The Big Muff. You’ve heard it, you know it, you love it….but, can you afford an original, 1970’s-era model? Probably not, plus there’s the maintenance, reliability, etc. that goes along with owning any piece of vintage gear. Thankfully, we’re super-spoiled in the effects pedal community, and have companies like D-Sound Effects, all the way from Russia, to help us with these bumps in the road. Today...
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The Russian Big Muff from Electro-Harmonix is about as classic a distortion/fuzz sound as you’re going to find in the effects pedal world, but sometimes, you may find yourself wanting more options than its 3-knob configuration will allow. Enter D-Sound Effects and their Orion Distortion Fuzz. Utilizing a six-parameter control section, and using modern, sophisticated circuitry and build techniques, this pedal is a Russian Big...
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We love it when we discover a new pedal company, one that we were previously unaware of that just blows us away right off the bat. The crew at D-Sound Effects did just that with today’s impressive dirt pedal, the Fisherman High-Gain Distortion. This multi-faceted beast gives you a nice range of tonal options to choose from, letting you create a solid drive sound from the ground up. Let’s check it out! The Fisherman is a...
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We’ve been getting down and dirty the last few weeks with some incredible distortion pedals, and we’re gonna keep that trend going again today, if you don’t mind. “Good-sounding distortion” and “affordable” don’t always go well together, but today’s pedal just might change your opinion about that. The Flextortion from ModTone Effects is a supreme distortion, featuring enough range...
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Fuzz. It’s awesome, and you know it. While there are a TON of different fuzz pedals on the market, it’s one of those sub-sectors of pedal that seem to somehow make each pedal sound completely different. You can line up 10 random fuzzes and do a sound test with them, and they’ll inevitably each possess unique characteristics and sonic qualities, which is by no means a bad thing. A prime example of a standout,...
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Mixing different kinds of effects together usually pays off pretty damn well, and today’s pedal keeps that fine tradition going strong. The Humanoid Pedals Psychosis Tremolo Overdrive combines two of our favorites into one wild enclosure, complete with nutty graphics and thick, heavy driven and modulated sounds. This isn’t a light one, folks, so buckle up and let’s see what its all about… The Psychosis is the...
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(This article comes from our friends at GuitarTricks.com – check out their site for tons of guitar-related tips and tricks!!) How To Get The Most Out Of Your Pedals By Steven Kendzorski for Guitar Tricks and 30 Day Singer, the original platform for online guitar lessons. I have GAS, and it’s bad. GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) is a common ailment among new guitar players, triggered by tone-envy, causing them to spend every...
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We’ve got another Klon-inspired beauty to bring to you today, only this one takes everything up a couple notches. Recently, we had the pleasure of checking out the KCM-OD Silver V10 from Studio Daydream Handmade Pedals, and today we’re bringing you their next version, the KCM-OD Gold V9.0 Overdrive. Looking and sounding similar to a certain horsie-laden and ridiculously expensive pedal from the ’90s, this one has a...
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We have been loving the Vintage Pedals from Danelectro, and have the final effect of their current lineup for you today. Following in the footsteps of The Breakdown, Eisenhower Fuzz, Back Talk Reverse Delay and Roebuck Overdrive Distortion pedals, the Danelectro 3699 fUZZ Octaver brings a vintage and classic effect back into the fold. Improving on the classic FOXX Tone Machine, this vintage looking-and-sounding beast brings classic...
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Let’s face the facts: a lot of pedals, aside perhaps from the graphics, look really, really similar. They’re usually in some form of rectangle, either vertical or horizontal, with slightly varying sizes, but all in the same general layout category. So when we get an effects unit in that is completely different, original and unique, and sounds incredible as well, we get pretty damn excited. Let us present to you the Neon...
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If you use pedals, chances are you have a boost, overdrive, distortion or fuzz on your board….or maybe all of them, or many multiples of all of them. But what if you had a pedal that could do ALL of those things, that was built for classic and contemporary tones and was as versatile as can be? Then you’d probably want to check out today’s featured effect, the Odyssey Intergalactic Driver from Hamstead Soundworks. Not...
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The Tremolo Effect. It’s been heard, loved and loathed by many on countless records throughout the decades, and, regardless of if you’re a fan of it or not, you can’t deny it’s place in musical history. Starting with circuits in amplifiers and moving gradually to our beloved effects pedalboards, it comes in many shapes, iterations and styles. Sometimes, though, simple is the best solution, and we’re going...
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While everyone is always out to find a great deal, there don’t seem to be a ton of decent options for low-priced gear that sounds great in the world of effects pedals. That all changed when we plugged in today’s featured pedal and went for a funky, delay-filled ride down the rabbit hole. The Time Force from NUX is a multi modulation digital delay, with a ton of different echo modes and fun around every delay-infused...
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The RV-3 Reverb/Delay from Boss is one of my all-time favorite effects pedals, combining two wonderful effects together with a bunch of combination options and pretty rad-sounding tones. I’d always been a little skeptical of the RV-5 Digital Reverb, as it slimed down to being just a reverb, and as much as I dig delay, I thought it was a choice I was not going to like. Turns out, the RV-5 is a fine piece of gear, and apparently...
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Octave/organ-type pedals have been flooding pedalboards in recent times, and for good reason. They bring an air of mystery and add a whole new dimension to an otherwise-normal guitar sound. One of the most intriguing of these pedals that we’ve come across is made by, you guessed it, EarthQuaker Devices, and it’s the featured pedal today: the Organizer Polyphonic Organ Emulator. The Up and Down knobs control the octave up...
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How does one company manage to craft not ONE, not even TWO, but THREE of the most-used and highly regarded delay pedals in existence? Starting from scratch and perfecting Version One, that’s how. Although the Memory Lane 2 might be generally regarded as a better machine, and the Memory Lane Jr. might appear on more pedalboards throughout the world, it all started with today’s featured pedal, the Memory Lane Analog Delay...
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For the most part, multi effects pedals are pretty fun, and can be super useful if you are traveling a lot, or have a small pedalboard that you need to cram a bunch of stuff onto for gigs. The Rocket Train from Movall Audio covers the bases for three pretty common and oft-used effects, all in one relatively compact box that should fit on any pedalboard with ease. I decided to go right to left on this pedal, as I usually like...
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When you first take a look at the TC-3 Compressor from Big Lloyde, you get the feeling that this is not your grandpa’s compressor pedal, and that something cool is about to happen. Then you plug it in, and realize your hopes and wishes had actually come true. A great-sounding compressor in a neat and tidy pedal package, the TC-3 gives the big fellas a run for their money. The controls are, at first, a little intimidating, but...
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I dig a nice, easy-to-use, not a lot of frills and thrills, good-sounding, good-looking overdrive pedal (don’t we all?). Although a giant list of options and switches can certainly be fun, useful and awesome, sometimes it’s nice to kick back with a guitar, an amp and one nice drive pedal to get a great rock n roll tone without exerting too much effort. That’s definitely what I found in the Aerodynamic Overdrive from...
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