While we haven’t ever ventured TOO far into the world of multi-effects processors, we did get a chance to check out the Ampero from Hotone Audio almost exactly a year ago today, and were extremely impressed by how well it performed. Cramming a ton of amps, cabinet and effects into one unit has got to be tricky for any company, and to do it as well and for such an affordable price point was a stroke of genius. Today, we’re...
Read More
Over the last couple of years, we’ve had a blast testing out and investigating the affordable lineup of effects coming from CNZ Audio. Delving into delays and echoes, overdrives, octaves and even a phaser, there was always one pedal that we had out eyes on specifically, and we’re bringing it to you today. The SMD-10 Mod Station traps a ton of different effects into one tiny enclosure, then unleashes them unto the world one...
Read More
The pulsing, audio ebb-and-flowing, peaks and valleys sounds of Vibrato are some of our favorites in the world. Whether it’s coming from a modern day effects pedal or from the circuit of a vintage amplifier, it’s hard to beat adding that type of effect into any signal chain and being the least bit disappointed. Today’s pedal, the SurfyVibe from Surfy Industries, brings a vintage sound into our modern world, keeping...
Read More
The sound of the Uni-Vibe® effect is really specific, and completely unmistakable. Made famous by Jimi Hendrix, Robin Trower, David Gilmour and many more, this swirling, pulsing phaser-infused vibrato chorus effect has been heard on countless classic recording over the decades, and adds a bit of depth and dimension to any music it happens to come into contact with. Today, we’re going to look at one of the now-most-famous...
Read More
Happy Holidays, everyone! As we approach the close of 2019, we’d like to take a look at a new and truly unique piece of gear, one that has been much anticipated in the effects world. As we all know, multi-effects pedals can be really, really good…and sometimes, they’re really, really bad. Thankfully, today’s pedal falls squarely into the former category, as an options-filled modulation machine that will blow...
Read More
What’s better than an absolutely GIANT effects box laying at your feet? Well, maybe some other things, but it’s still pretty cool. From the short but distinguished list of these beasts, we bring you a somewhat underdog in a world of Memory Men and Guitar Synthesizers: the VM1 Vintage Time Machine Delay Echo Chorus Vibrato from Behringer. An analog delay with a few tricks up its sleeve, this powerhouse is big, bad, and...
Read More
Today’s pedal is an awesomely odd one to approach, as it is really 10 pedals in one. The Console from ELTA Music uses a series of interchangeable sound cartridges, each with its own set of three modes, to produce a wide array of tones and auditory revelations that will alter your approach to creating music. We are going to review and demo all 10 of these cartridges eventually, and the next one is our series is the Vibe Rotary...
Read More
From BB King to SRV to Hendrix to the Smashing Pumpkins to Paul Kossoff and more, the Vibrato effect has been employed throughout the decades, through both effects and playing technique. The results have been a mixed bag of emotional, soaring leads, unforgettable licks and drawn-out chordal arrangements for some of the most memorable music around. We’re going to explore this genre a bit more today, with the VIB1 Vibrato pedal...
Read More
Do we like Modulation effects here at Pedal of the Day? Yes. What about Delay? Check. Reverb? Of course. What about all of them in one pedal, one that fits into the palm of your hand and costs less than 100 bucks? Sign us up!! Today’s pedal is all of these things and more – the CRL-1 Coral Modulation Delay Reverb from Valeton is small, affordable and boasts a slew of sounds you might not expect would fit into an enclosure...
Read More
The wonderful world of multi-effects has had quite a resurgence in the last couple of years, with bigger, more powerful machines that actually sound incredible being put on the market. With all of these fantastic sounds and options available, there’s also been a considerable price hike in these effects units, too, making it hard for those on a lower budget to even be able to test them out, to see if it’s a good fit for...
Read More
The next pedal in our “Walrus Week”, which features the three newest pedals from our pals at Walrus Audio, is a phaser. Now, we LOVE phasers, and modulation in general, here at Pedal of the Day, and were super-stoked when we saw the announcement about the Lillian Multi-Stage Analog Phaser. This gorgeous-sounding, pulsating, whirling effect boasts differing phase stage selection, a unique Blend knob and intense,...
Read More
There’s no shortage of incredible effects pouring out of the Keeley Electronics office, and with each one, we’re taken aback a bit by the sheer ingenuity and creativity they possess, especially the Workstation Series. Looking at another one of those today, we’re excited to bring you the Dark Side, a Fuzz Delay Phaser Vibe Flanger extravaganza, with tasty fuzz tones and all the modulation you can handle. Conjuring up...
Read More
There’s no mistaking the bright red glory that comes with every single effects pedal we see from Sioux Guitars, which should make it no surprise that the bright red beauty we’re checking out today comes straight from Sioux City, Iowa, as well. The Flood of ’53 is aptly named after a huge rainfall that hit and flooded the town those many decades ago, and just like the big waves and ripples through the city, this...
Read More
It’s Day Two of our “Deadbeat Week” here at Pedal of the Day, and brings with it the first of three “Station” effects pedals we’re going to check out. Modulation is always a good time, no matter what type of rig you have or what music you play, so cramming 11 unique modulating effects into one pedal sounds like a pretty rad idea to us. The Modulation Station combines Tremolo, Vibrato, Chorus,...
Read More
It’s been a hot minute since we had anything from Yellowcake come through the office, but boy, was it worth the wait. The Lida Machine is an analog resonant filter, with hints of tremolo and vibrato, ring modulator, phaser and more jammed into an impressive-looking and sounding enclosure. With two footswitches and a lot of knobs, we’re ready to dive in and explore this beast immediately… Also known as a VCF (Voltage...
Read More
We’ve always been intrigued and interested in pedals that have lots of knobs, dipswitches and In/Out jacks, so when today’s pedal came along, we were super stoked to test it out. The Spectravibe from Endangered Audio Research (makers of the now-famous AD4096 Analog Delay) is a tremolo and vibrato pedal, but it’s also much, much more than just that. With elements of compression, overdrive, distortion, auto wah and...
Read More
The Uni-Vibe is an iconic effect, whether coming from Hendrix and Band of Gypsy’s “Machine Gun,” Robin Trower’s “Bridge of Sighs” or multiple tracks from “Dark Side of the Moon” from Pink Floyd, you’ve heard it before many times, and chances are you dig it. Today’s pedal seeks to re-create those iconic effects units of the past, with a couple new enhancements as well. The...
Read More
Happy 4/20, kiddos! We’ve got a pedal today that seeks to build upon an already existing design, giving you two different sounding but equally incredible pedals to choose from (who are we kidding, you’ll probably buy both). The original Warped Vinyl Analog Vibrato Chorus from Chase Bliss Audio was a monster modulation pedal in its own right, as was the subsequent MkII version, which took things up a notch. Their new...
Read More
Over the years, we’ve reviewed some awesome pedals from our Canadian friends Fairfield Circuitry, and today we get to do it once more. The Shallow Water is a K-Field Modulator pedal, one that mixes in elements of chorus, flanger, vibrato and more, to form a distinctly exclusive new type of effect. Built using simulation mathematics and old tape echo flavors, this hard-to-classify pedal is right up our alley. A Rate control...
Read More
Getting pedals that come through the shop without a distinct label as to what they are or what they can do is always intriguing, and our featured pedal for today baffled us until we had the chance to plug it in. The Instant Lo-Fi Junky from ZVEX Effects is a compressor, chorus, vibrato and more, an sound experimenter’s dream in a small, pedalboard-friendly enclosure, with controls that are basic, but create a wide palette of...
Read More
Continuing their status as one of the top-of-the-heap companies in the effects pedal world, Keeley Electronics introduced some multi-effects boxes to the world last year, and we’re lucky enough to have one of them to check out today. The Super Mod Workstation covers more ground than it probably needs to, or should be able, which is definitely NOT a bad thing. With more effects and parameter settings than you’ll know what...
Read More
Last month when we reviewed and demoed our first pedal from Frana Effects, the White Wave Fuzz, the impression that it left was one of amazement (as well as a shattered eardrum or two). So, we were stoked to be able to try another one of their pedals, but go in a completely different direction from the aforementioned fuzz genre. The Moon Land is a tremolo with extra oomph, based on some classic circuitry, but with its own flare and...
Read More
After we brought you our review of the first pedal in the Animals Pedal lineup, the Rust Rod Fuzz, we now bring you the second out of five total pedals. The Car Crush is a Chorus and Vibrato pedal, an excellent modulation device that gives you the ability to span different musical eras and decades with ease. Tap into your inner Jimi with the click of a button, create sounds from the Summer of Love and even morph your sound to fit...
Read More
The first time we ever heard about the Black Cat Vibe, it was doing research on the rig of Trey Anastasio, who used to keep the original half unit in his on-stage rack (known then as the Custom Audio Electronics Black Cat Vibe). Since those particular units were pretty rare and pretty expensive, we never got to fully appreciate and play with the sound we came to know and love. Recently, however, we acquired the newer pedal version of...
Read More
Pedals that can perform more than one function or contain more than one effect are always welcome with open arms (and ears) here at Pedal of the Day. Today’s featured pedal, the Martini™ Dual Analog Chorus Vibrato from Tortuga Effects, features two incredible-sounding effects rolled into one smooth box, with differing sounds and tones for days. If you love a good vibrato sound or adding some chorus to your tone, this might just...
Read More
Sometimes, you don’t actually have to spend a ton of cash to get a great-sounding pedal…no, seriously! Today’s featured pedal, the Mind Bender Vibrato/Chorus from BBE Sound proves that fact over and over again, combining monetary efficiency with some excellent tones that are sure to make you and your amp happy. Let’s take a gander at this blue beauty, shall we? The controls are nice and easy to use on the Mind...
Read More
Let’s face it: sometimes mini pedals can leave something to be desired. Trying to cram a bunch of sounds into a super-tiny enclosure has proven to be a somewhat difficult task, but apparently not for the folks over at Malekko Heavy Industry. Their Vibrato pedal, part of the Omicron Series, packs a wallop of tone and flexibility into a itty-bitty pedal, perfect for saving space but not sacrificing any sound in your rig. Built...
Read More
The first couple of pedals from McCaffrey Audio that we reviewed, the Zero to Sixty Drive and Green Vodka Muff Fuzz, were just plain awesome, and we couldn’t wait to see what their next creation was going to be. Taking a turn towards the unexpected, they have now released the Run Rabbit Run, which is their take on a Vibrato-type pedal, but with so much more going on than you’d think. Designed to give you that classic...
Read More
Today’s guest review comes to us from Marlin M. – find him on Instagram (@goes_by_fish), Twitter (@goes_by_fish) or Facebook (Marlin.Morin)! The NuX Mod Force is a multi effects pedal boasting an impressive 12 modulation types in a compact, pedalboard friendly enclosure. This unit has a full color LCD display (128×128) to adjust parameters for each of the modulation models. These models include chorus, tri chorus,...
Read More
Today’s guest review comes to us from Max F. – find him on SoundCloud (@MaxFaith)! While octave pedals are available in a variety of configurations it’s hard to find units that operate in the desired octave range and track well enough to be useful and musical. Enter the Walrus Audio Luminary Quad Octave Generator. The fine people at Walrus have designed this pedal to work in the lower and higher octave ranges with some of the finest...
Read More
The folks at Keeley Electronics just keep pumping out awesome new pedal after awesome new pedal, and we are privileged today to check out not only one of their newest creations, but a Special Edition as well. The Monterey Special Custom Germanium is a fuzz, octave, vibrato, rotary and harmonic wah all in one, producing an exciting blend of some classic tones, while opening the gateway to much sonic exploration. The Fuzz channel...
Read More
Today’s featured pedal comes to us from a well-known and highly-respected source here at Pedal of the Day. The crew over at Celestial Effects has been consistently churning out some amazing pedals, and we are lucky enough to have them keep sending us new stuff to review and demo, and we couldn’t be happier. This particular piece of gear they graced us with is a 3-In-1 beast, boasting three wonderful effects in one...
Read More
We’ve got another classic pedal reproduction for you all today, and one that unequivocally and faithfully reproduces the sound, feel and vibe (pun intended) of the original units, with all the modern amenities we’re all always seeking out. The Vibe-Bro from Shin-Ei is an updated version of the classic Uni-Vibe machine, made famous for forty years by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour, Robin Trower and countless...
Read More
Today’s guest review comes to us from Michael W. – find him on Instagram (@mwiegand77), Twitter (@mwiegand), Facebook (MichaelWiegand) and on his band’s Facebook page (A Greyscale). When you hear the name “Warped Vinyl,” you’re transported to a thrift store record bin. All the records you find in there are dusty, scratched, sunbaked; they’ve seen better days. But you buy one because it’s...
Read More
Around here, we get pretty excited whenever the crew over at Walrus Audio unleashes a new pedal release on the world, as we have reviewed just about all of their pedals, and they just keep getting better and better. This time around, they’ve gone to modulation town, with a wicked mash up of chorus and vibrato, but with some new options for ultimate tweakability and customization not seen too often in a pedal of this nature. From...
Read More
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...
Read More
Sometimes, your guitar tone just needs a bit of….something. Most times, it’s hard to figure out what that special addition to your rig might be, but sometimes it just reveals itself with the push of a bypass switch. The Blue Hippo MkII Analog Chorus from Way Huge Electronics is exactly one of these additions, a pedal that gives your tone a sparkle and gives you playing a much-appreciated kick in the pants. Not much to the...
Read More
We recently reviewed a great preamp pedal from RST Custom Effects, the Magic 6, and were extremely impressed by what it could do, so the thought of reviewing more of their effects was welcome for sure. The next pedal we got was the aptly-named Queasy Seaman Vibrato, a true vibrato pedal that produces sounds not likely to come from your standard tremolo or phaser pedals. Featuring a simple control setup and nausea-inducing graphics,...
Read More
Let’s face it – the classic Shin-Ei Uni-Vibe sound works really, really well in some music…and not so much in others. Being that it might not be the friendliest effect on your board, it’s hard for a lot of folks to shell out a couple hundred dollars for a well-made recreation, or even harder to find (and afford) and original, much less one in good working condition. While these sought-after analog machines are...
Read More
Oh boy, this pedal really opens up a can for sure. I was on a search. I wanted something specific. Tremolo speed control with an expression pedal. The Worm! An affordable pedal with tremolo and expression control! Well with that feature I have to say I was a little disappointed to say the least. The Worm by Electro-Harmonix is a multi effect unit from one of the industries greats, with so many “classic” “must have” units to their...
Read More
All-in-one pedals can be great, and they can be terrible, as anyone who has ever tried a few out can attest to. The good ones, though, when they’re good, they are GOOOOD. Where to begin with a pedal like this, with so many options, tones, squeaks, sound and delights? With a long-standing reputation of making some of the finest musical gear around, the folks at Eventide have one-upped even themselves at this point, and released...
Read More
Rainbows and Unicorns are known to be magical, especially in the realm of musical instruments (no duh). But let’s not get caught into rainbows at the moment… Unicorns, yes unicorns can often be found in the wild land of “Hendrix,” but the Unicorn can be tamed and domesticated for much subtler uses too. JHS has produced a modern *Uni-vibe* device which is reviving the nearly “extinct” species. With...
Read More
Some pedals are great at doing one thing, and one thing only. It’s usually quite specific, and they’re not trying to do anything but the ONE thing they’re great at. The Depths from EarthQuaker Devices is NOT one of those pedals, as it can perform many effect functions, with ease and sounding great in the process. Chorus, vibrato, rotary speakers, phasers and more – this pedal has got your needs more than...
Read More
The Mobius super-modulation pedal from Strymon is yet another example of some of the finest gear offerings available on the market today, and doesn’t really leave much to chance as far as options and tones are concerned. Created in the same realm and structure as the TimeLine Delay and BigSky Reverberator, the Mobius is a true all-in-one modulation box, supplying just about any kind of phaser, flanger, chorus and vibrato sound...
Read More
The first Warped Vinyl Analog Chorus/Vibrato was an instant hit, and was always in high demand from players across the country (and world, I would assume). Originally created to sound like a warped LP record, the analog sounds and options available made it a surefire classic, and everyone wondered what they would create next. Somehow, the gang from Chase Bliss Audio have managed to step up their game yet again, and have released the...
Read More
The crew over at Fulltone has been a leading innovator of modern-day effects that precisely emulate some of the most sought-after and classic effects from the 60’s and 70’s, going through painstaking detail to faithfully recreate these incredible sounds and tones. One of these effects is the Uni-Vibe, made famous by David Gilmour and Jimi Hendrix, among others. Fulltone’s Mini DejaVibe captures that sound almost...
Read More
Thick, rich chorus and vibrato have been a staple of music since the 1960’s, when those sounds first appeared and sent music as we know it into an entirely new dimension. Based on the big amps and new effects of that era, the Warble Tron from JHS Pedals is a classic take on an age gone by. The controls are laid out neatly here, with the smaller Depth (effect intensity) and Volume knobs tucked away on the left, near a toggle...
Read More
Opening the box to the SwirlPool Tremolo/Vibrato from Amptweaker was immediately daunting. So many knobs and switches, 2 effects loops, a weird fat switch right in the middle: what had I gotten myself into? Turns out, looks can be deceiving…but not really in this case. This pedal has a learning curve, for sure, but it’s super fun to figure out, and even more rewarding when you get there. Right off the bat, I had to dig up...
Read More
Let’s face it: a true 60’s Shin-Ei Uni-Vibe is NOT a very viable monetary option for most of us guitarists, as they sell regularly for over $1200. Now, those who can afford them apparently love ’em, and we’ve all heard their sound on numerous classic recordings through the years. Names like Hendrix, Gilmour, Trower and Anastasio immediately spring to mind when mentioning this brilliant effect, and for many of...
Read More
