Dumble Style Overdrive Capsule Collection
Readers will be aware that I recently added 2 further Dumble style Overdrives to the reference collection. First the Menatone Dumbstruck V2, and then most recently the superb Tanabe Zenkudo.
I’ve decided that I’m at a point now where this selection is fully representative of this genre, of course I do have a few more targets in this category, while I feel I now have most of the major top-tier contenders. Notably missing here is Robben Ford’s evidently much loved Lovepedal / Hermida Zen ...
Tru-Fi's Vintage 60's style Ultra Tremolo has a beautifully elegant texture to its output
Based on the 60’s Kent Tremolo Pedal - essentially a re-badge of the Schaller Tremolo, the Tru-Fi Ultra Tremolo has a fairly unique sound signature. I heard something I really liked in the YouTube demo and sound samples, while I’m always suspicious of Modulation pedals that come without a Level control.
The nature of LFO Modulations is that you get a noticeable drop in volume as the signal climbs and dips in alternating fashion. To counteract volume drop, lots of tremolos employ a preamp ...
11 years on, Strymon finally reboots its pioneering Flagship Reverb Workstation - now called the BigSky MX with Custom IRs and Dual Stereo Reverb Playback
The original BigSky was a total game-changer in 2013 and ushered in the era of pristine pro studio level reverb workstation pedals. When I got stuck into pedals properly around 10 years ago, the Strymon Stryfecta of BigSky, Mobius and Timeline was one of the first major investments I made!
Since then I’ve had a number of different Reverb Workstations (around a dozen) on that particular #41 slot (I love and retain all of those) - which slot is currently fabulously occupied by the Poly Verbs ...
2024 April Pedal-Chain Update - Episode IV - Maximum Overload
Another totally mad month for sure - loaded with frenetic activity and peppered with highs as well as crushing disappointments. The first give-away for GPX didn’t quite hit the highs I expected (said give-away closes tonight at 23:59 BST). And there are some weird gaps in the entrants’ home countries - certainly no shortage from the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, or much of mainland Europe. I’m active in a lot more countries than have so far entered the give-away, so I don’t fully understand why ...
Chris Buck's Signature ThorpyFX Electric Lighting Plexi Style Tube Preamp suitably delivers exquisite tube tones alongside superior dynamics
I’ve gone a little bit movie poster on this one! The saga of the forgotten Top Gun :
’The Bluesman!’
I’ve long been a fan of Chris Buck - and indeed named him as one of my favourite 25 Guitar Heroes back in a 2022 article. His incredibly expressive touch is second to none! And he can wring out the most impressive detail and nuance over several bars - from just a single note!
So it’s entirely fitting that Thorpy has built him an equally dynamic and expressive pedal to match Chris’s ...
Dave Friedman follows up his excellent 2-Channel Twin Tube IR-X Preamp with the Dirty Shirley / Twin Sister IR-D Equivalent
I covered the IR-X back on September 28th - marking what a rip-roaring success it was - combining an all-analog Twin 12AX7 Tube Preamp with DSP Emulated Power Amp and Cab IR’s.
The control topology of the two pedals is nigh identical, with a few subtle differences, including Dual Bright + Structure Switches on the IR-D. Both pedals have Gain and Boost trimmers on the right-hand side. And both pedals retail at $499 | €595 | £499. Still relatively compact at 165 x 140 x 58 mms, while the ...
DSM & Humboldt's Simplifer X Zero Watt Reverb Stereo / Dual Amplifier is a magnificent marvel of analog audio engineering
I’m totally in awe of the technical prowess presented on this killer dual analog amps in a pedal format.
It’s actually a very compact device at just 125 x 105 x 65 mms, and carries so many advanced functions here almost entirely in the analog domain. There’s not a single sub-menu here - this is surely WYSIWYG perfection - while it does use every available surface to cram in all the technology that is needed to support all those features.
At first encounter this all seem wholly intuitive...
Krozz Devices' Airborn Analog Psychedelic Flanger beautifully combines Highest Fidelity Components with smart extended range delivery
As well documented on this site - I’m a huge fan of the Flanger modulation category - and the Airborn is my own 19th pedal of that genre - where I already own a number of superb High Fidelity Specimens - many with incredibly rare BBD chips onboard.
This Airborn itself also has a pretty rare NOS Matsushita MN3207 BBD Chip onboard - which is quite evident from its output on first encounter. Flangers are typically fairly variably musical - while this one is a particularly great example of a ...
Just two more days remaining to enter Give-Away, Entries close at 23:59 BST - Tomorrow
Hopefully I’ve done enough over the last 4 Mondays - to fully convince you of the merits and prowess of the ThorpyFX Heavy Water 3-in-1 Boost.
You have just 2 remaining days to enter, as the Give-away Entry-Form will disappear at 23:59 BST Tomorrow!
This give-away has one first prize of said featured pedal (one of a pair - I have the other on my board!), GPX-embroidered Cap, and GPX Custom Edition of the Hawk ToneBird 7 Guitar Pick, There are also 3 x runner-up prizes of Cap & Pick...
Bleak District Electric significantly upgrades its already formidable Miraj 4-Stage Vibe Shifter
This V2 Edition moves on significantly from the previous V1 - going from 7 to 10 Controls - and introducing a whole load of more colour into the proceedings - both figuratively and literally.
The V1 Controls consisted of - Regen, Rate, Volume, Depth, Univibe / Phase 90 Switch, Phaser / Vibrato Switch, Waveshape : Ramp Up / Ramp Down / Square / Triangle / Sine / Lumps / Random / Stepped, On/Off Footswitch, Tap Tempo Footswitch.
While the V2 Controls are - Envelope, Rate, EXP Switch : ...
12 Degrees of Saturation 2023 Compact Edition
