Vertex Effects

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“It’s not the world’s greatest solo, but we spent hours on it”: Session legend Dann Huff recalls recording with Michael Jackson and Shania Twain – and begging Michael Bolton to let him play a solo with a Peavey acoustic

By Phil Weller published 5 April 24

Huff recounts his session contributions during a new in-depth interview – and explains how his heavily-modded ‘64 Strat “cut through the synthesizers of the ‘80s” and put him in great demand

“All I took to studios was a 335 and a Princeton Reverb”: Ray Parker Jr. on the ultra-rare Yamaha prototype he used on the Ghostbusters theme, and the helpful trick he learned from Grant Green, George Benson, and Melvin Sparks

By Phil Weller published 9 February 24

In a career-spanning conversation with Vertex Effects, the maestro – whose discography includes work with Bill Withers, Chaka Kahn, and Stevie Wonder – confesses his love for mono, and reveals why he always keeps things simple in the studio

Meet session legend Vernon Ice Black’s mythical ‘Sunnie’ Strat, the guitar that appears on some of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston’s biggest hits… and features a “whoop-de-do button”

By Jonathan Horsley published 30 October 23

Every great session player needs a hit-maker, and Black’s is Sunnie, which features no fewer than seven push-buttons for maximum tonal versatility

Gabriel Bergman (left) and Mason Marangella explore Eric Johnson's custom Dumble rig

“All of the Eric Johnson signature sounds are inside this preamp and power amp”: Vertex Effects played Eric Johnson’s $400,000 Dumble rig – here’s what it sounds like

By Jackson Maxwell published 8 September 23

The “rarest of rare” in the Dumble line, this custom-made Manzamp preamp and Odyssey power amp are said to be among the legendary amp builder’s “weirdest and most unobtainable” builds

Dean Parks (left) plays guitar while Mason Marangella looks on

“We all loved Larry Carlton’s guitar, it was just magic… We were all looking for guitars with chunky necks, to try and get the sustain that he had”: Session legend Dean Parks reveals the secrets of his most iconic Steely Dan and Eric Clapton guitar parts

By Jackson Maxwell published 28 August 23

You can hear Parks on Josie, Haitian Divorce, Change the World, Rikki Don’t Lose That Number and innumerable other songs – here, the guitarist unpacks the gear and recording sessions that forged them

Wendy Melvoin (left) and Vertex Effects' Mason Marangella

Watch Wendy Melvoin break down Purple Rain

By Jackson Maxwell published 24 May 22

The Prince & the Revolution alum goes into detail about the hot-rodded Rickenbacker and mystery chorus pedal that powered the original, and which pedals she'd use for the song now

Vertex Effects' new Ultra Phonix MKII overdrive pedal

Vertex Effects promises Dumble-style 'drive tones in a pedalboard-friendly package with its updated Ultraphonix pedal

By Jackson Maxwell published 4 August 21

A slimmed-down version of its predecessor, the MKII Ultraphonix pedal also features a new Level control

Vertex’s Boost MKII is a slim, single-knob “boost plus”

By Richard Bienstock published 1 April 21

Updated design boasts top-mounted jacks, dual-buffer interface and ultra-linear clean boost

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