So my Wilson Effects Capstone has landed, and it’s exactly as the demos indicate. It can be incredibly subtle and exceptionally transparent. And has an inherent sweetness to its output. You really need to crank it to get it to reveal its more textured side.

With the MOD switch to the left - things remain so transparent and subtle - it’s so incredibly transparent. While I quite like to get some mix of harmonics into the mix - which involves cranking a number of the dials.

Controls - GAIN...

Mark at Summer School Electronics has made the perfect first classic fuzz - for anyone wanting to experience the best of that circuit style in the ultimate format. Essentially a Type II BC108 Silicon Fuzz Face with additional Tone knob and external Bias control.

I prefer all my Fuzz Faces and Tone Benders to have external Biases - as it’s such a key tool for adjusting the nature and timbre of the fuzz - and gives you more flavours and versatility. Further tone controls are incredibly handy ...

This new generation delivers 2 / 4 and 6 Stage Phasing in an incredibly handy format - with the perfect complement of controls for maximum impact. The original version had a Phaser / Vibrato switch, which has been felt surplus to requirements on this occasion - considering the already fabulous Diamond Vibrato - which I have and love.

All the Diamond Modulation pedals are great - where I’ve still to acquire the Tremolo, and will also be getting in this Diamond Phase at some stage - while I ...

I was a touch too slow to react initially - literally by split seconds - as Joe’s Pedals sold out of the Greathammer almost instantly - before I could even react to the announcement. So I picked up one from the second batch as quickly as I could, and have been entirely wowed by the experience.

Not all Bass Preamps work well with guitar - and I have several which sound pretty horrendous - overly flubby, woofy and boomy. While a handful of those can sound wholly killer - yet few are as ...

It’s a little early to call, as I’ve only had this exceptional tremolo for a week or so now, but it’s one of those perfect executions with everything in the right place, and a really exceptional output profile. It may just be my favourite tremolo pedal to-date (#35!).

The complement of controls is just spot-on - that top row combination of Volume, Tone, Depth, and Speed, and then 8 different waveforms across 4 Modes, and with Tap-Tempo and Sub-divisions. You could argue that the only thing ...

John Snyder and crew have created one of the most striking pedals of the year - which will supposedly only be available from the Merch Stand of long-term Post-Hardcore Collaborators Touché Amoré who are on a worldwide tour from April 17th - taking in various locations in the USA, then Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, The Netherlands, and 3 dates in the UK - Wembley Arena on June 24th, and Outbreak Festival - Stretford and Manchester on the 27th & 28th...

It’s rare confluence - when an ideal control topology gets married to the ideal design and layout. And Freqscene Effects seems to have hit the jackpot here on all counts! The knob selection, graphics, colour choices, and format evolution from the 2-knob Boss CE-2 are just pure perfection.

The Designer / Engineer Wade explains how his Koldwave smartly refines and expands the scope of the CE-2 - giving it a more 3-dimensional output - where the Warp / Detune knob gives you all kinds of ...

I was somewhat wowed by Isnt’tses Mini Art Synths at the recent Birmingham Noise Maker Market Show. These are intricately designed open circuits - with topological details worked into the surface - in a mix of black, white and gold, and various strategically and topologically placed components - which often represent structures from that landscape.

For the Chernobylizer the art-side is a mix of realism and impressionism - where the 4 large capacitors represent the 4 Chernobyl Nuclear ...

So OBNE recently discontinued its BL series - including its BL-44 Reverse Playback Pedal. That pedal had 4 controls - Mix, Volume, Speed, and a Clock Slider.

This new Setback also comes with 4 controls :

Setback Controls - Speed, Mix, Tap Divisions : Sixteenth / Eighth Triplets / Eighth / Triplets / Dotted Eighth / Quarter / Half, Clock, Preset 1-3, AUX Footswitch (Tap-Tempo / Max Feedback / Presets), On/Off Footswitch.

To make up for the lack of a Volume knob - you have Alt ...