INTRODUCING | God City Instruments
Designed By Converge Guitarist Kurt Ballou, God City Instruments Are Crafted To Meet The Needs Of Today’s Working Musicians
For more than two decades, Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou has been building a career based on his love of music. From his guitar work for his groundbreaking metalcore band, which broke onto the hardcore punk scene in the early aughts; to owning God City Recording Studios, where he has engineered records for a host of indie, punk, hardcore, metal, and experimental artists since 2003; to founding God City Instruments (GCI) in 2017, after his circuit-board business card for the studio—a DIY PCB distortion pedal, based loosely on one of his favorite distortions—took the DIY pedal-building world by storm.
Whether he is recording music or playing it himself, GCI has come to represent the nexus where the Converge guitarist’s own long-term musical interests, influences, and aspirations intersect! With an aim to provide unique, great-sounding, tools for the active musician, GCI guitars and basses employ a no-frills approach, straddling the line between old-school aesthetics and modern power.
From the body contours to the pickups, to the neck joints, God City Instruments guitars and basses combine some of Ballou’s favorite features from classic guitar models of the past and use only high-quality components, setting the standard for today’s recording and performing musicians, so they can continue shaping the sound of tomorrow’s music.
Shop for GCI guitars and basses today at Chicago Music Exchange!
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