FUZZ- LICHLAERM AUDIO Alter MkIII ___ NEW ___ a Doom/Sledge/Stoner magic box

 LICHLAERM AUDIO ALTER MKIII 

$220.00 USD

From Berlin Germany comes Daniel Ringl with version 3 of his extra jumbo super dirty dirt pedal. It has OD, Distortion and Fuzz circuits that can be called on for any level of dirt. 

The layout is Level, Gain Treble and Bass for starters.

Depth which controls the saturation/compression, Boost, a toggle for Range and another for Clip to choose clipping diodes which even includes a classic germanium. A Blend control lets you mix OD, Distortion and Fuzz. 

CONCLUSION ___

If your goal is to get the perfect totally usable mad mans overtop Fuzz even if that is closer to laid back or just shy of stupid then this will do it. For a hand made overbuilt pedal the price is surprisingly cheap. This is the Mercedes G-Class Wagen of a Fuzz pedal for a Jeep Wrangler price. 

 

____ NEED TO KNOW ____ RICK TOONE '67 ____ Strat with game changer Whammy

RICK TOONE '67

The game changer is a whammy that stays in tune  

and you can play a chord and even the chord stays 

in tune as you move it to a different pitch. 

There are numerous guitar designs Rick makes but  

they start at $5700.00 USD. But? WTF the bridge is a 

___ 'Need to Know'.  

FUZZ- TARK AUDIO Morty's Fuzz Drive ___ NEW ___ Muff-n-Rat

TARK AUDIO 

MORTY'S    

$250.00 USD

    FUZZ   |DRIVE|

Parallel Distortion 

This was designed for Bass but it is equally effective on guitar. The left side of the pedal is a Big Muff and the right side is a Rat. They go out separate but you can blend together and control the amount by using the level knob each has. Each side has its own Tone and Gain. Finally there is a Dirt/Dry control to bring in some cleans. A must for Bass as it keeps it tighter and punchier.

CONCLUSION ___

Both a Muff and a Rat are cool pedals. 

I have both but blending them would need a mixer.

On the other hand this does not let you stack the pedals. It would do a lot more if it did. 

FUZZ- SEEKER ELECTRIC EFFECTS Bend ...Tone Bender v1.5 clone

$225.00 USD

SEEKER ELECTRIC EFFECTS 

||BEND 

The pedal is a 1.5 Tone Bender. So is a Fuzz Face, lol. So what 

is on offer is a V.1 Fuzz Face. A germanium transistor model.

The layout is basic with just Level and Gain. 

 

CONCLUSION ___

There is a glut of FF pedals but for 

sound and price for a handmade,

you could pay a lot more. It looks 

cool in its vintage era finish and the

graphics show some imagination 

without going overboard. 

It sounds as good as it looks

thefineprint 

...since the pedal is virtually a Fuzz Face it would not hurt to check out the new 

Joyo JF-26 Tiny-Huge Fuzz. 

It is a silicon version not the germanium. Hendrix preferred the silicon and tried and used every version of FF. 

It goes for $40.00 USD and if bought on AliExpress that includes the shipping.

I have one and love it.

 

OVERDRIVE- WINNIPEG ELECTRICAL Co. Homework Series Blues Drive ..Boss clone

WINNIPEG ELECTRICAL Co.

Homework Series Blues Drive

$150.00 USD

The pedal is a Boss Blues Driver clone but has a second stage of gain 

which turns it into a Fuzz.

The layout is Volume, Tone and Gain with an added Low and Mids 

EQ and a toggle to engage a second gain stage creating Fuzz.

CONCLUSION ____

If all you need or want is B.D. than the 

Movall Interplanetary Blues Drive for

$35.00 USD is must to check out.

This is a handmade OD with a B.D. vibe 

but with extra EQ and a Fuzz. With 

so many combinations you can create 

a lot of sounds. Be warned many are, 

or border on Shoegaze which is great 

or crap depending in what neighborhood 

you live in. You do get a lot so the price is fair.

OVERDRIVE- CKK ELECTRONIC Flaming Lips ...high gain killer!!!!

CKK ELECTRONIC 

Flaming Lips 

$80.00 USD

We have started to get over high end hand made tech coming from China. 

This pedal has been out for 9 years. The company know sell limited 

edition pedals for over $500.00 USD and sell out very quickly. 

The spec is all military grade components.

The layout is Presence, Gain a upper mids boost for cut with a toggle 

for a full mid boost that pulls of select low mids for fatness. Last is 

a level with enough to over boost your amp.

 

CONCLUSION ___

The pedal has high headroom and the attack has the power 

and cut of a meat clever. It stays dead tight no mater how you set it.

The gain is double anything most players will use. It is beyond nuts. 

In spite of that the pedal sounds great with the gain cut down low and 

the boost off. It is usable over its whole range. You are not confined 

to a sweet spot. 

Yes you could use it for Djent but it works equally well for Thrash and 

any sub genre of it. 

OVERDRIVE- BY-TOR Lerxst ...Alex Lifeson signature pedal

B Y -T O R    LERXST    

$300.00 USD

Ol' Alex and Mojo Tone teamed up to make him a pedal. It is a Lerxst amp-in-a-Box a modified Marshall amp with boost both 

in and out.

The layout is Volume, Tone and Gain with a separate boost level. A switch allows the boost to be pre or post.

CONCLUSION___

It is a basic MIAB so you have a lot of choices. 

I particularly like its brightness. Even the best 

MIAB pedals can be too dark.

the fine print

...always keep in mind that with a signature amp the guy knows 

what he needs but he has no idea what you need. 😇

OVERDRIVE RAYGUN FX Soda Drive + ...it is not a green pedal, lol.

RAYGUN FX 

 Soda  DRIVE +

$85.00 USD

No it is not a Tube Screamer. It does however hint at starting life using a few Pro-Co RAT tricks.

The layout is the clue. You have volume and Gain but the Tone control works backwards. The toggle switches between I expect a silicon

clipping diode and a Fat Rat no diodes to what got my attention. 

A lovely germanium diode. 

CONCLUSION___ 

The whole pedal has a germanium like warm open

gritty sound. On its own it may get muddy through 

a dark amp. But if stacked on a bright OD even with 

a dark amp it should be fine. I have a booster plus

OD Taurus Servo that has similar vibe. It is a lot

more and to be honest this could be better. 

OVERDRIVE- WYONG RD ELECTRONICS No Mask-Sziklai Distorter__NEW__Fuzzish/OD

WYONG RD ELECTRONICS

no mask-Sziklai Distorter

$135.00 USD

A new company from Australia with a modest OD at a good price with either 

a witty name or a pretentious moniker. You decide. To be fair Sziklai is tech speak for 2 bipolar transistors. It looks cool.

The layout is volume and gain with two stages of bass cuts using a toggle. 

CONCLUSION___ 

It sounds OK but so do a lot of $30.00 Chinese OD's. 

It has a Jorge Tripps OD vibe with its bit of Fuzz thing. 

It hints at transistors in its name, but could have an  

OpAmp for its roots. It lacks any serious character.  

Even the right wart or scar in the tone can make such  

a pedal a bit special. It is not silly money for a hand  

made jobbie. For a first pedal it is very promising.

I like it, but it takes a bit of infatuation ...to cheat 😇 

 

OVERDRIVE- TWILIGHT PULSE AUDIOWORKS Konstante __NEW__ preamp gained up

   TWILIGHT  PULSE  AUDIOWORKS 

konstante -O- 

$195.00 USD

A German company making OD and Fuzz pedals with a clichéd German thing about quality parts and understated good looks. 

The maker gives a vague hint making me think it is a take on the Spaceman Apollo pedal which was the Pre from their Voyager Tremolo turned into an OD. By doing the same thing using an  Echoplex preamp perhaps that is how we ended up with this.

Without the boost or cranking it ...the sound is unusually thin. And when cranked it has a trashy sound added. I am beginning to think this is deliberate for a Shoegaze 'thing' You get a bicycle modified with a loud converted lawn mower engine when you are expecting a Harley. 

CONCLUSION __ 

I have nothing nice to say. I hated the Apollo when it came out so rather than trash it I simply deleted it at the conclusion. I find this just trashy. Neither sweet and beautiful or something to give you an overpowering and thrilling rush! It just lies there like a dead road kill. 😠 

For guys that have a bookshelf for pedals not a board and pull them down one or two at a time to play with them for a half hour before switching to a video game it does and will look good on your book shelf.