Overdrive -TL PEDALS RAT ...a classic rises out of the dust like a Phoenix

 TL PEDALS RAT OD 

$130.00 USD

I came onto TL by accident. I reviewed the just released Greer Guerrilla Warfare II and since it supposed to be the new improved Rat pedal complete with a Motorola LM 308 opamp chip I wanted to see what they had improved. 
Squat!!! the original Rat blew the sucker right out of the water.
I was so impressed by the Original Rat I decided to see what I could get one for F.ing OUCH!!!! 

I then went looking for a better clone. There was the Sooth Sayer, Wrath, Retro-Sonic Distortion, Alphs Dog, Rattler+ Ironhorse etc. They all had one thing in common they took the torn denim jeans sound of the Rat and turned it into satin tuxedo trousers.
They had a philosophy of improving a dirt pedal by removing the dirt ...some washed it out others dry cleaned it. LOL

While looking at one I new about Vermin ( which by the way sounds like a gutless Chinese clone)...a video caught my eye off to the side of my screen.

CONCLUSION
The LM has a bit more headroom and tad more punch and balz!!!
None of that rip your face off Rat sound is weakened or lost. Damn NICE!!!
Tim took a sound that is in your face then pushed it  right thru the back wall of the club.!!!
There are guys out there making pedals based off other pedals and thanks to high profile marketing can sell us crap. Not hand made ...not well made and are at best mediocre. Then there are honest guys like Tim busting his butt to make us great pedals. Hell the guy is giving away the pedal at this price!!!
I've said it before if you do not get behind guys like Tim we will loose them.
Do yourself a favour and check out the LM Pedals. There are more coming up right here 
over September so check back in.
Like a lot of makers you can get LM Pedals on Reverb.

So I have this on my short list ...in fact at the top of it!
Give Tim a month to get a batch ready as he has to fill the orders he's got.
BUT when I give you the shout out you better move because there are
now 219,343 other guys that will be tuning in for there pedal fix.

The last time I did this was with Pedro Garcia at Ananashead with the Super Fuzz and one months orders were gone in only 3 minutes. I am not kidding 3 minutes. Hey you can't make this sh@t up!
It went like this...I got an E saying the pedals were ready. I stopped reading my mail and the went on my blog . I posted the news. I went back to my mail. He had sent another letter.
"What did you do??? I am sold out. Please take down the Post."  :-)

HANDS ON
Monday Oct.14  at 11 am I got a knock on my door. It was my RAT being delivered!!! It must be special delivery because today is a holiday??
So I played with it all day! It was exactly as it appears a super well made pedal with the original Rat sound NAILED!!! The only surprise was it has an endless sustain. I have 23 other dirt pedals and non are close to the sustain of this.
a great pedal to have ...on its own or stacked there are dozens of times it can be perfect.
BULLET PROOF PURCHASE!!!

DEC. 2019
Check out the new look RAT. Same old perfect Rat pedal but
in a great to box!!!

OVERDRIVE- GREER AMPS Gorilla Warfare MKII ...half Rat and half that!

$200.00 USD

 GREER AMPS GORILLA WARFARE MKII 
Greer has over the years had the odd pedal that was not bad.
They however seem to go in circles. At one time they had 4 low gain Tube Screamer OD's each just a little different tone or amount of gain. w.t.f.
The Lightspeed caught on with the Nashville crowd having got tired of the Noble. Next the reviewers caught on to it'
Surprise surprise it has recently become the darling of the 'cool' set. Shades of another low gain Tube Screamer type pedal.

The Gorilla is the follow up offering.  A discontinued little gem that they resurrected with a couple of new mods. 
With LM-308 right on the casing it is not rocket science to see where it came from. A modded Rat. Yes?
Yes!!!
They tried to keep the Rat grunge and add a FET type tone
blended with it.
BUT ....put it beside the original Rat and you soon see they
lost te growl, the punch and the fatness in the transition.

CONCLUSION
Well Rabea Massaad gives it a good workout but I am interested in the tone of the pedal not the stellar playing. I do not note the guys usual  hot and excited enthusiasm just good manners over an OK kind of pedal.

When I hear a knockoff or a clone I go back to the original to see what the improvements are
and was actually surprised to find that this may be better then a MKII Rat it ain't no Original one plus extras even though they share the same Motorola LM308 ic opamp chip.

OVERDRIVE - TL PEDALS Honker OD ....Oh my another Tube Screamer but what a punchy booster!!!

$135.00 USD

 TL PEDALS HONKER OD 
Well is it just another ts? Well yes ...and no. Every pedal maker on the planet makes one. What I like about it is it can really kick butt when backed off on the gain giving you a fat punchy boost with just the right amount of full mids to fatten up another OD for stacking.

The layout is self explaining with volume tone and drive.
You know you have something beyond the usual ts when
a pedal is usable right thru it's entire gain. You just put it where you need it and not spend an hour looking for a sweet spot.

Good not so ol' Tim has been at it for some six years plus 
so it is time for him to come out from under the radar.
My god and he even came up with a name for his company
that is not dripping with pretension. 
Besides the goose graphics  got my vote even before I heard the pedal. 

Yes this is  nice little gem made with all the best parts
and can be used at a gig for self protection and still work just fine.
Whether a company tells you their pedal is really an improved ts or not we all end up with one. I am finally down to just one myself. LOL

CONCLUSION
Well not much to add. Except perhaps the price ...the guy is GIVING IT AWAY!!
With the parts and build this thing is a steal!!!
Besides ...Tim is 'one of us' ! 
So check out his stuff on Reverb.

PEDAL BOARD - small but versatile LOL

THE WORLDS LARGET PEDAL BOARD

Great fun ...check it out!

OVERDRIVE- 3P ELECTRONICS Roosevelt Drive ...another Ibanez old gem shows up again

 3P ELECTRONICS ROOSEVELT DRIVE 

$225.00 USD

This Nashville company make some very impressive amps.

One they call the Kitchen sink gives you 

3 voices ...a Marshall, a Vox AC30 and black face Fender. How well!!!  Damn convincing. It is the only gourmet amp that has impressed me. Many I respect but I would not consider ever buying one.

They make just one pedal. The Roosevelt.

Like most company's they do a little borrowing. This is an updated Ibanez 80's Mostortion Mosfet Distortion. Mosfets were the first transistors that sounded tube like. Ibanez had bad timing ...the pedal did not catch on so they killed it. After a few years everyone was making OD's with mosfets. A few lucky guys scooped up what is out there.

Now they are collectors pedals that not only fetch big prices but never show up.

I am afraid the guys that have them. 
USE THEM!

CONCLUSION

I have no quibbles with the pedal. It sounds great. But so does the Karma guitar Amps MTM-Distortion it is the same deal. They openly admit taking the Mostortion as their blueprint.

So check out the old Post on that one.

OVERDRIVE- DEAD COOL I-Furgut Deluxe OD. a very promising first try!

DEAD COOL I-FERGUT DELUXE OD

$950.00 USD

OOPS! you meant to but you forgot to write and tell me!
So if you have or heard of a pedal you want to see reviewed let me know.

There are a bare MINIMUM of 500 OD's reviewed on
Stomp Box Steals but there is always room for more.
OD's including Low Gain ...Medium Gain ...High Gain
and Metal are all here and from every country on the 
planet. Some that only market locally and their site is not 
in English. OD Posts are 10 times more popular then 
all other pedals.

CONCLUSION
A lot of guys will be put off by the low impedance
jack and the lack of a switch to turn it on.
But Hell we all buy the wrong pedal sooner or later.
So since you haven't here is your big chance.


RETRACTION
OOP! wrong video it is my very first pedal. 
A Gibson Maestro Fuzz-Tone 1962.
Yes the very first ever dirt pedal !!!
Note that there isn't an output jack? 
A cable was hard wired right into the pedal.
As a kid I took it too the local TV repair man
and had a jack put in. I think I had the first modded 
custom gourmet pedal on the planet!!!  :-)
Hey!!! how cool is that! It went well with my blackface 
Fender Super Reverb amp and my Harmony Rocket guitar. 
It even came with Gold Foils.

OVERDRIVE- LOVE PEDAL Tchula ...ever wonder what an early Plexi sounded like just before crunch?

 LOVE PEDAL TCHULA OD 

$200.00 USD

Have you ever wondered what an old Plexi sounds like clean? Well maybe on 4. 
Well wonder no more.
Love pedal have recently brought back the Tchula that Josh Smith made famous do to finding some NOS (new old parts.)
A very simple set up. A volume knob an on/off switch and a boost switch.
The Plexi is very, very low mids heavy. It's ability to
kick out crushing lows is it's trademark. It is also why
early uses used a Rangemaster treble booster.

 

CONCLUSION
Well it is reasonably accurate but it can get muddy really quick. Single coils help and it is really an always on kind of pedal where 
you set up your amp with a bit of sparkle to compensate. 
I would buy one in a flash if I felt I could teak it but I would probably need to stack it with something or give it it's own EQ. 
Oddly enough I remembered that I have a NOS clone of a Rangemaster from 3 years back and it is on my board for a revaluation. Mmmm.

OVERDRIVE- CORNEL Overdrive Special ...if you designed the Fuzz Face what would your OD sound like?

 CORNEL OVERDRIVE SPECIAL 

Chris Cornel has been making a few pedals and

$320.00 USD

gormet amps for years. In Southend a pleasant on the sea Brit holiday haven. He started out forever ago working for Arbiter and helped make the the Fuzz Face.
The OD Special is his most popular pedal.
Using diode clipping you get an aggressive sound with a very solid low end and no mud. His approach is of  very old school where one did not clone amps but tried to create an original tone simply unique to the pedal and unless a control could make a very noticeable difference it was simply not there.
It is a two channel pedal with one side a brisk tight medium gain. The second channel can push it to near late 60's heavy low end Fuzz and finally a boost for total overkill in your face distortion. That said it has very American bent to the tone. A very refreshing change since most hot drives start with a Marshall voice and add from there.
Odd as it comes from a very British town.

CONCLUSION
The pedal has a great aggressive tone which is really tight with great clarity. It can be pushed into a real monster. This is not your warm cosy OD.

The recent new look 2019 model

CHORUS/FLANGER- DREADBOX KomoRebi Chorus/Flange Pedal ...the absolute BEST on the planet!!!

 DREADBOX KOMOREBI CHORUS/FLANGE PEDAL 

$250.00 USD

This is made by a Greek company that specializes in high end analog synthesizers.
It is designed to studio specs and anything can be put thru it. You will note small jacks on the top of the pedal to patch it right into different spots on a synth. It has an input pad so it can take high or low impedance and even high gain preamps.

It is of course analog. It can out do the scary crazy stuff by all those pedal makers who specialize in it. Me I just like the straight chorus and flange stuff.
First for a standard old fashion Boss type flange it is easily twice as warm, twice as rich, twice as clear ...but the killer is it easily twice as FAT!!!!
Flangers were a way to imitate REAL tape flanging. They do not!!! They sound cool but they do not. 
BUT BUT BUT
...this Flanger can do it!!! ...Unreal!!!

CONCLUSION
Yes the price is up there but all the great ones I've heard do not do both sounds nor do they do them better. Furthermore it does all the crazy stuff and the ones that come in second place do not! It does the usual BOSS pedal stuff so damn good you will find you will find many more places it works on tunes that you already play.
It is big ...yes! But it will likely stop you buying a lot of other effects because they just plan do not cut in comparison. So all I need to do now is find the worlds best Phaser and tremolo. lol

















NOTE: 
I am currently scouring the world for the best analog Phaser the Moogerfooger is probably tie with the Empress pedal but the Empress although as complex is user friendly.
Guys that have owned an MXR and in some cases now have both it ..and the Empress They find the creamy sound of the MXR makes it too good to part with.
One guy ...just like me who has owned a vintage Phase 90 then replaced it with a Phase 95 feels like me it is easily as good if not better. He too has both the Dreadbox and his Phase 95.

So for now I will be using my Phase 95. But the Dreadbox is on my short list.
Then I too will have both. LOL

OVERDRIVE- FORMULA B Super Plexi...a JTM 45 in a box

 FORMULA B SUPER PLEXI 

$190.00 USD

This is the 'vertical' they also make a 'horizontal'
...Hey!  ...no sh@t Ya can't make this up!
The vertical is the new one.
Yes they are quite different if you listen carefully one has that standard vertical tone stack sound and the other has the sound Pete Townsend got in the Who after he deliberately knocked his stack over.
OR ..maybe not!

So enough of that!
The pedal has the standard level, gain and tone. It also sports a toggle to put the boost pre or post gain and a footswitch to turn it on.

CONCLUSION
Oddly enough it does really sound like a JTM45.
Hence the Stones outburst was perhaps appropriate if not showing the pedal at it's best.
Not a bad sounding pedal but at $190.00 USD we are heading into more exciting choices.
In short if I owned it I would find some perfect tune for it . But...

OVERDRIVE-ORIGIN EFFECTS Revival Drive Compact ...the quality of the tone is peerless !!!

ORIGIN EFFECTS REVIVAL DRIVE COMPACT 
Origin set out with the full size OD to put in everything that
creates the sound of an actual tube amp in a box that gave you access to every parameter.
In an ordinary OD pedal you are given usually one
voice that can be tweakable but not recreated a voice from scratch.
BUT ...it made the pedal damn hard to program.
It also made it $650.00 USD. OUCH!!!!

The new compact has simplified the controls. They
have in essence given you a basic Fender amp and Marshall
with controls to turn it into which you want a Plexi?
a JCM 800 a Fender Deluxe a tweed??? Or one of the many gourmet amps based from one or the other. Creating an amp that doesn't exist  ...which you can with the big pedal holds little fascination with most players The expense of a long learning curve a  long routine to go to another sound is at the bottom of 
their priority list.

CONCLUSION
The quality of the tone is peerless!!!
One often needs 2 OD's in a song crunch and lead.With a budget of say $225.00 USD a pedal you can find two very good OD's The Origin is nearly double for one.
It does it's thing really well but it's #1 thing is to clone classic amps. It is not meant to be the 'shred' channel from a 3 channel gourmet amp.
In short if like me you love a bit of total overkill you may want a pedal meant to give it to you.
I am sure if you like a very specific Blue's sound. Fusion sound or a great low gain this ain't it.

Do I think it is worth it ???
Yes !!! I am sure I will eventually get one. No kidding I am seriously worried I will need at least two. I always use at least 2 in most tunes. One for the verse & a second for the chorus or one for vocal accompaniment and another for anything strictly instrumental etc.


FINAL NOTE
Is this the very best OD on the planet ???
Well you may find another you personally like better for your personal taste and style of music. Nothing wrong with that.
BUT ...If anyone who asked me "Is this the best?"
I would have to say YES!!!

AMPLIFIER- BARONI LAB Custom Amp 50 ...a hundred reasons to buy one ...lol

$250.00 USD

 BARONI LAB CUSTOM AMP 50 

Probably the best one out there. But first lets deal with
the bullsh@t that all the makers of pedal amps are
putting out.
The wattage and power of any amp is dependent on your speaker cab matching the amp. Now some speakers are 16 ohm and 99% of what most guys have is 8 ohm. BUT
the amp pedals brag about the power going into a 4 ohm cab/speaker. what the F, is this all about!!! An under powered amp is useless when a loud drummer can drown out anything less then 40 or 50 watts.So fortunately Baroni Lab started out as an Amp maker even years before doing pedals so the CA50 will give you 40 watts into 8 ohms.
Yes they call it a 50 but we will let that pass.  lol

The amp has drive, drive vol, master & 3 way EQ.

Check out it's power supply
not the usual toys others
give you.

with a foot switch to kick on the OD which has a very decent fat Plexi vibe.
It even has a loop ...If you are pedal nuts you may want another drive or EQ just to get your basic amp sound refined. 

If you are into one of the new modeling pedal boards this could be your amp. Two and you could run stereo. 
Some guys are getting into the wet dry amp thing so you could use it for your wet sound.

As a back up amp it a blessing. You can use just the OD with your present set up to make it pay for it's keep. lol
Solid state amps unlike tube amps can sound much the same turned down to bedroom levels so it can double as a practice amp.
Add to that it blows away any of the Quilter mini amps for both tone and price!!!!

CONCLUSION
As a guy doing a 3 piece band thing I will HAVE to get something to have as backup. I am in terror at the thought of not having one.
I am spoiled with a Plexi so it is easy for me to loose touch. Straight up ...if this was my only amp I could put on a damn good show. It is only my ego not wanting a few players in my audience to see me with this little rig.
Bottom line ...I can not fault it.

OVERDRIVE- HIMMELSTUTZ ELECTRO ART Fetto Maximus OD very, very, very impressive!!!!

$280.00 USD

 HIMMELSTUTZ ELECTRO ART FETTO MAXIMUS OD 

This one in a series of Fetto OD's basically the Deluxe.
The controls are volume power drive and boost with a 3 way passive EQ. A switch for bright and a switch for power ...in short between that and and the knob you can set how much headroom you want. this lets you decide if you want a very open sound or one with thick heavy saturation.
Not a bad idea as it lets you create the basic voicing of the pedal in a big way.

      

CONCLUSION
The damn thing is huge sounding with giant rich resonance around the whole voicing. The harmonics are detailed and very rich.There isn't even a trace of fizz or fuzz.
If a guy wanted the detailed sound of a pedal aimed at Fusion players but did not want to give up that huge Marshall vibe. This is it. In fact it has no peer. Very impressive!!!!
Very, very impressive.

OVERDRIVE-EBS Drive Me Crazy ...a nice simple thick and aggressive dirt box!

 EBS DRIVE ME CRAZY 

$150.00 USD

Yes the Swedish pedal makers best known for their Billy Sheenan OD.
Just the standard drive, tone and volume with a switch that in spite of it's cute naming is for tightening the low end.
With a reputation for quality build and parts the low price
is a real carrot on a stick.

CONCLUSION
A little bit like vanilla ice cream ...a bit plain but once 
you get going not bad ...not bad at all.

OVERDRIVE- DSM NOISEMAKER Drive Maker ...something different from Chile

 DSM NOISEMAKER DRIVEMAKER 

$250.00 USD

The company set out to make an original dirt pedal
for those that want to find a personal and original sound. What you get is primarily a Metal pedal with a focus on creating richer harmonics. It can be pushed into Fuzz territory with an octave up feature. A switch gives you choice for mid boosts and a foot switch provides a boost for leads.It is topped off with a noise gate and it even has a effects loop to let you create your own all in one kind of unit. 

CONCLUSION
Although ambitious it is in the end another Metal pedal. There many good ones out there.
I think it tries to be too many things so fails to nail just one bang on.

OVERDRIVE-BSQ EFFECTS Highway Star OD ...$110.00 USD & worth twice that!!!

$110.00 USD

 BSQ EFFECTS HIGHWAY STAR 

The are a lot of promising FX makers in South America. They are hard to find or even buy ouside of their country.
When you can find one there is often no info in English and translations if not lame obscure any details.
Such is the case with Argentina's BSQ.

The Highway Star is a medium gain Brit pedal.
It has a fat chunky tone with lot's of balls and is quite transparent. Yes the Strat in the demo sounds like a
Strat!

CONCLUSION
What's not to like! Even the box & graphics are cool!
At the price ...wow!
Minor detail.... they are sold at stores in Argentina 
and none seem to sell internationally???

CHORUS-JAM PEDALS Waterfall ...there are a few arguably as good and with more features BUT...

$270.00 USD

 JAM PEDALS WATERFALL CHORUS 
Yes  the Boss CE-2W Waza craft is impressive and so is the Walrus Audio Julia and the Neunaber Inspire. These 
all have bells and whistles. That said the Waterfall does have a vibrato effect.
You can switch between chorus and vibrato and another switch brings a near 3 dimensional quality.

For me I do not need bells and whistles just one
perfect sound out of a pedal that has the flexibility 
to use in several ways on several tunes.
The old Boss CE2 had it all for it's time the new
Wazza craft is this and a bit more, The jam though is simply one perfect & killer sound. I can not find even a piece of lint to pick.

CONCLUSION
Less is more!!!
Check out this vid below ...it showed up since writing this post. 
The part with the chorus is even more convincing. I love the way the modulation just floats in waves instead of creating a rhythmic throb. I hate that throb as unless it is very tight to the tempo of the tune it is excessively distracting.
Go to 20:40 on the video and see what I mean.

FUZZ-KLINGER MK-I TB Fuzz ...total killer !!!!

 KLINGER MKI TB FUZZ 

$280.00 USD

Jimmy Page , Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton & Mick Ronson to name just a few who used the
Sola Sound Tonebender. Shaun Klinger takes and nails the original. With NOS on the transistors and key sound sources.
But where sound isn't involved he is using all high end parts which makes the pedal both reliable and quiet.
The first run is sold out so you can leave your E. with him to get a heads up.
He is famous in his native Australia as the number one choice guitarist for touring solo artists and only makes pedals when he is home.
Those that have bought any in the past are usually first inline when a new one comes out because he NEVER disappoints.

CONCLUSION
The Sola Sound MkI  & later the MkII are considered the best 2 Fuzz boxes ever made. The Klinger
takes the very best and by using a few high end modern parts keeps the original sound but gives it a glassy smoothness that is to die for. No it is not cheap! BUT Hell listen to the thing.
The original company is reproducing the original & as good as it too is ...it's $650.00 USD.

NOW JUST WHEN YOU HAD ENOUGH WITH FUZZ PEDALS
Please check out the  Post  ...FUZZ-FRANTONE Cream Puff 
and be prepared for the Fuzz that will end all Fuzz pedals.
I know you think I am exaggerating so I ask the first guy that checks it out at the end of
when the guy sustains a chord then waits for it to stop ...that he take a selfie so I can publish it  right here as a warning to others! it will blow your mind!!!

GUITAR- FERNANDES Native Pro ...20 years old, MIJ, excellent condition and with a 90% discount !!

FERNANDES NATIVE PRO
ALL ABOUT & WHY
Yes a preamble
Those that follow my own collection of pedals and guitars know that I group my pedals in a loop of about 10 to 15 pedals. Each group acts like someones else's board and has choices to fit their style.
An example is a guy that plays modern a Metal style will have a totally different set of pedals then a guy that is into Tom Petty.  
I would have both. Each one in it's own loop.
I would also have the PU's on one guitar to morph between the two contrasting approaches.  
The key to accomplish  the above styles would to have a Rickenbacker and a modern Shred type PU in the same guitar and a group of pedals that can even give you the impression that
you hearing everything key to that sound. Tom Petty does a few sounds using a 12 string Ric with two compressors and Vox treble booster and a Vox AC30 amp. I have a loop that with pedals it gives me a startlingly good impression of that. One pedal does an excellent 12 string effect and another is that very same Vox treble booster.

MY TUNES
My approach to writing and borrowing sounds is not the same as borrowing precise styles. My approach is much more impressionist. It is NOT an Eric Clapton blues style verse followed by a chorus in a straight Country and Western style. I am as likely to use the Dorian mode as my scale for both. I only pick up the 'vibe'of the style ...not the style.
I would use for example a flat pick approach on a Ric PU but on a Metal PU I may simply 
have a much heavier sound on power chords going thru a metal pedal even though my style is more 70's  and one usually uses a PAF thru a Pexi pedal. Things simply sound fresh and modern BUT never out of place. The goal is to borrow the best of everything and mix it into a stew that becomes a thing onto itself. It is very much like food. The taste is more then the sum of the ingredients.


PICKUPS
I have 8 guitars that I use. The PU's covered are Humbuckers PAF & Metal, Strat, Tele, Ric, Gold Foil, P 90, and even a 50's Magnatone. 
I tied to incorporate the Lipstick Tube Dano's but they are low impedance and a real hassle to use on any guitar mixed with a standard hi imp PU. I may yet just buy a '63 Dano as It has the transitional bridge ...the original is all wood and less bright and you can change the intonation and the new one is a 'Badass' style which is has a lot of stringing hassles and looks dead clunky on a Dano.
I would like to add Gretsch Filter'Tron and a pair of Burns Trisonic Brian May models.
My basic style is based on a 70's dirt sound. So I have a one PU on most of my guitars to accommodate that.
I usually use a Duncan 'Pearly Gates' PAF but also a Strat or Tele.

THE NEXT GUITAR      

So my approach to most guitars is to find a retro style or an old guitar by a good brand that has long been obsolete. Some came and went with the times others were failures. Often failures like the Les Paul Standard that was 10 years ahead of it's time. If the guitar has good tonewood and the fit is excellent & the finish is good I can update the PU's, hardware and tuners where needed. The work is done by a guitar tech that has done guitars for Clapton, Dave Gilmour and others. The thing we go for is to make the guitar pass as a guitar that came with the changes from the factory.
Most of my guitars have at least some collectors value. I always wait to get them for about a third of their value. I also get them in good to mint condition. I especially like a good finish in odd and rare colors. I ignore resale by altering them and by choosing unpopular guitars.
Hell I am 72 so I intend to leave a legacy even if I become the big fish in the very small pond.
My tunes and performance of them are my Art. 
Art has never been judged as great by popularity in it's day. You could buy an Andy Warhol for a couple of hundred when it was new. Do I think I am brilliant. You bet! So did Andy and he new the world could think it was junk. It is all about not giving a F.
Nobody remembers a sound-a-like no mater how good they are.

 FERNANDES NATIVE PRO 

Fernandes are a company from Japan that have had a reputation of excellence in the quality of their guitars.For years they made only Custom Shop guitars often even specific models would change choices of woods, PU's etc, from one guitar to the next. For a short time they had consistently made models built in Japan and later in Korea but always to the highest standard of fit, finish and materials used.


The Native in its several incarnations was used by U2, Radiohead and Sonic Youth to name a few. Oddly the name Native X is the name given to an old French coin ...very rare and worth a fortune.

The Native guitars  were made from the '90's to a few 
years into the 2000's. it was never very popular but 
those that had one boasted of it's playabilty and great sustain. 
So it is rare and increasing in value every year.
Prices vary from a few hundred to about $1200.00 USD.
The neck is a maple/rosewood bolt on with a 25 1/2 inch scale with Gotoh tuners. The body is an inch and a half of classic alder. The PU's are Fernandes own HB.
Fernandes PU's are popular in Japan ...the Brad Gillis model sells for $175.00 USD..

The Native looks like a chubby Fender Jazzmaster.
or perhaps a cross between the Jazzmaster & 
a Gibson non-reverse Firebird. I've always love the look of both these guitars so I hope the Fernandes will humor me. lol 


MODS
I will have my fav Seymour Duncan 'Pearly Gates' PAF in the
neck with trad Gibson nickel chrome cover to match the other PU. In the neck I will have a TV Jones Gretsch Filter'Tron'.


Later I will swap out the whammy with the new Wilkinson
Pete Thorn's Suhr signature guitar came with one.
It looks like a standard Fender but it locks.
It will need a Graphtec Tusq  nut and locking tuners.
I can then do anything that a Floyd can do without dealing with all the mass and the hassle.
Brian May has his own brand BMG and he uses a Wilkinson
in all his guitars.
The problem without locking the strings on the bridge is that the E and the G because of their tuning/gauge can lift right up out of the nut and then go back ... the other strings will slide but not literally lift. Otherwise just a Tusq nut and locking tuners would be enough.
I have this problem but it is subtle and not always.
Fernandes have their own whammy ...nothing radical but just upping the overall quality it does a great job.

Wilkinson Bridge Video

THE DEAL
This is the one I had an offer on.
It was on Kijiji
It started at $190.00 USD

Well in the end I pushed my luck for ...$150.00 USD
I got the price :-)
With asking prices of $1500.00 USD in Europe I am sweating this transaction out big time!!! We are talking about a 90% discount!!!

BIG BUT! Well I could not get there until the next Saturday. So if someone were to scoop it. Too bad! :-(
Do to the owner not reading his messages a Saturday deal fell thru but it was changed until Sunday.
It all went well so I have a Fernandes! 
Well all well except I needed a change of underwear. lol

HANDS ON
Well I made a 7 hour journey and bought the thing.
The first thing I noticed besides the overall great condition was that on the back it had a battery compartment. This means it is not the Native X but the Native Pro. The Pro had a Fernandes sustainer
It was like having an E-Bow built into the neck PU. It was removed at some point in  last  20 years.

The bridge PU was changed at some time to a Seymour Duncan Stag Mag. It is 2 Strat style coils turned into a hummie. This doubles the output. Doing so kills the Strat chime but it gives the sound a glassy  bright sound. The result is it sounds a bit Queen like.
The neck PU is where the 'sustainer' should be housed but it now has some unmarked HB
that sounds to me like an old DiMarzio hummie.

I can not yet get the whammy I want so I have decided to do a few mods in steps.
I will get my tech to give the whole thing a clean up, tighten up and set up. While he is at it I might as well put my old friend the Duncan Pearly Gates in the neck position. 
I spent hours comparing all of Gibson's HB efforts. I liked the 57 Classic the best but when you push it thru a lot of dirt it gets muddy very quickly. In short nothing beats the 'Pearly.'


I have ordered the Pearly and the  TV Jones 'Classic' which is a vintage Gretsch Filter'Tron  PU mounted on a PAF mounting plate....the one that is made to fit the routing in the body cut for a Gibson hummie. 
I am hoping they both arrive soon  as I have dropped off the Fernandes with my tech to keep my place in line for about a 5 or 6 week wait.

On a final note being 20 years old the wood is free of any excess moisture and the sap has crystallized between the wood fibers so you get that sweetness in the harmonics of such a vintage guitar. Heaven!

UPDATE
So both PU's arrived on the same day. I had dropped my guitar off a few days ago to hold my place in the line. I decided it simpler to mail them to my tech then drive into the city.
I expect a 5 week wait. I will give you a heads up for a 'Hands On' when it gets done.

UPDATE
Weeks later
I picked up my latestest toy. The guitar was nice to play but with the overkill setup it it is killer.
The whammy works a treat. I will be leaving any idea of upgrading it alone for awhile. It works great and it holds it's tuning. As per usual the Duncan Pearly at the bridge sounds great. I was expecting a lot from the TV Jones Classic but it delivered even more. The tone I wanted is there but I had not expected such a fat balzy sound from the thing. maybe a little fuller then I guessed ...but fat? Never. it must be a combination of guitar and PU because I would never ever imagine using the word punch for a Gretsch sound!. 

UPDATE Aug 2021

Well I have had this guitar long enough for it to play itself, LOL. It really has found it's place going teamed with  few Marshall-in-a-Box high gain pedals. The thing that totally blows my mind is it has a graphite nut and old Gotoh tuners and a classic style Strat style bridge also Gotoh. The damn thing stays in tune. I use the whammy a lot. I do not try to pull a Floyd but I do dive bomb. It stays in tune!!! If you pick it up 2 days later ...it is still in tune.

This is a keeper!!!