FUZZ/OD ..GREAT EASTERN FX Co. Focus Fuzz___ NEW ___ a Fuzz for Fuzz haters

$250.00 USD

GREAT EASTERN FX CO. FOCUS FUZZ

The premise is simple blend an OD with a Fuzz so you keep the pick attacks transient giving you a tight sound of the great OD yet still keep all that fuzzy goodness, lol. The pedal uses both modern parts for clarity and control and NOS transistor for a very earthy sound.

The layout is gain, level and 'focus' it sweeps between the OD and the Fuzz to allow you to blend.

CONCLUSION

The devil is in the details. The voicing is fixed and the blend is smooth so it's whole range is it's sweet spot. Not cheap, but damn impressive and can meet the demands of Fuzz critics as it has no nasty drop outs and is dead easy to dial in a killer sound. 

 

UPDATE: Apr.26/2023

Getting NOS germanium transistors is always a problem that 

worsens every day. So shortly their will be a Silicon transistor 

second version and the germanium version will perhaps 

show up randomly.

OVERDRIVE- KMA MACHINES Logan Transend Drive Ltd. Ed. ___ NEW ___ Whoa!!!!

$220.00 USD

KMA MACHINES| LOGAN TRANSEND DRIVE LTD. ED.

Not new and I am not sure it is a V.2 of the popular original. But a trusted owner merely said it is better? LOL.

The layout is level, drive, bass, treble and a switch to boost or cut mids and a sweepable Mid- frequency parametric type control to choose between pushing low through high mids. All controls have more range than you can really use. Not needed but comforting to know you have more of everything.

CONCLUSION

Pushed to the extreme it heads into Fuzz territory. The cool thing is if the goal is to create an 'ín your face' sound no one does it better. Damn impressive! 

Too new for the Ltd. Ed. to have a video so ... 

 

OVERDRIVE- RITUAL DEVICES Grey Overdrive ...Tube Screamer/Boss SD-1 clone

$132.00 USD

RITUAL DEVICES GREY OVERDRIVE

 

The difference between a ts and a Boss SD-1 is basically the clipping diodes. The ts makes symmetrical distortion which adds even order harmonics and the Boss uses asymmetrical distortion which gives you more of a Tube vibe, The ts is best as a booster but the Boss can boost or stand alone just going thew a clean sound.  

CONCLUSION

The idea is not new but if well done you get twice the use. It sounds pretty good so considering the endless choice and hundreds of used clones it is an ascetic decision. Love it or hate it you can never be wrong or right, lol.

                                                                                        

FUZZ- three ___JHS PEDALS Mary Kay, Berkeley & Plugin ____ NEW ___ all good!!!

 JHS PEDALS|MARY KAY, BERKELEY & PLUGIN FUZZ 

Ol' Josh has added to his line of reproducing all the classic Fuzz Pedals. 

All these new pedals were originally American budget pedals made

picking through the topography of the best out there and borrowing 

the best bits but adding a few of their own. They kept it simple.

Arguably the first clones and budget pedals long before the 

Made in China came along.

$180.00 USD

MARY-K

Kay Fuzztone Replica 1969

This was a budget take on the Shin-ei/Univox Supper Fuzz. The first
Octave Fuzz. Even BOSS cloned the Super Fuzz.

$180.00 USD

BERKELEY

Fresh Fuzz Replica 1973

The original was cheap plastic Craig Anderton Fuzz. he wrote the book on pedals. Seriously he did, it was a book for DIY. So it is the DIY that

became a product.

PLUG IN

$180.00 USD

Jordon Electronics Bosstone Replica 1967

The original was a tiny plastic box that you stuck into your guitars jack.

Indeed a cheap and cheerful Fuzz. It did however sound impressive. Jerry Garcia used one for years.

VOLTURE

$80.00 USD

9v Voltage sag box

Players found in the early days when pedals were only powered by batteries that they got more growl, dirt and velco like sound when they started wearing out.  A BIAS contol on a modern Fuzz does this by cutting the voltage. 

CONCLUSION

There is no such thing as a bad Fuzz pedal. Just Ok, better and best. A Fuzz is only trying to be a Fuzz not an OD or Distortion or 

Pre Amp. At any rate we all have favorites. Mine is the Plugin.

I heard the original and any clones that followed blew it, 

...but not this one.

____THE GUITAR SHOW____ CRANMORE PARK ____ BIRMINGHAM UK

THEGUITARSHOW

SNEAKING into Marshall Amplification.

 

OVERDRIVE- MARSHALL Gov'nor, Blues Breaker, Shredmaster & Drivemaster ___NEW ___ Re-Issue made in UK

MARSHALL|GOV'NOR|BLUES BREAKER| SHREDMASTER|DRIVEMASTER|

RE-ISSUES

$250.00 USD ea.

The pots and jacks are the only thing different because these companies are out of business. 

All other parts were sourced from the original makers and manufacturers' used in the 80's.

The pedals are made in the same actual UK Marshall 

factory as the originals!!!!

CONCLUSION

What's not to like??? The first MIAB pedals ever are back. Better still they are  handmade at Marshall's UK factory.  

the fine print

I don't know what's going on with the American price 

because 99% of the time pedals are priced universally. 

The British price is a 169 pounds so the pedal should 

be $202.00 USD, not $250.00 USD

OVERDRIVE CALINE CP-515 CAMILLA DISTORTION ...Metal Amp-in-a-Box ___$33.00 USD

CALINE CP-515

CAMILLA DISTORTION

$33.00 USD
from AliExpress
with free shipping

The standard Caline pedal is a clone and is part of their 5 Series. A few months ago they had about 60 pedals. They never totally discontinue any pedal. Today there were only 9 on the site WTF. A few times they have even closed down their site for months so dumb sh@t is normal. They seldom have more than about 6 readily available on Amazon or on-line stores. The Big but is ...all the others come and go at random on Ali Express. On occasion a new model pops up there too.
The new G-series is their #1 push. A few are quite good but many of the Dirt pedals are not as good as the old 5 Series models. Besides the G-Series is around $60.00 USD so near double the price.

To totally confuse the issue every few years even the old models get a cosmetic face lift.

OK so to the point. I think the Camilla is new or at least got a face lift. Also i usually dig and find what this is a clone of but I can only say it fits into the early Metal thing like the Peavey 5150 amp is half Marshall half high gain Metal.

The layout is volume, tone presence and gain.

CONCLUSION

As noted I do not know what pedal they clone, at least yet. I do know came out a year ago with just one video. It does sound very good. It has a 90's vibe to the sound. A nice bit of the Plexi and JCM 800 creeps in and is very noticeable set to a medium gain. On the whole though it has a good Pro sound for an entry level price.

FUZZ- AUDIOLITHE FX Extinction Drive ...Metal-in-a-Box

AUDIOLITHE FX| EXTINCTION DRIVE 

$255.00 USD

Heavy OD with Boost, Fuzz and Octave up. Ok, OK its a OpAmp Octave

Fuzz with a couple sweeter sounding diodes to add a bit of sugar on 

your Brussel sprouts.

The layout is Gain, Tone and Volume with a Blend knob between High 

and Low Fuzz. A toggle switch allows for a scoop.

CONCLUSION

The vibe is indeed a blend of Fuzz and OD in a box. Many Metal genres could make good use of it. Extreme enough with ample room for both those that hate it and those that will love it :-) 

So it does it's thing and does it very well. 

OVERDRIVE- NORTON PEDALS Dual-Channel Preamp ... sweet sound, clear and full

$200.00 USD

NORTON PEDALS| DUAL-CHANNEL PREAMP 

A small new company consisting of Father and son Todd and John Mark Norton from Birmingham Alabama. They have 2 pedals both are OD's. Yes I will have to check out the other. This is a two channel OD doing a serious no cheaping out FET design. FETS are as close to the sound of a real tube as you can get. 

The Blue channel is mildly colored boost circuit with it's own volume that 

some owners use as an always on for their clean sound. The Red cannel has volume, gain and presence. The tone is used for both channels. The Body control allow you to boost or scoop the lower mids.

CONCLUSION

The boost adds a beautiful second harmonic sweetness with that

rich edge of a Vox AC30 amp. Even when driven that Vox vibe comes through. The gain goes from really usable low mid thing to average medium gain OD. 

The gain is usable through it's whole sweep. Most noticeable is its breadth. the pedal is incredibly full. Many of us spend most of the gig backing vocals even if you have a kick ass OD this could be a killer asset giving you amazing full rich tone without having to pull way back to not compete with the singing. 

BOOST- SUHR Koko Boost Reloaded ...the Klon, Tube Screamer alternative

SUHR|KOKO BOOST RELOADED

$260.00 USD

It very much borders on a OD you can pick out how much mids you want to boost and if you are like most guys you will center it in the upper mids just like a Tube Screamer but this pedal gently slopes the boost point so you get a fat not narrow poke that sounds mor natural.

This is virtually V.2 of the pedal but even it has been around since 2019. The first in 2015 was a big pedal. It has a few small tweaks but nothing far from the original.

CONCLUSION

It hits you or not. A bit pricey and just left of center to 

a ts or Klon clone when they are used for a boost. 

Pete Thorn has had one on his board for years.

DAW USB INTERFACE- FOCUSRITE Scarlett 2i2 V.3 ... 10 out of 10 squeaker :-)

FOCUSRITE|SCARLETT 2i2 V.3 USB INTERFACE 

$160.00 USD

Why this one? Are there better? Yes! Is it budget? Yes and No! I would pay more if it could not give me a world class recording.

I researched the USB interface until my head caved in. 

First, features. It has 2 inputs so even if you work alone you can have 

at least one other player join in. Perhaps critical to get guitar and vocals meshing with the right feel. In my case I sing and play so it could make a big difference to make sure it all vibes together. I can always re-do these parts once I have them as a guide. Perhaps more important you need two inputs to record in stereo if and when needed.

So why this one over others. Well all others are more current and boast more features or arguably better tone etc. Big but. The Scarlett is the third revision and ones going back to the first have ended up on countless recordings including many that are offered on iTunes etc.

One guy who replaced his after a few years uses the top end Universal Audio Apollo Twin X model. Yes, UA, the Ferrari of interfaces. He said he can hear an improvement on his recordings when recording but listens to others recordings using this and can not here any improvement over his previous work. In other words the UA wins by only a photo finish. Some guys have moved up to a bigger model Focusrite with more channels with the idea is it is not broken so why fix it. The only difference is the number of inputs available for doing a live band. 

HISTORY

The Focusrite was formed by Rupert Neve in 1985 to make spin offs of modules originally found in famous boards and rack gear. They wisely morphed into digital early in the game. Always forward thinking they pioneered gear for home studios. They are still manufacturing in High Wycombe UK. Oddly enough I lived a half hour away from them in the late 70's :-)

CONCLUSION 

It is much like once when I replaced a Gibson bridge 

on my guitar with an upmarket one and listen to two 

recordings to compare. On my third listen I stopped. 

If it is that hard to detect any then ...WTF!!!

It is a use and forget product. If it was a car it would 

be a Toyota Corolla. Not exciting but you never stop 

& say after a day driving it "I wish...."  

The improved v.3 is better than v.2 and cheaper. 

They have also bought a new line of state 

of the art product and it too is cheaper than it's competition. 

________

the fine print

If like me and a rookie I recommend the Cakewalk DAW. First 

...it is completely FREE. It is set up like the industry standard

Pro Tools and can use it's OMF capability so you can send your

new Star Wars soundtrack straight to Hollywood where they

have for decades used Pro Tools. 😇

_______ MARSHALL OVERDRIVE ______ REISSUE OR CON ??? _______

MARSHALL|BLUES BREAKER

$151.00 USD

Nearly a year ago for a very short time Thomann ran this pedal on their site and took pre-orders but did not ship it until a few days ago.
It was sold as a re-issue but Marshall denied they had or were reissuing the pedal.

Used ones sell for $600.00 USD and more. 

According to one guy who has an original the inside is all but identical in layout and parts.

CONCLUSION

The last ones ever made were made in Japan and if tracked down

they could perhaps do it again since they would have the source of the parts including the company that stamped out the metal enclosures. BUT! The price looks MIC.

Thomann have been dealing directly with many Chinese factories for years with their Harley Benton Division.

The weird and tricky thing is it is improbable that they would not do all this without a license to do so.

UPDATE 

 JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE ???

NOTE: THE WHOLE STORY SOON!!!! 

MODELER- AMPLITUDE ToneX Pedal __NEW __ Maybe all you will actually 'need' ...EVER!!!

AMPLITUDE| TONEX PEDAL

$400.00 USD

Like Neural with their now infamous Quad Cortex which is either the best or second best in the word. It depends who you ask, lol. ToneX started as a software only company with some of the very, very best Plug Ins in the market. Unlike the 2 big boys they decided to give that same quality in their pedals but for a fraction of the price. They simply give you the quality but not the quantity. Yes you can literally use a different amp for every song on your set list with the 2 big boys, lol. 

Do you need the very best quality sound for an amp. Yes!!! 

Do you need more than 150 amp choices? No!

It obviously compares easily to the Kemper floor model. Yes you can make your own models with Kemper but 99% of the buyers never do.

Making your own models is still possible but more on that later.

Yes it is a fairly basically an amp modeler and you can add their basic effects etc. It's main aim is to give you a several great amps with a few needed extras to gig or record with world class sound.

CONCLUSION

Definitely a serious contender. I have a good friend who got a Fractal Audio Axe-FX III Turbo who has had it for about 8 weeks. He said flat out it was probably a mistake. He will only use about 10% of what it offers. He plays covers in a band. He records a bit but mostly for fun and even then he plays only several styles all found in Classic Pop records.

My point is even if you make a living making music on demand for clients needing music for selling their product this is already all you need. 

On a final note if you going to use it for recording too even a free DAW like Cakewalk has ample effects and what they do not have there are free plug ins plus those that sell the very best are all compatible. 

My point is you will not paint yourself in a corner as live you will never need a hell of a lot. 

HOW DOES IT STACK UP 

AGAINST THE BIG BOYS?

$250.00 USD

TONEX CAPTURE

If you want to put the amps you already own or even other amps borrowed or rented  into your Pedal you can  do this with this unit. Some YouTubers have the unit and are putting their amps on the Tonex site for you to download. I think this makes it easy for both Pro offerings for 3rd party to have more you can buy and for other owners to share their amps.

 

DOES KEMPER HAVE A FUTURE ???

the fine print

Anything that this pedal cannot do excellent will vary between user's and can easily for most be fixed with a few pedals that will vary greatly among it's owners. When it come to recording even if it is for the commercial market unless you are in the 1% doing movie soundtracks or the equivalent does not need more. Even the most modest DAW can add plug-ins to cover anything extra you feel is a must have. 

So in short this pedal could own the whole market once what I said becomes obvious to many others who have come to my conclusion and are in a position to share it to thousands of buyers. You do indeed need killer sounds but only a handful or two. Not hundreds that are useless across real world's market place of sellable genres. 99% of the whole commercial market only needs this and a basic Pro DAW to bring in the equivalent income that having twice as good gear will bring in. Especially when most end users are receiving the results on a damn cell phone with cheap headphones.

OVERDRIVE- DSM HUMBOLDT Black Clouds __NEW __ serious Metal OD

$290.00 USD

DSM HUMBOLDT| BLACK CLOUDS 

The company was once two companies from Chile each bringing out gourmet pedals. Back then as now they were always of a high quality. 

They were always inventive but many of the pedals were with serious 

design flaws and needless unusable extras and functions that were unusable.. BIG BUT ...they however were very cheap.

The layout is Master Boost, Level, Pre boost, Treble, Mids, Bass and Pre Tone. You get a toggle for Normal, PrAmp & Mid boost. Another brings in a Gate.

CONCLUSION 

Metal is a genre where even custom tubes amps may be  jammed with clipping diodes which is like putting several pedals built into an amp. Even those may get a pedal put in front of them. There is no standard sound to hold up as the measuring stick. It is all about massive gain and a way to control it. The basic voice is buried in that mix but it completely subjective what is best. In short this is not a Marshall JCM 800 

or a hot rodded Plexi. It is nearer to a crazy all out Fuzz than a tube amp 

on it's own. It is very like the Solar Chug but with every function

adding more of that function, more gain, more boost etc. 

In summary it can do anything that Chugs from Thrash 

to Djent .