2022 July Pedal-Chain Update - Episode VII - Midsummer Summation
Each of the months this year has been pretty exciting in several ways while we’re still facing various unprecedented delays in getting our hands on new pedals. I’ve had numerous talks with industry insiders this month and it seems that the order cycle for certain components - particularly in any sort of quantity - is as much as 18 months now. Shipping costs are still near an all-time high, while some of the container shipping is starting to come down a fraction - but still nowhere near pre-pandemic levels. It’s not just internal component - there are delays with enclosures and finishing, knobs, printing and packaging. So the average pedal-builder is having to connect with all manner of ongoing difficulties and challenges - so please be as patient as you can!
I finally managed to get my Chase Bliss Gen Loss II order in - for the second batch - which is not due for delivery until late January at the earliest! The Meris LVX was initially supposed to land at the end of June, but now seems like it will be late August or later even. I also landed my Missing Link Audio Eliminator - where I got the cool limited run Black colourway - while that took a good couple of months to materialise - and the wait was worthy it in the end!
It’s becoming more and more of a pre-order type environment with lots of pedals having to be ordered several months in advance of their materialising. We’re also firmly in the era of Limited Edition Batches - with some makers - KHDK and Pettyjohn Electronics among them - solely operating in this manner - and where every single one of their recent releases is limited. It’s understandable in one regard - as to the ongoing difficulties in getting hold of parts. While a lot of these pedals are not per say made with limited / NOS / rare components - and so there is a degree of artificiality in the nature and timing of the limit - in being more of a high pressure sales tactic or accelerant.
As an example of this - the recent KHDK signature pedal for Gojira lead guitarist Joe Duplantier - the Gojira Drive was made as a 333 unit limited run - which all sold out before I could cover it. Covering it now makes no sense really as it’s no longer officially for sale - and I would just be promoting the scalpers and flippers essentially.
I’m not wholly immune to limited editions either - as I acquired one of the 25 Limited Run Hamstead Ge Diode Subspaces - which was a mixture of luck and happenstance! At the same time I missed out on the similarly limited edition Cusack Music Selenium Edition Screamer Fuzz. In fact that’s typically the story for me - that I miss out on most of those surprise announcement tiny runs pedals - unless I’m on the inside of things and in direct contact with the maker. Even that is not enough on occasion - which leads to an odd combination of emotional responses - frustration, regret, ennui, exasperation and fatigue!
Every month still brings new and notable pedals - and there was an exciting tease this month of another genius custom shop MXR Mini - this time a collaboration with Analog.Man - for the Duke of Tone - a Prince of Tone Mini! But we will need to wait until mid to late August for the initial announcement - and then it won’t be available in the UK for several months! I noted when the Way Huge Red Llama MKIII was launched that we would not see it for at least a month in the UK - while American consumers have been buying those up for weeks. Dunlop brands always seem to take 4-6 weeks to reach Europe and the rest of the World - I’m told Canadian dealers don’t get them until 4 to 6 weeks later too - which really is rather discriminatory. Brands should aspire to be more equal opportunity!
As always this month so a mixture of old and new - with 16 pedals landing - the Feedbacker Trifecta in particular - which has seen a few features - also a couple of BJFE’s, a first pedal for me from Heather Brown and OKKO, another classic Drunk Beaver Fuzz - the Ivan Mazepa and a few series and range coverage articles like the EHX 9 Series and Strymon’s Mid-Size Boxes Updates.
All in all plenty going on and a significant number of changes to the pedal-chain - while only a few of those are likely semi-permanent.
Acquisitions Update
So there were 16 new pedals in for July, including a second-hand Boss FB-2 - mostly Overdrives and Fuzzes - but also a number of Utilities this month. Following recent updates I brought the Neunaber Illumine back into play - while updating that was fraught with challenges - something that pedal makers definitely need to improve on.
The Keyztone Rekoil White is here to stay - while it could really probably do with a second 'brightness' control - but works really well. And I expect the Flower Pedals Sunflower Deluxe Harmonic Tremolo to be in regular rotation - it's not quite as juicy and textured as the Harmonious Monk - but very close really - and it is full stereo and with twice as many features - including tap tempo - so really a superb example of its type.
I had long been intending to acquire the Feedbacker Trifecta of Boss DF-2 and FB-2 alongside DigiTech FreqOut - and that just happened to come to fruition this month - that's sometimes just how the stars align! For those kinds of pedals it's always about acquiring them in as pristine a condition as possible - but only for the right price!
Some of the pedals I was hoping would have landed already now look like they will be dropping in August - so that should be a pretty significant month if all goes according to plan - while some of those releases may even extend into September.
I also did inventory for the first time in 2 years - thinking I was at around the 700-800 mark, while I'm rather on 851, actually 852 since the OKKO landed - ordered after the Subpace GE (#851) but arrived first!
5 Overdrives / Boosts / Feedbackers
Really decent month for overdrives - finally acquired the Feedbacker Trifecta - which I'd been planning to do for a while. Just fell together really nicely with the recent FX Expo and Leyland Pedals as the fulcrum and catalyst for that. Dumble pedal collection is now up to 7 - with a probably end-target of 10 - in any case the ODS34 is another great example of that type.
I also finally managed to pickup a Hamstead Subspace - another long-term target - where I was very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time and spot the very initial Subspace Ge announcement of Instagram - while they did not sell out nearly as quickly as I expected - mine is #3 - and already a favourite!
Finally I got my hands on a Missing Link Audio Eliminator - and I was lucky to get a limited run Black edition. The recent batches of this pedal have slightly improved artwork with the Eliminator car's headlines on - while the very original had those lights as off. I personally would have used some of those large LED's and made them the car's headlights! But really cool pedal in any case - and I'm glad to have one at last. I just need to get my hands on a Way Huge Red Llama MKIII now so I can complete my Billy Gibbons Inspired Pedals Selection! :
- BJFE ODS34 D-Style Overdrive
- Boss FB-2 Feedbacker / Booster
- DigiTech FreqOut Natural Feedback Creator
- Hamstead Soundworks Subspace Ge Intergalactic Driver Ltd Mullard GEX35 Diode Edition
- Missing Link Audio Eliminator (Black) Overdrive
2 Distortions
The two Leyland involved pedals - Full Mods DF-2 and Hum Along - both really cool to have - and both on the board as such! :
- Leyland Pedals Hum Along
- Leyland Pedals Modded Boss DF-2 (All Mods)
5 Fuzzes
A cool selection of fuzzes this month - a real mix of different types - including 2 Fuzzy-Drives - which could have sat equally under Overdrives - Silicon, Germanium and Hybrid varieties here - including a really versatile octave fuzz, and the rather distinct and unique Drunk Beaver Ivan Mazepa Poltava type. :
- All-Pedal Love Machine Silicon Octave Fuzz
- BJFE Bone Bender 1 Germanium CV112 Fuzz
- Drunk Beaver Ivan Mazepa Poltava Fuzz
- Heather Brown Electronicals Sensation Fuzzdrive (Fuzzy-Drive)
- OKKO FX Holy Grit Overdrive Fuzz Preamp (Fuzzy-Drive)
Modulation
One of the very best Harmonic Tremolos out there - a delight to use - with beautiful stereo separation - it's not quite as juicy as the Harmonious Monk - but easily close enough - and it has so much more onboard. If you like Harmonic Tremolo then you should definitely check this one out!
- Flower Pedals Sunflower Deluxe Stereo Harmonic Tremolo
3 Utilities
Some really cool utilities this month - the Big Joe Litihium Power Bank has been a long-term target and was an essential tool for the update of my Neunaber Illumine. As I play mostly humbuckers - the new Keyztone White Rekoil is killer - in some ways an enhancement over the larger EXchanger - while I think it could do with an additional brightness control / roll-off. And the OBNE Expression Ramper - another long-intended target - this time in combination with the Screen Violence. I will probably get the OBNE Float too - and the Float variant Expression Ramper for use with that!
- Big Joe Stomp Box Company Power Box Li-2 PB-109 Lithium Battery Power Supply
- Keyztone White Mini Recoil Pickup Enhancer HB > SC
- OBNE Expression Ramper Screen Violence Colorway
July Pedal-Chain Status
So 12 slots sort of impacted this month - numbers : #1, #5, #10, #11, #12, #20, #23, #24, #33, #34, #38 and #40. The Rekoil White, Flower Pedals Sunflower Harmonic Tremolo, and Neunaber Illumine are probably semi-permanent now. While the other are more likely bit-players as such - which we will see in rotation for sure - but which are unlikely to long-term regulars.
The Meris LVX was due to have landed by now but is delayed to August / September - hopefully that will land before then end of next month - we'll see!
Here are this month's runners and riders then :
Slot #01 : Pickup Enhancer / Remodeler
As a mainly Humbucker player - I've found the Keyztone EXchanger really useful over the years - an 8 mode Pickup Enhancer - which models and transposes different pickup types. The EXchanger has both Strat and Tele flavours - which are the two I use most often.
It made sense for me to get the smaller Rekoil edition which solely does the Humbucker to Single Coil conversation - and if anything it does it even better than its larger and overall more capable sibling. Note also that this pedal is entirely 3-D Printed - including its knob - which is novel - it's obviously some kind of thermoplastic with proper internal metal components, jacks and footswitch - really lightweight therefore.
It does its job quite superbly - while I need to quite significant roll off the Tone on my guitar. You get the full Strat sparkle and jangle - but it would be nice to have a second knob to control / temper the brightness - for even easier back and forth switching. As it is I need to remember to dial back the tone of my guitar when applying the Keyztone Rekoil - not a problem really - but it would be more instant and comfortable to be able to fully configure the pedal for consistent switchover!
Slot #05 : Germanium / Sensitive Fuzz
The SolidGoldFX BC183 MKII is a veritable Fuzz Face Factory and only second in Fuzz Face style prowess to Chase Bliss's Bliss Factory. The 6 controls at your disposal here really give you the most amazing range - but it does require some degree of due diligence to dial things in properly - so definitely not a beginner's fuzz.
Some of you will no doubt have seen the Andertons demo of this pedal - which really did it no favours. For a complex pedal of this nature - do please at least scan through the instructions / guide - to figure out how to get the best out of said pedal. Andertons did a similar thing to Origin Effects' Halcyon - where the Dry knob should have been at noon for the core 808 voicing - just really sloppy and a disservice to how great both those pedals are,
In some ways you're best off starting with Bias and Starve in the Middle and everything else dimed - and then dial things in from there. This is for sure an ultimate incarnation of a warm voiced Fuzz Face with massive amounts of range - from barely there overdrive to fuzz fiend! Highly recommended for Intermediate and advanced Fuzz players!
Oh - and I picked up mine of course from good friend Jim Button's Boost Guitar Pedal Webstore - where there are weirdly still some in stock!
SLOT #10 : Mid Gain / Dynamic / Blues Breaker / Harmonic Overdrive / JTM45 / Screamer
I'm delighted to finally be adding BJFE pedals to my reference collection - and I've long had designs on this BJFE ODS34 Dumble-Style Drive. In fact I mentioned it back in my recent January Compact Dumble pedals overview as my most likely next acquisition within that category.
I have several great Dumble types in the collection already - including the inimitable Demon Kondo-Shifuku - while this ODS34 is also quite capable of those lofty tones - it just goes about things slightly differently with its 5 controls. As with many pedals you need to dial this in carefully - and you don't have the switch up / down capability of the Kondo - via its 3 3-way toggle-switches - but with due diligence you can pretty much match it tone for tone in most ways. I have them as equal favourites really - it's too close to call - but if you have either one you don't really need the other - they're both really brilliant in what they do - let's just say they're on par! While some of you will still likely have preferences one way or the other!
Note that the demo here is for of earlier 4-knob Model-D variety which was the predecessor to the ODS34!
Slot #11 : Mid Gain / Blues Driver
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[scroll through to 3d, 4th and 5th panels above for quick sound demos of Subspace Ge]
The Hamstead Subspace GE Ltd Ed Intergalactic Driver has only just landed - but is well on its way towards being one of my favourite overdrives. I was a big fan of the Odyssey - and this essentially beefs that up and adds a parallel clean blend to make it even more potent. Part of me has always wanted to see a 3-Band EQ on this device i.e Mids too, but how it already works is pretty incredible - with Tone, Bass and Treble. Those 3 x 3-way Toggles really push it way beyond your typical overdrive pedal - and you have that fantastic TheGigRig optical footswitch - I'm still shocked that more builders haven't licensed that from Dan Steinhardt - as it's properly superb.
This for me is both the ultimate version of the Odyssey and the ultimate version of Subspace - with that rare Mullard GEX35 Diode - which adds further warmth and harmonic richness - it just sounds glorious to me! Very lucky to get my hands on one - and mine is serial number #3 of 25! So I evidently reacted pretty quickly to the announcement! I just feel bad that only 24 others can properly experience this!
Slot #12 : Mid Gain / Dumble / Expandora / Fuzzy-Drive / Mostortion / OCD / TrainWreck
The mostly Fuzzy-Drive slot gets a somewhat unusual visitor in the guise of the Basic Audio Kay Octave Fuzz - which is a quite superbly textured Fuzz unless you activate the Diode Lift which renders a somewhat Thin and Reedy lesser sound - with Fat Mode and Octave engaged and mostly cranked - this is another glorious fuzz not altogether dissimilar to a Super Fuzz or Foxx Tone Machine - but somewhat lower gain and rawer - and it doesn't quite have the harmonic ebb and flow of some Super Fuzzes - still a great sound - and my 20th Basic Audio pedal in that capsule collection!
Slot #20 : Silicon & OpAmp Fuzz / Big Muff / Octave Fuzz / Oscillating Fuzz / High Gain Fuzz / PLL / Rat 2
A mystery for the ages is how ever Drunk Beaver's Vitalii Bobrov manages to be quite so prolific - this is the 17th pedal of this that I have in just a couple of years really - and it's another cool engineering feat which bring back to life a rare 70's Soviet Poltava Fuzz-Wah - made with the same rare NOS parts which are essential to the tone and output of the pedal. The Ivan Mazepa sounds like a cross between a Cello, Tuba, and a muted Foghorn - it has a relatively smooth but cutting texture - particularly in Poltava Mode. You also have a Big Muff Tone Stack option which delivers a bassier voicing - for me it's all about the Poltava Mode! A really distinct and unique fuzz well worth adding to your fuzz library!
Slot #23 : Brown Sound / EVH / JCM800 / Liquid Distortion
This is a project that I was actually intending to do a long time ago - i.e. the 'Feedbacker Trifecta' while my exposure to Leyland Pedals via the FX Expo was instrumental in the timing and the serendipity of everything coming together at the right time. The Boss DF-2 Super Feedbacker & Distortion is a formidable pedal in its own right - but with the Leyland Pedals Mods it's propelled somewhat into the stratosphere - all the extra output is generates means that it's much more malleable - and the added features via Swervedriver Siren Mod and second Latching Feedback Footswitch - extend its playability into new and interesting areas. If you're at all interested in the DF-2 - then the only way to have it is with the Full Leyland Pedals Mods - just superb!
Slot #24 : High Gain Fuzz 2 / Modern Metal 1 / Mid-Pushed High Gain
The Hum Along is Caleb 'Leyland' Holmes' exacting take on just the distortion part of the DF-2 with the same 3 controls for that part - whiles slightly differently labelled. The distortion is every bit as texture and potent as the Boss original - while it doesn't have the massive output volume of the Modded DF-2, and the distortion actually renders a touch more modern - slightly tighter in its delivery - while the original DF-2 is slightly looser in that area. It's worth having both as they do deliver slightly different output - thing of the DF-2 as being more vintage styled - and the Hum Along a touch more modern - otherwise they are really close and do have the same overall distortion texture.
Slot #33 : Analog Tremolo / Harmonic Tremolo / Uni-Vibe
I've long been a fan of Harmonic Tremolo - and have some absolute classic representatives of that genre - each prey unique and distinct. To date my favourite sounding one has been the JAM Pedals Harmonious Monk - which is probably as juicy and rich as a Harmonic Tremolo will get - pretty much delivering a near Uni-Vibe voicing. The Flower Pedals Sunflower Deluxe Stereo Harmonic Tremolo is for sure the most capable of the new breed of harmonic tremolos - it doesn't quite run as fat and juicy as the Harmonious Monk - but it gets really close - and does so in superb stereo. The combination of features and functions onboard is just superb - meaning this has to be the current Harmonic Tremolo of choice - there is just so much to love about it - I think I can tweak it still further to get it even closer to the Harmonious Monk - but it doesn't really need it as it's already wholly glorious!
Slot #34 : Glitch / Multi-FX 1 / Other Modulation
This is really just a footnote here as I've added the matching OBNE Expression Ramper to the Screen Violence - to give me even more textures and variation and introduce yet further movement. For me the OBNE Expression Slider and Expression Ramper are totally genius - and everyone should have one of each. I will probably be getting a Float Dual Moving Filter too - and will get its matched Ramper and Slider - so I will have two of each!
I've said it before - OBNE is definitely on a roll these days - and producing some ingenious and innovative - indeed and really practical stuff too. Still very much loving the Screen Violence - it's another genius pedal for sure!
Slot #38 : Stereo Tape Style Delay / Delay Workstation 2
So not too much to report here - the Meris LVX True Stereo Modular Delay System was initially supposed to arrive at the end of June - but now looks like end of August at the earliest. Several people are relying on me to do an in-depth review to help them decide whether the price tag is worth it - so I will be be doing a deep-dive on the LVC for at least several weeks - before I produce my report!
Slot #40 : Stereo Reverb Workstation 1 / Studio Reverb
So the Neunaber Illumine is back on the board - not because it's now John Mayer's favourite Reverb, but rather the recent V2.0 firmware update introduced 3 new algorithms - bringing them up to 20 - i.e. Reverse Reverb, Room Reverb, and Wet Reverb V2. There are also six new factory presets to cover those varieties - so the Illumine is almost the perfect Reverb for me - it's just missing a 'Lo-Fi' algorithm to complete the set.
However getting the new updates proved to be somewhat bothersome. A pet peeve of mine is having to un-dock and un-tether my work laptop to move it across to my music corner to plug in a hard-line for updates. On many devices this is just a straight USB cable - as for Boss - while for Neunaber you update over MIDI - and while they do provide the 5-Pin Midi to Mini adapters - you need to buy your own MIDI Interface cable - from only 3 listed - which are mostly our of stock or not available in your territory!
As my MacBook Pro is all USB-C jacks now I though I would get myself a USB-C based MIDI interface - to try it out - but that categorically did not work. Of the 3 recommended ones - only the iConnectivity MIO MIDI Interface was readily available - but I needed to buy a Type 3.0 USB to USB C Adapter too (from Cosmic Technologies). I was encouraged to buy the Modern Producer Presets Pack - but then overloaded that with the newer V2.0 Update Presets. I really wish pedal-makers would just go with Bluetooth for these sorts of pedals - as the Neural DSP Quad Cortex does so cleverly - even allowing you to share presets with friends in the quickest and simplest manner possible. The fact that you're not provided with the tools to upgrade and that the whole process is so clunky is somewhat second rate - I would be quite happy to pay £50 or so more as is required for a Bluetooth module - pedals that are engineered to be regularly updated definitely need something like that - also the customer should be provided with the tools to maintain the device - including necessary cables!
I will still be rotating in the Amplitube X-Space fairly regularly - as it has the best Sci-Fi Presets - while my choice for best Reverb now is the Illumine - the pristine nature of the algorithms and the cleverness of its form-factor elevate it above everything else currently. I would like to see two further global functions too - 'enable all presets' and 'skip all presets'. I like deploying the full set of presets - but whenever I update - I need to enable all of them again - which is time consuming and frustrating - you should be able to set the to all on as well as all off!
I know a number of you deploy the Illumine now - so I'm very receptive of insights and usage tips!
Final Thoughts
We definitely made progress this month - without being particularly earth-shakingly significant. I have some great new overdrive additions - and have been particularly enjoying the new Subspace GE, OKKO Holy Grit and ODS34 which are all pretty multi faceted and with an extended range of output.
I've really enjoyed the various Feedbackers too - while I feel they will mostly be bit-players on rotation - more supporting cast than principals and probably only one at a time really. Also the MLA Eliminator is pretty cool - but is largely a one-trick pony compared with something like the Expandora. It does have a wonderful soundstage and just the right sort of texture and is a little more instant than the equivalent J Rockett El Hombre - which is somewhat more subtle and a little more tunable - particularly in the lower gain area.
The Flower Pedals Sunflower is truly excellent - I don't expect anything to be as full-on as the Harmonious Monk - but the Sunflower runs it pretty close - not quite as thick and richly textured as the Monk - but more impressive in all other areas - particularly with its superb stereo output. Stereo can often be less thick - but creates more atmosphere and ambience - and I guess that's the case here too - while this is a wonderful Harmonic Tremolo to deploy - and it will surely live on this slot for a long time.
The return of the Neunaber Illumine is significant - I had hoped to bring it back in tandem with the Meris LVX - but that was not to be. Note also that I acquired the Big Joe Li-2 Power Box so I don't need to untether or undock my main laptop - but can instead update all pedals at the laptop - which means a whole lot really as I otherwise have to reset the Sondos speaker - which seems to get disconnected every time a cable is moved. And with the new arrangement I'm only swapping one cable rather than unplugging all 5! I should have got the Li-2 Power Box ages ago as it was no longer available in UK distribution - it used to be - but is entirely discontinued on this side of the pond - I had to acquire it as some expense from the US of A! Weird too that the Big Joe site would not ship to the UK - so I had to find someone suitable on Reverb.com!
I can ever fit all the new stuff on the board as there is always some overlap - so some of the new acquisition will find their way intro circulation next month.
I also have a couple of pedals under embargo and have been given a debrief on some of the Autumn releases - and there are for sure still exciting times ahead!
Note also that as I warned in the intro - we're definitely seeing a slow-down in this industry in terms of launch and delivery dates as the manufacturing sector hasn't fully recovered from Covid - and there are still massive backlogs - up to 18 months like I mentioned - so please be patient.
Most builders are under an incredible strain prices are going up everywhere - the already expensive Chase Bliss Automatones have gone up in price further, and I noted that the updated Strymon Medium Square Pedals were up by as much as 26% - essentially from $299 to $279 - which is quite the hike. The typical 'Boutique' price used to be around the $ / € / £ 200 mark but is now more likely 229 or 239 even. So we have an energy crisis on our hands, a cost of living crisis - and major inflation - and it's impacting this sector too.
There's still a lot of smart innovation happening and I hope pedal interface design can catch up with consumer electronics soon as is definitely lagging somewhat. Also if you're making a regularly updatable pedal - it would be a crime not to include Bluetooth in this day and age - that's the only way you should be updating pedals these days - via a smartphone Bluetooth App - also you should not need to piggyback as such - downloading the patches first onto your laptop and then onto the device - it should all just be directly assignable like most electronic devices are thee days!
As always I would love to hear what key pedal acquisitions you have made - and if you think I've overlooked or undercooked something - even over-hyped it - do let me know - and do share some of your own insights. It's always better when we all learn together!
![First-hand Impressions of the Walrus Audio Mako Series II [M1] High-Fidelity Modulation Machine](https://d6a2e7ghqts3o.cloudfront.net/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/556/2024-GPX-Walrus-Audio-Mako-II-M1-Y-7001.jpg "First-hand Impressions of the Walrus Audio Mako Series II [M1] High-Fidelity Modulation Machine")
