Reference Collection World Odyssey and other notable stats

So from the 35 countries of origin just mentioned, I decided to list my favourite pedal per country - which was not always an easy taks to process, while several pedals were shoe-ins - and you should know which ones by now!

I needed an equilateral grid, and 5 x 5 seemed about right to pick out most of the salient key favourites, which turned out to be those referenced below. Interestingly not all my 'perma-anchored' and always-on pedals feature in this overview - often there is an additional emotional element to the selection too, and not all favourites necessarily end up in constant rotation - some are always going to be more bit players as such - but each is important to me in one way or another!

I've decided to record when each of those pedals entered the Reference Collection, and how much I paid at the time. I do get some discounts for sure, and the occasional donation to the cause - while of these favourites you will note that most were fully paid for! I've included Customs Fees in places too where I could easily trace those, as that adds another dimension to this mission.

In any case it was a hearty deliberation - and I will try to pick out some honourable mentioned too along the way :

• AUSTRALIA : PastFX 80/A (A/DA) MN3010 Analog Flanger
• AUSTRIA : Becos FX CompIQ Pro Stella Blackmer VCA Compressor
• BRAZIL : Krozz Devices Airborn Analog Flange
• CANADA : Dr Scientist Franz Dazzler Dual Channel Aggressive Fuzz 
• CHINA : Sinvertek N5 MGAT-1 Golde
• CROATIA : DryBell Vibe Machine V3 + F.1L Remote Switch n Era DS99 Hyper MIAB Preamp
• DENMARK : TC Electronic Mimiq Stereo Doubler
• FINLAND : Mad Professor Simble Overdrive
• FRANCE : Anasounds Dual Overdrive Klone-Screamer
• GERMANY : Demon Pedals Kondo-Shifuku Dumble Drive
• GREECE : JAM Pedals Harmonious Monk MKII Harmonic Tremolo
• INDONESIA : GFI System Synesthesia Dual Channel Modulation Workstation (+ Tripe Switch)
• ITALY : Formula B Vintage-Vibe Uni-Vibe
• JAPAN : Keeley Freak Fuzz + Phat Modded Boss BD-2 Blues Driver
• LATVIA : Gamechanger Audio x ThirdManRecords Plasma Coil Yellow Ltd Edition
• NORWAY : Fjord Fuzz Gjallarhorn Pure Muscle Octave Fuzz (SuperFuzz)
• POLAND : Drunk Beaver Heavy Bat Multi-Mode Dual Channel King of Rats!
• PORTUGAL : TX Pedals / Tone.Electonix Animalizzer Muffer-Fuzzer Multi-Muff!
• RUSSIA : Shift Line Termofuzz Multi-Fuzz
• SPAIN : Decibelics Golden Horse Professional Overdrive (Mini Klon)
• SWEDEN : BJFe Honey Bee 4K Overdrive : Since October 2021
• UK : Thorpy FX Original & Custom GPX Heavy Water Dual Booster / Tone Enhancer 
• UKRAINE : Analog Music Company Ghazala Edition Evil Pumpkin Reconstructive Circuit-Bending Experimental Noise-Machine - evolved from Boss DS-1
• USA : Spaceman Effects Sputnik Germanium Fuzz Red Cyrillic Edition (2nd Hand)
• VENEZUELA : PedalPalFX PAL800 Gold Overdrive V4 JCM800 style Preamp

Full details below as usual! :

Controls - Manual, Range, Speed, Harmonics : Red = Positive Feedback / Fuller Sound, Blue = Negative Feedback / Hollow Tubular Sound, Blend (Allows for Mix Reduction - FCW is stock, Threshold (Noise Gate), Enhance (Color / Feedback / Regen), Level / Output.

There's a fair few Australian Brands that were in the running for this one, while it was always most likely to be one of Verlie's pedals that took the category. The Colortone Parasite Overdrive was right up there too, but I had any number of choices from Verlie's expansive roster. She does Flangers particularly brilliantly really - and I have all 4 of hers, some in duplicate (different editions). While overall the 80/A has to be the favourite - each of those flangers is special and does its own thing - while the most flavoursome ones - this 80/A and the Retcon were always most likely to be my favourites - and the 80/A wins the category by a hair! Well deserved in any case.

Controls - Ratio, Threshold, Attack, Knee : Hard / Soft, Timing : Manual / Fast Dynamic / Slow Dynamic, Gain, X-EQ (Crossover EQ), Release, EQ Pivot : High (1kHz) / Low (330Hz), Side Chain Feed : Accurate Forward (F) / Smooth Feedback (B), Wet > Dry Mix, Side Chain Hi Filter (3kHz), Side Chain Low Filter (90Hz).

I own only one Austrian Brand - Becos FX, with 3 of its killer pedals in the collection the Ziffer Mini Screamer, and Solo Mini Boost, and of course the world's best Compact format Compressor as far as I'm concerned - I've always wanted one of these, and this is the year that happened, and it really is everything I thought it would be and more - simply the most pristine, shapable, controllable and versatile Compressor out there - and a lot less complicated than it looks!

Controls - Level, Oxidation (Stridency), Range, Feedback, + Positive / - Negative Feedback Type, Rate, Bypass Footswitch, Hold Footswitch - Speed Flutter, Internal Switch : Filter / Oscillator.

I own 3 Brazilian brands - all brilliant pedals, and for sure me Tone Ink Raven Brute & High Gain Distortion is right  up there, while there is something even more special about those 2 Krozz Modulations. Both are at the top of their respective genres, and either one would make a worthy winner - while there's something extra magical about the Airborn that makes it my favourite here. It's also pretty distinct from the other flanger in this listing - the PastFX 80/A both absolutely at the top of their game!

Controls - Bass, Mid, Treble, Mix, Gain, Volts / Starve, Volume, Gain Channel I / II, Engage Fuzz.

Readers will know that this is one of my most loved fuzzes of all time - a superbly versatile OpAmp Fuzz which can deliver all kinds of textures and voicing - including Doom, Big Muff, and Rat Distortion! I really love the new Diamond Pedals Vibrato too - that pedal's really special - while my Frazz Dazzler and I have been on one helluva journey these past 7 years - and I would not want it any other way!

Controls - Volume, Top End : Modern / X / Vintage, Low End : Full / Tight / Medium, Gain, Destity / Core EQ : Dark / Poweramp / Bright, Gain Structure : Low / Medium / High, Gold Era Filter : 1987X / 1959SLP + High Gain / 2203 JCM800, Presence, Gain : Green / Orange / Red, Treble, Mid, Orange Saturation : ++ / 0 / +, Red Saturation : ++ / 0 / +, Bass.

Much like the Blues Driver is my favourite ever overdrive, with my various Dumble variants a close second, for Distortion - and Marshall Distortion in particular - this is the reigning king. Such a superbly dynamic pedal - so responsive and so massive and vibrant sounding. I have 6 generation of Sinvertek N5 Distortions, and each one is somehow better than its already amazing predecessors! Sure it has a lot of controls, but like the Becos FX CompIQ Pro Stella - neither one is particularly complicated to use when you're in the swing of things!

Controls Primary - Intensity, Speed / Options, Mode : Chorus / Vibrato, and Input Impedance / Brightness : Custom / Bright / Original.

Controls Secondary -  Custom Brightness, Chorus Depth, Grit/Presence, Throb Adjust } Symmetry, Range, Volume/Output.

I love the output of all 3 Croatian Brands I possess - Dawner Prince, DryBell, and Polarbear Effects - each has put out some amazing stuff, and still is! While the Vibe Machine is a very special Uni-Vibe, and particularly for its compact dimensions - I don't believe any Uni-Vibe is quite as expansive as this one - it has lots of smart controls to precisely shape the output, along with some clever programmable functions which control how the pedal responds. Sounds and performs fantastically. It's one of 2 Uni-Vibes that feature here, and like for the Flangers - both of these are also at the top of their game!

Controls - Dubs : 1-3, Tightness, Effect Level / Intensity, Dry Level.

I've said it several times before - this is simply fairy dust for stereo rigs - works beautifully within my setup - delivering greater depth and more expansive soundstage - kind of like switching to Dolby Atmos - makes everything sound richer and more alive!

There are obviously numerous fantastic pedals out there - and Pete Honoré would undoubtedly have selected the Ditto or Ditto+ Looper - which is another wonderful category leading product, The PolyTune tuners are great too, and Carl Martin, Reuss, T-Rex and others have put out amazing pedals over the years. While for me the Mimiq is one of those magical pedals that I could never be without - it's absolutely essential for me1 And Brian Wampler kind of concurs with my sentiments!

Controls - Level, Sensitivity, Contour, Accent.

One of the few Mad Professor pedals that Björn Juhl did not have a hand in, but rather Finnish Amp Engineer Lassi Ukkonen - who delivered this fantastic take on the Dumble ODS. My very first and original favourite Dumble style pedal which was latterly bumped be the Demon Pedals Kondo-Shifuku, and more recently supplanted by the Tanabe Zenkudo. There is still something really special in the voicing of the Simble. I heard it in the TPS Special, and every time I deployed it on the board. A wonderful take on that well-loved format, still brings warm feelings when I think about it - and I'm always a little suprised how good it still sounds whenever I give it another spin. Mad Professor is my only Finnish brand, and I have 8 pedals there to pick from, I really like the Royal Blue Overdrive too. And I have at leas a couple more Mad Professors to pick up - including the Bluebird Overdrive, and Sky Blue Overdrive - which are both quite rare these days still!

Controls - SAVAGE } Out, Tone, Gain, Clipping : Vintage Ge / Modern Si, Left Footswitch; EGO DRIVER } Mode : Hi Mids / Lo Mids, Out, Tone, Gain, Right Footswitch

Internals - SAVAGE VOICING } T - Treble Focus / M - Mids Focus, EGO DRIVER VOICING } Clipping : 1N914 Diodes / LEDs, Hi Mids Highs, Lo Mids Bass.

This contest was always going to be between the Anasounds Sandman Dual Overdrive, Anasounds Crankled Bitoun Octave Fuzz and Kernom Moho Magmatic Augmented Analog Fuzz. To be fair - the Mojo format is a little large for this style of article - which his better suited to Mini, Compact, and Mid-Size pedals. And the Sandman has held its slot on the board since it first landed. Somewhat unassuming really, and still lacking a killer English Language Demo - they really should get Alberto Barrero onboard for this one! The Klon and Screamer voicings are superb, with just the right options, and amazing output. The fact that the pedal is nice to look at adds another feather to its cap. Anasounds are still making some exceptional pedals, while not everyone is necessarily picking up on on them - this Sandman Dual Drive is superb though! 

Controls - Drive, Volume, Tone, Accent, Clipping : D (Deep) / C (No-'C'lipping) / B (Bright), Voice : Jazz / Rock, Type : OD / ODS.

This was mostly a shoe-in - obviously one of the most influential pedals for me for a very long time. Actually my 3rd Dumble Drive after the Mad Professor Simble, and Wampler Euphoria, but by far and away my longest serving one. I still love its output, while in some ways I prefer the added vibrancy of my Tanabe Zenkudo. While as with other genres - all of these sound quite distinct, and excel in what they do - so depending at what level of gain or attack you need - it's nice to different weapons and options in the armoury. This was touch and go for a while too as I'm really impressed by my Lichtlaerm Audio quartet - while I could not decide which of those I liked the most - they're all killer. Well also had a couple of KMA Audio pedals in the mix - including the Chief Disruptor, and of course Kiirrton's Grindstein will always be a classic - while it's probably too large for this particular selection. The Kondo-Shifuku though is a well served winner here - and still a classic. Everyone I've recommended it to seems to love it!

Controls - D (Depth), Mode : Up Harmonic / Down Amplitude, S (Speed), L (Level), Waveforms : Square / Sinewave / Reverse Sawtooth, M (Mix), Engage footswitch, Tap Tempo / Speed Ramp / x2 Speed. Press and hold both footswitches to change Tao / Speed Mode, and hold down Engage Footswitch on power-up to set default startup mode : On or Off.

This one is very simple really. My favourite format of Tremolo is Harmonic, and my favourite of the Harmonic Tremolo pedals has long since been the Harmonious Monk across both editions. It's be far and away the richest and most flavourful of the Harmonic Tremolos - with near Uni-Vibe tones. You of course have the Amplitude option also - and now Tap Temp with the new device - a similarly successful update to the recent Rattler 2. There's a fair few of us who really rate the Harmonious Monk - obviously Dan and Mick, and Markus Reeves too - definitely one of the very best - my favourite tremolo still for sure!

Key 4-way Knob Functions :

Turn = Parameter

Push = Ramping

Hold = Expression

Hold & Twist = Secondary

Controls - 2 x Speed, Depth, Tweak, Globals Y, Options X } Both = Swap Order, Turn = Algorithms, Push = Algo On/Off, Hold = Expression, Hold & Twist = Presets, A/Y Footswitch, B/X Footswitch.

Algorithms } AMPLITUDE } Tremolo, Dynamic Tremolo, Harmonic Tremolo, Chopper, Slow Volume; FILTERS } Filter, Envelop Filter, Sample & Hold Filter, Formant, Wah Filter; SWIRLS } Dimensions, Chorus, Tri-Chorus, Deture, Dynamic Flanger, Tape Flanger, Sampe & Hold Frlangerl PHASE } Phaser, Envelope Phaser, Sample & Hold Paser, Uni-Vibe; MISCELLANEOUS } Octave Shifter, Vibrato, Ring Modulator, Parametric EQ, Bit Crusher, Pressed Junk, Record Antics, Phono Filters, Horn (Rotary), Drum (Rotary); SEQUENCERS } Arp Tremolo, Arp Filter, Arp Formant, Arp Flanger, Arp Phaser, Are RingMod, Arpeggiator.

In many ways the very best Multi-Modulat / Modulation Workstation Pedal on the market, but with one major flaw for me - the Mono In / Stereo Out feature. In the early days I ran all my Modulations in mono - so this was handy on the end of those, while now I frequently use stereo modulations, and I have another favourite Mono to Stereo pedal - the Boss DM-101 - which is my current favourite delay - while you can only have one of those pedals on the board - which makes no room for the GFI Synesthesia. I still really love this pedal, but it's not compatible with my situation - I've been waiting for a very long time for this to be updated to Stere Ins and Outs - while it's certainly not happening very quickly. A fantastic Multi-Modulator - as long as you can accommodate it successfully within your rig!

Controls - Volume, Intensity, Speed 1, Speed 2, Mode : Chorus / Vibrato, Engage Vibe Footswitch, Speed 1/2 Footswitch.

This was another heavily contested category, and I was at one stage in two minds between picking out the Cornerstone Nero Dumble-Fuzz, or Formula B's recent Eighty Master MIAB type, or this Vintage Vibe 2-Speed Uni-Vibes. Obviously we have the even smaller and more expansive Vibe Machine in the mix here, while Formula B's Vintage Vibes is just one of the very best balanced and sweetest sounding vibes out their - purely on tones very much my favourite - and allows me to ramp up and down. I have a number of beloved Uni-Vibes - this one, the Vibe Machine, the recent Krozz Krakenheart and ThorpyFX ER-2 - all are excellent and the Formula B Vintage Vibe is just a bit special too! I've not met anyone who hasn't been impressed with one of these!

Controls - Level, Gain, Freak Fuzz Mode Switch : On/Off, Tone, Phat Mode : On/Off.

It's well known now that my Keeley Freak-Fuzz Modded BD-2 Blues Driver is my favourite all-time Overdrive Pedal - despite plenty of strong competition. I really love my recent trio of Tanabe.TV pedals, and there are any number of other Boss pedals that could take the top slot - like my favourite current DM-101 Stereo Out Analog Delay Machine. Yet the BD-2 still endures - and still holds onto its title as favourite Overdrive pedal! The Freak Fuzz delivers a 2-Germanium Transistor Fuzzy-Drive voting on top of the already brilliant Phat Mod - just a superb pedal all-round and really versatile! Oh and incredibly dynamic too - and with one of the very best guitar volume cleanups of any pedal!

Controls : Voltage, Mode : Boost / Octave Down / 2 Octaves Down / Octave Up / Octave Down + Up / 2 Octaves Down + Octave Up, Volume, Low Freq, High Freq, On/Off Footswitch / Engage Secondary Effect Footswitch.

This one was very much a shoe-in being the only Latvian / Gamechanger Audio pedal I own - and what a magnificent fuzz this - very uniquely textured and with a whole load of extra Octave Up and Down options. The only niggle is the huge changes in volume (up) when you deploy the additional modes. Gamechanger offered to swap my Ltd Yellow one for an updated Standard version - but I preferred to keep what prettier edition, and use other means to deal with the massive step up in volume. Gamechanger Audio pedals tend to typically be overly large and impractical / non-pedalboard friendly. I just wouldn't be able to accommodate those other varieties - while the Plasma Coil is just about within the realms of reasonable sizing. I'm certainly glad I own it - and especially in that Yellow Ltd Edition! I't a very unique sounding Fuzz / Distortion!

Controls - Volume, Gain, Tone / Filter 1 (HPF), Octave Bias, Tone / Filter 2 (LPF), Momentary Tone Bypass Footswitch (Mid Boost), Bypass Footswitch.

I own just 2 Norwegian Brands, a V2 Pladask Elektrisk Fabrikat Granular Synethszier and several Fjord Fuzz effects. I'm kind a little beyond the Glitch effects now, and I really love Fjord Fuzz's early Gjallarhorn take on the Shin-ei SuperFuzz - the booming foghorn voicing on this one is just very unique - a really heavyweight wall of sounds that could crumble mountains - so much depth and texture to that fuzz - and quite different to the later Fenris. I keep asking Daniel to review this version, while I'm delighted I got my hands on one at the right time - a genuine secret weapon fuzz!

Controls - Clean Blend, Filter, Low, Mid, High, Distortion, EQ Mode : Heavy (HM-2) / Classic (Filter-only), Volume A, Volume B, Clipping Mode A : LED / None / SI / Soviet SI / Hybrid / Mosfet / GE / Bat, Clipping Mode B : LED / None / SI / Soviet SI / Hybrid / Mosfet / GE / Bat, Op-Amp Selector : Classic / Soviet / Modern / Ancient, dual footswitches : Bypass + Channel A/B.

I tend to favour two Polish Brands in particular, and am very closely aligned to both Drunk Beaver and Sitek Guitar Electronics. The latter's Wuffy Fuzzy Distortion is still a long-term favourite of mine, but there's very little in the end that can stand up to the still King of Rats - the Heavy Bat. This is the Apache Gunship of Rat Pedals - fully loaded to the hilt with potent armaments - including a quarter of different OpAmps, alongside Dual Channel with 3-Band EQ and 8 individual clipping Modes - it really doesn't get any more potent than this - still a benchmark in the rat genre!

Controls - Bass, Mid, Treble, Volume, Fuzz, Stage I Clipping - LED/Open/Silicon, Stage II Clipping - Open/Germanium/LED/Silicon, Depth, Pre-Gain (Boost).

My good friend Ricardo ’Rikk’ Cabecas still makes one of the most versatile and potent Big Muffs out there, the KMA Machines Chief Disruptor is another excellent example of an all-rounder Multi-Muff, while the Animallizer still remains my favourite of that type. Rikk has so cleverly selected his Clipping Diodes - that even his Germanium ones don't have an audible volume-drop - which is just genius. Those 9 controls give you every conceivable Muff tone, and much besides - I keep encouraging him to do a full-fat settings card with all those tonal options - which touch on all aspects of Fuzz - even classic Fuzz, where the Animalizzer can deliver a really cool Rat voicing too. This really is a beast of a Muff - and is so versatile that it could also be called the Chameleon - as it adapts to so many different voicings and textures. I've asked for a second Boost footswitch with say Full, Mids, and Treble Boost Range values - that would make this pedal even more unassailable. While it's already pretty much perfect as is - a really potent killer all-rounder Muff!

Controls - Level, Dirt (Self Oscillation . Random Octaves / 8 Bit / Glitch, Gain, 3-way Harmonics Switch - Less / More High Frequency Harmonics, Mode Dial : Low Gain, Gated, Octaves Down / Up, Arpeggiation, High Gain etc.

Another killer Secret Weapon Fuzz of mine - which seems to be going for silly prices on Reverb.com these days. The magic here is in the Mode Dial - which takes you through so many different Fuzz Voicings - Low Gain, Gated, Octave Down/Up, Arpeggiation, Glitch etc. This really is a an incredible potent box with just those 5 controls. It has so many interesting in-between voicings. And you get used to the sort of safe-cracker micro-dialling approach - which is essential for these kinds of Multi-Fuzz pedals - including this one and the Kernom Moho. Shift Line's Oleg has been talking about reviving this in an improved version - for nearly a couple of years now - I very much look forward to seeing what the updated version can do with the format - a really under-the-radar absolute killer fuzz!

Controls - Gain, Level, Tone.

I'm very closely aligned to the Spanish Decibelics and Thermion Brands - both of which create amazing effects pedals. While I'm somewhat more closely connected to Decibelic's Guillem whom I've collaborated with on several projects. So I can't really get away from the original High Quality Boutique Mini - the incredible Golden Horse - on which I did a recent in-depth feature. The Golden Horse Mini Klon has the self same primo parts as the original Bill Finnegan creation - the same dynamics and superior sound quality, but at 1/10 of the size - a simply incredible feat of engineering. I was actually in two minds here - to possibly award the win to the in some ways even more impressive Reverend Mini Expadora - which in its V2 format levels up and beyond the larger size original. Because of its historic significant - the Golden Horse is a worthy winner here and ambassador for Spain!

Controls - Volume, Drive, Bass, Treble.

I could not look beyond Björn Juhl and his BJFe Imprint - so influential has he been on me over the years - via his various associated brands, the now untethered Bearfoot FX, and of course Mad Professor and OneControl - the latter mentioned being Björn's main day job nowadays - and I have a OneControl business card with his name on it as Senior Consultant / Partner - and you can see his impact on all but the various utility pedals OneControl do. His original pedal that bought him to fame - and supposedly based on an old beaten up 60's Supro Amp - was the Honey Bee - which is available in various guises across his brand alliance and with slight variations in naming convention. The original variety was a classic 3-Knob Overdrive, while more recently we've had more expansive 4-Knob Vintage and Modern varieties, of which I believe my HB04DK leans more into the modern side of things. It's a really distinctive breakup texture, and a beautifully mellifluous sounding overdrive - hence the name. And for sure a worthy winner in this category - the Honey Bee 4K is the Swedish Ambassador Pedal of choice!

Controls : Germanium Boost Side } Boost, Lows, Smooth Dane Boost Side } Boost, Lows.

Spaceman's Mercury IV introduced me to the delights of a Germanium Harmonic Boost, and when Thorpy's Heavy Water 3-in-1 Boost came along I was convinced it would give me even better textures and more versatility - which has indeed proven to be the case. Adrian Thorpe is my longest-standing friend in the industry - I connected with him at a guitar show very early on, and we've been firm friends and allies since. It turns out this is my most used ThorpyFX pedal - even though I have more than 20 of them which I hold in high favour. Right now we have the WOPR Atomic Fuzz + RangeMaster and Chris Buck Electric Lighting Plexi Tube Preamp on the board too - while over the years there are so many Thorpy pedals I love - including the Boneyard, Camoflange, Peacekeeper and Scarlet Tunic among several others - all of those could have been worth champions - but it's the most useful one of all that wins out. I did a whole month of Heavy Water features - and that pedal really deserved it. Thorpy was thinking of discontinuing at one stage, while hopefully I've helped breathe some new life into this wonderful pedal - It's the kind of boost that everyone could benefit from having on their board! 

Controls - LFO Rate, Tone, Volume, Gain, Theramin/LFO Switch, Light Sensor, 1-11 3-way Circuit Bending Switches.

So there is a partially written article (about 2/3rds / 3/4s) that's been live but secured since January 5th 2023. I was waiting for my good friend Konstantin to finish the manual - which I still don't believe has happened. I was really just missing a few more 'serving suggestions' as this is largely just a more robust and refined version of the original single pedal Evil Pumpkin variant - with slightly different Circuit Bending / Switching options - eliminating more of the non-useful in-between options. This is the ultimate experimental pedal - which delivers 

• Bitcrusher
• Distortion
• Drones
• Fuzz
• Glitch-Machine
• LFO / Oscillation / Tremolo
• Overdrive
• Ring Modulator
• Sample & Hold
• Synth
• Theremin

And a whole lot more. It's the kind of pedal you need to go in with a degree of patience - and be prepared to spend a whole day with - as you will encounter some extreme noise patterns, many of them somewhat unusable - but glimmering games in-between - a little like panning for gold in some ways. If my good friend Konstantin ever finished his manual - I will then finally be able to put my article to bed! I'm currently associated with 3 Ukrainian Brands - 4 if you count Vitalii Bobrov's Drunk Beaver! The other to being Noise Space Audio - which I've not had a lot of dealings with - just a single pedal to-date. And I'm in the process of acquiring a couple from Sentimental Bob - hopefully soon so be firm-friedn Volodymyr!

Controls : Signal (Volume), Scan (Scramble/Corruption), Range (Fuzz Gain), Drift/Sync (Engage Scan), Calibrate (Tone), Filter Engage : Engage = Bass Cut + Mid Scoop.

Obviously American brands make up a huge proportion of my Reference Collection, and there is no shortage of superior pedals available across those ranges. At one stage the contest was really between Chase Bliss and Spaceman Effects - and while the Automatone Preamp MKII will always be a favourite of mine - it's a little large for these categories - so I ended up considering different fuzzes and the emotions they evoked in me. I was late to Spaceman and had long since missed out on the earlier Sputnik I Germanium Fuzz release. I had hear some superb demos of this pedal and really wanted one, and for some reasons I wanted the Red Cyrillic version the most - something that drew me towards it. So when one came up for sale on Reverb.com via an Italian vendor - this was pre-Brexit era where you didn't have all those extra charges involved, and even though a high ticket price I thought I would never have another opportunity to get my hands on one of those. That and me Paul Trombetta acquisitions - were two of my dearest of all time, but those are two of my favourite fuzzes too - so I'm happy to have them in the collection. In the end it was betweenn the Chase Bliss - Bliss Factory - and the Sputnik 1 - both superb extended range Germanium Fuzzes with incredible tones and shaping abilities. While me heartstrings drew me more towards the feelings I experienced on first engaging the Sputnik I - which I still absolutely adore to this day. The Bliss Factory runs it very close, and does other interesting things - while my Red Cyrillic Sputnik 1 seems to have an extra hold on me! Fun Fact! My good friend Thorpy has one exactly the same (in Red Cyrillic Edition) while I feel he had the foresight to buy it at the time of launch (2013) - at which time I was still on hiatus - and it wouldn't be until 2016 that I picked up a guitar once more! So I got mine 5 years after release - which explains the high premium! Of course with extra Brexit costs on all things - this would not be viable today. In fact several acquitting get curtaliled by potential prohibitive Customs and Import Charges!

Controls - Mode : #34 Slash Mod (More Sizzle + Brightness) / JCMII (Rhythm!) / #007 More Gain Mod + Attack, Master Volume, Active Presence, Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble, Internal 'Master Tone' trim-pot.

And last but far from the least in this pedal odyssey we have my now good friend Luis of PedalPalFX's PAL800 Preamp - something I was always looking to do, but actually got involved at just the right time - with these newer more pedalboard-friendly compact pedals - where I own both the PAL800 JCM800 type, and PAL987 Plexi Type. PedalPalFX is the only Venezuelan Brand I own - so it was a matter of one or the other here - and as I've explained in my reviews of these pedals - somethings the PAL800 is my favourite, and sometimes the PAL987 Plexi - it depends so much on Mood and Occasion. Both are superb, and wholly honed for those classic Marshall Amp style tones. Not quite as expansive as the MGAT-1 GE, but every bit as good in their sonic profiles - and killer for quick and easy dial-in. On balance the PAL800 has been on the board more often of late - so that's where the dividing line falls on this occasion - it could have been either one - both are brilliant - but on this occasion the win goes to the harder, heavier and more aggressive sibling!

I will generally use all and every honest means and resource at my disposal to get what I want / need - always seeking an opportunity, and mostly preferring to go Direct where possible - while that route is not always available - I have several friendly Dealers and Distributors who help me get what I need too! Thanks to Joe @ Joe's Pedals, Jim @ Boost Guitar Pedals, Steve @ FX Pedal Planet Store, and Andy at Break the Machine all in the UK, then Scott @ Axe and You Shall Receive in Canada, Sebastian @ TGT11 in Sweden, Andy at Effekt Boutique in Germany, and Bruce, Phil and Tom @ Audio Distribution Group in particular - all good friends and allies!

In terms of which are my main resources - my top 3 are probably the following in overall numbers - while I really do deal with near enough everyone! :

• 312 Reverb.com Acqusitions to date
• 90+ from Andertons
• 50+ from Joe's Pedals

Lots of deliberation and due diliegcen goes into every decision and target acquisition - and once in the Reference Collection - it stays in the Reference Collection - no flipping!

I would love to hear about your favourite pedals per country - in a similar style to this article - simply one pedal per each origin country which you love above all others from that territory!

And here finally are the 13 Single Brand per Country Answers! :

• Austria = Becos FX (formerly of Romania)
• Belgium = Drolo / David Rolo Effects
• Bulgaria = Mojo Gear FX
• Chile = DSM & Humboldt Electronics
• Finland = Mad Professor
• India = Animal Factory Amplification
• Indonesia = GFI System
• Latvia = Gamechanger Audio
• Mexico = Paradox Effects
• Portugal = TX Pedals / Tone.Electonix
• Switzerland = Greuter Audio
• Turkey = Rock Fabrik Effects
• Venezuela = PedalPalFX