Wednesday, February 25, 2026

OVERDRIVE- BROWNE AMP Alkene (Nashville OD)___NEW___ Nobel OD-1 clone ...plus?

 Browne AMPLIFICATION 
$230.00 USD
 ALKENE 
Browne got put on the map when they released their double pedal the Protein with a Nobel OD-1 stacked on a Bluesbreaker. So enters Alkene & the Carbon. The secret is their knack to take a classic and make it more transparent and near 3 Dimensional. They are killer when backed off to really improve a clean sound or pushed to keep the total vibe of both your guitar and amp. Many guys found they loved one side. I was was one of the many. In fact I was first inline for the Carbon/ Bluesbreaker, LOL. With the Alkene everyone is happy getting the one they wanted, lol.
The layout is Volume, Tone and Gain. A toggle lets you switch between symmetrical and asymmetrical clipping. It is such an obvious idea that I am amazed others have not featured it. An internal switch increases the gain if you are more into a bit more aggression. 
           CONCLUSION ___
My Carbon is my most used OD. That said I use it for a clean 
sound or stacked on other OD's so even I almost do not think 
of it as an identifiable sound. It is like the hammer in my 
tool box. Boring but 110% needed. I expect many guys will 
use the Alkene in a similar way. In short an always on pedal.

___ NEED TO KNOW ___THE HISTORY OF THE GIBSON ES-175 ___

   GIBSON ES-175    

      
   

____VALETON LOFT MINI PEDALS___ accurate clones of Boss pedals___ re-released

VALETON LOFT  
These are neither dumbed down or improved they are part for part 
clones of all the classic old Boss pedals. I have the CH-10 Chorus 
which is literally the most famous of all Chorus pedals the 
BOSS CE-2. I am more than happy with it.
The absolute best prices are at Only Pedals. The Chorus is $90.00 USD.

Tuesday, February 24, 2026

DELAY- HUNGRY ROBOT PEDALS The Moby Dick ___NEW___ Tape Delay for a mad man


$275.00 USD
 HUNGRY ROBOT PEDALS
The Moby Dick | 
The unit is stereo in and out. It has delays you can 
tap differently for either side. Control over the wow 
and flutter via modulation and you can control the tape/age wear and stretch. It has a separate 
control for double tracking.  
CONCLUSION __ 
Your choice,you can add many twists to a basic delay  
or go totally Star Wars & Shoegaze. 

OVERDRIVE- LPD LTD. Sixty8X___NEW___ 10 Year Anniversary of 'the essential' MIAB

LPD PEDALS
$240.00 USD
SIXTY8X
The first serious and successful pedal Lawrence Petros brought out 
was the SIXTY8 and it put his brand into the 'Must Haves' when it 
came to a MIAB. 
In those days you could even order yours as a mini pedal. I got 
mine in the mini format 
asap after seeing Phillip McKnight review it on his show. He loved his 
so much he got 2. I still use my mini 68 every damn day!!! the layout 
is Treble, Mids, Bass, Level, Presence and Gain. Hold down the switch switches channels. In side you can boost one over the other.
CONCLUSION ___
Arguably not cheap but worth every penny spent. Get 
one of each of the 4 LPD MIAB pedals. All are not just 
good but necessary!!!

 thefineprint
MXR Phase 90 fans will appreciate that I have the original version
of the SIXY8 with ...the script logo, lol.

Monday, February 23, 2026

LOVETONE PEDALS ___ The pedals that Behringer already just made 3 clones of...

 THE LEDGENDARY LOVETONE    
Behringer already has made 3 which are a near dead 
on look to the originals. Will they do 2 more?

 ...below are the Behringer versions  ...all have a Post. 

Saturday, February 21, 2026

FUZZ- SOUNDBOX WORKSHOP 1975 Fuzz ...Muff-ish

soundbox workshop
$160.00 USD
1975 FUZZ
This is a clone of a clone. The makers friend had a nondescript Muff he found used from some came and went builder. The topography was certainly Muffish but it had an added mid 
control that gave it less a sagging scoop but more of a
wall of sound. The layout is Volume, Tone and Gain with
Shift that reshapes the mids. 
           CONCLUSION __ 
Small builders and indeed a Fuzz by nature can 
be less something that checks all the right boxes
but regardless gives you a box with a personality.
This is such a box.

JUST FOR FUN- ALL THE 50 WATT FRIEDMAN AMPS

 FRIEDMAN 50x4   


Thursday, February 19, 2026

OVERDRIVE- LAND DEVICES Hunter Stereo Distortion___NEW ___ OpAmp high gain OD

L A N D  D E V I C E S
H U N T E R  DISTORTION
First lets get rid of the stereo nonsense. This is not 2 sounds going to 2 different places. it is used to represent blending cleans into the distortion circuit. Rare for guitar pedals but all but totally standard for Bass players dirt pedals. the unit is an OpAmp hardclipper much like a Boss SD-1 or for that matter many Boss dirt pedals. Dimed it passes as a Fuzz.
            CONCLUSION ___ 
The old school casing and simple graphics 
and with a head turning red paint job is very appealing. (it also comes in ...yawn ...black). The overall sound is good if hardly new. The clean bend is damn useful. It is not worth $300. $250 tops.

WHEN GIBSON MADE A BUDGET BRAND- 1965-70

 Kalamazoo KG- 

FUZZ- ASHDOWN ENGINEERING Dr.Green by Hayden| Hairy Tongue.....

Ashdown Engineering
Dr.Green by Hayden
 THE HAIRY TONGUE
$40.00 USD
This U.K. company has been in the amp biz since 1985. 
Not said? ...but the Dr. is probably a very simple single transistor 
circuit based on 1976 Electra MPC Dynamic Distortion Circuit.
The original is a tiny module that plugged into a receiving input 
built into a guitar. It is extremely dynamic and is often borrowed 
as a front end boost in dozens of otherwise completely different 
dirt pedals. So this is yet another.
            CONCLUSION ___
The sound in itself is not necessary ideal. It is all 
about the feel. Many of the best pedals  tweak it
and sold as boosts. They use clipping diodes on 
input not like 99% of all other pedals on the output. 
That all said this one has nailed it at its best.
Handmade & $40.00 USD 

____KING OF TONE vs KING OF TONE ____

    OLD KING OF TONE vs. CURRENT KING OF TONE

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

BUFFER/BOOST- SONICAKE Sonic Buffer Master ___NEW___ yawning improves sanity

$30.00 USD
SONICAKE  
Super Sonic Master
A buffer simply turns your guitar signal into a microphone one. 
It rejects interference from signals near by that create hum & 
it allows you to send your sound for about 50 feet as it goes in 
and out of pedals without losing highs or lows. A boost can make 
up for great sounding PU's with a weak output like all vintage Fender. The 12dB Boost on the booster in the circuit is no 
doubt a very clean FET OpAmp
     CONCLUSION __ 
This is pedal that the day you plug it in you are convinced 
it does sweet F-all. You leave it as your always on for a  
couple of weeks. You thing it is not doing anything and 
pull it off your board. You are shocked to find your amp 
sounds like someone just through a heavy wool
blanket over your speaker.

Monday, February 16, 2026

OVERDRIVE- VOID MANUFACTURING Corpse Grinder ... delicious Death Metal Machine

VOID MANUFACURING
CORPSE GRINDER \/\/\ 
$350.00 USD
There is a lot of detail in this pedal because it uses FETS that are 
 
a transistor equivalent of a real tube. This is not your average high 
gain dirt pedal with a nice cheap Opamp and some clipping diodes. 
It has to use several cascading FETS and build in a lot of headroom. 
The layout gives you a lot of tone shaping. You have Volume Treble,
Bass and Mids. The big deal is you have Mid Peak and mid Sweep a quasi parametric for your Mids and a likewise High Sweep
      CONCLUSION __ 
This is all about doing one thing perfect. If you want 
even a hair more of something in its range its there. 
The overall tone is free of fizz and artifacts. 
If Death Metal tones that are great are the perfect 
shade of purple this can do it. 
A cheap Fuzz stacked on a cheap high gain OpAmp pedal will be purple but a bit of Red or Blue 
will pop thru here and there as you are playing it. So you go for a couple of $30 pedals (I did) 
or you go for the luxury of a $350 pedal. 
 
  
 thefineprint
I use an iSet Grim Heavy Metal
alone or with a Fuzz stacked on it.
It is a re-branded MOOER Blade.
$25.00 USD with free shipping, lol.