FUZZ- MANALY SOUND Ronno Bender ... what's not to absolutely love!

$300.00 USD

MANALAY SOUND 

RONNO BENDER |||

This is a Tonebender v1 clone. The unique thing is it was voiced to match Mick Ronsons unit from his recordings 

with David Bowie.

     CONCLUSION __

It is killer and saying that is an understatement. It is 

raspy and ragged yet never harsh. Understated and 

in your face at the same time.

For a handmade pedal with both sound and indeed 

the look of this is a good deal. 

REVERB/DELAY- NUX NDR-5 Atlantic ... Strymon vibe to the tone

 NUX  

NDR-5 ATLANTIC

$150.00 USD

The company got into Digital Delay years before most of the Western brands. They had tap tempo and set divisions of 8th note, quarter, notes etc, etc. All this & 10 years ago. The specs are excellent and algorism's just like Strymon are why guys buy

these units.

This not a clone. It is simply the result of years of getting it right. Not all NUX are created equal. But, when they get it right 

they kill it.

This is a working mans unit. Just the basic sounds but done in a very pleasing sounding way.

The layout is the basic standard. The Reverb voices are on a toggle with Spring, Hall, Plate & Shimmer. The shimmer is controlled from a footswitch. Another toggle for Delays gives you 60's,Tape echo, 70's analog delay, and 80's clean clear digital voicing. A very nice feature although the pedal came out 6 years ago the firmware 

was upgraded 3 years ago. The unit has a USB connector for 

all future upgrades.

   CONCLUSION __  

The pedal is so popular that Ali-Express wants $200.00 or $300. The best price comes from America courtesy of Steves Music. My point is not so much where to buy but it is a testament to the quality 

of the unit. It does to my ears have that Strymon warmth and fullness to the sound. The current upgrades seem to have now given it a richer harmonic content.

 

FUZZ-- MAXON FW-10 TBS Fuzz Wind Elements WIND... Tonebender MKII clone

$200.00 USD
+ or -

 Maxon FW10  TBS 

Fuzz Elements Wind 

Maxon has never wanted to distribute its own pedals further than in Japan. 

If Ibanez liked one they would have it re-branded, like the Tube Screamer and using their distribution network have even today made many think that they invented it, lol. apparently Ibanez did not want this Fuzz although it was only of their best sellers since 2010. They stopped making it 2 years ago but even new ones are scatter all over the planet. It is an exceptionally good take on the most popular Tonebender the MKII. The layout is Gain, Level and a switch gives you a hotter sound and a second switch lets you turn on a buffer that greatly stabilizes the unit that left in ol' school, off, can sound exciting or crap depending on you luck that day, lol.  

        CONCLUSION ___  

They show up both new or used but you have to chase them.

About $200.00 USD can get you either. It is really about how

much the seller is tuned onto what's cool or what is not.

 

SHOOTOUT___ a 1st edition NOBELS ODR-1 vs. KEELEY Noble Screamer

$155.00 USD

$200.00 USD

 

 NOBELS vs. KEELEY

Nobels makes a few variations. The ODR-1 X being 

the just released and newest version.

most of us, like 99.9% are not going to buy a first edition now that they sell at Klon prices.😟

$85.00 USD

thefineprint 

If like me you like a lot about it but since it is the same territory/function as a Marshall  

BluesBreaker or even many of the Dumble pedals then the new Nobels ODR mini 2 

checks all the boxes. It would easily pass a Blindfold Test you would need a hands  

on them all to tell any meaningful difference. It is like an entry level Porsche, if it, 

smells, looks and tastes like a ....  

           NOTE: do not buy the mini 1 by accident. If budget is tight 

                   then there is Tone City Nobleman at $60.00 USD 

 

OVERDRIVE- RUDE TECH Dude Alert ... grandpa's hammer!!!

 RUDETECH 

 DUDE ALERT! 

$130.00 USD
sale price

Lets first talk about an OpAmp chip. The jrc4558. It showed up in the the Boss OD1, a pedal that started the boom of pedals aimed at anyone with a combo amp at the time. These amps were everything from off-brand practice amps to newer Fenders and only had a clean channel. If cranked they would all distort a bit. Even if they did the dirt was on the whole sh@t. The Boss gave you a decent Hard Rock/Blues sound.

The chip was used for short times by most MIJ pedals in various OD's. So 

it is not a bad choice to make a hardclipper OD and with a choice of diodes you can get a few very usable sounds. It is to tools like your grandfather's old steel claw hammer with the wooden handle. Not exciting but still does a good job. The layout is Volume, Gain and Tone with a toggle to give you LED, Silicon and a diode bypass for raw OpAmp overload. For a point of 

reference the silicon is most amp like and Boss pedals like.  

    CONCLUSION___ 

There are, like I said a few good noises in this pedal. A good pedal 

to stack a Fuzz on or strangely enough can be zeroed in on a dirt 

that will work with a semi-acoustic ES 335 type of guitar.

The $130.00 USD sale price for a handmade is damn good!!! 

 

OVERDRIVE- VAHLBRUCH FX Kaluna II ___NEW___ version 2 tube OD

VAHLBRUCH FX

KALUNA II

$375.00 USD

This is a German company that has been around forever. They make excellent quality well designed product that have simply 

sold well forever just by word of mouth.

Yes, a high voltage 12AX7 tube is at the heart of this unit. The 

big improvement in this v.2 is that the original was a medium

gain unit and now you can switch to a low or high gain mode. 

    CONCLUSION ___ 

It sounds killer as I expected. That said it will literally likely be on as much or more then it is off, if not 

always on.

So price is merited though even if you can handle 

that ...is it 'your sound'?

thefineprint

I can not help compare it with the 3 Friedman IR pedals. With those you have 2 channels and boost on both. If needs be 

you can use them direct to house or in a direct recording situation with your missing amp/cabs and even a touch of 

room verb. At $500 you spend $125 more but you get 2 channels and all the things needed to escape feeling 

forced to go the modeler route. 

DELAY- NOBELS DEL-mini___NEW___ is it just another ''me too'' ...yawn? Or ...

   Nobels DEL-mini 

$100.00 USD

If this was just a basic good sounding brand name mono mini pedal with 

3 basic sounds we would be getting a fair price for our hundred bucks. 

But it isn't. It is an all bells and whistles short of Shoegaze and Star Wars 

we could use. Yes and it is stereo too.

The layout is a basic Time, (tempo of repeats) Mix (dry to wet mix) and 

Feedback (# of repeats). The footswitch lets you use it for on/off, and 

tap tempo. Then for good measure it has a true bypass/buffer switch.

     CONCLUSION ___

What's not to like?  The look and it's layout are both attractive 

and intuitive ...in fact pretty much manual free, lol. The build 

is totally Pro. The slightly larger mini size is easier to read, to operate and it does not tip over like a regular mini. The price validates having all the extras for guys like me that do not 

use them, LOL. I can change my mind,😇. 

 

OVERDRIVE- NOBELS ODR-1X ___NEW___ finally released & almost available

Nobels ODR-1X ||| Overdrive

$155.00 USD & $85.00 USD

The original pedal has literally been around for decades. It was designed in Germany in 1985 but was made in Korea. When it came out it was fraction of the price of the Ibanez Tube Screamer that it was designed to replace. It took off as the go-to in Nashville because Country Music had finally morphed its way with Outlaw Country music to needing a bit of dirt in the sound. In fact for many a Fender Deluxe Reverb amp with the Nobels always on if indeed pulled back was a 'Thing'. These days nothing owns what gets used in popular music. Perhaps in general now a modeler takes precedence as it checks everything but the originality 

box in a recording and in 95% of all live music situations.

A FEW BUTS & a SURPRISE

The original has too much bass for HB PU's bit sounds passable on single coil. By today's standards it is either a "nothing like the old one for warmth or to my opinion ...it has far, far too much mud. In fact I fell over laughing when a really well known reviewer paid so much for an old one that he would not say more that "too much" to the camera. He then unboxed it and plugged it in. The look of embarrassment, horror and disappointment on his face was 3 dimensional. 

On a final note. What surprises me is the the Nobels is cranked it has a very raspy near Fuzz like tone. When I think Nashville I think more like a Timmy with an obvious in control and warm sound. For me it is a very nice surprise as I have been looking for that just right hardclipper. Almost but not as overkill as the Boss Blues Driver. 

    CONCLUSION __

The new one really is a big improvement. This ain't no first edition ToneBender Fuzz 

that does get a leg up because of some antique germanium transistors. It is a modern 

no excuses pedal with a specific purpose and a specific sound that where it fits, it fits 

like a glove. That said they do a new budget friendly mini. If you are like me that uses 

22 OD's on just 34 tunes and most of those get stacked with, boosts ,Fuzz etc than 

it is more than enough. 

 

OD- BEHRINGER Centaur Overdrive ___NEW___ Klon? Bill F. thinks we need another!!!

behringer  

CENTAUR 

OVERDRIVE

$70.00 USD

I can not help but say who needs another Klon when we now have dozens and dozens. This is maybe one HUGE exception. Bill Finnegan invented and made all the ones that now cost more than a house to buy. The BIG DEAL is Bill 

was in on designing this one and is in on the promotion.

    CONCLUSION ___ 

Like the Behringer Fuzz Bender we will have 

to wait. Yes! this too you can prepay and get 

your place in the line. 

MODELER- MOOER AUDIO Prime M1___NEW___ dead cheap, but...

 MOOER AUDIO PRIME M1  modeler

$90.00 USD

The company have been making Modeler based pedals and multi effects for years. They have taken some of their better algorithms and put them in the unit. You get 149 sounds plus a drum machine with 40 patches. A 80 second looper and 

IR's although it does not say how many. You can however download 3rd party. It has stereo out and the various bluetooth etc. connections.

It is small enough to hold in your hand or put in your 

pocket like a cell phone. Yes, those are 2 footswitches 

you see on the unit.

          CONCLUSION __

I have had hands on with many of their digital product. They all sounded clear, clean 

and detailed but gutless and very 'small', even distant sounding. I also had reliability 

issues and glitches, as in bugs in the software that never were fixed. This is a toy. 

Instead of just few Pro sounds you get 139 totaly ameteur sounds. If you buy it 

as a toy, fine. In comparison the Tonex One is only $140.00 USD and you could 

use the sounds on a world class recording.

OVERDRIVE- DECIBELICS Rivus___NEW___ the Ultimate BluesBreaker ??? ...it could be

DICEBELICS  

 RIVUS 

$190.00 USD

Yes we have another Bluesbreaker. This one is different by not being different. 

Decibelics in Barcelona is one guy. Guillem Vilademunt that by trade is an Automotive Electronics Engineer. So he knows his way around a circuit or two. When he makes a pedal that is a clone he nails it. In fact he encourages you to get an original and do a shoot out. His research is so thorough if the original had changes over its lifetime than there is a switch either external or internal to pick which version you want.

He often takes advantage of that and gives you an extra feature if it is musical and not just a marketing gimmick.

Add to that he charges what it takes to nail a pedal 

but the prices are never a gouge. 

     CONCLUSION ___ 

When this guy has a new pedal it can be sold out for a year. He does small 

runs and sends you an E-mail when you can buy one. If you hesitate you 

will lose out. I lost out 3 times on one of his pedals. Once for procrastinating, 

second for being broke and by the third time other priorities' came up, 

(my car blew up, LOL).