Since 2015 NEW PEDALS EVERY DAY! Over 3400 REVIEWS!
I use other reviewers vids & then critique from them __ If a pedal appears killer I buy one __ I try it out & update the Post__ If the pedal is SH@T I literally say so!__ I publish the street price a no brainer but few do. __ I save you time finding the best pedals & you get a second opinion. __OVER A MILLION VISTORS__
NO ONE OWNS ME___ I MAKE ZERO $ FROM THIS
This pedal has 5 EH Big Muff clones in one box. FIVE CLASSICS The Civil War The Russian Green The Pi The Triangle & The 73 Ram's Head You can not go wrong with 5 muffs. If you love a fuzz it's a no brainer. if you want to get into a Fuzz...it is a bit pricey...but it is improbable that one or more of these sounds will not nail it for you. Current Price $225.00 USD Not overpriced with virtually 5 pedals for the price. But the same money can get you 2 or 3 very different pedals. Do I need 5 Big Muffs ???
I won't even get into the buzz about this pedal. If this is not the best then it must certainly be mentioned every time one is talking about the very best OD pedals.
Ok...what is the big deal. Well first every single part of the pedals parts are state of the art. Full stop...the very best. On it's own it means nothing when I have heard pedals sounding unreal for $30.00.
OK then. What's the big secret. Well most pedals soar or fail on the quality of their mid range...I have said it before...the electric guitar IS a mid range instrument. Where the manufacturer gives you a 'fixed' cut or boost in the mids sells the pedal. Once this is 'Fixed' in the the pedal no amount EQ tweaking will dynamically change it. It merely gives it a tweak or two.
The Gunshot has a cut and boost that is sweepable...but not sweepable in a linear way...it moves thru what happens in a real tube amp. So you end up with hitting 'YOUR SWEET SPOT' not the pedals sweet spot.
Know...that alone could make this one of the very best OD's ever!!!
Current Price $290.00 USD
The biggest downfalls in even the best OD's is a less then stellar high end. OR
for example the EVH sound...a really lame low end!!!!
So another knob pulls up booth the lows and highs ....in once again ...a natural tube amp way...and you end up with the fattest natural sound you have ever heard!!!
If your idea of a great sound is perhaps a sweeter gentler sound...just back off the 2 controls and the filters will flow right into that sound ...in once again that natural tube amp way.
If you listen for example to the KLON...it is really artificial...in the sense that a real tube amp would never respond in the fixed EQ sound of the pedal. This is not a crticism...it just means the pedal makes a very excellent original sound. Many pedals follow this route. I love the RAT distortion...but it too is a contrived sound.
SO...if you have ever heard the perfect amp distortion....and you want it. Outside of buying that exact amp...this is the answer.
KEEP IN MIND THIS IS NOT BEEFED UP WITH ARTIFICIAL ELECTRONIC TRICKS....
LISTEN TO HOW NATURAL EVERY NOTE AND CHORD SOUNDS. THIS IS NOT
YOUR LARGER THEN LIFE WALL OF SOUND PEDAL. WHAT IT GIVES YOU IS ...
THE FULLEST TOTALLY NATURAL SOUND POSSIBLE. THIS IS NOT A PEDAL DESIGNED TO CREATE AN AURAL SPECTACLE
I truly believe this is an overdrive pedal that you would never get tired of.
This all sounds great...but is the circuit so perfect it achieves this goal???
Probably not. BUT HELL THIS PEDAL SOUNDS AWESOME!!!!
This Pedal is definitely in the camp of the Rock that thinks it's Jazz catagory. I know that sounds like a shot. But those that play it project the sophistaction of Jazz but refrain from a category. Yes we all hate the 'Dreaded Category' but no one wishes to have to pontificate for 5 minutes just to describe a style that is rock that is treated like Jazz. My point is that the Dumble and Klon boys...are great canidates to get the best out of this pedal. I would love to have one but if given the choice of this or say the Friedman Distortion...then... hey...I'm outta here. LOL
The hero of our story is Pedro Garcia....thanks to him we all can own a gourmet clone pedal. An accurately made clone of the best classic pedals ever made. You do not have to be rich to get his very high quality pedals they are usually $80.00 USD or less. Yes...they are pedals that STOMP BOX STEALS can very highly recommend. They are all what I call the... ' KEEPER' category ...they will still be sitting on your board years from now beside other of the best gourmet...new design type pedals costing hundreds that you have accumulated. BUT...the guy needs to make a living. Let's not loose this great source for affordable gems. I bought a $350.00 USD fuzz...it is very nice...I have no intent of getting rid of it. BUT I have an $80.00 USD that Pedro made me...and I love it just as much!!! My bass player also an avid pedal user was blown away!!! In short...all things have a PRICE....all things have a VALUE....do not confuse the two...they are not always the same. This story is incomplete. I will write to Pedro and see if he can give us some history. so...for now check it out ...and if you missed the UNIVOX post check that out too.It shows how the long journey that ended with this Post. I would like to thank all the Spanish players that have dropped by. in fact I now have more of you guys from Spain then Americans.
You guys should be proud of Ananashead...Spanish made world class pedals with a sound second to none...the very best...simply from the quality of the product. Your country is seeing hard times...but guys like Pedro show the world that you guys don't need even a lot of capital to produce the very,very best. So I salute you. WELL DONE!!! WELL DONE!!! WELL DONE!!!
THE ANANASHEAD STORY
I found out about this gourmet on a budget maker by accident.I was reading up on the UNIVOX
SUPER-FUZZ and there turned out to be more then a dozen or more clones. After listening ....comparing and pricing them. Two stood out. The $200.00 USD Watson and the Ananashead.
The Watson is a souped up jobbie with the clunk and slop removed. Pretty to look at...and impossible to get a bad sound. The Ananashead $79.00 USD...is unpainted with a sticker for the labeling... an original ...dead on clone ....this means...with lots of warts and break up ...even volume shifts to work around. BUT
once you find the sweet spot....WOW!!!!
So who are Ananashead.....
It should be who is...
It is Pedro Garcia of Barcelona Spain....He runs a one man show
He makes clones of many vintage pedals. Keeping the price down with simple but plain sturdy aluminium box using quality parts to keep down the noise ....but using transistors and diodes etc. that are new...old stock. In short parts exact to the originals. Keeping things self contained...without commercial facilities ...and being a one man show has kept the prices down.
PART 2...THE LETTER
I recently got a letter from Pedro. I had asked him for a history of himself as it is interesting to know
how such talented and creative people got into the pedal biz.
Pedro has been playing guitar for 30 years. Like all of us he dreamed of creating his own music and
taking it to the top. In the 90's he became sidetracked by doing the college thing ....taking sound engineering and radio production. While doing an apprenticeship tie in with a retail guitar/music store he became curious with pedals.
He made his first pedal a Fuzz Face. He felt this was really just a distraction as he was more involved with Hardcore and Metal music and preferred to stick with the purity of a JCM 800 run flat out. After some time he became frustrated with his personal playing and career progress. He decided to give it all a break. After 2 years he got drawn back in when he became curious about how Dave Gilmore was getting such a great Strat sound. This started him tinkering around with pedals. The first were for himself ...then for friends ...and soon we were all offered his unique take on classic pedals. This brings us up to date. You can find his pedals on YouTube ...E bay ...Facebook and Reverb.
When it comes to vintage clones of classic pedals ...if you can think of it Pedro makes one.
I bought the Univox Fuzz-Master clone...Read the UNIVOX SUPER-FUZZ Post....for the whole story.
I have the Super-Fuzz...I have paid over $320.00 USD for a fuzz...and my Ananashead fuzz at $80.00 USD is just as thrilling to play through.
There are vintage Fuzz clones selling on-line for over $500.00 USD....and you can get one here for under $80.00 USD.
When it comes to classic Fuzz boxes if you can think of it Pedro makes it.
VIDS....and not all of them either...
have fun checking them out....I did!
SUPER-FUZZ...
PINK FLOYD.....? I THINK SO !
THE FIRST OF THE FUZZ FACE PEDALS the Germanium model
Fuzz Face ...Silicon Jimi Hendrix? Yes!!!
THE TONEBENDER MK I ...
The true beginning of the overdrive concept
THERE ARE MORE>>>on YouTube....check 'm out Note: the Vids are not polished pro ...OH WOW! sh@t. With the big names you have to keep in mind what you get could be great but not mind blowing. On the flipside the Ananashead pedals sound even better then they sound in the Vids. I can not imagine someone playing one for the the first time not breaking out with a big smug smile...when they got such a gret pedal for so little coin!
Tomorrow is the start of August. I have had my Super Fuzz for awhile now...I should be bored with it even if I still think It is a great pedal. BUT...I still get a buzz from plying it. It has become my musical friend.
Hey...do yourself a favour
TRUST ME....JUST BUY ONE!
8/28/2016
When you get a great pedal...it not only sounds good it has character and personality...
I find that teaming up my Super Fuzz with my EH Pog octave pedal can create a sound that is
ridiculously huge...but never tiresome. simple riffs and power chords become a tsunami of sound.
I was visiting Google Australia to see what pedals were being made down under and I found a family run Main street type store selling 2 pedals made by a very small Japanese company 320 Design.
320 Design
320 Design have one dealership in Aussie...and one in France.
They sell to handful of stores in Japan and one in Hong Kong.
All info about the company is in either in Japanese or Chinese.
In short they are nearly invisible in the West.
320Design Brown Feather
.
They use an unpainted aluminum Hammond style box..
.
Current Price $323.00 USD ?
It has a medium large foot print but is unusually high. It looks like a lump with knobs sticking out the sides. Just plain thrown together and weird looking. Of course after you hear the pedal...this ugly look is part of the charm.
Those that love it say it is the closest to the EVH 'Brown Sound' which was got by putting a variac on a Marshall stack cutting the voltage....very dangerous but effective.... LOL
It is called a Brown Sound because when there is a drop in power from your neighborhood electric company...it is referred as a Brown Out.
So what does it sound like?
It definitely bares comparing to the Wampler Pinnacle...who were striving for the same thing.
The pinnacle Deluxe is $230.00 USD and the Pinnacle is $199.00 USD...so a price of even $245.00 USD is pushing it for the 'feather'
When talking about the EVH tone everyone has an opinion.
Me I love the 'feather's' sound...but not because of it being an EVH sound. I admire the guy...but I have never been interested in acquiring his style. Hell...I don't even care much for a whammy bar...my Strat has one but my other 3 guitars do not.
Finding info is very difficult...
It sells used for $345,00 USD used on Ebay...........and $400.00 USD new.
The used price is because of its scarcity...and 'cool' factor. How often do we hear about the high quality of the Japanese pedals...always spoken in hush tones. LOL
The one place that does sell it on-line and in English is in Australia...they want a realitivly reasonable $245.00 USD but they do not ship internationally???
...the only Japanese connection is the Rakuten global market...a sort of Japanese Amazon not a very high profile type of sight ...
the price there is a nasty $342.00 USD
$100.00 difference in the Australian site to the others...makes me think a bit of nasty greed is going on!
after a last exhausting research I found ... chuya-online.com....
their price...$323.00 USD
SO ENDETH THE SEARCH FOR THE HOLY GRAIL OF DISTORTION...LOL
Regular readers will know that I have been nattering on about Channel OD's for months. The trend is towards players getting a nice single channel all tube combo amp that is 30 to 50 watts and only getting a clean sound from the amp and using pedals for distortion and overdrive.
It seems logical that having a larger pedal that takes care of crunch and distortion would eventual be a normal starting point.
Oh my...and it come in 2 colours.
CURRENT PRICE $300.00 USD
Straight off...when I heard it I did not like it.
Quite simply it was plain vanila...when I have been eating double chocolate deluxe. LOL
The layout and functions are the basic functions that are a natural part of the amp/speaker combination that we have all been using. In short...why build in a Marshall JTM 800 with a 4x12 cab if you have the functions to 'dial up' that sound right on the pedal.
So....what are these functions?
EQ
... you have the standard treble and bass...fine...and it really is all you need in those 2 bands.
... the mids are both cut and boost
... but more important are sweepable........... (check the EQ Post I explain all that)
...the presence is very important...it pulls out the harmonics brightens the sound and...
tightens the top end.
GAIN AND CABINET THUMP
The last row gives you the mandatory level control ....the volume...or quite simply how loud you wish to play.
There is a Gain control to overdrive and saturate the tone. There is also has a very critical...
Resonance Control ....this gives you control over the sound of the speaker cabinet...easily creating everything from stacked 4x12 cabs to an open back combo.
( getting a 4x12 sound... is done by boosting the low end under 600kzh)
Finally a boost..for that extra distortion saturation and volume boost.
It is not overloaded with bells and whistles...but every function it has gives you control over the very critical elements to shape a guitar sound.
Things like Resonance...and sweepable mids were in the past 'fixed' into the circuit by the makers.
These things are very critical...It is usually why you would buy one pedal over another...it is also the reason why you would either tire of the sound or be frustrated by it...simply because you can not tweak these 2 critical functions.
I picked this video out of dozens. Why just it?
Well it still has the emotional content thanks to some great playing.
BUT MORE IMPORTANT
IT SHOWS YOU WHAT EACH FUNCTION DOES
AND BETTER STILL...
HOW YOU ARE LIKELY TO USE THAT FUNCTION IN PRACTICE.
SUMMARY
I believe that there will be thousands of players that will love this pedal.
I only have one complaint. In order to create and mold a perfect sound Duncan has voiced the pedal to be as neutral as possible.
It is like a bowl of vanilla ice cream...with dozens of toppings to add.
My Amptweaker Big Rock Pro...has a switch to turn it into a recognizable Marshall JMC 800...
this is not the purist way to create 'my sound'. BUT...my sound is a JMC 800 that I wish only to tweak until it is set up for both the response of my playing and the sound I get from my technique.
So...it is like a bowl of chocolate ice cream...with dozens of toppings to add.
Ideally...a switch that was labeled ....Brit/American (Marshall or Fender) would have made this a
better pedal.
The best thing about the pedal is that the layout is simple and outside of giving you just a neutral voicing....instead of a choice of voicing [Off /Brit /American] ...it sets a excellent standard to use as a layout for all to follow.
You could alter the functions to get very close to an American or Brit voice (the Brit is much harder I would want the mids to have 3 mid frequencies to boost,cut and sweep)
NO MORE A ROOKIE
For Duncan...this pedal is not just a breakthrough...but a break in. He is now shoulder to shoulder with EH, MXR and Boss...and others who control the pedal displays at your local music store.
I am expecting a lot of new pedals from Duncan.
It will very soon be Seymour Duncan Pedals
and oh yes...we also make accessories like pick-ups and T shirts..
This pedal has 5 EH Big Muff clones in one box. 
