I’ve really been diggin’ doing some acoustic pedal reviews lately, as it’s opened my playing back up a bit, and it’s always fun to go back and rediscover all the rad things an acoustic can do. Playing electric so much with the majority of these reviews, I forget sometimes the tranquility and serenity that a nice acoustic guitar provides, and I’m glad I’ve been able to explore that more as of late....
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Recently, we had the privilege of review an awesome pre-amp called the Boxidizer from a company called Tronographic. They make another pre-amp as well, this one being geared more towards bass, but still sounding excellent when used with a guitar – Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Rusty Box Bass Pre-Amp. The control section of the Rusty Box is pretty straightforward, with no a lot of frills to worry about, just plug in, set...
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Sometimes, in this really rad hobby that I have, a pedal comes along that you wouldn’t suspect could have an affect on your sound and playing the way it does, and you’re hard-pressed to remember what your sound was like before it. The fact that today’s pedal can do more than just shape your tone or boost your signal is just the icing on the cake here, as we explore the Boxidizer Pre-Amp from Tronographic. The...
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Space-saving pedals are awesome, I mean it. The fact that pedal builders figured out a way to pack a ton of tone into such small enclosures boggles my mind, but then, that’s not too difficult to do in general. The majority of the ones I have seen or played have been drive, and why not? Leave the huge pedals to the modulation and delay departments, and keep the drive sections neat and tidy. A nice example of such a pedal is the...
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Along the way in this awesome pedal adventure of mine, I come across a TON of pedal builders, and try to do my best to help out all the little companies I can: get their name out into the world, get links from my site and social media pages to theirs and, of course, buy a pedal whenever the funds present themselves. I’ve been looking for a simple, one knob, always on boost/preamp pedal as of late, and decided to take a chance on...
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In my experience with guitar pedals and amplifiers, almost 8 years, I was always looking for a tube amp tone in a single pedal. The BB Preamp pedal from Xotic is by far the most mellow tube-like overdrive I’ve ever heard. It has so sensitive dynamics, it simply breathes together with your guitar. It’s not a high gain pedal that will turn your clean channel into crunch or lead (all knobs at noon) and I think thats the...
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Let me begin with, “WOW!” The L.R. Baggs Para DI Acoustic Direct Box & Pre-Amp can transform the sound of any acoustic guitar/instrument that you put through it. Once I first plugged into the pedal I knew this was going to be great because the sound of my guitar instantly cleaned up and everything became less jumbled. Each string was more distinctive and pure. That was without messing with any of the knobs and going...
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The PettyJohn Electronics PreDrive is a pedal that refines and defines your tone. A great pedal for studio and/or live performances. The PreDrive is designed to be the first pedal in your chain preserving and improving the sound quality of any instrument plugged into it; either a guitar or a bass-guitar. It also has another function, which is a boost that gives you the extra body to your sound; again, playing live or in a studio....
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The Wave Pave Pre Amp from Adventure Pedals is pretty much a dirty buffer with gain, presence, and volume control. It’s features include a no lie bypass and low impedance conversion into or out of other overdrive pedals. Trust me, this thing is totally stackable for pedals that don’t give you enough gain. Submitted by Christian T, Website, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook
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As a musician that is always playing live, it is very important for me to have a warm tone that pushes my guitar out of the mix without mudding everything else. I’ve been searching for a pedal that could give me these features and even more. Two months ago, someone recommended me the Rockerbox Ruby Head Preamp pedal, I tried it and I fell in love with it. What can this pedal offer me? Well, this pedal is a preamp, it’s...
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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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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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People at shows are always asking me, “Dude, how do you get that tone?!” My reply, which is pretty well-rehearsed by now, is, “I have a bass preamp pedal called a Rusty Box. It’s made by a company in New York City called Tronographic.” The Rusty Box is housed in a sturdy, attractive, white and orange enclosure with controls for Level, High, Low, Mid, and Gain; a mini-toggle switch to select between Hi and Lo gain inputs,...
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