Dipped in Tone goes live for the first time at Fretboard Summit 2026 at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. Rhett, Zach, and Addison open with the most interesting things they’ve found at the show: Addison is carrying a limited edition acoustic from a Quebec builder — only 15 made, Adirondack spruce top, maple back and sides, slotted headstock — and it plays warmer and more balanced than it has any right to. Rhett found a fully analog speaker cabinet emulator prototype at the Bartle Amplification booth that looks like it came out of an Abbey Road session circa 1964. Then comes the hot takes — John O’Keefe argues vintage guitars aren’t worth the premium over modern alternatives, a live audience member makes the compelling case that the true sound of rock and roll is amplification rather than guitar or drums, and a second live take on whether music notation is uniquely hard for guitarists gets a detailed rebuttal from Corey Congilio that actually settles it. Four rigs get dipped live: an ambient backyard board with vintage classroom projector cabs, a pristine JM and Alessandro Fiore combo that earns a rare ten, a “trigger warning” rig stuffed with headless guitars and a switcher, and Josh Scott’s expression-pedal-controlled monster board — built during mountain bike crash recovery — with two redacted upcoming JHS releases hiding in plain sight. Jonathan Stout closes the show with the best single take of the day: gear is simultaneously the least and most important thing.Submit your hot takes: [email protected] Journal: https://fretboardjournal.comLittle H Collective (Steven’s music): https://littlehcollective.bandcamp.comJOIN US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/dippedintone MERCH: https://www.dippedintone.com/merch FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/dippedintoneDIPPED IN TONE IS: Rhett Shull https://www.rhettshull.com Zach Broyles / Mythos Pedals https://mythospedals.com & https://highvoltageguitars.comProduced & Edited by Addison! https://www.instagram.com/addisonsauvanTimestamps:Affiliate LinksGear Dipped — John’s rigGibson Custom Shop SG → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/qWq20OProCo RAT 2 → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/aNkWLQBenson Amps Preamp Pedal → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/AgDEADCatalinbread Belle Epoch Deluxe → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/Gb5ZQBEHX Deluxe Memory Man 1100-TT → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/VOW6QkUniversal Audio OX Amp Attenuator → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/ZVDymWGear Dipped — Matthew’s rigFender Player II Stratocaster → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/X4qXrMD’Angelico Excel DC → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/B5Q2G4Blackstar St. James EL34 112 combo → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/WOLG9nTC Electronic PolyTune 3 Mini → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/2R3WgGWampler Belle → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/R0X6YySource Audio Nemesis Delay → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/4aYWRGUniversal Audio UAFX Golden Reverberator → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/dyA73yJHS 3 Series Fuzz → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/qWq2kOGear Dipped — Josh Scott’s rigBoss JB-2 Angry Driver → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/PzZ6kMKeeley Octa Psi → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/enGAB6Eventide H9 Harmonizer Gen 2 → https://sweetwater.sjv.io/aNkW6qBoss RV-200 Reverb → https://sw