This summer, Reverb will be releasing The Pedal Movie, our first feature-length documentary. For it, we've been talking to the builders and players at the center of modern pedal culture, like the eminent effects wizard, Wilco guitarist, and composer Nels Cline.
Above, we're sharing an extended interview with Cline as he talks through his history of pedals, from his early '90s Boss board—containing a DD-3, a DS-1, and little else—through the countless circuits he's played since.
His sonic horizons first started to expand when getting introduced to the Klon Centaur and the ZVex Fuzz Factory, which not only caught his ear, but also his eye. Cline tells us that the handpainted chassis reminded him of the toy models and Ed "Big Daddy" Roth designs he was into as a kid: "Anything that had that look to it was immediately appealing. So I think that was the little light bulb that went on over my head that made me aware of this, what we now call, boutique pedal market. I don't know what happened. Next thing I know I had a million pedals."
Check out the video to hear more from Cline and to hear him play a few what he calls the "apocalyptic noises that make me really happy."
Learn more about The Pedal Movie—and sign up to be in the loop on its release—here.