Vol. 26, No. 9
July-August 2025
Players, Gear & Sound — The Inside
From Australia’s gigging trenches to becoming a tone pioneer, Daniel Steinhardt of The GigRig and That Pedal Show shares his extraordinary journey through vintage effects, rig innovation, and pedal wisdom. We dive deep into pedal placement, tone architecture, and the roots of That Pedal Show. Plus, we sit in on the brilliant tone collaboration between Duke Robillard and Andy Bassford, explore Brad Sarno’s genius with the Black Box, and reveal the lush sonic beauty of the Humboldt Preamp. We take an in-depth look with blues icon Tommy Castro on recording raw and right. Plus, six classic rock veterans reveal rig secrets from the Yardbirds to Iron Maiden. It’s another gear-driven, wisdom-packed issue for serious tone chasers.
PLAYERS, GEAR & SOUND
The Inside
Daniel Steinhardt, The GigRig & That Pedal Show
By Riverhorse. Daniel Steinhardt traces his journey from harmonizing with siblings in Brisbane to co-founding That Pedal Show and GigRig, sharing hard-won wisdom on tone, pedal order, and the gear that changed his musical life.
DUKE ROBILLARD MEETS SOULSHOT FEATURING ANDY BASSFORD AND MARK BERNEY
Two Guitars — One Sound
By Tom Guerra. When jazz/blues master Duke Robillard and reggae virtuoso Andy Bassford joined forces with Soulshot, the result was a seamless collision of ska, rock steady, and jazzy blues. TQ goes deep on the guitars, amps, and creative chemistry behind their new collaborative album.
SARNO MUSIC SOLUTIONS
Brad Sarno —The Mind Behind The Steel Guitar Black Box
By Scott Ulrichs. Brad Sarno, designer of the legendary Steel Guitar Black Box tube buffer, talks about his journey from Heathkit tinkerer to boutique builder — explaining why guitars want to see a tube first, how impedance loading shapes tone, and what's coming next from his one-man garage workshop.
THE SARNO STEEL GUITAR BLACK BOX REVIEW
Gotta Black Magic Woman
By Scott Ulrichs. Brad Sarno's Steel Guitar Black Box Mini puts a 12AX7 tube in your signal path to restore warmth, air, and feel lost to long cable runs and buffered pedal chains. At around $300, it's a deceptively simple device with surprisingly significant results for both acoustic and electric players.
THE HUMBOLDT PREAMP
Jay Schreiber, Niche Devices
By Riverhorse. Jay Schreiber of Niche Devices discusses his path from professional drummer and electronics tinkerer to boutique pedal builder, detailing the transformer-equipped Humboldt Preamp/Compressor and what's next for the company.
Humboldt Preamp & Dakota Compressor
By Riverhorse. Jay Schreiber's Niche Devices Humboldt Preamp combines optical compression and a high-headroom preamplifier in a fully blendable parallel circuit — ToneQuest's Riverhorse puts it through its paces alongside the Dakota Compressor and finds gold, tonally and literally.
CLASSIC ROCK TONE
6 Players Share Their Rig Tips
By Pete Prown. ToneQuest talks to six veterans of the classic rock era—including Chris Dreja, Cliff Goodwin, Adrian Smith, Adrian Belew, Bill Nelson, and Jeff Cease—about the guitars, amps, and pedals behind their iconic sounds. The reality, it turns out, is less about magic and mojo and more about sweat, experimentation, and simply good gear.
TOMMY CASTRO
Painkiller Blues
By Pete Prown. West Coast blues guitarist Tommy Castro talks tone, guitars, and his latest Alligator Records release Closer To The Bone — a raw, authentic blues record made with producer Kid Andersen at Greaseland Studio.
IN BEAUTIFUL UPSTATE NEW YORK
Jim Weider's Masters Of The Telecaster Camp 2025
By Scott Ulrichs. ToneQuest sits down with Jim Weider — longtime friend of the TQ family and former Band guitarist — to discuss his favorite Telecasters, his modified Bassman, and the Masters of the Telecaster Guitar Camp returning to the Catskills September 29–October 3, 2025.
From sold-out tours to building pro rigs that changed the game, Daniel Steinhardt went from harmonizing in Brisbane to co-founding That Pedal Show and GigRig—earning global respect as a tone architect for artists chasing the real thing.
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