Big Shiny Tones Episode 2: The Norlin Era Gibson Guitar Fiasco - A Comedy of Frets and Regrets. Welcome to Big Shiny Tones, where we polish the tarnished tales of music history with a side of snark! In Episode 2, we dive headstock-first into the infamous Norlin Era of Gibson guitars, a time when "quality control" was more of a suggestion than a rule. Picture this: heavier bodies, wonky headstocks, and guitars that some say sounded like they were strung with wet noodles. Join your hosts, Jay Leonard J and Jonathan Lindsay, tone-chasing troubadours with a knack for finding humor in the clunkiest of chords, as we explore how Norlin’s "innovations" made guitarists weep but gave us plenty to riff on. Were Norlin Gibsons really that bad, or just misunderstood? Tune in, turn up, and let’s shred through the controversy.

Shop Online:
 👉 Shop Online: https://www.tapestrymusic.com/?affiliateID=10059

👉  "Aww Man!" New Jay Leonard J album https://open.spotify.com/album/57RQO6nktsjMHKyPELzUEw?si=SxZ0bs23SyiZDrJlC8B59g



NORLIN ERA GIBSON -  YES OR NO?

Come for the joyride as Big Shiny Tones Episode 3 cranks the insanity to 11 with fretboard-shredding maniac Ben Bullett, hollering from a van held together by sheer willpower and old guitar strings! We put his RIG ON TRIAL so check it out and see what the jury has to say. 

Did you watch the 2025 VMAS? We discuss the OZZY tribute with Matt McAthur.

JAY LEONARD J and JONATHAN LINDSAY - BIG SHINY TONES EP3 - With Guest B͟E͟N͟ B͟U͟L͟L͟E͟T͟T͟

Welcome to Big Shiny Tones, where we dive headfirst into the glittering abyss of guitar gear that'll make your axe sound like it's auditioning for a UFO sighting (They’re in the oceans 🛸 😉).
Today, let's talk Floyd Rose tremolos—oh baby, these bad boys aren't just bridges, they're the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti of whammy bars, locking down your strings tighter than a conspiracy theorist's tin-foil hat. The Floyd Rose is the unyielding overlord of sustain and stability, turning every riff into a seismic event. 
Now bow before my harmonic perfection!" And hot off the cosmic presses, the new Source Audio Encounter pedal? It's not just a delay-reverb duo; it's a psychedelic warp drive for your signal, blending swirling, otherworldly echoes and reverbs into soundscapes so trippy, you'll swear your Strat's channeling interdimensional squirrels (They’re in the trees!).

👉 Shop Online: https://www.tapestrymusic.com/?affiliateID=10059 

👉 "Aww Man!" New Jay Leonard J album https://open.spotify.com/album/57RQO6nktsjMHKyPELzUEw?si=SxZ0bs23SyiZDrJlC8B59g 

Big Shiny Tones on: 
👉 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/77z2ChKiHrmk7MnMCrUG96?si=b40f6cb5f5fd4d8csi=dqnoiajAR_q6_FOVKLsjAA 

👉 SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/big-shiny-tones 

Jay Leonard J https://www.instagram.com/jayleonardj 
Jonathan Lindsay https://www.instagram.com/jlindsay_guitar

Shop in Store:

Tapestry Music - Vancouver
2705 Main Street
Vancouver, BC
604.736.3036

Tapestry Music - White Rock
1335 Johnston Road,
White Rock, BC V4B 3Z3
604.538.0906

Tapestry Music - Victoria
1824 Government St
Victoria, BC V8T 4N5
250.590.0752

Tapestry Music has been a BC family owned business since 1996 offering in-store and online shopping, music lessons and repair services. As a music education specialist, Tapestry is respected and recommended by music educators across Canada.

https://www.instagram.com/tapestrymusicstore
Video/Editing: 
Mitchell Parsons https://www.instagram.com/calmthemonster

JAY LEONARD J and JONATHAN LINDSAY - BIG SHINY TONES EP4

Buckle up, tone chasers—meet the Marshall JMP Preamp Module, the pint-sized Plexi powerhouse that's got more vintage growl than a '70s rock god stumbling out of a glitter-fueled fever dream. Born from the epic alliance of Marshall and Synergy, this dual-channel tube beast (twin 12AX7s for that authentic harmonic hangover) lets you flip between '60s smooth-operator vibes and '70s headbanger fury with a flick of a switch. Crank it through its sneaky "0-watt" power stage for cranked-amp sag without rattling the neighbors, and dial in everything from polite cleans to distortion so searing, it’ll make your strings sizzle like a stage light on overdrive.

👉 Shop Online: https://www.tapestrymusic.com/?affiliateID=10059 

👉 "Aww Man!" New Jay Leonard J album https://open.spotify.com/album/57RQO6nktsjMHKyPELzUEw?si=SxZ0bs23SyiZDrJlC8B59g 

Big Shiny Tones on: 
👉 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/77z2ChKiHrmk7MnMCrUG96?si=b40f6cb5f5fd4d8csi=dqnoiajAR_q6_FOVKLsjAA 

👉 SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/big-shiny-tones 

And now 👉 APPLE PODCASTS https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/big-shiny-tones-with-jay-leonard-j-and-jonathan-lindsay/id1837259608

Jay Leonard J https://www.instagram.com/jayleonardj 
Jonathan Lindsay https://www.instagram.com/jlindsay_guitar

 @synergyamps18  


👉 AJ De Vera https://www.youtube.com/@guitarwalljams/featured

Shop in Store:

Tapestry Music - Vancouver
2705 Main Street
Vancouver, BC
604.736.3036

Tapestry Music - White Rock
1335 Johnston Road,
White Rock, BC V4B 3Z3
604.538.0906

Tapestry Music - Victoria
1824 Government St
Victoria, BC V8T 4N5
250.590.0752

Tapestry Music has been a BC family owned business since 1996 offering in-store and online shopping, music lessons and repair services. As a music education specialist, Tapestry is respected and recommended by music educators across Canada.

https://www.instagram.com/tapestrymusicstore
Video/Editing: 
Mitchell Parsons https://www.instagram.com/calmthemonster

Shop Online: https://www.TAPESTRYMUSIC.com

Shop in Store:

Tapestry Music - Vancouver
2705 Main Street
Vancouver, BC
604.736.3036

Tapestry Music - White Rock
1335 Johnston Road,
White Rock, BC V4B 3Z3
604.538.0906

Tapestry Music - Victoria
1824 Government St
Victoria, BC V8T 4N5
250.590.0752

Tapestry Music has been a BC family owned business since 1996 offering in-store and online shopping, music lessons and repair services. As a music education specialist, Tapestry is respected and recommended by music educators across Canada.

https://www.instagram.com/tapestrymusicstore
Video/Editing: 
Mitchell Parsons https://www.instagram.com/calmthemonster


#marshall #synergy #synergyjmppreamp #preamplifier #preamp #preampmodule #jayleonardj #tapestrymusic

MARSHALL JMP PREAMP MODULE

Episode 6 of Big Shiny Tones, where hosts Jay Leonard J and Jonathan Lindsay (the dynamic duo who make gear reviews feel like a rock 'n' roll therapy session) summon the ghost of Extreme coolness: Nuno Bettencourt himself. We're diving headfirst into Positive Grid's BIAS X, the AI wizard that's basically Skynet for your guitar rig—whisper "that crunchy Edge vibe from 'Where the Streets Have No Name'" and boom, it'll spit out a preset so spot-on, your amp might file for divorce.
Expect zero politics, all gear—Jay's probably mid-rant about why AI won't steal his soul.
Will the AI out-shred the humans? Does Nuno secretly use it to compose ballads about his cat? Tune in for big shiny chaos that'll leave your ears grinning and your DAW begging for mercy. If your tone game's been stuck in the '90s, this ep's the portal gun you need. Shred responsibly—or don't. We won't judge. (Much.)

Guitar Summit 2025, Positive Grid Bias X, Nuno Guitars

In the shadowy lair of Big Shiny Tones EP7, the Fender American Pro Classics slink in like a noir antihero snarling with a glassy edge sharp enough to cut through your soul’s darkest regrets.
Then slithers the Beetronics BeeBeeDee, an analog delay pedal with a sinister grin, spitting warm, tape-like echoes that twist into pitch-shifted nightmares—think a swarm of cursed bees trapped in a haunted jukebox, warping time itself.

Fender American Professional Classic, Beetronics BeeBeeDee, Telecaster with a bridge humbucker

Do 5-watt amps suck? In the latest gearpocalypse, Catalinbread's Mini Fuzz is out here shrinking the Mosrite Fuzzrite's splattery '60s psych-freakery into a pedalboard bullet that turns your riffs into incense-scented chaos—because who needs room for nuance when you've got garage-rock napalm? Meanwhile, G&L Guitars just slammed the factory doors shut, auctioning off Leo Fender's late-life toys to the corporate overlords at Fender, proving once again that even guitar gods get swallowed by the beast for a quick buck. And if that's not enough existential whiplash, Strymon drops the Olivera in Big Shiny Tones episode 8, that oil-can delay wizardry slinging modulated echoes so oily and organic, it'll make your tones shimmer like a '50s lounge lizard's greased-back regrets. On top of all that, we need to know... do 5-watt amps suck?

Catalinbread Mini Fuzz, G&L Guitars Closing, Strymon Olivera - BIG SHINY TONES

This week on Tha News, Joe Bonamassa teams up with Epiphone for a shiny new signature model—Seymour Duncans, vintage vibes, and enough class to make your wallet nervous. JAM’s rolling out another fuzz box that promises to turn polite riffs into pure chaos, and NUX is trying to convince us that looping onstage actually looks cool… jury’s still out on that one. In Unpopular Opinion, we’re doubling down: Bigsby Teles just have more swagger than their hardtail cousins—sorry, not sorry. And for Rigs on Trial, Jay’s breaking out his JAM pedalboard to see if it’s studio magic or just pedal hoarding with style. Oh, and the TS of the Day? Because every board deserves at least one green scream.

Jay Leonard J's Secret Weapon: The Ultimate Jam Pedalboard 🎸 BIG SHINY TONES

Hop in the DeLorean and crank the flux capacitor to “tone.” In this episode of BIG SHINY TONES, Jay Leonard J and Jonathan Lindsay time-travel through the legend of the Gibson Back to the Future guitar — a six-string straight outta 1985 and into your dreams. We’re talking chrome and flux with a little Huey Lewis energy.

Joining the ride: the Benson Amp that could charm Doc Brown himself and the King Comp, the crown jewel of squish and swagger.

Gibson Back to the Future Guitar, Benson The Amp, King Comp 🎸 BIG SHINY TONES

BIG SHINY TONES — EPISODE 11
Where we salute legends, roast gear myths, and gently bully our own pedalboards.
Kirk Hammett is unloading 150+ guitars like he’s spring-cleaning a haunted mansion—yes, including that silver Gibson CEO4 SG he shredded during Black Sabbath’s farewell show. Meanwhile, Trey Anastasio has declared modern guitar music “same-y,” so he’s writing riffs on piano now, which is either genius… or the first sign he’s about to start a jazz odyssey no one asked for.
Unpopular Opinion: Expensive cables? Worse than cheap cables. There—I said it. Cry about it in your $200 Mogami.
And finally: Calm the Monster… calm YOUR monster!… as Rigs On Trial dives into producer/videographer, Mitchell's magic pedalboard, a shimmering labyrinth of stompboxes channeling full Bowie-in-Berlin avant-gard vibes. It hums. It hisses. It contemplates art. It may be the only pedalboard that’s ever truly asked, “What would Eno do?”

Are Cheap Guitar Cables The New Boutique Tone Secret? 🎸 BIG SHINY TONES

Welcome to Big Shiny Tones, where we polish the tarnished tales of music history with a side of snark!

Fender American Professional Classic, Beetronics BeeBeeDee, Telecaster with a bridge humbucker

JAY LEONARD J & JONATHAN LINDSAY - BIG SHINY TONES

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