ToneQuest

12/29/2025

Sometimes the tones we chase show up by pure accident 🎸✨

“I realized they had sent me another Ellisonic,” says Edward Zawadzki, this month’s Guest in The Quest. “It’s given this guitar such a huge, original personality.”

Having played with Ivan Kral from the Patti Smith Group, Iggy Pop, and Vince White of The Clash, he reminds us that in our own musical journey, if we listen closely, desired tones may be revealed by pure serendipity.

Refine your tone through the art of discovery.
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12/26/2025

12/24/2025

Happy Holidays from ToneQuest Report® 🎄🎸

Here’s to a season filled with inspiration, good music, and the kind of tone that keeps you picking up your guitar again and again.

Wishing you joy, creativity, and great sound in the year ahead.

12/22/2025

👇 What is the most unforgettable Fender tone you have ever heard live?

Rick Heins describes it as clarity, sparkle, touch sensitivity, and dynamics, a circuit design DNA that has shaped everything from Champs to Blues Juniors.

THE INSIDE: DEC25 Rick Heins of Fender – Carrying the Legacy
Join the pursuit.

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12/19/2025

Simple, musical, and remarkably addictive 🎸

The Custom Ge Boost was easy to overlook at first, until it revealed everything it could do.
Scott Ulrichs describes it as “a good no frills amp,” the kind that saturates your tone with round cleans, rich dynamics, and a touch sensitive bloom that keeps you reaching for one more note.
Sometimes the simplest tools change the way you play.

This month’s featured article in ToneQuest Report®, THE INSIDE: DEC25, dives into why the Custom Ge Boost has become a quiet standout for serious players.

👇 Which pedal or amp surprised you the most?

12/18/2025

Some builders chase efficiency. Maynard Madsen chases truth in tone 🎸

Every circuit he builds reflects the same goal, creating sound with precision and an enduring ethos that honors the craft. His Custom Ge Boost began as a small-batch experiment using NOS germanium transistors and Jupiter caps, designed for tonal integrity rather than shortcuts.

Read more in this month’s featured article: THE INSIDE: DEC25 Madsen Amplification - A Titan of Tighten
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👇 What builder or pedal taught you what precision really sounds like?

12/15/2025

It was high time. I sat down with myself and had a little chat. Riverhorse, you just can’t keep turning on that ’64 Deluxe Reverb and playing “Voodoo Child” for an hour straight. Yeah, it feels so good to launch the neighborhood—but are you breaking any new ground?

So I made a deal: five songs a week, start to finish. Not just riffs or hooks—the whole enchilada. Because tone doesn’t live in the gear.”--Riverhorse, Editor-at-Large

THE INSIDE: DEC25 When the Music Calls, Answer Every Note

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12/13/2025

Vintage Fender at full redemption.

Riverhorse hunts down beat-up Tweed Deluxes and brings them back to glory. With Bryan Sours output transformers and vintage Jensens, these 1950s Deluxes roar again with woody cleans, desert-sunset breakup.

This feature, THE INSIDE: DEC25 The Tweed Bender, from ToneQuest Report® breaks down the rebuild and why their response feels so vividly alive.

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12/11/2025

From Deluxe Memory Mans to Roger Mayer Octavias, C.J. Landry has revived the rarest circuits. “I just wanted to understand what the circuit did so I could fix it and make it sound right.” Pedal repair genius, NASA engineer, and lifelong tone chaser — Landry shows that real sound still lives in analog.

THE INSIDE: DEC25 • Vintage Tone Meets Rocket Science
This feature from ToneQuest Report® explores the blend of engineering, intuition, and analog mastery that defines Landry’s work and the pedals he brings back to life.

If you’ve ever wondered why analog pedals feel more alive under your fingers, this story traces that feel back to its source.

🎧 Your turn:
What is the oldest pedal still on your board, and why has it stayed there?

12/09/2025

The Bette Set serves up tone with heart.

Named after Ron’s mother, the Bette Set fills the whole supper plate of tone “It has that home-cooking goodness—everything fresh, bold, and beautiful,” writes Riverhorse. Highs that sing with grace, lows that stay warm, and mids that stay true.

Read more at Tonequest.com: THE INSIDE: DEC25 • The Humbucker That Feels Like Home and use code SOUNDBETTER for 30% off.

👇 What guitar feels most like home every time you plug in?

12/05/2025

Bill Frisell wanted single-coil honesty inside a humbucker, and Ron Ellis found a way to make it real. “The pickups are only there as a microphone to amplify the natural acoustics of the guitar,” Ellis says. The Frisell neck humbucker captures touch, truth, and clarity in every note, the kind of sound that makes you play better.

Read more: THE INSIDE: DEC25 • Clarity is Everything at Tonequest.com
Which pickup has ever stopped you mid-phrase because it felt alive? Tell us your story.

12/03/2025

What if one magazine could show you the real truth behind great tone and how to achieve it yourself?
Every page in this issue opens a new door, revealing how great tone is built, heard, and felt through the real physics of sound.

From Ron Ellis and his note to note mastery, to C.J. Landry’s NASA grade repairs, to Maynard Madsen’s germanium builds, to Rick Rein and Fender’s 30th Anniversary Blues Junior, this issue is a field guide for serious players who want to hear deeper and play better.

Deepen your relationship with your guitar and connect closer to the sound in your hands. 🎶

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Save $10 + get your FREE ISSUE ($25 Value)
Choose Digital for $79 / year or
Print+Digital for $109 / year

Use code QUESTFORTH to claim your Holiday Offer.
Subscribe now → tonequest.com