I am the founder and CEO of Mission Engineering
Guitar signal noisy, intermittent, or just plain dead? Unable to make it through a rehearsal without something fizzing, popping, or blowing up? Sooner or later something is going to fail, and every rig needs some regular maintenance to keep it running at it’s best. If you are not in a platinum selling band with your own guitar tech, then you… Read More »Fixing 5 Common Rig Fails
Rechargeable batteries are a common and exciting sight these days. But how do they hold up as power sources for effects pedals? Let’s find out. The Contenders Theoretically, rechargeable versions of the alkaline batteries we discussed last time would be a good choice for effects pedals. The chemistry is the same, but the battery is constructed so as not to… Read More »Rechargeable Batteries and Pedals: Are They Worth It?
If you are not familiar with the concept of modeling, here’s the quick lowdown. Modeling companies use sophisticated computerized tools to analyze the sound and behavior of the parts of the guitarists signal chain including amplifiers, effects, microphones and speaker cabinets. They then use the data to create software ‘models’ that allow musicians to emulate the sounds on various devices.… Read More »Understanding Speakers for Guitar Software
Switching power supplies? Regulated outputs? Isolated grounds? Arrgh! All I want to do is to power my pedals without sounding like a can of bees or bursting into flames. What do all these terms mean? Do they make any difference for effects pedals? Let’s find out. The job of the power supply is to convert the voltage from your wall… Read More »Pedal Power
There are plenty of exaggerated, and even outright fake claims about audio cables. I wanted to take a mixture of common factors that might impact a guitar cable, some based on sound engineering principles, and others that might be a bit more tenuous, to see which are measurable with commonly available lab equipment. The first stage was to list various… Read More »Measuring Guitar Cables
Here’s a quick challenge: You want to make the most dramatic change possible in both the look and sound of a guitar rig, but can only change one item. What do you choose? Hands up all those who said speaker cabinet? It may not have been the first thing that came to mind, but think about how much of… Read More »Speak to Me
When I was a kid learning about engineering and electronics, the magazines that we read in the pre-internet days were full of articles, projects, and kits promising hours of enjoyment and even the proposition of making money from our favorite pastime. Electronics kit building kind of fell out of favor during the computer age as the home based technology enthusiasts… Read More »Building Pedals for Fun and Profit
Volume is an odd concept. You would think it to be straightforward enough that a volume control makes things louder or quieter, and in the case of guitar amplifiers, one rated at a higher power should be louder. Of course, it’s a fair bit more complicated than that. Let’s first remind ourselves of a basic definition of sound.Sound starts with… Read More »The Science of Volume
It is certainly no secret that being a musician can be very expensive. From pedals to that shiny new guitar, everything begins to add up. It is, of course, worth it but it is a lot of money! However, there are definitely ways to make being a musician even more expensive. High quality guitars often come with high price tags,… Read More »The Most Expensive Guitar Ever Sold
NAMM is a great show where you’ll get to see many different and interesting things in the music industry. If you love guitars in particular, then you’ll definitely want to check out a NAMM show, because the amount of guitars, pedals and other guitar-related items that you won’t see anywhere else will be sure to bring you a lot of… Read More »Wild and Weird Guitar Designs