Dipped In Tone

Thanks so much to the sponsor of today's episode, Sweetwater! Make sure to check out all the gear we use here and more: https://www.sweetwater.com/shop/dipped-in-tone/ We're back! Rhett just wrapped the biggest touring year of his life — 60 shows, ten months, three continents, including a 31-show fall run with The Midnight he's calling the best tour experience he's ever had. After catching up (GTA 6 hype, a wild Halo community-modding scene, and a cosplay build), a viewer hot take about keeping pedalboards simple turns into a real conversation about knowing your gear inside and out, plus Zach's go-to trick for not freezing up when you sit down with an unfamiliar guitar at a shop.  Rhett also gets honest about his Mexico fly dates — why a Quad Cortex-based fly rig technically worked but never felt as good on stage as his full amp rig, and what that actually comes down to. We rate a viewer's rig, and Rhett closes with a shill that might be the biggest thing we've talked about all year: community-hacked firmware on his Elektron Octatrack, and an experiment using AI to reverse-engineer 20-year-old hardware so it can run modern amp modeling — and why that might mean your gear never has to become e-waste again. JOIN US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/dippedintone  MERCH: https://www.dippedintone.com/merch  FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/dippedintone DIPPED IN TONE IS:  Rhett Shull https://www.rhettshull.com  Zach Broyles / Mythos Pedals https://mythospedals.com & https://highvoltageguitars.com  Produced & Edited by Addison! https://www.instagram.com/addisonsauvan 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:40 Tour recap 00:02:09 Fall tour with The Midnight 00:03:42 Touring etiquette 00:04:44 GTA 6 & gaming chat 00:09:36 Halo mod scene 00:10:31 Bud Light commercial story 00:12:07 Instagram algorithm rant 00:13:17 Cosplay build 00:14:10 Darth Vader costume story 00:15:23 Discord reminder 00:16:25 Sweetwater shoutout 00:17:46 HOT TAKE: simplify your board 00:18:43 Rebuilding every patch 00:26:33 Guitar Center trick 00:28:43 Philly Guitar Center chaos 00:30:51 Vintage LinnDrum story 00:32:34 Brad Paisley & a Trainwreck 00:35:35 Les Paul insured for $1M 00:37:20 Rig placement cuts feedback 00:39:34 Managing pickup feedback 00:41:12 Wax potting & tonewood 00:46:37 Mexico fly dates 00:47:01 Building the fly rig 00:48:44 Soundcheck surprise 00:49:07 Crew notices the difference 00:49:46 Why it feels weightless 00:52:17 In fairness to the Cortex 00:53:50 Rig Dip: Kurtis's rig 00:58:06 SG, Golden Fleece & more 01:00:50 Score: 9.0 01:03:10 Second rig & shill guitar 01:06:14 Octatrack hacked firmware 01:07:40 The hardware-modding era 01:08:10 Using AI to hack firmware 01:10:14 Why gear won't be e-waste 01:11:57 Outro Gear We Use Universal Audio Apollo Twin X Duo Gen 2 → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/gRVWQg Shure SM7B → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/X4qX5G Universal Audio Volt 2 → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/oNWyao Mac Mini (M4) → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/B5Q2YB Sennheiser HD 280 Pro → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/WOLGPJ Mogami Gold Studio mic cable, 10ft → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/0G3dBO Gator Elite Series Main Desk, Black → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/n4z2eV

Dipped in Tone goes live for the first time at Fretboard Summit 2026 at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. Rhett, Zach, and Addison open with the most interesting things they’ve found at the show: Addison is carrying a limited edition acoustic from a Quebec builder — only 15 made, Adirondack spruce top, maple back and sides, slotted headstock — and it plays warmer and more balanced than it has any right to. Rhett found a fully analog speaker cabinet emulator prototype at the Bartle Amplification booth that looks like it came out of an Abbey Road session circa 1964. Then comes the hot takes — John O’Keefe argues vintage guitars aren’t worth the premium over modern alternatives, a live audience member makes the compelling case that the true sound of rock and roll is amplification rather than guitar or drums, and a second live take on whether music notation is uniquely hard for guitarists gets a detailed rebuttal from Corey Congilio that actually settles it. Four rigs get dipped live: an ambient backyard board with vintage classroom projector cabs, a pristine JM and Alessandro Fiore combo that earns a rare ten, a “trigger warning” rig stuffed with headless guitars and a switcher, and Josh Scott’s expression-pedal-controlled monster board — built during mountain bike crash recovery — with two redacted upcoming JHS releases hiding in plain sight. Jonathan Stout closes the show with the best single take of the day: gear is simultaneously the least and most important thing. Submit your hot takes: [email protected] Fretboard Journal: https://fretboardjournal.com Little H Collective (Steven’s music): https://littlehcollective.bandcamp.com JOIN US ON PATREON:  https://www.patreon.com/dippedintone  MERCH: https://www.dippedintone.com/merch  FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/dippedintone DIPPED IN TONE IS:  Rhett Shull https://www.rhettshull.com  Zach Broyles / Mythos Pedals https://mythospedals.com & https://highvoltageguitars.com Produced & Edited by Addison! https://www.instagram.com/addisonsauvan Timestamps: 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:13 Live at Fretboard Summit 2026 00:01:37 Addison’s Favorite Find: The Quebec Acoustic 00:04:16 Rhett’s Favorite Find: Bartle Amplification Prototype 00:06:50 Hot Take: Vintage Guitars Aren’t Worth the Money 00:10:58 Live Hot Take: The Sound of Rock and Roll Is Amplification 00:13:45 How Technology and Music Move Together 00:14:45 Live Hot Take: Guitar Notation Isn’t Uniquely Hard 00:17:30 Corey Congilio’s Rebuttal 00:19:55 Rig Dip: Steven’s Ambient Backyard Board 00:26:19 Rig Dip: John’s JM & Alessandro Fiore Rig 00:31:31 Rig Dip: Matthew’s Trigger Warning Rig 00:36:22 Rig Dip: Josh Scott’s Expression Board & Redacted JHS Pedals 00:45:30 Should Rig Owners Be Present During the Review? 00:46:50 Jonathan Stout: Gear Is the Least and Most Important Thing Affiliate Links Gear Dipped — John’s rig Gibson Custom Shop SG → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/qWq20O ProCo RAT 2 → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/aNkWLQ Benson Amps Preamp Pedal → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/AgDEAD Catalinbread Belle Epoch Deluxe → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/Gb5ZQB EHX Deluxe Memory Man 1100-TT → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/VOW6Qk Universal Audio OX Amp Attenuator → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/ZVDymW Gear Dipped — Matthew’s rig Fender Player II Stratocaster → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/X4qXrM D’Angelico Excel DC → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/B5Q2G4 Blackstar St. James EL34 112 combo → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/WOLG9n TC Electronic PolyTune 3 Mini → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/2R3WgG Wampler Belle → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/R0X6Yy Source Audio Nemesis Delay → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/4aYWRG Universal Audio UAFX Golden Reverberator → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/dyA73y JHS 3 Series Fuzz → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/qWq2kO Gear Dipped — Josh Scott’s rig Boss JB-2 Angry Driver → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/PzZ6kM Keeley Octa Psi → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/enGAB6 Eventide H9 Harmonizer Gen 2 → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/aNkW6q Boss RV-200 Reverb → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/n4z2BR Gear We Use Universal Audio Apollo Twin X Duo Gen 2 → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/gRVWQg Shure SM7B → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/X4qX5G Universal Audio Volt 2 → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/oNWyao Mac Mini (M4) → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/B5Q2YB Sennheiser HD 280 Pro → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/WOLGPJ Mogami Gold Studio mic cable, 10ft → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/0G3dBO Gator Elite Series Main Desk, Black → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/n4z2eV

Today we're joined by friend of the show  @coreycongilio  A fantastic guitar player and educator with countless gigs under his belt, we dive into to preparing for early days of gigging. The guys walk through some of things you have to do before and during a gig to help be ready, battle nerves, and being a good hang. Learn more about Corey's Lessons Here https://workingclassguitar.com/ JOIN US ON PATREON:  https://www.patreon.com/dippedintone  MERCH: https://www.dippedintone.com/merch  FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/dippedintone DIPPED IN TONE IS:  Rhett Shull https://www.rhettshull.com  Zach Broyles / Mythos Pedals https://mythospedals.com & https://highvoltageguitars.com Produced & Edited by Addison! https://www.instagram.com/addisonsauvan Timestamps 00:00:00 Intro 00:07:30 Mythos Enclosures 00:08:38 Thanks so much Patrons! 00:12:35 Hot Take 00:16:34 Heritage headstock or Gibson headstock? 00:23:13 Main Topic 00:25:00 The best place to start as a gigging musician 00:27:35 Being prepared 00:30:00 Understanding your gear 00:31:30 Having a pedalboard professionally built 00:33:50 Cable routing 00:35:00 Can you get by with less? 00:37:10 Listen back to your performances 00:42:15 About your attitude 00:45:30 Have fun! 00:47:03 Smile through every mistake 00:48:45 John Osborne mistake 00:50:30 Battling nerves 00:57:28 Rig Dip 01:10:55 Thanks again Patrons! 01:11:05 Big thanks to Corey Congilio!

Rhett and Zach catch up while Rhett is on tour with The Midnight. We dive into all that's going on and go deep on why Zach want's a Pearly Gates Les Paul now that they are coming back. We touch on why Collings are some of the best guitars in the world and much more.  JOIN US ON PATREON:  https://www.patreon.com/dippedintone  MERCH: https://www.dippedintone.com/merch  FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/dippedintone DIPPED IN TONE IS:  Rhett Shull https://www.rhettshull.com  Zach Broyles / Mythos Pedals https://mythospedals.com & https://highvoltageguitars.com Produced & Edited by Addison! https://www.instagram.com/addisonsauvan Time Stamps 00:01:24 Zach’s Update 00:03:00 Mythos 3.0 00:04:25 Dental Talk 00:05:00 Rhett’s Update 00:08:19 Zach got a truck! 00:10:19 Thanks Patrons! 00:10:51 Merch Plug 00:11:28 Hot Take 00:17:58 WE NEED YOUR HOT TAKES & RIGS! 00:18:40 Pearly Gates 00:23:23 Shout out to Reverb 00:26:00 Flipping... who deserves these guitars? 00:27:27 Why does Gibson do this? 00:31:50 Nobody else does this quite as well 00:35:20 On Fender 00:39:20 Spending this amount of money on some else’s guitar 00:42:07 Collings Guitars 00:55:50 Zach is getting a laser cutter! 00:57:00 Rig Dip 01:07:05 Rhett’s Shill

On today's episode, we test out YouTube's new Gemini-powered AI thumbnail generator on a clip of Rhett — and the results are so uncanny that we go on the record: any channel using AI-generated thumbnails or AI B-roll gets an instant "do not recommend" from us. Plus a quick follow-up on the D'Addario/Suno AI controversy, a spicy hot take on whether Stratocasters or Telecasters are more versatile, and an announcement that Fretboard Summit rig-dip submissions are now open to anyone attending in person. Then we get into the real stuff: Addison, Zach, and Rhett each walk through their actual current rigs — Addison's in-ear-monitor church gig board built around a Quad Cortex Mini, Zach's stripped-down Marshall JCM800 and modified Flying V, and Rhett's elaborate Axe-Fx III touring rack built to sound like his records live. We close it out by rating a viewer's wet/dry rig submission from Renan. JOIN US ON PATREON:  https://www.patreon.com/dippedintone  MERCH: https://www.dippedintone.com/merch  FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/dippedintone DIPPED IN TONE IS:  Rhett Shull https://www.rhettshull.com  Zach Broyles / Mythos Pedals https://mythospedals.com & https://highvoltageguitars.com Produced & Edited by Addison! https://www.instagram.com/addisonsauvan 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:30 Addison’s Update 00:01:45 Do you like trains? 00:03:53 Rhett’s Update 00:10:18 Thanks Patrons! 00:11:13 Come see us in Chicago at Fretboard Summit 00:11:58 SUBMIT YOUR RIG - [email protected] 00:13:10 AI Thumbnails 00:20:05 D’Addario - let’s move on… 00:23:35 Hot Take 00:34:19 Main Topic 00:35:22 Addison’s Summer Rig 00:51:32 Zach’s Summer Rig 00:58:17 Rhett’s Spring/Summer Touring Rig 01:07:20 Rig Dip 01:20:29 Join us on Patreon!