When I first glimpsed the HARM pedal - it very much appeared to me to be the full-fat embodiment of my ’12 Degrees  of Saturation’ Methodology. Now that I’ve been road-testing it for 3 weeks, I can absolutely vouch for its potency, versatility, and prowess - its range of coverage is extraordinary!

This is the one compact pedal that can pretty much cover all your gain needs. That’s not to say it wholly accurately 100% replicates every gain pedal, while it most definitely gets well beyond the...

I’m somewhat bemused with YouTube demoers making lofty proclamations wholly without context, and without reference to any other Dumble-style pedals - as if Universal Audio had invented something entirely new here. There are currently 35 demos out there on YouTube for this one pedal - where pretty much in unison those reviewers are proclaiming the Enigmatic as the best thing since sliced bread!

No mention of the incredible analog Tanabe Dumkudo/Zenkudo, Demon Pedals Kondo-Shifuku, or Custom ...

Supposedly I’m one of the inspirations for this particular edition, which was simply based on my suggesting a more compact version of this excellent all-rounder original Parasite JFET Overdrive. I don’t take too much credit though - as my good friend AD Hauser did all the heavy lifting here!

I enormously enjoyed the partial collaboration on the new generation of Colortone knobs, and the creation of their ’Headliner’ silicon caps - for extra hi-vis legibility. I certainly had some say in ...

Apologies that his is a little late - it took and age to research, compile and complete - and is filled with myriad wonderful fun facts - I sincerely hope you enjoy this one - as a whole heap of work has gone into bringing it to you!

So I spent the whole weekend working on updating my pedal inventory records to figure out exactly where I was at with the Reference Collection, the last time I did that exercise was a couple of years ago. I had kind of mentally estimated that I had around 1.300...

So we now have a limited edition of the Unobtanium Klon + Dumble Dual Channel Overdrive in a different ’Raw’ Colourway, but more importantly with changes made to each of the 2 Channels!

On the Klon side we get a different ’Mod’ option on the Clipping / Compression switch. Were CTC’s Christos found that the NOS Mullard/Valvo OC45 germanium transistor paired exceptionally well with that circuit and generated even greater depths of breakup character.

While on the Dumble side that Chanel ...

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 ...

Around the same time last year as Luca Romanelli announced the retirement of Mastro Valvola, my good friend Mike Vickery announced that his Vick Audio would cease pedal production too. Not many know that Mike was my Big Muff Mentor really, and I really got the full grasp on what distinguished one Big Muff variety from another - via a series of highly involved chats with Mike back in 2020.

Mike is / was one of the very best producers of Big Muff style fuzzes - with the general acceptance ...

Before we get into the detail of the Santanabe, it’s important to note that both the May Queen and Santanabe pedals are derivations of the the core Zenkudo circuit - with certain EQ, Voicing and Gain Tweaks / Alterations. For instance the Gain curve on the Zenkudo and May Queen has a Linear B Taper, while the Santanabe is of the Logarithmic A type curve.

Both the May Queen and Santanbe have significantly more gain onboard than the Zenkudo - with 3 times the amount of the Zenkudo at Max ...

Upon first glance you just surely can’t but concede that this Nero Fuzz is a most magnificent detail-oriented design masterpiece as ever there was -  and for sure one of the very best-balanced designs currently out there. I love Emilio’s new gun-metal grey / titanium coloured and engraved knobs, the raised surrounds for the mini knobs, and the back-lit lights - including the main Cornerstone Logo Ident.

The enclosure finish is beautifully textured too - with a fetching gleaming metallic ...