4 years in the making - Decibelics' The Reverend Overdrive / Distortion / Fuzz is the Perfect encapsulation of the Bixonic Expandora

I've had an EXP-2000R for a few years now, and Guillem lent me his original EXP-2000 for testing against the prototypes.

My early impressions and observations have pretty much stood the test of time as they proved to be rather accurate - and the distinct chip component profiles were pretty much evident from the start.

There are certain descriptive words that immediately spring to mind - which you will have seen used to describe different versions of Expandora before :

Somewhat Bassy, Compressed, Creamy, Saggy, Soft, Spongy, Warm - all of those are used to describe the first two modes of the EXP-2000. But on Forbidden mode in particular it becomes - Erratic, Choked, Starved, Uneven and even Unusable!

For the EXP-2000R TL072 edition - particularly in 'G' Guitar Mode there is significantly less Compression - the profile is Brighter, Clearer, more Open and Articulate - hardly any sign of the former Compression or Sag. Many will argue that the two lower-gain Modes sound better on the EXP-2000, while the 2000R has a much more Even temperament for the Distortion and Forbidden Modes.

So if you were being brutally pragmatic - you would probably say that overall there was a preference for the original version for Crunch and Overdrive - but for the reissue for Distortion and Fuzz Modes - so depending where you mostly lived on the Expandora in terms of playback - one variety would have been preferable to the other per usage scenario. While I always felt that the two higher-gain Modes were always a little bit flawed and compromised with the LM308 chip. I acquired the recent new re-launched Expandora Squared Edition (no longer any Bixonic association) and specifically chose the 'Creamier & Warmer' LM308 loaded variety. There have been some modern concessions made within that circuit - more volume on tap for instance - and while I loved the Crunch and Overdrive Modes of the Expandora Squared - the two higher gain modes were still always entirely flawed and erratic for me - in fact the Forbidden Mode isn't really properly usable on the LM308 varieties as far as I'm concerned.

Enter then the OP07 chip via stage left - which somewhat captures the best aspects of each of the EXP-2000 and EXP-2000R varieties. It doesn't quite match the original in the Bassy / Soft and Spongy stakes - but it certainly gets you much closer to that territory than the TL072 chip does. And it really excels on the two higher gain modes - being more even, predictable, sustaining and just overall better balanced and more sonorous. With 'Bass' mode engaged - I.e. no low-end filter - it's really not that far away from the the EXP-2000 in frequency profile - while it's not exactly as creamy or spongy as the EXP-2000. As with any circuit - there are some parts variances even with same recorded values - so when doing a head to head with LM308, OP07 and TL072 loaded Expandora style circuity you will still get differences of where exactly those fall within the overall profile. And my EXP-2000R is actually considered somewhat bright for the type - or brighter than usual even!

For my testing - it is accurate to say that the OP07 pretty much perfectly bridges the two extremes - it's very much the Goldilocks of Expandora pedals - being perfectly poised and balanced and with each of the 4 modes sounding superb. Some will still say that they prefer the Crunch and Overdrive on the original / LM308 variants - but on a blow-by-blow basis across all 4 Modes - it is the optimised OP07 The Reverend variety that wins out. For me the task here was always to get all 4 Modes to sound exceptional - and that is exactly what Guillem has achieved. Crunch / Overdrive / Distortion / and Forbidden Fuzz Modes all sound superb on The Reverend - very much meeting the exacting goals set for this project.

The only proviso I will say here is that this is a properly authentic Expandora circuit recreation - which means that the Volume doesn't go to 11. There's plenty of volume there for most - while I would have liked just a touch more. While all that goes to the authentic replication of the circuit - where Guillem, bar the OP07 - has used the self same parts and values that populated the original circuits.

As Guillem puts it on his official The Reverend Page

"The Decibelics Reverend is a part-for-part replica of the ‘Original Version’ EXP-2000 but with added best elements / characteristics from all three versions."

• Mini format, to fit any pedalboard
• Circuit replica of Guillem's original MIJ Bixonic Expandora EXP-2000
• Tone modeled after Guillem's 5 original Expandoras (All versions)
• Hand-Made using Old Style through-hole components just like the originals
• Highest Quality components and hardware
• Uses N.O.S. RN2206 transistor and JRC4558DD OpAmp
• Uses OP07 chips and H11F1 optocoupler, fine-tuned to deliver the exact tone and feel of the originals 
• 4 Knobs, being that the fourth one is the replacement for the originals' dip-switches
• Includes ‘Forbidden Setting’ - the explosive, brutal, gated Fuzz mode found on the EX-2000 and EXP-2000R
• Internal Guitar-Bass switch of the EXP-2000R
• True Bypass
• Low noise floor, Decibelics-Style 

You can choose between Black or Red graphics when you place your order.

Obviously the Original EXP-2000 had black logo and labels, while the latter EXP-2000R had Red logo and labels - I actually like both varieties - and as the OP07 combines the best of both those originals - it can quite happily sit within both black and red designs.

If you look at my main visual - repeated below - you will see that all the featured pedals have their settings at the same positions - where I found the best balance and quality across all the variations - or namely having Gain @ 3 o'c, Tone @ 2 o'c, Level @ Max. And even though I play almost entirely with humbuckers - I still prefer the pedal default switched to 'B' Bass Mode - giving you more low end - which is more true to the original.

I tested Guillem's original EXP-2000 against my EXP-2000R, then against two The Reverend Prototypes - LM308 and OP07 varieties. In most of the tests the OP07 was my favourite - and overall in terms of its texture and balance it was easily my preferred option here.

If I was being extremely picky I would say give me a deluxe version of this with a little more volume and a compression toggle-switch - to get just a touch more sponginess on the Crunch and Overdrive Modes. While all of that is a little churlish really - as you can hear quite distinctly from the superb Danny and Joe demos below that The Reverend is wholly Magnificent and Majestic as is.

You can always rely on Guillem to build the very best version of a circuit - and this is surely that for the Expandora - made with the highest quality through-hole components and attention to detail - but all carried out within the tiny confines of a Mini Enclosure. The 7th wonder of the engineering world for sure!

There's already a few hundred people that have their names on the list - even before preorders have been officially opened. If you've played through Guillem's Golden Horse or Angry Swede then you should be fully aware of his exceptional quality of output and this is for sure more of the same. I would imagine a vastly expanding pre-order list on this one - so you need to get involved very early on if you want your superior Expandora experience to happen any time soon!

Available for pre-orders right now from the Decibelics Webstore for €175 - choose either Black or Red variety!