We were recently introduced to a pedal company in New Jersey called Pusher Pedals, and had the pleasure to review one of their first gear offerings, the Dirty Darling. In chatting with them some more, we came to find out that they were in the process of making a 2-In-1 pedal, combining their first two flagship pedals (the Dirty Darling plus the Leap of Faith Boost), and we could not have been more excited. The result is a fantastic...
Read More
For the most part, multi effects pedals are pretty fun, and can be super useful if you are traveling a lot, or have a small pedalboard that you need to cram a bunch of stuff onto for gigs. The Rocket Train from Movall Audio covers the bases for three pretty common and oft-used effects, all in one relatively compact box that should fit on any pedalboard with ease. I decided to go right to left on this pedal, as I usually like...
Read More
Most (not all, but most) boost pedals are fairly simple, many times just having one knob to control the output volume, and nothing else. So, it’s always refreshing to come across a boost that has a little more meat to it, and some nice equalization options as well. Which brings us to today’s pedal: the Blinding Voip Boost from Jellyfish Electronics. While it’s true that the Blinding Voip does possess that...
Read More
After recently reviewing a couple of new pedals from Backwoods Music, I came across an older version of one of their pedals for a price I couldn’t pass up, and was excited to see what it could do, after being thoroughly impressed by the Nightcap Reverb and Mockingbird Delay. I’m not a huge Boost guy in general, but I thought “what the hell”, and went for it anyway! Not knowing what to expect, I sat down and...
Read More
Who loves the famous Klon Centaur? Alright, maybe we all do on some level. But seriously, not many of us lowly guitarists have $1,500-$2,500 to spend on an entire rig, much less on ONE LONE PEDAL. Enter J. Rockett Audio Designs, purveyors of fine quality and excellently-crafted unique pedal creations, to save the day. If you are craving that classic boost/drive taste, but don’t want to sell your car or first born to get it, take...
Read More
Diamond Pedals have been a big supporter of Pedal of the Day since we first started, and it’s always a treat getting a package from them in the mail, ’cause you never know what to expect. This time around, the delivered box was loaded with dirt pedals, the first of which we’ll be checking out today. Both a drive and a warm boost, the J-Drive Mk3 Overdrive puts out plenty of power and adds great depth to your tone,...
Read More
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...
Read More
Most pedal builders boast about a versatile drive, but JHS’ Kilt is truly worthy of the versatile praise. The Kilt’s toggle and knob controls allow for the player to dial in clean to full out gated fuzz and anything in between. And while most pedals that claim to be versatile have maybe one or two “sweet spots,” the Kilt is special all the way through. Based off of the old Expandora fuzz, the Kilt takes a...
Read More
At first glance, you’ll notice a familiar layout, shape and even font on the Aluminum Falcon overdrive pedal from PCE-FX, perhaps conjuring up visions of a certain $2,000 drive that you’ll never be able to afford, but have always admired from afar (as many of us have). Awesome name notwithstanding, this pedal features some tones that really mimic the pedal I can only assume it’s loosely based on, with amazing boost...
Read More
We here at Pedal of the Day had been hearing about this incredible overdrive pedal from Australia that was all that rage, and had apparently been sold out and hard to find. Luckily, the maker of this pedal, Teletronix, decided they were going to answer the high demand for this pedal, and release a new batch, featuring two new graphic designs. We were able to get a hold of one of these pedals and put it through the ringer, and boy, the...
Read More
In writing so many pedal reviews, I have had unique opportunities that not everyone gets, one of which is to discover smaller, lesser-known pedal builders and test out their products. I have come to find out that the little guys are putting out some incredible gear, and that you don’t always need to sport a big and popular name on a pedal for it to be great. LS Effects, out of Jacksonville, Florida, is a company I recently...
Read More
The Keeley Electronics Katana had me the moment I read the name. Anything named after a sword wielded by ancient Japanese warriors is okay in my book. Not to mention, it’s a stinkin’ awesome sounding boost pedal! To start out, with the volume knob pushed in, this pedal does exactly what a good clean boost should do: it allows you to boost your signal without coloring your tone whatsoever. Seriously, this thing is crystal...
Read More
If you’re searching for a pedal to add some fatness and volume to your rig, the Pigtronix Class A Boost will help solve those problems. Pedal specs: – Input and Output jack – Gain knob offering 20db of volume boost – 9v/18V adapter jack (The pedal includes its own apapter) Upon taking the Class A Boost for a test drive, this pedal lived up to it’s reputation as being a clean boost while adding a nice...
Read More
Pedals that are rare and difficult to find information about can be frustrating, but kind of fun in the same way. Since there aren’t a lot of reviews or praise or negativity about a pedal, it makes it easy to clear your mind and write a truly unique review from one lone perspective: your own. One of these such pedals is the Shadow Boost/Drive from Morgan Amplification. 2 sides, 2 separate footswitches, 2 different tonal options....
Read More
The Analog Man Beano Boost is a great pedal for guitarists looking to boost certain frequencies in their tone. This pedal can drive an amp into distortion, add mid bump for lead work and add fatness to single coil pickups. The Beano Boost specs are as follows: – True bypass stomp switch / Status LED – 9V adaptor jack – Volume knob (Which if purchased as a mod can operate as a push/pull switch for Treble boost)...
Read More
With so many pedals saturating the market these days, especially in the Overdrive category, pedal builders are really having to come up with inventive new designs and pedal layouts to keep the public coming back for more. One company that has no shortage of innovation is J.Rockett Audio Designs, and with the Allan Holdsworth model Overdrive/Boost, they have just stepped up the game once again. This drive consist of two sides, which...
Read More
Boost pedals can be extremely easy-to-use, or they can be a bit more complex, with loads of options and controls. Each type works well for different players, and not all of us will understand each boost pedal we happen to come across. Fortunately, Anasounds out of France has created an excellent combination of these two types of boost, one that also doubles as a great little overdrive pedal, something I think a lot of boosts strive to...
Read More
There are some pedals that can do a lot of different tricks, and a lot that can do them all very well. When these pedals present themselves, I’m always astonished how the builders manage to pack so many options into such a small area, and how they came up with the ideas in the first place. Today’s pedal is a prime example of this feat, and holds nothing back as far as options and tonal joy: the Butch Fuzz/Overdrive/Boost...
Read More
There’s something special about any pedal you can put on your board and have it stay on all the time. Whether it’s a slight reverb, a bit of drive for some crunch or a nice boost to beef up your tone, it takes some creative circuitry to build an always-on stompbox. Today’s pedal does exactly that – it’s the MORE Boost + Tone Enhancer from LD Effects. Housed in a wonderfully plain and cleanly-designed...
Read More
Space-saving pedals are awesome, I mean it. The fact that pedal builders figured out a way to pack a ton of tone into such small enclosures boggles my mind, but then, that’s not too difficult to do in general. The majority of the ones I have seen or played have been drive, and why not? Leave the huge pedals to the modulation and delay departments, and keep the drive sections neat and tidy. A nice example of such a pedal is the...
Read More
The Deluxe Drive72 (DD72) of Dangelo is an incredible overdrive boutique designed and built by Mr. Antonio Dangelo. The types of overdrive present on the market today are innumerable, and it is sometimes very difficult to understand the differences between each of them. The DD72 to classify it as simply as possible, I would consider it as a mix between a TS9 and a Vemuram Jan Ray. The peculiarities that in my humble opinion it is an...
Read More
A boost pedal is usually just that: a Boost pedal. Granted, while they do enhance your tone and give you amp a little kick where it needs one, mainly they just Boost, Boost, Boost. They can get your tone to that “just about break-up amp” sound, but what if you wanted (or needed) just a little bit more? Well, my buddy Nick and his cohorts over at Greer Amps decided that enough was enough, and they created a sort of hybrid...
Read More
Along the way in this awesome pedal adventure of mine, I come across a TON of pedal builders, and try to do my best to help out all the little companies I can: get their name out into the world, get links from my site and social media pages to theirs and, of course, buy a pedal whenever the funds present themselves. I’ve been looking for a simple, one knob, always on boost/preamp pedal as of late, and decided to take a chance on...
Read More
J. Rockett Audio Designs builds really interesting gear with unique layouts and funky-shaped pedals, which really make them stand out in a crowd. Not to mention, they sound pretty rad as well. Take the Tim Pierce Overdrive/Boost, for example. Based on one of Tim’s favorite amps, the Naylor SD60, the TP is an overdrive with big punches and warm overtones, plus a power amp boost switch, making it a killer 2-In-1 overdrive. The...
Read More
Eric Clapton. Ritchie Blackmore. Brian May. Tony Iommi. What do these fine gentleman have in common, besides being incredible guitar players? They achieved tones that are still being sought out today, by way of using a Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster. These pedals were made to push an amplifier into a gorgeous overdriven tone, and were featured on some real breakthrough albums back in the day. Our friends at Tribute Audio Designs...
Read More
Robert Keeley keeps making great effects, it’s no secret, and the White Sands Luxe Drive is yet another shining example. This is Keeley’s take on a low-gain overdrive, and it really makes your guitar sing and sparkle with ease. Not too pushy, not too mild, the Luxe Drive is a perfect compliment to any rig. Let’s start with the basics: Drive, Tone and Level. Standard fare for most overdrive pedals, yet a surprisingly...
Read More
We’ve got another VIDEO review for you today: The Jeffro Boost from Taurus Pedals. Check them out HERE, and don’t forget to subscribe to Kyle’s channel after you watch the video! Click ‘PLAY’ and enjoy the show! Submitted by Kyle (YouTube), Instagram, Twitter
Read More
RayGun FX recently sent me a couple pedals to review, and I gotta tell you, they are making some incredible gear for guitarists (check out the Soda Drive). This dual Drive caught my eye right away when I was checking out their website, and as anyone who reads these reviews knows, I’m a real sucker for Dual pedals of any kind, especially Overdrives. The Fat Drive is a Clean Booster and Overdrive in one, which means it will give...
Read More
First off, let me say that I love Emerson Custom Guitars’ EM-Drive as it is, being a wonderfully transparent overdrive with great character and warm, smooth tones. However, I also like my overdrives to have a little more BITE than the stock EM has got, and that’s where this fantastic mod from my friend Ásgeir over at Pedal Projects in Iceland comes in. Just wait ’til you see what he’s done now. The Pedal...
Read More
Walrus Audio makes some pretty incredible effects, from straightforward rock boxes to off-the-wall Fuzz/Tremolo 2-In-1 units, and a bunch of cool stuff in between. Their first offering of a usually simple pedal is unorthodox and ballsy as well, as we’ve come to expect from Colt and Company. The Plainsman is a Clean Boost, but with a few twists and turns along the way. Here goes… This gray little box is tiny, a perfect fit...
Read More
When you see the control knobs and toggle switches on The Elements Overdrive pedal from Dr. Scientist, you might be immediately overwhelmed, scared, frightened and perhaps cry a little, but not to worry: this monster IS tamable, and you’re going to have a great time doing so. Don’t let the 6 Control Knobs and 4 Different Toggle Switches haunt you in your dreams… Right off the bat, you’ll notice that 3 of the...
Read More
Retro Mechanical Labs in Portland, OR, are making some really cool pedals these days, and have been for a while, now. The Clean Overdrivr (that’s NOT a typo, by the way) is a smaller size pedal than they usually build, but it packs a punch and delivers the goods just the same. For those of you who don’t like too much fuss and muss with your effects, the Clean Overdrivr is right up your alley. Two settings: Clean and Drive....
Read More
The Pedal Projects Growly overdrive/boost left me speechless as soon as I opened up the box. Ásgeir of Pedal Projects is known for the outstanding work he puts into his pedals, and now I have experienced it first-hand. The build quality of the Growly is just awesome. The Growly also has an amazing and very unique sound that I have never gotten out of any other overdrive pedals I’ve tried. The drive circuit features a volume knob...
Read More
Right out of the gate, the Bumblebee from Hungry Robot Pedals had me intrigued. This pedal is being hyped as an EQ-Boost-Overdrive-Distortion-Fuzz, which seems like a pretty tall order to me. But with a few twists of the knobs, I could tell that this thing was a beast, and could deliver on all it promises, and perhaps a little bit more. A truly unique and dirty pedal, the Bumblebee can perform many functions, from a delicious clean...
Read More
First and foremost, the Saturn V Harmonic Booster (in Limited Edition White) from Spaceman Effects is gorgeous. Pretty much the cleanest, slickest, futuristic-looking pedal I have ever had the opportunity to play. Not to mention it sounds simply incredible. You’d think a pedal with only two knobs would be kind of a one-trick pony, but the sonic ranges in these 2 knobs are BIG, allowing for an unusual amount of tonal structure...
Read More
The Happy Valley Analog Clean Boost is an extremely well built hand painted and hand wired boutique clean boost effect pedal. Happy Valley Analog is a relatively new boutique effect company with fantastic customer service. They use nothing but the highest quality parts and it really shows in the sound quality of their effects. The HVA clean boost is a very straight forward pedal with great sound designed to be used with a tube amp....
Read More
This is the NashPedals Bronco Billy clean/treble boost. I’ve been using this hand painted version for 6 months now, and I am always impressed with how transparent and usable this little guy is. With the toggle in the up position, the Bronco Billy acts as a treble boost. I really love how you can dial it in if you need just a touch to cut through, or really use it to push the amp without getting big, boomy bass. I often use this...
Read More
P.I.F Pedals is a small boutique pedal company with one mission: Pay It Forward. Their first offering is the Dual Preamp Boost – a dual boost pedal with inputs and outputs for both, giving you immense flexibility as well as superb tones. The right side of the boost is the “sparkle” boost, which is a BS170 FET transistor-based boost. This adds a shine to your tone and mixes well with warm humbuckers or semi-hollow...
Read More
The Blackeye Effects Palmetto is a great boost/light overdrive pedal. It only has two controls, Gain and Volume, but that is all you need. The Palmetto is true bypass and there are many great settings on this pedal. And for under $100 new, you can’t pass it up. Let’s review a few of my favorite settings. With the gain backed down and the volume up, the Palmetto will make your clean tone full and shimmering, giving you a...
Read More
To really test this pedal, I wanted to run it through an solid state amp, to see how much “tube tone” it would actually add to a sound not produced by tubes in the first place. However, I only have 1 solid state amp, and it’s a little ZT Lunchbox. Maybe not the best demo amp, but I figured if I could coax a warm tube sound out of it, then this pedal was doing its job. Well, it did, and then some. For starters, it...
Read More
Need a stompbox that can perform multiple functions and can be used in a slew of different scenarios? Then check out the Jerry Donahue JD10 from Morley. This pedal can do many things, including recording line driver, amp emulator, overdrive, preamp, and headphone amp. I use it mostly for boost and a bit of overdrive on the Classic setting. The speaker simulator sounds good even when playing through an amp. I have quite a few other...
Read More
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...
Read More
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
Read More
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...
Read More
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...
Read More
