Hal Leonard Books has published Modern Guitar Rigs: The Tone Fanatic’s Guide to Integrating Amps and Effects, a book by Scott Kahn.
Modern Guitar Rigs covers topics of interest to guitarists looking to build pro-level rigs, whether they’re playing clubs at the indie band level, getting set for a major tour, heading into the studio to record a new album, or just searching for “ultimate tone.”
“Guitar magazines routinely talk about commonly available guitars, amps, and effects, but they don’t really cover the components that go into assembling a professional guitar rig,” explains Kahn. “After hearing the same questions come up repeatedly from so many guitar players, I found myself pondering, ‘If only there were a book that really explained all this complex rig stuff,’ and then I discovered that no such book existed.”
Kahn, a technologist and accomplished guitar player, dissects complex guitar set-ups for multiple scenarios with an informal, relaxed style and calls attention to detail with bullet-point lists. Photos of the latest professional gear and actual rig examples of top guitarists add interest and application to the discussion.
Modern Guitar Rigs features
- Rack gear: multi-effects processors and dedicated signal processors, audio loopers, amp function switching systems, and MIDI foot controllers.
- Amp setups: wet/dry/wet configurations, rack-mounted tube preamps and power amps, stereo rigs, integrating pedals and rack gear, and floor-based loop systems.
- Guitar options: piezoelectric pickups and splitting guitar signals to multiple amps • Effect loops: choosing the right loop for your specific needs.
- Rig infrastructure: power conditioning, noise suppression, power attenuators, wireless systems, custom cabling, and equipment racks.
- Rigs of the stars: a look at the complex rigs used by many leading guitar players, including John Petrucci of Dream Theater, Alex Lifeson of Rush, and Steven Wilson and John Wesley of Porcupine Tree.
- Interviews with leading custom rig builders, including the legendary Bob Bradshaw of Custom Audio Electronics.
For players looking to move beyond a simple pedal board and combo amp, there is no more definitive book on the topic of advanced guitar rigs than Modern Guitar Rigs.
The book comes with a bonus DVD with more than an hour of video including “Building a Pro Guitar Rig”, “Setting Up Your First Small Rack”, “Taming The Pedalboard”, and a music video of the song “The Sky is Falling” by the progressive rock band Days Before Tomorrow, featuring Scott Kahn on guitar.
Modern Guitar Rigs is available to purchase for $24.99 USD.
More information: Hal Leonard Books
