OVERDRIVE- FUZZROCIOUS Demon Overdrive ...OCD on steroids

$155.00 USD

FUZZROCIOUS DEMON OVERDRIVE
The biggest selling OD of all time is the Fulltone OCD. Needless to say the circuit gets borrowed. EH is most notable The Glove. Then there are many Chinese wannabes.
So since Fuzzrocious has Metal Fuzz type image they boosted the crap out of it. In contrast EH made their pedal tighter and cleaner.
The company offers several colors that from time to time change and offers custom artwork.
CONCLUSION
There is nothing here I find to like, love or hate. I have an OCD clone myself. Actually it is made by Moogoo and it is a counterfeit. A total fake of a v.2  in the white casing ...it even says Fulltone on it ;-)
In fact some English guy about 4 years ago had a 
You Tube Video showing that they did indeed sound the same. It got pulled after a couple of months.
In short if it hits you as cool get one! You can definitely get a lot of usable sounds and the price is reasonable.

FUZZ- ABOMINABLE ELECTRONICS Hail Satan ...a Big Muff voiced for Metal

$220.00 USD

 ABOMINABLE ELECTRONICS HAIL SATAN 
Another Big Muff ? Well yes. The second pedal I ever bought was a Big Muff ...in fact it was the latest thing at the time. We now refer to it as the Rams Head Muff.
Most Muff's start with this circuit and then add the bells and whistles to usually fit with the times. Early ones often tried to tame the tone to sound half OD but now designers are making them even nastier for the demands of Metal especially Doom, Sludge, Drone and Death Metal.
CONCLUSION
Even if this one hits you right away there are a lot to choose from. 
Ground Effects Koloss Fuzz has a similar voicing.
The others are more old school trying to get more of
a Dave Gilmour OD/Fuzz sound.

OVERDRIVE/PREAMP- KLIRRTON-KOHLEKELLER STUDIOS Grindstein ...truly Ultimate Death Metal !!!

$370.00 USD

 KLIRRTON-KOHLEKELLER STUDIOS GRINDSTEIN 
Klirrton are a German company that have been around since 2018 mostly doing custom work for many European Metal bands. They also have done a few of their own Metal pedals. Better know is Kristian Kohle who has produced countless Metal Recordings.

The short story is they got together to take their knowledge of what is needed in both the various pedals and a studio mixing board and various compressors and EQ's to get the perfect Death Metal sound in a single box.

The layout is monstrous with 11 knobs and 2 switches. Like all of the most popular pedals it too starts with a Boss HM-2 schematic and adds to that. They added but then added and added!!!

CONCLUSION
So what the Hell ...if nothing else it is good start LOL.
You can tweak to infinity! It has all the grit and balz you would expect.
The most impressive thing is you get incredible girth yet it is still is as tight as you could hope to ever hear. Add to all that endless sustain ...literally!!! Add to this an effects loop to add your favorite OD ...I do not know why but ...All this comes at a price though. 
A BIG price!!!
But it it would take several pedals to replace it. If indeed you could replace it!!!

CHORUS- DANELECTRO D-5 FAB Chorus...it should sound like crap! But it doesn't...$15

$15.00 USD

 DANELECTRO D-5 FAB CHORUS
Since Dano freely clones most of their pedals a few even with some dumbed down parts sound good.
Others are cool because they sound so close and a few because they lucked out and got a different sound that was far, far more impressive than pedals by gourmet makers that took months to get right. lol
But this little gem is an original. Sort off :-)
What they did was use a PT2932 chip that is still in use after about 40 years that was designed for a delay in a Karaoke 
machine. 
The chip sounds great and shows up even in gourmet analog delays from time to time. Seriously!
CONCLUSION
Are these not the cheesy plastic pedals
that fall apart. YES & NO! No they have a metal casing

But they are not a Boss pedal
You can not play catch by bouncing them off the wall.
You can not throw your mic stands on top them when
tearing down after the gig etc. BUT if you put them on a
pedal board ...better still one with a switcher
nothing is going to happen especially if you reach over
and turn them on between tunes. Besides at $15 it is
barely more than a good patch cord ...so buy another.

FUZZ- FUZZLORD MF 4 ...was this Muff Muffed ???

 FUZZLORD MF 4 FUZZ 

$205.00 USD

A Big Muff by the Doom, Sludge, Drone and Stoner Kings. Even so any good Fuzz can cover a lot of genres. I do not think there is setting on it that is a true Muff sound but that isn't a bad thing. Most companies would just sell this pedal as an original silicon Fuzz pedal.This one certainly qualifies.
The big thing I have been told by builders is that the Muff has an excellent EQ circuit that works great on any kind of Fuzz.
The layout is typical Fuzz with the exception of serious mid control which is the key to getting a lot more excellent and useful sounds.
CONCLUSION
According to Fender 50% of all new  electric guitars are bought by women. So the graphics are not just 'politically incorrect' but stupid ??? Maybe a pic of a naked bodybuilder with a really tiny dick could replace it?  LOL
As for the Fuzz it's damn good. 
A lot of useful sounds for many genres.

OCT 27/20

It appears that Fuzzlord decided that graphics that appeal to the other half of the population might be a good idea, LOL

On the up side the new look is without doubt the coolest of any in their collection.

OVERDRIVE- IDIOTBOX EFFECTS Death Master ...Jacob Marley returns!

$130.00 USD

 IDIOTBOX EFFECTS DEATH MASTER 
Ok I give up. This is a new pedal with zero tech info.
Is it a Metal Distortion of a Fuzz or both or neither???
The layout has gain, resonance, tone, volume and blend.
Resonance is usually mids, and blend is usually mixing in some clean signal.
It definitely would appeal to my Death Metal, Sludge, Drone and Stoner visitors.
CONCLUSION
It has a variety of choices while still sticking to a theme.
It is unusually tight for what it is. In short it does not self destruct . lol I do not play these styles per say. In fact I play Prog Metal on one end of the spectrum lol. I do use this element for certain parts in some of my tunes. I also enjoy listening to a few bands that do. I also love the whole F. you if you don't like it attitude of the guys that love it! Soooooo! Cool !!! 
Add to that reasonably priced!

OVERDRIVE- MP AUDIO 2 Face Distortion ...original BUT?

$130.00 USD

MP AUDIO 2 FACE DISTORTION
Mathew Pennycuick claims this is not a take on anything
but an original OD. That said it reminds me of some of the early 70's hardclippers that had a hint of Fuzz to the sound. The layout is a volume tone and gain setup but with an added boost for the mids.

CONCLUSION
It is a thick nasty sound. A like it or not sound.
I find it lacks any nice rich overtones for an OD nor does it  have a killer in your face of great Fuzz or Metal OD.
Very disappointing :-(

OVERDRIVE- REUSS EFFECTS Back Slider ...if it ain't broke fix it anyways...???

$165.00 USD

 REUSS EFFECTS BACK SLIDER OD 
Even before the infamous Tube Screamer came out the Boss SD-1 proceeded it. The interesting thing is the ts was originally meant to be an SD-1 clone. Boss however did a patent on the use of an OpAmp designed pedal that made asymmetrical distortion which was clever because it mimicked tubes.
The ts had to use symmetrical distortion that does not. The advantage is that the ts is neutral so it is more transparent ...the disadvantage is it sounds artificial.
Later designers went to FET transistors because they even react like tubes and it allows a lot more freedom to detail the sound and even clone a specific amp.
So the short story is although the Boss SD-1 sounds amp like it does not sound like a specific brand of amp.
In 1985 along comes Tokai who wanted to get into the pedal biz. In 85 exact clones were not illegal but there was a general vibe it was not ethical. The result was their own asymmetrical  take using an OpAmp.
So Anders Marcuslund-Reuss stumbled on this old pedal and decided 
to do a take on it too. He has definitely captured 
it's voice but made a bit clearer and definitely fuller. 
If nothing else he has made it available :-)

CONCLUSION

What can I say? The damn thing is simply a great sounding medium gain OD.

It sounds more amp like then most of the FET pedals because like a real amp some 

real amps sound better than another.

note: I keep coming back to this Post for another listen. lol

no I have not ordered one ...yet! lol

GUITAR-EKO MANTA '62 Reissue ...another very cool project guitar

EKO MANTA '62 REISSUE

EKO started up in Italy in 1959. At first they only made acoustics but it was very soon followed by Electrics. They did very well in Europe where American guitars were not imported because they were too expensive and made worse by shipping and duties. On the other hand they were affordable and much better than most Japanese imports.

After most American budget brands went under from cheap imports from Japan EKO became popular in America as a well made affordable alternative. They also made guitars for Vox.

Eventually as guitars from Japan became better they were squeezed out of the market. They had branched out even early on into making student violins, viola's etc. which allowed them to be a small but consistent maker of guitars not unlike many small European brands. Unlike most brands they managed to stay competitive without making in Asia but by in 2000 moving to the Czech  Republic where they could still afford skilled labour and oversee quality control. 

Even from the start like all brands they borrowed freely from America.

The cool thing is they have a few guitars from the 50's and 60's that American enough for us all to relate to but different enough to break away from buying just another Fender Knock off.

An original '62 Manta

'62 Manta reissue  ...$200.00 USD used in good condition

CONCLUSION

They are new old but also old new. lol They were reissued in 2000 so a more than a few used ones are always kicking around. The thing is you can easily mod these guitars and for just a bit of money. Sure some hot PU's are a given ...maybe some new electrics ...hell even the best pots are all under $15. Tuners do not help the sound but if you want something better ...fine. Good news the whammy is only retro looking it is recent tech good metal and it holds it's tuning really well. No complaints with the wood ...you get a basswood body, a maple neck and a real rosewood fretboard. 
The finish is very good. 
Because it has basic kind of 50's spec

and with a bolt on neck there isn't any binding or inlays to mess up and give away your secret that is a cheap and cheerful entry level guitar. A guitar that cost a lot more does not have a better neck. It is more because they paid someone to file and dress the frets and hand set and file the nut. A good tech can do this for a hundred bucks.
The good thing about this guitar is it escapes fashion. It can not become dated by next years hot shapes and colors. It is your cool old EKO that 
gets even cooler the older it gets.
Unlike a Squier and other asian made guitars most players tend to see them as cool rather than make jokes about your dumbed down Fender Squier. It is a bit like a Dano ...looked as a guitar that is cool and even Pro but a niche market thing.

OVERDRIVE/BOOSTER-FREYA PEDALS Overdrive Booster...part of the new trend!

$250.00 USD

 FREYA PEDALS OVERDRIVE BOOSTER 
This pedal was designed originally as a problem
solver to push amps into a better dirt sound. 
The Booster was designed to work on it's own and creates a true double pedal. The boost was voiced to give an extra kick in the mids which make it very effective just on it's own. The drive side is a medium gain pedal. 
To my ears it sounds it uses a OpAmp style design which gives you selection of 3 clipping diodes which gives you a choice between smoother or harsher clipping. It is the kind of pedal that usually stacks great on a FET Marshall pedal.
CONCLUSION
It has a voicing that has tad of nastiness in it but is semi transparent and is part of a new trend in OD's. It has a flexibility in that wherever you leave the gain it has a sweet spot.
I feel however that the Shnobel Daily Driver is the one to beat. (check out the Post) The D.D. is $280.00 USD which is a bit of an ouch.

OVERDRIVE- JHS Charlie Brown & J. ROCKETT .45 Caliber ...which ???

 JHS CHARLIE BROWN  or J.ROCKETT .45 CALIBER 

WHICH ONE ? WHICH WON ?
Both these pedals are meant to be a Marshall JTM 45 -in-a-Box
So which one sounds better ...and why?
PRICE? ..$200.00 USD ...for either one.

CONCLUSION

I have and use daily 15 Marshall-in-a-Box pedals. I have others that are either based off or other amps or are too Metal to count. 

One thing I have had to learn is to be able to separate the overtones of the notes and chords being played from the root tone of any dirt pedal. I listen to the harmonics and overtones often presented as a trail and/or wall of 'fuzz' and 'fizz' The higher in the frequency range they are the further they are from the root note and therefore the more buzzy they sound.

The J. Rockett has it's Fuzz/fizz in the upper mids which although not terrible they would start driving me nuts when I was actually playing the pedal. The JHS are more in the lower mids and not only are going to be less buzzy but blend better with the root notes in your chords. Soooo I would not hesitate to choose the JHS!

OVERDRIVE- ENGL EPO3 Alphadrive ...great Brit drive ...very reasonable price!!!

$125.00 USD

 ENGL EPO3 ALPHA DRIVE 
This is definitely a Brit OD. ENGL now have a flagship drive. Like REVV they now do their version of an Amp -in-a-Box with the ENGL Powerball. It is the shred channel of their Powerball amp. It is $215.00 USD so at $125.00 USD the Alpha is worth a look and see!
CONCLUSION
To be fair it is a medium gain Marshall type pedal not a 'face ripper' like the Powerball.
Over all it sounds damn good and is well built. ENGL have got out of sales and have a new distributor that also sells ESP.  The prices have dropped by about 30% but the product has not been dumbed down! The value for money is impressive!
 Definitely worth considering!

FUZZ- SOLIDGOLD FX Rosie ...a Fuzz Face silicon Fuzz in hyper drive!!!

$175.00 USD

 SOLIDGOLD FX ROSIE FUZZ 
The last of the original Fuzz Face pedals switched from  germanium transistors to silicon at about the time that the Big Muff arrived.
The Muff won that round. If this were the last Fuzz Face it just might have been a different tale!
The layout gives you volume, Fuzz and BIAS. A toggle lets you go for an open or tighter sound.
CONCLUSION
My favorite Tonebender is the MK IV. It was the Tonebenders swansong. Too bad ..The Colorsound Jumbo Tonebender nailed it at it's best! One of my all time favourite classics!
Solidgold pedals did slip in a FET to sweeten the mix.
Like all their Fuzz pedals this one has swagger!!! Love it!

COLORSOUND JUMBO TONEBENDER
A heads up. The cool think about this pedal is it was the last 
Tonebender. It was v.4 and had switch to silicon transistors from germanium.
Unless you had a v.3 and v.4 beside each other it is highly improbable that
you would notice any serious difference. 
Sorry purists but the big difference by today's standards is that the v.4 is usable in a band and at a gig. It does not decide to take a F-off pill in the middle of a solo!

So... for those that are still with me and would love to own one there is good news.
You no longer have take a bank loan to get a 'dead perfect' clone.
You can buy the Big Knob Color Jumbo for $130.00 USD  ...(see my Post)
Watch the video where the guy literally switches back and forth on a tune
without stopping his playing!  At the most there is a minor shade of grey difference. But keep in mind two original pedals compared this way would have a minor shade of grey difference.

FUZZ- SOLIDGOLD FX IF 6 WAS 9 ...a balzy new take on a germanium Fuzz Face!

$175.00 USD

 SOLIDGOLD FX IF 6 WAS 9 - BC 183 FUZZ 
A mouthful of a name for a Fuzz. It is Fuzz Face
that uses NOS ...BC 183 Germanium transistors.
Yet you get a near Muff like Fuzz married to a Tonebender.
You are rewarded with the warmth and grit and yet this unit is heading towards a near OD like pedal with balz and control!
The layout gives you volume, tone, and Fuzz and my
fave ...BIAS which gives you great control over how smooth or course you want the tone dialed in to your own sweet spot!
A switch lets you choose between open or tight.
CONCLUSION 
I find that if a modern take when voiced with NOS fused with modern designs are the best pedals for the gigging player you get reliability, sound and performance on demand!

FUZZ- BL PEDALS JoY Bass Fuzz ...a Fuzz for Bass players that do not use a pick..killer idea!

 BL PEDALS JoY BASS FUZZ 

$99.00 USD

The name is a bit deceiving but the pedal is a killer idea.

A lot of bass players play fingerstyle and have no intentions of using a pick.
Right off a mini pedal with one simple big easy to read knob got my Bass player interested from the get go! Bass players are not big on pedals so this one checks every box.

They are often great players that see the bass as having a traditional role of being the driving foundation of a bands sound but from time to time there are tunes where a bridge or middle 8 needs some icing on the cake of their deep powerful sound. The Joy sound lies across the top of that fat round sound that many players use leaving that deep bass intact but with the edge of a crosscut saw that cuts thru the mix but dances lighty on the warmth.

CONCLUSION

This pedal is the work of a young newcomer to the pedal world Brielle Lewis who's father Tim keeps popping up in the last year with his pedals on many Youtubers shows.
Even then he was upstaged on one show with Brielle's Super Booster. He better hustle or his daughter will be his biggest competitor!! Seriously !!!!

Final word ...I will have to smuggle it over to my guitar board
I think this pedal will throw some pixie dust over my guitars too!

SORRY GUYS I WAS
PROMISED A VIDEO OF THE 'JOY FUZZ'
BUT TIMES BEING
AS THEY ARE IT HAS BEEN DELAYED
I WILL GIVE YOU A HEADS
UP WHEN I HAVE IT

OVERDRIVE- AMT ELECTRONICS R2 Legend ...Mesa Rectifier-in-a-Box...killer!!!

$160.00 USD
$103.00 USD on sale!

 AMT R2 LEGEND AMPS 
Regular readers may have caught my review on the AMT B1 which is a killer Bogner-in-a-Box OD. AMT make a two part series of Amp-in-a-Box with 8 in series 1 and 11 in series 2. Included are versions of Marshall, Bogner, Peavey, Soldano, ENGL, Mesa, VHT, Krank and Orange. Some makes have more than one of their amps represented.They all sound good but in series '1' the Bogner had the most punch and in series 2 the R2 which is a Mesa Rectifier was the one with the balz!!!
Yes it has extra's up the wazoo but I will let you get a handle on that with the video.

CONCLUSION
So in the end most of are going to use the regular output into their amp the way I do. No two ways about it these pedals are killer!

HANDS ON

I was expecting a pedal with reasonable tone but with a trade off for an overkill and muscle. I did not get quite the overkill I expected, 

BUT! The big surprise is the tone. Incredible detail and richness. This is bullet proof OD to recommend to any one.

Amazing tone, excellent sustain and enough balz to meet all comers.

I already had have Bogner B1 model and it is all about in your face. 

So these 2 pedals are both great and refreshingly different!

I have a few tunes where I use a laid back Plexi pedal. It is ideal

behind the vocals but on the bridges and solo I kick in the R2 and

the whole effect is like I am using 2 channels of the same amp.

How cool is that?

I think this a bullet proof choice for anyone wanting a OD that can give you anything 

from medium gain to high gain with punch and balz without losing exceptional tone.

Even at full price it is worth every penny!!!

OVERDRIVE- DON PONIZ FX Power Control Unit ...unique replacement for a ts or Klon

$?00.00 USD

 DON PONIZ POWER CONTROL UNIT 
Handbuilt in Costa Brava Spain I never know where the next great pedal will come from.
It was designed to be an alternative to a Tube Screamer or a Klon. A high gain but transparent pedal instead of a low to medium gain OD. I suspect it more of a low gain design but with the booster of all boosters built in. I use pedals like this to  boost my medium gain OD's all the way to Neverland! 
D.P. has an avid underground following for their many Fuzz pedals check out the pic.

CONCLUSION
Oe look at and I wanted it before I even heard it. It seems to be built into an industrial machine foot pedal.
These pedals sell thru Reverb. Reverb has a policy that a builder must post only pedals ready to ship. This is a pain because you can not order a pedal or even get a price unless the builder has a separate site. Many small builders do not.
All D.P. pedals are point to point hand wired
so I expect this pedal is $300 ish.

OVERDRIVE - THORPY Warthog Distortion ...a wide range of dirt ...but?

$250.00 USD

 THORPY WARTHOG DISTORTION 
There is denying the quality of the Thorpy product. They are all about creating their own thing. So unsurprisingly this dirt pedal is not about creating Marshall-in-a-Box.
The pedal gives a choice of two stages of gain and it even gives you a bias control to smooth out the tone or 
give it the heavy course rasp of some Fuzz pedals.
You definitely get a lot of variation of gain, tone and headroom. It definitely has it's own personality much like a Fuzz does ...you either love it or you will give it a pass.
CONCLUSION
I find it eccentric in a cool way. BIG but! I would love it as another optional sound but since it would not be a critical
addition to my rig it is just two pricey to add.

OVERDRIVE- FREDRIC EFFECTS Blue Monarch OD ...Bluesbreaker +

$165.00 USD

 FREDRIC EFFECTS BLUE MONARCH OD 
Yes another Bluesbreaker. I could whine about it but the truth is it is really great kind of pedal to have in your collection.  Just ask owners of a AnalogMan King of Tone :-)
Fredric are quite bullish about having having a long look inside the KOT. in fact they boast about putting the KOT internal dip switches on the top of their pedal :-)
I have the JHS Morning Glory v.4 I love ...but I will be the first to say it has been so modified by good ol' Josh that it does not sound like a Bluesbreaker. lol

Fredric has kept close to the original other than adding a treble boost and good preamp to kick up the level. These are not so much extras but 'fixes' as the original has weak highsand a lame output.

CONCLUSION
Well first impressions from a single video have their limitations.
All reviewers are not alike. Their are a few that do such a good
job that their vid alone is enough. Best of the best is the Australian 
Brett Kingman another good one is Shawn Tubbs.
I prefer a cross section including some smaller Youtubers with poor 
equipment and a few amateurs. both of which give you a great idea 
of what it will sound like at home, the rehearsal hall and small clubs.
This video gives me a good idea that this pedal is in the ballpark
but not much else.
I am not a fan of the Tube Screamer circuit. It uses an OpAmp and 
creates symmetrical distortion. Real tube amps have a asymmetrical 
distortion like the Bluesbreaker ...so ...it is my kind of low gain to 
medium gain transparent drive.

OVERDRIVE, DISTORTION AND FUZZ ...IS THE OLD STUFF BETTER?

THE FUTURE IS FUZZY
There are virtually 3 categories of dirt pedal makers. Those that clone the classics. Those that use them as a starting point with modern updates and those that make original pedals.
Were the old pedals better?  Why?

Analog dirt pedals have virtually progressed from Fuzz Pedals to Hardclippers then Soft Clippers and finally amp simulators. The first used germanium transistors followed by silicon transistors and then to OpAmps and finally to FET transistors.
It is now all an old technology and has very limited use since digital tech owns the consumer industry.
It is complicated further because even from the beginning the market for this tech was all about reliability and cost not for literally creating sound. 
Yes it was used for reproducing sound but that is all about antiseptically clear and clean sound. In short even in the past what transistor or OpAmp sounded great was dumb luck. Pedal makers simply took the same value of transistor from several different companies and used the one that their ears felt was the best. Then one day it was discontinued because the big market for garage door openers ...or timers for Stoves and ovens wanted a more reliable or cheaper transistor.

SOMETHING OLD SOMETHING NEW SOMETHING BORROWED SOMETHING ELSE
The parts used to create the actual sound in dirt pedals that truly impress us use some or all NOS (NEW OLD PARTS). The parts that do not create the actual sound but in most cases move current around where it is needed or not are often new, reliable, robust smaller and cheaper. Obviously the NOS are running out ...there are only so many dusty old boxes from the mid 20th century left. The biggest growth in truly new pedals is with FET transistors that are still useful enough to see a few small advancements but in a generation or two they could be gone.

THE GOLDEN AGE IS NOW
So the golden age of pedals is now. Everything is available from perfect clones of the past to hybrids and even digital control of analog sound. Our ears can hear even small differences so mixing up parts from every generation can make us something new ...if not new different.
ENJOY!

The 1962 Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz Tone
the pedal that started it all.