Someone had to do it - and that someone is new pedal brand Olinthus. Whose first pedal - the Cicada Overdrive - is the world’s smallest fully functioning Screamer style pedal - in fact the world’s smallest pedal full stop!

I’m not sure the world necessarily needs another Tube Screamer as such, but it’s definitely a better place for it - with this supreme engineering achievement. It’s an unusual design in many ways - where most of the sides are largely open to the elements - which you can ...

So I’m falling a little behind on my Walrus Audio Overdrives - I’ve been meaning to get the 385 MKII for a while - where I think I prefer the black edition - that one just hasn’t quite happened yet - but will eventually! And now we have another essential one - very much an extended range Klone type, with some significant smarts onboard - so that one is a target for me also.

I’ve only fairly recently picked up a Walrus Monumental Tremolo, and just this Sunday I landed a Mako II Series [M1] -...

These Hangman fx pedals have been doing the rounds somewhat of late - both Emily Hopkins and the Superfunawesomehappytime chaps received bumper care package of these fairly recently. And Intheblue’s Shane Diiorio and Mike Hermans have at least one apiece.

I do hope Guitar Pedal X can be more involved at the front of these sorts of brand launch events. I mustn’t grumble really - I do get included in many a release schedule, and plenty gets sent my way - but weirdly I still feel like I’m ...

This is part of a long term project for Vitalii, where he’s sourced and circuit-traced most of EXAR’s Legacy Series pedals, alongside the odd one from lesser known smaller Polish brand PUE.

In a move sort of mirroring Boss’s opening 1977 salvo of 3 Original Compact pedals of OD-1, PH-1 and SP-1 pedals, from Drunk Beaver for 2024 we have two classic EXAR circuit replications & enhancements, alongside an evolved take on the PUE Sustain Filter Fuzz.

• OD-1 Over Drive from EXAR Series 1 [OD-1

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 ...

It’s that time again! When you can freely pre-order every and any Reeves Electro pedal in the catalogue within a 24 hour window - without having to partake in a small batch lottery!

The headline for this occasion is the return of the Big Box BlackHatSound Pro - housed in a MKIII Tone Bender style Enclosure - where only 20 of those are available - everything else is Unlimited in numbers!

Also the Plus Overdrive is absent on this occasion with the 183 Sound sort of in its place for this ...

Tosin is a very special player, and has a unique style with very specific technique. Where he’s also very particular about his instruments / tools and gear. Obviously he’s sporting one of his Abasi Concept signature Legion Guitars in the main video, while he also has a Kaizen Signature Guitar in collaboration with Music Man - both seem to cover similar territory - where I think the Legions typically have more strings, but there definitely seems to be something of an overlap there for me - not ...

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...