Like many a guitar player, Jordan Fresque started out chasing the tones of his musical idols.
In his case it came in the form of John Frusciante, lead guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
"It's gonna be hard to top 2024," said Fresque, reflecting on the year he's had.
Embarking on this journey, Fresque soon learned he was in good company. He found chat groups, people on YouTubers and Reddit all trying to do the same thing, offer their own perspectives on the gear and set ups that John may have used. This is where the gear rabbit hole begins.
It started with the Boss C1, one of the first pedals made by boss primarily for keyboard players. It's a behemoth that dwarfs most contemporary pedals.
"It doesn't need to be this big," said Fresque with a laugh.
The pedal actually contains two circuits. One a pre amp (the secret sauce to Frusciante's tone) and the other, a modulator for the chorus effect. Fresque's first pedal was the first pre amp circuit, isolated and released in a standalone body coming at a fraction of the cost as well as a fraction of size.
Fresque continued to expand his catalogue with new effects. His Deluxe Modulation Ensemble was featured in Premier Guitar Magazine and later landed him a cease and desist from electro harmonix one of the largest pedal makes around. While not exactly what you want as a small maker it proved that the big dogs were watching.
Having basically mastered the art of sounding like Frusciante, Fresque was in need of a new challenge. A long time fan of New York indie rockers the Strokes, Fresque became enamoured with front man Julian Casablancas's side project the Voidz. The Voidz feature a much more electronic effects driven sound in contrast to the jazzy funk playing of the Chili Peppers something Fresque could have more fun exploring.
After watching interviews and reading articles, Fresque began piecing together the secrets to their sound. Eventually he was able to contact one of the guitar players of the band who were very forthcoming with info on how they created their tone.
Fresque learned of the Shumann PLL, a guitar pedal that retails for over $5,000, far outside the price range of the average player. Not only that, but the pedal used for the album had been on loan and the Voidz themselves were no longer able to create the signature sound.
Hitting the forums, Fresque was able to recreate the circuit and make his own Voidz inspired version of the sought after pedal.
He sent the band a prototype and was pleased to hear back from Voidz guitar player Beardo that "It does the thing!"
After a brief lapse in correspondence, Fresque learned that the band had been touring with the pedal, using it at live shows, the last of which was a live performance on Jimmy Fallon's late night talk show.
"It's crazy, you can see it up on stage with them," Fresque said.
"I'm just so grateful, people say don't meet your heroes, but they couldn't have been nicer guys."
See what Fresque is working on now by checking out his website, Youtube channel or on Instagram page.