CHINESE GUITAR MAKERS STRIKE BACK ___2027 could be the beginning of the end.

 IT AIN'T BUSTED  

 ...BUT ITS BADLY BENT 

OVERDRIVE- AWSTRUCK AMPLIFICATION Highland Discrete OD ___NEW ___ thingamabob

$245.00 USD

Awestruck Amplification

 H I G H L A N D |||   DISCRETE OVERDRIVE

A silicon based transparent OD that can be as clean as a clean 

boost but cranked moves into a low gain Fuzz. The layout is Gain, 

Level and Tone. A toggle gives selects Tube Screamer like 

symmetrical or tube like asymmetrical dirt. Another 

adds either a Mid or Treble boost.

                         CONCLUSION ___

As a boost or even an always on pedal or 

a transparent drive it offers a lot of useful 

functions. It could simply be the  Swiss 

Army Knife in your pedal toolbox.

 

COMPRESSOR/OD- SUPERCOOL Spritz Saturator ___NEW ___surprisingly very good :-)

SUPERCOOL 

SPRITZ !  saturator    

$180.00 USD

From Peterborough Ontario Canada comes Jamie Muir and his wife Carissa with a line of pedals that are very left of center that one suspects suggests shoegaze but are not at all. They are however unique and dare 

I say musical. Yes you could in a Americana Indie bands when backed 

off could use this pedal as an always on.

MXR invented the Dyna Comp the OTA Comp that re-invented the wheel of compression. Do not get me wrong it was not an improvement of the best but it was a circuit that could be made affordable and worked really well with a guitar. If it had been used for vocals it would have been laughable. Just this week Keeley brought our a new comp that sounds killer and is still based off of it. These days if one makes a clone one starts with the Ross Compressor a very early clone of the MXR as it, without digressing too much is a noticeably smoother sound. 

This pedal starts here but adds a low gain very tube sounding FET overdrive.

             CONCLUSION __

The pedal speaks for itself. It fits like a glove for a lot of tunesmiths 

and songwriters who in all probability never see the guitar as a tool 

for pompas theatricality. In short this is not a probable tool for 

the shredder but a must have for others.

FUZZ- ANIMALS PEDAL Sunday Afternoon is Infinity Bender ...what's not to like?

 ANIMALS PEDAL  

   Sunday Afternoon is Infinity Bender 

$95.00 USD

A Japanese company that makes budget pedals but 

lets the best designers from other company's design 

them. This time it is Wren and Cuff. What we get is 

what I would call a homogenized take on the last 

of the Tone Benders. The last were silicon transistor 

ones. The most obvious is the one made for Vox.  

     CONCLUSION ___ 

It does that wall of sound thing. If it were 

twice the money I would spend an hour or 

two comparing this with others for those 

wanting to know which is the best. But if 

A.P. simply said this was a just their vibe 

on a vintage Fuzz I would say, 

"Thanks, it sounds great, ship me one.''

____ 15 GUITARIST THAT INVENTED THE ROOTS OF ALL ROCK MUSIC

WHAT YOU GET WHEN THERE IS . . .     

NO ONE TO STEAL FROM|  

 

PAUL REED SMITH ___ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS [OCT. 2026]

PRS UNDER FIRE|  

 

COMPRESSOR- KEELEY Compressor Plus Germanium ___NEW___ impressive!

K E E L E Y Compressor PLUS GERMANIUM  O 

$190.00 USD

The standard Compressor Plus has been made for 9 years and 

is the biggest selling compressor on the planet. It is literally the 

proverbial Golden Goose. Germanium transistors certainly add 

a terrific warm sound that also adds a wonderful breadth to 

your sound. So in short why not add a choice?                                                                           

CONCLUSION __                                    

I have the silicon one and have no intention of replacing it. 

I do have a Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone that has germanium 

diodes in its preamp section? It has a killer warm vibe but 

it is not ideal stacked on on every dirt pedal. In other words 

this is a great pedal but not a replacement for the original. 

That said it is totally great choice!!!  

 

OVERDRIVE- THIMBLE WASP FX Anvil ... FET OD's are usually impressive ...is this?

$160.00 USD

TIMBLE WASP  EFFECTS

ANVIL · 

This company is old school it does not make clones. This is a FET Overdrive and although it can 'play nice' at lower gain it seems 

to love high gain to the point of gating. Odd again as it uses FET transistors not the OpAmp thing so it is voiced with in effect the 

faux tube-like transistors. The layout is Volume, Gain, Volume, 

Voice and Tone. 

      CONCLUSION ___

It is very dark even with Tone opened to all the highs. 

When pushed it is very buzzy. Disappointing?

The Sonicake Cowboy Distortion does a better job 

and at $40.00 USD I need say no more.

OVERDRIVE- FORMULA B Eighty Master v.2 ___NEW ___ 80's modded MIAB

$260.00 USD

 F O R M U L A  B   PEDALS

 Eighty   Master  

 

An 80's modded MIAB. The layout has Volume, with

Gain 1 & 2 footswitchable, then Prescence and 

active Bass, Mids and Treble. 

___ 

   CONCLUSION ___

Great sounding with good dynamics and 

touch sensitivity. A lot of control to dial in  

a sound complimentary to your rig. 

Damn impressive.