James Santiago Los Angeles, California Universal Audio https://www.uaudio.com/ How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I started playing guitar around 5 years old, and at around 15, I began working in professional working bands as musicians around town started asking me to play with them. I didn’t have a driver’s license back then, so I had to have my mom or other band members take me to band...
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Flanging. Players love it and players hate it, but it has had an effect (pun intended) on music since its inception decades ago, and we think it’s a great tool to use for musical experimentation. Sometimes, however, flange units can get too crazy, almost to the point of unusability for some genres – that’s why we really dig today’s pedal, the M152 Micro Flanger from MXR and Dunlop Manufacturing. With two simple...
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We’ve got an oldie but a goodie for you all today, coming in the form of the Nebula Phaser from Mojo Hand FX. This subtle beauty first came to us way back in 2014, and over the years we’ve had 2 or three different versions, finally settling on this black sparkled model. This phaser pedal is not a clone of the famous 2-stage vintage phaser, but rather a phaser pedal created to be the most user-friendly form for modern...
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Last year, we were fortunate to be able to review and demo the ENTIRE pedal lineup from our friends at Poison Noises. Well, they’re back at it again with a new release, The Lighthouse Photo-Vibe, which provides gorgeous vintage vibrato and phasing sounds from decades past. With intuitive controls and wonderful modulated tones, this is a classic-sounding effect that will get your creativity flowing… With The Lighthouse, you...
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The folks at TC Electronic have been pushing the boundaries of what music gear can do for decades, constantly inventing and creating new ways to spark new ideas and intrigue into our playing. Today’s pedal continues with that tradition: the Infinite Sample Sustainer lets you capture an auditory moment in time, then play over it and add more layers, until you’re bathed in a wash of ambience you won’t want to escape...
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Last month, we had the privilege to investigate the wonderful Raster 2 Digital Delay from Red Panda, and instantly fell in love with it. Today, we’re looking at a pedal that takes the delay effect genre and flips it completely upside down – the Particle 2 Granular Delay gives you aspects of echo, pitch shifting, reverse delay and much, much more. Lots to this one, we’d better dive right in!! Particle™ is a granular...
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We’ve been enjoying the wonderful amps and effects made by our friends at Thermion for several years now, and are proud you bring you another one of their creations today. The Breakthru Overdrive lets you achieve the boosted ‘Blizzard of Nails’ British tones that influenced many guitarists and generations with ease. Two channels of mid-rangy overdrive that will upgrade your tone with a new dimension of punch and dynamics from...
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When we started reviewing effects pedals from the Walrus Audio lineup in 2014, the first distortion unit we saw from these guys was the Iron Horse, and it blew us away. Since then, we’ve come across the Red and the Melee, and we’ve got another powerful pedal for you today. Eras is a no apologies, high-gain distortion that’s ready to chug, shred, and palm mute with tight response and multiple clipping options…here we...
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It’s always a treat when a pedal from EarthQuaker Devices makes its way into the shop here at Pedal of the Day, and today’s effect keeps that streak rolling strong. The Astral Destiny Octave Reverb combines two classic and comparable effects into one pedal, making it easy to experiment and explore just how these two genres interact. Lots of knobs, lots of tone and lots of fun, let’s dive a bit deeper and see what...
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We recently had the chance to check out one of the latest offerings from Sentimental Bob Electronics, the Tephra Distortion, and it was gloriously dirty and loud. Today, we take things down just a little bit and move into overdrive and boost territory, via the Albert Overdrive. If you’re in the hunt for an OCD-style drive with a TON of sonic options, this might be exactly what you need… The Overdrive section of Albert is...
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We first heard about pedal makers Vongon back in 2019, when we reviewed and demoed an amazing MIDI controller designed specifically for the Moog MF-104M Analog Delay. Most recently, we checked out their Ultrasheer, an incredible Pitch Vibrato and Reverb pedal that will stop you right in your musical tracks. Today, we’re checking out their latest piece of gear, the Polyphrase Stereo Echo with Infinite Feedback Loop – strap...
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The Protein Dual Overdrive from Browne Amplification was one of our favorite drive pedals when we reviewed it last year, and we’re excited to bring you another pedal from this great company today. The T4 Fuzz is a seemingly simple fuzz with three knobs, like certain famous muff-y circuits from decades past, but is highly modified to maintain clarity while retaining mid frequencies. Let’s see what this one’s all...
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We’ve enjoyed the numerous effects units we’ve seen over the years from NUX, and we’re continuing that streak today with another wonderful pedal. The Duotime Dual Delay Engine provides TWO delay lines that can be stretched, tweaked, ripped, manipulated and more, leading to a wild, inspiring and creative piece of gear. Delay fans are gonna love this one…non-delay fans just might, too… Duotime is a real...
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As evidenced by our Klone Wars demo series on YouTube, we love a good replica of that infamously mythical circuit that only a few can now afford. The J. Rockett Audio Designs Archer, in all its iterations, has steadily been one of the go-to clone units since its release. Today, we’re proud to help bring the latest version, the Archer Select, to you and the rest of the world… The Archer Select is a uniquely functioning...
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A few weeks ago, we ventured into the Land of Bass when we reviewed the Gus-Plus Bass-Friendly Overdrive – today, we’re picking up that low-end instrument once again, this time in the genre of blistering fuzz and distortion. The Wren and Cuff Pickle Pie B Hella Fuzz strives to resolve many of the common quandaries bassists come across in their search for a fuzz that really works for their instrument and their playing...
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We’ve got another unique and impressive effect from TC Electronic for you today, folks – something that you don’t see everyday, or might not even think about as a key piece of your rig. The Mimiq Doubler takes the classic studio trick of doubling your guitar tracks to thicken up your sound, and squishes it into a compact, pedalboard-friendly unit. Turn yourself (almost) into Dimebag Darrell, Randy Rhodes or James...
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We’ve been loving the replication effects that Warm Audio has been creating over the last couple of years, starting with the Jet Phaser, then the Foxy Tone Box and, most recently, the Centavo Overdrive. Today’s pedal from these guys is the Warmdrive Overdrive, a tribute to impossible-to-obtain amps and a special Zen-influenced drive. Your amp and your ears will thank you for checking out this beautiful machine, trust...
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Distortion pedals are a finicky bunch – what sounds great to one player might sound like garbage to another. As with most pedals, personal preference always comes into play. But what if there was a distortion pedal that let you know it was focusing on high-gain tones, then gave you a slew of options to achieve your perfect sound? Well, the DSM & Humboldt Electronics Black Clouds High-Gain Distortion translates a clear...
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Every effect we’ve investigated from Studio Daydream Handmade Pedals has been high-quality, both in build and sound, and we’re always ready for more gear from these guys. Today, we’re looking at the latest version of their JRM-OD Overdrive, V5.0, which is based on amp sounds from the 1960’s blackface period. The 2-band EQ and custom 3 mode switching of the clip diodes can be used to create a wide range of...
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It’s been a hot minute since we had a pedal from Red Panda come through the office, but we’re excited to check out their Raster 2 Digital Delay today, courtesy of our friends at Sweetwater! This unit is a digital delay with a pitch and frequency shifter integrated into the feedback loop. Forward or reverse delay can be shifted once or have continuously shifted repeats. It delivers a wide range of sounds including modulated...
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Throughout 2022, we had a great time checking out the effects pedal lineup from our friends at Summer School Electronics, which ranged from overdrive to boost to delay to fuzz and more. Today’s pedal takes one of our favorites of theirs, the Gus-Drive Overdrive, and makes to more friendly to bass players and drop tuning guitarists alike. The Gus-Plus Bass Overdrive beefs up your low frequencies, while still maintaining punch and...
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Pedals that defy explanation or categorization are always some of our favorites, and today’s effect defies both in spades. The Boss SL-2 Slicer Audio Pattern Processor takes you on a wild ride from the moment you plug it in, unrelenting in its ability to astonish, inspire and bewilder. Taking your audio signal and morphing it in a thousand different ways, this little machine will flip your rig right on its…head. *Grab an...
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We’re excited today to be taking a bit of a detour from our regularly scheduled pedal reviews, and diving into a different type of medium. We love effects here at the shop, but music is also playing on a pretty consistent basis, and the folks at 1byone Audio sent over their H004 Hi-Fi Turntable with Speakers setup for us to check out. Needless to say, our small collection of vinyl is already growing after having this thing just...
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We’re gonna finish up our latest run of gear from Caline today, but with an item that’s a bit different from the previous batch. The CA-100 G Lorcan Mini Guitar Amp gives you a fairly bold sound, a couple of onboard effects, 2 legit speakers, interfacing/mixing capabilities and more. A perfect travel or desktop amplifier, this orange beast is full of surprises… The included 18V power supply lets you charge the...
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It’s New Release Day from our pals over at Walrus Audio, and by now you know there’s a good chance it’s going to be something special… well, you’re correct. Picking up where the Lore Reverse Soundscape Generator left off, the Fable Granular Soundscape Generator is a sampler/delay pedal spewing forth glitchiness, pitch shifting, time stretching, reverse sounds and much, much more. Step into this wild sonic...
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The genius minds at Strymon are responsible for some of the most famous and most-used effects pedals in the world, offering many options and secret hidden features that keep us all exploring for years on end. Their latest creation produces more of the same powerful, lush sounds you’re used to, but in a smaller, tidier package. The Cloudburst Ambient Reverb shows emphatically that you don’t need a hundred knobs and a...
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The crew at Thermion constantly pushes the boundaries of what is sonically possible in their pedals, and today’s effect brings classic rock tones to the table. The Heartbreaker Preamp Overdrive gives you two gains, three modes and six parameters to explore, providing dynamics, crunch and delicious overdrive in the ultimate preamplifier for classic sound lovers. If you’re on the hunt of a unique, mid-gain British drive...
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We’re getting back to basics today as we continue our look at some incredible pedals from TC Electronic. The Zeus Drive Overdrive is a legendary dynamic overdrive/boost pedal with 2 clipping modes and optional buffered bypass. With its highly sought-after overdrive boost circuit, this golden chalice among overdrive pedals has a luxurious warm tone and quite an astonishing dynamic response, injecting the nectar of the Gods...
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It’s Klone Time Again, Kiddos!! We love a good mythical circuit around here, especially when it looks and sounds *really close* to an original…well, at least what we’ve heard an original sounds like, having never been knighted into the club. This particular clone comes to us from Warm Audio as the Centavo Overdrive, an accurate recreation of one of the most unattainable overdrive pedals in guitar history. Let’s...
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We love exploring all the great effects pedals out there, obviously, but in order to do so, we need guitars. Today, the fine folks at Sweetwater have sent over a new gitbox for us to check out: the Squier 40th Anniversary Vintage Edition Jazzmaster. After the success of the J Mascis Signature Jazzmaster, it seems Squier and Fender wanted to delve deeper into their classic catalog for some wonderful reissues, and we are all about...
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Over the years, the folks at Aclam Guitars have put out some extremely specific and well-done effects pedals that have certain iconic sounds in mind. The Dr. Robert replicated the soul of the VOX UL730 am, used by the Beatles on Revolver & Sgt. Pepper; the Windmiller captured the sound of the preamp from the rare Grampian Reverberation Unit Type 636; the Cinnamon Drive gave us vintage British tube amp sounds of the 60’s and...
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Our first journey into the world of Sentimental Bob Electronics in Ukraine was the amazing Tacana Tap Tremolo, and it’s been three long years since. Thankfully, a package arrived a little while ago that contained not one but TWO new devices from these guys, and we’re excited to bring you the first today. The Tephra Distortion looks amazing right out of the box, one of those pedals you can just tell is gonna rock…and...
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If you’ve never indulged in the high octane effects units produced by our friends Wounded Paw Audio up in Canada, you should check out a couple, such as the Attack Goat Bass Pre-Amp, Bighorn Overdrive or Black Wolf Distortion. First, however, let’s talk about today’s pedal, the Hellhound Distortion, one of their latest offerings and a downright scorcher of an effect. With a wide range of sounds emitting from a...
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Recently, we had the wonderful opportunity to jump into the effects world of Fuzz Imp, from beautiful Portland, Oregon. The Shroot II (Deluxe) Overdrive not only looks rad and features a beloved TV character, but has some real meat to it when you turn it on. Today’s pedal, the Creature Fuzz, gets into a bit more dirty sonic territory, gloriously, and we’re completely here for it… The 5 controls are very interactive...
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We love Fuzz. We love classic circuits. We love modern flair. We love aesthetically pleasing effects boxes. Today’s pedal checks off all the items on this list, with a punch and fury that will put a smile on both your and your amp’s face. The Supercool Pedals ’77 Fuzz Blender pays homage to a sound that we all know and love, with some more options and gorgeous tone oozing from every crevice. Prepare your ears for a...
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The recent revival of the Maestro brand has brought a couple of great pedals our way. We recently had the chance to check out the FIVE newest pedals in their Original Collection, and today we’re heading back a bit to check out one of their earlier releases. The Fuzz-Tone FZ-M features three knobs, one switch and a ton of tone to shape and sculpt your favorite vintage and modern fuzz tones to perfection…sounds pretty fun, right??...
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We’re happy to help launch today’s pedal to the world, even though aspects of it may be familiar to many of you out there. Taking IK Multimedia’s TONEX platform and allowing you to put it into pedal form, the TONEX Pedal features three footswitches, full EQ and parameter set, state-of-the-art modeling and sound quality and much, much more. Let’s dig in and see what this unit is all about, shall we? There are...
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We’re continuing to look at some stellar effects from TC Electronic today as we peruse the Impulse IR Loader. This magnificent little box aims to give you guitar tools that support your playing rather than a degree in tech manuals, keeping things simple and fun to use. Lots of options are trapped inside this mini effect, which gives you big sound from a tiny source… In short, Impulse is a Cab Sim and IR Loader, and just...
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IT’S BOSS TIME, FOLKS!! Although it’s not their NEWEST release, today’s pedal is one that everyone can enjoy, regardless of what kind of music you play or like. The SY-200 Synthesizer transforms your guitar or bass into a versatile analog-flavored synth, ready to infuse your music with dynamic, compelling, and evocative new voices. Quite the experimental musical tool, this is one of the funnest effects we’ve...
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Over the years, we’ve had the privilege to test out several incarnations of the Echolution family of delay pedals from Pigtronix. These fantastic effects include the first Echolution Analog Delay, the Echolution 2 Deluxe and the Echolution 2 Filter Pro. Today, we’re keeping this journey going with the latest Echolution 3 Stereo Multi-Tap Delay, an all-encompassing echo unit that sure to dazzle and inspire… Echolution...
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Hi, I’m Josh Gardziel, I’m from Halifax West Yorkshire (UK) and I play guitar in L.O.E (Last Of Eden) Facebook: https://facebook.com/weareloemusic Instagram: https://instagram.com/weareloemusic Twitter: https://twitter.com/weareloemusic Bandcamp: https://weareloemusic.bandcamp.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I have been playing guitar for 21 years. I started when I was 14 which...
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Today, we’re continuing taking a look at a new lineup of small but great-sounding effects pedals from our friends at Caline, with the G-011 Eagle Eye Boost and G–002 Green Mamba Drive. These seemingly simple boxes offer excellent tone that’s easy to dial in, coming in a wide range of genres, to create an entire pedalboard without having to sell a kidney on the black market. Let’s see what these next couple of...
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I’ve known Brian from Porter Pickups since we met while I was still living in Boise, Idaho, back in 2016. He and his team put some wonderful pickups in a couple of guitars of mine, with the Classic/Smooth humbucking combo in my PRS CE24, which you’ve heard on the majority of my demos over the last 6+ years. Today, I’m excited to help spread the word about their first effects pedal offering, coming via their subset...
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Every new release from Walrus Audio seems to have the pedal world buzzing, and their newest keeps that streak alive and well. The Melee: Wall of Noise Distortion Reverb takes two of your favorite effects (well, two of ours, anyway) and smashes them together into one bright pink enclosure that will dazzle both your auditory and visual senses. Shoegazers and sonic adventures, get ready: this effects will send you spiraling into the...
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So, there are distortion pedals, and then there are DISTORTION PEDALS. Today’s featured effect, the Beautiful Noise Effects Exploder Distortion Device, clearly falls into the latter category (whatever that is), taking what you thought you knew about dirt pedals and smashing all expectations into oblivion. Sound too harsh? Well, if that’s the case, you should probably stop reading and go play a nice, quiet melody on your...
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It’s been a looooong time since we had an effect from Ohmless Pedals come through the shop, but good gravy, was it worth the wait. The AKC-4 Overdrive takes on a certain mystical, mythical horsie-related circuit, taking it a few steps further than your average klone for what may be the most versatile type of this circuit out in the world today. Everything you need to find your own unique drive tone is right here at your...
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The effects pedals coming out of the English shop where Tom Oakes and Horrothia FX call home have always been cool to look at, built with extreme quality and incredible-sounding, to say the least. These marvelous traditions continue today with their latest release, the Triage Discrete Transistor Pre-Amplifier, which covers Boost, Dirt and Volume at the same time. Easily ranging from clean to nasty, we are really digging this...
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Normally, we’re pretty focused on Effects Pedals themselves here at Pedal of the Day, but there’s an important part of the rig equation that we tend to overlook: the Pedalboard. Sure, you can just toss your pedals on the ground to be kicked, dropped, crushed and spilled on if you want, but having an organized setup is much more fun (for a lot of us, anyway, there’s no wrong way to do it, of course!!). Enter our...
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In stark contrast to the last TC Electronic pedal we reviewed and demoed, the Magus Pro Distortion, we’re heading into modulation and pitch territory today. The Brainwaves Pitch Shifter is an exceptional pitch-shifting effect, with studio-grade algorithms, 4 octave dual voices and TC’s groundbreaking MASH footswitch technology. As you can see, there are lots of switches and knobs and dials and fun here, let’s jump...
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Today, we’re going all in, taking a look at not ONE, not TWO, but THREE new effect boxes from our friends at Sundance Electric. The Cassidy Drive + Boost, Clean Fuzz V2 and Harmonic Incubator each bring a different flavor of unique dirt sounds to your pedalboard, featuring wide-ranging sounds easily conjured up by simple control sections. Lots to explore, let’s see what they’re all about… The Cassidy Drive +...
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