If you haven’t heard it, or of it, yet, the Warped Vinyl Analog Vibrato/Chorus pedal is one of the hottest pieces of gear on the market right now, but Chase Bliss Audio didn’t stop there. They managed to revamp another of their flagship pedals, the Wombtone Analog Phaser, and somehow make it more incredible than it was previously. I got the chance to check both pedals out recently (click here for my review of the Warped...
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Next to Delay, Overdrive is my favorite type of pedal, hands down. There are so many little additions, changes, options and tones that can come to fruition while building a drive pedal, and while I don’t know jack about how to do it, I love listening to how they sound once the work is complete. Having quite a collection of overdrives myself, it was really fun to test out the Zero To Sixty Overdrive from McCaffrey Audio, as they...
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Analog Delay. There’s something special about it, you’re never quite sure what it is, but it makes you feel warm and comforted right down to your core. While there are a lot of digital delays still in production, analog has made a bit of a resurgence in the last decade or so, with new and better options arriving on the market year after year. One of those happens to be the AD4096 from Endangered Audio Research. Where to...
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Designed by guitarist Paul Crowther of Split Enz back in 1976, the venerable Crowther Hotcake OD/Distortion pedal is all about crunch. Airy, satisfying crunch, like a warm basket of tortilla chips. Hand built in New Zealand, the Hotcake delivers that classic rock rhythm sound in spades, and produces a great old-school lead tone that will make it your first grab. According the builder, the Hotcake is different from most ODs in that it...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Alchemy Audio is a small company based out of Chicago, and the majority of their work stems from performing great upgrades to some of the most famous guitar effects pedals ever created, such as the ProCo Rat, Electro-Harmonix Soul Food, a slew of Boss pedals and, of course, the Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer. As most of you know, this pedal is a classic overdrive, used by countless artists since its release in 1982. A good pedal on...
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Walrus Audio makes some really great effects pedals, and continue to push the boundaries with the new, inventive gear they’ve come out with recently. The Mayflower Overdrive is one of their staple pedals, and a favorite for anyone who wants to add a little crunch and beef to their sound. Like all Walrus pedals, the Mayflower is as tough, rugged and sturdy as you get, with a beautiful blue enclosure with more of the great graphic...
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I have been a fan of Walrus Audio’s gear for a while now, and this one just keeps that wonderful tradition going strong. The Iron Horse is exactly that: a true distortion beast, caged in a metal enclosure, waiting to be unleashed on the Earth in all it’s fiery glory…alright, maybe that’s a bit much, but this pedal is a serious piece of sonically distorted goodness. Dirty, dirty, dirty. This is a distortion not...
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Walrus Audio’s Voyager Overdrive has 3 control knobs, making it an easy pedal to maneuver and dial in. The tones that this high-quality piece of gear produce are outstanding as well, as we’ve come to expect from great companies like Walrus Audio. Sturdy enclosure, great switches and knobs and the guts are a thing of beauty as well. The real standout for this drive pedal to me is the amount of Tonal Range that you have to...
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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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We all search for warmth in our amps and pedals; I don’t know one guitarist who doesn’t. That was one of the main factors in selecting the Cream Overdrive from Plush/Fuchs, and it is the reason my tone sounds so good. No bells and whistles, nothing too fancy, just a great overdrive pedal, with ranges from a kind of bluesy mild drive to a thick, sonic distortion when really cranked. 3 simple knobs to control Gain, Tone and...
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We’ve had an influx of pedals sporting the classic Octave/Fuzz combination recently, such as the Red Witch Seraphina, Danelectro 3699, Sitek Electronics Pandora, Warm Audio Foxy Tone Box and Hochstrasser Hairy Eggplant. While this combination might seem fairly regular and obvious, today we’re going to look at a slight variation that doesn’t appear all that often. The Way Huge Purple Platypus Octidrive MkII combines...
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We’ve been reviewing and demoing effects units from NUX for over six years now, and they just keep getting better and better. After checking out the Verb Core Deluxe a couple weeks ago, we’re excited to bring you all the Time Core Deluxe MKII Stereo Delay, the latest in NUX’s Core Series of pedals. With seven delay modes and a built-in looper for mode eight, this one has a lot of options, sounds and vintage...
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We’ve been reviewing and demoing effects units from NUX for over six years now, and they just keep getting better and better. Today, we’re continuing our exploration into their Core Series of pedals (the Tape Core Deluxe was amazing, BTW) as we check out the Verb Core Deluxe, a vast-reaching, wide-ranging ambient powerhouse that brings your favorite reverb sounds up from the depths…let’s dive right in, shall...
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After going 3-for-3 on heavy dirt pedals so far from our friends at Asheville Guitar Pedals, we’re moving into our favorite genre for today’s creation: Delay. The Follower Delay is a digital delay with a barebones control system, but one that provides big, bold repeats and beautiful echoes for days. It looks good, it sounds good – what more do you need? The Follower Delay Pedal is the ultimate tool for musicians...
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We’ve always loved the effects pedals that Ryan and the Dr. Scientist crew have sent our way over the years, and we’re happy to have another wonderful creation from them for you today. The Sunny Day Delay provides oodles of choices, blending vintage and modern delay tones together in one glorious machine. If this pedal doesn’t brighten up your day and put a smile on your face, you might want to get some help…...
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Today’s slice of gear doesn’t really make your signal distort, or repeat, or sound extra modulated or weird, but it is an important piece of your sonic puzzle. The B-8 Professional Wireless System from NUX lets you roam freely around the studio, stage or practice spot without losing any signal strength. It also has a couple additions and tricks up its sleeve that we need to talk about, so let’s get right to it…...
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When you think of iconic delay pedals, both vintage AND modern, there’s one name that usually jumps to the front of the list: Boss. From 1978’s flagship DM-1 Delay Machine, to the DM-2/3 compact pedals, on into the DD series of digital delays, and coming back full circle to the recently released DM-101, they’ve been a presence in the delay world for almost 50 years. Today’s pedal continues that commitment to...
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Up to this point, we’ve only experienced the effects pedal side of NUX, one of our biggest supporters for years now. Today, they sent us something a little different to toss into the mix: the Stageman II Studio AC-60 Acoustic Amplifier. Filled with gorgeous tones, built-in FX, Impulse Responses, a drum machine and looper and more, this amp brings a lot to the table in a relatively compact package… The Stageman II AC-60 has...
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Delay is the best effect out there, hands-down…BUT, I do love a good compressor and a good preamp, too. Fortunately, today’s pedal, the Niche Devices Humboldt Preamp SE combines both of these effects into one brilliant effect, with broad range and total tonal control. Conceived over the course of two years, this original circuit offers optical compression coupled with a high headroom preamplifier, and features the unique...
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Hope everyone had a safe and wonderful holiday season, and that your 2023 is already off to a great start. We’re going to get off to a great start here at Pedal of the Day as well, bringing you some dynamic effects units to start off the year. Recently released, the Moog Moogerfooger Effects Plug-ins are faithful recreations of the classic, big box Moogerfooger effect lineup, which has been discontinued for...
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Jumping into a pedal like the Boss RE-202 Space Echo can be tricky – there’s so much going on, and so many sounds to discover, and so much nostalgia surrounding it, it’s a little daunting, to say the least. What we will say right off the bat is that IT IS INCREDIBLE. Ridiculously emulating the classic RE-201 Space Echo, this model brings all of the tone, delay and reverb from the original units to the table, but...
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I’ve always been a fan of compressors – I know, it’s a love/hate relationship with a lot of players out there, but they’ve always seemed warm and useful in the majority of pedalboard builds I’ve done. Now, what if you take an incredible compressor and add in a parallel gain stage, fo an incredible 2-in-1 unit? That’s precisely what the folks at Collaboration Devices have done with the aptly named...
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Delay…elay…lay…ay…y… We just can’t get enough of it, and today’s simple yet extremely impressive pedal shows just why that is. The Mythos Pedals Oracle Analog Echo pays homage to classic Japanese echo pedals, but is a unique circuit and not a direct clone of anything in particular. Don’t let the 3-knob layout fool you into thinking this is a regular old delay effect – ’cause...
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Richard Fortus St. Louis Guns N’ Roses https://www.4tus.com/ https://www.gunsnroses.com/ Past bands – Pale Divine, Psychedelic Furs, Love Spit Love, Thin Lizzy, Honky Toast, Rihanna How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? Started on violin when I was 5 and studied the Suzuki method. Also started playing drums around the same time. Started on guitar around 12. My father was an accountant,...
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Our Benson Amps Monarch has been a staple of our studio for years now, and one of our favorite amplifiers we’ve ever played. The Benson crew occasionally dives into the effects pedal pool as well, and we’ve got their latest for you today. The Germanium Fuzz is, well, a germanium fuzz, but one like no other you’ve seen. This pedal is set up in the ubiquitous 60’s circular fuzz topology, tuned for good sound, and...
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Let’s head back in TI:ME today, into the land of warm delays and vintage echoes. With a nod to classic echo units of the past, the Crazy Tube Circuits TI:ME Echo Delay is a retro-inspired machine, capable of instantly warming your tone. With separate analog and digital paths, tap tempo, modulation and more, this little pedal has a LOT going on. The all analog signal path in the TI:ME Echo Delay features a high-quality opamp,...
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We have loved every piece of gear we’ve come across from the Mu-Tron family, from the old 70’s Phasor all the way up through their newer line, like the Octavider+ and Micro-Tron. Today’s pedal is one we have been particularly excited about, as have many of you, patiently awaiting its release for a long time….the Bi-Phase II Phase Shifter takes Mu-Tron’s HUGE 70’s unit, makes some improvements,...
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Y’all know how much we love delays around here, right? All shapes and sizes, all price points and all ranges of options are more than welcome: always have been, always will be. Therefore, it was a no-brainer to give the Joyo R-10 Nascar Analog Delay a go, and we’re sure glad we did. This simplistic delay produces some beautiful tones, and will have you playing with a smile on your face within seconds of plugging it in....
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Like all Eventide pedals, Blackhole allows players to fine-tune every aspect of the effect. With its new user-friendly, intuitive interface, just about anyone can shoot for the moon and land beyond the known universe. A historic element of Eventide’s sound, the Blackhole algorithm was introduced in Eventide’s DSP4000 Ultra-Harmonizer® hardware processor and now opens a host of possibilities on a pedalboard. With Blackhole, the...
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Hi! My name is Knut Olai. I run Pladask Elektrisk, located in Bergen, Norway. www.pladaskelektrisk.com How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place? I grew up in the countryside listening to Tom Waits and Rammstein through my father who played classical guitar. I started learning the electrical guitar in primary school after discovering Nirvana. I’ve never been very active as a musician in bands other...
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Some of you may know Area 51 from their impressive line of wah pedals, but they also do buffers, fuzz, mod kits and more. Today we’re going to look at The Alienist Voicing Boost, another impressive creation of theirs which gives you a ton of tonal options in a wicked rad enclosure. Hand-wired and designed to specifically drive your favorite tube amp, this futuristic-looking machine is the ultimate in treble-boosting, giving you...
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Mmmmmm…..Ducking. That’s the subject of today’s lesson, kids! This is a first for us, too, so we’re going tackle this thing together. Today’s pedal, The Pill, is an Analog Stereo Ducking Effect, brought to us all the way from Switzerland (might be our first Swiss pedal, too). This simple but crazy machine uses a trigger input and either Mono or Stereo Input and Outputs to produce a sound that not quite...
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Overdrive pedals that use actual tubes in them are not very common, but we checked on out a couple weeks ago (the Xtonebox Plexi Heritage), and are going to check out another one today! Yay Us! Today’s gem, the GlassJaw, comes to us from Vibrato, LLC, and is a high voltage vacuum tube overdrive pedal.With a dead simple control section and warm, sweet-sounding, amp-driving tones pouring from it, this is the kind of pedal...
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Well, it’s that time again: we get to check out another incredible, studio-quality compressor in a pedal from our friends over at FEA Labs. We’ve been privileged to peruse the DB-CL Dual Band Compressor Limiter and the DE-CL Dual Engine Compressor Limiter (as well as the killer Photon Fuzz II), and today we get to investigate the Opti-FET Compressor. This effect was designed with both audiophile and studio quality features...
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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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Sometimes, huge things arrive in extremely small packages. At just 3.5″ x 3.5″ x 3.5″, today’s featured pedal packs a big punch while taking up minimal real estate on your pedalboard. The Oscar from Night Owl Industries is an all-tube preamp, designed to boost your signal, overdrive a distortion pedal, bring out the best in your amplifier and more, fitting in to any rig around. The Oscar uses either an EF86...
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As it turns out, our first foray into the world of effects pedals from Bogner Amplification is a good one. The Burnley Distortion features a simple control setup, transformer design by one of the most famous audio pioneers in the business and an LED that reacts to your playing. What else could you possibly need from a slick, purple, monster of a dirt pedal? You’re correct: nothing. Assembled with a 100% analog circuit, the...
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One of the new key ingredients to our demo video sound is the marvelous Black Box from Sarno Music Solutions, a true audiophile quality, vacuum tube pickup driver that brings your tone to life. In addition to this marvel, they also make some effects pedals, and today we’re going to look at the Earth Drive Overdrive Boost. An easy control section makes this one a cinch to set and go, but there’s a lot to be discovered...
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Today’s pedal is a fantastic example of everything a 2-in-1 pedal should be, especially when it combines two great genres of effects together. The Vader (as we assume is its proper name) is a one-off custom pedal built by VFE Pedals, and it joins together their Blueprint Delay and Choral Reef Chorus effects. While these have both been discontinued, having them together in one pedal is a real marvel, and the rarity of it and the...
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Discovering new and exciting pedal builders has always been a great thrill for us here at Pedal of the Day, and the effects we’re checking out today embodies that to a big, fat “T”. Mattoverse Electronics was an unknown company to us not too long ago, and after checking out the Swell Delay, we’re glad that we can witness what they are capable of. A delay/echo/reverb pedal and beyond, this thing is going to put...
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Who likes delay and echo? “WE LIKE DELAY AND ECHO!” Of course you do, silly. Today’s pedal is an incredible recreation of one of the most famous echo units ever created, the Binson Echorec. This classic delay unit created in the 1950’s was made famous by bands like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Hawkwind and the Chemical Brothers. The folks at Gurus Amps have created their take on this magical machine, and today we...
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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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One of our favorite things here at Pedal of the Day is when someone sends us a custom pedal with our logo on it – since we have no clue how to actually BUILD these pedals, seeing our design embossed on an effect is a pretty rare and cool thing that we appreciate a lot. The guys over at PuzzleSounds not only didn’t make us build the Deep Blue Delay they sent us, but they emblazoned it with our signature circle as well,...
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Dave Schools Widespread Panic (Modulus Q-6 basses, D’Addario strings) widespreadpanic.com facebook.com/widespreadpanic reddit.com/r/widespreadpanic IG: @widespreadpanichq IG: @dashole Hard Working Americans (Modulus Jazz, G&L L-2000, Epiphone Jack Casady basses, D’Addario, LaBella tape wound strings) thehardworkingamericans.com facebook.com/hardworkingamericans IG: @hwamericans How long have you been a musician? How did you get...
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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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