This is an interesting one, as the Halo Core was originally released as a Limited 300 Unit Run. That version had one less mode on it, as the general release candidate now adds the Dotted Eighth format. There have been some slightly circuit tweaks, but to most intents and purposes this is the limited run version with an extra mode! And the very slightly different logo in a slightly different position (offset versus centred)! You can play spot the differences against the original limited run ...

So we had the usual cryptic clues that something was about to happen - with various glimpses of the Dirt Bird pedal, as well as an older version of the Ayahuasca Trem-Fuzz. So even more cryptic than usual - while it increasingly looked like we would be getting a new variant of the Condor pedal.

When the reveal happened it all got a bit more complicated as this smart Mystery Box festive promotion was world-wide - where everyone pays the same $299 and equivalent for their mystery box (free ...

I have the earlier version of this - in fact the earliest 2021 V1 version I believe. Since then I think there have been 3 further editions. The online manual refers to V3, while that is already out of date - so presumably this latest version is a V4. Very much confirmed as a V4, the V3 was out in February of 2023. Those where smaller, mostly cosmetic refinement - while the V4 is really quite significantly different.

For this Ultimate Edition, Polarbear’s Darko has essentially absorbed his ...

So in the wake of my ’9 Notable Brazilian Guitar Pedal Brands’ article I had a lot of people contacting me (as intended!) to tell me I’d overlooked this and that brand. The first mentioned was obviously Cachalote Audio which I liked so much that I did a separate article on that.

While altogether we had another 9 notable brands suggested - to include in this separate feature. In fact there are even more - including StarDust Electronic Art - where I’m waiting until I get enough suggestions to...

So it made sense that the 3rd in Brian’s workstation pedal series would be a Reverb type - having already had a Multi-Modulator and Multi-Delay units in the respective Terraform and Metaverse pedals - which are both excellent of course. While this is Brian’s sort of competitor to the Source Audio Collider - both those units have inherent similarities in being a combination of Delays and Reverbs - an ’EchoVerb pedal’ of sorts therefor.

The emphasis is markedly different though, with the ...

When I did my recent ’9 Notable Brazilian Guitar Pedal Brands’ overview - a reader noted that I should have included Cachalote Audio also (Sperm Whale in Portuguese!) - which at the time was wholly unknown to me. They do have worldwide ambitions though - having an English language Website also, and a presence on Reverb.com - which I noted previously is fairly rare for Brazilian brands - who mostly seem to keep themselves to their native MercadoLivre Marketplace.

In any case - having been ...

Thermion combines an 800ms Analog-style Tap Delay, smart Dual Reverb, and +15dB Boost for its super handy Breathe Multi-FX / Spatial Effects Pedal.

This project evolved I believe as a much requested companion pedal to Thermion’s potent Zero and Freeway floor-based amps (the Freeway in particular) - both have featured on this site. Where the Breathe gives you full granular control over your Time-Based Effects, with some further smart dynamics in play.

And those smart Dynamic elements ...

So I’ve been meaning to do this article for a while, but kept putting it off - in the hope that we might see more brands materialising from this country. That has not been the case though - so now seems as good a time as any to focus on the small but mighty trifecta of Croatian brands - Dawner Prince Electronics, DryBell Musical Electronic Laboratory and Polarbear Effects.

I typically have a grid of a 9 for this style of article - so here I’ve selected my favourite 3 choices from each brand...

So this incredibly busy month was supposed to be all about Tremolos, culminating with the Rounder Sounds Zebra-Trem Review and 30 Tremolo Pedal Overview. But we hit some snags along the way - the Zebra-Trem was mysteriously held up in customs for a week, and then got slightly lost in the local postal network. And when it did finally arrive - evidently it had been dropped a few times, as the screen was no longer working. After trying various obvious remedies with Bill over a few days - with no ...