Phasers are rad, plain and simple. There are those that might disagree, but they’re radically incorrect. But phasers that run in stereo?? Well, it just doesn’t get any better than that, as evidenced by today’s pedal, the Mr. Black Twin Lazers Dual Phase Modulator. Inspired by the long standing king of dual phase-shifters, this is true-stereo phase shifting at its finest. The Twin Lazers features two fully-independent...
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A lot of the pedals we review and demo have a ton of buttons, toggles and footswitches, and are able to produce more sounds than you could possible use at once. While we love those effects and all they are capable of, it’s nice to sit back with a really great-sounding, 3-knob overdrive and just plain rock out. The BB-74x Blues Breaker Overdrive from Mr. Black allowed us to do just that, conjuring up classic 60’s amp tones...
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Another day, another delay….and why not? They’re only the most fun effects out there, and we’ll review and demo ’em as long as companies keep making ’em! Speaking of making exceptional pedals, today’s gem comes to us from Mr. Black, longtime maker of intriguing devices and inspiring tone machines, and this one is no exception. The SS-850 is a solid state echo chamber delay unit, featuring a retro...
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It’s no secret: WE LOVE DELAY. Old, new, analog, digital – bring it on. There’s a special place in our instrumental hearts for a good tape echo, though, and the Tapex 2 from Mr. Black Pedals is a top-notch inspirational charged delay that echoes (see what we did there?) the echoes of some classic players, songs and tones. A Stereophonic Tape Echo, this silver machine glistens and drips with analog sound, with a ton...
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Mr. Black has outdone himself again with this pedal, the Downward Spiral. I would like to classify this pedal as ambient delay: instead of the typical echo you would naturally hear, the Downward Spiral takes the note and reproduces it in a lower octave that you can make basically never end. This pedal comes with 3 different knobs on the top, Level, Regen, Time. We’ll start with the Regen knob – this knob allows you to...
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The lines of pedals from Friday Club and Mr. Black (the brainchildren of Jack Deville out of Portland, Oregon) have been the topics of many a conversation over the last decade plus, and we love what we’ve been able to check out here at Pedal of the Day. Today’s sonic journey brings us to the ED-450b, a warm, analog-ish delay echo machine from the Friday Club camp that is simple yet powerful at the same time. A real...
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Patrick Garland Houston, Texas GARLAND FX garlandfx.bigcartel.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’m 33 years old, and started playing guitar at age 10 – so about 23 years. 20 on electric guitar. The first guitar I ever played was my mom’s Guild Madiera from 1970. My mom uses it for playing music to pre-schoolers – she’s quite talented and can play and sing. I also still...
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Kevin Wilson Guilford, Indiana Wilson Effects www.wilsoneffects.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I started playing guitar in the 4th grade and dropped it for a while. I picked it back up when I was around 17 and have been playing ever since. I was an 80’s metal thrash kid so Metallica, Slayer all contributed to my willingness to pick it back up. Ultimately Pearl Jam became one of my...
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Jamie Stillman Akron, OH EarthQuaker Devices www.earthquakerdevices.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve been a musician since I got my first drum set around 5. I didn’t pick up playing guitar until I was about 12. I’ve always been into music as long as I can remember. A couple of my uncles were musicians and taught me some basics and I just took it from there. Who have been some of...
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DEVON ALLMAN The Devon Allman Band: ST.LOUIS, MISSOURI, USA, EARTH THE SLAYS: MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, USA, EARTH devonallmanband.com theslays.com (coming soon) How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? At 5, the vinyl bug bit me and it was love at first spin. At 9, the live music bug bit me when Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick pulled out the 5-neck guitar at my first concert. But as for me playing…I...
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If you’re around the pedal world on even a minor level, there’s a good chance yo’ve heard the name Jack Deville. The mastermind behind the Mr. Black line of pedals, he’s got his hands in ventures all over, one of which we are going to check out today. The Friday Club pedals are a line of fairly straightforward effects that feature no fuss, no muss controls and excellent tonal qualities. We’re going to...
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Today’s featured pedal is one we’ve had our eye on for some time, and were super-stoked when the opportunity to review it came along (we even managed to get the Vintage King Special Edition). The Kilobyte™ is a Lo-Fi Delay pedal, one with a bunch of options, and some of the smoothest and craziest echoes you’ll find on a pedal, anywhere. Deep, dark, analog delay tones are easy to come by, as well as crystal-clear...
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Andy Greene Escape Plan Pedals http://www.escapeplanpedals.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve played music for pretty much my entire life. I got my first guitar, a miniature steel string acoustic, when I was 5. I learned simplified versions of most of the standard position major chords and a few minor chords and would try to put on concerts for my family. I really got interested in...
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It’s been a hot minute since we’ve had anything in the shop from Joe and Lone Wolf Audio, but we’re pretty stoked about today’s pedal, for sure. The Outsider V2 is a bit of an oddity pedal, based on a super rare piece of gear that most of you have probably never heard of. Described as a Lead Boost Sub-Harmonic Energizer, this little black box has the ability to conjure up some fun sounds, bold tones and, if...
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Joey Lewis Buffalo, NY Funktional Flow www.funktionalflow.com facebook.com/FunktionalFlowMusic youtube.com/user/funktionalflowmusic/videos How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? From what I can remember, a man in our neighborhood growing up gave an acoustic guitar to my older brother Justin and he quickly lost interest in it. That’s when I swooped in and nabbed it lol. But it was ok...
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From the twisted, brilliant mind of Jack Deville comes another pedal in his line of effects with the Friday Club moniker, the PD100. This simple-looking overdrive is anything but, producing a good bit of crunch when dimed, and a wonderfully clean boost when set at lower levels. A perfect front-end effect for your board, it will drive an amp into sweet sonic glory and work with other pedals to enhance your all-around tone. The Master...
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Sean Wright Traverse City, Michigan Co-owner of Lollygagger FX www.lollygaggerfx.com info@lollygaggerfx.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I first started out as a frustrated drummer who would keep time like a broken clock….at least twice during the song I’d be in time. I think I was 16 when I started playing an instrument. A year later we moved into an apartment and that was...
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When you think of the term “heavy metal” and it’s origins, what name inevitably pops into your head? That’s right, it’s Black Sabbath, and if you said anything else, you’re incorrect. And when you think of this legendary band and how it shaped the sound of heavy music today, who do you mostly associate that with? Nope, it’s not Ozzy, but you’re close: Tony Iommi. His dark tones and heavy...
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