OVERDRIVE- NUX Fireman Distortion ....where's the 'd'

 NUX FIREMAN DISTORTION 

Where's the 'd'. Yes folks this is Frie'd'man BEOD Deluxe Distortion clone. But is it a good one. Well the Fireman seems to be missing one whole channel of EQ.

But we will forgive them if the pedal sounds great!

CONCLUSION

Well I will admit it sounds excellent. The Friedman is quite literally 2 separate pedals in one box. The Nux is a pedal and a half. I find it impossible to get two sounds from one pedal on the same tune unless like The Friedman you have all the EQ etc. to go from a crunch to a great lead. Either one or both sounds are compromised. On my board I use 2 pedals even different makes to get great sounds for different parts of a tune. Should they have made the NUX bigger etc. NO! They should have made it smaller pedal featuring the high gain. It could even come in at under a $100 that way and the buyer could get their $50 NUX Plexi Crunch for a medium gain pedal.

 Friedman? a cool $270.00 USD         NUX is $120.00 USD

OVERDRIVE-ELECTRO-HARMONIX Nano Metal Muff __NEW DEC 30/2020__ improved???

$75.00 USD

 ELECTRO-HARMONIX NANO METAL MUFF 

This is so new the paints wet.

Metal players and most critics hated the original Metal Muff. I think it was because they were late to the game and made a pedal that  was very dated instead of a modern chugging masterpiece. 

The layout looks good with 3 way EQ volume and gain and a very cool extra 

with a gate. A high pass filter labeled 'tight' is all that is missing?

CONCLUSION

Early days with just the release day video. But my first impression is WTF!!!      If anyone at EH had their act together they could have got in some one like 

Ola Englund to nail the voicing. They would have got it right and we would 

all be more then happy to pay $20 more for it.

REVERB- KEELEY Omni Reverb ... just a little...PLEASE :-)

KEELEY OMNI REVERB

$130.00 USD

With prices falling every year on powerful new digital chips pedal makers have gone crazy offering new reverbs every two and half minutes. Throw in some modulation and a few filters and the reverb becomes a side show by itself. Having one of these can be a lot of fun. I have a Nuenaber and my Flamma has few tricks as well. 

BIG BUT!

If you are in a band playing your average tune in all but a very out there fringe ambient music like 99% of all bands anything creeping pass a spring reverb does not get a lot of use.

THE NEED TO KNOW TECH ONLY

It is good to know about some tech differences. A reverb pedal is basically a small computer specialized with some serious memory and processing chips to hold a reverb program or as the industry likes to say an algorithm or two of a two hundred lol. Each of these is basically software holding a sound. The better the hardware the more detailed the instructions sent to the program can be. A killer algorithm in  high end reverb can sound amazing but a killer algorithm in a medium priced reverb can sound as good. WHY? 

Two things are going on here. First 10 year old tech sounds amazing. Strymon uses it!!! Strymon sounds killer because the algorithms are killer. The sound has sufficient detail and the tech is sufficient enough to deliver. One last even if obvious. When offering a reverb at a budget price you can give the user a dozen mediocre sound or three studio ready ones.

CONCLUSION

So the Keeley is all about 3 simple choices of reverb sounds. Critics would say the Spring doesn't have that springy rattle sound that screams spring reverb. No it doesn't but all but 'Surf' music guys go out of their way on their Fender amps with built in reverbs to get rid of it. The small room is ideal your guitar will not get swamped. The Plate is to die for. Bullet proof !!! Not only clear and bright but a lot fatter than most. About 99% of all the classic great guitar sounds ever recorded used a Plate reverb!!!!

FUZZ- DEFECTS FX Fuzz Fight - massive wall of sound!!!

 DEFECTS PEDALS FUZZ FIGHT 

$140.00 USD

From the Czech Republic finds a maker well under the radar with a dozen pedals on offer. I have a Post of the Tacked an octave Fuzz worth a look.

The Fuzz Fight suggest no obvious clone. It appears to be an original pedal and a damn good one.

The layout is simple with a volume, tone and gain. The pedal appeals to the Drone and Doom Metal guys. It's tight sound with a lack of excesses sputter and spit could fit into many genres.

CONCLUSION

Nice one! Killer wall of sound. Serious lows yet a really cutting attack. A Fuzz this huge usually is not this tight and will not lend itself to faster tempos. 

This one is on my short list!

BEST PEDALS I BOUGHT IN 2020

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.

MATTOVERSE ELECTRONICS BAD PASSENGER FUZZ MKII

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!

FUZZ- SIOUX GUITARS- Court Street Fuzz-stortion

 SIOUX GUITARS COURT STREET FUZZSTORTION 

$130.00 USD

From Sioux City Utah comes a company that makes

guitars, amps and pedals. You can have any color you want as long as it is red :-)

The layout is a straight ahead volume, gain and level.

It has the charactics of a classic hard clipper OD.

Much like a ProCo Rat. No it is not a Rat it has it's own thing going. 

CONCLUSION

The sounds you can get out of this one pedal cover a lot of ground. Back it off and you have a nice Bluesy

OD. Push it more and you head into hard rock territory. Then if you crank it it heads into a Fuzz and into a maze of Metal genres.

FUZZ- MOOER Grey Faze & ...rebrands Rowin & Tomsline G-Fuzz ....a germanium Fuzz Face clone!

$50.00 USD

MOOER GREY FUZZ

Mooer will even make you your own line of pedals. Yes John Doe FX   

if you like. Keep in mind that Mooer are a high tech manufacturer that knock off 2000 of the same pedals in one run. So when they make a 

Mooer booting out a few hundred Rowin or Tomsline pedals is no big deal.

A simple layout of volume and Fuzz just like the Fuzz Face it cloned.

The Rowin is the cheapest. A different knob & it would be a Mooer.

The  second cheapest is the Tom'sline. The box was created by 

repurposing an old Moor Tuner box. Adding the little knob protector 

bar is cool. The red paint is a not so subtle nod to the Hendrix Fuzz Face.

They all have Motorola 3N404 or Texas Instruments GA-2886 Germanium transistors. So you know you have the real deal.

CONCLUSION

...and the winner is Rowin !!!

...guess why?

Finally this is an authentic Hendrix era Fuzz

like the one used on the first 3 albums.

You get a huge Fuzz sound & if you use a

Strat & roll back your guitar volume 

it will clean up and you can get that Little 

Wing/Wind Cries Mary clean sound! Killer!

$30.00 USD

$25.00 USD

FUZZ- JERRO STOMPS Fuzzo ...an old shcool Fuzz where you throw the parts in a box and see what sticks :-)

 JERRO STOMPS FUZZO

$70.00 USD

Jerry Ernst is old school. He started out making kits and one day said "I can do better than this!"

He was right. So with lots of trial and error and the one thing you can not fake...an ear for what sounds killer and what does not he slowly built up a line of dirt pedals.

Lots of handmade goodness with quality build and parts.

A distinctive look with a classic touch of Art Deco which

always says rock and Roll!

CONCLUSION .........................

Funky medium gain Fuzz with more character than some leaders of state. What's not to like?

OVERDRIVE- Nice Drive Eh? A ...an always on Low gain drive or ...booster

  LPD NICE DRIVE EH? 

$180.00 USD

Youtuber Ben Coombs ask Lawrence Petross to make him a Custom drive. It would be more like a booster with EQ but give him a bit of dirt to warm it up. It is very much like an always on OD that sweetens a clean sound like an old Fender Deluxe just before break up. With a dirt sound on the amp it can also be an incredible booster for leads.

Ben showed it off on his site and bingo! A lot of guys wanted one. So here it is!!!

CONCLUSION

Who couldn't use one?

My name is Tom Parker!
I want-cha-ta
listen to the Colonel!
Buy his pedal
and I'll make ya a Star.

OVERDRIVE- ___WHAT IS A BLUESBREAKER ??? ___When is a Bluesbreaker not a Bluesbreaker!!!

THE AMP

Jim Marshall was a drummer who opened a small drum shop in the 60's London UK to cater to his
contemporaries who were looking for a place that was focused on contemporary Rock. Other stores were Old Time places were you could not try out an electric guitar if Mom and Pop were buying an entry level violin for Junior.

It quickly became a hangout for Rock bands playing in the new small clubs springing up all over. It soon added

guitars. Marshall new nothing about guitars or amps so he simply asked the players what to get in. For a start Fender came up the most. Other shops did not carry them because they were too expensive. 

It was not long before the word got around that the amp to get was a Fender Bassman the '59 Tweed combo. Unlike other Fenders it had a great distortion when dimed. LOL 

So to get to the point he decided if he made his own amps even just one at a time they would be much cheaper than imported Fenders with heavy dutys, shipping etc. etc. 

The obvious thing was to clone a Bassman. it soon became apparent to modify it to work with British parts or it would be too expensive. It became a big success. So was born the JTM45.

When Eric Clapton quit the Yardbirds to play in John Mayall's Blues Breakers he bought one. It was affordable and fit in the trunk of his car. LOL Seriously...that's why he bought it.

Done ...

THE PEDAL

In 1991 Marshall wanted to get into the pedal market with there own units. They had already found a great success having Fuzz pedals like the Tonebender rebranded Marshall a success. It was decided to name the pedals off of successful 

amps and try to imitate the amps sound. 

The pedals are not very accurate at cloning any particular amp but as the gods willed they just sounded damn good. 

Players loved the Gov'nor as it had lots of gain so

it was a winner. Other pedals in the line did not do so well.

The Bluesbreaker was a 'transparent' pedal and a poor seller.

Marshall decided that to be competitive to farm out the pedals to the east. Parts got changed etc. and before long production halted.

In 2010 John Mayer put the original Brit version on the map using it in his Blues based music. Very quickly the prices of used BB's went through the roof and soon even the supply dried up. 

Yes you can still get one ...$550.00 USD!!!!!

ENTER THE CLONES

The first clone was the AnalogMan King of Tone. Others soon followed. A few small companies made replica clones but they depended on getting every exact part which soon became impractical since the parts are redundant. Others made compromises but most of what has survived have only used the schematic and heavily modified it to come up with their own distinct pedal.

I will not argue that some sound very good but you could justify having several at once because they are simply NOT a BB but something else. The newest thing is for others to clone these so called copies. It is getting so every few months a new copy of a copy shows up. Especially the King of Tone. lol

Having personally bought and tried many. The only one that sounds killer close is the Chicago Stompworks Blooze Maker using a healthy amount of NOS. 

The difference between the original and this is razor thin. The clincher is it is a handmade pedal very well made and with a lifetime warranty. How does the price sound to you?  $75.00 USD !!!

I play a style of Metal. I use several high gain OD's and Fuzz pedals. I go from heavy distortion to flatpicking. Going dead clean for the flatpicking is just too stark and backing off my guitars volume is too muddy. The Blooze Maker is dead perfect!!!

PERSONAL TRIVIA

I got seriously into the guitar by hearing the first Rolling Stones LP which I got the second it came out. After about 8 weeks I wore it out. lol ...I did not have the patience to wait for a new Stones recording. Having noted that the Stones were doing covers I went to the 'Big City' to the Mega Record store and was sent to the Jazz section where they loaded me up with Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Buddy Guy etc. Blues records.

It was very foreign to my young ears but within a short time I got to like it. Soon I got to love it and went back and by taking the guy who ran the Jazz sections advised ended up with the Kings. Albert, BB. and Freddy.

About a year later a Welsh keyboard player who had moved across the pond introduced me to a record that had just come out in the UK. The Beano LP.  I new of a tiny Import record store and soon had a copy of my own. WOW...a white blues band with a great guitar player that played Freddy King tunes!!!

I referred to the LP as the Beano LP myself as it was an easy way to refer to it. So decades later I was surprised when the whole planet  refers to it as the Beano LP

FUZZ-EARTHQUAKER DEVICES Sunn O))) Life v.2 ...a delightful monstrosity

 EARTHQUAKER DEVICES LIFE PEDAL v.2 

$270.00 USD

I expect it was total mind f_ck to design but it works. Take a Univox Super Fuzz add in a ProCo Rat then put in a basic FET Booster in a box.

The layout will take some getting accustom to. You have Octave which is really just a level for the octave, Filter is for tightening the lows really just a tone control, Amplitude is a level for the Fuzz, Magnitude is your booster volume. There is a jack to put in an expression pedal to sweep from the Rat to the Fuzz and back.

CONCLUSION

Well it does sound great. The price is reasonable accounting for in effect 3 pedals

in one.

The unit was made to be be a limited edition and has already sold out 2 runs.

The schepers are selling admission for $700 and getting away with it. I expect logic dictates making this a standard 

offering in their line.

_____TECH N TONE ____Celebrates Stomp Box Steals 5th Year___ with a SALE!!!

 TECH N TONE 

HEY!!! I'm back!!!

HEADS UP!

OK Guys here is the deal. There is already 20% off but for you guys there is another 5% off ...

Just google TechnTone and key in ....SBS21HOL5 before you give your flexible friend a work out. Not 'that' flexible friend!!!! WTF!!! The one in your wallet!!

PAPPA BOOST

Ok let's start here. I have one!!! Killer boost!!! I already had the Xotic and the Wampler!!! Compared to Pappa they are crap!!! Just crank up the level then tweak the the Fuel and Spark and get some killer cut and bite!

MAMA DRIVE

Put this in front of your amp and you will never turn it off! I got a buddy who

has it pushing his Fender Hot Rod Deluxe set to clean. It his always on pedal.

According to him he says his sound is like owning a Dumble! Seriously! 

You can't make this sh@t up!!!

What in the FLUK
are ya waitin' for 
...DO IT!
If Mr. Big did not want
cha ta have it
he would-na give ya credit card!

TURBO DRIVE v.2

WTF .. I can't be bothered to tell you how good this is!!!
Just leave SBS right this second and buy one. When it comes ...plug it in ...you get one hour to check it out and then get right back here to kiss my butt and thank me! 

If it was any better you would have to throw in your soul

to get one !!! 

Ok ...all finished.
See ya later.
Right now
 I need a little nap!

OVEDRIVE- ANALOGMAN King of Tone vs. JHS 3 Series Overdrive

 ANALOGMAN KING OF TONE  

VS.

JHS 3 SERIES OVERDRIVE 

When the new JHS OD 3 series $100 OD came out I gave it one listen and said WTF it is a Bluesbreaker!!! 

Ol' Josh says it is not. But if it looks like, smells like and tastes like then ???? 

It is no secret that the Analogman King of Tone is 2 Bluesbreaker in a box.

Yes, Yes, Yes the parts are not the same in all 3 of these pedals. But no one is trying to reinvent the wheel here ...and these are 3 wheels!!!

Thank you Shnobel!

OVERDRIVE- JOHNNY ROCK GEAR Pop Corner Overdrive ...unpretentious ripper!

$140.00 USD

 JOHNNY ROCKGEAR 

 POP CORNER OVERDRIVE  

Another small under the radar pedal maker from Montreal Canada. This pedal is very much an old school hard clipper with plenty of gain. It has a simple layout with gain, tone level and a switch to boot in more dirt and saturation.

CONCLUSION

It is an old school rip your face off dirt pedal that borders on a Fuzz. It is all about burning down the house Rock and Roll. Fineness be damned :-)

THE BEATLES ...Low tech and fun.

 

THE REAL WORLD BEATLES

No post production, no overdubs ...just a band like any other and how they would sound with just a few friends and family hanging around.

GUITAR- RCA VICTOR MUSIC MESSENGER ...made by Matsumoku Japan

 RCA VICTOR MUSIC MESSENGER 

In the 50's and 60's the only chain that sold electric guitars that you could get and if you were lucky could even touch were the Sears Roebuck department stores. Even in a medium size town you had nothing or you might have a Mom and Pop Music store and in small towns zero. The most popular TV set in America was RCA and most towns had one or two stores that sold those along with radios and vinyl records. Having a guitar to sell through those stores was a good idea. So RCA went to RCA Victor Japan who worked out an arrangement with the now famous Matsumoku to design and produce a guitar.

It is a bolt on 25 1/2" scale and has a maple neck with rosewood fretboard and an alder body just like a Fender.

Expect to pay $800.00 USD for one in great shape.

 

WHY WOULD YOU WANT ONE?

A fun retro guitar but why would you want one.

Well first the maker has a pedigree so the guitar is well put together using good quality parts.

In this case the wood used is identical in age and quality to a 60's Strat.

In short killer 'bones'

You can replace the bridge PU and tuners and you will have a killer sounding guitar.

It has very little collectors value it will only go up with inflation. So ...modding it will kill it with collectors but not with players. It will be irrelevant as both will only pay the going rate which will be the same for either camp.

This 1954 H88 Stratotone Doublet is mine

Under that paint is a set maple neck and a solid ash body.The guitar came with a rosewood acoustic style

bridge it would not intonate and it sucked up the sutain.

The bridge is bent steels so it it does not look like the

guitar did not come with it. I could have used a Gibson

tune o'matic but it would look hot rodded and out of place. The bridge is a Fender Mustang :-)

The cover on the neck PU is a period correct Rickenbacker style 'toaster' PU cover. It too does not distract from the whole vibe. Under the PU is a Duncan

PAF hummie. I play Metal! Yes Metal! At a gig a few players are often there staring at it with a silly grin on their face.

One chord from this guitar thru my Plexi takes out the back wall! I love seeing these guys with their smug smile gone and their jaw on the floor. It has a longer sustain than my LP.

HOT ROD THE RCA

So what would I do with the RCA if I had it? 

Well as usual I want it to be a sleeper. Look like a pussy but push your face in like a gorilla having a bad day, when you crank it!

It has an acoustic guitar style strip tuners. I have the same set on my Silvertone. They are very stiff to move but they stay in tune perfectly and they never slip. I would leave them alone or replace them with the same. The bridge is terrible. It might take some creativity to mount but I would again use a Mustang bridge. It is often the case that these old PU's sound pretty good. If so I would leave the neck PU. I would swap out the Bridge PU for a Ducan Red Devil mini hummie. It is fatter sounding then all but a very, very few full size hummies. It sounds dead killer! You could not ask for it to look more like the than the original than this. Pots and wiring are optional.

When your done it ain't gonna be an Ibanez Steve Vai Ferrari ...but it will be an 

RCA ...65 Shelby Cobra 427 Competition !!! 

Get a Rockabilly skinny guitar strap and your done.

OVERDRIVE- SUNNAUDIO NU-1 Nucleus ...low gain OD, dual booster. preamp sparkle machine!

 SUNNAUDIO  NU-1 NUCLEUS 

$265.00 USD

It is basically a relatively very clean preamp that you can add a bit of dirt and sparkle and fatten up your sound by giving it more breadth rather then the usual fat mid boost.

The layout is simple with High and low gain volume controls a tone control, gain and a focus which appears

to tweak where you get a just right tiny boost in the mids.

Big points go for the layout and graphics as the look

deceives the mind into seeing the pedal as a high end

piece of studio gear.

CONCLUSION

To my ears it gives you a nice kind of presence over everything. The better your amp the better it works. 

If you push it hard with the gain dimed you get a thin nails across a chalkboard sound. Kept under control you get a pleasant kick to the highs which gives you definition.

I think the average guy with the average rig would

love it for maybe a third of the price. No I am not saying 

it is overpriced just that it is a value for money issue.

$120.00 USD

HEADS UP

The main attraction here is not a boost or an OD as there
are hundreds of those that in my mind are either better and some of them a lot cheaper. The big deal is it's faux 3 dimensional sparkle.

BBE MS-92 SONIC STOMP 

The BBE is simply that ...a sparkle maker. Decades back when recording was all analog it was an expense rack mount device mostly use to give vocal tracks a high definition. It works off of a clever idea. If the high end in your rig was sent to your ears a split second before the remainder of the signal your brain would perceive that the actual sound is indeed the same but clearer.

You have both a high and low boost. The low is nothing exotic 

it is nothing more than the bass may sound weak if the highs

seem in your face. lol

I have had one for years. It is at the end of my chain just before 

the amp. It works best as a spice. A little goes a long way.

Oddly the pedal in the picture is set just about perfect :-)

__________STOMP BOX STEALS IS 5 YEARS OLD__________CELEBRATION SALE!!!

 I STILL DO NOT KNOW WHAT I WANT TO BE WHEN I GROW UP ??? 

This is Slats
Years ago on a pre smartphone
I could enlarge pics then re-enlarge
them so the pixels could be moved
individually or in small chunks and I
could paste them together
and make a cartoon. it took
literally about 48 hours to make Slats.
One day I leaned over to flush a toilet
and my phone flew out of my pocket 
about 50 + cartoons said
goodbye :-)
Only Slats survived
he is the SBS mascot
Pixel Paul got metaphorically flushed too!

Five years ago I had done a lot of personal research with a very tight budget to find some cool pedals to go with my Traynor JCM 800 wannabe amp and my LP and Strat. I had been out of the loop for years and wanted to form a Power Trio. I had been busy into keyboard synths and had been so since the late '70s on & off. I even taught others how to program the classic synths. I had decided to get back into the guitar. I found the direct from China clones and systemically separate the few pro sounding units from the junk.

It was at this time I had time off from my former day job and thought I would share what I found out. I expected a few of you guys would really appreciate getting a $30 pedal with a $200 sound.

I expected to finish up after a few weeks and then move on.

BIG BUT! The damn thing went viral!!!

W.T. F. !!!

I know have 70 pedals I can not part with 50 others for sale and there is about another 50 I have sold. I buy direct when possible ...from the guy that made the pedal ..but I just looked there are 48 pedals I bought straight from Reverb. I also added 11 guitars to the 2 I had:-)

I also have gone from the JCM 800 thing to a Plexi.

WHAT'S NEXT ?

A: I lost my day job permanently. C19 was the death knell. 

I am 73 & no one hires old guys. Period!

B: My camera just arrived after an 8  month wait!!!

C: I have over 1500 reviews.

There are now 399,206 of you guys!

SOOO... regular visitors know if I think a pedal is killer I buy one. 

Then once I have it I go back and do a HANDS ON commentary.

D: Sooo if the commentary is actually

my own YouTube video then PERFECT!!!

E: When you click it on just subscribe 

& give me a thumbs up and I will indirectly 

be able to extort a few bucks.

In the future if I make some decent money

from my Youtube. I will of course deny it :-)

I can rationalize greed as as good as the best :-) 

F: Readers know me! I will not change if something is bullsh@t about the pedal I will say so. Yes explicit deletes and all!!! 

Yes I am an S.O.B!

G. If in the future there is not a new review for more than a couple of days. Send flowers :-) 

Do not feel bad. I believe in reincarnation. 

I will come back as a mound of dust

in a wooden box buried in a park full of carved 

stones where people discreetly come and let 

their dogs crap without having to bag it.

On second thought ...a cremation is looking good.

If on Xmas morning you find a box of crayons and a coloring
book in your stocking with pictures like this to color.
Then do not expect a new Strat or Les Paul under the tree :-)

SALE SAIL SALE SALE !!!
Fabio at TechnTone (London UK) has a 20% off sale 

on all his pedals including the killer of killer the

Turno Nonna v.2

Out of 25 OD's I use it is my #1.

If I ever had a fire if need be I would send in a Fireman 

to rescue my poor Nonna!!!!

It gets even better!

To celebrate the 5th year of SBS

You guys can key in SBS21HOL5 

and get another 5% discount!

Oh my god!!!
It's true! It's true!

Guys that cleaned up on the last sale will have a chance to scoop another. Be sure to give your guitar playing buddies a heads up.

New guys can check out all the Posts on the pedals.

OR ...just google TechnTone and enjoy a well laid out site.