2024 Brighton Guitar Show FX Expo Highlights

Phil decide to drive down and back all in the same day - which we all said would be madness - but he seems to have coped alright. He was the last to arrive in the Pedal Room - yet he set up very quickly. This time around he included a cool interactive breadboard to entice people to his stand, and he had an early production model for his new Terra Earthly Overdrive - as below.

This single Transistor Electra style circuit might seem a little gimmicky - but it certainly worked in getting intrigued prospects to engage and interact. You simply get to experiment with different Diode and Capacitor choices - and see how those impact the output of said circuit. The Electra circuit is really simple but versatile - consisting of just a handful of easily sourced components!

So a very early production model of the new Terra Earthly Overdriver - which I think I understood to be a soft-clipping circuit of the not-a-screamer variety. Phil reports that the circuit is definitely done now - but the graphics and the labels might change. I remarked it was very EVH Stripes-like - where I was apparently the only one to have that association! The circuit has nothing to do with that guitar hero great - it's most definitely a Phil style circuit. I love the choice of knobs on this one - it' a winner as far as I'm concerned - even before hearing it!

I will for sure be in on this launch when it happens within the next week or few!

A great portrait of the Mighty Boss Crew - Matt 2, Mark, Matt 1, and Nico - with presumably Nico's friend on the far right end - that guy just crashed the photo - I've no idea who he is! But the others did not seem to mind - and therefore neither did I.

The big hits from boss at the moment seems to be the Multi-FX units with the ME-90 and ME-90B still doing exceedingly well, along with the GX-100 which I covered in March of last year. The PB-1W and IR-2 are still flying off the shelves, while the one product that should really be flying is alas Katana-Gone!

For some inexplicable reason Boss have run out of one of the main components, and supposedly a major large competitor has bought up every one of those chips still going - meaning that Boss had to end production of that 'Greatest of All Time Practice and Green Room Tool'. It's not all bad news though as Boss will be redesigning the Katana Go in the new year - with hopefully a couple of bonus additions!

2024 is obvious the 'Year of the Katan' with a full Gen 3 Range Relaunch staggered over June to August - to get all models out. My Gen 3 artist has landed - I just need to unbox it and get it properly setup - which will happen early next week. I believe the Gen 3 Katana Artist is officially out in retail channels in the first or second week of August - I will of course be reporting back then. I'm doing a full deep-dive review on this amp - so it's going to be interesting - hopefully the Bluetooth capabilities will make app-control a lot easier!

It very much made sense for me to attend the Boss Katana Showcase / Live Clinic - as pictured below - which featured two of my favourite people - Joe Branton and Matt Knight - also of Guitar Nerds fame of course!

There's such an easy chemistry between Joe and Matt - of the kind that they could probably finish each other's sentences. Joe is the master of the airwaves in terms of never hitting dead-air - he ensures that these sessions seamlessly evolve in the most fluid of manners - and as Matt is petering out on his commentary - Joe is already segueing in the next part.

The dynamic duo did a fantastic whistle-stop tour of the new Gen 3 Katana 100 Amp. They pretty much mentioned and demoed everything bar the special Bloom feature - but as that is not on the Katana 100 Amp (Artist and Head models only) - it was kind of understandable. They did mention the new Contour control - but then did not go intro further description nor any sort of demo of that - which was really the only omission.

The 45 minute showcase went by really quickly and seemed to be very well received by all.

Matt's Boss Eurus GS-1 Hybrid Guitar also sounded excellent throughout, a guitar I had long since considered acquiring - but I'm too late now -as those are already discontinued. Supposedly there are still a few out with dealers - they were originally priced around the £2K mark and had a lot of cool features onboard - including Bluetooth, and a guitar synthesiser. Matt graciously arranged discounts of that discontinued model for his staff, and all of them took him up on it - in fact it caused a little confusion on the day - as all 4 of the Boss Crew were sporting the same identical model of guitar - each stored in exactly the same model of gig bag. No one had thought to add a colourful ribbon or tag to identify their personal one. Yet each is set up so differently that while you might not see the individual differences - you can certainly feel them!

In any case I will be doing two Gen 3 Katana Artist articles for my recently landed amp - a relatively simple launch one, and a proper deep-dive report a month or two later! I've heard great things from all the recent Katana Demos - so my expectations are about as high as they can be for the new model!

Dan had some great news about a 3-in-1 pedal commission collaboration he's doing with the Cardiff band Los Campesinos!. This is in every way a proper signature pedal - used to deliver and recreate key sounds from said band's signature output. There's obviously some gain and modulation onboard - but it very heavily leans into more Lo-Fi tones.

I was privileged to get a personal viewing - and I will be featuring this pedal later, after it's been launched first to the Los Campesinos! Fan Club. It certainly seems to be a pedal with quite a bit of versatility - and should be able to go way beyond just the Output of a single band. Signature products can be limited - especially when they make hard and fast decisions on available options. While if all the options remain open - you can drive that pedal way above and beyond what it was originally intended for. 

The new pedal looks very attractive indeed - in its fire engine red livery - with unique surface texture details. Exciting times ahead therefore for Buzzing Bugs - I'm very much expecting this pedal to end up as a number of player's secret weapon - and I of course look forward to the full reveal in a week or two!

I keep saying it - Doug is one of the nicest guys in the business - while his stand is always so busy that I barely can get a word in edgewise. I meant to stop by to pick his brains on the new Onward Dynamic Envelope Sampler which I'm having so much fun with at the moment. I just wondered if there were any secret tips and tricks I might be missing out on - especially as regards magical combinations of several dip-switches.

I'm pretty sure I've unearthed most of the features of that pedal now - but I'm sure there are some lesser known parts that I'm yet to be fully familiar with. In any case I was unable to catch a proper moment - beyond the photo opportunity. So I will need to pick up the conversation at the next UK event Chase Bliss attends. For all you pedal party fans - the next Witney Pedal Party is now likely next February or so. Dough has decided that an annual event is the right speed for this project - so see all the usual suspects in Witney - early next year!

The really good news is rather for Chase Bliss fans in Australia - which are about to be graced with the presence of his royal highness Joel Korte - who is holidaying there with his family at that time, and through Chase Bliss's Australia representatives Pedal Empire - there will be Pedal Party events in Sydney and Brisbane over that time with Joel in attendance. The Brisbane one is on August 3rd for sure, perhaps I'm mistaken about a Sydney one!

I've said before that I'm sort of acquainted with two of Joel's key deputies - Tom Majeski and Scott 'Knobs_Demos' Harper. But I've never encountered the great man himself - I kind of lost the opportunity to connect during the big bang Mood explosion.

I know Joe's been to the UK once or twice before - but we've never had him at a proper dedicated event as far as I'm aware - my Challenge to Doug is to have Joel turn up for one of the Witney Pedal Parties!

I'm still hoping to do a feature on Flattley's fairly recent Twin T Resonant Filter WAH - which really should have happened by now, but we're still waiting on one more video - which seems like Paul is now going to do himself - so hopefully that exercise is not too far out.

In the meantime Paul has reissued his Valkyrie Analog BBD Chorus. It's largely based on the Boss CE-3 - and has the equivalent CoolAudio chipset for that. Phoebe's done a decent job on the artwork, and they've picked a fantastic metallic blue for the fade-out colourway. I will be getting one o these in for a feature in a week or two - more details then.

For some reason at the time I did not think to do a zoomed in picture on the actual pedal - so I've borrowed an image from Flatlley's Facebook - to show off more of that pedal. It's just the classic 2-knob topology with Depth and Rate Controls. It's very much based on the Boss CE-3 chipset - which rings slightly brighter than the CE-2 - both indeed have markedly different chipsets.

The Boss CE-2 uses the MN3007 / 3101 BBD chipset, while the CE-3 uses the MN3207 / 3102 BBD set.

For many people the brighter the chorus the better - especially if you're trying to achieve Echo Park or John Petrucci style tones - and the Flattley Valkyrie should definitely appeal to those folks. More on that real soon!

Didn't have too much time with David - but all seems to be going well! The XO Variable Crossover seems to be enduringly popular - both for guitarists and bassists! And there still seems to be ample appetite for the excellent Focus Fuzz and Design-A-Drive. With the Small Speaker Overdrive, David's first, still largely holding it's own, while as is inevitably the populaces focus inevitably moves to newer shiny objects.

I said when I reviewed it that the XO Variable Crossover was a killer pedal - and it has now proven its long-term appeal - the combinations really are endless - and I'm increasing interested in the more unusual combinations. Kind of like fusion cuisine - which supposedly odd flavours of effects gel together surprisingly well through a little Low and High Pass filtering?

I'm sure the combinations are endless - but as with food, I'm every intrigued by stuff that shouldn't work or go together - but really does! I saw that David put out a call on what to do next - what kind of pedal would we like him to design. I feel that something more unusual - similar to the XO but different - using other aspects of the frequency curve to meld sounds together towards producing ever more intricate outputs!

We're seen a lot of lo-fi devices recently and wave-folding circuits. There's definitely a trend for mangling your output - so my suggestion would be something along those lines - so instead of filtering - we're splitting, pitch-shifting and LFO modulating and wave-folding the output!

Or of course another really intriguing and newly deconstructed fuzz flavour!

I always get a warm welcome on the Hamstead / Fidelity stand - those two companies have operated together for so long - that they really seem part of the same family. Of course I still have too many pedal priorities on for the foreseeable future to be properly considering a new guitar - while Matt's Fidelity Guitars would undoubtedly be one of the first in line for when that happens. I encouraged Matt to make a permanent graffiti-style guitar for showstopper purposes - just to attract people onto the stand. He had one once - which was actually a custom commission, and has long since departed the fold. Both these businesses make beautifully crafted high fidelity audio devices / instruments and both deserve to do really well.

The main news from Peter was that there have been further production delays to the secret project and stereo harmonic tremolo. I was due to do an onsite visit in May I think it was - while the first secret projects is still likely a couple of months out. I'm assuming the secret projects is some manner of gain pedal - as it's supposed to combine beautifully with the forthcoming stereo harmonic tremolo. I'm obviously the biggest fan of Harmonic Tremolos - so that will be my main focus. I will likely cover the first secret launch from a Press Release - and then hit Hamstead HQ just before the official release date for the tremolo. I've been looking forward to that all year - so two more months is but a drop in the ocean!

I keep trying to angle for more demos for Brian - who's done some brilliant ones for Boss over the years. He's spent most of the year so far doing Studio session work. He has such great technique - it's a shame that he's not gracing more demos - next time I meet him, I will get some further details on his terms and availability. It's a shame that such a talent isn't put to bear on the demo scene. We don't have that many truly great UK demoers - where Brian is definitely in that top tier - I just wish that more of his work was out there. Perhaps he prefers the studio work though - I will endeavour to glean further details. I recall I bigged up Chris Buck for demoes - just as he announced he would be retiring from that discipline - so hopefully I've not spoken out of turn here. In any case - regardless of what happens, I still feel that Brian has done some amazing top tier demos - and that he should feature on quite a few more - but possibly that route no longer appeals!

My very good friend Joe is a bona fide genius. It's not just that he is a fantastic circuit engineer with a magnificent ear for tone - but the detail he puts into every aspect of each pedal is just next level. He's one of the very few that can consistently deliver such unique work of this high quality - every tiny detail is considered - to the shade of paint, and the hue of varnish - and the degree of textuisation that he imparts. Every pedal is a mini masterpiece - and particularly the ones he's made for me.

The Monmouth Hybrid Octave Fuzz - here below in its Mini edition is the very epitome of his art!

Above is just the raw image cutout version of the visual - I will do a more creatively evolved visual when I do the full article.

Here we have a crackled lacquer finish onto a relic'd salmon pink paint job - with all brass appointments - the knobs, the LED surround, and the footswitch washer. What a magnificent looking pedal - even the pinup graphic is tasteful, and so cleverly placed in context!

Inside you will find a hybrid mix of 3 transistors - Newmarket NKT72U Germanium + 2N3904 Silicon + MPSA13 Silicon.

Like my highly favoured Anchor Drive - this fuzz has just 2 controls. In the past I've said I prefer 3 or more - while the Anchor Drive has convinced me - that if the pedal is calibrated right - then 2 knobs is all you need - Volume and Fuzz/Gain, And no half-arsed octave off mode - just full on flavour. If the pedal is sufficiently great - it seemingly doesn't need more than 2 knobs!

I feel truly privileged to have a friend in Joe - and I'm so looking forward to getting properly stuck into this new masterpiece of his!

Props also to his father-in-law Glyn - who is always at his side for these events - great to see them both so regularly on the pedal show circuit! Also Joe is an amp guy as much as a pedal engineer - and he likes to be right in the thick of things in the main room. So he was the only pedal brand located outside the main Pedal Room as far as I'm aware.

Joe has just sold off a load of his guitars, and now he seems to have even more of them! It's encouraging to see that the creative force is still so strong in Joe - even without the ongoing influence of the sea and sea-faring - perhaps it's all baked in by now!

He's been extremely prolific on the video front recently too, and seems to have caught the Modification bug - as he's been tearing through a sequence of really cool mod videos.

Joe's about to move house - I wish him the best of luck with that - and here comes the most amazing fact - that his new house will be the first time he has access to a proper permanent workshop / studio. He's been making do for so long now - I think he could probably build a pedal from scratch on a park bench - so it's exciting to see what he can do within his own workshop environment. Anyone who hasn't switched onto Joe's Hello Sailor Effects yet - you really don't know what you're missing! Each and everyone of his pedals is a compact jewel box work of art! And each pedal of his you own is a privilege!

The full Intensive Care Audio range now has top-mounted jacks - so Patrick will need to update his website soon to reflect that. I was due to drop in on his Stoke Newington Studio - but he's been so busy of late that said date keeps being pushed back. Patrick tells me that the next couple of months are looking really busy - so I guess it's not happening for a while yet.

Patrick turned up at the show with a massive red wheeled suitcase which he dragged all the way uphill to the Racecourse from Brighton Station. After the show he had a gig down by the beach, and wheeled the case all the way back down the hill - I would happily have shared a taxi - but he left the venue way before I did!

In any case Patrick is already well into his next phase - which involves DSP programming - so I'm looking forward to catching up with him again whenever he has time for me - to get a reveal on where he's heading next - in terms of what kind of effect. He's a really creative effects maker as is - and it will be interesting to see how much more flavour he is able to deliver with DSP in the mix too!

My favourite Intensive Care pedal is still the Vena Cava Filter / Distortion - that is so versatile and its can sound so visceral and textured.

A final interesting factoid is that Patrick needed to make a new business card, while he is so creatively on point that it could never be anything as mundane as an actual card - and so he had a number of patient hospital bracelets made up with his essential contact details printed onto them - that very much fits in with his pattern of genius - and his doctor's scrubs were properly monogramed this time around too - which I think is the first time that I've seen that. All of these elements show what incredible attention to detail Patrick has - and that is reflected in each of his exceptional pedals!

The patient bracelet details are as follows, proceeded by a QR code which leads to the website :

Patrick C Smith

Consultant Surgeon

Intensive Care Audio

www.intentivecareaudio.com

Let's Get Weird!

I was very close to naming Neil the cover star for a second year in row - he definitely had the most new stuff to show. While in the end I went with show runner Phil Steere.

Every time I've approached Neil for a collaboration he has said he's not ready for me yet - and that there are further plans afoot!

I guess the sum accumulation of all those plans has led to this point - where Neil is attempting to streamline his pedal range into just 2 streams Custom and Compact - which will simplify the production process and yield more efficiency - while sill retaining the flexibility to do custom and differentiated designs. The new standard models feature 1590B2 enclosures - which increased depth allows for top-mounted jacks. The further innovations are a standard uniform small facia plate - which carries the brand logo, and the pedal name. And then finally we have 0.5mm labelled aluminium discs which replace the silver tops of those boss-style knobs. Those Knobs will be just 2 different sizes - with the smaller ones skirted when there are 1 or 2 controls together, and un-skirted for 3 controls across - like we have on the new 5-knob Purrer.

The previous Purrer models had as many as 5 controls, but Neil has ingeniously adapted the circuit - so that the 'Plus' control combines Volume and Gain (sort of like a secondary Master Volume Boost). This gives players exactly what they want - but just with 1 fewer controls - and all the tones and textures fully intact. 

The former silver series is effectively discontinued now with those impressive pedals currently on sale. And if you want anything beyond the standard series - it will be custom, and will be priced in line with your requirements.

So much clever though has gone into this - Neil is very much one of those 3-dimensional chess players - whose perfectionist streak means that he's forever seeking improvements. It could be seen with his setup too - were he continuously tweaked his display in a series of tiny but precise updates - where a couple of those were then walked back on second consideration! 

Oh one more thing - the Standard Series is available in both Raw and Black enclosures - where the black option will carry a £20 premium.

The range launched at the show consisted of :

• Pumper [High Headroom Clean Boost with LPF and HPF Filters]
• Purrer [Mid Gain Soft Clipping Overdrive with 2-Band EQ, and second Plus boost channel]
• Fuzzer 4K [2-Transistor Silicon Fuzz with Loud, Bias Gain, and Tone Controls]
• Fuzzer 2K [2-Transistor Silicon Fuzz with just Loud and Bias Controls]
• Poker [Silicon Treble Booster / RangeMaster with 6-position Range Rotary and Treble EQ]

The 5 silver standard pedals are flanked by a Fuzzer 4K on each side - in black editions - which as mentioned at £20 dearer.

Neil thought this was a good juncture to relaunch his range - versus waiting until all 8 core models are complete. A show is always a good venue for a major range revamp reveal!

There will likely be 3 more variants in addition to the ones pictured - the Gnawer [Rat style Distortion], Mauler [Aggressive Fuzz with Feedback Oscillation], and Poker [Mid Booster].

I will likely be picking these off one by one or two by two - or at least the ones I'm keen on - with probably a Black Fuzzer 4K first in line, then a Purrer, and next the Gnawer and Mauler when those are out. And once all 8 have been released - I will do a full range roundup. I've been wanting to do an article on NRG Effects for such a long time- while I always thought it needed to be done properly - and I needed to be able to fully experience those pedals for an extended period to be able to properly review them with sanguinity.

Each of those Pedal Types is available in 2-3 variants (and across 2 colourways!) - with single or dual footswitches, full or reduced controls etc. Every pedal will have at least 2 variations across Black and Silver editions.

I will be doing feature articles on all those that I acquire - which will likely be the 4 mentioned - there may be more!

Pricing wise, the ones that are currently and already out on release - they range from  £209 for the simplest format to £299 for the full fat Purrer in Black . The discontinued ones which still remain in stock can be had at a significant discount too - so now's definitely the time to get stuck intro NRG Effects.

I'm really looking forward to my looking NRG Effects journey - while of course the negotiation still needs to be carried out - and it's mostly up to Neil if this happens - I'm certainly willing and able!

I've spoken to Jacob several times, while it's the first time I've been introduce to Chris - I think I've seen him around before - mostly at the Birmingham shows, but we've never been properly introduced until now.

Also this is the fist time I've properly connected with Jacob, I don't know how we got onto the subject - but it turns out we're both massive fans of the Jonathan Damme directed Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense Live Concert Film and resulting Album - initially released on April 24th of 1984.

Jacob did a paper on Talking Heads for his University Dissertation - so he's well informed about all aspects of David Byrne in particular - including his philosophy on performance and stagecraft. It's a full multimedia visual extravaganza long before the age of the internet and multimedia as we define it today.

In any case there is a Deluxe 40th Anniversary Dual LP in Transparent Crystal Vinyl - with 12 page booklet due to be released on July 26th. Here is the Rough Trade Catalogue Item - for all you Talking Heads fans! I will certainly be getting a copy - and I expect Jacob will too.

In any case our conversation wasn't entirely about Talking Heads. I also inquired into how the new Cali76 FET Compressor was doing (very well indeed!) - and how they were dealing with those customers who felt niggled about the LED display.

On most compressors that have LED displays - they are of the extended bar-chart meter type - where all the LED's light up - up to and including the level marker for where you're at. While the display on the new Cali76 compressors is a Floating Peak Meter - meaning that the level of where you're at is marked by a fully powered LED, flanked by a half powered LED on either side - so the equivalent to 2 LED's worth of Lumens in effect. The more traditional version for the above pictured status would instead have 6 LED's worth of Lumens, and even more as the level rises - which sucks more current away which could otherwise be used to power the output.

The new Cali76 has an internal charge pump that lifts the internal voltage to 24V. Where every milliamp of current counts, and the Cali76 is honed for optimal Hi-Fidelity output - where a full-bar LED display would eat into that and tarnish the output to some degree. So in terms of efficiently and hi-fidelity of output - then the floating peak solution / approach is definitely the right one - even though it's not always quite as visible as the full-bar variant.

Simon Keats is such a stickler for engineering purity that this kind of detail definitely sounds like he's made the call on it. It certainly makes sense from an engineering, efficiency and fidelity standpoint!

So all you nigglers - there's your answer - Simon and the team will say their device is simply built better - and that's why the display works in the fashion that it does!

I feel I've known Wub forever - we've been on such familiar terms for so long, While we only actually met first at the 2022 Birmingham Guitar Show - which really doesn't seem so long ago in one way, while it also kind of feels like a different era. So much has happened in the interim.

It was alway the intention for me to pick off the 4 main flagship pedals one-by one. And I reviewed the Fay Phase Filter Saturator in September of that same first year - where that turned out to be one of my very favourite Uni-Vibe types with my preferred settings, while not a Uni-Vibe at all at its heart - but with Filtering and Phasing combined  you can totally get into that zone. In any case I loved the Fay and was looking forward to getting stuck into the next one - which has been on the cards for a couple of years now, but where various incidental factors have gotten into the way until right now!

So I'm delighted to report that Project Ritual is fully back on track, starting with one of the very best - the Grimalkin (archaic name for cat!) Hybrid Octave Multi-Fuzz.

A truly monster sounding fuzz with exceptional range from dirty overdrive to full fuzz annihilation! More details below.

The Grimalkin obviously has some Cat-related control labels, which translate as follows :

Controls - Claw (Volume), Howl (Voltage Bias / Octave), Fuzz (Gain), Fur (Pre-Gain), Attack (Post-Gain).

There are 2 dual gain stages - consisting of an NE5542 Dual OpAmp and then 2 x 2N2222A Silicon Transistors. Those lend this pedal some serious potency - which can be gently coaxed or fully un-throttled via the 3 different Gain Controls - where the Howl Bias kind of works as a Fuzz Character control.

This is a fully raw powerhouse of a pedal at its hear which gets progressively noisier as you turn the dials up - but you can also temper it to an enormous degree for more dirty overdrive / fuzzy-drive style settings.

Full details coming in a further review - undoubtedly with some form of cat pattern wallpaper effect introduced to the visual background - I will need to come up with something suitably complementary to the enamel style finish of the pedal - which is actually a really complicated acid etching and multiple special paint coatings process - which makes these pedals so incredibly good value. You're getting your pedal in a victorian style artisan trinket box!

I've loved his phase of the Ritual Devices aesthetic from the start - and collaborated with Wub to degree to get all the pedals looking consistent - with their logos popping as an ultimate stamp of hand-made quality.

There are surely pedals of wonder - more coming up really soon!

It's always great to drop in on the power couple of the UK pedal scene! While their ThorpyFX stand is often so busy that you can't get a word in edge-wise, and I need to make my way to Thorpy HQ which bunker is so hard to find that you typically needed to escorted to the premises. Or picked up at Bicester station!

In an case Adrian and Georgia arrived a little late - so I left them to set up and settle in, and then it was pretty much full action all day - I don't think I ever saw Adrian free for more than a minute or two. As sometimes happened the Thorpys had to man Mikey Demus's Redbeard Effects stand too - as he had gotten caught up in the Airport IT snafu while touring in Europe and was unable to return in time. While gave me an opportunity - as she was in charge of that stand for most of the day.

We discussed what was selling well, and what the general outlook was - what was on the roadmap for the rest of the year and so forth. I believe there's to me around 3 more Thropy releases this year - while the 3rd one often gets delayed and pushed into the next year  - but for sure at least 2 more releases this year!

In terms of what's selling - it's the W.O.P.R, that's flying off the shelves currently. The Chris Buck Electric Lighting is still doing pretty well, but that's understandably slowed down a little since its launch The W.O.P.R. is a fantastic pedal - for which I'm waiting for the Fuzzed Drones / Zach Januse demo - which I'm hoping is going to be a proper doom fest - to more accurately reflect my experience of the pedal. I've had my review ready for a month now, while the one demo out to date doesn't go hard enough or heavy enough to fully represent what this pedal is about - after all it's visual and filmic reference is Thermo Nuclear Warfare / Annihilation!

More details on the pedal below - with the review appearing as soon as the new demo is out - which is hopefully next week!

As I've mentioned before on this site - the pedal originally started off as the RangeMaster circuit from the Silicon Veteran, combined with the Fallout Cloud Muff Fuzz. Where Adrian decided that the fuzz side should be even more fierce and ferocious - and developed a very high octane opamp muff style circuit / IC Muff style for that purpose.

Where this pedal is so potent that I've taken to describe it as an AtomIC Fuzz + Silicon RangeMaster.

You get quite different voicings when combining the two sides - more harmonics and complex textures - and more nuance with the RangeMaster added. While for full-on doom you mostly just need to crank most of the dials on just the Fuzz side - I actually start with everything maxed, and then wind the Bass back a quarter or a half for my optimal output. A fantastic full-on fuzz for sure. I'm really looking forward to revealing my full take on this pedal!

I'm quite the stickler for having the right demo to properly represent a pedal - as I want to ensure that pedal's maximum potential for success. And if a demo doesn't adequately match my own experience of a pedal - then I wait until we have something that does!

I'm delighted in any case that this pedal has done so well with so little publicity - hopefully I can give it a little bump too when I go live!