Merry Christmas-Hanukkah-Kwanzaa-Boxing Day-Omisoka-Yule to you all, hope your celebrations were safe, festive and full of love and friendship! Now, back to business: today’s pedal is an absolute CRUSHER. Taking the world of distortion and completely throwing it for a loop, the PLASMA High Voltage Distortion Unit from Gamechanger Audio reinvents the way a high gain pedal should look, feel, sound and perform. Using updated and...
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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...
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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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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,...
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Mixing it up in the effects pedal department has become almost the standard these days – adding clever options, combining effects and trying to change the overall soundscape of what we all use on our pedalboards. Today’s pedal addresses this in dramatic fashion, producing elements of fuzz, distortion, oscillation and overall weirdness with ease. The Guardian Fuzz from Hologram FX seeks to destroy everything you thought you...
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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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We love seeing effects arrive at the shop from smaller pedal companies who are up-and-coming in the game, and we are going to check out a scorcher of a fuzz today. Andrew and Tori from MidValleyFX have built the Go To Fuzz, and aptly-named distortion that could just be the one effect in your rig you rely on the most moving forward. Simple and powerful, this gated beauty can conjure up classic and distinguished tones, while...
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Chris Traynor Topanga, California Bush bushofficial.com www.instagram.com/ct3guitar/ twitter.com/CT3GUITAR How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I feel like I’ve been a musician since birth. My parents took me to Suzuki method when I was a toddler, and although I don’t remember much from those days I feel like it really gave me an interest in communicating through music from a very young age. I...
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Nick Johns & J.B. Brisendine Atlanta, GA Brother Hawk brotherhawkatl.com facebook.com/BrotherHawkATL twitter.com/brotherhawkatl youtube.com/brotherhawkatl instagram.com/brotherhawkatl How long have you guys been musicians? How did you get into it in the first place? Nick: I had always been surrounded by a family of musicians my whole life and started picking songs out on the piano by ear when I was 4 years old. I started piano...
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Marco Benevento Upstate New York Homepage Follow the Arrow When longtime jazz/jam favorite of ours, Marco Benevento, brought his band through town last week for a show at the Asheville Music Hall, he was kind enough to sit down and talk with us about music, touring, gear and more…here’s our chat, enjoy! [Pedal of the Day] First of all, where did you grow up? Do you still live in the same place? [Marco Benevento] I grew up...
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Ben Deane Overland Park, KS (Kansas City Metro) Monarch Musical Devices https://reverb.com/shop/monarchmusicaldevices How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve always had a connection with music. From my dad’s outlaw country vinyl LPs to my mom’s affection for artists like Paul Simon and Billy Joel, music always spoke to me and I wanted to speak back. I had a couple of years of piano lessons...
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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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For a number of years now, the folks at Pigtronix have been pushing, pulling and re-working the Delay genre with their lineup of echo devices, and we’re going to take a gander at one of the newest ones today. The Echolution 2 Filter Pro is an extremely flexible, option-filled, preset-ridden, multi-tap stereo modulation delay, that’s capable of more than you could care to imagine. However, if you DO think big, and want your...
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Sometimes, in our wonderful world of effects pedals, one knob is all you need to produce spectacular sounds. Such is the case with today’s featured piece of gear, the Dream Left Behind Fuzz from our new friends at Life Is Unfair. Coming to us all the way from the city of Cardiff in southern Wales, this bright orange tone machine has fuzz sounds you might not expect from such a simple pedal. Much Muff-y research was done to...
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Chris Houser Dayton, Ohio The Werks thewerksmusic.com We’re trying something new today – our first face-to-face Interview! We were lucky enough to sit down and chat with Chris when he was in Boise for Treefort a couple weeks ago, here’s what we talked about: [Pedal of the Day] Where are you guys from? [Chris Houser] I’m from Dayton, Ohio. Overall, we’re just from Ohio – half the band lives in Columbus,...
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Johnny Hiland Nashville, TN http://www.johnnyhiland.net/ It is a sincere pleasure, and honor, to be doing this interview. I am a huge fan of Pedal of the Day, on Twitter, as I am truly a pedal nut. I just want everybody to know that you can find out anything you may want to know about me on my website, www.johnnyhiland.net. How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I have been a musician now for...
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Mike Beigel Mu-FX Encinitas, CA www.mu-fx.com [Mu-FX by Beigel Sound Lab is a division of Beigel Technology Corp.] facebook.com/BeigelSoundLab How long have you been a musician? How did you get into musical effects in the first place? My main musical training was classical music on clarinet, but I also played Saxophone for a local high school dance band (“The Crescendos”), and for some local rock & roll bands and guitar just for...
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We’re sure that, like us, you were intrigued and a bit awestruck the first time you saw the Canaglia Overdrive from Lollygagger FX (if this is your first time seeing one, please react accordingly). A big, fat wooden box with three simple knobs looked beautifully clean and adventurous simultaneously, and we wanted to not only hold it in our hands, but hear what magical tones it would release once plugged in. Well, we finally got...
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There are some pedals that come along and really make you think about sound; how it works, how you can manipulate it and how, sometimes, you just need to let go and throw out everything you thought you knew about effects. Today’s pedal embodies all of these things, and more, by being a true original in a time of klones and copies, but in a way that almost transforms the delay genre, flipping it upside down and inside out, taking...
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Leon Wright Portland, OR Pelican NoiseWorks www.pelicannoiseworks.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? Music has always been a part of my life. My dad played piano and guitar ever since I can remember. He passed away when I was 8. After that I inherited his guitar and set out to figure out how to play. Since then, it has been a constant thing in my life, not that I have ever actually...
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decker. Sedona, AZ deckermusic.org Twitter: @deckermusic Facebook: @deckermusic How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I suppose I’ve been a musician for roughly 16 years. At first I just wanted to play songs and sing songs. Singing for girls was a factor if I’m honest. Then I came out of a decade long tumult and I wanted to kinda process that and I started making records eventually....
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Drew Shirley Switchfoot.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? My mom made me take piano lessons. I quit when I got into high school and she said “you’ll thank me some day.” She was right. I picked up my older brothers guitar and taught myself a few chords to play in church youth group. After that I discovered Led Zeppelin and went on to write some songs, start a band and...
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Right off the bat with today’s featured pedal, there’s something very unique. While most pedal enclosures feature some kind of graphics or etching or something along those lines, the Scenic Drive from Square Amps is completely see-through, letting us all see the insides for all their glory (well, at least to those who can understand what’s going on in there, which definitely leaves us out of the loop). Not to mention...
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Today’s little piece of overdriven glory comes to us from a long ways away – Voronezh, Russia, to be exact. The crew at Blacksoil FX sent their first creation across the pond for us to check out, and what arrived was the excellent Alpha Centauri Overdrive. This little silver bad boy is based on the legendary Klon schematic, so the controls are a cinch to understand, but there’s also an added bonus feature to mix...
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Having access to two different pedals in the same box, and sometimes the ability to combine them together to make one super-powered effect, is one of the greatest things ever in the effects world. Today’s pedal from our friends halfway around the world, Red Witch Pedals, does exactly that, but also features a ton of options, sounds and quirks that make it a truly special modulation pedal. May we present to you the Medusa...
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Neil Fallon Silver Spring, MD Clutch http://www.pro-rock.com/ How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I bought my first electric guitar around 1987. It was a shitty Cort strat. A very discouraging introduction. My “rig” was a Gorilla amp and a Boss DS-1. Strictly power chords and feedback for several years. I drove my parents nuts. Clutch formed in 1991. We knew each other in high...
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With yet another 2-in-1 pedal review coming at’cha today, we’ve been fortunate to be able to check out some great multiple-use pedals recently, and today’s featured bit of gear keeps the hits coming. While the Overdrive/Boost combo isn’t too uncommon, there aren’t many with both the simplicity and options of today’s gem. Combining two already fantastic pedals from PB&J Pedals into one, the...
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We have reviewed several effects from Red Witch Pedals here at Pedal of the Day, and each time, it’s an adventure for both the mind and the ears. Today’s featured pedal may top the list in regards to both those things, as the Synthotron Analog Synth is capable of producing an insane amount of noises, sounds and tones, some predictable, some outrageous and all Red Witch, for sure. Let’s dive right into this...
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Rob Compa Guitarist for Dopapod Wayne, NJ www.dopapod.com www.facebook.com/dopapod How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I’ve been playing guitar since I was 12, so if my math is correct that’s about 17 years, I think. My Dad always played guitar around the house, so that got me into it initially. Eventually, we played a little guitar in our music class in middle school, playing little riffs...
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Andy Green Andy Green Pedals We are located in Hollywood Florida about a mile from the beach. www.andygreenpedals.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I grew up in New York City around all the vintage guitar stores and legendary shops on 48th St. Ken Parker had his shop there and Mike Mathews had Electro Harmonics in the 70’s right there. I got a job in a vintage shop in 1981 and have been...
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Sometimes it just seems impossible to get just the right fuzz sound, and the harder you look the harder it gets to achieve it. As you keep looking the more peachy you become about it and suddenly you come to decide anything will fit your non realistic expectations and kinda led you into a big depression. That’s how I got to Vntage Tone (www.facebook.com/vntagetone), a Mexican custom pedal and pedalboard builder who seems to hit...
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Today’s pedal builder is a relative newcomer to the community, after trying out some dead-end jobs and realizing building pedals would be more fun and worthwhile. Ruffian Pedals’ flagship pedal is today’s featured piece of gear, The Feels Overdrive/Distortion. A sleek and stylish-looking pedal, it packs a wallop that’s sure to get both your amp and your crowd moving in a hurry. The control layout of The Feels...
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Simplicity can be a powerful weapon in today’s pedal world, where some manuals tend to read like a Tolstoy novel. The ability to be able to sit down with a pedal and GO, without having to read a bunch first, can be key to gear working it’s way into your rig. Not that the big boys don’t have their place, of course they do, but sometime you just want a couple of knobs that make beautiful noise, and that’s all you...
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I really dig the simplicity of the pedal produced by today’s featured builder, Like My Pedals. The stuff that they’re putting out to the world from Gainesville, Florida is nothing short of awesome, and with the simple but bold enclosures and no graphics or text, their pedals are very easily recognizable, and come with a hint of class, prestige and mystery. Today’s pedal is a newer model (I think we got one of the...
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Many times on a pedalboard, simplicity can be your closest friend. Take, for example, the Mockingbird 3-knob Delay pedal from Backwoods Music. One of the newest additions to their sonic lineup, the Mockingbird will give you a wide range of delay tones, lengths and sounds in a neat-and-tidy, compact, pedalboard-friendly package, without sacrificing any tone, clarity or build quality whatsoever. Mix, Feedback and Delay make up the basic...
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Way back when we first started Pedal of the Day, one of our first pedal donators was Happy Valley Analog out of Chattanooga, Tennessee. I loved the simplicity of the first incarnation of their Jurassic Fuzz pedal: simple controls, a great space-saver for your pedalboard, but it didn’t lack the balls that you want a good fuzz to have. Well, they took that schematic and beefed it up a bit, adding another control for more sonic...
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You want a simple, no-BS fuzz pedal that will go right onto any pedalboard and fit in instantly? A fuzz that only features one knob and one toggle switch, for easy dialing in of tones and fuzzy gooeyness? A fuzz so clean and dirty at the same time that it just might make your head explode? Then look no further than today’s pedal, the Temple of Doom Fuzz from Furukawar Effects. The one lone knob on the Temple of Doom (great name,...
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Fuzz. It’s awesome, and you know it. While there are a TON of different fuzz pedals on the market, it’s one of those sub-sectors of pedal that seem to somehow make each pedal sound completely different. You can line up 10 random fuzzes and do a sound test with them, and they’ll inevitably each possess unique characteristics and sonic qualities, which is by no means a bad thing. A prime example of a standout,...
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I’ve never been a huge fan of the classic Ibanez Tube Screamer pedal. There, I said it. It might be because I’ve never had the opportunity to play one of the “great ones” from the early 80’s, or maybe it’s just how they’ve always reacted with the amps I’ve played, but it just never grabbed me like it has other folks. So, I was a little skeptical to try the TS9 Strong Mod from JHS Pedals,...
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I’m sure many of you have used a Tube Screamer or a TS-style circuit before. Have you ever said, “Man, I wish this TS-style pedal had an adjustable knob that controlled low mid frequencies and also had a toggle switch that added more gain when engaged! And can I get it in blue?” Well, you have specific wishes. And they have been answered with the Blue Note OD from J. Rockett Audio Designs. Let us start with the...
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I really, really, really like fuzz. There are so many different aspects you can throw into a fuzz pedal, and almost none of them sound alike…unless you’re trying to make them sound like another pedal, a classic maybe, then they certainly can. But, for the most part, fuzzes are unique and extraordinary, and can be some of the funnest pedals as well. Today’s fuzz comes to us from Arkansas, and the boys and girls from...
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I’ve had my eye on a couple of Red Witch pedals for years now, and was finally able to try one out this week. It just so happened to be the one I wanted to try the most, too: the Pentavocal Analog Tremolo. A vast array of control knobs and 2 footswitches make up this beastly trem, and when all was said and done, I knew I’d be a fan for life. The Velocity knob controls the overall Speed of the tremolo, going from super slow...
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Have you ever wanted a pedal that will bring some funky attitude to your sound? How about this Aguilar Filter Twin: this is that one pedal that you can turn on for instant fun and especially funky vibe. Basically, it’s envelop filter with tons of versatility, meaning lots of options. Your signal will go high and low, soaring across a universe of funky tones (sound groovy enough for you?). This pedal is designed to work for bass,...
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I got a surprise package in the mail the other day from Nick over at Greer Amps: the yet-to-be-released Southland Harmonic Overdrive, their newest killer pedal creation. I’d seen the pictures on Instagram and was excited to test this baby out, knowing it was gonna rock after previously testing out a couple of other Greer pedals. Well, let’s just say it did rock…and then it rocked some more! The Southland was...
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The Arctic White Fuzz from Bearfoot FX is a highly approachable fuzz, able to get as dirty and gritty as you want, but never too over-the-top and out-of-control, like some other types of fuzz can do. Volume, Tone and Fuzz control knobs are easily adjustable to suit your tonal needs, with a nice range of sounds available in a small layout and enclosure, perfect for saving space on a pedalboard. The Arctic White Fuzz plays well with...
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Another great pedal from E-Wave. This thing is cheap, sturdy, true bypass and a full blown analog delay to boot. I’ve opened this one up as well to verify the true bypass since it was made in China. The circuitry is all quite neat. All well soldered and looks to be in pretty good order. The E-Wave delay has a standard three knob layout of Volume, Repeats and Time. This thing is a lot of fun to play with. has that great analog...
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The RAT TAIL is based on a pedal based off of the ProCo RAT – Fuzzrocious modded it to be made towards the low end of the sound spectrum for bass players to be able to use the pedal as well. Depending on the version this pedal comes with a slew of features. Mine per say has a V (volume), F (tone filter), D (distortion), and two red knobs label 1 and 2. These two red knobs in conjunction with the D knob allow you to dial in the...
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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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People at shows are always asking me, “Dude, how do you get that tone?!” My reply, which is pretty well-rehearsed by now, is, “I have a bass preamp pedal called a Rusty Box. It’s made by a company in New York City called Tronographic.” The Rusty Box is housed in a sturdy, attractive, white and orange enclosure with controls for Level, High, Low, Mid, and Gain; a mini-toggle switch to select between Hi and Lo gain inputs,...
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