Bob Bradshaw from Custom Audio Electronics has been doing audio interfacing since 1981, and today he is one of the world’s most renowned guitar rig builders. If you’ve ever wondered where the greatest guitar players go to get their pedalboards and/or rack mounted systems built, then Bob is probably at the top of their list.
Bob works with some of the best in the industry, including Eddie Van Halen, The Edge, Eric Clapton, John Mayer and Steve Lukather just to name a few.
He is able to take gear from multiple manufacturers, from standard stompboxes to rack mounted gear with difference impedances, and build them into a system that works together.
In terms of guitar tone, Custom Audio Electronics has to be one of my favorites. Nothing quite sounds like it, and as Bob puts it – he believes his systems don’t have a “sound”. He explains that 5 different guitar players can plug into his systems and you will have 5 different tones.
One of the main benefits of his systems is that all effects and cables are truly bypassed when the particular effect is disengaged. He explains that while certain pedals claim to be true bypass, they still contain active circuitry that color your tone. Bobs main aim is to make his systems sound like you’re plugging straight into the front of an amp.
