2024 July Pedal-Chain Update - Episode VII - Aurora Australis

A really fabulous selection - 3 Boss FA-1 variants - as listed first, a much wanted Edition of the Super Phat Mod, and the brilliant Nordland MT-11 Mosland, beautifully balanced PastFX BLD, and the super versatile Jangle Master - which does just need a touch more output volume for my liking - especially when compared to its Platinum Preamp sibling!

• Audio Blend Edge EQ _FA-1 FET Preamp with Full Mid Parametric EQ
• Audio Blend Fourleaf FET Amplifier with Electra Fuzz Module
• JHS Pedals Clover FA-1 Preamp
• Keeley Super Phat Mod Boss Blue 20 for 20
• Nordland Electronics MT-11 Mosland Overdrive
• PastFX BLD Boost & Line Driver
• VS Audio Jangle Master Top-Boosted Vox Preamp

3 beautifully expansive and versatile distortions, including the 2 Rat Distortions. The PastFX distortiion is something more of a specialist choice - great for Billy Corgan fans, and a little challenging for most everyone else, The distortiion for me is mostly a combination / stacking pedal - it doesn't sound particularly great on its own - especially into a clean pedal platform - but if used to beef up an already cooking amp or fuzz - then it does a thing - while for me there are other pedals which are rather more easy to dial in. 

• JAM Pedals Rattler MK2 Distortion
• PastFX DistortIIon (MXR Distortion II)
• PastFX Mischief Rat style Distortion
• VS Audio Platinum Preamp Silver Jubilee

3 totally killer fuzzes this month - all distinct, and the Grimalkin is particularly expansive in its output. I'd put these 3 fuzzes up against anything in their respective categories - fantastic textures all round!

• Hello Sailor Effects Monmouth Octave Fuzz
• Ritual Devices Grimalkin Hybrid Octave Multi-Fuzz
• Spaceman Effects Rumblefuzz II

5 superb modulators here - all of a different stripe, and all currently on the board. The PX-101 will likely be the most short-lived of these as I prefer to use that slot for Tom Morello style Pitch-Shifting. Also the TR-7 is jolly decent, but not quite perfect! While the other 3 will be in rotation frequently and ongoingly!

• Chase Bliss Onward Dynamic Envelope Sampler
• Hardwire TR-7 Stereo Tremolo/Rotary
• PastFX PX99 Classic Analog Phase
• PastFX PX-101 Low Pass Filter (Moog MF-101)
• Source Audio Artifakt Lo-Fi Elements

I really enjoyed my time with the MIME II this month - it's for sure an improvement over the original effect and the new Spring Reverb voicing is fantastic, while I largely tend to avoid mono spatial effects, apart from the RaingerFX Reverb-X which I really like for its textural qualities - and how you can kick it in with the Igor expression pad - has a little more of a dynamic about it, and better suits my sensibilities - while the MIME II has a lot more flavours onboard and that really handy Feedback Oscillation. Nice to have both in any case!

• Fjord Fuzz Mime II AI-Infused 3-Mode Reverb

A close run affair as always!

July hasn't been a particularly busy month for releases - so this selection is a mix of new and old - as triggered by the various articles that were published this month.

I really like the look of the Benson / Non-Human Florist, and Catalinbread Bitters, indeed the TEFI Malinconia and Glowfly Decoder too. Where the one I'm most likely to land first is the Bleak District Terra.

I've already got a number of commitments for August - so will be interesting to see when I'm able to act on some of these choices - it may not be possible for a while ...

• Becos FX CompIQ Mini Pro Compressor
• Benson Amps x Non-Human Audio Florist Dynamic Modulator
• Bleak District Electric Terra Earthly Overdriver
• Catalinbread Bitters 4-Mode Signal Mangler
• Glowfly Flow Decoder Loop / Stretch / Pitch / Warp Effect
• Hardwire CR-7 + SP-7 + RV7 + Supernatural
• Kinotone Ribbons Magnetic Tape Multi-FX
• PastFX Kurt's Cologne All Clones Chorus
• TEFI Vintage Lab Malinconia Analog Lo-Fi Machine
• True North Tweed Drive Green Carbon Edition

17 slots updated this month, slots #2, #4, #5, #9b, #10, #11, #12, #15a, #15b, #18, #19, #21, #24, #30, #32, #34, and #36.

In fact all rows updated bar the last one. That will see a Strymon BigSky MX eventually - while not sure which month I will land that in - I could leave that to the last quarter of the year!

The PastFX PX-101 Lowpass Filter is a fantastic funk weapon - really puts some bounce into you groove - and can do all manner of quacky and twittery effects if you post it. I have loved my time with it, and it's going to be pulled out every now and again when I want those kinds of tones - while I probably prefer to have my usual Tom Morello style pitch-shifter on this slot!

It's fantastic that I've had 2 really killer Octave Fuzzes in quick succession - last month it was the JAM Pedals Octaurus, and this month it's the turn of the Hello Sailor Effects Mini Monmouth. Each one is slightly differently textured, while they're both really potent and bold and full of flavour. This Monmouth also has exceptional guitar volume cleanup too!

The Spaceman Rumblefuzz II is exactly as expected - full of flavour and with that killer low-end heft to its output. Surprisingly easy to dial in - while the *|= options can quickly become too much - a case of goldilocks dynamics really. All 7 of my Spaceman Effects Fuzzes are killer really!

This is my 4th Nordland Electronics overdrive - the MT-11 Mosland - and it's yet another on-form pedal from Kai Tachibana. I have 4 Mostortion pedals now, and this is the king of the crop! The Wampler Moffetta, Drunk Beaver CMOStortion, and Danelectro Roebuck are all excellent too - but there's some extra magic in this Mosland Overdrive! 

Actually the second of my Blend Audio Effects - but appearing first in the chain of those 2. The core of this is more like a JHS Clover take on the FA-1 FET Preamp - with 3-Band EQ - but here further augmented by an Electra Distortion / Fuzz Module - which actually sounds best in tone bypass mode - so a game of two halves really! The differences in the two effects mean that you need to adjust the controls when switching over from Overdrive to Fuzz and vice-versa. Not always the easiest to dial in - but when you hit the right spot sounds really great! For the Fuzz - the gain needs to be notched down a bit - otherwise you can get some odd artefacts - really cool pedal in any case - just missing a demo currently!

The Audio Blend Edge EQ FET FA-1 Preamp is a fantastic expanded range take on that classic circuit with added Parametric EQ - which takes you into all kinds of new and interesting areas! Really good looking pedal too!

The updated JAM Pedals Rattler MK2 Distortion is a little more grown up and refined - with a couple of extra gears. A little smoother in places too - and gets nicely into 1981 Inventions DRV territory too. Really great update.

The Past FX BLD Boost / Distortion - based on TC Electronic Booster / Line Driver / Distortion - is a fantastic and exacting compact replica of that much loved super versatile pedal. In some ways it's a little bit of a PastFX oddity as Verlie normally adds one or two features of her own - but this is rather a pretty much 1 for 1 reproduction. Works beautifully in both Boost and Distortion modes - and is really nicely balanced.

The PastFX distortiion - based on MXR Distortion II - is that legendary Billy Corgan stacking pedal - used with his OpAmp Big Muff for some of the Lead tones on the Siamese Dream album. This is a somewhat unusual Distortion (an acquired taste I would say) - with a lot of low end content in its output - great for beefing up your amp or as a secondary auxilliary. I found this one a little tricky to dial in - and it's not really a well balanced effect - much better for brighter / single coil guitars than humbuckers I would say. A rather specialist pedal in many ways, and I can understand why it was discontinued. The PastFX BLD is a much better balanced pedal overall - and more versatile. I think this one is mostly for Smashing Pumpkin aficionados - I feel some would struggle to get along with this pedal, but a valiant revival still!

I really should have gotten to this one sooner - the VS Audio Platinum Preamp Silver Jubilee style. A slightly barkier take on a. Marshall - sound really great though and dials in so easily - also plenty of VOLUME! Really like this one - it's a little different sounding, a little more rigid / less elastic in some ways - but still a very satisfactory and crisp Marshall Jubilee Voicing!

The VS Audio Jangle Master Top Boosted Vox AC30 style Preamp is almost the perfect candidate - but could really do with more volume - Panos was looking into that for me, but has still to report back. Really versatile otherwise and with a handy internal Presence trimmer - which typically only needs a tiny adjustment. I'm trying to decide now which is my favourite PlexiVox pairing - I have at least one more pairing to try - from NUX - that will be the budget representative - and then I will update the PlexiVox article and state my preferences!

The PastFX Mischief is a fantastic Rat Distortion - a little more textured and rawer than the Rattler - and with a little more rasp and sizzle. The Rattler 2 is a more grown up / refined Rat Distortion, while the Mischief is still that quintessential garage punk - with a tonne of extras!

The Ritual Devices Grimalkin is one of those ultimate fuzzes with so many different flavours on board. Interesting that there aren't any EQ controls here, but you get so many different flavours onboard - a really smart circuit, while it could do with a little more volume for my preferences - sounds fantastic though!

The PastFX PX99 Classic Phase is an instant hit for me - a proper full flavoured phaser with heaps of range, and some clever controls that take you into Flanger and sort of quacky cocked wah territory. A really versatile modulation which seems to sound pretty magnificent every which way!

An interesting one for sure - the HardWire TR-7 Stereo Tremolo / Rotary / Uni-Vibe is actually really decent for me, and doesn't particularly miss a lack of Level / Volume control. It's decent, but I'm not sure it's top tier - pedals like the GFI Synesthesia and Wampler Terraform vastly improve on the quality and control of their algorithms. While the TR-7 is still a really great buy for me. I'm still on the hunt for the ideal Stereo Rotary Speaker effect - I want something really syrupy and loud - the hunt goes on!

The Chase Bliss Onward is their most usable pedal for years - you properly get fairly instant results, while there's real skill in getting the most musical output from this pedal. I've tried all manner of things to date with the dip-switches - where I largely now have the Reverse mode applied most of the time. I do feel the uptake on this is somewhat instant, while you need to work to achieve full mastery - and I'm not there quite yet. I had hoped to get some tips from Doug Tolley at the Brighton Guitar Show but too much else got in the way on the day - and so hope to catch up in Bristol I think the next big event is at! Nick Rees was doing some great things with an expression pedal too - while it involves very much a fully hands-on tabletop experience - while I'm still entirely stompbox based still!

I'm still in a very early phase with the Source Audio Artifakt Lo-Fi Elements - I've skimmed through each of the modes 2 or 3 times now, but have still to pick out my favourites. There have supposedly been all manner of issues with the Source Audio Neuro App - which recent update has still to be fully stabilised - and there are various users still experiencing issues - so I'm a touch waiting for all that to settle down before I really get properly stuck in - while so far so good!