The Blue Moon is actually just the left channel of the classic Hungry Robot Pedals’ Hungry Robot Overdrive, but this is a standalone effect, as opposed to the Hungry Robot, which combines the Blue Moon and the Lou Drive in one giant enclosure. Sporting only ONE control knob, this pedal is easy to coax great tones from, as well as using the 2 toggle switches to express the true overdriven nature this little blue box has to offer.
The one control knob is Gain, and there is a lot of range in this one knob. Not much in the way of clean sounds coming out of this guy, but that’s not what we want anyway, right? Set at about 11:00, the Blue Moon starts to sing beautiful overdriven harmonies, just adding the nicest, slightest bit of crunch to your guitar’s sound, and pushing your amp to just the right sonic texture, that nice spot where it just begins to break up, but hasn’t been pushed over the edge quite yet. This is an all-day setting, in my opinion, very useable to leave on all the time and just rock. The first toggle switch is Saturation, which goes between a nice, smooth drive sound and a more distorted, rougher, harsher crunchy tone. Both work well in numerous situations, and can yield some incredible overdriven results. The other toggle is a Bright switch, which just adds a bit of boost and treble to your signal, if you so desire. Again, extremely useful in a bunch of playing scenarios, and neither position is too much, both just sitting there, quietly doing their respective jobs to the best of their abilities….much like most of us in our day jobs! Combine these 3 controls, and you have an easy-to-manuever-but-fun-to-explore tiny stompbox that produces a vast array of drive tones, from a slightly boosted, sort-of dirty tone, to all out ballsy distortion.
I really have liked the couple of pedals I’ve played from Hungry Robot, and the Blue Moon is another great example, plus I like that it doesn’t take up as much room as the dual drive pedals do. The Blue Moon is discontinued, as it has been absorbed by its larger big brother, so if you just want this beauty, you’re gonna have to search for it! I’ve had a couple of nice conversations with Eric, the founder and builder of HRP, and can’t wait to see what his next product is going to be!
Submitted by Mike B, Website
