DanDrive Pedal Adds 2 More Compact Pedals to the Core Range - the Secret Machine Fuzz and Working Man Fuzz
You should know by now that I’m a big fan of DanDrive Pedal - per my September 2019 overview of the brand. And of course I dearly love my Austin Pride (Germanium/Silicon Switching Texas Square Face Fuzz) and Secret Weapon (Zonk Fuzz) pedals from that overview.
To be honest I was a tad miffed when Dan introduced a third John Hornby Skewes Zonk variant - as I had only just recently then acquired the Secret Weapon edition. Dan’s original take on the JHS Zonk was the Germanium 2-knob Secret Engine with added Mid-Boost toggle switch - so we’ll call that the V1. The V2 was the Secret Weapon with slightly tweaked circuit and added Bias knob. And the V3 is now this new Secret Machine - which is engineered to sound closer to Doyle Bramhall’s own favourite Zonk variant - with slightly brighter articulation and more aggression. All three pedals are still part of the range - with the Engine priced at €329, and the Weapon and Machine priced at €339.
The most recent range addition is the Owen Barry Signature Working Man Fuzz (€329/€339) - which I look upon as a sort of slightly junior Austin Pride variant - coming with 3 dials instead of the Austin Pride’s 4 (i.e. no Clean-up knob), and having just a single toggle switch instead of the Austin Pride’s 2 - meaning you only toggle between the second transistor type - BC109C or BC183C - in tandem with the first stage BC109C transistor. I’m known to love added versatility and smart form factor - and both these pedals continue and extend that fine DanDrive lineage.
I’m not sure I need to own the Secret Machine as well as my Secret Weapon - but if given the choice at the time - I would most likely have gone with the Machine. The Working Man is a really versatile Silicon Fuzz Face style variety and I certainly like the look of that - so that will go onto my somewhat infinite wishlist - just need to get all those NAMM priorities out of the way first!
As usual, you can order direct from Dan - courtesy of info@dandrivepedal.com - taking into consideration that the waiting list is several months long now. New since last time is UK Dealer ATB Guitars - which joins Sweden’s TheseGoTo11 as a very select group of Official DanDrive Retailers. UK prices are near enough the £ equivalent to the quoted €uro prices or currently €339 = £337.
I was unable to find YouTube footage of the Secret Machine - so we will make do with Pete Honoré’s fairly recent demo of the Secret Weapon, followed by a short teaser video for the Working Man :
