We love a good synthesizer pedal when they come through the shop, and we love the effects that Robert and the crew at Keeley Electronics put out, so the combination of both of these was a welcome announcement. The goal was to create a synth sound that took you from unnatural fuzz noises to pseudo-harmonic, random glitchy counterpoint, and boy, did they ever succeed. The Synth-1 Reverse Attack Fuzz Wave Generator lets you create...
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We love to cultivate good, solid relationships with the great companies that we collaborate with here at Pedal of the Day, so we were sad to hear that Classic Audio Effects had called it quits. We did get the opportunity, however, to review and demo 4 of their pedals, and were able to get our hands on a fifth for your viewing pleasure today. Octave lovers, REJOICE! Here is the Cliffside Octave Generator… As with all Classic...
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Newer effects pedals that are based on older effects, or electronic unit, or tape machines, or screen projectors, or whatever, always put a smile on our face. Taking something that might not have been geared towards our current effects world and utilizing the sounds it makes to enhance our musical world is a fascinating concept, so we’re stoked about today’s featured pedal. The Jive from our pals in Germany, JPTR FX, is a...
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Whenever a crazy, noise-laden, free form piece of musical equipment comes into the office, we tend to get fairly excited. When the Erratic Clutch Deluxe arrived, we had no idea what we were in for, as it doesn’t really tell you what it is on the outside. However, once we plugged it in, we were treated to a sonic explosion, the likes of which we don’t witness very often around here. You’re all in for a treat today,...
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“Deadbeat Week” rolls on here at Pedal of the Day, and Day Three brings us a multi-dimensional effect unit that utters one simple but powerful word: REVERB. Whether it’s Plate, Mod, Church, Hall, Room, Spring, Lo-Fi, Gate, or Reverse reverb that you’re looking for, the Reverberation Station from Deadbeat Sound has you covered. Boasting a simple but effective control section for each of these 9 modes, this...
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Today’s pedal, an overdrive with a three-knob setup, seeks to to fulfill a need to have an overdrive that was not so thin and lacking like so many others on the market. The Seawolf Overdrive from ToneApparatus FX isn’t trying to create a new effect or genre, just making a damn good overdrive that can be useful to any rig or player in any musical style. It’s also fully customizable, features an additional tonal option...
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Reverb pedals are fun, we can all agree there’s little doubt about that. But what truly sets one reverb above another? Innovation and uniqueness are key factors for us here at Pedal of the Day, and today’s pedal if nothing if not both innovative and unique. The Arquitecto Fictional Space Reverberator features two cascading modulated reverbs, with different time, voicing and 2 depth modulation settings for each reverb....
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Tremolo pedals are always welcome here in the Pedal of the Day office, as each one seems to have its own personality, features and tones, regardless of how many knobs, bells and whistles it may have. Today’s featured pedal leans towards the high end of that spectrum, with a ton of tonal options and sonic parameters waiting to be explored, and unleash all of their glory onto any recording or unsuspecting crowd. The Quaverato from...
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We’ve always been intrigued and interested in pedals that have lots of knobs, dipswitches and In/Out jacks, so when today’s pedal came along, we were super stoked to test it out. The Spectravibe from Endangered Audio Research (makers of the now-famous AD4096 Analog Delay) is a tremolo and vibrato pedal, but it’s also much, much more than just that. With elements of compression, overdrive, distortion, auto wah and...
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The Uni-Vibe is an iconic effect, whether coming from Hendrix and Band of Gypsy’s “Machine Gun,” Robin Trower’s “Bridge of Sighs” or multiple tracks from “Dark Side of the Moon” from Pink Floyd, you’ve heard it before many times, and chances are you dig it. Today’s pedal seeks to re-create those iconic effects units of the past, with a couple new enhancements as well. The...
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In this current era of “space-saving pedalboard layouts,” isn’t it nice to see some oversized gear that feels no shame for its size and stature? Well, today’s pedal, When The Sun Explodes, from the masterminds down under at Beautiful Noise Effects, comes to you just ripping out of the gates, big and bold and rough all over, just waiting to get a chance to show what it can do. Which is a lot, now that you ask,...
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Are you looking to get nuts with your sound? Tired of having 8 drive pedals that all sound fairly similar, and want to spice it up? Looking for a compact and easy way to create walls of noise and freak out your audience? Then the Downer from Malekko Heavy Industry is just what the doctor ordered. Part wavefolder, part saturator, part octave and part filter, these words vaguely describe what this grey monster is able to unleash. The...
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Happy 4/20, kiddos! We’ve got a pedal today that seeks to build upon an already existing design, giving you two different sounding but equally incredible pedals to choose from (who are we kidding, you’ll probably buy both). The original Warped Vinyl Analog Vibrato Chorus from Chase Bliss Audio was a monster modulation pedal in its own right, as was the subsequent MkII version, which took things up a notch. Their new...
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Getting pedals that come through the shop without a distinct label as to what they are or what they can do is always intriguing, and our featured pedal for today baffled us until we had the chance to plug it in. The Instant Lo-Fi Junky from ZVEX Effects is a compressor, chorus, vibrato and more, an sound experimenter’s dream in a small, pedalboard-friendly enclosure, with controls that are basic, but create a wide palette of...
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We are suckers for aesthetics here at Pedal of the Day, and today’s pedal just jumps right out at you (plus it look sweet in a group of pedal, too). A collaboration between the crews at SolidGoldFX and The Tone Mob, the Model 001 Fuzz Generator is an aluminum fuzz masterpiece, a pedal that is expressive both visually and sonically, and one that’s sure to make you take a step back in wonder the moment it’s engaged....
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The first time we ever heard about the Black Cat Vibe, it was doing research on the rig of Trey Anastasio, who used to keep the original half unit in his on-stage rack (known then as the Custom Audio Electronics Black Cat Vibe). Since those particular units were pretty rare and pretty expensive, we never got to fully appreciate and play with the sound we came to know and love. Recently, however, we acquired the newer pedal version of...
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Pedals that can perform more than one function or contain more than one effect are always welcome with open arms (and ears) here at Pedal of the Day. Today’s featured pedal, the Martini™ Dual Analog Chorus Vibrato from Tortuga Effects, features two incredible-sounding effects rolled into one smooth box, with differing sounds and tones for days. If you love a good vibrato sound or adding some chorus to your tone, this might just...
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Sometimes, you don’t actually have to spend a ton of cash to get a great-sounding pedal…no, seriously! Today’s featured pedal, the Mind Bender Vibrato/Chorus from BBE Sound proves that fact over and over again, combining monetary efficiency with some excellent tones that are sure to make you and your amp happy. Let’s take a gander at this blue beauty, shall we? The controls are nice and easy to use on the Mind...
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Let’s face it: sometimes mini pedals can leave something to be desired. Trying to cram a bunch of sounds into a super-tiny enclosure has proven to be a somewhat difficult task, but apparently not for the folks over at Malekko Heavy Industry. Their Vibrato pedal, part of the Omicron Series, packs a wallop of tone and flexibility into a itty-bitty pedal, perfect for saving space but not sacrificing any sound in your rig. Built...
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Today’s guest review comes to us from Max F. – find him on SoundCloud (@MaxFaith)! While octave pedals are available in a variety of configurations it’s hard to find units that operate in the desired octave range and track well enough to be useful and musical. Enter the Walrus Audio Luminary Quad Octave Generator. The fine people at Walrus have designed this pedal to work in the lower and higher octave ranges with some of the finest...
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Classic pedals are classic pedals, no bones about it. However, in today’s world of klones and circuit-borrowing and all the rest, there are a lot of great pedals “based” on vintage units from the past, that tend to offer similar tones as well as modern upgrades that actually improve on the original. Today’s featured piece of gear comes to us from a fairly unknown company, but the Rat Fink Distortion from...
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Whenever we get pedals coming to us from halfway around the world, it’s always interesting to see the new and exciting ways used to create effects through the minds of builders in other countries. Today’s featured pedal is the flagship effects from Ratin Pedals in Munich, Germany, a country which seems to keep putting out more and more killer effects each year. The Blue Angel Overdrive is an original design, three-gain...
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Today’s featured pedal comes to us from a well-known and highly-respected source here at Pedal of the Day. The crew over at Celestial Effects has been consistently churning out some amazing pedals, and we are lucky enough to have them keep sending us new stuff to review and demo, and we couldn’t be happier. This particular piece of gear they graced us with is a 3-In-1 beast, boasting three wonderful effects in one...
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We’ve got another classic pedal reproduction for you all today, and one that unequivocally and faithfully reproduces the sound, feel and vibe (pun intended) of the original units, with all the modern amenities we’re all always seeking out. The Vibe-Bro from Shin-Ei is an updated version of the classic Uni-Vibe machine, made famous for forty years by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour, Robin Trower and countless...
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In this crazy world of effects pedals, Death By Audio has been coming out with rad pedal after rad pedal for some time, and we here at Pedal of the Day enjoy each and every one of their creations that comes our way. Today, we’re going to explore their take on Reverb, a much-loved and oft-used effect that can be beautiful, daring, unpredictable and soothing all at the same time. The Reverberation Machine features a some regular...
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Around here, we get pretty excited whenever the crew over at Walrus Audio unleashes a new pedal release on the world, as we have reviewed just about all of their pedals, and they just keep getting better and better. This time around, they’ve gone to modulation town, with a wicked mash up of chorus and vibrato, but with some new options for ultimate tweakability and customization not seen too often in a pedal of this nature. From...
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If you haven’t heard him yet, Joe Bonamassa is a pretty damn good guitar player. Whether you enjoy blues mixed with rock and roll or not, you can’t deny the man’s talents on the old gitbox, or his ridiculously impressive collection of vintage guitars and amplifiers. As far as effects go, Joe knows what he wants, and so he got together with Way Huge Electronics and Dunlop to come up with a special overdrive pedal,...
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Boost pedals have been appearing on pedalboards all over the place the last couple of years, but few look as awesome as the Strategy Boost from CopperSound Pedals. An op-amp based clean boost with simple controls and powerful sound, this is one boost that will get your audience talking, about both the pedal and the sound. Just looking at this pedal will put a smile on your face. Even if you’re not the biggest Strat fan,...
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We recently reviewed a great preamp pedal from RST Custom Effects, the Magic 6, and were extremely impressed by what it could do, so the thought of reviewing more of their effects was welcome for sure. The next pedal we got was the aptly-named Queasy Seaman Vibrato, a true vibrato pedal that produces sounds not likely to come from your standard tremolo or phaser pedals. Featuring a simple control setup and nausea-inducing graphics,...
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Sometimes, a package arrived at the shop and when you open it up, you’re both excited and completely baffled. Such was the case with today’s featured pedal, the Nitro Fuzz from Elta Electrolaboratory. These cats are based straight out of Moscow, Russia, and the graphics and text on the Nitro convey that clearly, as I could not read a word, and could only figure out a couple of the controls by eyeing it. Luckily, I got some...
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Having recently reviewed the Micro POG, and being impressed with all it could do with such limited controls, I was sure the POG2 was going to really give off some crazy sounds. Guess what? It does! I understand the space-saving and simplicity aspects of the Micro POG, but when it comes to my new favorite POG model, this one takes the cake. Working with numerous options and roughly a bajillion different sounds, the POG2 features a...
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Oh boy, this pedal really opens up a can for sure. I was on a search. I wanted something specific. Tremolo speed control with an expression pedal. The Worm! An affordable pedal with tremolo and expression control! Well with that feature I have to say I was a little disappointed to say the least. The Worm by Electro-Harmonix is a multi effect unit from one of the industries greats, with so many “classic” “must have” units to their...
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When it comes to pedals, I love a good overdrive, a sweet analog delay and a big, fat wah, for sure, but when a company comes up with something that makes new, exciting and not-often-heard-before sound effects, those kinds of pedals make my ears start to smile. While octave pedals are not a NEW genre, per se, the Micro POG from Electro-Harmonix is a beast unto itself, a fresh and new take on a classic sound, with a couple of great...
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With an astounding amount of recent reverb pedals with more options than you can shake a stick at popping up in the last few years, it’s refreshing to have the opportunity to sit down and enjoy a nice, simple pedal. Not that the other reverbs aren’t fantastic and useful in their own rights, but sometime you just want to be able to conjure up a great sound without having to read a 500-page novel. The Plush Good Verbrations...
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The first Warped Vinyl Analog Chorus/Vibrato was an instant hit, and was always in high demand from players across the country (and world, I would assume). Originally created to sound like a warped LP record, the analog sounds and options available made it a surefire classic, and everyone wondered what they would create next. Somehow, the gang from Chase Bliss Audio have managed to step up their game yet again, and have released the...
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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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Thick, rich chorus and vibrato have been a staple of music since the 1960’s, when those sounds first appeared and sent music as we know it into an entirely new dimension. Based on the big amps and new effects of that era, the Warble Tron from JHS Pedals is a classic take on an age gone by. The controls are laid out neatly here, with the smaller Depth (effect intensity) and Volume knobs tucked away on the left, near a toggle...
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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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The classic RAT Distortion pedal. That big, thick, metal box that has sat upon many a pedalboard, and will continue to do so, is a staple of effects pedals if there ever was one. In keeping with that vintage style and sound, Pro Co and RAT distortion have come up with the “RAT on steroids”: ladies and gentlemen, the FATRAT. A titch bigger than it’s little brother, the FATRAT has a few more controls as well. The...
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Opening the box to the SwirlPool Tremolo/Vibrato from Amptweaker was immediately daunting. So many knobs and switches, 2 effects loops, a weird fat switch right in the middle: what had I gotten myself into? Turns out, looks can be deceiving…but not really in this case. This pedal has a learning curve, for sure, but it’s super fun to figure out, and even more rewarding when you get there. Right off the bat, I had to dig up...
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Chances are, you’ve seen the classic RAT or RAT2 Distortion pedal on a board somewhere in your lifetime. Perhaps you currently see one on your own board, as many of us do, or have an old classic version you pull out once in a while to really rock. As well known as the RAT pedals are to players around the world, the small black boxes are not the only story. Today we’re going to check out the newest member of the RAT...
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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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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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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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The Wrath (w rat h) is a beautiful take on the famous, rodent distortion – the Proco Rat. What I mean by beautiful is far more than graphics. This “rat” crosses through tunnel ways from places like a light overdrive, a high gain overdrive, gritty and cool distortion, “open” distortion (if that makes sense), cool fuzz vibe (oh the vibe!), and lastly, full out fuzz. I honesty don’t think I have found...
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Alright, so maybe I wanted to test this pedal out because I thought the penguin looked cool, so what? The point is, not only is the Emperor from JHS Pedals aesthetically pleasing, it is sonically as well. A 2-In-1 Analog Chorus and Vibrato, the Emperor really boasts some gorgeous modulated sounds throughout all of its settings, and promises to make you want to keep coming back for more and more. Volume, Speed, Tone and Depth controls...
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The Pro Co Rat was first created in the late 70s, and then modified and mass produced in the early 80s. I imagine that anyone who bought one of these early models may well be using it today without any problems. These pedals are tougher than a cage fighter made of adamantium. Pro Co have introduced several varieties of the RAT over the decades, such as the Turbo Rat, and You Dirty Rat. I use a Turbo Rat, as I prefer the extra boost...
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I had never heard of Taylor McGrath Guitars until a few months ago, but this pedal with the weird name kept coming up in different circles and online, so I figured I should check it out. I watched a couple of video demos (most notably the Pete Thorn demo) and decided that I need to try the awesome-sounding DRHIVE for myself. Designed with legendary artist, writer and producer David Ryan Harris (Follow For Now, Brand New Immortals),...
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The RAT TAIL is based on a pedal based off of the ProCo RAT – Fuzzrocious modded it to be made towards the low end of the sound spectrum for bass players to be able to use the pedal as well. Depending on the version this pedal comes with a slew of features. Mine per say has a V (volume), F (tone filter), D (distortion), and two red knobs label 1 and 2. These two red knobs in conjunction with the D knob allow you to dial in the...
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