Great Eastern FX significantly extends and evolves its original Hybrid Focus Fuzz, now a Deluxe Model with added Overtone Octave, and 3 super handy gain Modes
My good friend David already did a brilliant job on the original Hybrid / Ge Focus Fuzz - which I cited at the time as ’David Reinvents the Classic Fuzz’. He only had parts enough for 250 units back then with the MP38A particularly hard to get hold of. So alas there were several interested parties left out in the cold, and a couple of years of customer petitioning has resulted in the return of that grand pedal.
While David, ever the original, refuses to do things by half - and was ...
Hot Pink Colour Sync - The Return!
So I initially published an article on February 20th - where I gathered together 9 pedals which all had the same Hot Pink Colourway. It was originally inspired by the launch of Great Easter FX Co’s Obsolete Devices OD201 Preamp - so the article was a nod to that.
At the time of posting I had 2 of those in my possession - I guess you could say 3 - as I owned the Lightspeed too already - but not in that colourway - as you will have noted in subsequent references.
So this was mainly done ...
My Crazy Tube Circuits Venus Tube Driver has finally landed after quite the adventure
The Journey!
So this quest started at the tail end of January when the Venus was first teased at the NAMM show. I contacted Christos straight after the show and requested that I be fully in on the launch. I cover most every CTC launch - while typically it’s mostly just from the materials that Christos sends me - which are extensive.
I thought I had indicated that I wanted to be in on an hands-on deep dive review - but I’ve since read my statements and my meaning wasn’t always crystal clear...
Mooer's Prime Minimax M2 Intelligent Pedal is a cool Bluetooth App-controlled Multi-FX with 194 Effects Onboard
Mooer was due to be at the recent London Synth and Pedal Expo that I attended over the weekend, but ended up being a casualty of the Heathrow Substation Fire - the only pedal that got there in time was its GS1000 Intelligent Amp Profiling Processor and there was some kind of power supply issue with that - so it needed to be retired on the very first day!
I was hoping to see the GL100 Looper and this Prime M2 at the show - while alas neither of those pedals made it in the end!
The Prime...
Fuzz Imp Independent Fuzz Specialist - Introduction and Highlights
I’ve been meaning to do something with Fuzz Imp for a while now. I’ve actually been following Fuzz Imp’s Justus Gash for quite a few years - from early Fuzz advocate and enthusiast to fully fledged pedal maker - from his earliest grassroots beginnings up to a fairly mature profile now with a range of different pedals on offer - 16 or so varieties now all told.
It’s been a really interesting journey to witness, and I don’t think Justus has put a foot wrong yet! Hopefully my shining a light ...
Xotic Effects brings back its AC Booster Smooth Overdrive Pedal in improved V2 Edition with added Boost!
So the history of the slightly mis-named AC Booster is a really interesting and tangential one. The AC Booster was first introduced in 2002 - where the AC is a reference to the Vox AC30 amplifier. The AC Booster was Xotic Effects’ original smooth overdrive - where the RC Booster (Rig Conductor - supposedly) was a lower gain version for those who liked a lot of headroom.
Scott Henderson loved using the AC Booster with his humbucker-loaded guitar, and wanted a similar sound for his stock ...
Inaugural Woking Boutique Guitar Show Highlights from Fiery Bird
Maybury Guitars - Jason
So here are the highlights from the very first Woking Boutique Guitar Show - which took place this past Saturday at the Fiery Bird venue - just 5 minutes walk from the train station / town centre.
The show was organised by my good friend Jason Snelling of Maybury Guitars, alongside John Smith of JAS Guitars. The venue was perfectly centrally located, and was spacious - with a lot of natural light - which did make some of the photography somewhat...
Messiah Guitars bundles together 3 of its most essential everyday Mini Pedals - The Billini Germanium Drive, Lil Ed Session Drive, and Quigglini Octofuzz
I’m very familiar with the original signature Eddie Haddad BoostDrive multi-gain + boost pedal. Where the Lil Ed is the mini version of the V2 improved and refined BoostDrive follow-up - the Session Drive Edition. We then have the excellent Billini beautifully textured Germanium Drive, and searing upper octave fuzz - the Quiggling Octofuzz - all sound excellent!
The three pedals featured with their Controls :
- Billini Germanium Drive - Gain, Level, Low, High
- Lil Ed Session Drive - Gain,
IK Multimedia ToneX One Joe Satriani Chrome Edition Deep Dive
I was down for getting the original black ToneX One edition - one was offered to me, but never quite arrived. Which turns out I’m quite happy about in the end really as it was the much better looking Chrome Joe Satriani Edition that finally landed for me. So thanks to IK Multimedia for their assistance!
Considering I’m mostly a classic stompbox guy - then the ToneX One isn’t always going to be he most natural fit for me. While as a Multi-Gain / Versatile Multi-Drive and Distortion pedal - ...
Jonny Brelliott's TODP is an ingeniously expansive and a superb sounding Modular Tube Overdrive with a built-in upgrade and customisation path
Many thanks to my good friend Henry Kaiser - who introduced me to my new friend Jonny Brelliott. Henry was one of the early adopters of Jonny’s TODP Overdrive - where his model hadn’t yet evolved to the modular format / concept that it is now - as per my pictured one. The core Pentode Tube circuit is the same in my review version as in Henry’s, as are the clipping options and controls - but more fixed in their arrangement. The exterior has an identical control topology with all the same ...
