___THE UPDATER___JUNE 2024___NEW GEAR NEWS___UPDATED 24/7

THE UPDATER    

JUNE 2024   

   Separate those pedals that are a Steal from 

   those that are stealing from you at any price!

     

 

IF IT WAS WORTH KNOWING YOU HEAR IT HERE FIRST!!!

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MY MONTHLY RANT

This month was very, very lean on any new pedals. Sales are slow and guys are looking 

for bargains or they will wait. The bigger picture is I think it is because unless you make something digital there is a limit to what is possible in a small box on the floor using antique technology. No one is designing a new kind of transistor etc that is a single unit. Yes hundreds of transistors if indeed not thousands on a chip. An old style transistors is like a clay brick. Technology is making entire walls as a single part, not just one brick. 

THE GOOD STUFF  

The more I play, write and sing the more often I end up using my LENARD guitar. In short it was a guitar I had built based on a 1952 sketch by Leo Fender of what should be made to follow up the Tele. It has a Tele bridge PU and a middle and neck Strat. Keep in mind if this was made in 1954 the Strat would not have been. Yes, it looks like Fenders 3rd guitar the Jazzmaster. But this guitar is not offset.The headstock looks like a Strat but it is the same size as a Tele. The PU's are very early Fender with low 

output, very bright and chimney with an exaggerated bell tone. I love the

sound and the balance and feel of the guitar. I did a very un-Fender thing.

The neck length and shape is from my favorite neck. A 57 Les Paul gold 

top with P90 PU's. It is the second fattest neck in Gibson's catalogue of necks.

I am at heart a Gibson guy, but who hasn't admired players from the pat that

played the classic 2 Fenders. With this you get both a Tele & Strat. You get a 

neck that has no learning curve for a Gibson lover. 

You also do not have your buddies endlessly making fun of you for 

being a traitor and playing a Fender Strat or Tele because it isn't one.  

 

A CHEAP PEDAL PARACHUTE 

With 63 pedals on my board a few, especially my 3 basic Gates need to be tweaked to their sweet spot for every tune. Most guys simply put a mark with paint or a Sharpie. It damages the pedal and if you change your mind you end up back at square one soon wondering which is an old mark and which one is new.

The answer is budget/cheap low tack white painters tape for a buck at the Dollar Store. It is cheap so it is thin and slides under a knob. If you cut it a couple of inches long and put a piece on each side and one on top you can easily put several dots and take note which one it is ...as in the first, the second, third etc. I spent a whole week nailing every tune. Many use the same dots so 33 songs do not need 33 dots, LOL. But I wanted to get it right the first time.

 

 

   TOYS FOR THE OLDER BOYS 

 

ROWAN LEF 314 Delay

It is a long story but this pedal is a scary great clone of the collectors item pedal. The  

1981 Boss DS2 analog delay. Check out the review with a comparison video with the 

real Boss. AliExpress $17.00 USD (shipping incl.)

SEYMOUR DUNCAN DIAMOND HEAD

Duncan pedals come and go. They have made some excellent ones but none that became a 'thing' every self respecting player MUST HAVE like a Fulltone OCD. So 4 years ago when this came out most players eyes told them this was OK but not in the big leagues. It is an excellent 80s sounding pedal. The name implies the faceplate on a MESA Dual/Rec. On a second look and more important listen it is if not better but equal to the best. New it was pricey but it was not bumped up and other pedals want its $225.00 USD price or more.

 

GINEAN GD-28 HAIRY SHOW FUZZ

This is impressive dead on clone of a modern classic. The DOD Carcosa Fuzz. It has two very different voices to work from. One is a very cranked Rat to a Muff including a velcro Tone Bender. Another voice does all the dead crazy Doom and self destructive tear your face off noises including bordering on an Octave Fuzz. I have the Walrus EONS that is a one size fits all. It leans towards some 'finesse' in all its sounds and tends to favor dark sounds. The Ginean is all about raw, raspy, bright and biting. Either one will have to go or each is needed for tunes needing the opposite.  

 ....Mine arrived today. I only had time for a very quick try out. 

    First impressions is it certainly lives up to the hype... 

   $40.00 USD incl. shipping it is well worth the buy!

 

BIGFOOT ENGINEERING KING FUZZ

A pedal designed to get the vibe of a Marshall JTM 45 being pushed by a
ToneBender. Unchanged in 10 years. Because it is not broke so they 

are not going to fix it.

 

INTENSIVE CARE DEATH DRIVE 

This pedal is not a Death Drive!!! Let me make that perfectly clear, LOL. It is made by Patrick who knows how to make weird pedals that are actually usable, often in many genres. He is the Salvador Dali of pedal makers. 

Check out the video in the Post. 

 

VS AUDIO JANGLE MASTER

This showed up at the London Synth and Pedal Expo. It is their take on a Vox AC30. There are no videos nor is there a release date. Is this the year of the Vox AC30 pedals? We just got the NUX '63 Diamond. On the other hand neither are available so we have not 'got' anything, lol.

 

ANANASHED EFFECTS BOLT OVERDRIVE 

This pedals is one that is under the radar. In some ways it fails because it tends to disappear to the listener. It does not however have that effect on the player. It can take a clean sound into crunch without overwhelming the tone of the amp. Pulled back many guys use it for an always on pedal. It then gives your clean sound warmth and character like that perfect old vintage amp. I reviewed it in Dec. 2019. Check it out. A seriously good handmade and for $120.00 USD.

THE GUITAR KIOSK |}{| 

GRETSCH STREAMLINER Jr.
G2565T
$500 ??? no, at Adorama that is not a music shop
but a real dealer they sell discount
$300.00 USD

 You can check out my board and my 63 favorite pedals. 

 All kept up to date with new entries.

 Just scroll up to the top left hand corner to   B 

 then type in 3 consecutive plus signs. 

 Click, and Pickypicker will appear.

       updated 6/15/2024