OVERDRIVE- GREER AMPS Super Cobra ...

GREER AMPS |SUPER COBRA OD 

$250.00 USD

This came out 4 years ago as their take on a MIAB. At that time other makers were making MIAB pedals that made this look any of many Boss OD's for sale used for $30. Like all Greer pedals it is 95% Tube Screamer with added bits and pieces. The most obvious is a mid boost. The layout is Volume, Gain and Treble with Body which is 

just a bog standard mid boost. 

CONCLUSION

Things like the NUX Plexi Crunch at $50.00 USD or the Caline High Peak Distortion for $40.00 USD, are on my board because they are excellent 

Brit sounding OD's. This is not worth a hundred. If nothing else the new 

$100 Wampler Phenom makes this look sad!!! 

OVERDRIVE- RFO ELECTRONICS El More Overdive ...SRV-in-a-Box

$185.00 USD

RFO ELECTRONICS EL MORE OVERDRIVE

The goal was to capture the sound SVR got on his El Mocambo

performance. The pedals layout is Gain, Level, Presence and Bass. The basic voicing is fixed with a TS10 vibe. 

CONCLUSION

It will definitely sound best through any Fender amp with Fender"s basic crisp highs and a bit of a scoop in the mids but any good tube amp on clean should give you at least the basic vibe.

FUZZ- ELECTRO-HARMONIX Satisfaction Plus ____ NEW ____ Maestro Fuzz Tone jacked

$100.00 USD

ELECTRO-HARMONIX SATISFACTION|PLUS

The original Fuzz Tone was modded and sold as the first Tonebender. E-H has done likewise. The layout is volume, attack, tone, and BIAS for spit and sputter and a toggle to add a mid boost.

CONCLUSION

Lately E-H have found nothing is more loved than their oldies even if they are updated with serious attention to getting it right and by making new things with a sonic vibe of what we think of as the past. Popular myth is that thee old things were larger than life. They weren't but E-H has wisely not given you the real sound of the past but what we think it was. They nailed this one it can go from a Doom vibe to a hardclipper style near OD sound.

FUZZ- AUDIO SURPLUS EFFECTS Ok Doomer ...Earthquaker Acapulco Gold on steroids?

AUDIO SURPLUS EFFECTS OK DOOMER

$125.00 USD

One knob pedals are hardly glamorous, lol. 

This one isn't a take on the Earthquaker Acapulco Gold that is based on the SUNN Model-T amp. Unfortunately the difference when compared is minimal, LOL.

The name is a give away. The pedal is aimed at Doom and its many close relations.

CONCLUSION

To be fair this pedal is fatter than the 'Gold' but it is much noisier. From a guy who spends most of my time using a MIAB pedal I still find there are times even in some tunes that switching to these types of pedals can really add some serious drama. The price is reasonable.

There are other pedals that can get you in this same 

ballpark so hence the video comparing them.

PEDAL GADGET - ELEPHANT FOOT RISERS ____ NEW ____ brilliant idea!!!!

 ELEPHANT FOOT RISERS 

7 colors

A simple but brilliant idea.They come in many sizes, heights and many colors. It allows you to get a pedal higher so you can slide cable underneath when any other way needs a longer cable to go around or to make the plug going in the side of one pedal to stop hitting the one beside it. 

$5/$7/$9

All this saves space on your board and yet gives you better access to it. Yes even needing height to get your foot on a mini pedal that would be buried or again waste space to fit it in. 

Sometimes you need to sneak in a pedal behind another but it it is too low which happens if 

you use a multiple loop selector pedal. In short no end of use. 

 

FUZZ/BOOSTER- LST GNOME ELECTRONICS ___ NEW ___ Fuzz Face/Rangemaster

$170.00 USD

LST GNOME ELECTRONICS BOSSY GNOME

A Fuzz Face, Rangemaster treble booster to mix and blend. 

It has both germanium and silicon clipping and with two 

transistor it can be pushed into Tonebender/Fuzz Face 

territory. The layout is Volume, Gain and Tone. 

A toggle brings in bandpass filters to tighten the lows.

CONCLUSION

It really does have a lot of useful sounds. As usual all in one pedals are a compromise if you really need or want a Fuzz 

or treble booster specific to the task.

That said the builder has an 'ear' for good sound so the pedal does sound damn good! 

 

                                                                                                          Pedal at 45:00 

AMPLIFIER- REVV AMPLIFICATION Dynamis D25 Combo Amp ____ NEW ___ ouch!

 REVV AMPLIFICATION DIANAMIS D25 

$1900.00 USD

It is basically the critically acclaimed D20 with more gain and an added
reverb bult into a basic 1X12 combo. Compact and easy to move around. There is nothing better for a pedal platform. The perfect club amp that can be pushed enough for great tone, keep up to the drummer and like the D20 is a great recording tool.

It has the Two Notes Torpedo reactive load box built in. Another proven interface for direct recording or sending the amp out to the house system.

CONCLUSION

It is definitely pricy. I was expecting $1600.00 USD. My guess is they did not want to have to boost the price and with current inflation in a year it could cost much more to build. 

In 2008 when the Banks tanked many things got bumped

up every few months. I think it could be a long term keeper 

so it could be an investment. As for me??? Never!!!!  

If it were a $700 head I would be tempted. 

OVERDRIVE- CARL MARTIN Greg Howes's Lick Box ...too specialized or dead perfect

$270.00 USD

CARL MARTIN

  GREG HOWE'S LICK BOX  

I would call Greg's approach to guitar Rock/Fusion orientated. He has been on 10 Albums over his 40 years of playing.

The layout consists of 2channels with Crunch and High Gain with 

a simple volume and gain as the EQ is fixed to Greg's tone. 

It also has a boost for your cleans.

CONCLUSION

Signature boxes are seldom around for long as the players mostly sell to fans. The exception is EVH as 

it is basically a MIAB.

So it is a take it or leave it choice as you can not 

change much without some EQ, Presence or a Boost

stacked on the front end not the output of the pedal. 

That said, it is indeed a great sounding OD. 

It is not void of a bit of warm Brit tone.  

___

OVERDRIVE- SKYSHATER AUDIO Shatter Drive _____ NEW _____ Metal OD

$150.00 USD

 SKYSHATTER AUDIO | SHATTER DRIVE 

A new company from Tulsa OK with their first pedal. It is an OD/Boost from the family of Tube Screamers/Boss SD-1 family. The layout is Level, Gain, Treble, Bass and with a switch 3 way switch for asymmetrical Boss like amp tone, symmetrical ts sound with just even order harmonics and a mix of both clipping diodes with the blend of both. It works stand alone or for a booster for a already distorted amp or can be stacked on other pedals for the same affect. 

___

CONCLUSION

Not earth shatter but it gets the job done and some tones are very amp like. It has a bit of character. Impressive for new builder. The price is very reasonable.

COMPRESSOR- WAMPLER Cory Wong: Compressor _____ NEW _____ more than

$270.00 USD

 WAMPLER CORY WONG: COMPRESSOR

It is a very specific tool Cory Wong is a major Go To session player for his rhythm guitar work. A big part of it is derived from the very best of classic Funk. 

He also is big on a boost pedal so that is also part of this compressor. His favorite comp was the Wampler Ego so this pedal is hardly something new and unique.

The basic layout is Attack,Tone, Sustain, Volume,Blend and Boost.

CONCLUSION

I bought the Ego Comp. Comps can kill your attack and even sound muddy. I found the Ego gutless, muddy with zero attack. I sold it 

after a painful month of trying to get it set to something usable.

If you are not a Fuzz, Distortion Plexi guy but more a Fender Strat 

with a Fender old school amp Wamplers comps might work for you.

OVERDRIVE- MENATONE Red Snapper ____ NOT NEW _____ since 1996 ...27 years

 MENATONE 

$230.00 USD

RED SNAPPER

Brian Mena has been hand making this pedal since 1996. The first one was
in a full size enclosure that morphed into a type B Hammond style and now you can even get a through hole version in a Mini pedal.

Brian is also literally world famous for his handmade pipes. He loves his work but works to live he does not live to work. A classic artist in every way.

The pedal was the first of what we now call a transparent high headroom pedal. It has a huge open sound that lets the guitars sound come through. 

The layout is Volume and Gain. You have cut for the gain. You also can add Bite. It adds a crystal crisp cleanish tone to the whole sound. 

CONCLUSION

A pedal with persona! 😏

the fine print

A clone??? Yes but it took awhile the XIAO Protone Custom shop make the XIAO PEDALS Red Snapper has been listed in AliExpress for only a few weeks. zero videos so I can hardly say how it sounds. My inside guy in Taiwan who is in Asian only Distribution of all MIC pedals not only knows about all the MIC pedals and even the guys that make them enough to tell me all the gossip hasn't heard of them. Most of the clones that even use the names and graphics are tied in with Moogoo which is best known by the Mosky brand. The hand made mosky and Demon FX are even in the same small factory.I do know that XIAO is a guy. Mr. Xiao and seems to know his sh@t as he can talks in OpAmp & Diodes free of cool & hot in his writing. 

The reviews from English speaking buyers of his other products are glowing. The only bad review was a guy with a classic Fuzz that the glitching and spitting was because the Fuzz is faulty, LOL.

NAMM 2023 ____ Balagier Guitars

 BALAGIER GUITARS  

WHAT WAS NEW AT NAMM _____ CREAM GUITARS BOOTH

  CREAM GUITARS 

FUZZ- IANNUCCI Lemon Tone MkII Fuzz ...Tonebender MkII clone

$225.00 USD

IANNUCCI LEMON TONE MkII FUZZ

A good ol" Tone Bender from Argentina. Not surprisingly under the radar.

You get a layout of the usual volume, tone and gain. Yes, its handmade with NOS parts for the tone and the best of for, jacks, switches etc. You can get it with or without LED pilot light and either battery powered or DC powered. 

CONCLUSION

Well it impressive and the MkII is considered by most to be the best of the 3 germanium models. It is strictly a clone so if made well the sound never gets 

F. upped by mods that rip the guts out of the tone. The faux industrial look always looks posh and suitable for the culturally elite, lol. The price includes shipping. It is comparatively cheap.

FUZZ- SOLIDGOLD FX If 6 Was 9 MkII ___ NEW ___ the best is better !!!!

$200.00 USD

SOLID GOLD FX 

IF 6 WAS 9 MkII FUZZ 

Simply the very best Fuzz Face for the player. It sounds like you expect in your head from those old records. It is not a cork sniffers Fuzz but sounds as good as the best original FF example you would ever hear. Which means it sounds better than the average old FF example you will ever hear. It of course has the famous BC183 transistor. It was basis for both the 69-70's Fuzz Face and the Octavio. 

This pedal nails the Fuzz Face but lets you take it into the Octavio sound minus 

the Octavio's boost switch that was only used for the really crazy stuff. 

The layout gives you the basic Fuzz/gain and Volume as the original but you also have Saturation to control the sustain. A BIAS to head into Octavio territory. Voltage gives you a failing old school battery effect or silly levels of headroom. A toggle gives you a fat mid boost, treble boost or classic.

CONCLUSION

You can dial in anything but a little goes a long way. More tweaking than 

I like but the results are beyond killer. The price is reasonable because 

even the Dunlop Fuzz Face mini is now $170.00 USD.

the fine print

This is a germanium FF so it sounds killer. Oddly mine does not go weird on me but it oddly likes to warm up. If I turn it on it needs about 5 or 10 minutes to settle down. But once rockin, it stays rockin.

_____ NEED TO KNOW _____ THE FIREBIRD PICKUP____ Underrated and why

PAF HB

 WORLDS MOST UNDERATED PICK UP

When Gibson brought out the Firebird guitar it had one single goal To make a better Stratocaster. Gibson was losing a lot of biz to guys preferring a Strat. They needed a guitar that looks futuristic. Keep in mind when the Strat came out it was considered futuristic. Compare it to a Les Paul & it certainly is. So when it got to the pickup they wanted it to sound bright and chimey like a Strat but get rid of the noise.

STRATOCASTER

First let's check out the construction.
The Strat as you can see has 6 cylinder shaped magnets with the magnetic pull focused at the top.
The Firebird has a blade magnet inside each coil one to get the same kind of focus as the Strat. 

Like all HB the second coil is really only killing the hum.

FIREBIRD

The reason the Gibson mini HB is always chosen over the Firebird is because it doesn't have screws for altering the the pull. Guys think the Firebird is a dumbed down PU with a cover killing the sound. Totally 100% WRONG. Look at the HB it has one magnet lying flat under the bobbins. The focus of the pull is entirely different. It is as different as an orange is to a lemon in its construction and sound.

I have always found if you have a guitar with 2 HB PU's if you dial in your amp & OD pedals to sound killer fat on your bridge PU the neck PU is muddy mess. I still can not figure out why Gibson does not put a Firebird PU at the neck to fix the problem.

GUITAR- GUILD Surfliner Deluxe ____ NEW ____ expect the unexpected

 GUILD SURFLINER DELUXE 

Deluxe $700.00 USD

A year ago Guild brought out their first actually new guitar in decades, the Surfliner. It was a huge success but some complained it did not have a whammy and they did not like the feel or look of a maple fretboard.

I loved it's retro look and a guitar that with a PU change would sound like a Strat without having to be another 'ME TOO' guy like 10 zillion guys with a Strat. I liked the maple fretboard of the standard but 

need a whammy if I was going to Strat-ify my Guild.

Standard Surfliner $500.00 USD

   SPECS     

The guitar has a bound C Shaped neck with a 10 inch radius compared to a Strat with 9.5. It feels about the same but bends on the strings do not fret out so you can have a lower action.

It has a polar wood body which is slightly lighter than alder but sounds close enough for 99% of us to not hear a difference. In fact Gibson uses poplar as part of the top of all their simi's as it mellows the tone and is always a consistent weight whereas Alder can vary quite a lot.

The HB bridge PU is classic Guild with a very early mildly overwound vintage PAF with that punch in the mids. The single coil PU's are by DeArmond which is very 50's. They have their own vibe. The closet thing you have heard is perhaps Burns PU's courtesy of Brian May. Old ones are much sought after by many traditional Blues players. If however you like modding they can easily be swapped out. It could be turned into a Strat very easily. 

___

CONCLUSION 

My biggest surprise is the Guild HB PU. It has nailed the best of the 50's PAF vibe. I do not think it needs to be swapped out. Both models are excellent it gets down to if you need a whammy. I love the Retro look. It is just different enough to give it's own character without getting weird just to be different.

The price difference is a bit much. I think $650.00 USD tops for the the DeLuxe. When the standard came out Guild had a sale by the summer so maybe they will do that with the Deluxe. If so $650.00 is my guess for the price. The best thing about either is you don't end up as one of the sheep with another damn Fender clone. I learnt a long time ago if you want to stand out at least one of your guitars should identify You as being You not a Me Too.

 

the fine print

The guitar is made in Indonesia. Like the Japanese business model the company that makes the guitar makes anyone's guitars not necessarily their own. It is a fact these days if you buy the best robotic/computer controlled machinery you can make massive amount more in a very short time with very little waste that can happen with human error. So if you have Asian sweatshop images of Indonesia forget them. A sweatshop can not compete with any guitar that sells over $125.00 USD.

I really expect in ten years that the only guitars made in the USA will be either tiny shops making hand mades and 

Custom Shops with the same high prices. Yes both Gibson USA and Fender USA will be gone with only their Custom Shops.

OVERDRIVE- NOCTURE Marquesan Stomp ...old style bluesy hardclipper with punch

$200.00 USD

NOCTURNE

  MARQUESAN

STOMP

The pedal uses a NOS UA308 OpAp which means we are in Rat Bud Box territory. But someone had their nose inside a Tube Screamer because we get a button to choose either symmetrical or asymmetrical distortion.

The layout is volume, tone gain and upper mids. The upper mids can add poke or you can cut them and get fat lower mids.

CONCLUSION

It has a an earthy, funky, vibe but doesn't forget some punch. 

A sort of so bad it's wonderful. It has character Plus.

OVERDRIVE- JOYO JF-23 ARGOS ____ NEW ___ Horizon Devices Precision Drive clone?

$45.00 USD
on AliExpress

JOYO JF-23 

ARGOS OVERDRIVE

It appears to me to be a clone of a Horizon Devices Precision Drive, 

which is clone of a Pro Tone Attack Drive.

All are basically modded Tube Screamers.

The layout is Gain,Level,Tone and Gate with a rotary switch called an 

Attack control which is probably a high pass filter. 

___

CONCLUSION

A very useful tool. Demon FX make a clone of the Horizon Drive. 

In fact near counterfeit copy graphics and all. For $50.00 USD

$46.00 on AliExpess