2024 May Pedal-Chain Update - Episode V - Golden Era

Two absolutely top tier overdrives - the Project 34 has a very unique almost cocked wah preamp profile - definitely with some AC30 sounds in it, while the PAL987 is one of the very best Plexi types out there - superbly tweakable - and great sounding every which way. The PAL987 and PAL800 pairing is all kinds of killer! Probably the best Plexi + JCM800 pair out there! And the Drunk Beaver Ternopil is a fantastic proper tone sweetener - adding magic and sparkle to your output!

• Cusack Music Project 34 Selenium Overdrive
• Drunk Beaver Ternopil Pentode Preamp Tone Sweetner
• PedalPalFX PAL987 Plexi Carrera Overdrive

Some fantastic distortions too - so happy to have the Red Rox in the collection at last - while however impressive that it - it still pales a little in the company of the 2 PedalPalFX pedals. The Lightlaerm Audio High Gain Pedals - are just immersed - some of my very favourite of all time - with an incredibly versatility and heft, and punchiness to their profiles.

I'm so happy that Mattoverse Matt was able to make me a TremStortion in the same acrylic-faced enclosure style as my Just a Phase and AirTrash. I believe the Just a Phase is one of around 20 of that style, the AirTrash is one of 2, and the TremStoriton is 1 of 1!

Finally the Wampler Mofetta Mostortion is pretty incredible too - and it's all about the MOSFET Clipping 'Texture' switch on that one - which delivers the most fantastic fuzzy-edged distortion - really distinct and pretty harmonically rich to boot!

• Dawner Prince Red Rox Distortion
• Lichtlærm Audio Gehenna Metal Distortion / Preamp
• Lichtlærm Audio Medusa Grinding Death Metal Distortion
• Mattoverse TremStortion Acrylic Facia Edition
• Wampler Mofetta Mostortion

Another killer fuzz selection - while I feel the Gomorrah needs some kind of output boost on its Subharmonic Mode - as you get a very audible volume drop on that Mode - the Overtone side is spot on! All of these Fuzzes are killer in their own way - the Octavella is one of the best and richest sounding Octave Fuzzes out there, the Altar is the king of the Doom Sludge Fuzz now - with a surprising amount of kick to it, and the AirTrash is just the right kind of oddball inspired experimental fuzz - albeit a little tough to dial in / tame at times. Finally the Stumpbox Get Fuzzed is my best sounding Type III Fuzz Face to date - while that could do with the resistor inversion trick to up the output volume a touch!

• Lastgasp Art Laboratories Gomorrah Fuzz
• Lastgasp Art Laboratories Octavella Fuzz
• Lichtlærm Audio Altar MKIV Doom / Sludge Fuzz
• Mattoverse Air Trash Destructive Fuzz Acrylic Facia Edition
• Stumpbox Get Fuzzed Silver Knobs Edition Type III Silicon Fuzz Face

An interesting one for sure - where I would like to put out a special thanks to Keeley Electronics Customer Support - courtesy of the superb Sean Spears. My first unit was faulty, and he helped me get an expedient replacement - alas that pedal seems to suffer from a too steep a volume drop for my rig. I'm normally very wary of modulation pedals without a volume control - while the Brett Kingman demo sounded fantastic - really sweet and syrupy. While in my rig the volume drop is so severe that it's just not usable. I rushed out an got the Strymon Lex V2 to go in on that slot - and that works great for that role - I would have liked it to be a little bit more intense and syrupy - while the Strymon stuff is always a little too well behaved at times. Historically the imperfect Tech 21 NYC RotoChoir has been my favourite - but that's another pedal that suffers from MISO syndrome - Mono In Stereo Out - which slot is currently occupied by my beloved Boss DM-101. I have a pet peeve about MISO pedals - as they're so limited - and you can only have one of those in your chain - really restricts their use - therefore might as well be mono!

Both Tremolos are a little odd too. The Ultra Tremolo is kind of a one trick pony - and needs a little more output volume while it's texture is very pleasing - I like my effects often to be pretty full-fat - and this one doesn't quite reach those highs to make it properly versatile. Same goes for the Lastgasp Flikrrr - which sounds really great, but just repeats the same flickering movement at the same speed. I feel that needs a couple of more controls - give me some speed options, and give me some pattern variance!

So unusually - 2 of these modulations are bit players, one is kind of unusable, and the other is not quite as syrupy as I would have liked. I used the Eventide Leslie / Rotary a lot - typically with Josh Smith settings or thereabouts. I'm still though looking for my perfect Stereo Rotary Pedal - so please let's have some recommendations!

• Keeley Electronics I Get Around Rotary Speaker Simulator
• Lastgasp Art Laboratories Flikrrr Tremolo
• Strymon Lex V2 Rotary Speaker Emulator
• Tru-Fi Ultra Tremolo

There really is a lot to love this month! My big acquisition for June is obviously the Chase Bliss Onward, and I've already got the Diamond Pedals Vibrato on the way.

There are several here I'm looking to land - with other priorities being the All-Pedal Essentials, Bispell Audio TOR, Blind Panic Devices B2, and Commodio Instruments Pet Yeti - just to name a few.

Will also be looking to get in some KittyCasterFX pedals for me to review at some stage!

• All-Pedal Jeff Loomis Devil's Triad Essentials Boost + Drive
• Basic Audio OSCIX Oscillating Fuzz
• Bispell Audio TOR Silicon Circuit OC44 Emulating Rangemaster
• Blind Panic Devices B2 Buzzy Beelay 2
• Bost Katana Artist Gen III
• Chase Bliss Onward Dynamic Envelope Sampler
• Collision Devices Crushturnal Dreamy Ambient Twilight Soundscaper
• Cosmodio Instruments Pet Yeti Bitcrushed Fuzz / Distortion
• Diamond Pedals MN3007 Vibrato
• EHX LPB.3 Linear Power Booster
• Electrofoods Ultd. PigPile Percolator
• Electronic Audio Experiments Surveyor Instrument Voicing Preamp (Intersound)
• Keeley x Beach Boys California Girls Twelve String Simulator
• KittyCasterFX Groovy Wizard Hybrid Fuzz Face, Mohair Fuzzstortion, TremDriver (Harmonic)
• MidValleyFX Mad Robot V3
• Tsakalis AutioWorks Mothership Tube Overdrive / Preamp

11 slots updated this month - Slots #4, #5, #9a, #9b, #10, #11, #12, #23, #24, #26, #32.

As in previous months - 2 pedals are listed for slot #4 - while there were actually 3 pedals rotated on that slot - including the Drunk Beaver Ternopil Tube Preamp too. Pretty much every month's intake gets a rotation or two - and then the favourite one for that slot is the one that is listed in the end of month status report.

Note that the Becos FX CompIQ Stella Pro Blackmer VCA Studio style compressor has been on slot #7 since the start of April pretty much. It will be on the board for quite an extended shift - several more months for sure - before the JA Bloom takes up duties on that slot again.

Actually a killer selection overall - with the pair of PedalPals and the Lichtlaerm Trifecta hitting particularly hard.

As I mentioned before - I like the Strymon Lex, but don't quite love it - I would like it to be a little more syrupy sweet and full-on!

Pictured are the Mattoverse AirTrash Fuzz and Stumpbox Get Fuzzed Silver Knob Edition Type III Fuzz Face - they really could no be more different - the Get Fuzzed is particularly warm and melodic - and the AirTraish is spiky noisy and discordant at times - but in the best way too! The Drunk Beaver Ternopil also had an outing on this slot, but was muscled out by somewhat stronger flavours in the end - still a very decent Tone Sweetener!

Much like for slot #4, we had 2 fuzzes mostly in rotation on #5 - while I also brought in the Cornerstone Nero a few times. In the main it was the Lastgasp Art Laboratories Octavella Upper Octave Feedback Fuzz, and its Gomorrah Subharmonic Fuzz. The Octavella is a super richly textured octave fuzz which sounds incredible every which way. While on the Gomorrah the Overtone Mode works brilliantly, but the Subharmonic Mode suffers a massive volume drop - which renders it rather unusable in my rig - while you of course I can post-boost it too. While I considered the Octavella pretty much perfect and its sibling somewhat flawed, but capable of greatness  very much on the Overtone side of things!

I feel I somewhat engineered the arrival of this pedal in the UK - courtesy of my friend Simon at Guitar FX Direct - as I instigated the need for some of these to be send to the UK - I think barely a handful arrived, and I was very lucky to get my hands on one. A very unique Selenium Rectifier overdrive which impacts fantastic slightly cocked wah amp-like tones, in part a little reminiscent of AC30 - but it's a subtle association. I like this one with full on low end for maximum harmonic texture - It's a really distinct sounding overdrive for sure with a highly versatile output care of its smartly calibrated controls.

I felt a little hoodwinked about my acquisition of the Mofetta on an accelerated scale - I guess I in part misread the launch email which stated a limited 600 run, and there would be no further units for 3 or 4 months. While the same day mine arrived, there was a quantity up for sale on Andertons! I do detest crass marketing moves - and I feel somewhat disgruntled about how all of this went down. In any case the Mofetta Mostortion is pretty great - particularly with the 'Texture' MOSFET Clipping Mode applied. That imparts a wonderfully fuzzy textured edge to the distortion - and really ramps up the richness of that circuits harmonics. That one mode is worthy the price of admission alone. Interestingly I am getting another Mostortion in very soon - as my friend Kai Tachibana at Nordland Electronics has just released his own MT-11 take on that format. I'm a huge fan of both Brian and Kai - so will be interesting to see how their different approaches compare, and which one of those two I prefer overall!

I'm delighted to have my 3rd Mattoverse pedal - in the guise of the superb TremStortion - also in unique acrylic facia style - the only one of its kind as far as I'm aware. My Just a Phase is one of 20 odd in that same format, and my recent AirTrash is one of just two - so a big thanks to Matt for coordinating all that. The TremStortion is everything it should be - full of flavour and with a wide variety of outputs. I truly love each of Mattoverse pedals - they're all superb as far as I'm concerned - while I would maybe like just a touch more output on the AirTrash for some of the weirder more choked settings!

I'm also delighted to have finally snagged the PedalPalFX PAL987 Plexi Carrera pair to my PAL800. Of course my Sinvertek N5 MGAT1-GE is still my overall champion in the full MIAB stakes - while this PAL987 and PAL800 are the top tier standalone pair for those varieties. Both sound superb, have heaps of versatility and granularity, and are super easy to dial in to - pretty much instants satisfaction!

There's one more MIAB pedal to be added to the reference collection - actually a couple really - and I will then do my full compact MIAB overview - I will have near enough 50 varieties by then, and will be picking out my 32 favourite!

Time for the PAL800 to have another rotation on the board - alonsgside its newly acquired sibling. As just mentioned - a killer pair for sure - and on different days the PAL987 is my favourite - while right now - it's the PAL80 JCM800 type - incredibly easy to dial in with some really smart mods on board for different amp characteristics. 

I don't know what more to say about the following Lichtlaerm Audio Heavy Brigade Trifecta - each on is the master of its category - with ungodly levels of gain and volume, and a consistently kick-ass punchy low end. Each of these has its own signature - and yes if you're a High Gain and Metal fan - you really need all 3, Starting with this latest incarnation of the Altar High Gain Doom Sludge Fuzz. It's a very close run thing between this and my Blackhawk Balrog - they're each slightly different, while because of its enhanced looks and extended versatility - the Altar has to be the new champion of the Doom Sludge Genre!

Next on the list is the equally potent Lichtlaerm Gehenna Heavy Metal Distortion / Preamp - whose mastery of pounding and thundering low-end still delivered with a punchy tightness is second to none! The Gehenna is immense - it's for sure one of my top tier high gain pedals - with quite a bit more versatility than most. I really love the sounds I am able to get out of this!

And equally potent is the Licthtlaerm Audio Medusa Grinding Death Metal Distortion, That Twin Peaks frequency profile gives it a little more brutality as such than the Gehenna - this one's properly harsh grinding as all the best HM-2's need to be. While all the extra bells and whistles - including the Modern Mode raise this above most others. Like its Altar and Gehenna siblings - this one also operates very much at the top of that tree - with a little more of everything onboard for ultimate tone-shaping. I heartily recommend that for High Gain fans - you need this Altar - Gehenna - Medusa Trifecta - and they're all versatile enough to be put to a myriad of gain-staging tasks!

As mentioned earlier on - the Rotary Speaker genre is still somewhat a disappointment for me overall. I heard the Brett Kingman demo of the Keeley I Get Around - and it sounded amazingly thick and syrupy, while the unit is suffers from a too large a volume drop - it's almost like hitting a mute button - the output of that pedal is so low - I feel it's the biggest volume drop on any pedal that I own. I'm always nervous of modulation pedals without output volume controls  - and I was right to be worried here.

I rapidly acquired the Strymon Lex V2 to fill that gap in this month's board - and it's a pretty decent Rotary - not super stereo separated though, and not really sufficiently full-on or as syrupy as I want it to be. It's still a decent stopgap for now. I've evaluated the market options and there's nothing out there that really fits the bill.

I will probably design my own prototype - I like much of the Strymon Control Interface - instead of Mic distance and Front / Rear Switch - I would probably want the following controls :

Speed, Intensity, Syrup, Horn Level, Drum Level, Preamp, Volume, Mix, Ramp Interval : Fast / Medium / Slow.

I love the ramp-up ramp-down and how you hold for the brake on the Lex - I would do similar on my version - but give it. little fuller flavour and more potency - in fact probably have fully variable controls for all of those functions, alongside the dual footswitches and expression control.

My favourite sounding Rotary to date has been my Tech 21 NYC RotoChoir - but that has some flaws to - no brake, and only MISO routing - Mono In Stereo Out - which is kind of useless in my rig as my one MISO pedals that can be accommodated is the Boss DM-101 - I wish they would make that stereo in also!

As far as the perfect Syrupy Stereo Rotary speaker goes - my quest goes on!

If you have any recommendations in this area - that cover off all my required features - then by all means make some recommendations!

Thanks once more to Sean Spears at Keeley for his valiant efforts on my behalf - alas that pedal just doesn't seem to be suitable for the rig - so it's. case of Strymon to the rescue in the end.

Note that ideally I would want a Compact or Vertical 1590BB format at the most. I feel that all my required features are probably better handled by a mid-size enclosure - while if any one has some recommendations for proper syrupy Rotary Speaker pedals - do let me know - they have to be Stereo!