In Praise of Ibanez Analog Mini Pedals

This is Ibanez's celebrated refined take on the EHX Big Muff - with a significantly evolved circuit from the originals developed by Maxon as the Ibanez Overdrive OD 850 and simultaneously as its own D&S (Distortion & Sustainer) OD-801. As a Big Muff fan I had always intended to get one of these - but kind of got caught up in deciding whether I should go for the Ibanez Compact or Mini, or Maxon variety. I kind of decided that I wanted the 850 - and have decided now to go for the Mini first - which will most likely be my next acquisition here.

I'm ever a fan of high-gain / metal pedals and snap up interesting and intriguing variations on that theme when I come across them. What first drew me to this was actually it's highly rare dual-concentric knobs - which are seldom seen on larger pedals - and hardly ever on a mini. This obviously miniaturises Ibanez's former full-size Super Metal Distortion with all controls intact. You have Edge (Treble) + Punch (Bass), and the Second for Attack (Bite / Presence) + Level - and the third larger dial is of course 'Drive'. This pedal isn't quite as aggressive or loud as I would want necessarily - but it's a decent enough proposition with plenty of variety - the knobs don't have particularly extensive range to them, and for sure we could have done with a little more gain and output - while the tone it generates is still pleasant enough as far as that goes.

While I feel each of the other pedals in the range have a certain degree of first choice validity across the whole of the mini class, I kind of find that the Big Mini Chromatic Tuner is rather perfunctory - compared with something a little more clever like the TCE Electronic PolyTune Mini or Sonic Research ST-300 Turbo Tuner Mini - which would certainly be my preferences here. There are lots of half decent mini tuners - in fact dozens really, and I'm really not sure the Big Mini does enough to distinguish itself within the category. It does admittedly have quite a cool strobe mode which may elevate it for some - while I feel I feel many or most even would have other preferences over and above this particular tuner.

When I look at the Analog Delay I always immediately think mini DM-2W - as that is essentially what you're getting here - a proper BBD analog delay - with 3 classic controls - Repeat, Blend and Delay Time and 20-600ms of delay time. Most agree that this is a great sounding analog delay that genuinely punches well above its weight - this is just a great sounding analog delay pedal that most players should appreciate. I've mentioned that I don't really need it, but I'd really quite like it! I'm already down to get the Boss DM-2W really just as part of a larger task to assemble all the Waza Craft editions, and in many ways I'm collecting mini equivalents too of most of my key pedal choices - so this would not go amiss either - especially if I come across one at the right sort of price.

I've gained a new-found love for everything Chorus - with my new VS Audio Alchemy Analog BBD Chorus - I pretty much use it on most things these days - to add sparkle to cleans and texture and definition to overdrives and distortions in particular. There's something special about the watery fluid consistency of BBD choruses which so appeals. I actually don't have that many choruses to my name - so there is certainly room for more! This is a fantastic Mini Analog Chorus - and something I would definitely want to pick up at some stage - especially for when I'm rearranging my pedal-chain with some over-sized pedals.

Flanger is another of my favourite analog modulations - where I'm well served currently by my superb ThorpyFX Camoflange, I also have a Buffalo FX Reticon Flanger en-route, with the Chase Bliss Audio Spectre, Modded Boss BF-2 and A/DA PBF flangers as backups. I would love to have this Ibanez mini flanger too for emergencies! For when my current iteration of the pedal-chain features too many over-sized pedals and I need to cut real-estate in other areas. The Ibanez analog modulations would seem ideal for that purpose.

Another all-analog circuit for Ibanez's Mini Tremolo - which will be giving the Mooer Optical Trelicopter and JHS Tidewater some very heavy competition for mini Tremolo supremacy. Here you have 4 controls actually - with a Level trimpot on the left-hand side of the pedal, while the main controls are Wave (Triangle > Square), Speed and Depth. This is a great sounding amp-style tremolo with plenty of warmth and richness and a great pedal to have in your toolbox. I already have a number of tremolo pedals - including the Mooer Trelicopter - the Ibanez Tremolo Mini would be another welcome addition for sure.