There are times when you plug in a pedal and think, “Hey, this might be kinda cool” and are then absolutely blown away once you click that bypass switch. Today’s pedal was one of those for us, for sure: the Solar Eclipse Fuzz from Earthground Audio. Not only does it satisfy all of our fuzzy desires, it has options for days and tweakablity to fit into any musical scenario. Let’s check it out! Inspired by the Big...
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The Earth Drive from Sarno Music Solutions was one of the best drives we had the pleasure of reviewing lately, so we were equally stoked to check out its big brother, the Solar Flare Distortion. Featuring another user-friendly control section and a whole slew of killer tones to drive your amp, this second offering from Sarno lived up to expectations, and then some. Get ready to blast some eardrums and rock some faces, this is the...
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Like a lot of you out there, we can’t get enough of a good fuzz tone, especially one that’s based around the classic Tone Bender circuit. Today’s pedal, the Minotaur Sonic Terrors Evil Eye MKIII Tone Aggravator, is based on the Sola Sound Professional MKII Tone Bender, but with some modern tweaking done under the hood. Instant amp-crushing is in the very near future – prepare for total annihilation. The Evil...
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We’ve got a real treat for you all today, one of the most anticipated and highly-hyped effects pedals of the year…maybe the decade. A collaboration between Boss and Sola Sound, the TB-2W Waza Craft Tone Bender is a fuzz pedal that brings vintage tone into the modern world. Based on the classic Tone Bender MKII, the TB-2W has been painstakingly scrutinized and researched, to bring you possibly the finest Tone Bender...
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We’ve all heard the classic Tone Bender Fuzz so many times, on so many timeless songs, whether we knew what it was or not. Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Mick Ronson, Pete Townshend…the list goes on of great guitarists who utilized this fuzzy effect. However, they are now rare and extremely expensive to obtain if you can find one, so many pedal companies have taken it upon themselves to re-create affordable (and updated) versions...
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We love a good, simple, one or two-knob fuzz pedal, for sure, but we also love a versatile effect with a ton of options. Today’s featured pedal definitely falls into the latter category, as it is a fuzz full of tones, differing sounds and unique features. The Stone Blender from Red Noise Pedals is an interesting and exciting Fuzz Engine, not just a pedal, that will make you question everything you thought you knew about this...
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If you’re a fuzz lover, when you hear the words “Tone Bender,” an instant smile creeps over your face. Used on countless classic rock recordings and live shows by everyone from Pete Townshend to Jeff Beck to Paul McCartney and more, these gray boxes from Sola Sound defined the latter half of the 1960’s. The MkII Professional version of the Tone Bender was made popular by Jimmy Page, having used it on the first...
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Michael Parker Seattle, WA – The People’s Republic of the USA I play guitar & keys in the band Pickwick www.pickwickmusic.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I started playing guitar when I was in the 8th grade on a whim. I had a friend who was a drummer and needed some people to jam with. He recruited me basically because I was in the room and had nothing better to do. He...
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The anticipation that comes when a new Boss pedal arrives on the doorstep is always big, period. Whether it’s a Delay, a Distortion, some wild Modulation thing or any of their other excellent creations, there’s a pretty decent chance it’s gonna crush. Today’s pedal does just that, but in a different sort of way – say hello to the IR-2 Amp & Cabinet, which makes dialing in and transporting your...
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Well, Chase Bliss has done it once again. In case you’ve been hiding under a rock, they recently released the first unit of their Small Batch series, the Reverse Mode C Multidirectional Delay. This is a collaboration with Empress Effects, as the specific sound that Joel Korte and his crew were after is from the Octave Tap mode of the Empress Superdelay, which was released back in 2008. This is, as usual, one for the...
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(This article comes from our friends at GuitarTricks.com – check out their site for tons of guitar-related tips and tricks!!) I Have Too Many Pedals, How To Pare Down By Shawn Leonhardt for Guitar Tricks and 30 Day Singer, the original platform for online guitar lessons. There comes a point where every guitar player realizes they have too many effects pedals! It’s true, it happens, but you don’t need to get rid of any, you just...
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The innovative, creative team at Death By Audio have been supporters of Pedal of the Day for years, so when they released today’s limited edition pedal, we knew we had to snag one and help support them right back. The Exploding Head Triple Delay harkens back to a classic DBA effect, as well as celebrates a milestone anniversary for a landmark album. Just when you thought echo couldn’t go any further… “Long ago,...
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Most of us have, unfortunately, been affected in one way or another by cancer. Research and development of new ways to combat this killer are the only way we can rid the world of it forever, and today’s pedal set seeks to help fight that fight. The Electric Love Pedals Fuzz, Overdrive & Delay are being sold as a set, with ALL proceeds going to fund breast cancer research. Let’s see what creator Ben Carlin has to say...
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We’ve been chatting a lot about Boost pedals recently, and are excited to present a new version of an instant classic. The Vertex Boost MKII picks up right where the original MKI left off, offering a smaller enclosure without sacrificing any tone or functionality. Not just a signal booster – this one enhances and drives any rig that needs it. At 33% slimmer than the Boost MKI, the MKII easily sneaks onto any pedalboard....
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Hey Sef – it’s been a couple years since we spoke, what have you been up to? Hi Mike! First of all, I’m happy and grateful to chat with you! Yes, it’s been a while. The last interview we did was in 2017! A lot of things happened since then! My bandmates and I went to Tangier, Morocco to work on Alex (Your Favorite Enemies’ frontman) solo project, we went all across Europe to perform his album “Windows in the Sky”, I started my...
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Offering the most advanced BOSS octave performance to date, the OC-5 features a new Vintage mode, polyphonic enhancements, and an octave-up feature for extended range. And with the latest tracking technologies, users can enjoy smooth, accurate playability with no latency. Highly versatile and easy to use, the OC-5 covers a wide variety of octave sounds in one high-performance pedal. Introduced in 1982, the OC-2 Octave was the world’s...
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Peter Anspach Connecticut Goose goosetheband.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? My mom would say I’ve always been a musician. She’s a music teacher, so before I could walk, I was being taught to play rhythms on drums and dance. I started playing cello when I was 9, then graduated to the electric guitar when I was 12, which I have been playing seriously ever since. I picked up keyboards...
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Multi-effects pedals are always fun, and today’s incarnation has more than the usual auditory offerings for all of us to enjoy. The Cooper FX Arcades Delay Reverb LOFI Pitch Multi-Effect uses a different digital card to conjure up press for each of these genres, giving you access to EIGHT programs per card. As far as our usual demos go, we couldn’t justify trying to cram 32 different sounds into just ONE DEMO, so we did...
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AC/DC. Even if you’re not a fan (not sure why that would be, but whatever), there’s still a good chance you know the words to at least 10 of their songs, if not more. Part of the appeal they’ve had since their inception in 1973 is, hands down, the guitar sound that seemingly has stayed exactly the same over the last 4+ decades. Angus Young’s signature schoolboy uniforms, love of SGs and the tone he produces are...
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Jānis Altmanis Latvia Jānis.lv www.jānis.lv How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I have been musician for 15 years but I started to make effect pedals 9 years ago. I made my first band 2004 and haven’t stop playing since. I have played in many bands but now I’m playing in my own band “Skumjas” (translation from Latvian to English – “Sadness”) instrumental post-metal, sludge, atmosphere. There...
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Today, we’re going to go to a place where we’ve only ventured a couple of times in Pedal of the Day’s history – AcousticTown. Now, while the acoustic guitar and its vast array of sonic weapons don’t get the spotlight all that often, that doesn’t mean we don’t love the sounds they all make, especially when the gear sounds like today’s machine. The ALiX from Grace Design is a...
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Today’s Guest reviewer is Brian Johnston – you can find him and more demo videos he’s done on his YouTube channel, CoolGuitarGear – click now! Thanks again, Brian, looking forward to more! SOUND: The 2 SA 202 model (named after the type of transistors used) of Vintage Fuzz II replicates the famous Fuzz Face sound of Jimi Hendrix. However, unlike older models of fuzz (and even some current ones), this fuzz is...
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We are just loving the effects pedals coming out of the FEA Labs camp right now, and we are once again fortunate enough to be able to bring another review and demo of one of them to you today. The DE-CL is a Dual Engine Compressor Limiter, with a lot of control knobs and tones abound, perfect for guitar, bass and more. Utilizing advanced, adaptive release circuitry, clean, boosted power and two sidechain control engines, this is one...
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Scott Metzger New York City Joe Russo’s Almost Dead WOLF! The Showdown Kids www.scottmetzger.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I started playing saxophone in the third grade and I kept that up all through high school. A love of early Metallica led to the guitar when I was about 14-ish. Who have been some of your major musical influences, past or present? Tons of Motown &...
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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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Kyle Sipress Niles, Michigan The Devil Wears Prada God Alone tdwpband.com godaloneband.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I was in choir when I was super young, then played saxophone briefly in 5th grade band. I’ve been playing guitar since I was about 12 or 13, so for about 15 years or so. My dad got me a cheap Cort acoustic for Christmas one year and i’ve been playing ever since. When...
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Jeremy DePoyster Chicago, IL The Devil Wears Prada www.tdwpband.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I got my first acoustic at 10, and have played ever since. I took a quick interest in keyboards, synths, and sequencers and have been making music with them since around the same time. I started with a KORG Polysix running a curly cable into a Fender Champ Amp. Who have been some of your...
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When one of the most talked about and anticipated effects of the year shows up on your doorstep, the excitement that has been building up in your brain finally becomes a reality. The aptly named Reverb pedal from Empress Effects is the pedal we’re talking about today, and it absolutely lives up to the hype. We’ll try to give you a good amount of info in this review and subsequent demo video, but this is truly a pedal that...
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Multi-effects pedals can be tricky to write reviews about, as there is so much going on, and so many different options to choose from that it makes it hard to narrow the writing down and focus on a few things to discuss in detail. Such is the case with today’s featured pedal, the M5 Stompbox Modeler from Line 6 – and if the regular functionality of this pedal wasn’t overwhelming enough, this model has been modded by...
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For many bassists, an essential pedal in their arsenal is going to be a compressor. It keeps your output consistent, helps cut through a mix, and can eliminate any dead spots to allow for a smooth, even attack. There are a wide variety of options to choose from, and Pigtronix offers a compressor specifically tuned to the lower frequencies of a bass that is quiet, easy to use, and affordable. The Philosopher Bass, based on...
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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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Ok, delay pedal lovers, here is another one: the TC Electronic Nova Repeater. This pedal is pretty self-explanatory, but for the sake of the whole Pedal of the Day review…let’s dive on in! First, let me say, if you are going to purchase this, use a true isolated power supply, don’t daisy chain this one. It will add white noise and hiss that will haunt your dreams. Ok, the delay sound out of this is amazing. The only...
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What phaser to choose? We’ve all faced this question at one time or another, and with so many choices, it can be a daunting task. As with most any pedal, it all comes down to personal preference, and how the options and sounds of each pedal work with your particular setup and tone. The Compact Faye Sing from Infanem is my current phaser of choice, and one that I think will remain on my board for a long while. There are a few...
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I have played a tremolo pedal or two in my days as a guitarist, and the optical Tremolo from Diamond Pedals is right up there at the top of the list. With so many variables, the sonic possibilities are vast, but getting to them is the real fun part with this pedal. The Speed knob controls the rate of the modulation, moving from a slow, pulsing wave to a extreme, almost whirly sound close to a ring modulator. There’s also a Tap...
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ARPANOID. Even the name sounds like something from outer space, and this pedal will create those types of sounds and more. Coming to us from the great folks at EarthQuaker Devices, the Arpanoid is “the first dedicated compact polyphonic pitch arpeggiator effect pedal for electric guitar.” Basically, it takes the signal from your guitar, tweaks it and spits it out in the form of ascending or descending notes, which you can...
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