Redbeard's superb Bearded Vulture take on the Thermionic Culture Vulture Tube Saturator Rack Unit could very well be their most satisfying pedal to date!
So I’ve had this pedal for over a month now, and was totally blown away by it right from when it first arrived. It’s part Overdrive, part Distortion, and part Fuzz in its output - depending on where you set the Drive, Bias, and Timbre dials - which are all very interactive - and particularly the Drive and Bias.
I’ve been waiting for Mikey Demus to do a rifftastic demo of his pedal - which he originally told me he would have out the week after the Birmingham Show - now long since passed. He’...
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 ...
Farmer Factory's Horny '66 in Hot Pink Swirly Sparkle Finish sounds every bit as vibrant as it looks
So this is Fuzz Face #104 for me - I always say I have room for one more brilliant one - and this one is one of the very best - it’s properly special sauce! The selected transistors - NKT CV7007 and 2N527 sound amazing together - really vibrant and searing and full on - with all the great hallmarks of classic Germanium Fuzz Face dynamics and guitar volume gain cleanup - but with more range and verve!
You get an external Q2 Bias - which is essential for me - as well as a really cool 3-way ...
My Reeves Electro Etched Edition Darlington Flyer Dual-Natured Fuzz has Landed!
I think only 10 of these were made - it’s funny how it sometimes is an advantage to wait out a pedal release - as frequenly a subsequent . later edition / variant tends to be better looking than the original. I’ve learned that for some brands it’s better to wait things out - like Beetronics - as later editions almost always turn out to be prettier than the original take.
With Reeves Electro the dynamic is often quite different as very limited numbers are available - so there it is ...
That Pedal Show collaborates with Mythos Pedals for the extended range Argo Boost Deluxe
I believe this is very specifically a Mick Taylor signature pedal - and he was the one that instigated this collaboration - based on how he liked to deploy his single Argo Octave Fuzz. This Deluxe model takes the Mythos’ Argo Octave Fuzz, based on the Prescription C.O.B. - and adds a sort of Solo Boost into the proceedings. Supposedly the components selected make for a slightly higher gain version of the core octave fuzz!
Controls - FUZZ } Volume, Fuzz, Blend, BOOST } Boost Level.
At ...
Vertical vs Horizontal Enclosure Format - Pedalboard-friendly vs Aesthetic Choice!
It’s fairly well documented by now that I mostly favour Single Compact Enclosures - especially when there’s only a single footswitch present. I do go larger for the occasional pedal - like my various Stereo Workstation Pedals for instance, and my Drum Machine - while by and large I always try to get something in a fully practical and easily slottable form factor.
My rig / board is highly congested, and has been for a while, now with 52 pedals in the signal chain - so in many circumstances I...
Fredric Effects' Deeply Unpleasant Companion MKII is a super extended take on the Shin-Ei SY-2
Compared to yesterday’s Standard Fuzz Machine Harmonic Octave Fuzz - which was supremely well behaved and really easy to dial in - this one (the clue’s in the name!) is somewhat more unruly and ’nasty’ gated sounding - and really makes you work for your musical tones!
Controls - Gain, Volume, Blend, Tone, Scoop, Blend Bypass Switch, Tone Bypass Switch, EQ : Tone into Scoop / Scoop into Tone.
Tim has designed this pedal so smartly - and the Blend obviously makes it very useful for Bass ...
Fredric Effects' Standard Fuzz Machine is a totally killer Harmonic Octave Fuzz - beautifully calibrated for maximum impact
I do like my Ocave Fuzzes - and this one - kind of based on the Ibanez Standard Fuzz - which is somewhat adjacent to the Univox Superfuzz - This Fredric Fuzz sounds blistering - in the best sense - for that perfectly balanced cutting upper ocatave - beautifully supported by a warm and well balanced core sound - derived from 5 silicon transistors.
Controls - Fuzz Depth (Intensity), Balance (Volume), Ocave Off/On Switch, Tone Change Footswitch : Flat / ’Garagey’ (Red) / Scooped (Green), Fuzz ...
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...
