If there one thing i’m picky about, it is how my drive sounds. Some pedals add too much color, some are just too harsh…We all have that sound we like that’s pleasing to our ears. The Yellow Drive from T-Rex Effects makes sounds pleasing to mine. This is a two-in-one drive pedal with channel A and channel B. Both channels have their own Level, Gain and Tone controls, so you can tinker with the sound to your liking....
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I’m not a big fan of multi-effects units, but this one is really cool. Three awesome Electro-Harmonix effects in one: the Micro POG, Stereo Electric Mistress and the Holy Grail Plus. Alone, each effect is great, but together they make amazing tones. From organ tones to shimmering reverbs you hear on many other coveted reverb units, you’ll be entertained for hours trying and finding new sounds to tickle the ears. First, the...
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I really, really, really like fuzz. There are so many different aspects you can throw into a fuzz pedal, and almost none of them sound alike…unless you’re trying to make them sound like another pedal, a classic maybe, then they certainly can. But, for the most part, fuzzes are unique and extraordinary, and can be some of the funnest pedals as well. Today’s fuzz comes to us from Arkansas, and the boys and girls from...
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Vintage in style, the Bearfoot Fx Honey Beest roars and growls in an amp-like manner. This pedal may literally be confused with a good amp’s gain channel. On vintage amps it keeps everything you love about your amp and makes it better. Don’t have a vintage styled amp? Well, use this effect to get a really nice classic vibe from any amp. One of the best lead tones I’ve heard from a stompbox and one of the amp-like....
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Ladies and gents! If you’ve never had the pleasure of experiencing anything made by the hands of Dan from this1smyne, you are truly missing out. For your viewing and gear addicted pleasures, I bring you the Touch Drive. Hands off!!! This one’s mine… (see what i did there) – get your own. If you are searching that endless search for the right “tone” or finding your “sound”, consider the...
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Some effects pedals claim to be true “distortion” pedals, when all they really produce is a muddy, way too overdriven drive sound. The Mythical Sustainer from EC Pedals also claims it is a distortion pedal, but for a different reason: it IS one, and a mean mofo at that. The Level and Tone controls act exactly as they should, with a big amount of output volume and a nice EQ range as well. The Gain control can really be...
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Taurus Pedals are producing some great guitar effects out of West Fork, Arkansas, and while that might not sound like a town drenched in a hotbed of activity, their stompboxes tell a different story altogether. I was able to connect with Russ from Taurus, and he sent over a couple of pedals for me to test out and review, the first of which is this little green monster, the 90 Lb. Hamster Distortion. Awesome name aside, the 90 Lb....
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I was born a synthesist. I didn’t know it until long after I had given up playing keyboards and spent years learning how to play bass and then guitar, but it’s true. My calling is not to be John Entwistle or Jimmy Page, but to be Suzanne Ciani or Edgar Froese. That probably explains why I’ve spent my entire musical life goofing around with funny little boxes on the floors of practice spaces. Being a huge fan of...
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It seems that certain low-priced pedals from Boss have a reputation as being terrible and unplayable by an overwhelming number of folks in the guitar community. For how long this has been going on is unknown, but these pedals are an excellent introduction to beginning players who are still searching for their sound, and the tools with which to do so. Plus, if you can pony up a few extra bucks and get them modded by companies like JHS...
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I randomly stumbled onto the folks over at Yellowcake Pedals, and was able to check out their flagship pedal, a wicked cool Overdrive/Fuzz called the Furry Burrito. Awesome name aside, this little teal monster produces some scorching drive tones, and will get you to that nice, middle ground fuzz area where it’s still safe to play, yet not too safe to rock it out. Lots of options on this puppy, let’s take it for a spin,...
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The JHS Pedals Panther is a kick ass delay and one of the more beautiful pedals on my board. It is an all-analog delay (if I’m not mistaken) but with a tap tempo switch. This pedal is amazing. The repeats are warm and the modulation on the repeats just makes it even sweeter. This delay has a ton of features but I won’t be going into too much detail about it. At the top panel (where the inputs and outputs are) there is a...
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The pedals that are being created by Hartman are really tantalizing to the eyes (and, as it turns out, the ears as well). Today’s reviewed pedal is no exception to that rule: the Vintage Germanium Fuzz looks as old school and classic as they come, and the sounds are just the same, only using modern, reliable and excellent-quality parts to re-create the sounds of the past. Three knobs make for easy controlling of this fuzztastic...
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The Warbler Tap Tremolo pedal from Midnight 30 Music is a two-of-a-kind pedal, meaning there’s only one other one in existence. I was lucky enough to snatch this guy up, and am now the proud owner of a versatile, fun, deep, lush and rare tremolo pedal. It’s got some great features, a super-rad Star Trek graphic and a lot more that we’ll get into in this review as well. The Warbler is a pretty complicated pedal, to be...
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Geoffrey Teese just makes incredible wahs, hands down. Anyone who has ever played any of the numerous models he has produced over the last couple of decades surely knows what I’m talking about. A while back, we reviewed the RMC5 Wizard Wah, which was an awesome wah altogether, but today we have what a lot of players feel is the crowning jewel Real McCoy Custom wah: the RMC3. One of the absolute most customizable wahs...
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Up to this point in my illustrious (ha!) career, I had only played delay and modulation pedals from our friends at Diamond Pedals, so when I received the Fireburst Fuzz, I wasn’t really sure what to expect, as I never really knew this company to be known for their fuzzes. Well, that changed the minute I plugged this bright red fire box into my amp and hit go, and I’m going to tell you why. A lot of fuzzes and overdrive...
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Let’s face it: a true 60’s Shin-Ei Uni-Vibe is NOT a very viable monetary option for most of us guitarists, as they sell regularly for over $1200. Now, those who can afford them apparently love ’em, and we’ve all heard their sound on numerous classic recordings through the years. Names like Hendrix, Gilmour, Trower and Anastasio immediately spring to mind when mentioning this brilliant effect, and for many of...
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Just take a look at this thing…recognize it? Then you’re probably not under 20 years old, as it seems these things have become somewhat of an underground legend. The Tube Driver, in this particular case from Chandler Industries in San Francisco, has been a staple on many famous and influential guitarists, even if you might not know where their killer overdrive tone was coming from. Granted, these all don’t sound the...
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This is a magnificent reverb pedal. There, I said what you all were thinking, so now that that’s out of the way, we can discuss the pedal in a calm and rational manner, ok? Strymon continues their absolute assault on the effects pedal world with one of the sweetest reverb pedals you’ll ever play: the blueSky Reverberator (I even dig the spelling, don’t you?). There are a boatload of options to this pedal, so...
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One of my favorite overdrive pedals from Catalinbread is their Formula No. 5 – it hasn’t left my board in years, and I can always find a use for it somewhere in my playing, regardless of style or volume. That said, I was super-stoked to test out it’s big brother, the Formula 5F6, whose circuit is based on the old tweed Bassman amplifiers. As soon as I plugged it in, I loved the sound, and after messing around with it...
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Distortion can be a completely different beast from pedal to pedal, sometimes buzzy with a little boost, sometimes a crushing wall of sounds that makes your eardrums start to bleed a bit. And then there’s the Zombie Distortion from EC Pedals. There is so much sound and volume coming out of this pedal, it’s borderline insanity. I was actually a bit scared turning the Level knob up past 12:00, as installing newly-shattered...
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Well, here’s another incredible fuzz pedal from Devi Ever. The God Zilla is a side-by-side octave fuzz pedal, which means there are 2 separate circuits feeding this beast, and you may use them as individual effects, or combine the two for a powerhouse wall of fuzzy awesomeness. Plus, it looks wicked rad. The left bypass switch controls the first gain channel, which is actually Devi Ever’s GZ (Goddess Zero) Fuzz, and...
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If you play guitar and use the Interwebs, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve seen at least one review from Gearmanndude (love those boots, man!), but did you know he makes a pretty smooth overdrive pedal, too? The Luther Drive is based on a vintage TS808 Tubescreamer, with a few modifications along the way to make it just that much better. It feels kind of odd giving a review to a reviewer, but what can you do? Here we...
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Tremolos are one of my favorite pedals, and they can have the most subtle or powerful effect on your signal, depending what it is you’re after. The Honey Comb Deluxe from JHS Pedals is a really simple as tremolos go, since some can get overly complex and gadgety, but it is a great effect in it’s own right, too, and the tonal quality oozing out of this yellow box is second to none. The Honey Comb Deluxe is actually TWO...
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We’ve got another VIDEO review for you today: The Transdrive from 604 Pedals. Check them out HERE, and don’t forget to subscribe to Kyle’s channel after you watch the video! Click ‘PLAY’ and enjoy the show! Submitted by Kyle (YouTube), Instagram, Twitter
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As far as delay pedals are concerned, I LOVE THEM. My current board boasts 6 Delays, and regardless of what you think, I use them all, and they all produce different sonic results for me, hence the exuberant number of them. The latest addition is the Memory Lane Jr. from Diamond Pedals, and what an addition it has been. A ton of options engulf this pedal, and the sonic properties that it produces are nothing short of astonishing. A...
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The Lorena Overdrive from Ohmless Pedals comes to us all the way from Germany, and boy am I glad it made the trip! A powerful but simple 3-knob drive pedal, it’s nice and trim for an easy fit on your pedalboard, and looks brilliant in a tame but stunning sea green enclosure with wicked-cool graphics. Here we go! Volume, Tone and Drive are the control knobs yo’ll need to familiarize yourself with here (hopefully,...
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Chances are, you’ve heard of the infamous Whammy WH-1 Pitch Shifter pedal if you play guitar. Made popular by such guitar gurus as Tom Morello, The Edge, Steve Vai and more, it’s a staple of many famous guitar rigs, and capable of creating some of the most unique tones ever played, live or in the studio. The Whammy II was next generation pedal that followed the WH-1, and although it boasts the same internal chip and...
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Reverb. Most people love it, though there are a few haters out there. I, personally, think it’s a fantastic effect, and love how it works in so many settings. Just a touch adds that little glimmer to your sound, barely noticeable to the common ear, while a full-on cranked spring reverb will elicit some wildly imaginative and out-of-this-world and crazy tones. The good reverb pedals can do both, as is the case here with the Surf...
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Vintage pedals always seem to have an indescribable “Cool” factor going for them. Maybe it’s the chipped paint, missing knobs or ripped-off back label, but you can instantly see they’ve been through the ringer, and have still survived. This shows you that they are A: Built to last, and B: Good enough for folks to have used them over and over again throughout the years. Today’s vintage find is an odd...
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Well, where do you start with this one? Another incredible pedal creation from our friend Andy Green, the Daily Grind Distortion is a true force to be reckoned with. Right off the bat, though, the thing that impressed me the most was the amount of DIFFERENT sounds you can get out of this beautifully golden box of crunch – not just distortion, but much, much more. Let’s take this puppy for a spin, shall we? First off, the...
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I’ve had my eye on a couple of Red Witch pedals for years now, and was finally able to try one out this week. It just so happened to be the one I wanted to try the most, too: the Pentavocal Analog Tremolo. A vast array of control knobs and 2 footswitches make up this beastly trem, and when all was said and done, I knew I’d be a fan for life. The Velocity knob controls the overall Speed of the tremolo, going from super slow...
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Low-medium overdrives are popping up everywhere these days, and for good reason. They often add a nice layer of boost and slight crunch to your guitar signal, not coloring it too much, and not driving your amp into unnecessary levels of distortion. The Aurora Overdrive from Kauffman Audio Appliances is one of these overdrives, smooth and transparent, but can still get a little dirty if you need it to. Right away, I liked how this...
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Everyone love a good Rat Distortion. Well, not everyone, but people who like Distortion sure do. Actually, that’s not entirely true either, but the Rat is famous nonetheless, and is a (mostly) sought after sound, especially the old pedals from the 80’s and 90’s with the desirable LM308 chip in them. Our buddy Ásgeir from Pedal Projects decided to make a Rat of his own, but add a little of his own flavor into it, and...
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We’ve got another VIDEO review for you today: The Jeffro Boost from Taurus Pedals. Check them out HERE, and don’t forget to subscribe to Kyle’s channel after you watch the video! Click ‘PLAY’ and enjoy the show! Submitted by Kyle (YouTube), Instagram, Twitter
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PB&J Pedals out of North Carolina have been cranking out some great pedals recently, if you haven’t heard of these guys yet. We’ve reviewed their Surf Drive, Viper Drive and Billy Goat Fuzz, all of which were great pedals, and today we’ve got another one for the books: the Sweet Clarity Junior Drive. This particular pedal is a slimmed-down version of PB&J’s larger Sweet Clarity Overdrive, which has a...
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We’ve got another VIDEO review for you today: The Krampus Bass Drive / Distortion / Fuzz from J. Michael Pedals. Check them out HERE, and don’t forget to subscribe to Kyle’s channel after you watch the video! Click ‘PLAY’ and enjoy the show! Submitted by Kyle (YouTube), Instagram, Twitter
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Delays are probably my favorite effect on the planet. I have a vast collection of them, and each one is unique in it’s own right, no matter how similar they may seem. I love running across hidden delay gems as well, and a prime example of this is the Cosmo Delay from Garland Guitar Services. I happened upon this at my favorite gear-buying site, and the price was just too good to pass up, even though I could find absolutely ZERO...
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RayGun FX recently sent me a couple pedals to review, and I gotta tell you, they are making some incredible gear for guitarists (check out the Soda Drive). This dual Drive caught my eye right away when I was checking out their website, and as anyone who reads these reviews knows, I’m a real sucker for Dual pedals of any kind, especially Overdrives. The Fat Drive is a Clean Booster and Overdrive in one, which means it will give...
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The Assblaster is an absolutely unique, deviant, evil, and yellow effects system unlike any other available. The sounds it makes are always new, often very unpredictable, and are never repeatable. The Assblaster combines several of Metasonix’s classic vacuum-tube processing circuits: The preamp stage from the TM-7 “Scrotum Smasher” distortion pedal, the pulser of the TM-1 vacuum-tube waveshaper, and the the thyratron...
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Moog has been putting out incredible gear for decades, and their line of pedals is second to none. The newest additions to their line are the Minifooger pedals, which are basically compact versions of the big Moogerfoogers, but they still retain a lot of the characteristics and features of their big brothers. Being a huge delay fan, I decided the MF Analog Delay would be a good place to begin my journey in the Minifoogers, and I was...
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MRB Pedals kinda snuck up on everyone, and they’re churning out some great pedals for us all to enjoy. A little while ago, we did a review of their LOLO Tremolo, which was fantastic, and now we’re back with a great little overdrive: the Mini Sucio. With it’s ultra-small, pedalboard-space-saving design, the Mini Sucio is perfect for anyone who wants a nice overdrive for their guitar, but doesn’t want to have to...
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The folks over at Red Panda make some wacky pedals, plain and simple (check out the Particle, for example). One pedal that doesn’t fly off the radar into crazytown is the Context Reverb, which is just a hands-down great and versatile reverb pedal. So many settings to chooses from, and controls on top of controls to dial it all in, the Context may appear complex, but once you sit down with it for a little while, it’ll...
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The Old School Tremolo from VFE Pedals is just a knockout. There, I said it. This thing has everything you could want in a tremolo pedal, it’s All-Analog, TrueSoft Bypass and Made in the USA, what more do you want? Not to mention it sounds like you’re playing through a $4,000 vintage amp, but with more features and more reliability. This thing is awesome, let’s see what it can do. Speed, Depth and Level are pretty...
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The KOMA Elektronik FT201 Analog Filter / 10 Step Sequencer, like all of KOMA pedals, features a patch bay and an infrared sensor as a modulation source that can be patched to any control. The sequence length is selectable between two through ten steps and the sequencer speed control can turn the sequencer up toward audio raters or down all the way to turning it off all together. In addition, the sequencer can be slaved to an external...
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Well, here’s another sweet pedal from the folks at Sublime Guitar Company: the Chunky Brogan Distortion. First off, the name is brilliant, just wanted to get that out of the way. Second, this is a high gain distortion that leaves your tone alone and lets it shine through, all the while ripping your amp’s speakers to shreds (not literally, of course) and making your audiences’ eardrums bleed a little (this could...
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Where to start with this pedal? There are so many options as far as sounds are concerned when using the Harmonic Decoder from Sunsine Audio, it’s a little daunting to know where to begin. A true single oscillating analog synthesizer, this beast can be a fuzz, an octave, a filter, a wah and much, much more. I’ll do my best to describe to you the power that is held within this little black box. The controls are easy to read,...
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I can’t get over the fuzz tones coming from the pedals over at Hudson Electronics. I recently reviewed their standard BUZZ pedal, which was incredible, and today’s gem is the Buzzard, another killer fuzz from the UK. A blendable 2-transistor fuzz, this little blue triangle is a force to be reckoned with. If you want a light-hearted, Valentine’s Day, Nicholas Sparks fuzz, you better look somewhere else. Fast. Deep in...
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We’ve got another VIDEO review for you today: The Infinity Overdrive from Taurus Pedals. Check them out HERE, and don’t forget to subscribe to Kyle’s channel after you watch the video! Click ‘PLAY’ and enjoy the show! Submitted by Kyle (YouTube), Instagram, Twitter
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If the DL4 were a person you’re looking to score with, you had better be willing to put in the time and effort. Easy enough to get interested with a quick chat up line, but requiring hours of invested time and genuine interest to get the most out of the sound when using live. Make no bones about it, the DL4 is a keeper and one you’ll want to settle down with – that is, if you have a penchant for ambient sounds, uber delay, or just...
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I have played many, many different types of overdrive pedals in my day, and I still get a little giddy and excited when I find one that really rocks my world right from the get-go. The Warmer Drive from Andy Green Pedals did exactly that as soon as I plugged it in, and after about 15 minutes of jamming, I was hooked. Onboard EQ. That’s the stuff, right there. Especially here, where the Treble, Mids and Bass controls have a HUGE...
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