Tom Scholz
When I think of the “stars” of DIY guitar effects I usually think of Craig Anderton, Robert Penfold, Nicolas Boscorelli or John Simonton. Or, I think about my internet heroes, such as R.G. Keen, Jack Orman and Aron Nelson. The other day I was thinking about great guitar sounds and effects and I thought about the great sound of Rockman gear. And that got me thinking about Tom Scholz, creator of the Rockman name brand amps and guitar effects and also the mastermind behind the Rock group Boston. He realized the dream that many of us in the DIY music world dream: to build our own effects and amps that produce a great, unique sound and to use that sound in our trip to the top of Rock Stardom!
Whether or not you like the music of Boston, Tom Scholz has made a massive contribution to electric guitar sounds and to pop/rock music. He used his electronic gear knowledge to make a huge impact on his career and his music. He crafted “The Tom Scholz/Boston Sound” sound and a big part of it is DIY. Probably the best DIY success story in the history of Rock Music!
Do you know of any other DIY guitar effect Super Stars? List your favorites in the comments below.
JD Sleep
General Guitar Gadgets
Eddie Van Halen. When he put the light dimmers in his Marshalls so he could dime the amp at low voltage.
I hate to be that guy, but EVH used a Variac. He did however do all kinda unique mods to his guitar and hardware. Tom Scholz actually gave up a massive career with Polaroid as a senior product engineer to pursue his rock and roll dream. He made it in his basement totally diy, we have Boston the self titled album bc this guy was bold enough to pursue his passion. If there were more men like him these days life would be better.
PS: in my top 3 stompbox diy heroes GGG is first place every time