Best Guitar Mod Podcasts (2025)

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Coils, Swords, and High Gain w/ Ricky Sutton of Arcana Pickups 1:14:31

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3h ago1:14:31

1:14:31

Ricky Sutton of Arcana Pickups rolls in to talk metal, hand-wound voodoo, and why the word “influencer” sounds like something you catch at a gas-station bathroom. He grew up in rural Tennessee, moved to Portland, and in 2016 decided metal deserved its own pickup company. Now he winds coils that make your amp behave like a caffeinated raccoon and dr…

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The Unexpected Benefits of Chopping Wood, with Nicole Coenen 47:26

5d ago47:26

47:26

Wood chopping is objectively awful for all the obvious reasons: blisters, back aches, over-the-counter painkiller expenses. But that’s not what you remember months later, when the fruits of your labor warm you and your loved ones on a cold winter night. See, wood chopping is really an investment—both in terms of that crackling fire, but also your e…

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From Elvis to Extreme Metal: A Chat w/ Taylor Danley 1:12:12

7d ago1:12:12

1:12:12

Metal YouTuber and fellow Oregonian Taylor Danley shows up with riffs, opinions, and a tube-amp habit that could brown out a neighborhood. We trace the path from Elvis ukulele kid to extreme-metal lifer, then get into the real fight: cranked amps vs. modeling. We make the case for the Boss Tube Amp Expander (turn it up, keep your lease), why an Axe…

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S5E19 - Pedal Mongering w/ Dave Woods of Monger Pedals 56:43

9d ago56:43

56:43

Send us a text Find Dave and Monger Pedals on: Internet: https://www.mongerpedals.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monger_pedals/ Sponsors Grez Guitars: https://www.grezguitars.com/ Grez Guitars (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/grezguitars/ Summer School Electronics: https://www.summerschoolelectronics.com/ Summer School Electronics …

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What You Learn Running Toward, Rather Than Away, From a Tornado, With Pecos Hank 47:33

13d ago47:33

47:33

Spend time outdoors, and you’ll eventually spend time in brutal, even scary weather. Dangerous winds, flash flood-inducing rain, and vision-erasing whiteouts are sometimes the cost of entry. By the same token, you’re as likely to remember the upsides to those experience—the belly laughter of relief, the rainbows after the rain, the waist deep powde…

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The 1-800 Number That Built Mojotone 1:04:39

14d ago1:04:39

1:04:39

Mojotone has been “that place that has everything” for decades—but how did a parts house become an OEM powerhouse? Blake talks with Mojotone’s Andy Turner and Michael McWhorter about the wild ride from surplus pallets and a borrowed warehouse to building cabinets and amps for the biggest names in guitar. We dig into the early Mojotone years, why tu…

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Addicted to Germanium | S5E18 w/ Erik Breña of Breña FX 57:49

17d ago57:49

57:49

Send us a text Find Erik and Breña FX on: Internet: https://www.brenafx.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brena_fx/ Sponsors Grez Guitars: https://www.grezguitars.com/ Grez Guitars (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/grezguitars/ Summer School Electronics: https://www.summerschoolelectronics.com/ Summer School Electronics (Instagram): ht…

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Running as Art, With Olympian and Filmmaker Alexi Pappas 43:00

19d ago43:00

43:00

Extreme adaptability and versatility can be found throughout the animal kingdom, but may have found their peak expression in Alexi Pappas. As a runner, Pappas was a two-time All-American for Dartmouth who set a national record running for Greece at the 2016 Olympics. As a performer, she was a member of Dartmouth’s gut-busting Dog Day improv group b…

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How Parrotdice Guitars Became Portland’s Favorite Weird-Gear Hang 1:22:41

22d ago1:22:41

1:22:41

Some kids take apart toys. Jay Sasseen popped the backplate on a red Squier and never looked back. That curiosity turned into Parottdice Guitars, a Multnomah Village spotwhere weird gear and rad people hang out. We talk about the "gear flipping hustle" that became a real-deal guitar shop with a simple creed that actually works: fix things well, pri…

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Running Toward Love, with Lawlor Coe and Family 31:15

26d ago31:15

31:15

After Lawlor Coe lost his brother Hunter to tragedy, he did everything he could to avoid his pain. Then he laced up his joggers and began to run. At first, it was to elude his grief. But over time, as he began to log miles and miles, he found that the physical suffering he was enduring out on the trail helped him find his way to peace, and then bac…

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Matt Parker vs. The Bass VI: Strings, Mods, and Mayhem 1:32:01

27d ago1:32:01

1:32:01

Matt Parker plays bass like a guy who read the manual and then set it on fire for warmth. We talk the strange magic of the Bass VI: why the new Squier Classic Vibe fixes the old headaches, and which mods turn wobble into weapon. Matt rolls through rigs like a responsible maniac: Ashdown heads into a 6x10 for moving air, the LB-30 with built-in load…

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Guitar Camp Friends are Real Friends | S5E17 w/ Mark Turley 59:10

1M ago59:10

59:10

Send us a text Sponsors Grez Guitars: https://www.grezguitars.com/ Grez Guitars (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/grezguitars/ Summer School Electronics: https://www.summerschoolelectronics.com/ Summer School Electronics (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/summerschoolelectronics/ Meris Pedals: https://www.meris.us/ Meris Pedals (Instagram)…

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African Surfing and the Ocean as a Source of Joy, with Professor Kevin Dawson 43:54

1M ago43:54

43:54

The blissed out, swell chasing surfer with a single-minded focus on the next great ride is a pervasive outdoorsy archetype that’s completely at odds with the lived experience of many surfers. Take historian Kevin Dawon, a professor at UC Merced, for whom surfing serves as his connection to a rich tradition of African aquatic culture. Dawson is cred…

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From Dead Radios to Living Tone: The Origin of R2R Electric 1:07:01

1M ago1:07:01

1:07:01

Chris Vincent (a.k.a. DJLavalamp) joins the podcast to tell the story of how a punk kid with a busted guitar wound up building some of the most coveted point-to-point, vintage style guitar pedals on the planet. We get into the weird alchemy of germanium transistors (spoiler: they melt if you look at them sideways), scavenging tubes out of dead reel…

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What Life in the Grand Canyon Tells Us About Life Everywhere Else, With Cindell Dale 45:55

1M ago45:55

45:55

We love our outdoor archetypes, the folk heroes who reject the trappings of the 9 to 5 life and solely focus on the trail, the powder turn, or the frothing whitewater. River guides live a romantic sunburnt existence, ones in which bucket list adventures are their everyday. It’s not just their ability to read water and navigate huge standing waves d…

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$36, Some Guitars, and a Federal Investigation (Mike Mitchell of The Kingsmen) 37:24

1M ago37:24

37:24

This week we’re dusting off a true gem from the Tone Mob archives! My 2019 conversation with Mike Mitchell of The Kingsmen. Recorded live in a Portland cigar bar, this one dives into the chaotic birth of garage rock and the most famous three chords in history: Louie Louie. Mike tells the story of how the band cut the track in a one-hour, $36 record…

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Does AI have a place in music? | S5E16 w/ Joe Branton 55:55

2M ago55:55

55:55

Send us a text Find out more from Joe Branton, Poly-Math, and the Guitar Nerds at: Poly-Math: https://www.poly-math.net/ Guitar Nerds: https://www.guitarnerds.net/ Sponsors Grez Guitars: https://www.grezguitars.com/ Grez Guitars (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/grezguitars/ Summer School Electronics: https://www.summerschoolelectronics.com/ S…

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What’s Harder Than the Ironman World Championship, with Chelsea Sodaro 50:03

2M ago50:03

50:03

We love our stories of human endurance, from Shackleton’s famed expedition to the 11-hour Wimbledon match to days-long ultramarathons. Hell, even the Coney Island Hot Dog eating contest is broadcast on television; that’s just how much we celebrate a person pushing themselves to the brink. But the moments that inspire the most are the ones in which …

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Morgoth Beatz: Heavy Riffs, Studio Secrets, and Touring with the Titans 1:04:06

2M ago1:04:06

1:04:06

Hold on to your hats folks! Morgoth Beatz is back, and yet again, he's got a whole lot more than just a cool name. After a couple of years off, the man behind Seven Hours After Violet talks about going from studio wizardry to touring the globe with the likes of Korn, Slipknot, and Avenged Sevenfold. What started as a small project with Shavo from S…

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Recreating Hollywood’s Greatest, Dumbest Road Trip Of All Time, with Zack Courts and Ari Henning 28:12

2M ago28:12

28:12

In celebration of summertime road trips, this week we’re revisiting an episode from our archives that is one of PaddyO’s favorites. In 2021, two men set out to do something seemingly impossible. And also pretty dumb. Motorcycle gurus and YouTube stars Zack Courts and Ari Henning would squeeze together, buttcrack to belt buckle, onto a minibike—a ve…

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Pizza, Pickups & Pastrami: Ian Galbraith of Carlson Block 1:09:56

2M ago1:09:56

1:09:56

What do world-class pizza and handbuilt guitars have in common? More than you'd think! On this episode of The Tone Mob Podcast, Blake sits down with Ian Galbraith, owner of Carlson Block—an incredible pizzeria tucked in the tiny town of Wilkeson, Washington. Ian shares the story of how he left photography behind to restore a 1910 building, build a …

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#95 R.I.P Ozzy! 42:25

2M ago42:25

42:25

Chris and Rick pay their respect to the Prince of Darkness, and reminisce about their earliest encounters with Black Sabbath and Ozzy.By Chris Cline & Rick Hines

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Getting Outside of the Hollywood Star Machine, with Tony Cavalero 42:36

2M ago42:36

42:36

Famous Hollywood actors aren’t outdoorsy, right? They’re too busy being…well, famous to enjoy the outdoors and certainly too fancy to listen to a podcast about the surprising impacts of a life outside, aren’t they? Turns out, HBO’s “The Righteous Gemstones” star, Tony Cavalero, is a longtime listener of the Outside Podcast because he’s been obsesse…

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Kemper Regrets, Milkman Magic & That One Perfect Les Paul (Andrew Patrick of The Carolyn) 1:01:44

2M ago1:01:44

1:01:44

Andrew Patrick of The Carolyn joins Blake to talk tone, songwriting, and the joys (and occasional heartbreak) of Les Pauls that refuse to stay in tune. They get into the band’s humble beginnings, Andrew’s early love for whiny punk-pop, and why their latest record Pyramid Scheme of Grief nearly didn’t sound the way it was supposed to (spoiler: the K…

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Are we wrong about Chinese guitars? w/ Tony, Marty, and Brandon of Kepma Guitars | S5E15 53:24

2M ago53:24

53:24

Send us a text Find out more about Kepma Guitars at https://www.kepmausa.com/ See the build process video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sOryKl6Z6c Sponsors Grez Guitars: https://www.grezguitars.com/ Grez Guitars (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/grezguitars/ Summer School Electronics: https://www.summerschoolelectronics.com/ Summer School …

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LIVE! To Alex Honnold, Fear Isn’t Real (From the Outside Festival) 52:31

2M ago52:31

52:31

Alex Honnold is the most accomplished and daring rock climber since the invention of the chalk bag. He grabbed global attention for his free solo ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, immortalized in the Academy Award®-winning documentary Free Solo. This monumental feat solidified his status as a superstar of the climbing community and a …

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This Guitar Tech Hates Pizza. And Loves Floyd Roses? 1:06:50

2M ago1:06:50

1:06:50

Nate Wood of Stahman Guitars joins Blake to talk about guitars, burnout, mindset, surviving the hustle, and why building your dream job might accidentally turn into a nightmare if you’re not careful. It’s part Lutherie, part therapy, part field guide to doing creative work without losing your mind. They get into everything from learning piano in Ut…

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How (Literal) Pants-Wetting Anxiety Can Clarify Life, with Sierra Schlag 39:00

3M ago39:00

39:00

Throughout professional skier Sierra Schlag’s childhood, her Japanese heritage and cultural practices made her the target of racist bullying. Then, when she traveled to Japan to visit family as a child, and later as an adult, she was referred to as “Nisei”—a person born in North America whose parent(s) immigrated from Japan. She couldn’t make sense…

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How Rich Renken Accidentally Helped Shape Modern Guitar Tone 1:28:37

3M ago1:28:37

1:28:37

What do Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean, Line 6's Spider amps, and some of the wildest custom guitars on earth have in common? Rich Renken. In this episode, Rich walks Blake through decades in the gear trenches—starting as a bassist in church bands, engineering records with 90s rock royalty, helping invent products that changed the amp game, and now …

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#94 Serving the Song 33:44

3M ago33:44

33:44

Chris and Rick talk about how important it is to serve the song, and to find your place in the sonic mix of instruments and vocals for the best results.By Chris Cline & Rick Hines

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David Blaine and Diana Nyad on the Art of Endurance 1:04:03

3M ago1:04:03

1:04:03

For decades, legendary magician David Blaine has completed record-breaking stunts that defy the impossible: He has held his breath for more than 17 minutes, was buried alive for seven days, frozen alive for three days, fasted for 44 days, caught a bullet fired from a gun in his mouth, and so much more. In his new National Geographic series David Bl…

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Inside the Pedal Lab with Relient K’s Matt Hoopes 1:08:49

3M ago1:08:49

1:08:49

Matt Hoopes is back on the show! Blake and Matt catch up on all things Relient K—from packed DIY shows at Brown’s Diner to opening for Avril Lavigne and Simple Plan. They dive into what it means to be a touring musician as a grown-up, the joys of building a “new boat” for the band, and why some of the most meaningful shows don’t happen on giant fes…

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Surfing The Waves Of The American Culture War, with David Litt 58:22

3M ago58:22

58:22

In 2020, David Litt, former senior speech writer to President Obama, moved from Washington DC to the Jersey Shore, and felt the need for a jolt of life amidst the pandemic. So he did what anyone would do: David decided he needed to learn to surf. As a sensible Yale-educated, New York Times best selling author, David knew he needed help. And that’s …

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Springsteen’s Movie Had a Problem. JD Simo Fixed It. 1:07:25

3M ago1:07:25

1:07:25

What happens when a guitar wizard stumbles face-first into Hollywood? JD Simo is back, and this time he’s not just laying down licks. He’s coaching movie stars, babysitting vintage synths, and fixing million-dollar screwups the prop department didn’t even notice. He walks us through how a phone call from producer Dave Cobb turned into a full-blown …

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#93 What's Your Settings, Man?! 34:02

3M ago34:02

34:02

Chris and Rick talk about how there are no "settings" per se... You can get to a starting point but then you have to explore, and find your own way. Often times it's scary, but with some curiosity and tenacity you can do it!By Chris Cline & Rick Hines

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Pedals are boring w/ Mark Turley of Summer School Electronics | S5E14 57:00

3M ago57:00

57:00

Send us a text Hope you enjoy this episode with Mark Turley from Summer School Electronics! Sponsors Grez Guitars: https://www.grezguitars.com/ Grez Guitars (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/grezguitars/ Summer School Electronics: https://www.summerschoolelectronics.com/ Summer School Electronics (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/summersc…