BEST PEDALS & THE MOST FUN!
I buy a lot of pedals about $10,000.00 USD a year. I pick everyone because I love it and think it is killer. Some in application used playing in my band do not work out. Those I sell. Some pedals are ones that have just come out ...others have been around for awhile. A large proportion are from gourmet pedal builders under the radar that are from anywhere and everywhere on the planet.
Some pedals work out very well simply because they are often major problem solvers and I have no reason to not keep them but they do not give me that WOW feeling or make me smile every time I click them on!
Keep in mind all these pedals have a Post with a full review and video's.
Below are the pedals that are great on every level ...including still giving me a big buzz EVERY time I play one of them.
ELECTRO HARMONIX OP-AMP BIG MUFF
I wanted the most massive Fuzz I could find for a long time. There are 4 or 5 that are on my list. Recently I found one that really checked the boxes and yet it was cheap which these kind of fuzz pedals never are.
BUT! Before that one was even released I got this one on the strength of it actually being used by Billy Corgan live to replace his original. I am not disappointed and the price is right at $80.00 USD.
CHICAGO STOMPWORKS BLOOZE DRIVE
I do a fair bit of flat picking. Often things I wrote on my Martin but they are usually meant to be part of a Metal song and although they transfer with a few tweaks to an electric guitar it simply sounds to stark to go from a Metal sound to dead clean. What works best is a transparent low gain drive. For a start I find Tube Screamers or pedals that are based from them sound crap to me. They use symmetrical distortion as apposed to a tube amp that has asymmetrical distortion. I find this sounds synthetic to me even synth like. The best classic transparent pedal is the original Marshall Bluesbreaker. Yes the one John Mayer put on the map in 2010 which is now at $550.00 plus a pop used. The Blooze Driver is heaven. Built from NOS it is not a clone but
a near replica. At $75.00 USD it is a steal!
SARNO MUSIC SOLUTIONS EARTH DRIVE
It is the transparent drive to end all transparent drives. Put it through a clean tube amp and you barely know it's on ...until you turn it off!!!! It literally becomes part of your amps sound. It is more like you are listening to some $3000 plus gourmet amp with the perfect sound. A kind of state of the art Fender Deluxe usually referred to as a Dumble at just shy of breakup. If you use it with a semi like a Gibson ES335 you will not be able ever again to play your Gibson without it turned on! Yes I have a semi! So when I use it ...it's on. I also sometimes stack other low gain pedals on it to soften their edges. At $170.00 USD it is still above the $200 plus of your average serious OD.
SHOE PEDALS ROBERT FUZZ
A totally original Fuzz though it suggests the '66 burns Buzzaround that made Robert Fripp's sound on King Crimson's 21st Century Schizoid Man the masterpiece it is and introduced the world to a Metal sound even before Sabbath came out. It is not just a killer sound it actually has a lushness that a Fuzz should not be capable of. At $150.00 USD for a handmade pedal I consider it a steal.
NUX PLEXI CRUNCH
The company has been around for just over 10 years and recently they re-released a line of their early pedals. Most are OK but nothing special. BIG BUT! This one can meet any good $200 Marshall style OD head to head!
It is a no brainer purchase. It is not a one sweet spot wonder either there are several good sounds at different gain levels. $50.00 USD ...yes!yes!yes!
DANELECTRO COOL CAT FUZZ
Recently Danelectro re-released the Cool Cat pedals. Not because of a particular high demand but more for a cheap reasonable good pedal dirt cheap. Included is this
Fuzz. Almost?
BIG BUT Mine is is a 10 year old pedal original I got in mint condition.Only a few hundred were ever made before the current one replaced it. Danlectro never designed these pedals. They simply copied part for part from defunct pedals. But this time the pedal they ripped off was the Frantone Peach Fuzz. Fran is a very feisty lady and she sued and won. She is retired now but she would not then or even now licence or sell her Fuzz designs. When Mike Matthews bought back E-H and returned it to the USA it was her that ran the business and designed the pedals. The Big Muff NY
which is still made is her design. Bottom line this is a totally killer
Fuzz ...thick rich and touch sensitive. I really love it!!!
NOTE: The label on the good one is gold NOT black.
Many do not know what they have ...even stores that got
it on trade. If so you could get it for $35.00 USD ...collectors
charge $200.00 USD. Maybe more.
REVV AMPLICATION G4
Not new but I bought one as they do not come up often and when they do not much is knocked off the price. It is the highest gain you can get in a Amp-in-Box like OD that still sounds like it is a Marshall.
it is just plain and simple a screaming shredder and great fun to play!!!
But new at $300.00 USD ...ouch!!!
FRIEDMAN SMALL BOX OD
To start with I bought the infamous BEOD on the second day it was released. I even got got hold of Dave Friedman to get one because in spite of the release it was not even posted for sale ..anywhere. The same goes for the Dirty Shirley. I replaced both with LPD Pedals because ol' Lawrence does the same ...but noticeably better!
This time Dave out did himself. Like his others it is a pedal version of one of his amps.
This time a 50 watt Plexi! It is punchy and thick with a lot of breadth to the sound not really a lot of gain but good sustain and very tight. $200.00 USD but worth it.
It is an OpAmp Fuzz that even makes the Big Muff Op-Amp sound small. The low end is mammoth it could flatten a MAC truck going at full speed in a front end crash!!! LOL
Best of all handmade by Matt himself. A really great guy ...none better!
The finish and graphics make a lot of high end pedals look bad.
It has ample level and gain. Switched to the left you get that killer swamping low end. Switched to the right it gives you a great lead sound that cuts great but still has a nice fat beefy tone.
It sells for $100. If it sold for twice you would not think for a second
it was over priced. Trust me...I do not exaggerate!
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