STOMP BOX STEALS: February 2026

Monday, February 2, 2026

ORLANDO GUITAR SHOW 2026 WOW prices on some used guitars!!!

ORLANDO GUITAR SHOW

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_NAMM 2026__ BEST OF >>> MANY THINGS <<< OVERLOOKED BY OTHERS

BEST OF !!!

Sunday, February 1, 2026

COMPRESSOR- OLINTHUS Pillbug _NEW_ smaller than a Tic Tac candy dispenser

$100.00 USD

olinthus

PILLBUG

Yes that is a normal size pick beside it, lol. Note the pic with

the top of the pedal. An adapter cable comes with it for your

in and out and a 9V adapter input. The whole surface is on

a hinge at the top. Basically you just press down on the word 'compressor to click it on and off.

It is based off the classic ROSS Comp and the BOSS CS-2.

CONCLUSION ___

It sounds very much like a Keeley and is equally
Pro sounding. If you use a pedalboard switcher
its size would not be an issue. (Road Case is not included)

(Road Case)

OD- EAVESDROPPER Dr. Square Distortion_NEW_ DeArmond Square Wave clone

eavesdropper

Dr. Square

$150.00 USD
The pedal is built in HTH? Houston Texas, lol.
A hardclipper OpAmp OD using clipping diodes

It is based on the 1977 DeArmond Square Wave Distortion Generator that used the same OpAmp

as the DOD 250 Pre. & MXR Distortion +.

The layout is Volume, Tone and Gain. A toggle

cuts the highs and another boosts the lows.

NOTE:
Dearmond supplied all the 50's small budget U.S. guitar brands with PU's. In those days

the brands like Gibson would not sell even the local repair guys PU's. If your Gibson PU

died you had to send back the guitar to a Gibson authorized repair guy. He would keep

your old PU and put in a new one. DeArmond got smart and realized there was a market

for small shop techs and DIY guys who would buy PU's. Having a monopoly and staying

cheap does not foster great tone. A few times the guys designing things got creative

and/or even lucky with a PU, etc. They soon found there was a market for anything

cheap or even anything that was an alternative to only perhaps one other choice.

The Square Wave checked those boxes.

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CONCLUSION __
This is one of those pedals that a song writer might

use. It has plenty of character when laid back in the

mix, or when pushed has a somewhat trashy garage-

band nasal vibe that might plug a hole when nothing

else will. It has an unpretentious cool. The price

is reasonable.

_THE UPDATER_FEBRUARY 2026_NEW GEAR NEWS_UPDATED 24/7

THE UPDATER
FEBRUARY 2026

Separate those pedals that are a steal from those that are stealing from you
at any price

IF IT IS WORTH KNOWING IT WILL BE HERE FIRST

MY MONTHLY RANT
Well all the buying at the pre tariff price gear has been sold so anything from now on is at the new Mount Olympus prices!!! The good news is enough tariff money is being collected to cover the interest on a bill passed to to let the rich have their big tax break with zero extra to pay down any debt, WTF.

TIME OUT TO SHOUT
It occurred of doing this nearly every day for 10 years and with over 4,100 + pedals and 3 times that in videos for everyone to check out I have no need not to once a month give you my 2 cents on anything I tripped over in the last 79 years.

In the 70's I met a world famous painter. He had most of his paintings in one of the worlds famous galleries. Beside all paintings is a post saying the date of his birth and either a date of death or a blank space for it. ...His has a note note saying Whereabouts Unknown. One day he just disappeared as he could not make a living to support his family. He went into Real Estate with a group that buy very cheap land and pay politicians to get the land rezoned so they can flip it to build on. The graft money paid is 99% of the time in cash. Further cash is paid to politicians going all the way up to the top. Everyone knows what is happening so there is zero need to meet in secret. Just friendly lunches in public places with locked attache cases left behind for the politicians security to scoop up. I tell you this to make a point. All politicians are owned it does not matter what the party is. These big time Real Estate guys have enough to give to both the party in power and the one that is not.

I literally had a famous world leader answer my question. I asked him how he stayed in power for decades. He said "Something for the Needy & something for the Greedy." then smiled and left the room.

Now all I just said is true but over simplified. It is all very complicated but ingenious. My point is on occasion when I am talking about many things I know what I am talking about. I am also not taking sides. I am merely suggesting you choose the one with it not ALL for the greedy and merely lies for the needy.

TOYS FOR THE OLDER BOYS

Some old, some new but all are cool !!!

WAMPLER pedalhead
This a 4.75'' by 3.75'' small pedalboard power amp that puts out 60 watts RMS a side in stereo. The same as a Marshall 100 watt stack!!! It not only sounds like a real tube amp it reacts and feels like one. In a shootout Danish Pete of Andertons fame got it wrong. He thought the Wampler was the real tube amp. It uses 'machine learning'. Which not only gets the sound and feel right but sorts out whatever speakers you plug into them and gets the ohms right. It is even easier to set up then a real Tube amp let alone a Modeler. Ideally you use a Tube Pre like a Friedman IR-X but any Amp-in-Box pedal will do.