There’s been quite the trend for Tube Preamp pedals of late - what with Friedman’s IR-D and IR-X, ThorpyFX Electric Lighting, Tubsesteader Lightkeeper and Magnesium, obviously some fairly large format solid-state types too like Thermion’s Freeway. And longer-term players too like Kingsley and Victory Amps. There’s never been more choice! And so much of what is now available is fantastic.

This new Tsakalis Mothership is another really smart take on floor-based tube amp / preamp with 2 ...

The very original 1968 LBP1 was a diminutive solid state compact preamplifier plugin device - with single Boost Level Knob, and an Off / Boost slider switch. Then in 1976 we got the first pedal version of that - now with added footswitch, some very slight component changes, but still very much the same thing.

The long standing modern / compact LPB-1 variant dispensed with the slider switch, so then it was just a case of Footswitch and Master Volume - which has been the default for a few ...

The much celebrated Waitlist Wednesday is back tomorrow - in fact from midnight tonight! Where you can PREORDER each of Reeves Electro’s Point-to-Point Builds. For most pedals it’s a case of unlimited preorders, while for the BlackHatSound-Deluxe - because of parts availability restrictions - those are limited to just 10, and the Plus Distortions are limited to 25.

Here is the full list with the all-important prices!

• 108 Master - £330
• 2n2Face - £330
• BlackHatSound - £350
• BLackHatSound-

I’ve obviously just recently covered Licthlaerm Audio, and Daniel Ringl’s extended-range approach to compact pedal making. And Bispell Audio’s Tom is another such pedal pioneer - delivering the most exceptional value extended-range circuits. My favourite to date is definitely his fairly recently updated Gleam Vintage Silicon Multi-Fuzz, where I also have and love his not so long since updated Saxon (JTM45 + Plexi), and Proxy (Vox UL730).

The Saxon, Proxy and Gleam have all stepped up to 8 ...

Thanks first to Ross from Cusack Music and Simon from Guitar FX Direct for helping to make this happen. This is a super limited release and I’m truly fortunate to be able to get my hands on one. I explained in the launch article how I had acquired pedals direct from Cusack Music in the past, while post Brexit complexities mean that they are among a number of American builders who don’t ship direct to the UK any more. Just as well then that we have Simon’s Guitar FX Direct as the UK Dealer for ...

It’s been quite the epic journey for me to get to Lichtlaerm Audio - which goes all the way back to February of 2020 - where I believe I was the first Pedal Blog to feature Daniel Ringl’s original first incarnation line of pedals - which had white graphics onto black facias , on top of wine-red gloss-finished enclosures (Update! - looked like white print in photos, but Daniel says - "the old line-up was silver prints directly on smooth black enclosures - the photos looked a bit white but it was...

Readers will be aware that I recently added 2 further Dumble style Overdrives to the reference collection. First the Menatone Dumbstruck V2, and then most recently the superb Tanabe Zenkudo.

I’ve decided that I’m at a point now where this selection is fully representative of this genre, of course I do have a few more targets in this category, while I feel I now have most of the major top-tier contenders. Notably missing here is Robben Ford’s evidently much loved Lovepedal / Hermida Zen ...

Another totally mad month for sure - loaded with frenetic activity and peppered with highs as well as crushing disappointments. The first give-away for GPX didn’t quite hit the highs I expected (said give-away closes tonight at 23:59 BST). And there are some weird gaps in the entrants’ home countries - certainly no shortage from the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, or much of mainland Europe. I’m active in a lot more countries than have so far entered the give-away, so I don’t fully understand why ...

I’ve gone a little bit movie poster on this one! The saga of the forgotten Top Gun :

’The Bluesman!’

I’ve long been a fan of Chris Buck - and indeed named him as one of my favourite 25 Guitar Heroes back in a 2022 article. His incredibly expressive touch is second to none! And he can wring out the most impressive detail and nuance over several bars - from just a single note!

So it’s entirely fitting that Thorpy has built him an equally dynamic and expressive pedal to match Chris’s ...