2024 August Pedal-Chain Update - Episode VIII - RaRaRaRaRaT!

I featured a number of new pedal launches as usual - with a particular flurry at the end of the month - Becos FX Twain MK2 Dual Compressor, EQD Silos Delay, Decibelics The Reverend V2 Mini Expandora, EHX POG III Workstation / Multi-FX, Catalinbread Antichthon Deluxe, Buzzing Bugs x Los Campesinos! Mortal Joy, Catalinbread Antichthon Deluxe, Fish Circuits Model One OD & Lunatique Fuzz, UAFX Anti 1992 High Gain Amp [5150], Origin Effects Halcyon Blue Overdrive Adaptive BluesBreaker, MXR Layers Harmonic Sustainer / Freeze, Chase Bliss Billy Strings Wombtone Analog Envelope-Phaser, and Anasounds x Third Man Records La Grotte Signature Jack White Real Spring Tank Reverb.

And of course I completed a series of first-hand reviews - Wampler Germanium Tumnus Deluxe, Licthlaerm Audio Ritual, Formula B Eighty Master V2, Drunk Beaver Seattle Driver, Colortone Parasite V2, ThorpyFX WOPR AtomIC Fuzz with Silicon RangeMaster, HSE x Joyo 'Voodoo Sailor' Octave Fuzz Mod, Andertons x ThorpyFX SixZero Tremor-Fuzz, Cornerstone Antique V3, Keeley Electronics 4-in-1 Noble Screamer, Sentimental Bob Tephra superior compact Life Pedal take, Flattley Valkyrie Vintage Analog BBD Chorus. I'm particularly proud of the work I did for the Colortone Parasite V2 and Cornerstone Antique V3 - both of those are the definitive accounts of those pedals.

The eagle-eyed among you will have noted that I now have Keeley advertising banners on my site - hopefully the first of many such collaborations - where I'm also reviewing the entirety of the 4-in-Series - with the Noble Screamer review posted up already, the Blues Order coming up next week, then the Super Rodent, and Angry Orange - one per week - where I analyse those pedals and make my recommendations. I will probably do a final roundup article of all 4 where I pick out my overall favourites and rationalise as to why those were selected.

I will always do my best to unearth and showcase interesting and innovative brands and pedals - while also including as broad a representation as possible, admittedly I've not focused too much on budget pedals of late - but there will be a further smattering of those soon.

I had a brief opportunity to acquire a Blakemore Deus Ex Machina in a decent condition - going for $600 on Ebay - but I thought about it for too long - and someone else snagged it - it obviously wasn't my time! I'm still trying to get back in touch with Blake Hickey, but besides that one response of his from around one year ago - I've not heard from him since - despite quite a few chasers - perhaps that's just never supposed to happen for me! I had kind of built up hopes that I would get one fairly soon, and I feel somewhat deflated at the moment as a result of missing out on the only genuine opportunity to acquire this pedal to-date. There have been others that appeared on Reverb.com - a couple I think, but those were a little too battered for my liking - and asking too much at the same time!

I'm still in the process of figuring out what to cover next month - while there are a few projects already in progress - but no grand plan or scheme yet. In fact I've felt a little rudderless of late - but I'm sure I will be back on track soon enough. If there are any areas or genres you would like me to visit / re-visit - then by all means let me know - it helps set priorities for the month!

20 Pedals added in August, obviously big on Overdrives and Distortions - with the Keeley 4-in-1 Series and Rat Rundown impacting significantly. A little bit of everything really - across all the key food groups. A little skinny on fuzzes for a change, and 2 Modulations at the opposite scales of complexity! :

• 7 Boosts & Overdrives
• 7 Distortions
• 3 Fuzzes
• 2 Modulations
• 1 Time-based Effect

As part of my current Keeley collaboration I'm reviewing the 4-in-1 Series one-by-one - with just the Noble Screamer published to-date. Obviously these will mostly appear next month, and will feature very strongly in the September pedal-chain - where the focus is really on Rats for August!

3 fantastic overdrives right at the start the Beetronics Wannabee, Colortone Parasite V2, and Cornerstone Antique V3, with the Wampler Germanium Tumnus Deluxe on the end - all supreme examples and 4 of my all-time favourite overdrives for sure - the next Overdrive rundown is going to be insane - will be very tricky to distill down to just 32 favourites - but I will try!

• Beetronics FX Wannabee Beelateral Buzz KloneBreaker
• Colortone Parasite V2 JFET Overdrive
• Cornerstone Antique V3 Screamer+
• Keeley 4-in-1 Blues Disorder Overdrive and Distortion
• Keeley 4-in-1 Noble Screamer Overdrive and Boost
• Keeley 4-in-1 Super Rodent Overdrive and Distortion
• Wampler Germanium Tumnus Deluxe

5 of these are Rat variants - with some really killer ones in the mix, alongside the superb Formula B 80 Master V2 JCM 800 Dual Channel Preamp.

• Electro-Harmonix Flat Iron Distortion (Rat)
• Formula B 80 Master V2 / JR Dual Channel JCM800 Preamp (MIAB)
• Jackson Audio Asabi with Large Mouse Module (Rat)
• Keeley 4-in-1 Angry Orange Distortion and Fuzz (Distortion / Muff)
• Lichtlaerm .Ritual. Distortion (Rat)
• Sentimental Bob Tephra Octave Distortion (Rat)
• Stomp Under Foot Skinner Box Rat

3 Killer fuzzes - all new favourites of mine - two of them Octave variants, but quite difference sounding - and then Thorpy & Dan Coggins' new pedal - which could also have featured under Modulations - where I will always prioritise the Fuzz element typically, while the Tremolo on this one is amazing too - with the most exquisite pattern of decay!

• Drunk Beaver Seattle Driver Octave Muff
• Hello Sailor Effects x Modded Joyo Voodoo Octave Fuzz - 'Voodoo Sailor'
• ThorpyFX x Andertons SixZero Tremo-Fuzz (Silicon TB MKI + Dynamic Tremolo)

This is a funny category this month - as the Flattley Valkyrie Chorus is so simple - just 2 knobs - while the Kinotone Sparks has LFO and Envelope Filter Mapping, as well as a hidden Polyphonic Synthesizer Module onboard!

• Flattley Guitar Pedals Valkyrie Analog Chorus (Boss CE-3)
• Kinotone Sparks Analog Harmonic Processor

It sometimes happens that I don't get to spend too much time with an effect - as there are other priorities ongoing! This arrived at the same time as the super Seattle Driver Octave Fuzz - which rather dominated proceedings - along with the various Rat pedals this month. The Vinnytsia was only on the board briefly to make sure it worked, and get a brief insights into its sound. Sounds pretty great actually, but is Mono only - which makes it very difficult to accommodate within my signal chain!

• Drunk Beaver Vinnytsia Echo Machine [PD #22]

Not the busiest month for new release - but plenty of interesting ones nonetheless.

I was really impressed with the MXR Layers - where I still intend to pick up the Joshua Ambient Echo too alongside that - I guess I'm just waiting on the right opportunity for that - as well as to try and snag the 'Prohibition Era' Chase Bliss Wombtone Envelope-Phaser. I have and love the MKII edition - and the new Billy Strings Custom Edition improves it in all kinds of interesting areas!

Obviously I'm still on the hunt for the right Oneder Effects Red Ryder variant, and I will be getting in the NRG Effects Gnawer - which I kind of mocked up for the Rat pedal rundown!

• Anasounds x Third Man Records La Grotte Signature Jack White Real Spring Tank Reverb
• Buzzing Bugs x Los Campesinos! Mortal Joy Lo-Fi Drive / Filter / Tape Saturator
• Catalinbread Antichthon Experimental Chaotic Oscillating Bias Fuzz
• Chase Bliss Billy Strings Signature Wombtone Analog Envelope Phaser
• EHX POG III Polyphonic Octave Generator / Multi-FX
• Fish Circuits Lunatique Juiced-Up Octave Gated Fun
• Fish Circuits Model One Classic Natural Overdrive
• MXR Layers Harmonic Sustainer / Freeze
• NRG Effects 2024 Edition 5-knob, dual-footswitch Gnawer
• Oneder Effects Red Ryder Rat Distoriton Cream Colourway with Wood Facia!
• Origin Effects Halcyon Blue Overdrive Adaptive BluesBreaker
• Universal Audio UAFX Anti 1992 High Gain Amo [5150]

12 Slots updated this month - #2, #5, #9a, #9b, #10, #11, #15a, #15b, #15c, #18, #31, #33.

Obviously the signal-chain is dominated by Rats! You also have a couple of HSE Octave Fuzzes in the mix, 3 new exceptional overdrives, and Thorpy's beautifully dynamic recent Andertons collaboration. Interestingly no changes in the middle or bottom rows - but otherwise a flurry of activity. Including also the exceptional successor to the Drunk Beaver Fluff and Mykolaiv Grunge pedals - the Seattle Driver - also based on the Boss PW-2 Powerdriver - lots of these ones are worthy getting - and there is not a weak one among them - all sounds superb!

One of the surprises of the month! Actually not so much for me, as Thorpy had told me something was coming - but he played his cards rather close to his chest this time around - stating that this was largely an Andertons joint! Turned out to be a rather tasty Silicon Tone Bender MKI (probably a forerunner to the Silicon version of Boneyard - which is due some time next year most likely!). Paired here by a wonderfully dynamic Tremolo - which circuit Dan Coggins designed as a 14 year old. Deliberately somewhat over-sized - but a really fantastic sounding pedal. Currently Andertons have a raffle - where you have the chance of winning one of 15 that are up for grab! More importantly, the announcement has been made that Thorpy will be making more of these - albeit in a different colourway and with difference graphics!

I'm so happy that I snapped up the first one of these Joe Halliday / Hello Sailor Effects Mod of the Joyo Voodoo Octave Fuzz - which I dubbed the 'Voodoo Sailor' it's an absolutely blistering 3-voice Octave Fuzz - with element of Foxx Tone Machine and SuperFuzz - and mine came in a really beautiful enclosure - where I changed up the knobs to make it 'pop' a little more - my version looks fantastic. And it sounds like Joe will me doing more of this mod - in fact possible even evolving his own similar circuit to those mods!

Last month's selection of overdrives was incredibly strong, but possibly this month's is even more potent - with 3 exceptional candidates - including the fantastic Cornerstone Antique V3. For various reasons I was a little late getting mine - while I think I delivered the best article on the subject by far - hopefully I did this new pedal justice - it looks amazing in the flesh - with so many beautiful design touches - and an output to match! For some it's going to be just another Tube Screamer - but this one is pretty special as far as I'm concerned!

And here we have the new shrunk down edition of the Colortone Parasite Full Spectrum Everyday JFET Overdrive - a magnificent all-rounder Overdrive which has you covered for all manner of tones. If you through your mind back to Josh Scott's Bad Monkey episode - then this is like that pedal - but on steroids - with those fantastic additional low and high boosts - which deliver so much - including an expiation Dumble Drive tonality, and even touching on classics like the Honey Bee - for its softer and smoother voicing. A couple of Herberts on Instagram were casting dispersions about the potency of this overdrive - in that they did not believe me that it was this versailte - I guess we need to wheel in Josh Scott again to do another Bad Monkey -like exercise on this one! Much like the Cornerstone Antique V3 - this one is beautifully design too - with an output to match its superior looks!

When the Beetronics FX Wannabee Beelateral Buzz KloneBreaker was originally release I thought it was an April fool's joke - because of its timing, and perceived vanilla nature - where Beetornics is usually known for doing more unusual and unique effects - but here was pushing out a Klon + BluesBreaker Dual Overdrive. Actually - this pedal is a revelation really - those extra options onboard really beef up the output - and this is one of the very best sounding of its kind. And much like the other two just mentioned - with an output to matching is glorious looks. This one pushed out the Wampler Germanium Tumnus Deluxe - it was between those two as to which one landed the slot - and the Wannabee hit me harder!

The Drunk Beaver Seattle Driver Octave Muff (Boss PW-2 x Fluzz Octave Fuzz) has been all over this site since its launch a couple or so weeks ago. It essentially combines and replaces two of my favourite Drunk Beaver Pedals - the Fluff Octave Muff Fuzz, and the Mykolaiv Grunge Boss PW-2 Power Driver take, Combing the very best of those each of those two pedals for a beautiful Sustaining Octave Muff output - sounds immense!

One of the really great Rat pedals out there - the Sentimental Bob Tephra Rat Distortion + Clipping + Octave + Boost [Life Pedal]. You have +60dB on the Distortion channel, and +30dB on the independent Clean Boost channel - its output is immense - and each of the 6 Clipping Modes sounds superb!

Another totally killer take on the Rat format - all 5 Rats in the chain this month are superb - with probably the PastFX, Sentimental Bob, and this Licthtlaerm Audio one being the outstanding varieties of the most recent releases. Each of those is extended range with a massively expanded potential and tonal palette. And some of them are so wide-ranging on the gain side that they deliver proper Heavy Metal Distortion sounds! The JAM Pedals Rattler 2 also gets included in that extended range category - while it's the Tephra and Ritual that have the highest gain!

I already onwned the El Guapo non-modular predecessor to the Asabi - where I recently snapped up an Asabi which included the Large Mouse Rat Module. Actually really decent - as long as you get the Clipping Modes right - best output for me was with the Asymmetrical on the Rat Module, and LED on the Plexi Channel - and the two of those combined. You fairly need to crank a lot of those dials, and some of the clipping options are somewhat anaemic compared to other pedals in my recent selection - but the Asymmetrical one sounds great. I typically gravitate towards LED Clipping for Rats - but on the Asabi that option is not as potent as I would usually expect!

I really love my Formula B Eighty Master V2 Compact Dual-Channel JCM800 Preamp - it's an exceptional MIAB pedal with instant satisfaction - it delivers a beautiful Marshall voicing already with every control at noon - and is cable of covering Plexi through JCM800 - looks really attractive too - while I would have positioned the two LED's more in line with the controls and the footswitches - they look a little odd inset in the way they currently are!

The Flattley Valkyrie Vintage Analog BBD Chorus is a beautifully balanced, rich and warm sounding vintage leaning Chorus. It uses a CE-3 style chipset, but renders more CE-2 style tones as intended. Paul Flattley has calibrated this circuit superbly - a fantastic simple but impactful chorus with plenty of range despite just having 2 controls!

I'm still getting to grips with this beast - it has so many controls, and I've not fully imprinted it on my brain yet - so still having to refer to the manual quite a bit. Just as well that my pal Phil at Pedal Experiments has recently covered this pedal - as I definitely needed a few pointers. It's not so much the entirety of the control interface - but more how you dial in fully usable tones and presets from scratch - like say the perfect Harmonic Tremolo tones! A really capable device. I'm sure it has some killer fuzz voicing onboard - while I've still to dial those in successfully - this is.a pedal you need to spend a lot of time with to eke out every essence on tone onboard - a really clever device, but one with a fairly steep learning curve - Phil seems to have adapted to this one very quickly though!