Nick and the crew at Greer Amps have been putting out some incredible dirt pedals over the last few years, but with today’s pedal, they’re veered a bit off course into the world of delay, which I (and other fans of theirs) couldn’t be happier about. The Black Tiger Delay Device is a relatively simple delay, but has great tone, like all Greer pedals, and provides the perfect amount of tone-enhancement to make your rig...
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Don’t you just love to hear the sound of a good tape echo delay coming out of your amplifier, or stereo speakers, or a YouTube video? Of course you do, we all do! Problem is, to be able to get that authentic sound, you have to find AND be able to purchase a big, clunky machine, which may or may not even work properly, then take a short 6 week course on how to use it, switch tapes and keep up the general maintenance of the unit....
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I think the TonePrint idea that the folks over at TC Electronic had was brilliant, and continue to think that same thing, especially since they’ve incorporated it into all different types of pedals, not just the delays. Phaser pedals seem to be kind of a love/hate thing, and since I lean toward the former, I was super-stoked to see that TC was coming out with a TonePrint-enabled phaser. Well, I finally got my hands on the Helix,...
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As far as unique pedals are concerned, a small company called Like My Pedals has been coming up with some great gear as of late, mixing colorful enclosure/control knob combinations with tasty circuits and rad tones. Their no-name, no-graphics approach to pedal building is unique as well, but in a mysterious way makes them that much more recognizable, somehow. Today’s pedal from LMP was one I had to name myself, and I honored it...
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In this awesome world of pedals, it can sometimes seem like it’s all been done before: sure, there might be a couple of different toggles on this pedal and a new knob or two, but really unique, new and innovative stuff can elude the masses at times, until you stumble across a pedal that truly makes you stop in your tracks. Today’s piece of hardware did exactly that me, as I had never come across a...
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We here at Pedal of the Day had been hearing about this incredible overdrive pedal from Australia that was all that rage, and had apparently been sold out and hard to find. Luckily, the maker of this pedal, Teletronix, decided they were going to answer the high demand for this pedal, and release a new batch, featuring two new graphic designs. We were able to get a hold of one of these pedals and put it through the ringer, and boy, the...
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As much as I enjoy a nice, small delay pedal that fits beautifully onto my pedalboard, I love the big box delay pedals, the ones that take up too much real estate but sound so incredible that you don’t mind the size whatsoever. In an attempt to satisfy my delay obsession, I may or may not have purchased a number of these pedals over the years, and one that I really dig is the Plush REP-3 Tube-Voiced Delay from our friends at...
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There are a lot of overdrive pedals out on the market at the moment, and there have been for years and years now. Hi-Gain, Transparent, Low-to-Mid, etc…there are many sub-categories of overdrives, too, and sometimes you have to play a LOT of them to figure out which sound is best suited for you as an individual, and your personal style of music. The Howlerr Classic from SFG Music Supply up north in Canada is an instantly smooth...
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Having already reviewed the Memory Lane Jr. and Quantum Leap delay pedals from Diamond, I wasn’t quite sure what else they could do with their delay line, but thought I would check out the Counter Point anyway. Let me tell you, this is a beast of another kind, with new and wonderful differences from the other two, but still invoking that same sonic structure and delight that Diamond gives out with all of their pedals. And...
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Sometimes, the simplest pedals can be some of the coolest and most fun, and a lot of times can be used in many different ways. Lots of buttons and knobs and bells and whistles are always fun, but sometimes you just want a pedal that you can only turn on or off, with no controls and virtually nothing to think about. A prime example of the marriage of simplicity and usefulness is today’s wacky signal processor pedal from Fuchs...
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There are a couple of pedals from Strymon that are currently in high demand almost everywhere you look: the TimeLine, BigSky, Flint and BlueSky are on a TON of pedalboards throughout the world, and rightfully so, as all three are tops in their respective pedal fields. However, Strymon does actually make more than those 3 pedals, believe it or not, and we’re going to check one out today – get ready for the Orbit dBucket...
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I first came across the Greece-based company Crazy Tube Circuits when I was listening to a Rig Rundown with Nels Cline, as he is a big fan of their pedals, so I thought I’d check ’em out. The first one I got my hands on was the Stardust Overdrive, which is a highly-responsive and amp-like pedal, perfect for almost any guitar situation, and a worthy comrade to take into the studio with you as well. This pedal, aside from...
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The Power Series pedals that Ibanez made back in the 80’s have come to be a well sought-after group, and a good chunk of that group of pedals can be found for extremely reasonable prices as well. The pedal we’re gonna check out today is the SC10 Stereo Chorus, a great little blue box full of charm and character, kinda like me. Speed (the rate of the effect) and Width (the intensity of the chorus) are two extremely common...
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Keeping with tradition, JHS Pedals continues to pump out great-sounding overdrives left and right, and today’s pedal is no exception to that seemingly unbreakable rule. Roughly based on the classic Supro amplifiers of the 1960’s, the SuperBolt has grit, grime and dirt, as well as a boatload of sensitivity, dynamics and patience as well. If you want to sound like Jimmy Page, but can’t afford that vintage amp, this is...
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Gimmie a one-knob pedal with maybe one toggle switch, and I’m usually pretty happy. No exception here, as we’re going to take a look at a small company (they don’t even have a website yet) with a great name, American Wizard Toneworks, and their flagship pedal, the Hive Fuzz. As soon as I clicked the bypass switch, my guitar came alive and my amp started yelling at me, in a great way. With only one knob to worry...
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Way back when we first started Pedal of the Day, one of our first pedal donators was Happy Valley Analog out of Chattanooga, Tennessee. I loved the simplicity of the first incarnation of their Jurassic Fuzz pedal: simple controls, a great space-saver for your pedalboard, but it didn’t lack the balls that you want a good fuzz to have. Well, they took that schematic and beefed it up a bit, adding another control for more sonic...
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Some pedal companies (well, a lot of them, actually) are small, unique and hail from a different country. I always like to see what other countries and cultures are doing in the massive pedal world, to see what influences they are using, and how their ideas about pedal building differ from the ones here in the U.S.A. I’ve recently been in contact with Fuse Electronics, all the way from Chile in South America, and they sent a...
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Chorus pedals are a touchy subject for me. I find most of them to be disappointing. Usually, either they are too subtle (EHX Small Clone) or when you try to make their effect more pronounced the depth is too extreme and makes the guitar sound out of tune. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the new Blue Hippo MK II from Way Huge/Dunlop, is an exception. With the depth close to max and the rate around 9 o’clock some great...
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Have you ever heard of the Jordan Bosstone Fuzz? Me neither, until I started doing a little research for today’s pedal review. Turns out, it was this cool little black box that plugged directly into your guitar’s output jack (unless you had a Strat, then it wouldn’t work) and made some incredible fuzz tones. Well, the genius builders at KMA Machines built a take on the Bosstone, aiming to get that classic sound with...
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I’ve had the Kilobyte LO-FI Delay by Caroline guitar Co. for little over a month now. This is my first delay pedal I’ve tried and owned. There were many delays to choose from, expensive, eccentric, complex, flashy and vice versa. I chose to purchase the Kilobyte mainly for the design. No, just kidding, I chose this delay because of many reasons. The style, features, and the sounds that could be derived form this box. Now...
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I love a good delay pedal, and today’s version has some excellent features, good options and some wicked rad modulation as well: the Deluxe Memory Boy Analog Delay from Electro-Harmonix. I know, I know, the Memory MAN is the one you’re supposed to get, being a classic and all, but I wanted to see what EHX was up to recently in their delay department, and was definitely not disappointed. Let’s start off with the basic...
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Some pedals are great at doing one thing, and one thing only. It’s usually quite specific, and they’re not trying to do anything but the ONE thing they’re great at. The Depths from EarthQuaker Devices is NOT one of those pedals, as it can perform many effect functions, with ease and sounding great in the process. Chorus, vibrato, rotary speakers, phasers and more – this pedal has got your needs more than...
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Usually you buy a certain overdrive pedal to do what you are going to use it for, you buy a TS9 for more metal and hard rock and you will get a boss blues driver for a smoother more lead/blues lead tone, but this Airis Effects Protodrive can do almost any of it. Trust me, I was skeptical also when I heard it could do it all, so I bought it to see if it could and I was blown away! I have owned this pedal for 6 months and have gotten...
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The Mobius super-modulation pedal from Strymon is yet another example of some of the finest gear offerings available on the market today, and doesn’t really leave much to chance as far as options and tones are concerned. Created in the same realm and structure as the TimeLine Delay and BigSky Reverberator, the Mobius is a true all-in-one modulation box, supplying just about any kind of phaser, flanger, chorus and vibrato sound...
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The crew over at Fulltone has been a leading innovator of modern-day effects that precisely emulate some of the most sought-after and classic effects from the 60’s and 70’s, going through painstaking detail to faithfully recreate these incredible sounds and tones. One of these effects is the Uni-Vibe, made famous by David Gilmour and Jimi Hendrix, among others. Fulltone’s Mini DejaVibe captures that sound almost...
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The Last Adam LM308 Distortion pedal is a vintage RAT clone with an added Feedback Loop…but it’s also so much more. Will over at Will Sledge FX made this one pedal, the only one of it’s kind, and now I am the proud owner of the LONE VERSION of this incredible stompbox, which I’m pretty excited about. Anyone who bothers to sit down and actually read the reviews I do knows that I love a good crazy, off-the-wall...
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The latest offering from the folks over at Strymon is based on some classic sounds throughout the past century: the Deco Tape Saturation and Doubletracker. Conjuring up the sounds of ancient reel-to-reel tape machines from the 50’s and 60’s, the Deco provides all the vintage echo and delay sounds you’re after, and the Tape Saturation side aims to fatten up your sound using tasty compression and just a bit of...
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It’s no secret that Analog.man chief Mike Piera has an ear for tone. His famous King of Tone overdrive can be found on a laundry list of star guitarist pedalboards, and his company builds top-quality offerings in most categories of effect types. I have been particularly drawn to his fuzz pedals; in fact, all of the fuzz on my board bears the Analog.man brand (Astrotone, Dark Peppermint, and Sunbender). Each of the pedals excels at a...
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I recently purchased the Monoprice Flanger Mini Pedal as a gift for someone else… Of course I couldn’t help myself, reaching for my guitar instead of the wrapping paper, and had to try it out. Based on the layout and comparing it to online audio samples, it’s most likely – if not definitely – the same exact circuit as the Donner Jet Convolution and the Mooer Eleclady, both of which are reported to be clones of vintage...
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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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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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Alchemy Audio is a small company based out of Chicago, and the majority of their work stems from performing great upgrades to some of the most famous guitar effects pedals ever created, such as the ProCo Rat, Electro-Harmonix Soul Food, a slew of Boss pedals and, of course, the Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer. As most of you know, this pedal is a classic overdrive, used by countless artists since its release in 1982. A good pedal on...
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I bought this used at very low price… I didn’t expect much on the pedal. I just wanted a decent backup either for my CM plexitone or my amp dirty channel. This provides bluesy 70’s rock tone more than just “ok.” Considering its price, there is some great tones for players to get out of this box. Nice vintage style hard clipping. One thing I don’t like about the box is how the tone stack is shaped....
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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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Anyone who knows about the original Roland RE-201 Space Echo knows how sought-after and incredible they sound, but one of the main drawbacks for today’s musicians is the fact that they are really expensive and pretty rare. Well, look on eBay no more: the folks at Roland & Boss have an answer for you in the form of the RE-20 Twin Pedal Space Echo. We know, RE-201 purists, it’s not the same thing…but it is REALLY...
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Just opening the box containing the Sputnik Germanium Fuzz pedal from Spaceman Effects was quite a thrill. I love how they make everything so shiny and sparkly, making you feel just a wee bit better about how much you just spent on an effects pedal. The silver bag makes it seem like you’re opening a window into space, about to be launched into the sonic atmosphere at breakneck speeds, and leaving all other guitarists’...
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The Echo Machine+ from Greyscale Devices is truly a one-of-a-kind echo/delay pedal, with a couple of unexpected and awesome additions that aren’t found very often on delay pedals, as far as I have seen, anyway. A nice, big, silver metal box houses an array of wires and circuits, all working in conjunction to form a unique, spacey, trippy, echo/delay sound that sure to add a whole new dimension of depth to your overall sound. TWO...
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First off, to be perfectly honest, I’m not entirely sure why the TimeBender from Digitech is not on the delay pedal A-list. This thing is super powerful, sounds great and is relatively inexpensive. DigiTech has a prolonged history of making incredibly innovative pedals. The TimeBender combines conventional effects with some nutty, yet still sweet delay effects. The interface is great, and the ability that it gives you to...
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If you’re looking for a deep, lush chorus pedal to add a bit of depth and character to your playing, then look no further than the Analog Chorus from CMATMods. This box produces sounds reminiscent of vintage choruses from the past, and it does so because pedal maker Chad uses the discontinued BBD MN3007 and MN3101 analog chips, making your tone warm, smooth and buttery fluttery. The Blend knob is always a welcome knob, on any...
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Now here is a great looking and sounding echo/delay from J. Rockett Audio Designs: the Alien Echo. Designed to emulate vintage delays and tape echoes, the Alien Echo also adds in on-the-fly modulation to keep you on your toes and constantly guessing about what’s coming next. The narrow but surprisingly thick brushed chrome enclosure looks gorgeous, and features a number of knobs and switches allowing you to create some lush and...
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The Seafoam Chorus from Keeley Electronics isn’t the average chorus pedal, IMHO. You notice right off, out of the box, it’s a great looking, solid, well built feeling pedal. The color and labeling are spot on and compliment each other. You just feel quality all over this guy. But it really hits you when you kick it in. With the knobs at around 12 o’clock, you get this sweet shimmering boost that just adds a...
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The Formula No. 5 from Catalinbread is modeled after the famous Tweed amps used by some famous guitar pickers (Clapton, Billy Gibbons, Neil Young, etc), and gives off a powerful but somewhat soothing tone. The No. 5 can boost your amp’s natural sound a little or a lot, and with the Gain knob up to the max, can really make it sing. Although the tone is definitely in the ‘overdrive’ category, it emits an...
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First off, the DelayLab is a BIG box, no bones about it. That said, it packs a heap of features and a million different settings to choose from, making it one of the funnest delays I’ve ever used. Simple digital readout in the top corner lets you know what bank you’re in, what the delay time is, amount of feedback being produced, etc., depending on how you turn the knobs. 3 footswitches allow for a multitude of banks (30,...
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The Flint Tremolo / Reverb is an incredible dual pedal from Strymon. Used separately or in conjunction, both the Tremolo side and the Reverb side have many different functions and tonal possibilities, all running through a supremely-built and gorgeous looking enclosure, which also happens to be true bypass. Along with the usual Speed and Intensity control knobs, the Tremolo side features a 3-way switch where the user can select from 3...
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The Echophonic Jr Delay from Lovepedal is like no delay I’ve come across yet. The control knobs are simple enough: Delay, Time, Volume, Repeats and Modulation. However, they work together in such a way that the sonic possibilities seem, well, endless. The ‘Delay’ knob allows the signal to go from All Wet to All Dry, which provides a huge range of tones right off the bat. You can adjust the amount of delay you want...
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The Jurassic Fuzz Deluxe is a hand built and hand painted tiny silicon transistor fuzz pedal. This is a vintage style fuzz pedal that uses a pair of high gain BC109 Transistors. It is much smoother and has longer sustain that its one knob little brother. You just use your volume knob to go from clean to full on saturated fuzz. It is a beautiful little enclosure as well, with point-to-point hand wiring and is hand-painted as well....
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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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As a dirt-obsessed bass player, I’m often disappointed by the lack of distortion options for us dudes in the rhythm section. Most bass overdrives sound flabby and unfocused; poor recreations of that famous “vintage” amplifier that rhymes with BLT, and, though I enjoy the upper-midrange growl I get from guitar-oriented overdrives, they’re chronically lacking in bottom-end, and that gnarly tone gets lost in a full-band...
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