The VOX Ice 9 is a very warm OD with a wide range of capabilities that varies from light and clean to near distortion pedal sounds. It features Gain, Treble, Bass, and Volume control along with a Modern/Vintage switch to shape the sound even further. This pedal also has a “More” footswitch to bump the gain for heavier rhythm or to boost you for a solo. I’m not a VOX fan per say (I hate their amps), and I am not a fan...
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Yet another overdrive based on the famous Klon, the Soul Food from Electro-Harmonix was created to bring great-sounding tone to musicians everywhere…at an VERY affordable price. As with all great Klone-type pedals, the Soul Food provides sweet, creamy, transparent overdrive, but can also go pretty balls out if need be. Volume, Tone and Drive controls are also typical, but like so many other pedals have come to find out, one trip...
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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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Look what we’ve got for you today! It’s the Sick As Overdrive from our friends at Bondi Effects. The Sick As is a transparent overdrive (supposedly based around the famous Klon), and a really well made and great-sounding one at that. The Level knob does, well, you know what Level knob does, I hope. One feature I love about the Sick As is that it has Treble AND Bass EQ knobs, and on this pedal (as opposed to a number of...
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Today’s rad daily pedal comes to us from Throne Room Pedals in lovely Bellingham, WA. The Revelator is a monster of epic proportions, and is about as versatile as you can get with a boost-overdrive-distortion-fuzz pedal. The usual knobs are present here (Volume, Gain and Tone), but what makes the Revelator stand out is the addition of a 3-Way toggle switch. This allows you to go between Silicone, Germanium and IC-based...
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Eventide is great at putting stereo quality effects in (relatively) easy-to-use stompboxes, and this delay is no different. The TimeFactor is an all-in-one delay unit that more features than any one person could ask for. Fairly easy to use and has many controls to craft countless delay settings that work for you. It has 10 styles of delays and each style has many different effects to add to your delay. Has a bank mode and a play mode....
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The Coffee Grinder Fuzz from Blue Dinosaur Electronics is a distant relative of the ancient and mysterious Interfax Harmonic Percolator, especially when both the Gain and Hi-Fi knobs are pushed to the max (although this is in no way a clone of that pedal). This is a fuzz like no other. With the Gain knob up full blast, the Coffee Grinder emits a warm, smooth, bold fuzz that’s not tinny or harsh on your ear holes. Use the Hi-Fi...
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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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Here’s The Klone Overdrive from Richland, Washington-based Matthews Effects. A wonderful clone of the original! Has everything the original has plus true bypass! This pedal is great as a boost or really turn the gain up for some screaming solos! Mine is always on! Thats how responsive and how true to the original Klon it is. Submitted by Jairo M, Instagram
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The Tremolo2 from Empress is an original design built from the ground up to include innovative features without sacrificing tone. The next generation of the great Empress tremolo! The empress tremolo 2 is true to its predecessor with many more features! It now comes with the ability to have an external tap/expression pedal and you can save up to 8 presets! Specs: Pristine Sound – The Empress Tap Tremolo2 Pedal has to be heard to...
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We’ve got another VIDEO review for you today, and it’s an another unique pedal, this time from KMA MAchines in Berlin, Germany, and it’s their Astrospurt Phaser. Make sure to check out Kyle’s other reviews using the links under the video. Click ‘PLAY’ and enjoy the show! Go see KMA Machines on Facebook as well! Submitted by Kyle
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Godlyke, Inc. is pleased to announce the release of the Maxon Fuzz Elements – seven new models designed to reproduce the classic and unique sounds of the World’s most desirable vintage Fuzz pedals. Using modern software technology, Maxon has modeled and mapped the complex elements that make up the core sounds of these legendary effect units, reproducing them using advanced analog circuitry that is both accurate and stable. Each Fuzz...
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We’ve got another VIDEO review for you today, for the MC3 Micro Chorus from Guyatone. Make sure to check out Kyle’s other reviews using the links under the video. Click ‘PLAY’ and enjoy the show! Submitted by Kyle
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The first pedal offering from Oddfellow is here: the Caveman Drive. This pedal breaks into Ts808 and Bluesbreaker territory, however, this piece of magic goes way beyond. Going from clean to fuzz, this pedal provides versatility, amp-like performance (this goes above any other pedal I’ve played so far), and great tone. Imagine John Mayor like-tones, but with extra bluesy mojo, awesome graphics, and singing leads. In addition,...
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The K-Buffer by FoxPedal is built using a classic buffer design as seen in the famous Klon Centaur (yeah, there are unicorns inside). You need a buffer. Really, you do. Every time I hand a musician a buffer pedal, they say “I don’t think I need one of those”… then they try it and say “Wow, I can’t believe my tone was so bad before, now I know!” Bottom line is that your guitar pickups...
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Playing synthesizer sounds through your guitar is always a blast, and the (now discontinued) Boss SYB-3 Bass Synthesizer makes it even more so. 11 different modes allow for literally ENDLESS possibilities; you could play this this every day for a year straight and probably never hear the exact sound twice, it’s that versatile. And if you mix and match it with other fun pedals in your arsenal (delays, reverb, ring mods, etc.),...
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You know about the infamous Klon Drive, right? If you don’t, do some research. It has somehow become the end-all, be-all of drive pedals, and while it only cost about $225 in the ’90’s, today they are rare, and sell for upwards of $2000. Besides being outrageously overpriced, there are now a number of pedal makers who have been able to clone the circuitry and sounds of the Klon, most at about 1/6 of the price of an...
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The majestic, sought after, hyped up King of Tone from Analogman: in all honesty, it’s all these and more. For those who don’t have the option of cranking an amp to get overdrive this is the best OD available. It seems to fill/fit any amp with its own voicing. Can do clean boost, mid gain OD, and high gain OD. Very dynamic, responsive to pick attack, and cleans up brilliantly. The best version for many versatile purposes...
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Lookin’ for smooth sustain and tasty chicken-pickin’ leads? The Ego Compressor by Wampler is a 5-knob compressor perfect for those in search of crisp, clean compression. The blend knob adds a lot of tones and compression possibilities. For example, having a completely squashed signal slightly blended in with your natural signal. This makes your notes sustain while keeping a less compressed sound. All in all, very clean and...
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We’ve got another VIDEO review for you today, and it’s an another unique pedal, this time from Gerhat by Prosound, and it’s a Custom Multi Effect. Make sure to check out Kyle’s other reviews using the links under the video. Click ‘PLAY’ and enjoy the show! Go see Gerhat on Facebook as well! Submitted by Kyle
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The Mini Foot Fuzz from JHS Pedals is great because it packs the thick fuzz you want, by takes up very little space. With the volume knob and fuzz knob up all the way you can get an incredible amount of fuzz and distortion and by peeling back the fuzz the sound because much more spitty sounding. Sold at a relatively low price, this is a great grab. Users: Mutemath Submitted by Matt S, SoundCloud GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES, CONTEST INFO,...
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Not every guitar player uses a looper, but for those that do, it’s an essential ingredient in their setup. They can also tend to be quite large, sometimes overly complicated and difficult to figure out how to use, much less be reliable during a show. That’s where Digitech comes in, with the JamMan Express XT Looper pedal. One knob to control the output volume. That’s it. One tap of your foot records. The next tap...
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Very organic sounding digital reverb pedal with true bypass and simple controls. With 8 reverb settings and 1 rotary setting, this reverb has a great selection of tones to choose from. Specs: Operation: Mono input, mono output Power Requirements: 9VDC @ 75mA, 18VDC @ 150mA Input/Output Impedance: 500kΩ/1kΩ Bypass: True bypass using soft touch switch and relay Level Knob: Op-amp boost, range from unity to large boost Mix: Dry at 0, wet...
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The Sonic Sojourn from Midnight 30 Music is a two-in-one pedal providing everything from a very clean overdrive to high gain overdrive. Simply put, one of the most versatile pedals you’ll ever pickup. Loosely based on Emerson Custom’s EM-Drive and JHS Pedals’ Morning Glory, you will find yourself in a modern world of tones. A toggle switch allows you to change which pedal comes first in the signal. Both foot switches...
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Geoffrey Teese has been building some of the finest wah pedals on the market for 20 years now, and this is one of my favorites. While this particular version is no longer in production (it’s a 2005 model), the RMC5 Wizard Wah remains one of the most popular Real McCoy Custom wahs produced. A mix of the RMC1 and the Picture Wah, the Wizard Wah features exquisite hand-craftmanship, true bypass, tons of non-traditional wah...
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Neunaber Technology’s Wet Stereo Reverb pedal yields only the purest of tones. Going from deep beneath the ocean into dark emotional area to the sunny side of the your neighborhood’s pool. The Wet reverb has a high quality buffer that helps with those long cable runs (can I get an amen?). This pedal can be programmed via a USB port and can even download delay and chorus effects! Submitted by Noah,...
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The legendary Whammy pedal is the premier pitch-shifting pedal for any guitarist’s board, and it only gets better with time. In addition to the classic Whammy sound, we’ve added chordal Whammy pitch-shifting and true bypass. The Whammy can bring new depth to your artistry. Turn your solo into raging, rebellious screams of tone or tame your crowd with highly expressive, ambient chordal bends. Energize your audience with a scratchy note...
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The Euphoria Overdrive from Wampler Pedals is a classic, great-sounding OD with a few extras to make it stand out from the crowd. Based in part off of the tone of D-Style Amplifiers, the Euphoria produces clean dirty sounds (if that makes sense) by not muddying up your tone, and giving you a range of tonal options with the 3-position toggle switch. With the switch Up, the sound is overdriven and creamy, really for sparkling leads with...
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I had heard that the Hartman Analog Flanger was one of the best flangers on the market today, so I decided to check it out for myself, and see what the hubbub was all about. Needless to say, this pedal is all it claims to be (I think: I’ve never played through an original Electric Mistress, so I’m not 100% sure!). First off, the color of this pedal is rich and stunning, and it is built like a tank. Super sturdy, heavy...
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What the hell is an Underdrive? That’s a good question, and I’m gonna try to answer it today. The Snowjob from Lotus Pedal Designs is a unique design, a dual-mode underdrive, as they call it, which simply means the pedal drives from the guitar, NOT driving the amp. Very cool and transparent, adding full body to your signal, as well as being able to get a good amount of crunch. The knobs are unique as well: the left is the...
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If you have been trying to find that coveted ’60s Uni-Vibe sound, your search is about to be over. The MDV2 Mini Deja Vibe from Fulltone has got all your bases covered…and then some. First, the effect (which is True Bypass, by the way) turns on and off by pressing the HEEL down, just like the original Uni-Vibe. Brilliant! Second, a whole slew of controls on the side allow you to really dial in some great tones. The...
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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 Boss RV-3 is a really fun pedal, and the combinations and settings of reverb and delay are pretty much endless. There are 3 Delay modes offering times up to 2,000ms, plus 4 Reverb modes with simultaneous delay, ranging from 32 to 1,000ms and using Room, Hall and Plate reverb types. Time and Mode knobs let you select how much of each effect you want in the mix, while the Balance and Tone knobs let you customize the sound coming...
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The Fuzz Box from Vick Audio is a simple, one-knob fuzz with a ton of character. A reproduction of the legendary Fuzz produced by Colorsound in the early 90’s, the Fuzz Box can go from slight buzzy overdrive to a HUGE fuzzy extravaganza, all while retaining the clarity of your tone. It is very responsive as well, depending on how hard you hit the strings, and reacts well with both bridge and neck pups (I only tried humbuckers, so not...
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Midnight 30 Music is a new company to me, but after seeing a couple demos of their stuff, I knew I needed to experience it for myself. They do not disappoint, my friends, believe you me. Example A: The Overdrive No. 30. A warm, full-bodied overdrive in a smaller enclosure, there are some GREAT tones coming out of this beautiful pedal (and mine scratches my nerdy Star Wars itch, as you can see from the picture!). The knobs are basic:...
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The Lovepedal Amp Eleven Overdrive kicked my butt at first. My previous overdrive pedals were not nearly as sensitive. I find myself being challenged by my ability to voice things correctly, which is a wonderful problem to have and I have found the joy of a rich overdrive sound with the same touch as if I was plugged right into my Vox. The blend you can get with the two sides is exciting. I use the pedal for boost, low drive, and...
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Alright, I gotta tell ya, I was a little skeptical about this Bad Monkey being a really good overdrive. I have played many sub-$50 overdrive over the years, and that has been exactly what they all sounded like: sub-$50 Overdrives. So, when I stated reading about this pedal and the ‘Badder Monkey’ mod from Humphrey Audio, I didn’t run out and get one immediately. But it kept showing up and getting rave reviews, and...
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The Boss DS-1 has been a staple pedal on many boards since its release in 1978. Now, the stock pedal sounds good, and will give you some nice distortion tones, but the Ultra Mod from Robert Keeley Electronics makes it sound like an absolute dream. Described as “Marshall-Amp Tone-In-A-Box”, this mod includes the special “Seeing Eye LED” and switch, to go from Ultra to Seeing Eye mode with just a flick. Lower...
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This is an Ibanez DDL Digital Delay that came out in 1985. It was in the “Master” series that came out in between the 9 and 10 series. Many aficionados think that Ibanez “got it right” with this one. It has the reputation as a very analog sounding effect for a digital pedal, much more so than those coming out before or after. It has a short mode, which has delay from 28ms to 224ms, a long mode of 224ms to...
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We’ve got another VIDEO review for you today, and it’s an another unique pedal, this time from Effectory Pedals, called the Red Devil. Make sure to check out Kyle’s other reviews using the links under the video. Click ‘PLAY’ and enjoy the show! Go see Effectory on Facebook as well! Submitted by Kyle
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We’ve got another VIDEO review for you today, and this PAIR of pedals comes to us from Russia, courtesy of Barkin Effects. Their featured pedals are the extremly unique Vibrofon and the wicked-heavy Nitro Fuzz. Look out for these two pedals, they are DIRTY and AWESOME. The video features demos for both… Click ‘PLAY’ and enjoy the show! Submitted by the guys from Barkin Effect,...
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The MC404 Custom Audio Electronics Wah was developed by Bob Bradshaw of Custom Audio Electronics and the Cry Baby design team with the goal of creating a highly versatile wah-wah of top-grade components. It features dual Fasel inductors with two distinct voices (high-end emphasis or low to mid resonance), and a built-in MXR MC401 Boost/LineDriver adds even more flexibility. Choose between inductors and turn the boost on or off with...
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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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Mammoth Electronics are doing something pretty unique: they sell you the pedal as a KIT and you get to build it yourself! It’s an interesting concept, and I think it makes effects pedals users appreciate what all goes into making these awesome creations, and why (some of them) are so expensive 🙂 They were kind enough to send me this already assembled J201 Boost pedal to test, which I am grateful for, as my soldering skills are...
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The Suhr Koko Boost is a unique boost pedal that serves basically 3 purposes. First is a clean boost which can be toggled on and off with the switch on the left side. I have used a several different OD/clean boost and this one is by far the most transparent one I’ve ever heard. Works really well with an amp that is crunching up just a bit to drive it to further overdrive. Sounds just like turning up a gain knob. I could hear a...
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We’ve got another VIDEO review for you today, and it’s an extremely unique pedal from Favorettis Pedals in Brazil called the Yellow Cab Overdrive. Make sure to check out Kyle’s other reviews using the links under the video. Click ‘PLAY’ and enjoy the show! Submitted by Kyle
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The Terminal Destructive Fuzz Device is the newest and nastiest fuzz from Akron, Ohio dirt merchants EarthQuaker Devices. And it is ever filthy. Based on a heavily modified JAX design, EQD’s entry into the world of gated, voltage-starved, blown-out, zipper-and-velcro fuzzboxes brings a level of sonic precision and reliability to a segment of the fuzzscape typically dominated by temperamental and complicated pedals in...
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The V2 fuzz pedal by Castledine Electronics is a muff with the circuit based on violet ram’s head (1973). Is good remember that it isn’t a clone, but one revisit circuit, keeping the original sound like you would expect from a vintage unit… My unit is number #3 from the first batch…. its control knobs are the classic Tone, Volume & Sustain. Unlike to vintage units, the V2 has true bypass switching, so...
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The Crunchy Frog Overdrive from T-Rex was created and specially tuned to please the most demanding ears in rock, and was designed to be one of the best-sounding overdrives in the world. Spitting out warm, tubey overdrive, the Crunchy Frog features a BLEND knob that lets you mix your overdrive with the clean signal from your amp. This little fella also sports a fully adjustable BOOST function, to really add some POP to your sound and...
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