back room of the shop where he gave guitar lessons. He played in rockabilly bands and had an affinity for old ’50s and ’60s Cadillacs ...
Sep 25, 2023•57 min•Season 1Ep. 94
Josh Scott drops in to chat about all things JHS, going back to his early days doing debunking deep-dives into vintage gear—“I love the mythbusting element of this stuff,” he says. “I love telling people … this is not witchcraft…. The tech of a Big Muff is from the ’50s.” He continues: “I know that we need to feel magic. I like it too.… But I love that element of proving simplicity of all this stuff and making it digestible to younger players and taking the chaos out of decisions. So, for me, th...
Sep 12, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 93
Zach and Rhett kick things off with a catch-up on recent projects. Rhett celebrates his new 100 watt Two Rock Classic Reverb Signature, which recently terrorized a couple sitting in the front row of one of his gigs. Then guitarist Ariel Posen logs on to, first and foremost, clear up how to pronounce his name. He gives a quick tutorial: just say guitar, add “ee” and “ell,” then take out the “guit” sound. Posen and Rhett swap horror stories from working on film sets, where they were expected to do...
Sep 05, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 92
On this episode of Dipped In Tone , Rhett and Zach chat with special guest Warren Haynes. The Gov’t Mule leader talks about the band’s latest, Peace… Like a River . This record of originals was recorded simultaneously with 2021’s Heavy Load Blues , in the same studio, using a completely different set of gear. “We setup all our normal Mule toys in the big room with the high ceiling, we setup a bunch of vintage gear, small amps, and old guitars … in the small room,” Haynes shares, as he details th...
Aug 01, 2023•59 min•Season 1Ep. 91
This episode starts off with Zach and Rhett catching each other up on their 4th of July festivities. Rhett’s was classic: he treated some visiting European friends to fireworks off a dock, barbecue, smoked wings, more fireworks, and a bunch of beer. Zach, meanwhile, was knocking on doors to tell neighbors to knock off the mortar shelling in the middle of the night. To each their own. Then they’re joined by Nathaniel Murphy, the Chicago-based guitarist who has racked up nearly 400,000 followers o...
Jul 18, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 90
After Rhett shares his childhood trauma of riding an immersive horror coaster at Tomorrowland and Zach recovers from the emotional experience of viewing the Millennium Falcon in person on a family vacation, Texas-born guitarist Eric Johnson joins them for a revelatory discussion on tone, gear, and the never-ending hunt for creative inspiration. Rhett starts by noting that Johnson’s DNA isn’t just in his playing and composition, but his sound, too. How does one sculpt a signature tone? “It starts...
Jun 26, 2023•57 min•Season 1Ep. 89
On this episode, Rhett and Zach discuss the relationship that they each have with the guitar at this point in their careers. Making a living doing the thing you love is great—in fact, it’s something that so many players aspire to. But it changes the relationship between player and instrument when the instrument is a source of work. How do they stay excited about their work? And how do they get excited when they’re in a lull? What keeps their creativity flowing? These are big questions, but our h...
Jun 05, 2023•39 min•Season 1Ep. 88
The new DIT episode kicks off as Rhett and Zack celebrate Zack’s close encounter with special effects mogul Adam Savage, of Star Wars, Ghostbusters, Matrix, and Tested fame. (Nerd alert: Zack and his wife have Ghostbusters uniforms—which they wore that day. There’s a photo. Take a screenshot it in case you need to blackmail him later.) Rhett talks about the first single from his latest band, Good Trouble, who now have a YouTube channel. The dynamic duo also gives a seasonal warning about guitar ...
May 22, 2023•1 hr 29 min•Season 1Ep. 87
Rhett and Zach are rolling old school. No guests today, just our two hosts, chatting about all things gear and tone. Today, the guys are talking about modern pedals. These days, pedals are getting weirder and more complicated than we could have ever imagined, even just a few years ago, as loads of new models draw inspiration from modular synthesis, drum machines, and big leaps in technology. Some pedals make things more complicated—with buttons on buttons, operating systems that need updates, an...
May 08, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 86
"There's no money in non-diatonic notes!"—a validating cheeky word to the minor-pentatonic shredder guests at NAMM. In this ep, Rhett and Zach sit down with "Danish Pete" Honoré to talk NAMM highlights, geek out on Pete's new Chapman T-style signature guitar—it has a neck profile based on a 3D scan of his favorite—and discuss maintaining integrity in gear review videos. One of the best parts of NAMM is the industry community it assembles, and in the absence of the full-fledged convention the pas...
Apr 21, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 85
Rhett returns from Europe to chat with “guitar player’s guitar player” Sadler Vaden of Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. The trio jump right into their takes on the whole Bad Monkey saga, then dig into a detailed interview about how a Crazy Horse concert changed Sadler’s life, some tips for guitarists (spoiler alert: rhythm guitar is important!), and they discuss the band’s upcoming release, Weathervanes , unpacking the writing and recording process. When the conversation turns to gear (you knew it...
Apr 03, 2023•1 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 84
Mick Taylor, cohost of That Pedal Show, joins Zach on this episode, where they cover a whole lot of ground talking pedals, mental health, and more. The two discuss what it's like to have Mick's level of influence on the industry and how to overcome various forms of stage fright, before dipping a rig where some "shots" are fired. Thanks to Sweetwater for sponsoring this episode. Head to http://sweetwater.com/dippedintone to enter to win one of 2 rigs hand-picked by Rhett and Zach! Giveaway ends M...
Mar 20, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 83
Zach flies Rhett-less on this episode that features an interview with Joey Landreth. Joey shares on his Grammy award-winning success with Bonnie Raitt, how the amp he released with Two-Rock came about, and how parenting has informed his guitar playing. You'll also hear about a rig that gets quite a high Shoyles rating, thanks in part to its envelope filter. Thanks to Sweetwater for sponsoring this episode. Head to sweetwater.com/dippedintone to enter to win one of 2 rigs hand-picked by Rhett and...
Mar 06, 2023•59 min•Season 1Ep. 82
One of the guitarists of "little-known" jazz-fusion outfit Snarky Puppy, Mark Lettieri, joins the guys on this episode of Dipped in Tone. They talk scheduling committed creative time for songwriting, Lettieri's basic preferences on setting up baritone tones, and how he approaches dirt as a mostly clean player. Win Zach's or Rhett's Rig! Go here to sign up: http://sweetwater.com/dippedintone See Mark on tour: https://www.marklettieri.com/tour Subscribe, like, and leave us a comment Sign up on our...
Feb 20, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 81
Wondering how to join a band and get some sweet gigs? Then this ep’s for you. Rhett and Zach share their advice, from how to get in front of audiences and make more connections—if it’s all about who you know, how do you get to know the right people? And how do you impress them enough to hire you?—to the skills you’ll need to hone to get the job done. Sure, knowing your way around your instrument is really important, but it’s not just about scales, arpeggios, and chord voicings. And different gig...
Jan 30, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 80
Blues-rock guitarist and gearhead Greg Koch steps into Rhett and Zach's virtual studio to talk all things tone, including part of his personal amp journey—from solid-state to the Fender Super Reverb—the makeup of his current rig, and the power of the Strat middle pickup. Thanks to Sweetwater for sponsoring this video. Head to http://sweetwater.com/dippedintone Subscribe, like, and leave us a comment Sign up on our mailing list: http://eepurl.com/iaCee5 Support us on Patreon for access to our dis...
Jan 16, 2023•1 hr 27 min•Season 1Ep. 79
This edition of Dipped In Tone has a great guest—Foo Fighters’ Chris Shiflett, but … wait! There’s more! Hosts Rhett Shull and Zach Broyles tackle a pressing question: What band has recorded the most songs that you—and they—first learned on guitar? The Beatles, Foo Fighters, Metallica, Nirvana, Zeppelin, the Stones....? Who gets your vote? Also, Zach opens the mail, and it’s a box of Hotwound Dual-Rail single-coil-sized humbuckers for his 1982 Strat (with a vintage Floyd Rose) from Dipped In To...
Dec 19, 2022•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 78
A Boss RE-202 Space Echo … on a vocal mix? A hot pink overdrive, treble boost, and echo in one pedal named SusMaryOsep—a word Filipino mothers shout at troublesome children? An Artificial Blonde—with hat’s off to Madison Cunningham—that’s a slightly pitched vibrato? Line 6’s Catalyst modeling amp—sexy or not? Amp plugins from Neural DSP and Line 6? Tone King’s royal-sounding Imperial MkII and Soldano’s SLO-30? Metallica in a box (Caroline Guitar Company’s Crom)? A Pigtronix Star Eater fuzz that ...
Dec 05, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 77
Paul Reed Smith drops in to dip a rig and unpack the facets of tone—and why he unwound—and destroyed—a set of $10k vintage Fender pickups. Plus, all the fun stuff: What’s it like working with John Mayer? Does Santana’s guitar sound like a tenor sax? Why does David Grissom need every PRS on a music-store wall to play great? And the dudes argue over the big question: What’s better a cheap guitar and an expensive amp, or an expensive guitar and a cheap amp? Big thanks to StewMac for sponsoring this...
Nov 21, 2022•1 hr 30 min•Season 1Ep. 76
Rhett and Zach unpack the big news for secondhand guitar sellers and buyers: Sweetwater has launched their new Gear Exchange. How does it compare to Reverb, Craigslist, and Marketplace? To find out, Zach takes the site for a spin and buys a pedal. He calls the process both “very easy” and “normal.” They discuss the pros and cons of the various used-gear outlets and share tips for not getting got when buying gear. Plus, Zach grew a mustache, Mythos Pedals is moving, and he talks about his forthco...
Nov 07, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 75
10:19 We Dip Chris Shiflett’s Rig! 25:00 Zach’s New Pedal 28:29 Joe Bonamassa Live from Nerdville Big thanks to StewMac for sponsoring this episode. Head to http://stewmac.com/dippedintone to get 10% off! Go see Joe's Dumbles in person: https://jbonamassa.com/tour-dates/ Dipped In Tone begins its partnership with Premier Guitar with Rhett Shull and Zack Broyles visiting Joe Bonamassa in Nerdville East, his Nashville home and museum. They talk vintage gear, guitar obsession, innovation versus tra...
Oct 31, 2022•1 hr 30 min•Season 1Ep. 74
We have an announcement. Dipped in Tone is partnering with Premier Guitar! PG will be helping us on all fronts to help us deliver a better and more consistent DIT experience. Watch the video for all the details! Next episode drops on October 31st! Subscribe, like, and leave us a comment Sign up on our mailing list: http://eepurl.com/iaCee5 Support us on Patreon for access to our discord server and other perks! https://www.patreon.com/dippedintone MERCH: https://teespring.com/stores/dipped-in-ton...
Oct 10, 2022•5 min•Ep. 73
24:00 Main Topic In this episode of the Dipped in Tone podcast Rhett Shull and Zach Broyles talk about some big changes for the podcast, we dip an amp-less rig, and then dip each other's rigs and even play a little guitar! Subscribe, like, and leave us a comment Sign up on our mailing list: http://eepurl.com/iaCee5 Support us on Patreon for access to our discord server and other perks! https://www.patreon.com/dippedintone MERCH: https://teespring.com/stores/dipped-in-tone Follow us on Instagram:...
Oct 03, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 72
