2023 June Pedal-Chain Update - Episode VI - Just Vibin'
Most of you won’t have noticed that I was locked out of my Instagram recently - from circa Thursday afternoon to Monday morning a week or two ago - you will note the date of some of the posts as to when that happened. Social media is so unreliable these days - Instagram last locked my out for a fortnight around 6-7 months ago - owing to some sort of 2-factor authentication glitch (SMS digits not being sent) - which apparently took them two weeks to solve. So never a dull moment at GPX HQ - in fact often just a lot of hard graft, anxiety and angst!
Some great releases again this month where at one stage I was due to land 3 Uni-Vibes - but one of those has been pushed into next week / month - that’s where the ’Just Vibin’’ title springs from. And of course there are 2 new killer delays in the chain. Boss really is spoiling us these days and overloading us with difficult preference decisions - where the new DM-101 has to be the overall favourite though - that pedal is totally next level genius!
Due to my recent Instagram snafu the numbers seemed to have slowed down somewhat - and while for a period I was getting around 1,000 new followers per month - it’s now barely 100 a week - it will surely pick up again though - it normally does - Instagram is so random in its ups and downs - one moment you’re up and doing well - and then they re-calibrate everything and it’s all slowed to a crawl again. We will endure and prosper together though - it’s just a matter of time. I to encourage everyone to Register on this site though and sign up to the Automatic Content Alerts. That way you can be sure to see all the content and can freely commend and drop queries!
The month kind of started with a new surprise Spaceman (Meridian), and my huge Japanese Boutique Brands article that I collaborated on with Henry Kaiser - but not many of you picked up on! Then Anasounds superb Sandman Dual Overdrive, MXR Hybrid Fuzz (not in the UK until August!!!), Loe Sounds Cha’Cha Fuzz, 1981 LVL - and the emerald covered Emerald Virtuo Guitar - all intriguing products - and several of those in the collection - or will be!
Also a cool overview of rising Mexican brand Neural Devices, a first-hand reaction to the new CKK SHXC, and of course the finally landed Light Bending Halo Dual Echo.
I kind of decided that the Shields Blender was way too big - but then I decided I actually quite wanted one - which was of course way too late - as all 700 sold out in about 10 seconds flat. I think Andertons was the only UK stockist.
This month was about my catching up with Tru-Fi Pedals and Asheville Music Tools - so I’m wholly up to speed on those two brands. There was also another intriguing delay in the guise of the Bleak District V2 Tapescape - which may very well be added to the collection at some stage. And I started a healthy debate about footswitch types - which is still doing the rounds in builder circles.
I’ve long spoken about the need to slow down my acquisitions - to a more manageable lever around 10 or so max - and that finally seems to be falling into place - I’m just running out of storage space - and there are some incoming different priorities on finances which will likely impact those acquisitions - we’ll need to wait an see how all that pans out.
There are several pedals already waiting in the wing - and July starts fast an furious with the Witney Pedal Party tomorrow - and a flurry of new launches next week - which I of course look forward to sharing with you.
As always do let me know if there are any areas you would specifically like me to cover or revisit. Note that the 2023 12 Degrees of Saturation Compact Edition is further delayed - for a variety of reasons including summer holidays (not mine) - I would imagine things will mostly have resolved or at the very least clarified by then end of next month - plenty exciting new content on the way...
June Acquisitions Update
We have 11 new additions for June.
As before - there are a few stragglers and some embargoed pedals waiting in the wings - while generally I'm now not looking to source more than 10 new pedal per month - of course some months will be busier than others, While at the same time I'm pretty much delivery at least and article for every day of the month - and will be moving into other areas and collaboration once the Instagram followers numbers get to 10,000.
This is June's breakdown - and individual pedals below that :
- 2 Boost & Overdrives
- 1 Distortion
- 4 Fuzzes
- 2 Modulations
- 2 Time-Based Effects
2 Boost & Overdrives
2 killer pedals here - the Sandman sounds best with Savage in Silicon (Modern) Mode and Ego Driver in LED Mode - both with wonderful dynamics and harmonics - while Drunk Beaver's Germanium RangeMaster is a superbly engineered classic of that type - with some extra smarts :
- Anasounds Sandman Dual Overdrive (Klon + Screamer)
- Drunk Beaver Sumy Germanium Treble Booster
1 Distortion
Just the one representative this month for this category - the Tech 21 NYC CompTortion Compressor Distortion - which for me is really more of a fuzzy-drive pedal - sounds superb if you dial it in just right - understandably Henry Kaiser's all-time favourite gain pedal.
4 Fuzzes
4 cool fuzzes too - all on the board as such - 2 distinct Big Muffs, a Messenger style Filter Fuzz, and a Germanium + Silicon Fuzz Face :
- High Watt Messenger style Filter Fuzz MKII
- Loe Sounds Cha Cha Russian Muff
- Tru-Fi Two Face Fuzz
- Way Huge Swollen Pickle Jumbo Fuzz MKIIS
2 Modulations
2 killer Uni-Vibes - the ER-2 has incredible note-clarity and hi-fidelity, while the Ghost Vibe goes really thick and phat :
- ThorpyFX ER-2 Uni-Vibe
- Tru-Fi Ghost Vibe Uni-Vibe
2 Time-Based Effects
And finally 2 of the very best Delay pedals of all time - the fabulous new Boss DM-101, and the very distinct Light Bending Edition of Andy Timmons' Halo Dual Echo :
- Boss DM-101 Stereo Multi-Mode BBD Analog Delay Machine
- Keeley Electronics Andy Timmons Signature Halo Dual Echo Light Bending Edition
June Infinite Wishlist Additions!
Plenty of killer pedals covered this month :
- 1981 Inventions LVL Low Gain Boost / Overdrive
- Bananana Effects Mandala Mini Glitch
- Beetronics FX Octahive V2 Babee High Octave Fuzz
- Bleak District Electric Tapescape Magnetic Ambience Generator
- Fender Shield Blender* (Sold Out)
- Free Fall Diver CSF Upper Octave Fuzz (Super Fuzz)
- Greuter Effects Jumbo Fuzz Muff
- KarDian Sound Transplant C6H806 Vitamin C Add CBF (Clean Blend Filter) Fuzz Distortion
- Katanasound Furious Man Multifaceted Fuzz
- Leqtique L' - various
- MASF Pedals Possessed Fluttery Delay / Tremolo / Glitch
- MXR Hybrid Ge/Si 2 Transistor Fuzz
- Mythos Hephaestus Variable Voltage Fuzz
- Neural Devices Gentlemen Overdrive + Boost (Blues Breaker)
- Neural Devices Tempest Analog Chorus / Vibrato
- Spaceman Effects Meridian Time Modulator Delay-Line Modulator
- Tanabe - various
- Tru-Fi Dizzy Buzz Fuzz (Buzzaround)
- Tru-Fi Ultra Tremolo
- Vemuram Budi-G Gritty Gain Boost
- Weed UGEEE High Gain Distortion
- ZenZero FuzU
The 3 front-runners for acquisition are :
- Beetronics FX Octahive V2 Babee High Octave Fuzz
- MXR Hybrid Ge/Si 2 Transistor Fuzz
- Mythos Hephaestus Variable Voltage Fuzz
June Pedal Chain Status
12 slots updated this month : #5, #10, #12, #15a, #16, #21, #23, #26, #30, #31, #38, #40.
Lots of pairs really kind sorta - 4 fuzzes, 2 overdrives , 2 distortions, 2 Uni-Vibes, and 2 Delays.
I would imagine next week we loose one of those delays, where one of the 2 new Uni-Vibes will need to make way for a another incoming one - and possibly some further shifting around of the modulation selection.
You will also note that the Strymon Riverside is back into action, as is the Loe She Fuzz, and of course long-term all-time favourite Sinvertek N5 MGAT-1.
The last row should be pretty stable for a while now as far as I'm aware - while there will be some more incidental changes to the other rows in forthcoming weeks - but more side-ways steps that specific advances - largely just different options on the board.
Where will no doubt be a few surprises - while the Class of 2023 is shaping up pretty nicely and we've already got frontrunners for most of those slots!
Slot #05 : Germanium / Sensitive Fuzz
A fantastic classic fuzz which combines superior Germanium and Silicon Transistor Fuzz Faces in the same enclosure - with an external Bias control, and additional Input Gain control on the side of the pedal - Tru-Fi Two Face Dual Germanium + Silicon Fuzz Face. Features 2 x Ge AC125 and 2 x Si BC108C Transistors - both voicings sound superb!
SLOT #10 : Mid Gain / Dynamic / Blues Breaker / Harmonic Overdrive / JTM45 / Screamer
CKK's SHCX Super Overdrive High Headroom 3-Dimensional Klone is probably the new King of Klone now - with a fantastic 3-Dimensional voicing with enhanced sparkly top end, and more resonant low end!
Slot #12 : Mid Gain / Dumble / Expandora / Fuzzy-Drive / Mostortion / OCD / TrainWreck
No demos yet for this Drunk Beaver CMOStortion - has some similarities in texture to the Mostortion - but is overall pretty distinct - has a really lovely breakup crunch which really appeals to me.
Slot #15 (a) : Main Multi-Drive - Oversize
Aisha's most recent Cha'Cha Fuzz is a new take on the Green Russian Muff - somewhat lower gain - with extraordinary texture and articulation - perfect for rhythm and chord playing.
Slot #16 : Multi-Drive 2 / Tweed / HiWatt / Analog Amp-like Overdrive
Anasounds superb combination of full-fat Savage (Klone) and Ego Drive (Tube Screamer) sounds and combines brilliantly. Weirdly I like the Savage voicing best in Silicon Mode, with the Ego Drive side set to LED - those deliver the maximum degree of dynamics and harmonics - 2 wonderful takes on those formats - both extended range and optimised!
Slot #21 : High Gain Fuzz 1 / Fuzzstortion
A pretty cool and distinct fuzz - the HiWatt Messenger style Filter Fuzz MKII could do with a little more volume - but it sounds pretty great with the Filter set to Mid Focus - I run it in combination with the Strymon Sunset to bring the level up a touch - well worth having it in the collection!
Slot #23 : High Gain Fuzz 2 / Modern Metal 1 / Mid-Pushed High Gain
For me the Way Huge Swollen Pickle Jumbo Fuzz MKIIS was a worthy winner of Andertons' recent Fuzz Shootout - and where it goes way beyond the sound of a traditional Muff - and can even sound Fuzz-Face-ish at times. Really versatile and properly extended range. There were some weird comments on Instagram on this post about how people did not rate this fuzz - I don't really get that - it can do the traditional Big Muff sound really well too - It's just a fantastic all-rounder, and sounds great in my rig!
Slot #26 : Modern Metal 3 / High Gain Metal 2
It turns out that Henry Kaiser's favourite gain pedal - the Tech 21 NYC CompTORTION Compressor Distortion is also one of my own favourite Fuzzy-Drives. Has some really beautiful harmonics if you set the dials just right - I'm campaigning for this pedal / circuit to be revived in an extended features format!
Slot #30 : Analog Vibe / Uni-Vibe / Other Modulation
The first of two new Uni-Vibes on the board - both excellent - each with a slightly different character and profile - this Tru-Fi Ghost Vibe runs a little thicker and fatter than most.
Slot #31 : Analog Vibe / Uni-Vibe / Other Modulation 2
Thorpy works his magic on another Modulation format - producing the most granular Uni-Vibe yet in this ER-2 - with extraordinary note clarity - but still capable of killer degrees of throb - and with the most granular of controls - to really finely dial the modulation in to your preferences - a really clever and unique Uni-Vibe
Slot #38 : Stereo Rotary / Multi-FX 3 / Modulation Workstation 2 / Harmonizer / Delay Workstation 2 / Reverb Workstation 2
The Keeley Andy Timmons Halo Dual Echo Light Bending Edition finally landed - and is every bit as good as I expected. I've tried each of the 8 presets now several times - while I'm 99% on the Halo one - which makes everything sound that much better - a really useful delay that adds texture - but doesn't get in the way of complex rhythms!
Slot #40 : Stereo Tape Style Delay / Main Delay Workstation / 3
Simply the greatest analog delay ever made - the Boss DM-101 12 Mode BBD Analog Delay Machine is genius - the only tiny quibble you can hold against it is that it's not stereo in as well as out. But considering everything it does and how great it sounds - this is just the most magnificent engineering marvel of the analog age - it puts every other analog delay to shame!
Final Thoughts
The Final Thoughts on a lot of these posts are a sort of an outro - where I touch on certain upcoming events and activities.
Obviously the 10,000 Insta Followers milestone still looms large - but there has been someone slow down on Instagram recently - so that is probably a little further away than expected - probably around a month or so distant - and then I will be starting my consultation with you on where to take Guitar Pedal X next!
Right at the start of the month - tomorrow is my firsts even in a while - Doug Tolley's Whitney Pedal Party - with now quite a few luminaries planning to turn up - I hope there is space enough for everyone!
And then a fortnight later we're all of to the Brighton Guitar Show and FX Expo - where I will be catching up with a lot of friends - and hopefully making a few new ones too - I now know that vast majority of the builders exhibiting - so it should be a little bit like the Synth and Pedal Expo - a sort of extended family affair - at the seaside!
As things gear up with GPX I will be out an about more and more - and there will be some merch coming down the line - so I should be easier to spot.
Exciting times ahead for sure!
I thought I'd keep this outro short and sweet for once!
