2022 January Pedal-Chain Update - Episode I - New Beginnings
Another year cycles around again - while it seems to be much of a muchness with 2021 - with parts supply issues, logistics problems and extensive delays very much still in evidence. That said, we have though had a number of interesting and intriguing launches already - with an equal quantity running late and materialising quite a bit later than planned / originally advertised!
Last year I hit 215 new pedals over those 12 months - which to be fair was a touch excessive - and the plan this year is really to tone than down and be far more selective - while I still seem to have a massive wishlist - which is already growing significantly in 2022! Storage is really starting to become a major issue too - as is the extensive logistics of all of this. The intention was to keep those numbers down - while it seems alas that 2022 has already opened up to a flurry of activity.
January for me is much to do with catching up on the stuff that I inadvertently overlooked / and or missed out on in 2021. Where there was only one pedal really that I properly missed out on - the now very limited CKK Scream Honey SH-1N for which only 170 units were made ($199). There are currently 6 listed by scalpers on Reverb.com - ranging from $525 to $775. In such instances I’m often prepared to pay double - or around the $400 mark, while the triple and quadruple prices are frankly ridiculous. Chances are Mr Wu Nan will make a slightly different version of that circuit in the future with even more special parts - so I’m not particularly panicked really - these things are often a waiting game!
I’ve been fairly quick off the mark in snapping up most of the obvious misses - I can’t order everything in one month - and as things stand, only around half those acquisitions have materialised in a timely fashion - as detailed below. There are still strange instances of brands announcing things way before they are actually available. And a lot of stuff that seems to be on a 4-6 week order cycle. I’ve also had pretty heinous courier issues over the last couple of years or so - with packages often taking up to a month just to leave the USA! That’s the most nervy part about all of this really - the uncertainty in waiting for things to happen - and waiting to get updates on status. A number of brands need to do something to improve their communications as there is often far too much chasing-up required. I will only chase if I’m not kept in the loop and deadlines are missed. If someone keeps me up-to-date then the delays are more tolerable. The tough part really is the uncertainty - usually owing to the lack of communication.
So funnily the 10 pedals that actually did arrive in January were both too few and too many simultaneously - albeit only around half of the pedals due - with the remainder hopefully materialising / landing in February March.
Traditionally February has often been a quiet month as the lull after January’s flurry of announcements - most of those pedals then don’t start to appear until March at the earliest - and often much much later. So I imagine things will calm down pretty quickly!
Acquisitions Update
So 12 pedals landed so far (including the 2 PastFX ones from the tail-end of last year) - and actually a couple more embargoed ones too - and almost as many stragglers still en-route. Some ordered back at the end of last year but sill not materialised yet.
I pretty much snagged as such - all my key priority ones - and as a result the chain is already shaping up nicely for the year. Obviously the departure of Magnetic Effects' Christian Livingstone was a very sudden surprise - and there was a rush for me to secure those final V4 editions alongside the Zig Zag Dual Stage Drive that I had yet to press the trigger on.
The various PastFX ones all came in last year - with the M-1-A and Reticon Flanger only just making it before I departed for Christmas in Iceland - in fact they arrived with barely a day to spare - so really nervily close. I had long since decided that I would cover the 6 gain pedals together and then really focus on the second coming of the Buffalo FX Reticon Flanger which I had paid for the first time around, but never received.
I had really expected more pedals to be in by the end of January - but as mentioned - there seems to have been a variety of delays, logistics and delivery issues. I'm often flabbergasted how it can take a package a month to just leave the USA - with said package stalled at some tiny suburban delivery depot for several weeks - like Elk Grove Village! It seemed like the All-Pedal Macrodose was never gong to land - but that got in literally by the skin of its teeth on the very last day of the month!
2 Overdrives
Something old and blue, and something new here - with my being aware of the Small Speaker Overdrive last year - but not being able to get around to acquiring it and reviewing it properly until early this one. The Magnetic Effects Zig Zag I had considered all the way back in 2019 in my Stackable Overdrive article, but had not got around to getting in yet! (I now only have the Diamond Cornerstone from that selection to still acquire!):
- Great Eastern FX Small Speaker Overdrive
- Magnetic Effects Zig Zag Dual Stage Drive
7 Fuzzes
The Rainger FX DFST-1 was brand new this year, while the other 5 were all overlooked pedals from last year. I was aware of the tweaked Solar Bender edition and had made a mental note of it - and I already mentioned my intentions to get the White Atom V4 early in the new year - but there was an extra rush as soon as the Christian Livingstone announcement went out. Thanks to Andy Birkitt at Break the Machine for sorting me out on those 3 'missing' pedals I needed to bring that capsule collection fully up to date. Obviously the Thermion Stone Age here being one of the key winners from last year, the Missionary coming off a little like a junior Animalizzer, and the BAT Priestess being one of the most beautifully made pedals I've yet seen - and with tones to match! Of course we also have the excellent PastFX M-A-! Stacked Ram's Head to partner up with the Patriarch.
- Black Arts Toneworks Priestess Multi-Muff
- Black Mass Electronics Missionary Fuzz V2
- Magnetic Effects Solar Bender V4 TB MKII Style Fuzz
- Magnetic Effects White Atom V4 Hybrid Fuzz
- PastFX M-A-1 Stacked Sheep's Head Ram Style Muff (M-1 / P-1)
- Rainger FX DFST-1 Fuzz
- Thermion Stone Age 5-Circuit Fuzz
Addendum - I included the PastFX Spectrum Series in a previous update - while this is the first time these appear officially in the chain - even though several had a brief stint last year. I just felt it stronger to announce all 6 thus far at the same time! So bonus reminder snap here below! :
3 Modulations
Joe Light of Joe's Pedals helped me out with the V2 Mini Wardenclyffe - which had been a long-term target. I think it was one of the very few left in the wild as Eric has run out of some of the special parts for that modulation, and had to invent The Collective Fuzz to have something to do in the meantime - as he just can't get the parts these days. The All-Pedal Macrodose is almost as pretty as the BAT Priestess - and goes in as this year's Filter / Auto-Wah of choice! I will put up my own picture of that soon alongside the shot of the even prettier BAT Priestess! :
- All-Pedal Macrodose Envelope Filter
- Hungry Robot Wardenclyffe Lo-Fi Modulator Mini
- PastFX Reticon Flanger
January Pedal-Chain Status
14 changes to the chain in total this month - 8 essentially brand new pedals indicated in green, two older ones indicated in yellow, and 3 favourite staples back in rotation again. Slots #5 and #20 seeing the most movement as is usual. But essentially slots #2, #5, #10, #11, #12, #15, #20, #21, #23, #24, #27, #30, #31, and #33 all seeing changes.
I will for sure be bringing in some further classics during February, and where for the year I don't expect there to be quite as many entirely new pedals as we had last year.
The chain has already been swapped around since that snapshot, and there are two brand new embargoed pedals in circulation right at this moment - with at least a couple more happening next month - while none of those can be revealed until March!
Everything is sounding fantastic at the moment - and the year has definitely been off to another great start for me. While as mentioned - I will try to keep things a touch more manageable this year - with still the same amount of reviews - but fewer overall acquisitions hopefully!
Slot #02 : Octaver / Pitch-Shifter / Harmonizer / Modulator / Bitcrusher / Utility
Slot #05 : Germanium / Sensitive Fuzz
The Fjord Fuzz Kvasir D882 Silicon Power Transformer Fuzz wins out in the end in the tussle over this slot - while the Rainger FX DFST-1 had a very decent stint too. Both are excellent - but where the Kvasir is a little more everyday playable than the DFST-1.
SLOT #10 : Mid Gain / Dynamic / Blues Breaker / Harmonic Overdrive / JTM45 / Screamer
I had actually had the Chase Bliss Audio Condor on this slot up to Christmas, while the Great Eastern FX Small Speaker Overdrive took over in the new year. Quite different to the other Small Combo Amp type Drunk Beaver Trainer - this one slightly warmer and not quite as punchy. And lots of cool tones onboard - while I tend to set it to my maximum threshold and then dial it back as the Guitar Volume cleanup here is so exceptional.
Slot #11 : Mid Gain / Blues Driver
Probably a fairly brief stint here by the Magnetic Effects Zig Zag Dual Stage Drive - before I bring back my favourite BD-2. The Zig Zag has that clever combination of Preamp and Gain knobs - where you can really fine-tune your gain structure and level of saturation - accompanied by a really expansive tone-stock - a great all-rounder overdrive for sure.
Slot #12 : Mid Gain / Dumble / Expandora / Fuzzy-Drive / Mostortion / OCD / TrainWreck
The Magnetic Effects White Atom V4 Hybrid Fuzz just sneaked in before the end of last year - while the intention was always to acquire early this one. Christian Livingstone's announcement certainly put some urgency into this acquisition - all those V4's went very quickly indeed - and understandably so as this is very much the Magnetic Effects Flagship. I also picked up the V4 Solar Bender - which has the fully variable mini-knob in place of the 3-way Bass toggle. That was also in circulation on this slot, and is just as good as the White Atom. If you only get one Magnetic Effects pedal - it has to surely be either of these - while I really say you should have both! I'm very happy that all come together at the last minute - as I would have been sorely disappointed if I had missed out. I dare say Magnetic Effects will return some day - possibly in a slightly different guise - certainly the two key ones. Note that there is no demo for the V4 6-knob version - so I'm referencing the demo for the earlier 5-knob variety.
Slot #15 : Main Multi-Drive and Large / Oversize Pedals
The Thermion Stone Age 5-Circuit Fuzz is just as good as I imagined - legendary Fuzz tones for days - sees it momentarily edge out the Chase Bliss Audio Preamp II. The combination of Stone Age's feature set is just perfect - meaning you have a Dry-Blended and Octave version for each of the 4 key voicings. All fuzz fans should have one - as this is the ultimate classic Fuzz Pedal compendium in one unit - thus far!
Slot #20 : Silicon & OpAmp Fuzz / Big Muff / Octave Fuzz / Oscillating Fuzz / High Gain Fuzz / PLL / Rat 2
I'm so surprised that there are still some of these in stock (including at Joe's Pedals) - the Black Arts Toneworks Priestess Multi-Muff Fuzz is literally one of the best looking pedals ever in its gilded antique copper colourway - it just looks stunning in the flesh - and has tones to match its superior aesthetics - beautiful Muff tones - for sure one of my all-time favourites of that genre - a bona fide future classic!
Slot #21 : High Gain Fuzz 1 / Fuzzstortion
I originally mistook this for a Muff variety before Kaden corrected me and made me understand that it was closer to a Fuzz Face topology - but still with 4 silicon transistors onboard. The Black Mass Electronics Missionary V2 4-Transistor Fuzz most reminds me of a junior version of the Animalizzer and can cover some of that same territory - while also producing thick and saturated Muff-esque tones. Certainly one of the most versatile compact Fuzz pedals out there.
Slot #23 : Brown Sound / EVH / JCM800 / Liquid Distortion (Typically)
With my having 7 PastFX Spectrum Series pedals in the reference collection now - including the Reticon Flanger - that means I have a fantastic selection of Gilmourish gain pedals at my disposal - all of which have been in the rotation in January, while it made sense to go with the two Muff-types together as the 2 most impactful for the month. I generally tend to favour the Evolution / Revolution, but I already have that flavour on the Pete Cornish GC-1 already in the chain. Both these Muff style pedals are fantastic. So the Patriarch (Patriot) Civil War Muff Style Fuzz goes in on this slot and the M-1-A Stacked Ram's Head on the next.
Slot #24 : High Gain Fuzz 2 / Modern Metal 1 / Mid-Pushed High Gain (Typically!)
PastFX Spectrum Series M-1-A (M1) Ram's Head Muff Style Fuzz sits here as the perfect companion to the Patriarch / Patriot - where I have both of these in original Buffalo FX formats too. These are every bit their equal really and overlap pretty indistinguishably - they're so close! This is a little more punchy than the Patriarch which has a great deal of warmth to it - albeit not quite as warm as the BAT Priestess. So with the Chase Bliss Audio Brothers also in the chain - we have essentially 4 highly complementary Muff Style pedals all in the same rotation. Each with its own nuance and timbre. No demo is yet available for this pedal.
Slot #27 : Modern Metal 4 / High Gain Metal 3 / Extreme Saturating Distortion / Rectifier / Diezel / Orange
I regularly to recommendations to readers, and as a side effect of one of those interactions - was encouraged to being this old favourite back into the rotation - the REVV G4 Fat High Gain Distortion. It is a wonderful Beefy metal distortion - which for me covers Metal Zone, Diezel and Mesa Rectifier flavours particularly well. For sure one of my favourite high gain distortions of all time!
Slot #30 : Analog Flanger
This is really an expic saga - two years in the making, and for me this IS my Buffalo FX Reticon flanger resurrected in a more compact body! For sure a long time coming, but so worth it. I used this to kickstart my '2021 Year of the Flanger' campaign, and the TCE SCF Gold then materialised nicely to give the more traction. The PastFX Reticon Flanger is just as amazing as I had hoped - particularly in bright mode - and is for sure one of my favourite all-time flangers alongside the Thorpy Camoflange, Spaceman Aurora and Chase Bliss Audio Spectre - just to name a few of mine. I still have a number of these to collect - but will certainly be playing that by ear this year and seeing what else lands before I start making some of those big decisions.
Slot #31 : Analog Tremolo / Harmonic Tremolo / Uni-Vibe
However much I like the Spaceman Delta II Tremolo - my favourite sounding Harmonic Tremolo to date is still the JAM Pedals Harmonious Monk Harmonic Tremolo - that is still thicker and richer than anything else out there - properly 'juicy' really if you can use that descriptor. So that goes back into the rotation as my principal Tremolo of choice!
Slot #33 : Analog Chorus / Vibrato
I've always wanted a Hungry Robot Wardenclyffe Lo-Fi Modulator - and the V2 Mini format seemed ideal for me so I asked good friend Joe Light to put my name on one before they all disappeared for a while - because of ongoing parts supply issues. I always think of this as somewhat chorus-like and place alongside my CBA Warped Vinyl MKII in particular. I would also really like the Yvette Young edition of the Zvex Lo-Fi Junky (another Joel Korte creation), and some format of the Shallow Water - ideally in compact enclosure. Champion Leccy is also doing cool woozy lo-fi effects but those units are often too large to be practically usable in my rig - so I'm still waiting on something more compact there!
2021 Carry-Over Longlist / Target List / Wishlist
As I've often mentioned, I preside over a pretty infinite wishlist many hundred pedals long - while I've indicated some of my key targets for the year in these following posts. Much of this is opportunistic - as to whether some kind of bargain as such can be had - either through negotiation or general sales, discounts and the like. And I'm very pro second-hand pedals - so if the condition and price are right - I'm quite happy to give many of those a good home in my reference collection - there are however too many Reverbers that are out-and-out scalpers or really don't know how to appraise the condition of their pedals - the Japanese for some reason seem to be the most honest there, but there are of course exceptions everywhere too. There's no way I will acquire but a portion of all of these - but these are generally the ones I'm keeping an eye out for and looking to get into the collection if I can in a reasonable and equitable manner!
So this first group is stragglers from last year - and you can see that I've secured a number of those already thus far :
- 3 Degrees Bygones Nostalgic Multi-Effect
- Acorn Amps TMA-1 4-Transistor Fuzz (Muff)
- Ananashead GT73 V2 Compact Matamp Style Preamp / Overdrive
- All-Pedal Macrodose Deluxe Envelope Filter [landed]
- AmpliTube X-Time Stereo Delay Workstation
- Audio Kitchen Small Plastic Trees Preamp [landed]
- Benson Amps Germanium Boost
- Black Arts Toneworks Priestess Multi-Muff [landed]
- Black Mass Silicon Missionary Fuzz V2 [landed]
- BSRI Audio TFZ Fuzz
- Chase Bliss Audio Expression Roller
- Cooper FX Expression Generator
- Crazy Tube Circuits Phi Golden Ratio V2 3-Circuit Analog Compressor
- Demiurge Instruments Compact KTG Duelist Clone [landed]
- Electro-Harmonix’s Intelligent Harmony Machine / Pitch-Shifter
- Fairfield Circuitry About 900 JFET Fuzz
- Foxgear T7EBABY 4-Heads Vintage Italian Echo Unit
- Fredric Effects Duo Face Ge/Si Fuzz
- Free The Tone Motion Loop Stereo Sample-Repeater-Shifter
- Frost Giant Electronics Architect of Reality Dual Channel Preamp Snowblind Edition [landed]
- Funny Little Boxes 1991 ’Pearl Jam’ Distortion [March?]
- Great Eastern FX Small Speaker Overdrive [landed]
- Greuter Audio Natural Selection Organic Overdrive [ordered - delayed]
- Hungry Robot The Collective Triple-Fuzz with Feedback and Sub-Octave
- Hungry Robot Wardenclyffe Lo-Fi Modulator Mini [landed]
- Matthews Effects The Broker Duality Overdrive
- Missing Link Audio Germanium Peacock Overdrive [ordered]
- MXR Signature Tom Morello Power 50 Distortion (JCM800 2205 + Peavey 4 x 12 Cab)
- Old Blood Noise Endeavors Sunlight Dynamic Freeze Reverb
- Pepers’ Pedals Humongous Fuzz (FZ-2)
- Pigtronix Gamma Drive Second Order Harmonic Overdrive
- Rainger FX Snare Trap Dynamic Beat Box
- Red Panda Bitmap V2 Bitcrusher
- Supro Analog Stereo Chorus
- Supro Analog Stereo Flanger
- Thermion Stone Age 5-Circuit Fuzz [landed]
- Universal Audio UAFX Golden Reverberator
- Universal Audio UAFX Starlight Echostation
- Walrus Audio Mako Series ACS1 Amp + Cab Simulator
- Walrus Audio Mako Series R1 High-Fidelity Stereo Reverb
- Walrus Audio Polychrome Analog Flanger
Older Wishlist Targets
This is a much older group that I sort of carry between years - again trying to get these in as opportunistically and as reasonably as I can! :
- Amptweaker Tight Metal Jr / Pro
- Animal Factory Animal 1 Chemical Burn Octave Fuzz
- BJFE Flame Top Overdrive
- BJFE Model G 5K
- BJFE ODS 34 Drive
- Chase Bliss Audio Dark World Dual Channel Reverb
- Crowther Audio HotCake V2
- Dwarfcraft Devices Necromancer Ltd Edition Super Fuzz
- Earthbound Audio SuperCollider Fuzzdistortion
- Empress Effects Reverb
- Expresso FX Zonk I + II
- Fairfield Circuitry Barbershop Overdrive
- Free Fall Diver Huge Fuzz Mini (Unobtanium Mini Japanese Fuzz!) [ordered!]
- Function F(x) Professional MKI.V Fuzz
- Function F(x) Professional MKII Fuzz
- Goosoniqueworx / GworX Kult High Gain Distortion
- J Rockett Melody D-Style Overdrive
- J Rockett Rockaway Archer Overdrive
- King Tone Octaland Octave Fuzz
- King Tone Si miniFUZZ
- Mattoverse Electronics Air Trash Fuzz - Plexi Front
- Menatone Dumbstruck V2 D-Style Drive
- Menatone Law Bender Silicon Fuzz
- Menatone Workingman's Blue V2 Overdrive + Boost
- Menatone WreckT V2 Drive/Distortion
- PedalPawn Texan Twang Overdrive
- Small Sound Big Sound Mini Overdrive
- Tanabe Dumkudo D-Style Drive
- TC Electronic Ditto+
- Toneczar Dove Overdrive
- Zvex Instant Lo-Fi Junky Yvette Young Edition
2022 Wishlist To-Date
And finally these are the ones that have already caught my attention in 2022! :
- Death by Audio Germanium Filter
- JAM Pedal Seagull Squawk Effect
- KMA Machines new Chief Disruptor Fuzz / Distortion [landed]
- Mastro Valvola Debuts Impressive OFF1 Octave Fuzz Filter
- MXR Poly Blue Octave 4-Voice Octaver, Modulator and Fuzz
- Reeves Audio Zo Silicon Zonk II Fuzz [ordered]
- Spaceman Effects Explorer 6 Stage Optical Phaser
- TC Electronic Analog BBD Stereo Chorus Flanger
- TC Electronic Infinite Sample Sustainer
- Walrus Audio Mako Series M1 High-Fidelity Modulation Machine
Final Thoughts
January is always a sort of barometer for what kind of year it's going to be - and by and large, despite some delivery delays and postponements I feel it's largely off to a good start. In fact still mostly reminiscent of this pandemic era really where things rarely go entirely to plan - but sort of come through eventually.
I'm broadly very satisfied with what I've acquired so far this year - while the aim is to be even more refined in my acquisitions - as I really don't want to add more than around 100 pedals tops in a year. I will of course still be reviewing as many as always, but likely with a little less hands-on stuff.
It's often easier to buy things in retrospect, with the benefit of hindsight, and often advantageous even - while you cannot really take that leisurely approach with limited editions. I still feel there's way too much of that sort of stuff out there - in particular the artificially limited stuff - special colourways in particular. I much admire Thorpy's detail-oriented and no-nonsense take on things - it's better for the consumer and brand if products maintain a certain consistency. Many makers aren't fully au-fait with a product cycle - and how once you release an edition you need to stop tinkering with it and keep it as is at least for a year or two - unless something truly disastrous has occurred!
I always enjoy my interactions with all my readers and I'm very happy to encourage your own insights and recommendations - as we're all in this together really and all stand to learn from each other!
Hope we all have a great year!
