Sunil's gear

Shubb C1 capo Featured

Standard steel-string capo

Capo on 2 is the single most useful trick for Nepali folk — see the blog post. Shubb is the one I keep buying.

Dunlop Tortex 0.73mm

Picks

The orange ones. A bag of 72 lives in every guitar case I own.

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe IV Featured

40W tube combo

Stage amp. Loud enough for a club, clean enough that the pedalboard does all the colour.

Boss Katana 50

Modelling combo

Recording and lesson amp. Quiet enough for a flat in a city, modelled clean tone holds up.

Fender Player Stratocaster Featured

Maple neck, sunburst

My everyday electric. The neck shape is perfect for the way I bend strings — slightly thicker than a Custom Shop, much friendlier for long sets.

Taylor 314ce Featured

Grand Auditorium, all-solid

Recording and tutorial guitar. Sapele back/sides give it a less-scooped sound than the typical mahogany, which holds up in a phone mic.

Yamaha FG800

Travel / backup

The student-special. I keep this one in the bag for travel and as the recommended-first-acoustic for new students.

Cort Classic Nylon

Classical, cedar top

For the Nepali folk songs that just want a softer attack.

Sonicake Sword (overdrive) Featured

Klon-style transparent OD

Always-on light push. Sonicake gear keeps showing up on my board for the price-to-tone ratio.

Sonicake Pocket Verbs

Reverb

Cathedral mode for the slow folk arrangements, room for the rest.

Boss DD-200

Digital delay

Dotted-eighth tap-tempo delay is the cheat code for Nepali pop rhythm-guitar parts.

TC Electronic PolyTune 3

Tuner / true-bypass

If you don't tune, you don't get to be on stage. This thing is fast.

Reaper

DAW

Cheap, fast, runs on anything. Every tutorial in 2024 is recorded in Reaper.

Sony WH-1000XM4

Headphones (monitoring)

Not studio cans, but they're honest about the low end, which is what I need most.

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (4th gen) Featured

USB interface

The only interface I recommend to students. Bombproof, drivers just work, two inputs is enough.

Shure SM57

Dynamic mic, on the amp

On the grille cloth, slightly off-axis. The whole "industry standard" thing is true for a reason.

Rode NT1 5th gen

Condenser, on the acoustic

A foot back from the 12th fret, slightly toward the soundhole — see the recording blog post.