2021 October Pedal-Chain Update - Episode X, Hypergravity!

I still didn't get a chance to play the excellent Litigator - which I acquired from Break the Machine - while everything else here was properly road-tested - and the EAE Halberd and Pete Cornish GC-1 are on the board as such.

I really love the Honey Bee and that will for sure get a proper innings soon enough - while others here will likely be more bit-players.

• Becos FX Mini Solo Boost Master
• Becos FX Mini Ziffer Overdrive
• BJFE Honey Bee 4K Overdrive
• Boss OD-2R Turbo OverDrive
• Electronic Audio Experiments Halberd V2 Discrete Transistor Overdrive
• Spun Loud Litigator Overdrive
• Pete Cornish GC-1 3-Stage Soft>Hard Overdrive

Of course Fjord Fuzz leading the line here - with a couple of combination / hybrid pedals too - the Bifrost Delay-Fuzz, and Fuzzrocious Fuzz-Phaser! I've not had much time with Boss's unofficial Big Muff - the PW-2 which took a very long time to arrive from Denmark - in total pristine condition though.

Joseph Maxwell's excellent Ge/Si switching take on the Hudson Broadcast - the Demiurge Black Mountain Signal Deluxe is another incredible engineering feet - with its 7 controls and dual-footswitches in elegant compact enclosure - and with really cool aluminium knobs. I've played through that quite a bit - while it's not yet had a proper innings on the board. I've also not had too much play-time with the Kuro Apophis, Loe Superfuzz or Menatone Law Bender - so more notes on those next month.

On the board for October are Drunk Beaver's superb Fluff Muff Octave Fuzz, and 4 of the Fjord Fuzzes (bar the Bifrost).

• Boss PW-2 Power Driver
• Demiurge Black Mountain Signal Deluxe Hudson Broadcast Clone
• Drunk Beaver Fluff Octave Fuzz
• Fjord Fuzz Berserk FF Fuzz
• * Fjord Fuzz Bifrost Dual-Feedback Delay + Embla Fuzz
• Fjord Fuzz Embla Every Day Drivey Fuzz
• Fjord Fuzz Fenris Fierce Super Fuzz
• Fjord Fuzz Odin Massive Octave Fuzz
• ** Fuzzrocious Electric Ocean AaYSR Purple Sparkle Edition
• Kuro Custom Audio Apophis Silicon BC109 Fuzz
• Loe Sounds Superfuzz
• Menatone Law Bender Germanium

October was obviously a huge month for distortion - with two power players on the board - the superb Blackhawk Sauron and Rock Fabrik Mind Abuse. I always get Blackhaw's in pairs - so I also had the Heimdall V2 in - meaning that my HM-2 capsule collection is even more amazing now - I will be doing a follow-up post on that soon enough.

There's two Rat pedals here - the Black Mass 1312 Distortion, and Drunk Beaver's really clever Disambiguation MuffRat Distortion. Drunk Beaver also has the V2 Distortion (DStort1on) if you can pick up the cues from that - as well as the Traynor-based Trainer Preamp - those reviews to come next month.

• Blackhawk Amplifiers Heimdall V2 HM-2 Style Twin Peaks Distortion
• Blackhawk Amplifiers Sauron Super High Gain Distortion
• Black Mass 1312 Distortion (Rat)
• Drunk Beaver Disambiguation MuffRat Distortion
• Drunk Beaver Distortion (DStort1on)
• Drunk Beaver Trainer TS-15 Preamp
• Rock Fabrik Effects Mind Abuse Ultra High Gain Distortion

I've got to give props to the amazing Dry Bell Vibe Machine V3 here - I just love that to bits - and I've really not got properly into the SY-200 yet - so can't make that the main feature. Obviously I'm very excited to get my hands on the SY-200 - I will do a proper hands-on review of that soon enough.

I also picked up a long-term target in the guise of the Pigtronix Ringmaster - my first dedicated Ring-Modulator (I now have the matching pair pictured above!). I've not really had the opportunity to play that much yet - nor the Fuzzrocious Electric Ocean (slightly larger than I expected), and the pretty much equally cool looking Mattoverse Just a Phase - with its cool Plexi-fronted enclosure. Those will all be detailed further in future updates.

• Boss SY-200 Synthesizer
• Dry Bell Vibe Machine V3 + T1-FL Footswitch
• ** Fuzzrocious Electric Ocean AaYSR Purple Sparkle Edition
• Mattoverse Just a Phase Analog Phaser
• Pigtronix Ringmaster Analog Multiplier

As I mentioned above - I don't necessarily prefer the X-Space to the Illumine - both are truly magnificent. I so enjoyed using the X-Space during its review - that I've kept it on the board for now. For sure the Illumine will return again at some stage - but right now I'm just having too much fun with the X-Space.

Fjord Fuzz's Bifrost is actually primarily a PT2399 Delay with dual feedback settings - and with secondary Fuzz flavour / function served by a stripped down version of the Embla.

• Amplitube X-Space Reverb Workstation
• * Fjord Fuzz Bifrost Dual-Feedback Delay + Embla Fuzz

I had kind of written off the two Boss pedals arriving in time as it was so late in the month - the last Friday in fact. But as luck would have it the Boss IR-200 and SY-200 arrived in the nick of time - which means I've had very little if any play-time with them yet!

• Boss IR-200 Amp & IR Cabinet Simulator

October has ended up quite the changeover month - and it could have been even more considering how many pedals arrived.

The Boss SY-200, Fjord Fuzz Bifrost (Silicon FF), and EAE Halberd V2 are all new in the top row.

The Fjord Fuzz Embla takes up the Fuzzy-Drive slot at #12 and the Pete Cornish GC-1 comes in on the slot where the Shnobel Daily Driver has mostly occupied recently.

In the middle row it's pretty much all-change - with the Rock Fabrik Mind Abuse, Drunk Beaver Fluff, Fjord Fuzz Odin and Fenris, and Blackhawk Sauron all new this month. Because of the arrival of the Vibe Machine I brought DryBell's The Engine back into play - and also my Keeley Modded Boss MT-2.

In the modulation row the gorgeous glorious DryBell Vibe Machine makes a superb entrance.

And finally we have the X-Space on the #40 Reverb Slot, and the Boss IR-200 temporarily in for its sibling RC-10R Looper - which will remain the mainstay for that slot. The IR-200 will be specifically used for recording - which is a whole other ball game that I will be exploring! Ideally I would like to hook in some Bluetooth module that can beam output direct to my laptop - but I fear I will be using a lot of long cables somehow instead!

Here are your runners and riders for October :

I'm so delighted to have gotten the Boss SY-200 Synthesizer in before the end of the month - it was really touch-and-go there for a while. It's too soon to give any first impressions - while the unit looks and feels gorgeous - Boss is making some incredibly attractive pedals these days - and the combination of size, screen, features and functions - singles this out as a future classic!

Any number of fuzzes could have gone in on this slot the month - while Fjord Fuzz's newest Berserk BC109B Fuzz (FF) overall deserved it the most in my estimation. Just a beautifully calibrated Extended Range Fuzz Face - which if you set the Impedance trimmer just right gives you two quite distinct voicings at your fingertips - where I have one a little buzzy - sort of Tone-Bender-ish!

John Snyder has a wonderful ear for tone and his Electronic Audio Experiments Halberd V2 Discrete Transistor Overdrive sounds incredible - rich and organic with amazing harmonic textures - and extended versatility courtesy of the 3-way voicing / mode switch.

I very foolishly left this classic Fjord Fuzz Embla Silicon Everyday Fuzz/Overdrive off my Fuzzy-Drive list - where this is likely the ultimate Fuzzy Drive pedal - going from fairly smooth overdrive tones to full buzz - with gorgeous breakup textures throughout. This is still The Fjord Fuzz pedal to get - it's just so versatile and you can turn it pretty much to any purpose. All via just 4 really elegant expansive controls.

I'm hugely impressed by this Pete Cornish GC-1 Soft>Hard 3-Stage Overdrive. It doesn't go quite as soft as I hoped it might - I was hoping that it would extend all the way from CC-1 through to P-2 gain structure. While it very definitely starts at the SS-3 / Soft-Sustain range - meaning I will still need to get the Pete Cornish CC-1 at some stage. Although the Shnobel Tone Daily Driver is superb cover for that. You get a very alive and dynamic output - where the exact frequency bands of the EQ's also seem to play a critical role in how good his pedal sounds!

One of two killer Super High Gain Distortions I acquired this month - the Rock Fabrik Mind Abuse Ultra High Gain Distortion - which I've been after pretty much since the Brett Kingman demo back in 2017. I had hoped to get it from one of the two German dealers that briefly stocked it - including Effekt Boutique - while it was pretty much always out of stock when I was wanting to acquire it. Of course in the end I went direct - and just as well really - otherwise I would not have gotten this really cool and unique polished silver edition of 1! This is a real powerhouse metal pedal covering 5150, JCM800 and Mesa Rectifier Style plus many more.

Vitalii Bobrov puts out some superb sounding really clever circuits. He's probably best known currently for his killer Bat Rats - including the incredible Heavy Bat. While the Drunk Beaver Fluff Boost + Octave Fuzz (Muff) is another that should be celebrated and lauded just as much. An amazing sounding versatile Big Muff style pedal based on Violet Ram's Head topology - and with additional switchable boost, and variable upper octave. It sounds fantastic with and without the Boost and Octave engaged - a killer Big Muff on its own - but then with an independent boost and upper-octave to further take it up a level or two - everyone should have one!

I have several fuzzes based on the Foxx Tone Machine - in fact I have the earlier single knob version of this (still with two footswitches). This is yet another amazing sounding Fjord Fuzz - the upper octave is so clear, elegant and consistent - yet somewhat wiry too - and it sounds superb with and without the octave - the Ford Fuzz Odin is another essential for me! No decent V2 demos yet alas - so the video is for the V1.

I also have several Super-Fuzz style pedals - of course including this brilliant Fjord Fuzz Fenris Super-Fuzz - which arrived in the same month as the Loe Superfuzz. Both are incredible and yet somewhat distinct too. While the the Fenris has superior granularity and shaping via its 6 controls - you can get so many different sounds out of this - from a laser sharp focused buzz - to a wall-of-sound foghorn. I also have this one's predecessor - the Gjallarhorn - which has a little more of the foghorn about it - the Fenris is certainly a little more versatile.

In honour of the arrival of DryBell's V3 Vibe Machine, I thought I should bring back The Engine Foundation Preamp as a perfect companion and foil to that - and to give the Heavy Bat a little rest for now. This is such a versatile pedal - and I often use both Channels independently as the RangeMaster Boost sounds killer on so many downstream pedals - and the Plexi Channel sound suitably impressive on its own too. This plus the Vibe Machine makes for extraordinarily richly textured and finely balanced layered tones.

Sound Sample via Instagram - www.instagram.com/p/CVWNGI3jU5i/

The first featured here, but second in its position in the chain - this Blackhawk Sauron has to be the ultimate Super High Gain Distortion pedal. The Mind Abuse is its equal in many ways - but this as even more gain, volume and sizzle. Each has its own advantages as the Mind Abuse has its 3 very cleverly calibrated classic amp voicings. While with the Sauron you have to free-form it a little more. The Mind Abuse delivers 5150, Marshall Stack and Mesa Rectifier tones - where the Sauron's Heavy Metal Trifecta are the Balrog, HM-2 and MT-2. The two of these together give you ultimate full-range Metal genre coverage - each has its strengths and each is easier to dial in for certain tones. Overall the Sauron has a little more juice - Parametric Mids, More Gain, Volume and Sizzle - while each is fully adept at producing killer tones for the genres it represents. No YouTube demo yet - so reference to the Insta sound file as before.

Boy does this Uni-Vibe sound impressive. A while back I had the JHS Unicorn down as my favourite Uni-Vibe by virtue of its dual footswitches or onboard tap-tempo. I kind of penalised the Vibe Machine for needing the additional / external T1-FL footswitch - while that of course has its advantages too. It delivers the most richly textured Uni-Vibe tone you could imagine with likely the most features of all of those. For sure my favourite all-time Uni-Vibe - and I can't understand why everyone doesn't have one of these. I find it particularly hard to comprehend why people buy those large over-sized Uni-Vibes at twice or three times the price - where this can do the job just as well. This is a modern classic for sure - and everyone who was ever into Uni-Vibe should have one!

As reported fairly recently - I feel IK Multimedia hit it out of the park on first attempt. These units obviously take their cues from Strymon - but with those larger original Eventide style LED screens. It's obvious that a lot of care and attention has gone into this device - it looks gorgeous and functions effortlessly and brilliantly intuitively. Most important though its 16 Modes / Models / Algorithms are excellent - and possibly the best mix of algorithms of any Reverb Workstation. And moreover the Presets are ingenious. That's what really hooked me in - all those smartly configured Sci-Fi / Ambient soundstages. If feel like you're doing the score for Blade Runner or Alien - just really atmospheric and evocative - and properly Sci-Fi and otherworldly. I've rarely had this much fun with a Reverb pedal - and it still does the classics well. In my review I said it was a triumph - I still very much stand by that - for a first attempt at a hardware solution I don't think IK Multimedia could have done any better.

I can't really say too much about Boss's IR-200 Amp & IR Cabinet Simulator as it has only just arrived and I've had no time yet to run any significant tests. It will be an occasional swap out for the mainstay Boss RC-10R Loop Station that normally occupies this slot. In fact the IR-200 will only get slotted in when I wish to listen via headphones or make a recording. I still have to figure out how to get my full stereo rig / pedal-chain to feed properly into the IR-200 - it doesn't seem quite as straight forward as I would like! I always do things my own way - and not all Boss guides cover that sort of pioneering territory!