12 Compact Gain Pedals with Fully Variable Sweepable Parametric Mids

Controls - Freq L, Freq M, Freq H, Low, Mid, High, Volume, Distortion.

I almost missed out on this edition as Patrick only made a single batch of Black and Orange edition of this pedal - and then a variety of colourways that did not particularly appeal. Fortunately I was able to pick one up second-hand - courtesy of Reverb.com I think. Some of you will remember the original not-pedalboard-friendly version which had 11 knobs, and was about as long as a skateboard. A cool collectable for sure - but far from practical. This pedalboard friendly edition drops the 3 resonance controls per band and saves on about 3/4 of the real-estate. A really cool HM-2 variant - especially in these colours - and sounds pleasingly brutal - definitely had to be in my HM-2 capsule collection, and I was delighted to have snagged one in the end.

Controls - Level, High / Low, Middle / Mid Freq, Distortion.

Probably the most popular metal distortion of all time - and Boss's second best seller of all-time after its DS-1. This is most people's first idea of a pedal with parametric mids. The original / standard version can be a little fiddly to dial in - as the frequency dial is so sensitive and requires proper micro movements - a little like safe-cracking! However, some patience and perseverance yields superior tones - particularly on the Waza Craft edition, and my favourite Keeley Twilight Zone Mods edition.

Controls - Treble / Bass, Mids / Freq, Level, Sustain.

And here we have the first of the BTMB EQ'd Vintage Series - a superb version of the 2nd Edition Big Muff Pi Ram's Head variant. I would have featured the original 1969 Big Muff Triangle variety with those same now super rare 2N5133 Transistors - but no demo exists for that. As with every pedal in this series the top 4 EQ knobs / controls are the same - and include Mids Cut / Boost and Frequency. Some models have an additional voicing toggle switch - as is the case with the other 2 in this selection. If you want a fully authentic sounding original Big Muff circuit with extended range - then this is surely your weapon of choice - just a brilliant pedal all-round, and a mystery why these did not catch the public's attention at the time. Possibly a little too far ahead of its time!

Controls - Treble / Bass, Mids / Freq, Voicing : Vingtage (Blues Breaker) / Crunch (Plexi), Level, Gain.

A quite superb MIAB style overdrive - much superior for me versus the recent Marshall reissue. This pedal also gives you two voicings - with the switch to the left delivery JTM45 / Blues Breaker sounds, and to the right delivering killer Plexi flavours. This was the last one I got hold of - where my good friend Scott Hager (Axe and You Shall Receive) put me in touch with his friend Keith Vonderhulls - Mr BYOC / BTMB himself. I think I got 8 of this series from Scott - who still weirdly had some in stock, and just the British Overdrive direct from Keith where he discovered he still had a couple left in storage. Each of these pedals is fantastic, and I feel very privileged to pretty much own the full set.

Controls - Treble / Bass, Mids / Freq, Voicing : Vintage (Original) / Turbo (Red LEDs), Level, Gain.

And another fantastic BTMB classic - based on that quintessential ProCo Rat Distortion - featuring wholly vintage original components, with original LM308 voicing, and then the addition of 2 Red LED's for the Turbo edition / voice. Everything just works really well on thes pedals and you can dial in tones that you can't really achieve with just the basic original 3 controls. These BTMB EQ's Vintage Series were woefully overlooked at the time - and now most of those original components are gone - so it's not really an exercise that can be repeated. Actually a fantastic milestone in pedal innovation for its time - I guess there were just too many people then that were slavishly attached to the minimal 3-knob formats of the time. These are actually all a significant step-up!

Controls - Gain (Ramp), Freq, Volume, Bass, Mids, LPF, Bass : Minimal / Moderate / Most, Mids Q : Wide / Moderate / Narrow, LPF : One-Pole / Two-Pole Moderate / Two-Pole Resonant, Presets : 1 / Manual / 2, Bypass Footswitch, Drive/Hold Footswitch. [+16 Dip-switches]

A supremely versatile 'fixer' pedal which can carry out all manner of different duties - as an EQ / Tone Enhancer, Evelope Filter, Tremolo, and Gain Machine - to name but a few. I think I'm one of those rare souls that actually uses the Condor primarily as an overdrive. But that's an area it really excels in - with a really smart EQ - including of course separate Mid and Freq controls. You get quite a bright and really crisp breakup - for a quite distinct overdrive tone - where this pedal has frequent rotations on the board in that capacity. Most other people seem to use this for function that I already have covered on the board by other pedals - but as an all-round gain and tone-shaper - this pedal is superb - and I was really surprised to see it discontinued!.

Controls - Distortion, Depth, Level, Low / Low Frequency, Mid / Mid Frequency, High / High Frequency.

Now recently re-issued as part of DigiTech's / DOD's revival - I think everyone was delighted to see these pedals in action. While this one has as many fans and detractors - similar to the Boss MT-2 - there the Boneshaker has even more controls at your disposal. It seems that the average 'Joe' can't properly cope with Parametric Controls. But then you're often trying to cram a very extensive mids sweep into a fairly diminutive rotary pot - so it can for sure to be tricky to dial these in at times. I think I prefer the core MT-2 voicing - while this one is just as adept at carving out interesting tones.

Controls - Gain, Weight, Output, Low ±15, Mid ±15, High ±15, Gate Threshold, Mid Frequency : 200Hz > 2.5kHz, Channel : Lite(ish) / Heavy / Heavier, Gate Footswitch, Bypass Footswitch.

Despite a somewhat weird and lacklustre launch (which I was excluded from), this is actually a really decent heir to the former larger 2-channel Heavy Distortion. It does all the same things - with a more variable gate and mids sweep - in a much better and more practical format. I always found it a little odd / limiting that both channels on the predecessor shared the same High and Low controls - and this pedal adds more granularity all round - and sounds just as potent as the original. There are some even more potent high-gain pedals out there - like the Tone Ink Raven, while the Empress Heavy Menace is still mightily impressive and has enormous versatility - I'm glad to have it in the reference collection despite the circumstances - I got mine from Thomann - as they were the first to have it stock in Europe - the UK dealers were a little slow this time around!

Controls - Level, High / Low, Mid / Mid Frequency, Gain, Voicing : Tight / Loose.

Some people say this was the equivalent of the MT-2 Waza Craft - long before Boss had that idea. This essentially has a very similar control topology - with an additional Voicing switch. It's not quite as rich and fat sounding as the Boss - and can indeed sound a little wiry at times - but again with some patience and due diligence you can dial in some really decent tones. It's not really a MT-2 competitor as its core character is quite different really - although it has that same versatility.

Controls - Volume, Mid, Drive, Tone, Mid Freq, Push (Pre-Gain).

Paul Gilberts's signature JHS Pedal is another compelling distortion while not quite as versatile as you might think. Possibly improved by having the main Tone knob as a Tilt EQ. I quite like this - but it's not ended up as one of my favourites. Sometimes it's the case with signature pedals that they're overly calibrated to the artist's precise requirements - and are then slightly less suitably for general use. You can get some great tones out of this - but I have several other distortions whose core tones and timbres I much prefer.

Controls - Volume, Voicing: HM II / Both / KMA, Terror (Distortion), Highs, Hi-Mids, Low-Mids, Lows, Internal Frequency Trimmers for Lows, Lows Mids, High Mids, and Highs.

A magnificent engineering achievement in taking the formerly 1590-BB edition and reducing it down to compact proportions - while adding the formerly internal voicing switch to the exterior. The one thing that is the same for both larger and smaller pedal is that you have internal frequency trimmers per each frequency band - so the knobs on the exterior cut or boost the frequency set on the internal trimmers. A really impressive HM-2 type which shares the best compact HM-2 with the HM-2W, Abominable Evil Ned and Bardic HM-Demon - each has its own advantages and all sound fantastic and yet somehow distinct too!

Controls - Level, Drive, Gain, Hi, Mid, Lo, Voicing : Modern / Vintage, Mid EQ Freq : 90's / 60's / 70's.

Both the recent Menatone Kings are killer - this on and the King of the Britains - and each has a slightly different style of EQ - where this one has quite an unusual Mid Sweep Frequency control - which is labeled by the Marshall Amp eras, 90's, 60's and 70's which all had slightly different Mids frequency profiles. It's difficult for me to decide which of the two 'Kings' I prefer. This one has a more granular EQ, where the King of the Britains has an additional Boost. Both really potent and versatile compact MIAB pedals - which have each been in fairly frequent rotation since they arrived.