Beckoning guitarist, producer and all-around musical hybrid Deryck Stanek was born in Omaha, Nebraska. From his parent’s basement, he launched the band Go Crash Audio whom, within six years, would go from clueless musicians to performing alongside artists like Kevin Rudolf, Fall Out Boy & LFO. Deryck soon went on to pursue many other projects, including the production of EP’s for Kid Contagious, Rochester and others. It was during this time that he began to find his niche in the world of session recording. “I have always believed that a good guitarist is not one that can throw out the most technical riffs, but one that can do it with the most feel and integrity,” he said in an interview for Reverend Guitars. Countless performances and recordings later, Deryck is currently the Musical Director and Guitarist for Warner Bros/Decaydance artist The Ready Set.
Deryck’s sound can be identified as uncommon and persuading, subtle and explosive. For a guitarist with no boundaries, only time will show what the future holds. “If I’m not being innovative and true to myself, I’m doing something wrong,” he says. “People don’t listen to what you do, they listen to why you do it.”

Why did you change out your stock pickups?
“I have been in pursuit of fresh and intriguing sounds longer than I have played. Once I found my love for playing, I spent years going through various amps, numerous guitars, and every pedal I could get my hands on, but something was always missing. I could never fully nail that sound I wanted. Somebody suggested that I try new pickups and I thought, “Why have I never done this?!” It was at this moment that I realized that I have almost never truly loved the sound of stock pickups. When I discovered the Seymour Duncan JB (and later, several others), I finally hit that perfect point. From that moment on, I have and will believe 110% in Seymour Duncan’s products.”
Which pickups do you use and for which guitars?
“My primary guitar is a Reverend Sensei RT, modified to house humbuckers. I have an SH-14 Custom 5 in the bridge and an SH-2 Jazz Model at the neck. I also just got a Reverend Volcano with an SH-5 Duncan Custom at the bridge position (the guitar is wired so that it only has one working pickup in the guitar.) My Les Paul benefits from a JB at the bridge.”
“Although they all have a beautifully massive mid-range growl, it’s the low and high end that makes each of the pickups carry their own weight. Imagine the JB as the perfect, neutral pickup. Add a bit more of a deep, yet tight low-end and a bit of that modern-sounding high-end and you have the SH-14. The SH-5 is a bit of a different creature. Similar in some ways to both the JB and SH-14, but the lows, mids & highs jump out in different spots. Did I mention that the SH-5 is a MONSTER?!”
“Because of my Seymour Duncan pickups, I no longer have to search for the sounds I have always been looking for. Tuning amps and dialing in tones on pedals have become completely painless. I now fall deeper in love with the sounds I can produce, therefore pushing me in new directions.”
“I also have used a Pickup Booster pedal to compensate for signal loss from my old rig’s insane cabling. Now that my rig’s signal chain has been drastically reduced, I found that I didn’t need to use anything for that purpose. However, I still play around often with the Pickup Booster when trying to add a bit of muscle to certain things.”
“I believe in outstanding sound that challenges the status quo. Therefore, I use Seymour Duncan pickups in all of my guitars.”

How would you describe your playing?
“I play for the song. I grew up around guitarists that wrote and played very self-serving, ego-driven parts. I enjoy hooks and melody. I also enjoy magical performances and creative sounds. These things are my primary focus when writing and performing.”
About the band:
“All I’ve ever really wanted out of music is to just keep writing and touring and not to have to worry about living paycheck to paycheck,” explains Jordan Witzigreuter, the force behind the mammoth pop sound of The Ready Set. “You know, to just keep doing what I’ve been doing since I was in high school.”
Raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the twenty-year-old singer spent his early adolescence locked in his bedroom methodically analyzing stacks of CDs. By his mid-teens, he’d started writing songs and booking his own shows under the moniker The Ready Set. “My last name gives people trouble,” the singer says with a laugh. “So I kinda needed a band name even for my solo stuff.”  Witzigreuter’s epic, super melodic tracks, including an early version of the explosive first single “Love Like Woe,” made their way to Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz, who took one listen and promptly made The Ready Set the first signing to his newly-formed Decaydance Records/Sire Records joint venture.
For The Ready Set tour dates, please go here:
Tour Dates
To visit with Deryck please go to:
http://TheReadySet
http://DeryckStanek.com
http://ItsDeryck.com
http://www.twitter.com/thatderyckguy