OVERDRIVE- PINE TOP CUSTOMS Tursas V1.2 very warm with tone, tone, tone!

 PINE TOP CUSTOMS TURSAS V1.2 OD 

$220.00 USD

Not much info on these guys. Just that the pedals are handmade in Memphis. They also do all the painting and graphics. The graphics are dead cool.

The Turas is medium gain OD with a nod to a Brit sound.
It has very pleasing voice. The pedal has the usual Volume and Gain. One cool thing is the two way EQ  is interactive just like a good tube/valve amp.
Moving both Highs or Lows can really do some sweet tweaks to the Mids. Whoever designed it has great sense of what tone is.

CONCLUSION
This is not an Amp-in-a-Box or a pedal that is all about exaggerated gain etc. It is aimed at giving you a work horse box that is ideal for backing a singer and filling in the holes with riffs and licks and having a laid back but sweet tone to do so.

OVERDRIVE- TONE FREAK EFFECTS Severe Distortion ...very EVH with killer sustain

TONE FREAK EFFECTS SEVERE DISTORTION

$275.00 USD

Well this company has been around since 2007. Many of their pedals I suspect have been around for awhile too.
The layout is straightforward with Level, Gain, and Tone.
One switch lets you choose between symmetrical and asymmetrical clipping. The other labeled Bite is a boost
It appears like many makers their choice of sales is on Reverb.
The pedal's voicing has been set to capture the EVH famous B. sound.  
A searing sound with a touch of honk, thick low mids and soft lows. 
A very tight sound with great sustain.
CONCLUSION
It is rather impressive pedal. I can not believe I am saying this but I can equally can not believe that Tone freak hasn't. It is the closest I've heard to be in the ballpark of a sound we all identify as Eddie's  LOL
Tone Freak have posted on Reverb to be on vacation. 
There are not any products or published prices, I suspect it is more about issues arising with the 'C' virus.
This price is from Italy.

FUZZ- MYTHOS Au79 (Golden Fleece) ..A Fuzz designed for stacking!!! More than Impressive!!!

 FUZZ MYTHOS Au79 (GOLDEN FLEECE) 

$140.00 USD

This is the third generation of this pedal. Oddy it is virtually the same as the first.  Zach Broyles started 
the company in 2010. A familiar story where he made pedals for himself and then for friends etc. Not being 
an engineer guys like him come and go quickly unless 
they have great ear for what simply sounds great.



Living in Nashville and for years played in Americana type bands
gives him the background where what sounds good is good. lol
A highly personable guy with a good natured but acid wit gives him
an edge to get our attention. Finally being a very good player of his 
chosen gendre does a lot to not only make a pedal that sounds
great. It also has a distinct organic quality and still response to 
your touch.
The reason a third generation was made was because the second one was perhaps a bit tighter, clearer and more aggressive. Many love it and it is still available.  Some players did not find it very useful using it live because unlike the first it did not stack well. Since Zach has a history of playing clubs he new exactly where his critics were coming from. This is the kind of pedal when stacked with a good OD can fatten it up big time without stealing the show.
Having compared the other. It has a OD/Fuzz sound that others do better.

CONCLUSION

I can't even find a piece of lint to pick. It is a great sounding Fuzz on it's own .

It doesn't have the spluttering and drop outs of many Fuzz pedals which limits 

where they can fit on your tunes. It can work with everyone no matter if you  

are in a wedding band or you are have an up and coming alternative band 

doing your own tunes.

This pedal is a little jewel that could easily end up flying under the radar. 

I am glad to be part of the word of mouth crowd that are trying to stop that.

OVERDRIVE- AURA EFFECTS Crunch Master ...classic high gain Marshall sound at it's best!!!!

 AURA EFFECTS CRUNCH MASTER 

$200. 00 USD

Our friends from brazil have been around for awhile making some excellent effects.
The Crunch Master was released in 2016 and has a league of fans. It is not a one size fits all.
It is a high gain pedal with a lot of 'feel' so that it's dynamics are controlled by you touch.
It mimics a late 80's early 90's Marshall hot rodded
JCM 800 sound.
The layout is Presence, Tone Gain and Level.
the boost is very powerful and works both with the pedal or it can be used on its own.

CONCLUSION
A classic turn of the century metal sound.
Very fat and open. It is not a tight modern
metal drive.
The pedal is quite good but you should 
definitely compare it with the Post of 
Lawrence Petross LPD EIGHTY 7.
The tone is sweeter and the pedal a bit tighter.

OVERDRIVE- MOJO HAND FX Rook Royale OD.

$160.00 USD

MOJO HAND ROOK OVERDRIVE 
This has been around awhile it was pedal of the year in 2011.
The layout is simply Gain , Volume, Treble & Bass
with a switch that toggles between clipping diodes that give you Classic and Raw.
It has been around along time so it has a following.
Of course now we have so many more choices

CONCLUSION
I hate to be a bore but check out the Post Tech N Tone Turbo Nonna and give it a listen. It sells itself with at  three least distinct sounds of Low Gain, medium Gain and and a High Gain. All three sounds sound like you have bought different pedals. It too has switchable voices and to add to that you have resonant filter that fattens the sound to case. The final touch is it has the best sustain of all my 28 OD's!!!

OVERDRIVE-BIG KNOB PEDALS Black Metallic ...a rip your face off terror!!!

 BIG KNOB PEDALS BLACK METALLIC 

I have been impressed with everything this company 

$120.00 USD

makes. If vintage pedal has the perfect voice then it gets
cloned beautifully as is. If a pedal is noisy or tends to drop out
like some old Fuzz. B.K. fixes the problem without
tearing the soul out of the sound.

In this case they were making a Metal pedal. A task where there is no clear winner to emulate. 
A few Boss pedals have done unusually well but not with pro's who still prefer a maxed out amp and a Tube Screamer to overload the front end. Revv are the clear leader but that too is much to do with the hobbyist and at home in their bedroom studio.
They took the approach of giving the amp incredible headroom but as much gain as possible. It is true as they state many of the competition end up with so much saturation that the tone gets muddy and mushy.

CONCLUSION
I am impressed. The pedal has balz and a bite that can tear your face off. Anything near this is usually a Fuzz. Some fuzz pedal get close to a Metal OD but close is just that ...only close!
The SVI Metal Zoid takes this all a giant step further and yet can provide you with much more sustain then I hear with the B.K. The Void is hard to control and the sound hardly even hints of a tube sound. The B.K. still has a very organic quality. So it's a tie.
You have 2 great choices in the 'nasty' camp of really high gain Metal OD's
If you are into the Revv style type where there is still the sound of a high gain gourmet Marshall coming thru this could be a great addition as a contrast or a pedal to stack and get the best of both.

OVERDRIVE- CAROLINE GUITAR COMPANY Haymaker ...a funky Bluesy pedal

CAROLINE GUITAR CO. HAYMAKER DYNAMIC DRIVE

$200.00 USD

It certainly is not trying to be Brit pedal or a classic American OD like Mesa Boogie pedal. Not much of the Tube Screamer to me it is too harsh it but there is something like it in there too.
It is it's own thing. by using a variety of very contrasting clipping diodes you get an unusually big assortment of sounds.
You could easily find at least, say, 3 radically different sounds. 
I suspect guys that have them pick a couple they like and actually hate the others.

If you are into a Blues or Americana type of thing it can pull out some really funky sounds reminiscent of a 50s era American made budget amp.

CONCLUSION

It is a really funky pedal. It has to much hash in it for me. Almost a bit like an unruly fuzz

but I do see it's appeal.

OVERDRIVE- TRUETONE Son of Hyde v.2 ...a classic Brand is back! Cool new OD!

 TRUETONE SON OF HYDE v.2 DISTORTION 

$100.00 USD

The company was formerly known as Visual Sound and was started by Bob Weil in 1995. Bob is a living legend like Mike Matthews of
Electro Harmonix.
Although bankrupt do to debt from before Visual Sound started up. He created the very popular Jekyll & Hyde pedal. It was the first dual pedal ever made. It consisted of a modded Tube Screamer and a modded Marshall Shredmaster.
This is years before AnalogMan took a Marshall Bluesbreaker and a Tube Screamer and modded them into the King of Tone pedal. lol
He also started One Spot power adapters.
the first adapters that worked on all pedals when
every maker sold a priority adapter.
As popular as the pedals and adapters were
from the start. The banks would not negotiate
the loans that could and would be paid.
So Bob and his pedals started all over.

The Son of Hyde is derived from the dirt half of that Jekyll & Hyde pedal.
The latest version has been tweaked to accommodate dialing in a tight hum free Metal pedal.
The layout is simple with Drive/Gain Treble, Mids and Volume. A switch lets you go from a compressed over saturated sound to one with more headroom and a nice bright sound.

CONCLUSION
Well straight off my description nails it. It is what you get. 
I have reviewed a lot of Metal pedals of late because not only have you guys asked me to but because Metal has attracted so many virtuoso players. 
Ten years ago they would have felt more comfortable heading towards Fusion and low gain pedals.
There are Metal pedals between $20.00 USD to $100.00 USD that are damn impressive but they all seem to lack a good sustain let a loan great sustain.
BUT!  Often one finds outside of some shredding the bulk of any playing is riffs and rhythms supporting a vocal where a pedal like this can be a blessing. 
The look of the pedal goes all the way back to the Visual Sound days. the newer pedals are more compact but keep the look. Dead Cool if you ask me ...the world doesn't need another Hammond B box

On a final note
I have a lot more research to do but it looks like
good ol' Bob owns One Control pedals.
Maybe 2 more brands but I can not confirm
them yet. It even appears he may be starting up
companies to make pedals finding creative
guys to make and design them and others to
run them. Once they have a team that can run
the little company. He puts that team in control
And then moves on and starts another like it,
All are small, self contained and run independently.

OVERDRIVE-MACHINE HEAD PEDALS 72 Degrees OD. ..smooth, warm & transparent

MACHINE HEAD 72 DEGREES OVERDRIVE

$170.00 USD

This has been around since 2009. If it ain't broke don't
fix it. Yes guys! No version 2 or 3 or...lol.

It is a low to medium gain OD in the Tube Screamer vein. Still ts or not it does have an incredibly mellow sound without a trace of mud or smearing the harmonics.

The pedal is beautifully made with a high degree of quality both in and out. I especially like the paint and graphics simple, tasteful and understated. It too has never been updated but it certainly doesn't need it.
. . .










CONCLUSION
In 2009 this might even have been a breakthru pedal 
but we now have too much choice. LOL
If this your thing then at least it has some history of 
staying around for years. 
So check out a few more but maybe put this one on
the shortlist right now.

OVERDRIVE-MOEN Violent Metal (reissue) ...a sleeping giant

 MOEN VIOLENT METAL MO-VM (reissue) 

$60.00 USD

Moen have always made a quality product and are a very old company.
Chinese pedals did not gather anyones attention until other companies who made cheap and cheerful junk showed up.
Moen were unfairly labelled as just another
crap Chinese pedal maker.

Yes they are a lot cheaper than American
made products but only because they have a low overhead. 
Not because of bad design or the use of inferior parts.
The Violent Metal pedal came out about 15 years ago. Ahead of it's time so they stopped making it. Then a few young players looking for something cheap they could afford found it on the used market and were amazed it wasn't some cheap and cheesy toy. 
Of course word got out and prices got stupid very quickly.
Hence MOEN has a reissue!

So it has a basic 3 way EQ with Freq. which allows you to sweep the mids into a sweet spot
that works best for the style of Metal you play. Level of course. Finally gain ...and this gain goes from really high to outrageous! LOL

CONCLUSION
Not bad!
The low end is huge and round without a trace of mud!!!
If you want a tighter sound you could just move 
up the sweep to the upper mids. Unfortunately that 
wasn't demoed.
So definitely worth considering.

GUITAR-TOKAI Love Rock Jr.56 ...Gibson spec! Dead cheap!

 TOKAI LOVE ROCK Jr. 56 

Original Gibson specs.
Yes all mahogany! Yes a rosewood neck with a bone nut!
It even has the original headstock.
Illegal because the headstock is protected under trademark infringement.
Comes in Cherry red, TV Yellow, and Sea Green Metallic (Fender Surf green)
I have not played one BUT Tokai have a very good rep for a good fit and finish
I have a real Gibson LP Special (the 2 PU Jr.) or I would buy one.

$300.00 USD

NOTE: 

Hard to find so let me help :-)

Available at Music Express Canada

226 922 1890

OVERDRIVE MOSKY AUDIO Plexi-M Dist. ...modest but mighty!!! $20

$20.00 USD

MOSKY AUDIO PLEXI-M DISTORTION 
I wonder if this means it is a Marshall pedal? lol
Mosky makes clones. They are usually very thorough 
and copy the schematic. In this case it is the old 
classic Carl Martin Plexitone 'single' pedal.

The 'single' is the high gain side of the big Plexitone 
put into a standard 'B' size box. Plexi-m voiced their 
mini pedal to feature the fat lows and higher ranges 
of the gain of that pedal. 
They nailed that tone! Carl Martin was not aiming 
at the power chord guys.The Plexi-m is!!!

CONCLUSION
It is definitely in the same league as lot OD's
asking 10 times the price.

More money can get you harmonic detail and a bit more clarity.

COMPARISONS

It is really best compared in every way to the One Contol Purple Plexifier.

The One Control is also a mini pedal. It has a very wide range of control over 

the sound and more detail in the harmonics. At $160.00 USD you do pay

for this vice. lol The general overall sound of both pedals are similar!

So I did order the Mosky and was not totally happy with how it teamed up 

ith some of my guitars. However it loves all mahogany guitars so it was a 

hand in glove fit with my Fernandes. That thrills me because it is my only 

guitar with a whammy!

Bottom line ...the pedal does punch above it's weight big time!

TREMOLO- MOOER/ROWIN Trelicopter ...exceptional sound and dead cheap!!!!

$90.00USD

MOOER/ROWIN TRELICOPTER TREMOLO
Regular readers probably know that Mooer re-brands their
 mini pedals for all comers. I have a list of 14 and recently
I noted 4 or 5 I could add to it.I must admit I am surprised to
see subtlety abandoned with this pedal ...not even the name 
got changed. LOL

$25.00 USD

The smoothest sounding tremolo is created by using 'light', It is called an optic tremolo.
It is accomplished by using a photo electric cell. This is the sweetest smoothest sounding for classic tube amp tremolo. Modern tremolo uses different waveforms created from a VCA that make harsher tones which can be effective in some forms of music.
If you either want a classic amp sound or that euphoric floating sounds only optic does the job. Doing a good design and just stabilizing the circuit is not easy but with a peak at how Empress Effects solved the problem Mooer found all the answers. 
A bias control is a key feature It allows you to match the dynamics of your guitar to the modulation. This stops volume drop outs. Other pedals leave this internally fixed  at an average. 
This a big part of why this pedal sounds better. 
Depth and speed are self evident and 
are on all tremolos.

CONCLUSION
Unless you want all the modern bells and whistles then the Mooer pedal is a 
killer choice. I intend to use it on very slow sweeps with just a bit of depth 
combined with reverb and delay for a modern ambience sound that I can solo 
on without any restrictions to using a dirt sound of choice or indeed what I choose to play.

If you do not mind one from the same assembly line but painted green
you can skip stopping at McDonalds a couple of times and it is yours :-) 

FUZZ- ANANASHEAD MARK I ...Sola Sound Tone Bender clone ? No! it's a sonic replica!!!

 ANANASHEAD MARK I FUZZ

$120.00 USD

Every few years the cycle happens again
younger players find the Fuzz. It is not long before they then discover the classics. 
After hearing a video or two of the originals they want one. So they end up on Reverb and soon find ...
"It ain't Gonna happen." :-(
Next they try a few 'Me Too's' only to be sadly disappointed. 
So they wait hoping they can save up for one of the better reissues. At $600.00 USD.  Whoa!!!!

Well miracles do happen.
I lined up every video I could in a row and listen to as many as I could find. I then set them against the Ananashead MK I .

WOW! If I wasn't sitting down I would have fallen over!!! There wasn't any difference!!!!
Try it yourself!!! Go ahead try it!!! 
I am not Bullsh*ting you. Straight up.
This is not a clone . IT IS A DAMN SONIC REPLICA!!!

CONCLUSION
So  you can buy one now?
Or you can do like I said go listen to some originals.
and then come back and buy one.

How about I save you some time!

Check out this video!
BUT FIRST
-go to 10:50 on the video
-turn up the volume
-put on some decent headphones
THEN
-press play !!!

FUZZ/OD - CKK ELECTRONIC Royal Fuzz ... a definite Dave Gilmour vibe !!!

$100.00 US
on sale Mar. 27/20
AliExpress $76.00 USD

 CKK ELECTRONIC ROYAL FUZZ 

Regular visitors will know but CK Electronics although they reside in China they make handmade gourmet effects. A few years back they won an award in Europe for Best Metal OD.

The best Fuzz can be a very exciting pedal that can tear your face off. lol 
BUT!  A great OD can come close yet can be fat, full with great sustain and dynamics etc.
If however if it is done well you blend the two and get the best of both worlds!
The layout has sustain/Fuzz with the usual Volume control and Tone. 
A switch lets you toggle between clipping Diodes and FET transistors. 
A second switch kicks a really nice mid boost that fattens the whole sound without killing it's raw low end or messing with the highs.

I suspect that CKK had a good look at the old Electro Harmonix Triangle Muff It certainly would account for the Dave Gilmour vibe to this pedal.
Which this reminds me ...the Skeddy Pedals does a Triangle Muff called the P19 which is bit more than similar. The price isn't ...The Skreddy is $200.00 USD!

CONCLUSION
Damned if I am not impressed.
After I wrote the above I went and checked out the Skreddy.
The Skreddy is a bit rougher and more Fuzz like sounding 
maybe just bit fuller too. 
The CKK definitely has more sustain.

The price never stops me unless it's over $300.00 USD.
I will pay more than that if it is unique, special or simply has
no competition.

The thing is there are other Floyd like pedals and even a few 
that Gilmour actually used. Floyd recording were heavily processed 
and used a lot of EQ. Modern pedals like the CKK are clever enough 
to make a pedal that sounded more like how it sounded on the finished 
recording than how would sound in in front of the amp while a tune 
was being play through the amp..
Bottom line ...this is a killer pedal made even sweeter by the price.
I ordered one!

FUZZ- BASIC AUDIO Gnarly Fuzz- something old something new 1, 2 U know what to do!

BASIC AUDIO GNARLY FUZZ

$180.00 USD

Baic Audio has been making pedals for years. Some of their Fuzz pedals have been around for 10 years or more. This takes the original tone bender and exchanges it's germanium transistors to silicon. Doing so was a popular mod in the late 60's. Even Sola Sound changed their Tone Bender Fuzz pedals to silicon before they faded away as Electro Harmonix changed the direction of the Fuzz with silicon based Muff.

Basic Audio designed this pedal to keep all the sputtering and chocking to a minimum.To this day it  is favourite with guys that are not to crazy about a Fuzz so if it mostly handles like an OD all the better.

CONCUSION
If you like it go for it. It has a great sound and it
is very well made with many who will want it
if later it is not working for you.

FUZZ- ALL THE ORIGINAL VINTAGE TONE BENDER FUZZ MODELS IN ONE PLACE !!!!

TONE BENDER HEAVEN !!!
The first Fuzz was the Maestro Fuzztone in 1962 just 3 years later by hot rodding that Fuzz for more sustain the result was the Tone Bender MK I. It changed Rock forever even down to how a tune is written.
So Dan and Mick of 'That Pedal Show' got together with Josh ...Mr. JHS himself and went to the Marcari's Store in London UK where the Tone Bender was both invented and even manufactured in the method we now identify  handmade gourmet pedals!
Anthony Marcari the second generation of the company gives us all the history of the store and Tonebender pedals.

NOTE:

 If you want an affordable MK I                           

handmade with NOS so it 

sounds just like it does on the video 

check out the

 ANANASHEAD MK I FUZZ 

..$120.00 USD..the price is a total steal!!! 

Pedro Garcia does everyone himself  only making small changes that do not effect the sound but the pedal's reliability. He wants you to be able to gig with it and

get that tone but be trouble free!

If the MK ll or MK III is your thing he does those equally well.

One last thing. Pedro is one of the very nicest guys in the business ,...and i know on hell of a lot of them!

OVERDRIVE-KMISE Ultimate Drive ...$17.00 USD for an ENGL Powerball clone !!!

•  KMISE ULTIMATE DRIVE  

$17.00 USD

Very straight forward with Gain, Level and Tone.
It has an acceptable metal casing.
The tone is creamy smooth with that fat round low end resonance but in just the right place. In spite of the heavy lows it is not muddy and has a nice definition.
Using it as a boost with the gain all but on gives you a near Klon like tone much fatter but as glassy.
It's only downfall is it lacks a good sustain. It is like the the crunch channel on a gourmet amp. It needs a booster stacked on.
It quite literally sounds a lot like the ENGL Powerball 
which is $225.00 USD.
CONCLUSION
Impressive little box!

NOTE:
To get the price you will have to buy it
under the ...SAPHUE name.
You can get one on Ali Express for 
$17.00 USD and free shipping!
I ordered one!

SAPHUE/KMISE

When I went on one of my deep searches.

I found the Saphue on the Kmise wholesale site 
A dead give away it is made by them

I have had enough re-brands apart to tell
you that the board and the 
parts will be identical.