Mark Johnston

Well it’s here. @chasebliss and @electronicaudioexperiments announced the newest in the Automatone lineup: Big Time. Big Time is big delay. There’s a lot to say about it but that’s why I have a nearly two hour video on it. For now I’ll just say; amazing rhythmic delay tones, beautiful ambient pitch shifting looper, stereo Thermae. Is it for everyone? Nah. Is it insane. Yes it is. Gear: @jenningsguitars voyager and bass @fender 52 RI Tele @vongonelectronics replay @chasebliss X @bensonamps preamp mkii CB x @meris.us CXM1978 @neuraldsp quad cortex mini @ggd.co modern and massive 2 @garbage.ideas FK

These new Fen-Tone ribbon mics from @warmaudio are rad. They’re rad on guitar, on bass, as drum overheads, and sound phenomenal on acoustic. Deep dive into them on the channel now. Also; huge thank you to @ntotherabon of @contemporarygirlfriend for letting me throw a song at him 30 hours before asking him to come in and track it. This is, I think, the first time I’ve ever end-to-end engineering and mixed a live kit. Ready for more of that. Go check out Nick’s band; they’re awesome. • • • • #ambientnotes #ambient #thepedalzone #geartalk #analog #gear #guitar #gearnerds #vintage #postrock #vsco #sacramento #knowyourtone #music #fortnite #cleantone #gearshots #pedalboard #pedalboardoftheday #guitartone #thetonemob #chasebliss #1981 #delay #reverb #thermae #pedalboard #pedaldemo #gearybusey #lofi

When it comes to adding something new to your board are you more interested in something vintage; an old hard to find piece of guitar gear, or something that you normally wouldn’t be able to find for your board like studio gear? These new releases today from @warmaudio have you covered regardless of which way you go. The WA-C1 is a gorgeous homage to early Boss chorus ensembles with some modern amenities to give it more sparkle, more flexibility, and even more drive if you want it. The Pedal76 is a straight up 1176 for your pedalboard complete with a VU meter, rack accurate controls, and even a custom little cinemag output transformer to give you as honest a version of that 76 sound and you could hope to get on your board. This was a real fun project and I love how this track turned out. Full demo out now; link in stories. Guitars: @buntingguitars Melody Queen T @fender @lincolnbrewsterofficial Strat @fender acoustasonic @jenningsguitarco bass Chain; @warmaudio Pedal76 @browneamplification Carbon X @warmaudio WA-C1 @strymonengineering el cap and Bigsky Mx @bensonamps monarch + and @morganamps Pr12 @uaudio ox Tracked into the Warm WA-273EQ Strings by @stringjoy Instrument cable by @ernieball Powered by @strymonengineering Interface and DAW: @Uaudio • • • • #ambientnotes #ambient #thepedalzone #geartalk #analog #gear #guitar #gearnerds #vintage #postrock #vsco #sacramento #knowyourtone #music #fortnite #cleantone #gearshots #pedalboard #pedalboardoftheday #guitartone #thetonemob #chasebliss #1981 #delay #reverb #thermae #pedalboard #pedaldemo #gearybusey #lofi

We all had a lot to say on this weeks episode of AZZC. Hear our ramblings about the newest Fender licensing deal, pedal sequels we do & don't believe should exist. What we like about the way @greeramps overdrives make us feel and more, premiering NOW on the tube.

I published my demo of the new @dwfearn_hazelriggindustries VDP preamp yesterday and for it I brought the incredible @bivbivbivbivbivbiv in to do a song. He’s an absolutely phenomenal songwriter and, for the video, I have just him and his acoustic playing this song. I came into the studio today with it still stuck in my head and decided, despite the video being out, to lay some guitars and bass down on it. Hopefully that’s fine, Chris. It’s kind of a testament to both Chris’s writing as well as how enamored I have been with these tube preamps. They just sound… right. All the time. I’ve got a 121 on my Benson and we’re recording Bass as a DI into pro tools. It’s a piece of gear that just kind of gets out of my way and lets me get takes I LOVE listening back to. Full video is up on YouTube. Not of this version of the song, though. But Chris’s acoustic cut is there and is beautiful. Gear; @ribbonmics N22 on vocals @soyuzmicrophones 1973 on acoustic @royerlabs 121 on the @bensonamps Tall Bird and Monarch+ @buntingguitars and @fender and @martinguitar Tracked into a @burlaudio B2 ADC converter and @uaudio x8p in pro tools

Ambient Mark Johnston stock at an all time low. Today I decided it would be fun to hear @strymonengineering ‘s first ever analog fuzz, the Canoga, on camera for the first time. So we did a little unboxing and sound exploration. And for extra fun, chaos, so I could make a YouTube video title about it, I decided to hear it first through my beloved and now classic @bensonamps Vinny 1 wall half stack. None of this 5 watt w reverb nonsense. A single watt and a bunch of gain and a hollow body guitar. Remember when I cared about stereo? Me neither. “Full” vid in the place you expect it to be. But it’s only like 7 minutes and there’s no talking. Gear: @heritageguitarinc ascent+ 535 @soyuzmicrophones V1 and Lakeside

It’s always a good sign when a chorus pedal sounds good across multiple sources. The new @beetronics SeaBee Lite strips away the wildest sides of their original chorus (etc) design in favor of a more straightforward “just the hits” approach. We’re pulling great classic analog chorus and vibrato sounds on the electrics across everything here. We’re also reamping the acoustic through the Seabee lite for less chorus and more widening without the definition of a doubling effects. Things rad. Check it out. Link in bio etc. Gear: @fender 52 Tele / Jazz Bass @orangewoodguitars @treetoneguitars Del Sol @martinguitar w a @heisermanaudio type-21 @bensonamps monarch +

Look I know what a lot of you were thinking; “A pedal recreation of a classic rack delay famously used by the band Phish? I bet Mark is deep in the jam band lore and will absolutely use it for all its assumed use cases.” Turns out pedals can be used for a lot of different things which is kind of fun. If you wanna hear that funk siren sound I’m guessing the @keeleyelectronics page has you covered. But this thing is a pretty stellar ambient delay. There’s some great tricks up its sleeve with its stereo image, its CRAZY modulation range, and the glitchy hold function. Anyways. A demo on its ambient use cases is up now. You know where to find it. Gear: @fender EJ Strat with @lollarpickups Pawn shop bass vi @vongonelectronics replay @29pedals EUNA @bensonamps germ boost @morganamps AC5 @badcatamps pure path @chasebliss cxm1978 Strings and cables: @ernieball Powered by @walrusaudioeffects CANVAS Interface: @Uaudio • • • • #ambientnotes #ambient #thepedalzone #geartalk #analog gear guitar gearnerds vintage postrock vsco sacramento knowyourtone music fortnite cleantone gearshots pedalboard pedalboardoftheday guitartone thetonemob chasebliss 1981 delay reverb thermae pedalboard pedaldemo gearybusey lofi

Man it’s so nice when a guitar sounds as good as it looks. The out-of-the-box Wow factor was real for me when this $699 import model @heritageguitarinc 535 came in but the weeks I’ve spent with it have done nothing but solidify that infatuation with it. I have a LOT to say about it; arguably too much for text here so I recommend two things. One: to hear sound samples and the guitar in context to hit up my demo on the ascent+ h-535 (link in stories) and Two; go listen to my recent AZZC podcast with @signal.path and @ambientendeavors to hear us talk much more deeply about our experiences with this line of guitars. Gear: @heritageguitarinc Ascent+ H-535 @chasebliss tonal recall blue knob and Thermae @quiettheory Prelude @victoryampsuk Deputy head @badcatamps Pure Path Drums are @ggd.co modern and massive 2 Strings and cables: @ernieball Powered by @walrusaudioeffects CANVAS Interface: @Uaudio • • • • #ambientnotes #ambient #thepedalzone #geartalk #analog gear guitar gearnerds vintage postrock vsco sacramento knowyourtone music fortnite cleantone gearshots pedalboard pedalboardoftheday guitartone thetonemob chasebliss 1981 delay reverb thermae pedalboard pedaldemo gearybusey lofi

Our friend @markjohnston moves from subtle to extreme with the Spring Reverb from Pathways Reverb & Tremolo. So many tones to explore! To start your own tone path, check out the Pathways link in our bio to see the full video! #sourceaudio #sourceaudioeffects #sourceaudiopathways #guitarpedals #pedalboard

If you missed this weeks episode of the AZZC Podcast (and how dare you); John, Andrew, and I are deep in our “man sub $1,000 guitars are getting REALLY good right now” eras. We recorded that episode while I was in the middle of my video on the @orangewoodguitars @treetoneguitars Del Sol video. This is a collab between two very rad brands I’ve been a fan of from a distance for years now and was really stoked on the opportunity to put this guitar through its paces. Full video is over on my channel now. You know where to find it; stories etc. things of that nature. Gear: @29pedals EUNA (with switches actually being used) @chasebliss Tonal Recall (blue knob) ahead of dirt @1981inventions DRV @audiokitchen fake plastic trees @strymonengineering el cap @quiettheory prelude @badcatamps hot cat and pure path Strings and cables: @ernieball Powered by @walrusaudioeffects CANVAS Interface: @Uaudio • • • • #ambientnotes #ambient #thepedalzone #geartalk #analog gear guitar gearnerds vintage postrock vsco sacramento knowyourtone music fortnite cleantone gearshots pedalboard pedalboardoftheday guitartone thetonemob chasebliss 1981 delay reverb thermae pedalboard pedaldemo gearybusey lofi

What does PurePath sound like with a Benson Monarch? @markjohnston has the answer for you! We designed PurePath to work well with any amplifier, not just ours. The feel and responsiveness that comes from PurePath is indescribable, you’ll realize how much you’ve been compromising with even milliseconds of latency that you may not even notice with your IRs.