I obviously just recently won me an AC Noises Ricorda Retro Series Reverb as a Chase Bliss Mystery Box Bonus Pedal - so the first iteration I had to make on this article was to update the standard Blue Ricorda image to the limited colourway edition that I was gifted by my Mystery Box. This selection is typically the one where I own the least proportion of pedals featured, in fact in this case it’s easier to list the few that I own here :

• AC Noices Ricorda Stereo Granular Reverb + Freeze /

There’s an incredibly rich mix here of no less than 38 killer Modulations, Utilities and Pitch-Shifters - no one does rundowns quite like me! I always dive in at the deep end of things - and give you maximum expansive scope!

There are several here that I don’t have yet, in fact some hat I’m somewhat unlikely to ever have - for reasons of rig compatibility, size and overall sensibilities, practicalities, and preferences!

These 19 are still to be acquired or eventually overlooked :

2024 has been quite the monumental year for me as regards Modulations - with several of my all-time favourite varieties having been added to the reference collection this year, some very recently - including the slightly older Krozz Airborn and Strymon Lex V2 - which I could have gotten in sooner, alongside 3 killer modulations that were released this year :

Modulations added to the Reference Collection in 2024 :

• 2024 : Chorus : PastFX Kurt’s Cologne Small Clone Multi-Era Analog Chorus -

The colour and moniker of this new Diamond Pedals Delay accurately describes its relationship to the legacy smoother more classic Memory Lane mainstay. The controls and core functions are identical across the two pedals - it’s just the 3 core modes that are different. The Memory lane is more traditionally inspired with Modern, Warm and Vintage Modes, where the Dark Cloud has vintage inspired Tape, and then the more unusual / modern Harmonic and Reverse voicings.

I mostly use tape-style ...

So despite this being a relatively quiet month for releases - I was somehow manically busy throughout!

The month started with custom editions of ThorpyFX and Empress pedals, and I then did 2 massive articles for the Glou-Glou Flancher Series of Stereo Analog Delays / Modulators, and in-depth coverage of Henrik Nordvang’s excellent 1590B3 Series. I’m not sure people realise just how much works goes into those kinds of articles!

Also this month - Mini Pedals were a major feature - all ...

I’ve only had my Diamond Vibrato for a few days now, but it’s made such a strong impression that I’m already wholly smitten. The mix of a NOS Matsushita MN3007 BBD chip and smart compander circuit (also found on the Memory Lane Detlay) - renders the most glorious warm and characterful modulation.

Controls - Level, Speed, Chorus, Depth, Jazz EQ (High-Trim) : Subtle High-Trim / No-Trim / More Trim, Hold footswitch for Double Speed.

Those 5 controls deliver the perfect complement of tone-...

Diamond Pedals’ original VIB1 and Boss’s VB-2 / VB-2W are most likely historically the go-to Vibrato units for most pro pedalboards - each with a deep and loyal following. So it’s great news for Vibrato lovers - to see the Diamond Vibrato back on the scene, now in smaller compact size enclosure - and with an even greater range of flavour onboard - courtesy of its 9-18 Volts power capabilities.

The original square format had mostly the same controls as this new unit, just in a different ...

And so to the final category - where competition is extremely fierce this year. No doubt some of your favourites will have missed the cut here - but hopefully this selection is fully representative of the best of the year. Obvious I lean more towards immersive stereo effects - mono doesn’t really do it for me so much - while there is a smattering of mono pedals in here too. Price, format, versatility and practicality - everything counts!

Of the 23 featured in the selection - I own around ...

So this is the second of this series - where the first was more about the uniqueness of the enclosure shape - more structural really - covering the overall form factor. While this edition is more about ’Trade Dress’ or the Memorability of the Aesthetics - style of graphics, consistency of theme, and consistency of control topology - doing something in a consistently measurable way that makes that pedal instantly recognisable from afar as belonging to a certain single brand.

So this one is ...