These are selected questions and answers from the Ask Me Anything (AMA) that Zach from Mythos Pedals does every Friday on Instagram. The questions and answers have been edited slightly to adapt them to text format and provide context. Any errors or misunderstandings are our fault. With that said, enjoy this wealth of information from Zach at Mythos!
Have you tried Blackstar amps?
Zach has. He likes the Blackstar St. James amp a lot. It was really cool. He has played some others but haven’t spent much time with them. Overall they sound good.
Do you top wrap your Les Paul style guitars?
Yes, Zach does. His R9 and 335 are top wrapped. He likes the way it feels.
Try it. It’s an easy thing to experiment with.
Pedally Commentary:
Top wrapping strings on a Les Paul guitar refers to a specific way of installing the strings where the ends of the strings are wrapped over the top of the tailpiece before being inserted into the bridge and then wound around the tuning posts.
On a Les Paul, the strings typically pass over the bridge tailpiece, then through the bridge itself, and finally up to the tuning pegs. Top wrapping involves bringing the end of each string back over the top of the tailpiece before threading it through the bridge and then up to the tuning pegs.
This method can affect the feel and tension of the strings, potentially making them feel slinkier or easier to bend due to a slightly altered break angle over the bridge. Some players believe it can also influence the sustain and overall tone of the guitar, though these effects are subjective and can vary depending on the individual guitar and player preference.
What is your process in buying a Les Paul guitar?
Zach says he is more picky when buying a Les Paul. More so than when buying other style of guitars.
He checks how comfortable the neck is. Does it have a low action without buzz?
He also checks for how resonante the guitar is acoustically. Is the body resonating? Is the headstock vibrating? The whole neck should really be shaking.
Then the sound. Do the pickups sound balanced?
What is your go to speaker cab?
Lately Zach has been playing combo amps. He has a Vintage Deluxe combo amp with a 1×15″
Normally when using a cabinet he uses a 2×12 cabinet.
He likes 12″ speakers more than other guitar speakers.
If he’s playing a Marshall amp and playing classic rock, he uses a closed back 4×12. The reason for the 4×12 is because that is what the original albums used, so you have to use a 4×12 to get the same sound as they had.
What would be your first upgrade to an Epiphone ES355 guitar?
The first thing Zach would do is take the guitar to a luthier and have them perfect the frets. Round the ends and get everything nice and level.
He loves nylon nuts on a vintage guitar because that is what the originals had.
Finally pickups. This is something to upgrade to taste. Seymore Duncan has a wide range of pickups that can make it feel your own.
What was the most challenging part of designing the Herculean Deluxe?
The final details. The sound came pretty quickly. Really dialing in all of the switching and the final touches on noise, the high end response on both parts was the hard part.
Is 1950’s wiring worth doing on my 2019 Les Paul?
Zach thinks 50’s wiring is a must for any Gibson guitar. Even on other guitars he likes it. Zach will be doing a 50’s wiring job on his telecaster.
He likes the interaction between the volume and tone knobs and how it changes the taper.
He says it is absolutely worth doing.
Thoughts on vintage tweed champ amps
Champs are cool. They have a vibe and a personality. It’s not Zach’s favorite style of amp. He doesn’t like 5 watt amps all that much.
He likes a little louder. Even a Champ Deluxe doesn’t quite have enough power for how Zach approaches playing guitar and what he wants the amp to give back to him.
If you are looking for a killer version of a Champ style amp, take a look at the Victoria brand.
Would you put a Mjolnir before or after a Bluesbreaker style pedal?
It depends on how you run the Bluesbreaker style pedal. For Zach, he would probably put the Mjolnir after the bluesbreaker to give your signal volume to drive the Mjolnir. But has hasn’t tried it. It may work better in the opposite order.
Zach has run the Mjolnir after the Herculean Deluxe pedal. He thinks this combination works really well.
Will Mythos be making the SusMaryOsep pedal again?
Doubtful. It’s a cool pedal but Mythos wants to re-think it if they decide to bring it back.
Is the original Mythos Oracle pedal different from the current Oracle?
Yes, very much so. The original Oracle has different artwork and internally is very different. The original was digital, had an echoplex type pre-amp, subdivisions, tap tempo and modulation. Mythos threw the kitchen sink into it. Zach didn’t design it. An outside contractor designed the circuit.
The original had noise that Zach didn’t like. Zach couldn’t get the weird sounds out of it.
Ultimately, while the original pedal sounded good, Zach didn’t think it was true to himself to keep the pedal as it was. So Mythos went to the drawing board and opted to build the Oracle pedal as we know it today.
Pedally commentary: The current Oracle is an analog delay pedal. Very simple and sounds great.
Which guitar brand has the best headstock design?
It’s hard to deny the Fender Telecaster as one of the most iconic headstock designs. Same with the Stratocaster. Zach does feel that the “open book” Gibson headstock design is something special. It’s beautiful, it’s simple, it’s elegant, it’s to the point. It’s not perfect due to the angle of the D and G strings. But Zach thinks the Gibson open book is one of the most beautiful guitar headstocks ever.
Build or Buy the perfect guitar?
While you can find a nice starting point in many basic guitars and then tweak, tweak, tweak it into what you want, if you can obtain a guitar very close to your end result, Zach would rather have the incredible near complete starting point instead of trying to work up to it with a good basic guitar.
He loves modifying guitars. At the end of the day, the core of the guitar needs to be great. And if the core isn’t great, no manner of pickup modifications or setup will ever make a bad piece of wood come to life.
Get the guitar that appeals to you and then start tweaking.
What is the tonal difference between the Mythos Olympus and Mjolnir?
The Mjolnir is a tweaked classic klon tone. The Olympus has a more tweed like voice, way less gain, a little more midrange focus, a little less bass. The presence control on the Olympus interacts with the gain control. It’s a cool circuit. It’s very responsive to your playing.
The two pedals are essential two sides of the same coin.
Pedally comentary: Our product pages have demo videos so that you can hear which of these two pedals better suits your musical tastes.
What are good alternatives to a Two Rock amp?
Zach first recommends saving up for a Two Rock amp because they are incredible and his preference. For a lower cost, getting a nice Fender style amp would be fine. Something like a Deluxe Reverb and do the mod to remove the bright cap.
What is the difference between the J Rocket Archer and the Mythos Mjolnir
Zach has A/B compared these two pedals. The Archer is a little more treble-y. Zach feels like the Archer doesn’t have as much mid-range push. Though the Mjolnir doesn’t have a heavy (honky) mid-range either.
What is Zach’s favorite Tremolo pedal?
When Zach builds his pedalboard, he is going to use a JAM Pedals Harmonius Monk tremolo pedal. He likes harmonic tremolo a lot.
Is Zach a purist when it comes to tone wood?
Zach like traditional wood choices like a Les Paul having mahogany and maple. He doesn’t think of himself as a wood purist. It depends on the guitar. He doesn’t think there is a right or wrong answer as long as the guitar sounds good.
This was a good Q&A session. If you have any questions for Pedally, please use the Pedally Contact form. Thanks for reading!