Wednesday, October 21, 2026

OVERDRIVE- TKOG Oxford Monarch Overdrive___NEW___ Marshall Gov'nor clone

TKOG EFFECTS PEDALS 
 OXFORD MONARCH 
$290.00 USD
The designer of this pedal goes to a great length to detail the many pedals that were designed by using the original and all that followed it. Including well known brands like Wampler, JHS and Fulltone. Even this pedal is not the makers first but more of a deluxe version. Like the original it is a OpAmp with clipping diodes pedal. As I have stressed in the past these can be more easily made cheaply where OD's using FET transistors that are more tube like can as a rule not be. Yes like all pedals there 
are exceptions and some of my favorite OD's use both.
The pedal has 2 channels with one being the OD and the other a Boost. It basically gives you the tools to cover a 
proximity of all the Marshall amps from the JTM 45 thru 
to the JCM 800. 
            CONCLUSION __
 In the real world one turns the knobs on any OD and finds a sound 
 'they' personally like and not one that will get a room of players to 
 say. YES ...that is exactly like a real Plexi etc. etc. So this MIAB 
 is about average for 'sound' in its price range.
Most of us can find at least one killer pro MIAB sound from a $65 Tone City Golden Plexi v.3 
 

OVERDRIVE- GHOST NOTE AUDIO Codename X81 ___NEW___ Valvestate 8100 clone

$260.00 USD
 G H O S T  N O T E   A U D I O 
[CODENAME X81]
Made in the UK. It is a clone loosely based on the 1991 Marshall Valvestate 100 watt solid state amp.
The layout is active Bass, Mids and Treble with Volume, 
Gain & Contour (a mids sweep.) 
A toggle gives you more gain & a button for Boost. 
This is an extremely high gain pedal. 
CONCLUSION |||
 It simply is what it is meant to be. 
 It is punchy, tight with incredible balz. 
 No fizz just smooth all the way thru the highs.
 It is totally over the top but irresistible.
...the iSet Grim Heavy Metal is gritty but does a            reasonable stand in _$30.00 USD (Amazon)

      

Tuesday, October 20, 2026

OVERDRIVE- CRAZY TUBE CIRCUITS Rapture ___NEW ___ one stumble but no fall

crazy tube circuits
rapture   
$215.00 USD
Once upon a time not so very long ago CTC brought out the Triptych  pedal. Basically all the Tone Bender Fuzz variations and a basic MIAB 
to put them thru in one enclosure.
The general consensus from those that tried it was WOW what a 
great amp. The company simply pulled the OD out of this Triptych 
Fuzz pedal. They added a bit of headroom & gain but that's about it. 
           CONCLUSION __
Lets just say I expect one day before long the Triptych 
will disappear off their site as the bad ol' Fuzz part is 
at best mediocre and should be put back in the closet. 
However the Overdrive in it is indeed total killer. 
...the good news is everyone can now 
                    live happily ever after, 😇.

                      

  

OVERDRIVE- FENDER Pugilist v.2 ___NEW ___ impressive

$230.00 USD
FENDER 
PUGILIST  DISTORTION V.2
It appears to be a one size fits all heavily modified Amp-in-a-Box. 
The layout gives you 2 channels each with a Volume, Tone and Gain. 
A toggle lets you route the signal path. Another toggle allows for Bass Boost. Switches beside the in/out jacks let you choose buffered or bypass, Scoop is on another as is a switch 
to match the input to match a HB, single coil or active pickups.
      CONCLUSION __
The unit has a very open fat sound with a lot 
of girth and with a lot of edge on the attack. 
Above all it has some balz. Love it!!!

V.1 from 2018



____ JOHN MEYERS OVERDRIVES ____ COMPARED

 COMPARE  SOMETHING     

I respect all good players but have never been a fan of J.M.  When it 
comes to sound he likes dark sounds that to me border on very muddy
without any sustain. Worst of all they have no overtones or rich sumptuous 
harmonics. A few guys with different but excellent tones are Hendrix, SRV, 
Santana, Knopfler, EVH, Brian May, Gilmour and last, and my fave  
Bernie Marsden, best known with Whitesnake.

Bernie Marsden's
The Beast 59 LP

Saturday, October 17, 2026

REVERB- NOBELS REV-mini ___NEW ___ understated genius, high spec, cheap!!!

Nobels  REV-mini
$100.00 USD
A basic idea. Make a Pro Reverb cheap by giving you 3 basic sounds 
that are in 99% of all Pop or Rock hit tunes that you need and if you 
need to on the odd occasion want the Footgazer Star Wars stuff buy another pedal since you cannot go Star Wars to no reverb at all as 
it sounds weird. So this Nobels becomes your always on Verb. 
The layout is Size, Blend and Tone. You get Spring, Plate 
& Hall which covers all the 'must haves'.
            CONCLUSION __
It delivers the goods. All the sounds sound 
totally Pro and are voiced for tunes to lay 
in the background not for theatrical 
soundtracks. Priced right on the money. 
Likely a permanent fixture as an always on.


FUZZ- MMK ELECTRICS Green Dot___NEW___ VOX Tone Bender Mk3 clone

$200.00 USD
MMK ELECTRICS
GREEN DOT  Mk3 1968 BENDER
I must get right to the point. Our buddy in Alaska is giving 
us the 'REAL DEAL'. The original was made by Sola Sound 
for Vox but only for one year in 1968 because Vox UK went 
out of business. The layout is simple with just a volume 
and tone control.  
             CONCLUSION __   
The sound speaks for itself and $200 
is reasonable for a virtual accurately 
replicated sound.  

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