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!
What is the best order to stack the Mythos Envy and 210 pedal?
Zach from Mythos recommends you start with the 210 first (closest to the guitar) and run it into the Envy.
The 210, being a simple fuzz circuit, likes being early in the signal chain.
Are any new non-drive pedals in the works at Mythos?
Mythos is currently working on a few new models. Nothing in the non-drive realm is close to completion.
Zach says doing a Tremolo would be cool. The type of tremolo pedal that he would want to do would have to be digital. This introduces a new learning curve at Mythos into an area where they don’t have much prior experience.
How would you recommend learning to solder from scratch?
Start with a good soldering iron. Hakko is a good brand to look into. The FX-888D is an industry standard. They run a little over a hundred bucks today.
After you get a tool, Zach likes chisel tips. A wide tip makes soldering to the back of pots much easier.
There are soldering practice kits you can buy on Amazon for cheap. If you can solder to a PCB, then soldering to the internals of a guitar becomes a walk in the park.
For someone who can only afford one pedal, do you recommend the Mythos Herculean Deluxe or the new Mythos Envy overdrive?
It totally depends on what you want to get out of the pedal. The Herculean Deluxe has two sides. It can kind of do the TS thing but not exactly. The Herculean does other overdrive sounds very well.
The Envy is the iconic screamer sound with enhancements.
So it depends on what you want. I recommend listening to sound demos and looking at what you favorite players are using.
Can I add a guitar tone knob effect to a distortion pedal?
A guitar tone knob is just a low pass filter. It rounds off the high end of the guitar signal.
Something like the tone circuit in a bluesbreaker or the lightspeed is kind of similar to that. These are not wired up the exact same way as a guitar tone knob. If you lookup passive tone circuits, you can find a multitude of ways to wire a filter.
With a little experimentation of passive tone circuits, you will find one that fits best with the type of distortion circuit that you are building.
How do you set pickup height?
There is no right or wrong answer for pickup height. (the distance between the guitar pickup and strings)
Zach will start with the bridge pickup around 3mm from the stings and 5mm for the neck pickup. From here you adjust up or down. Move in small steps then test the change.
Zach tries to balance the neck and bridge pickup to have similar output and feel for the style he intends to play. He will also adjust the pickups side to side for proper bass/treble voicing. When testing he uses big open chords strummed slowly so that he can hear each individual string ring for balance.
If a pedal gets pulled against a guitar cabinet speaker magnet, will it damage the components in the pedal?
It shouldn’t for analog pedals. If there is a part of a pedal that has an internal memory (like an internal computer), then maybe.
Tips for creating a good vibe in your guitar room.
Start with acoustic treatment. Figuring out how to make the space sound good is the first priority.
Then work on the vibe. Ask yourself what speaks to you as both a creator and a fan of music.
Zach went with a bunch of vintage promo posters. He found them on ebay. He has a vintage ZZ Top promo poster and a vintage Metallica poster. These are the types of posters you would see hanging in a record store back in the day.
Also don’t be afraid to use color. Do an accent wall. These things go a long way towards making the space feel more interesting and more your own.
Is the Mythos Envy true bypass?
Yes, it is!
How big do you want Mythos to grow?
Boss is really big. Zach doesn’t want to be “Boss big”.
Zach doesn’t exactly know. He has numbers in his head for what he wants to do. But he doesn’t really know which current pedal company out there is comparable to where he wants to grow Mythos.
Thoughts on the Strymon Deco.
Zach has a Strymon Deco and he thinks it’s awesome! He doesn’t use it that much, but when he does, he is glad that he has it.
Should a Mythos Cestus be run before or after a Mythos Mjolnir?
Place the Mythos Cestus before any pedal with a buffer, always.
This is where we will end the interview session. Please visit our Mythos Pedals page!