Discontinued Rarities Targets - 12 that mostly Got Away!
Readers have heard me refer to my ’Infinite Wishlist’ - which consists of a mix of new releases (Weeks & Months), relatively recent releases (Years), and older releases (Decades) that I either missed out on or was oblivious to at the time. What’s special about this process and exercise - like many things in life - and reminiscent of my DJ-ing days when it was all about a very specific version of remix - the same is the case with pedals - where the pedal reference and particular iteration is crucial. Some of the earlier / prior pedals are preferable for all manner of reasons. They might have had rare better sounding components, a unique form factor or additional features and functions that the latter models lack. So the process is and has to be very precise!
It’s also beset by swiftly and regularly evolving priorities where yesterday’s sensation is tomorrow’s has-been - all depending on what happens in the market on any given day and what comes out next or gets discontinued. When a Brand ends its production for instance - there is always a rush to snap up all those intended acquisitions that never quite yet happened - and never will at the proper price point again unless you make a move immediately!
Some of these pedals I have encountered in the wild on one or more occasions - but they were not of the appropriate quality or price - or else were not a top level priority at the time - and were gazumped by some other special mission of the day / week / month.
So I may have passed on some of these a number of times - while others I’ve rarely if ever come across. One is not always in a position to ’seize the opportunity’ and like buses - you then hope to catch the next one - the next time it comes around! While in worst case scenarios those ’buses’ could be a few years apart or never to return even! My priority list changes every day - sometimes even several times a day - and I probably have around 100 medium-to-high priority targets just of these so called discontinued rarities.
The purpose of this feature is to remind myself of what some of my discontinued pedal priorities are - to prompt me to ’check the market’ every now and again and at fairly regular intervals - to see if any of my targets have become available at last at my preferences.
I think I will makes this a fairly regular feature - and some of these targets will naturally disappear over time as lower priorities - or as they actually manage to get added to the collection. I’m principally checking Reverb.com and Ebay, but also doing occasional deep-dives and checking various dealers where I can find the appropriate brand associations. I buy pedals in from all 4 corners of the world fairly regularly also - as long as the price and quality are right and make sense!
So this time around - these 12 are the rough focus - each deep dive though can reveal one or two hidden gems - so this list will change and evolve frequently! I will post updates when I feel that it is appropriate.
I hope you like this new format - and you can share in the comments below which your own longer-term targets are!
Anasounds Extended Savage Klone (2018) - discontinued - €229 when new
Controls - Out, Clipping : Si / Ge, Tone, Gain, Voicing : Vintage > Modern.
A rare edition of Anasounds Savage Klone Overdrive series - released for a very brief period during 2018 - this one completely passed me by at the time - and I wasn't aware of it until a few years later when I was covering the Savage MKI Reissue. This is actually the most potent of Anasounds' Savage Overdrives - with 4 fully variable knobs and a Si / Ge Clipping Diodes selector. In my opinion one of the best Klone pedals released - particularly in compact enclosure format. I've made several enquiries for one of these but have not yet seen one available on the second-hand market - I even asked Anasounds' Alex if he would make me one - and he replied that this would likely be reissued at some stage in the relatively near future - but more likely with more typical classic Anasaounds bamboo facia plate - I would certainly be keen on that one - while I really like this Aluminium enclosure edition too. I really quite want one of these - but there are none to be had currently!
Animal Factory Animal 1 Chemical Burn Octave Fuzz - discontinued - $229 when new
Controls - Damage (Octave Intensity >>) : Bone / Skin / Flesh, Blister (Silicon > Germanium), pH (Bias), Degree (Gain), Agony (Volume.
A really smart and fantastic sounding take on the Shin-ei FY-6 Super Fuzz - with pretty unique controls. The 3-way Damage toggle-switch seems to impact both Intensity and Tone of the Fuzzy Octave - and you have a unique Blister dial where you can go from Full Silicon circuit to full Germanium and whatever ratio in-between. I have this one's Baron Samedi sibling - which is an equally superb take on the Jordan Bosstone Fuzz - while I got to the pair of them too late really - and the Chemical Burn was mostly gone by the time I tried to acquire it - no longer made despite the fact that Animal Factory are still going - but they do more rack-based stuff nowadays, and I don't believe they have any left-over enclosures or parts to make one more Chemical Burn for me - but I do still want one - and regularly scan the internet in hope of finding one. A truly great take on Super Fuzz for sure. And one of the few well-known pedal builders to be based in India. UPDATE! I found the one seemingly remaining pedal in retail channels at Mission Synths, San Francisco - order made, just waiting for it to land now!
Boss OD-1 OverDrive original RC3403D 14-Pin-Chip edition - discontinued - <$100 when new
Controls - Level, Over Drive.
As is the case with a lot of these most wanted pedals - it's often just a particular version or variation that I'm after - and here it's the original MIJ 70's edition of OD-1 with the rare 14-Leg Raytheon RC3403ADB Ground Sensing Quad Opamp onboard. Only the first couple of years of this release had this rare tone component - which was then latterly replaced by the more conventional but still great sounding JRC4558D chip. I kind of scratched that itch a little with a custom Pettyjohn ODI with RC4558D chips onboard - which improves on that circuit in many ways including adding 2-Band EQ - while I've always wanted one with the original 14-Leg chip. There are a few RC3403ADB types on Reverb.com but they're all somewhat battered and with a typical asking price between $1,000 and $1,500. Goodness only knows what they would demand for one in pristine condition. Most likely route for me therefore is to buy the RC3403ADB chip myself and commission someone to make me a version - possibly even Stephen Pettyjohn who made the superb ODI!
Buffalo FX Supa Driver - discontinued - €219 when new
Controls - Pre (Pre-Gain), Gain, Volume, Bass, Treble.
Supposedly a sort of beefier extended range take on the Power Booster - it was on my radar for a while, and I thought I had just missed the first two batches - but then Buffalo FX suddenly was no more - and there were none more of these to be had. I had also paid for and not received a Buffalo FX Reticon Flanger - which was the main casualty in this brand's rapid capitulation. I basically thought I had more time here - and was gently picking these off one-by-one - with the benefit of hindsight I would have prioritised the Supa Driver higher at its time of release - had I known it would not be around for too much longer. Fortunately PastFX's Verlie has been on the case with her Spectrum range recreations of Buffalo FX classics - and the Supa Driver I believe is next on the list - so problem will soon be solved. This is often the case too - in that you miss out on something - but then a better version of it comes along eventually - either with extended feature set or more compact and practical enclosure or both even ...
Dirty Visions FX Compact Muff Factory - discontinued - c$250 when new
Controls - Stage 1 Clip : Si / 0 / Ge, Mids : Flat, Scooped, Boosted, Stage 2 Clip : Si / 0 / LED, Volume, Tone, Fuzz, EQ Voicing : Ram / Triangle, Fuzz Intensity / Saturation, Low End : Boost / Cut
Dirty Visions FX (DVFX) which is I believe is one Jimmy Rombold - is very much a proper micro boutique brand - so it's no surprise that this pedal totally passed me by when it was originally out and about. In both BB-size and my preferred 125B compact enclosure edition as pictured - I really would not mind it in either format - while I would like the versions that include the Ram / Triangle voicing switch. This is the very aptly named Muff Factory - which has different clipping options on 2 gain stages and additional controls to wring every ounce of tone out of this confection. It's not necessarily going to overpower some of my already existing Super Muffs - but this is definitely right up their among them - and I would indeed dearly love to own one - this is one of the few Super Muffs that I've yet to get my hands on. I've been in touch with Jimmy a few times now - but so far he cannot be persuaded to make one more!
Dwarfcraft Devices Limited Edition Dark Arts Necromancer Fuzz - discontinued - $179 when new
Controls - Volume, Bias, Gain, Mids : Boosted / Scooped, Treble, Mids, Bass, EQ On / Off Footswitch, Bypass / Engage Footswitch.
I only discovered fairly recently that this was a Matt Bellamy favourite - understandable really as this is a killer take on the Silver Rose / Super Fuzz with full 3-Band EQ. This preferred Dark Arts Limited Edition version has cool dragon artwork and the normally EQ On/Off toggle-switch has been evolved to a second Footswitch - which is infinitely preferable. I'm not sure how many of this edition were made - but I've never comes across any on second-hand resources to-date - this for sure remains a serious active target!
Magnetic Effects Double Feature Fuzz + Fixed Wah V1.2 Compact Edition - discontinued - £125 when new
Controls - Volume, Speed, Fuzz, Presence Switch.
This is one of those that I had never encountered in the wild until very recently - there is a Japanese Vendor on Ebay asking for $444 + $90 Postage ($534) which amounts to £455 equivalent or heading for nearly 4 times the original price - frankly ridiculous. Equally ridiculously - I was given an offer by the Vendor (unprompted) for a whole $20 off! This is the age old conundrum of what is actually fair and reasonable value for money - and anyone who buys at that level definitely has more money than sense. Of course you need to factor in customs / imports charges too - just insane really - but a handful of the Japanese Ebay vendors that I have encountered do seem to be that way inclined. I think double original cost ± 10 or 20% is doable - but any more is just unreasonable and impractical. In any case this is a fairly rare in-between version from 2014 which I'm referencing as the V1.2 as the very original version just had the 3 knobs and no 4th Presence Switch. Whenever you come across a long-term target there are all manner of factors that you need to weigh up to come to a logical decision. We're heading into significant economic uncertainty at the moment - and a lot of those second-hand prices wholly defy logic!
MI Audio Tube Zone Overdrive Full Shiny Chrome V4 Edition - discontinued - $199 when new
Controls - Bright, Mid, Character (HP Filter), Volume, Tone (seesaw EQ), Drive, Internal Presence Trim-pot.
Something of a fingerprint magnet - this shiny chrome beauty is actually a super versatile 4 Clipping Stage overdrive / distortion - engineered to sound and respond like a Tube Amp. The pictured most attractive version is the V4 edition with the 6 full size chrome knobs. I'm a huge fan of Michael Ibrahim's output - and this would be the 10th of his that I own - it's my one remaining target from his range - where I mostly like his compact enclosure editions of all those circuit designs. I've actually come across a few of these over the years - but the timing just hasn't been right and at the time of the opportunity I've either been out of funds or pursuing a higher priority target. These can be in fairly variable condition too as they're quite easy to scratch and scuff - so I would certainly be looking to secure a fairly pristine edition - ideally excellent and above! All of Ibrahim's pedals sound amazing and this one seems to have been somewhat discontinued at its prime!
Goosoniqueworx / GworX Kult High Gain Distortion - discontinued - $315 when new
Controls - Volume, Presence / Feedback, Presence / Feedback Switch, Treble, Mid, Bass, Gain, EQ : 1 / Pre-EQ / 2, Green / Red Channel Footswitch, Engage / Bypass Footswitch.
Singaporean builder 'Ravi The Goose' makes (correction - 'made') two Cascaded JFET High Gain Distortions - the 7thvn (7th Heaven) and Kult - where the Kult is the 'heavier' and more aggressive of the two. It's long been a target of mine - and I've featured it a couple of times on this site. I've actually come across a few of these sporadically in the wild - about 1 every other year or so on Reverb.com - where I had different priorities at those times. This time around though the timing and price were pretty much spot on (Reverb.com) and one was finally acquired! Just waiting for that to land now. I think I'm going to like it a lot - in which case I will probably seek out its slightly Less High Gain 7thvn sibling.
Spaceman Effects Rumblefuzz - discontinued - $200 when new
Controls - Fuzz (Level), */≈ : Max Modern Gain / Ge Diode Vintage Texture, Rumble (Bass), Bite (Fuzz Gain).
Spaceman's very first product - and very first fuzz was the supreme Rumblefuzz - one of the Warmest, Fattest, and Bassiest Fuzzes you will ever encounter. Just a 50 unit run in total - so incredibly rare relatively speaking - with prices now typically around the $1,000 to $1,500 mark. It's probably the only remaining Spaceman pedal I still have pangs for - while I'm very much hoping that Zak will do a modern update / reissues of this soon. I'm excited for every Spaceman release in the expectation of one of those eventually being a Rumblefuzz II. Rarely seen in the wild - and if so it's always with a hugely inflated price tag - which is all kinds of impractical for me on this side of the pond!
SSD Devices Atom Smasher Glitch Delay - discontinued - £180 when new
Controls - Var 1, Var 2, Var 3, Covered Secret Nothing Switch, Mix, CTRL 8 Mode Rotary : Stutter / Glitch / Reverse Ramp Delay / Dual Pitch Delay / Pitch Shift / Glitch Reverb / Pitch Shift Reverb / Reverse Reverb, Var 1 Spike Footswitch, Engage / Bypass Footswitch.
Built by Alex Lynham of SSD Devices in Manchester, UK - the Atom Smasher is one of the earliest Granular Delay / Glitch Pedals - also making use of the SpinSemi FV-1 chip. Sometimes known as the CT5 killer - the Atom Smasher's 8 Modes deliver a lot more variety than Montreal Assembly's celebrated pedal. Interestingly the cool-looking covered switch is purely cosmetic and serves no functional purpose. I have the SSD EVA Fuzz - where my intention was always to get at least an Atom Smasher too, if not also the SSD Transmission Killer Distortion as well. While the only one I ever managed to get my hands on was the EVA Fuzz!
ThroBak Overdrive Boost V1 Vertical Edition - discontinued - $185 when new
Controls - Pre-Gain Switch : On / Off, Gain, Bass, Treble, Master Volume (on left side), Germanium Transistor + Diode Pair Switch (on right side).
One of my longest standing targets - but not always a top priority - and hence I've probably passed on this particular pedal the most often. I don't particularly like the later V2 horizontal orientation of this pedal - even though it does benefit from moving the Pre-Gain toggle-switch to a more practical footswitch. Yet I much prefer the slimmer pedalboard-friendly profile of the original. They do pop up occasionally on Reverb.com - but they can be of variable quality and the graphics are often somewhat scratched and scuffed. I will surely nab one of these soon enough - especially if I do another article on Power Boosters!
Final Thoughts
So the timing on this article has been superb - and I have managed to capture two of my targets here in the process - the Animal Factory Chemical Burn Fuzz, and Goosoniqueworx Kult High Gain Distortion - both found in the USA! As mentioned there is a solitary V1.2 Magnetic Effects Double Feature out there in Japan via Ebay - but at a ridiculous price tag of $534 - so it somewhat self-censors itself from consideration.
We have seen something of a Scalper / Flipper take-over of the Pedal Sector over the last few years and a lot of people involved in pedal-resale are no longer proper pedal fans - but rather Market Speculators and Exploiters.
Any semi-limited pedal almost instantly quadruples in price - but if you're patient and sharp-eyed - then there are still the occasional decent and level-headed individuals out there too - and you can still get older in-demand and discontinued pedals at fair price points - but it's happening increasingly more infrequently these days - so your patience just has to endure for longer. Everything in life is cyclical - and prices do wax and wane with the seasons.
That's why I'm also a fan of recreations of those discontinued pedals - made to the same exacting standards - but often with modern considerations included - and crucially - a fair and decent value price point.
I can't recall if I shared it - but I paid $458 for my recent Mini BlackBox 2 White + Gold Hardware edition which I felt just about sat within my maximum allowable ceiling. This will of course vary for each pedal - in terms of its appeal and availability - but I will not typically pay more than 2 & 1/2 times original face value absolute max. And I only do that in exceptional circumstances. For the BlackBox there were only 40 of those made and I knew that my chances were slim at getting another any time soon - let alone at that price. As I mentioned in that article there were two plain White / Non-Gold-Hardware editions which were priced higher - in fact one of those is still available on Reverb.com at $549 for excellent quality - where mine was $458 for a Mint Gold Hardware Edition! So by all means by careful out there!
Anything in particular you guys have been hunting down for a while?
