So it’s about time for another round of ’12 Degrees of Saturation’ - featuring an updated selection and including most of the more recently released notable Mini Gain Pedals. Please note that as before - this is something of a Grey Science with simply approximated best fit positioning - as all those pedals have slightly different gain ranges, and certain ones within each selection / category can have vastly more extended range than others - and often cover more than one of the categories.
This exercise was done originally to help me figure out where different gain pedals sort of fitted into / lined up in the mix and on the board so to speak - so I could better compare and contrast like with like - and better know what the specific options for me were within each category, and which pedals were better suited to my preferences and circumstance.
You should note a number of perennial favourites among these - some of which have alas been discontinued. While Mini Pedals continue to improve in quality of build and sonic delivery - and several are every bit as good or better even than pedals many times their size.
Some of the terminology is somewhat imprecise by its nature - so I try to hone and improve the descriptives for each round that I do - to make the language more pertinent to each selection. A lot of people have issues with ’Transparent Overdrive’ as all overdrives pretty much impact on the output in some way - so the more accurate term is ’Minimal-Colouring’ while that is too large a label to be practical - and so ’Trans’ is the far easier label to accommodate.
The structure of this piece is that there are 12 columns of somewhat implied progressive step up in gain - with 5 of my favourites selected for each category. I’ve learned my lesson from doing overly long articles - that the Internet doesn’t much like articles with 60 YouTube embeds - so I’m only doing the first listed in each category - actually I decided in the end to have YouTube embeds for the first 2 in each column! (so 24 vids in total).
Most of these Mini Pedals have been featured on the site before - while there is a smattering of new entries here too - hopefully something for everyone! I’ve tried to be a broadmindedly inclusive here as can be - and sincerely hope you enjoy the ride!
These articles take so much time and effort to compile - with so much chopping and changing and serial iterations - and there often aren’t particularly significant changes between years - so doing one of these every few years seems about right!
Reigning Mini Champions in this overall selection :
I own only half of these - some V1 editions included, so plenty more to add if I’m feeling completist, while these are largely backups and understudies to my preferred Compact edition boxes - with a few exceptions. My new Mooer X2 Preamp for instance gives me a lot of those Micro-Preamp options in one box, while it doesn’t fully cover them all. A number of these listed are down on my wishlist - while owing to how much I use them overall, they are not necessarily priorities - except for some of the discontinued ones that turn up at a decent price point!
I do typically grab one or two relevant pedals when doing these exercises - if I spot any at a decent price point.
Here follow the category selection details :
These are actually a mix of different boosts - some clean, some dirty, and some treble-boosty! By far and away my favourite mini boost is the discontinued Becos FX Solo Boost Master, while my most used to date has been my Alchemy Audio Modded Xotic EP Booster.
I've always wanted an Analog.Man Beano Booster Mini - a proper Germanium Treble-Booster - but produced in very small quantities and discontinued now I believe - I will try to hunt one down opportunistically. I'm also recommending that one of my mini pedal specialist friends make a Super Germanium Treble Booster of his own - with a couple of extra bells and whistles - I feel they would feel like hot-cakes - as there are a few Silicon Mini Treble Boosters our there - but nothing currently with Germanium! UPDATE - actually the Mini Beanos have not been discontinued - so I can get one direct in a month or two!
Note that no demos were ever made for the Bezos FX Solo Boost Master - so here we have the videos for #2 & #3
DETAILS :
Becos FX Mini Solo Boost Master - discontinued - €129 when new
Controls - Active Tilt-EQ, Boost (+20dB), Cut Lows, Cut Mids, Cut Highs, Mid Sweep (360Hz at -3dB to 720 Hz at -9dB).
Xotic Effects EP Booster Mini Alchemy Audio Edition - $150
Controls - Boost (+20db), Bright switch, +3dB More Gain switch.
Ibanez Booster Mini - $100
Controls - Level (+24dB), Bass, Treble.
Analog.Man Beano Boost Mini - $165
Controls - Boost (+18dB), Tone / Range : Mids / Treble / Lows.
Coppersounds Gravity Bomb Clean Boost & Buffer V2 Mini - $129
Controls - Boost (+20db), Mids : 1kHz / Flat / 750Hz.
So these Minimally Colouring pedals are mostly Klon / Klone derivatives - where for me the Decibelics Golden Horse still reigns supreme - while each of these are really decent. And then we have Mentone's legendary Red Snapper which does its own thing in a similar vein. I've always thought Greer Amps could do a cool mini version of its similar Lightspeed Overdrive - while there really is no need for any more - there are already lots of fantastic options - with very little to divide them.
DETAILS :
Decibelios Golden Horse Mini (Klone) - €190
Controls - Gain, Level, Tone.
Pickdropper / Function F(x) Minitaur (Klone) - $169 (made to order)
Controls - Output, Treble, Gain.
Wampler Tumnus Mini (Klone) - $150
Controls - Gain, Treble, Volume.
MXR Sugar Drive Mini (Klone) - $120
Controls - Volume, Tone, Drive.
Menatone Red Snapper Mini - $139
Controls - Bite, Gain, Volume.
This selection is entirely made up of derivations of the Ibanez / Maxon Tube Screamer - largely TS808 and TS10 varieties. Contrary to some opinions these actually all sound somewhat different, and I prefer each of these to Ibanez's own variety of Mini Tube Screamer. For sure the most potent here and therefore reigning champion as far as I'm concerned is the Becos FX Ziffer - a hugely extended range pedal for such small dimensions.
DETAILS :
Becos FX Ziffer Overdrive Mini (TS808) - €149
b - Gain, Tone, Clip - Classic (Symmetrical), Asymmetrical, LED, Deep (Bass Boost), Dry Active Tilt-EQ, Wet>Dry Mix.
Wampler Moxie Overdrive Mini (TS10) - $150
Controls - Volume, Gain, Voice : Stock / +Clarity, Tone, Fat : Stock / +Fat.
KHDK Ghoul Screamer Jr Overdrive (TS808) - $150
Controls - Drive, Volume, Tone, Voice (Bass / Body) - Low Enhance / Stock / Tight & Midsy, Style - Stock / Dynamic + Cutting / Full-On + Aggressive.
Function F(x) Clay Jones Overdrive Mini (TS808) - $169
Controls - Level, Gain, Tone, Lift / Clipping : Asymmetrical / Diode Lift / LEDs.
OneControl Persian Green Screamer V2 Mini (TS808) - $129
Controls - Level, Tone, Drive, Mode Switch : Vintage / Modern.
This is a category that only I seem to promote for whatever reason - initially triggered by my love of the Spaceman Aphelion and Greer Southland overdrives in particular. These are usually Germanium Transistor types, or at least with Germanium Transistors and / or Germanium Diodes for the clipping section of the circuit. They deliver a particularly richly-textured output usually with lots of transients and harmonic breakup and artefacts - often typified by a rare kind of musical 'grit'. They have a very certain texture in common, while not everyone that fits in this category is made of the same stuff - there are some Schottky clipping types which can render similar textures - while Germanium is normally best in these circumstances.
Note that the second Demo above is of the full-size Simplexity which is the self same circuit as in the mini pedal for which there is currently no demo.
DETAILS :
OneControl BJFE Honey Bee 4K OD Custom Mini - $205
Controls - Volume, Drive, Bass, Treble, Mode Switch : Vintage / Modern.
Menatone Simplexity Ge Preamp Mini - $149 (largely made to order)
Controls - HF/Tone, Sensitivity, Volume.
Pigtronix Gamma Drive Mini - $129
Controls - Volume, Gain, Treble (active 2kHz±), Bass (active 80Hz±).
KO Amps Stout Drive Mini - discontinued - C$160
Controls - Tone, Volume, Gain.
Schu-Tone Whiplash Overdrive Mini - $149
Controls - Volume, Drive, Tone, Clipping / Compression : More / Less
This selection is primarily composed of Bluesy Blues Drivers and BluesBreakers, also with Timmy, and ODR-1 styles. I could have had many more here - including the Dumble style too - while these 5 listed are overall my favourites - honourable mention goes to Pickdropper's Mini Zen pedal - which just missed the cut on this occasion. The Mooer Blues Mood was my very first Mini Pedal - and remains one of my all-time favourites to this day!
DETAILS :
Mooer Blues Mood Mini (Keeley Fat Mod BD-2) - $68
Controls - Level, Mode : Bright / Fat, Tone, Gain.
MXR w/ Analog.Man Duke of Tone Mini (BluesBreaker) - $150
Controls - Volume, Drive, Mode : OD / Boost / Distortion, Tone.
Snouse Electric Co BlackBox Mini (BluesBreaker) - $149, sold out 50 pedal run
Controls - Gain, Tone, Volume.
MXR w/ Paul Cochrane Timmy Mini - $150
Controls - Bass, Clip / Compression : Asymmetrical Most Comp / Symmetrical Less Comp / Symmetrical More Comp, Gain, Volume, Treble.
Wampler Belle Overdrive Mini (ODR-1) - $150
Controls - Bass, Color (Spectrum), Level, Gain.
Crunch is really quite synonymous with Marshall styles - which have a certain snap to their breakup. They are the most typical derivations - while there are many more besides - it certainly involves certain mid frequencies with a resounding crisp finish. Each of these listed ones has a somewhat different origin path - while these are all very capable of that articulate snap!
DETAILS :
EWS Little Brute Drive II Mini - $150
Controls - 3-way Mids Switch, Gain, Tone, Volume, Internal 9V / 16V dip-switch.
Menatone Thundering Revival Drive Mini (Red Snapper Derived Higher Gain Distortion) - $149
Controls - Tone, Drive, Volume.
F-Pedals Damn 10 Distortion Mini - discontinued - $90 when new
Controls - Level, Bite, Roar.
Suhr Shiba Drive Reloaded Mini - $129
Controls - Tone, Smooth : Off / On, Level, Drive.
Mooer Hustle Drive Mini (OCD) - $68
Controls - Volume, Mode : High Peak / Low Peak, Tone, Drive.
These tend to be the more vintage-inspired Fuzzes - typically Fuzz Face and Tone Bender varieties, while I reserver the chunkier and frequently more OpAmp based varieties for the Fuzzstortion category. It's essentially like the different strengths of Distortion - where they get progressively harder and more distorted. Here we simply filter the lower gain Fuzzes into the core Fuzz Category while the higher gain ones get listed under Fuzzstortion. Some of the higher gain Fuzzstortions exceed the range of the Distortion Category - and even touch on the Focused and Heavy categories - while for the purposes of this exercise - we split the Fuzzes into two extremes and list them side-by-side!
Note that there is currently no demo for the Cluster Fuzz Mini - so I've used the compact edition demo for that - while the Mini has slightly more features!
DETAILS :
Function F(x) Cluster Fuzz Mini - $169
Controls - Level, 8-Bit, Tone, Fuzz, Clipping : Mosfet / None / Silicon.
EWS Little Fuzzy Drive - $150
Controls - Mode : Fat Fuzz / Fuzzy Drive, Gain, Tone, Volume.
El Músico Loco Wee Beaver Fuzz (Regulus VIII) - discontinued - $160 when new
Controls - Volume, Contour.
NFYFX Germanium Mini Fuzz Factory - $100
Controls - Volume, Gate, Compression, Drive, Stability (Starve).
Pickdropper / Function F(x) Professional MKI Fuzz mini (TB MKI) - $169 (Made to order)
Controls - Fuzz, Level, Bias.
The Higher Gain Fuzzes - usually more heavy Big Muff styles and typically more OpAmp types of Fuzzes which equal or exceed the gain range of more conventional Distortion pedals.
DETAILS :
Pigtronix Disnortion Mini Fuzz-Distortion - $129
Controls - Gain, Volume, Drive, Fuzz Shape x 6, Series/Parallel button.
Fuzz Shape - No Filter | Mid Bump (808) | Low Pass (Carlos) | Mid Scoop (Muff) | Low Pass (Bass!).
Decibelics The Reverend Mini Overdrive / Distortion / Fuzz - €175
Controls - Gain, Level, Tone, Mode : I Crunch / II Overdrive / III Distortion / IV F Fuzz, Internal dip-switch : Guitar / Bass.
Free Fall Diver Huge Fuzz (Muff) - ¥23,000 | $186 (rare)
Controls - Volume, Sustain, Tone.
Fortin Mini Fuzz - $150
Controls - Volume, Fuzz, Girth.
Rainger FX DFST-1 Stealth Mini Modulated Fuzz / Distortion (Freakenstein Chop Fuzz) - £229
Controls - Altitude (EQ), Overtone (Harmonic Overtones), Speed (Modulation Rate), Silence (Output), Awareness (Envelope Sensitivity), Pad : Guitar / Line-in, Mode : Step Modulation / Envelope.
Another Marshall-y category - typically around 'Plexi' strength of output - including modded and hot-rodded varieties of the same. The most classic core Distortion styles are usually around those chewy Marshally mids, while ProCo Rat varieties can also get you into similar territory.
DETAILS :
Xotic Effects SL Drive Mini Alchemy Audio Edition - $160
Controls - Drive, Tone, Volume, 4 x Voicing Switches Off / On : 1 High/Mid Boost #1 | 2 High/Mid Boost #2 | High/Mid Cut | +6dB Boost.
Wampler Plexi-Drive Mini - $150
Controls - Gain, Volume, Bass : Less / More, Tone, Mids : Less / More.
Menatone Shut Up and Drive Mini - $149
Controls - Tone, Drive, Volume.
OneControl Jubilee Red AIAB Mini - $129
Controls - Treble, Volume, Mid, Gain.
Wampler Ratsbane Distortion mini - $150
Controls : Volume, Distortion, Gain : Mids+Highs / Stock / Full Range, Filter (Tone), Voicing : Classic / Modern.
Each of these pedals is derived from the Eddie Van Halen signature sound - originally from a Variac Plexi Amp and then engineered derivations of that original James Brown designed Peavey 5150 variety. These are typified by a certain Mid-Focused output profile.
DETAILS :
Suhr Riot Distortion Mini - $129
Controls - Tone, Voice : Diodes / LEDs, Level, Distortion.
OneControl Anodised Brown Distortion Mini - $129
Controls - Gain, Volume, Mid, Treble.
Xvive XT1 Golden Brownie Distortion Mini - discontinued - $65 when new
Controls - Drive, Volume, Tone, Presence.
Mooer Micro-Preamp 005 Brown Sound 3 (EVH 5150 MKIII) - $99
Controls - Treble, Mids, Bass, Volume, Gain, Channel : A/B.
Mooer Mirco-Preamp 015 Brown Sound (Peavey 5150 MKI) - $99
Controls - Treble, Mids, Bass, Volume, Gain, Channel : A/B.
So these get progressively heavier - now in and amongst HM-2 / Heavy Metal / Metal Muff types and similar. This is not about Vintage vs Modern styes - but really rather how hard and saturated things can get - this is the penultimate stage where this is sort of at a 9 or a 10, while Extreme goes to 11!
DETAILS :
Decibelics Angry Swede V2 HM-2 Mini - $149
Controls - Level, Distortion, Low Color, High Color, Clean Blend.
Mooer Blade Distortion Mini (EHX Metal Muff) - $69
Controls - Volume, Mode : Hi Boost / Boost Off / Lo Boost, Tone, Distortion.
Ibanez Super Metal Distortion Mini - $119
Controls - Edge, Punch, Attack, Level, Drive.
TWA FB-05 Metal Distortion Mini - discontinued - $69 when new
Controls - Volume, Mode : Hi Boost / Boost Off / Lo Boost, Tone, Distortion.
Sondery Metal Distortion Mini - $36
Controls - Volume, Mode : Solo / Turbo / Normal, Filter, Distortion.
And so we've reached Peak Distortion territory here - where this final category is based on the most legendary of hard hitting heavy metal amps - the Mesa Dual and Triple Rectifiers, Diezels, and Engls - very much Heavy Metal Royalty really. These tend to have a slightly deeper and more resonant low-end thump along with their veritable wall of sound output. It's only really Mooer that steps forth into this territory - mostly with its range of Micro-Preamps. I'm still waiting for some Boutique varieties to materialise for this territory!
DETAILS :
Mooer Rage Machine Distortion Mini (Digitech Death Metal Distortion) - $79
Controls - Low, Level, High, Rage.
Mooer Micro-Preamp 001 Gas Station (Diezel Hagen) - $99
Controls - Treble, Mids, Bass, Volume, Gain, Channel : A/B.
Mooer Micro-Preamp 008 Cali-MK 3 (MESA/Boogie Mark III) - $99
Controls - Treble, Mids, Bass, Volume, Gain, Channel : A/B.
Mooer Micro-Preamp 011 Cali-Dual (MESA/Boogie Dual Rectifier) - $99
Controls - Treble, Mids, Bass, Volume, Gain, Channel : A/B.
Mooer Micro-Preamp 016 Phoenix (Engl Fireball 100) - $99
Controls - Treble, Mids, Bass, Volume, Gain, Channel : A/B.
The priciest pedal in this selection is the OneControl / BJFE Honey Bee Mini Custom at $205 and equivalent - while the lowest cost one is the Sondery Metal Distortion at $36. The core Mooers are around $70±, Micro-Preamps at $99, while median Boutique values fall largely at $129 or $150. Decibelics pedals command a premium - where they are composed entirely of full-size THT components of the very highest quality - and match or improve on their much larger competitors. For Decibelics its the benefit of format you're getting - while not sacrificing an ounce of quality - that is why their prices are eminently fair at that level - in fact they should really be dearer than their compact boutique equivalents as the quality of fit and finish has to be so precise for those smaller units to really deliver.
Whenever I do one of these overviews I'm always inspired to add a pedal or two. On this occasion I wanted to own all the first referenced ones - where I was missing the Suhr Mini Riot and Mooer Rage Machine until know. I had always wanted the OneControl Jubilee Red also - which is a fantastic take on the Marshall Silver Jubilee - it was / is part of Andertons January sale - so I just had to have one of those too. In terms of the first referenced pedals - I must confess that I own but the V1 of the EWS Little Brute Drive - where I believe it's the same circuit as the V2 - while that has a more elegant exterior - closer in look to the EWS Little Fuzzy Drive. Meaning that upgrade is not that pressing at all - just for the superior aesthetics really.
It seems that the Suhr Mini Riots are on the point of discontinuation as there only appear to be a handful of new ones for sale in the wild. In fact none were available in the UK at all - despite there being numerous Suhr Dealers. In the end Reverb.ccom came to the rescue as it so often does.
As mentioned in the intro - the vast majority of these pedals are deployed by me as secondary / understudy and backup effects - often when space is really right the board - and you desperately need to fit in a particular variety. So there is no pressing priority to add more of these to the reference collection - unless the price is right, It of course matters when you are doing your seeking as to how favourable you might find the pricing. For me it's really mostly about opportunistic buys when and if I encounter them.
Interestingly a lot of Mini pedal ranges have disappeared since I last did this exercise - including all the Xvive minis bar their Memory Man style Analog Delay, and all the mini F-Pedals are gone and many more individual ones.
In terms of 10 more of these I would really quite like to own - I am cognisant that I need to get in some Menatone Minis and more Wamplers in particular - these are some of the ones I'm really interested in getting my hands on :
I also still need to do a project on the Schu-Tone Minis - which besides Mooer its probably the largest collection of Mini Pedals around - including scores of different gain pedals. I need to approach that somewhat systematically as there are 73 Schu-tone Mini pedals to contend with - and I'm maxing the grid at 32 pedals most likely - so needs to be a major process of elimination.
I will be doing my 12 Degrees of Saturation Compact Edition next - while I'm waiting for a couple of known pedals to drop that I would like to include in that selection - so it might not happen for a month or two - depending on when those awaited pedals finally materialise!