First off, let me say that I love Emerson Custom Guitars’ EM-Drive as it is, being a wonderfully transparent overdrive with great character and warm, smooth tones. However, I also like my overdrives to have a little more BITE than the stock EM has got, and that’s where this fantastic mod from my friend Ásgeir over at Pedal Projects in Iceland comes in. Just wait ’til you see what he’s done now. The Pedal...
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Walrus Audio makes some pretty incredible effects, from straightforward rock boxes to off-the-wall Fuzz/Tremolo 2-In-1 units, and a bunch of cool stuff in between. Their first offering of a usually simple pedal is unorthodox and ballsy as well, as we’ve come to expect from Colt and Company. The Plainsman is a Clean Boost, but with a few twists and turns along the way. Here goes… This gray little box is tiny, a perfect fit...
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When you see the control knobs and toggle switches on The Elements Overdrive pedal from Dr. Scientist, you might be immediately overwhelmed, scared, frightened and perhaps cry a little, but not to worry: this monster IS tamable, and you’re going to have a great time doing so. Don’t let the 6 Control Knobs and 4 Different Toggle Switches haunt you in your dreams… Right off the bat, you’ll notice that 3 of the...
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Retro Mechanical Labs in Portland, OR, are making some really cool pedals these days, and have been for a while, now. The Clean Overdrivr (that’s NOT a typo, by the way) is a smaller size pedal than they usually build, but it packs a punch and delivers the goods just the same. For those of you who don’t like too much fuss and muss with your effects, the Clean Overdrivr is right up your alley. Two settings: Clean and Drive....
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The Pedal Projects Growly overdrive/boost left me speechless as soon as I opened up the box. Ásgeir of Pedal Projects is known for the outstanding work he puts into his pedals, and now I have experienced it first-hand. The build quality of the Growly is just awesome. The Growly also has an amazing and very unique sound that I have never gotten out of any other overdrive pedals I’ve tried. The drive circuit features a volume knob...
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Right out of the gate, the Bumblebee from Hungry Robot Pedals had me intrigued. This pedal is being hyped as an EQ-Boost-Overdrive-Distortion-Fuzz, which seems like a pretty tall order to me. But with a few twists of the knobs, I could tell that this thing was a beast, and could deliver on all it promises, and perhaps a little bit more. A truly unique and dirty pedal, the Bumblebee can perform many functions, from a delicious clean...
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First and foremost, the Saturn V Harmonic Booster (in Limited Edition White) from Spaceman Effects is gorgeous. Pretty much the cleanest, slickest, futuristic-looking pedal I have ever had the opportunity to play. Not to mention it sounds simply incredible. You’d think a pedal with only two knobs would be kind of a one-trick pony, but the sonic ranges in these 2 knobs are BIG, allowing for an unusual amount of tonal structure...
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The Happy Valley Analog Clean Boost is an extremely well built hand painted and hand wired boutique clean boost effect pedal. Happy Valley Analog is a relatively new boutique effect company with fantastic customer service. They use nothing but the highest quality parts and it really shows in the sound quality of their effects. The HVA clean boost is a very straight forward pedal with great sound designed to be used with a tube amp....
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This is the NashPedals Bronco Billy clean/treble boost. I’ve been using this hand painted version for 6 months now, and I am always impressed with how transparent and usable this little guy is. With the toggle in the up position, the Bronco Billy acts as a treble boost. I really love how you can dial it in if you need just a touch to cut through, or really use it to push the amp without getting big, boomy bass. I often use this...
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P.I.F Pedals is a small boutique pedal company with one mission: Pay It Forward. Their first offering is the Dual Preamp Boost – a dual boost pedal with inputs and outputs for both, giving you immense flexibility as well as superb tones. The right side of the boost is the “sparkle” boost, which is a BS170 FET transistor-based boost. This adds a shine to your tone and mixes well with warm humbuckers or semi-hollow...
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The Blackeye Effects Palmetto is a great boost/light overdrive pedal. It only has two controls, Gain and Volume, but that is all you need. The Palmetto is true bypass and there are many great settings on this pedal. And for under $100 new, you can’t pass it up. Let’s review a few of my favorite settings. With the gain backed down and the volume up, the Palmetto will make your clean tone full and shimmering, giving you a...
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To really test this pedal, I wanted to run it through an solid state amp, to see how much “tube tone” it would actually add to a sound not produced by tubes in the first place. However, I only have 1 solid state amp, and it’s a little ZT Lunchbox. Maybe not the best demo amp, but I figured if I could coax a warm tube sound out of it, then this pedal was doing its job. Well, it did, and then some. For starters, it...
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Need a stompbox that can perform multiple functions and can be used in a slew of different scenarios? Then check out the Jerry Donahue JD10 from Morley. This pedal can do many things, including recording line driver, amp emulator, overdrive, preamp, and headphone amp. I use it mostly for boost and a bit of overdrive on the Classic setting. The speaker simulator sounds good even when playing through an amp. I have quite a few other...
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You know about the infamous Klon Drive, right? If you don’t, do some research. It has somehow become the end-all, be-all of drive pedals, and while it only cost about $225 in the ’90’s, today they are rare, and sell for upwards of $2000. Besides being outrageously overpriced, there are now a number of pedal makers who have been able to clone the circuitry and sounds of the Klon, most at about 1/6 of the price of an...
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We’ve got another VIDEO review for you today, and it’s an another unique pedal, this time from Gerhat by Prosound, and it’s a Custom Multi Effect. Make sure to check out Kyle’s other reviews using the links under the video. Click ‘PLAY’ and enjoy the show! Go see Gerhat on Facebook as well! Submitted by Kyle
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Mammoth Electronics are doing something pretty unique: they sell you the pedal as a KIT and you get to build it yourself! It’s an interesting concept, and I think it makes effects pedals users appreciate what all goes into making these awesome creations, and why (some of them) are so expensive 🙂 They were kind enough to send me this already assembled J201 Boost pedal to test, which I am grateful for, as my soldering skills are...
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The Suhr Koko Boost is a unique boost pedal that serves basically 3 purposes. First is a clean boost which can be toggled on and off with the switch on the left side. I have used a several different OD/clean boost and this one is by far the most transparent one I’ve ever heard. Works really well with an amp that is crunching up just a bit to drive it to further overdrive. Sounds just like turning up a gain knob. I could hear a...
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