Wilson Effects Stoned Grasshopper Boost Drive Fuzz

We’ve been wanting to get our grubby mitts on a pedal from Wilson Effects for a couple of years now, and that day has finally arrived. Today’s featured pedal, the Stoned Grasshopper, not only has one of the best monikers we’ve come across so far, but also houses three independent effects that can be used by themselves or in conjunction with each other. While Boost, Overdrive and Fuzz are three fairly popular effects in today’s crazy pedal world, having all of them housed together opens up a ton of tonal possibilities…

First up is the Boost mode, a one-knob controlled MOSFET circuit that gives you sparkling clean boost to your original signal. Use it for adding a bit of volume, kicking up a signal that may be passing through older pedals, or drive your favorite tube amp into that sweet, sweet spot. With just the one control, there’s not much in terms of figuring out how this mode works, but you’ll instantly be impressed by what it can do.

Overdrive mode is second on the list here, and features a circuit based on one of the most revered and collected effects ever to come on the market: the Tube Screamer. The usual control suspects Level, Tone and Drive are present, but the circuit has been modified to get you more drive, as well as an altered tone stack to accompany the modded circuit. The Gain is more transparent at lower levels as a result, providing a wide sweep of varying degrees of dirt and EQ to be pushed into your signal chain.

Finally, the Fuzz mode is upon us. Fuzz controls the gain level, Mids helps to sculpt your overall fuzz tone and Level adjusts your volume output. There’s an internal control as well to set the bias trimmer, allowing you to tune your fuzz to either a sputtering dying fuzz effect or a more fuzzy warm sound. This, in conjunction with the three aforementioned parameters, make for a fuzz section that is both inviting and blistering at the same time.

Using these three effects on their own is impressive enough, but the fact that you can use them all at once, or in any combination of the three, makes this silver box a truly special ingredient in the sonic stew that is your pedalboard. You can even use the two extra jacks on top of the pedal to run the fuzz circuit completely separately from the Boost and Overdrive if you want, for even more adventures down the proverbial wormhole. Thanks again to Kevin and all at Wilson Effects for this first foray into their lineup of effects – this won’t be the last one we see, so stay tuned for more reviews and demos of their gear in the near future!