Guitar gear, banter, and shop-floor obsession.
The Guitar Knobs treats guitar gear like a shared obsession, not a product category. Episodes move from loose panel banter into detailed chats about pedals, guitars, amps, builds, shows, and the small design choices that make players lean in.
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The Guitar Knobs is a gear hangout with enough technical detail to satisfy builders and enough loose banter to keep it from feeling like a catalog. The format is casual, but not empty. Episodes often begin with the panel ribbing each other over the recording, the intro, the week, or the guest’s first line, then slide into focused conversation about the things guitar people actually argue over. Pedals are a major center of gravity. So are guitars, amps, pickguards, shop details, trade-show encounters, and the little choices that make one build feel different from another. Recent conversations with Paul J. Meredith of Hangman Effects dig into complex analog drive pedals and unusual LED details using chain mail, dagger pieces, meteorite, and dinosaur bone. A return visit with Jonathan Labadee of M2 Labs turns quickly toward noise machines, the Fuzzocalypse, brass appointments, pedal naming, and practical signal-chain talk. Episodes with Tim Frank from Frank Brothers Guitar Company, Doug Cower of Cower Guitars, Chris Vincent with R2R Electric, Evan Haymond from OC Pedal Co, and Chad Jennings of Jennings Guitars show the show’s preference for makers who can talk process, personality, and products in the same breath. The Nashville episode adds another flavor: old guitars, slope-shouldered dreadnoughts, fire stripe tortoise guards, Lloyd Loar instruments, and the slow damage caused by celluloid nitrate gassing off. The show is not polished radio. It is quicker, warmer, and more sideways than that. A segment can pause for a joke, a correction, a food aside, or a bit of fake panic about whether the recording is still running. Then, without much ceremony, it is back to pedal guts, model names, or why a certain event feels better when people can actually talk without being blasted by volume. The repeated “Four on the Floor” gear check gives the conversations a familiar spine while still letting each guest reveal how they really use equipment. The best moments come when the panel’s teasing energy bumps into a very specific builder detail. That is the appeal. The Guitar Knobs makes guitar gear feel social, tactile, and slightly chaotic, while still respecting the obsessive craft behind it.
Made for: Built for guitar players, pedal collectors, builders, and gear-curious listeners who enjoy specific hardware talk with a loose panel rhythm. It especially suits people who want maker conversations without stiff interview polish.
What sets it apart: The show’s edge is its mix of friendly nonsense and real technical attention. It can joke about a recording light, then spend minutes on celluloid nitrate, analog drive complexity, or the feel of a specific rig.
Three guitar enthusiasts discuss and interview boutique builders of guitars, guitar pedals, guitar amps, and other gear.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Builder conversations and practical gear talk reveal how guitars, pedals and recording choices take shape.
The Guitar Knobs turns conversations about instruments and effects into shop-floor talk, with Todd Novak and Tony Dudzik moving easily between builder interviews, gear choices and jokes.
This is where you go when a pedal LED with dinosaur bone deserves serious questions and unserious company.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A loose, gear-minded conversation about Hangman Effects' artifact-filled pedals and the craft behind them.
Hangman Effects gets a close, pleasantly unruly showcase in this Guitar Knobs conversation, as Paul J. Meredith traces how a DIY pedal practice grew out of work he was already doing with rings.
A loose Nashville guitar weekend turns into warm, detailed talk about vintage guitars and celluloid's slow damage.
The Guitar Knobs use a Nashville guitar weekend as the doorway into a relaxed, closely observed talk about old instruments, rough travel, and the pleasure of noticing small details.
A loose return visit turns a four-pedal roll call toward M2 Labs' imposing Fuzzocalypse.
The Guitar Knobs' second round with Jonathan Labadee of M2 Labs treats the return visit as part of the fun. Todd Novak and Tony Dudzik open loosely, turning Labadee's name into a running bit before the episode settles into a brisk four-pedal roll call: a TC Electronic Hall of…
Doug Cower brings a builder's perspective to amps, pedals, modeling gear, and the limited playing time behind a setup.
Doug Cower's return to The Guitar Knobs gives the episode an easy, gear-first rhythm, with Tony Dudzik, Rob Chafe, and Todd Novak keeping the talk loose through jokes, interruptions, and shared fixation.
A relaxed return visit that finds the human side of NAMM in a quieter corner of gear culture.
R2R Electric's Chris Vincent returns to The Guitar Knobs for what he calls his third visit, this time with a builder's-eye view of NAMM season and Woodwire Volts.
A warm gear conversation about offset guitars, Bigsby demand, and a builder shaping a line around player requests.
Jennings Guitars returns for a focused gear chat, with Chad Jennings guiding the hosts through models shaped by offset lines, Tele-style familiarity, and the hardware choices players keep requesting.
A practical home-studio review that finds its best bite in shaping bass before the amp.
Home recording gets a practical, musician-first look as the Guitar Knobs crew talks through what to weigh when putting together a home studio.
Pedal talk with the knobs left loose.
Chicago critics DeRogatis and Kot pair new-album reviews with deep dives into records like Rumours.
Billboard's Keith Caulfield and Katie Atkinson break down the week's Hot 100 and 200 charts.
Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson trace viral internet stories from Reddit threads to courtrooms.
The Guitar Knobs hosts Todd Novak, Tony Dudzik, and Rob Chafe are joined by guests David Kaminga and John Fentel to discuss home recording studio setup.
The Guitar Knobs hosts reunite with Chad Jennings of Jennings Guitars after seven years.
Tony and Tony interview Jonathan Labbity, co-founder of M2 Labs, about their boutique effects pedals, specifically the Bomber Overdrive.
["The Guitar Knobs episode \"463-Interview With Hangman FX\" centers on Paul J.
Guitar Knobs 462, "Lost Weekend in Nashville," follows Todd Novak, Tony Dudzik, and Jared Brandon through a Nashville gear trip built around Gibson Repair, the Gibson Garage, and Kevin Equitz's shop.
The Guitar Knobs episode with Jonathan Labadee of M2 Labs centers on the Fuzzocalypse, a silicone fuzz pedal with a gauge and a chaos switch.
Tony from Guitar Knobs podcast interviews Tim Frank of Frank Brothers Guitars about their guitar building and the brotherly dynamic.
Todd and Tony interview Evan Haymond from OC Pedal Co about his pedal building and upcoming projects.
Doug Cower says he can pick an acoustic by feel and sound, not by specs or brand.
Chris Vincent says the market is split: his expensive pedals still sell, while cheaper models slow down.
Todd Novak and Tony Dudzik interview Chad Jennings of Jennings Guitars, catching up after seven years since their last episode.
Todd Novak interviews Chad Jennings of Jennings Guitars about his guitar building and his brand's online presence.
An interview with John Page of John Page Guitars on the Guitar Knobs podcast, discussing his guitar building and music projects.
An interview with Dave from Monger Pedals about his guitar pedals on the Guitar Knobs podcast.