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PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Clyne Media, Inc.
Tel: (615) 662-1616
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Guitar Center hosts Pedal & Tone Masterclass, bringing fans and players together with today’s leading guitar voices Kiki Wong (The Smashing Pumpkins) and Yvette Young (Covet)
Artists deliver a deep dive into pedal-driven creativity, signature sounds, and real-world touring workflows, live in-store and via global livestream
Westlake Village, CA (March 3, 2026) — Guitar Center, the world’s largest musical instrument retailer, held an exclusive Pedal & Tone Masterclass at its flagship Hollywood store on Thursday, Feb. 26, from 6:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m. PST. The event welcomed a packed in-store audience and a worldwide livestream audience for an immersive 90-minute deep dive into the pedal-driven tones of two of today’s most compelling guitar voices: Kiki Wong (The Smashing Pumpkins) and Yvette Young (Covet).
“It’s such a thrill connecting the next generation of legends like Kiki Wong and Yvette Young to our musician customers where they can share their genre defining skills,” said Gabe Dalporto, CEO of Guitar Center. “Guitar Center is evolving into a destination where artists, experiences and gear come together in a community built for musicians.”
Hosted by Guitar World’s gear editor Paul Riario, the event explored how tone is built, refined and personalized, moving from early musical influences to modern pedalboard philosophies, live-performance realities, and the creative “happy accidents” that help shape an artist’s signature sound. Wong and Young broke down their rigs in real time, performed live, and answered questions from viewers tuning in around the world, addressing everything from breaking out of songwriting ruts and building repeatable tone-shaping workflows to balancing experimentation with intention and using gear as a catalyst for new creative directions. They closed the evening with a collaborative performance that sparked repeated calls, both in the room and online, for the duo to record together in the future. And this bit of spontaneous music-making underscored the event’s central theme: tone isn’t just gear, it’s identity, intention and expression.
“Tonight was all about tone, how it’s built, how it evolves, and how pedals shape creative expression,” said Paul Riario, moderator for the event and gear editor at Guitar World. “Kiki and Yvette didn’t just perform, they walked everyone through the why behind their sound, and the how behind the choices that make it theirs.”
Throughout the evening, Young shared how pedals function as an extension of composition, comparing the relationship between melody and effects to visual art, where pedals become “color” that brings ideas to life. She detailed how chorus, layered delays, EQ and modulation help her sculpt clarity and texture, while also embracing the unpredictability of live performance, wrong pedal hits included.
Wong discussed her evolving approach to tone, moving from a distortion-first background into the broader sonic vocabulary required inside The Smashing Pumpkins’ expansive catalog. She also offered an honest look at the learning curve of refining tones for arenas and complex touring systems, and the importance of staying curious, collaborative and open to creative influence. “Being in the room with other players actually present changes everything,” Wong shared during the discussion. “It opens doors creatively and reminds you why you picked up a guitar in the first place.”
This Pedal & Tone Masterclass reinforced Guitar Center’s role as a hub for modern guitar culture, where artists, educators, players and legends can connect around craft, creativity and community, whether in the room or watching worldwide.
The full masterclass is available to watch on Guitar Center’s YouTube channel, here. For updates on upcoming Guitar Center community masterclasses, artist events and livestreams, follow Guitar Center on Instagram at @GuitarCenter.
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Photo file 1: GC_Photo1_Kiki_Yvette_Paul.JPG
Photo caption 1: Pictured L-R: Kiki Wong (The Smashing Pumpkins), Yvette Young (Covet) and moderator Paul Riario (Guitar World), pictured at Guitar Center’s Pedal & Tone Masterclass at its flagship Hollywood store on Thursday, Feb. 26. Photo credit: Jessica Lee.
Photo file 2: GC_Photo2_Kiki_Yvette_Paul.JPG
Photo caption 2: Pictured L-R: Kiki Wong (The Smashing Pumpkins), Yvette Young (Covet) and moderator Paul Riario (Guitar World), pictured with a capacity crowd at Guitar Center’s Pedal & Tone Masterclass at its flagship Hollywood store on Thursday, Feb. 26. Photo credit: Jessica Lee.Photo file 3: GC_Photo3_Kiki_Yvette.JPG
Photo caption 3: Kiki Wong (left) and Yvette Young (right) perform at Guitar Center’s Pedal & Tone Masterclass at its flagship Hollywood store on Thursday, Feb. 26. Photo credit: Jessica Lee.Photo file 4: GC_Photo4_Kiki_Pedalboard.JPG
Photo caption 4: Kiki Wong’s pedalboard. Photo credit: Jessica Lee.Photo file 5: GC_Photo5_Yvette_Pedalboard.JPG
Photo caption 5: Yvette Young’s pedalboard. Photo credit: Jessica Lee.About Guitar Center:
Guitar Center is the leading retailer of musical instruments, lessons, repairs and rentals in the U.S. With more than 300 stores across the U.S. and one of the top direct sales websites in the industry, Guitar Center has helped people make music for more than 60 years. Guitar Center also provides customers with various musician-based services, including Guitar Center Lessons, where musicians of all ages and skill levels can learn to play a variety of instruments in many music genres, GC Repairs, an on-site maintenance and repairs service, and GC Rentals, a program offering easy rentals of instruments and other sound reinforcement gear. Additionally, Guitar Center’s sister brands include Music & Arts, which operates more than 250 stores specializing in band & orchestral instruments for sale and rental, serving teachers, band directors, college professors, parents and students, and Musician’s Friend, a leading direct marketer of musical instruments in the United States. For more information about Guitar Center, please visit guitarcenter.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Clyne Media | pr@clynemedia.com
Guitar Center | media@guitarcenter.com
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