What Two Years of Tone-Questing Looks Like - Acquisitions, Passes and Still Probables

Following from my initial outline I started to firm things up based on more practical considerations like pricing, availability and form factor / footprint size. At this stage I had already started buying pedals, and my early acquisitions featured several that are not pictured here - like the Boss DS-1X and EHX Soul Food. My very first pedal to arrive though was the TC Electronic MojoMojo though which I preferred to the EHX Soulfood, but was not really taken too much by either! I was not then familiar with the different types of overdrives and distortions etc. - so I was looking on the basis of availability and affordability to a degree - as I did not wish to overspend when I did not yet properly know what sort of overdrive or distortion pedal I was after.

Of these 14 pedals, I have so far acquired 11 - in fact all bar the Boss CP-1X Compressor, Strymon Lex and Wampler Triple Wreck. The Boss CP-1X was somewhat delayed in launch / reaching distribution, and in the meantime I had gone with an Xotic SP Mini Compressor. While the Strymon Lex and Wampler Triple Wreck are still on the active wishlist. When it came to acquiring a stereo rotary effect it ended up as a 3-way between the Neo Instruments Mini Vent II, Strymon Lex and the Tech 21 NYC Roto Choir - which is the one I ended up getting.

Of those early drive and distortion pedals, I still wasn't exactly clear what I wanted, and was rather underwhelmed initially by the TCE MojoMojo, TCE Dark Matter and Strymon Riverside - while I really loved the Wampler Tumnus Mini!

I was still pretty naive about all the different types of Overdrive, Fuzz and Distortion pedals - so I came up with my '12 Degrees of Saturation' methodology to suss out where different dirt pedals figured in the overall scale of things.

It has to be said really that this was more about overdrive and distortion, as I did not properly go into sufficient detail about fuzz until this year - '2018 Year of Fuzz' which you can read about in a later article.

In any case I came up with a 12 point scale as follows:

1. Boost (Clean / Tube / Treble)
2. Mild (Transparent / Klone)
3. Squeal (Tubescreamer)
4. Smooth (Dumble)
5. Breakup (Blues Driver)
6. Crunch (OCD)
7. Fuzz (Regular Fuzz / Face / Tone Bender)
8. Fuzzy Drive (Muff / Rat)
9. Plexi (Marshall-esque)
10. Brown (EVH Variac Sound)
11. Heavy (JCM800+)
12. Extreme (Metal)

I ended up acquiring near enough all these pedals listed here - I have still to get the Mini Dumble-esque OneControl Golden Acorn. Of all of these, there are funnily only two that still retain active duty in my current pedal-chain - the Xotic SL Drive in its Alchemy Audio Mod variety, and the Strymon Riverside.

According to the original plan I thought I might have 15 or so pedals in my pedal-chain, but following on from the '12 Degrees of Saturation' it was obvious that I would have a much larger number of drive pedals in the chain.

I was very conscious about pedal size - and mixed in a number of smaller pedals to make up for the ginormous presence of the Elektron Analog Drive. I still retain all these pedals and rotate many of them in fairly regularly, but as my experience broadened I evolved in various different directions.

Of the first official 25 pedals, 8 remain a fixture in the current chain:

1. TCE PolyTune Mini
2. Strymon Riverside
3. Dr Scientist Frazz Dazzler
4. Strymon Sunset
5. Xotic SL Drive Alchemy Audio Mod
6. Boss NS-2 Alchemy Audio Mod
7. Boss GE-7 Alchemy Audio Mod
8. TCE Mimic Stereo Doubler

That is not to say that the incumbents were no good, they are all still excellent - and many still sport the Strymon Stryfecta as a first choice, even though technology has moved on somewhat since their arrival.

A lot of thought, research, trial and testing went into each and every acquisition here - so none of these are wasted - they are all excellent pedals, and very much still valid.

Half way through 2017 I was thinking of substantially updating and upgrading the pedal-chain with more recent pedals that I had come across. The number of slots were now edging upwards with 5 more introduced to bring the number to 30.

For a number of slots I was considering my options, in fact a number of pedals featured here are still on the pending wishlist. They include:

1. DigiTech FreqOut
2. Fulltone Plimsoul
3. Keeley Filaments
4. Fulltone Octafuzz
5. TC Electronic Hall of Fame 2

In fact the only one of those I am no longer actively seeking to add is the Octafuzz - as I have found more suitable alternatives along the way.

Of these 30 featured here, there are 15 active in the current chain:

1. TC Electronic PolyTune Mini
2. Wampler Mini Ego
3. Strymon Riverside
4. Chase Bliss Audio Brothers
5. Dr Scientist Frazz Dazzler
6. Strymon Sunset
7. Xotic SL Drive Alchemy Audio Mod
8. Diezel VH4-2
9. Boss NS-2 Alchemy Audio Mod
10. Boss GE-7 Alchemy Audio Mod
11. Chase Bliss Audio Gravitas
12. Boss MD-500
13. Empress EchoSystem
14. TC Electronic Stereo Mimiq Doubler
15. TC Electronic Stereo Ditto X2

By the end of last year I was fully in my stride and into my now current methodology which mixes up both analogue and digital modulation effects with the '12 Degrees of Saturation'. To accommodate all the Chase Bliss Audio pedals the slot number count shot up further to 36!

The number of semi-permanent fixtures is ever on the increase now, with the pedal-chain increasingly more solidified and 23 of these still actively featured:

1. TC Electronic PolyTune Mini
2. Jackson Audio Prism
3. Wampler Mini Ego
4. Strymon Riverside
5. Dr Scientist The Elements
6. Mi Audio Super Crunch Box V2
7. Chase Bliss Audio Brothers
8. Dr Scientist Frazz Dazzler
9. Strymon Sunset
10. Xotic SL Drive Alchemy Audio Mod
11. Empress Heavy
12. Diezel VH4-2
13. Boss NS-2 Alchemy Audio Mod
14. Boss GE-7 Alchemy Audio Mod
15. Chase Bliss Audio Warped Vinyl II
16. Chase Bliss Audio Spectre II
17. Chase Bliss Audio Gravitas
18. Chase Bliss Audio Wombtone II
19. Tech 21 NYC Roto Choir
20. Boss MD-500
21. Empress EchoSystem
22. TC Electronic Ditto X2
23. TC Electronic Mimiq Doubler

At the end of 2017 I was already aware of some of the newer and improved pedals that I wanted to bring into the pedal-chain. In fact there were 8 such per the following slot numbers:

#03 : TC Electronic Quintessence Harmonizer

#05 : Origin Effects Cali76 Compact Deluxe Compressor

#06 : Wampler Tumnus Deluxe

#07 : Pigtronix Mothership 2 Analog Synth

#18 : Amptweaker TightFuzz Jr

#21 : Dawner Prince RedRox Distortion

#22 : Friedman Dirty Shirley

#25 : TC Electronic Sentry

Of those 8, the Wampler Tumnus and Pigtronix Mothership 2 have been added, while most of the others still remain on the wishlist.

I have kind of chopped and changed my opinion of the Compressor slot, deciding at one time that I would stick with mini pedals, and that the Wampler Mini Ego was the best of those. Then I thought I would definitely shift up to the Cali76, before deciding again that the Mini Ego would suit me fine. Where I am today though is considering he addition of the Cali76 again!

A couple of things happened over the extended Christmas period which already impacted my only recently completed December 2017 plans. Hamstead Soundworks launched their superbly versatile Odyssey Intergalactic Driver - which pushed aside the pretty much unassailable Fulltone OCD.

I was badly sick with some kind of flu over Christmas and ended up listening almost exclusively to 'In This Moment' which led to the first purchase of 2018 being the MI Audio Megalith Delta - to get that really percussive crunchy Metal tone.

I also put in an order for my first made-to-order or waiting-list pedal - the Custom Tones Ethos TWE-1 - which took until April to arrive.

The Megalith Delta extended the pedal-chain by the count of 1 to 37! in total.

Pedal slots impacted were #8, #11 and #24.

There were lots of unexpected announcements at Winter NAMM, which put the primary slot choice up for grabs on 6 slots as indicated:

#03 : Dunlop CryBaby Mini

#07 : Foxpedal Kingdom Combo V2 (Klone)

#08 : DigiTech Dirty Robot Synth

#09 : Foxepdal The City V2 (Tubescreamer)

#10 : Sinvertek No.5 Distortion

#35 : Boss MD-500

In unseating the Boss MD-500 which I use a lot for its amazing chorus effects - I decided I needed an additional slot #34 which was occupied by the TC Electronic Dreamscape Chorus / Vibrato / Flanger. I also introduced a new slot #2 near the start of the chain - where I could have a looper to help me when tweaking pedal settings! That slot has changed role many times since then!

The above image is a snapshot of what was active in the chain in February 2018, the other major change of note here is the excellent Bearfoot FX Emerald Green Distortion Machine at #15.

As indicated as possible / probable changes in the previous post, these were the changes I was looking to make after Winter NAMM:

#03 : Dunlop CryBaby 535Q Mini Wah

#07 : Wampler Tumnus Deluxe (Klone)

#08 : Pigtronix Ringmaster Analog Multiplier

#09 : JHS Bonsai 9-in-1 Multi-Overdrive (Tubescreamer)

#10 : Custom Tones Ethos TWE-1

#35 : Empress Zoia Multi-Effects Sequencer

Of those 6, 4 have come to fruition, and I am still waiting for the Empress Zoia to arrive - which should be July/August from what I understand.

I had at one stage decided that I preferred the Pigtronix Ringmaster over the Mothership 2, but then later changed my mind again and ended up getting the Mothership 2, which has since been relegated (q.v.) and I have definitely decided I won't be getting the Ringmaster!

As of this month, the active Pedal-Chain Status is per above - which has seen some significant reorganisation in the first five pedals, and a few not altogether unexpected swap-outs. I don't tend to get rid of pedals - much research has gone into all of them, and they remain viable understudies and alternatives.

In the above arrangement you can see most of the Post NAMM planned pedals are in place - with a few differences. There is actually a step missing here where I had Wah after fuzz, having used the #2 slot for Germanium Fuzzes. But I ended up on the above arrangement with 2 new vintage-inspired analogue Mu-Tron pedals - the Octavider Octaver with Ring Modulation and Micro-Tron III Envelope Filter.

Next, having chased the Spaceman Gemini III for a while, I rather set my sights on the Sputnik I and Titan II fuzzes - which occupy slots #5 and #19 respectively with Germanium and Silicon varieties.

Next I came across a rare Boss Blues Driver with Keeley Freak Fuzz Mod - which includes both Phat and Freak mods - so that is now sitting in #11 in place of the Boss JB-2 Angry Driver.

Biggest surprise of the year was the superb new tweaker's delight that is the Origin Effects RevivalDrive - which pushed aside the Empress MultiDrive in slot #13.

REVV Amplification also released its first pedal - a 3-way voiced 3-Band EQ amp-in-a box based on its flagship Generator 120's 3rd Channel.

After much consideration, I finally pulled the trigger on an Eventide H9 Max Stomp Box, which I would only have in its Barn3 Oxy9 enclosury and with Barn3 Mini Tesla Footswitch for overall 5 x footswitch control - which makes up for a lot of the pedals exiting control topology limitations!

The last significant change here is the Source Audio Ventris in slot #37. It's much delayed arrival led me to getting the Boss RV-500 first. But upon serious consideration I have deemed that the Ventris is the most usable and inspirational of my Reverb workstations versus previous incumbents Strymon BigSky and Boss RV-500. All three Reverbs are exceptional and each has amazing unique algorithms which makes it worth keeping all 3 - the Ventris is definitely the primary choice here though.

One thing I have mentioned a few times is that 2018 is my 'Year of Fuzz'. It has resulted in extending the Fuzz pedal slots options to 4 - to accommodate some 40 fuzz pedals I now have in circulation.

Slots #18 and #20 are pretty much permanently occupied as follows:

#18 : Chase Bliss Audio Brothers Analog Gain Stage (Fuzz-Drive)

#20 : Dr Scientist Frazz Dazzler (Rat / Fuzzstortion)

Which means slots #5 and #19 get a lot of rotation:

#05 : Crazy Tube Circuits Constellation / Spaceman Effects Sputnik I (Vintage Style / Germanium / Tone Bender)

#19 : Shift Line Termofuzz / Spaceman Titan II || ProAnalog Devices MK IV Vintage | ThorpyFX Fallout Cloud | Foxpedal Defector (Modern Fuzz / Silicon / Muff)

So the ones that get most of the rotation are the Spaceman Sputnik I and CTC Constellation in slot #5, while slot #19 sees quite a lot of change with Spaceman Titan II, Shift Line Termofuzz, ProAnalog MKIV and Thorpy FX Fallout Cloud being the most recent occupants.