OVERDRIVE- PRO CO Lil' Rat ...NEW! ...Just released TODAY!

 PRO CO LIL' RAT  

Although it took forever ProCo have made pedalboard friendly version of their infamous Rat. It is a full half inch narrower than a the standard Hammond 1590 B box that most makers use. Not many pedals are still in production since 1977. It came out  three months before the Boss DS-1 so it holds first place for OpAmp designed hard clipper Distortion. Rat got a lot of flack over the years for changing their design. It was usually not their fault since the demand for the Rat outlasted the demand for the parts it was made of. I  have a part for part clone of the original yet I enjoy my Rat II just as much and easily use it as much.

$70.00 USD

CONCLUSION

Well I would have to put it beside my Rat's to see who was King Rat but my first impressions

are certainly positive. It could as the company says be the same pedal. If they are simply using two tiers for the circuit board it would be no problem. A smaller enclosure uses less metal to make making up for having to make and install two boards. The factory demo is impressive! 

The 1977 ProCo The Rat
(the big box Rat)

OVERDRIVE- RATS RATS RATS all of them LOL

 RATS ONLY ...PLEASE 

No COMMENT?
I lied. 

I have a clone of the very first Rat the Big Box. Even the clone I have is now a collectors pedal because the right OpAmp is all but gone. I also have the current model the RAT II. Trust me the Rat II is all you need. Keep in mind that the guy (Swedish Pete) in the demo is not a guy that is in love with rip your face off pedals. Hence his obsession with noise floor and looking for a more open sound and more refinement etc. etc. 

If you listen carefully the real Rat has a bit more growl in the lows and small scoop in the mids. It just cuts thru a mix when you are using it in a band where most of the others can get l lost in the mix. Without adding more highs a wannabee Rat can get thin. That said they are all good dirt pedals though some are more tame.

FUZZ-FUZZIMP FX Muzzsimp Green & Muzzsimp Red ...vintage or modern ...pick one???

FUZZSIMPFX

 MUZZSIMP GREEN & MUZZSIMP RED 

$155. 00 USD

It is probably based on a Big Muff :-) I will go right to the layout. It has a volume and gain, The sweep knob appears to to give you a way to tighten the sound. You have toggle and knob to add a boost.

The Green is for a more classic sound and the Red is a modern overkiller!

CONCLUSION

They both sound killer and the price is a grabber!!

what's not to like?

I think I would go for the Red. love the overkill.

They are both fat, balzy and in your face!!! What's not to love! Wait a minute ...on second thought

I love the breadth of the Green one ...DAMN I can't decide :-(

OVERDRIVE- MXR RG74 Raw Dog ... Eric Gales signature Blues OD

 MXR RG74 RAW DOG 

$120.00

This is Eric gales signature pedal. Yes it is what is and does what it does. It is a mini pedal with a simple layout with volume, tone and gain.

CONCLUSION

It has enticing raw sound. Very Blues not even straying into a Blues Rock thing.

If that it is your thing it certainly deserves a listen.

OVERDRIVE- INTENSIVE CARE AUDIO Death Drive... YES ..of course it is?

 INTENSIVE CARE AUDIO DEATH DRIVE 

$215.00 USD

Another new kid on the block with a Metal pedal.  The layout is a standard volume, gain and tone with a fourth pre gain control which is upmarket speak for a boost. So? ...what does it sound like. Well it is voiced for modern Metal. The lows are gone and it basically all mids. Even the lower mids are tamed. It saturates fairly heavily especially at higher gains. The sustain is modest.

To be fair it is meant for chugging at 200 bpm plus. In other words it could never be called a fat sound. A true fat sound would turn to mush

at such tempos. It has some growl. It is virtually fizz free. No bees allowed!

CONCLUSION

I play a Prog Metal and only play a couple tunes

needing anything like this sound. Even so I need a

low pass filter to tighten up the lows. If you have

a LPF you can have a fat sounding pedal and cut 

back only as necessary but on slower tempos you have

lots of beef. Still that means one of a few specialty

designed high gain Tube Screamer with a LPF built

designed to be stacked on a second OD or Fuzz .

Alternatively a pricey all in one metal pedal.

Sorry but this is the only video. The guy is not a Metal player in fact he is a King of Tone afficinato so it is not going to be heard at it's best.

FUZZ- WEIRD NOISE PEDALS Fuzz It ...a one Knobby!

 WEIRD NOISE PEDALS FUZZ IT 

$150.00 USD

A good ol' one knob Fuzz. It uses a silicon transistor that is biased for a bit of spit and sputter and a Russian made NOS germanium transistor for a classic fat warm sound. A switch gives you the choice. The pedal is heavy on the bass and seem to be aimed at the Doom Metal guy and other Metal genres that also use similar sounds.

Weird Noise is a new kid with 2 Fuzz pedals and this is the one with a video. A lame demo video. The info on the pedal is as basic as it comes. 

CONCLUSION

It sounds good but there are many others that cover very similar ground. Even when the single knob is a volume knob I often find that the volume and tone of the pedal can shift by increasing it. This causes a lot of headache if you use other pedals since you need to 

match the volumes of your pedals live to use them as a group. 

On some Fuzz pedals like this the gain is not linear and can max out any time after as little as a third of the way through it's travel. In short many of these pedals turn out to be toys for amateurs not a pedal you can put on a board and use in a band. Until we get a real video review there is too much we don't know so hold off until we know more.

OVERDRIVE- BOSS SD-1 Super Over Drive... after 40 years ...still cool ???

 BOSS  SD-1 SUPER OVER DRIVE 

$50.00

When the Tube Screamer came out Boss had a patent on a their OD-1 pedal using 2 Op-Amps to create asymmetrical tube like distortion. So the Tube Screamer used one OpAmp and symmetrical clipping diodes. Both pedals sold well and both made updates and spin offs. When the Boss SD-1 came out it was a replacement for the OD pedal. The weird thing is they use a Tube Screamer schematic instead of the OD-1 one. They then simply used asymmetrical clipping diodes so it sounds more amp like and not at all Tube Screamer sounding. Many, including me, think it is the best of the OpAmp type OD's in spite of its mix of two separate classics.

It is still very popular even in it's latest MIT form. In fact if you triple your outlay you can buy a Waza Craft handmade MIJ version.

Boss just brought out a 40th anniversary one in black. So

a few stores are knocking a few bucks off the yellow one.

CONCLUSION

Love it. It is still a great medium gain OD. Even if you have one of the 

modern JFET killer Amp-in-a-Box OD's this is a great addition for tunes 

that need a chunky sound that is so tight you can strum chords with it.

Add to that you can stack it on another drive for high gain or even Metal 

sounds. Hell the damn price is cheaper than some Chinese brands copy!

...I ordered a new one for $45.00 USD

HANDS ON

I have been playing it for a few days now. I love it. It does exactly what I bought it for. 

I only play my own 26 tunes in my Prog Metal band. I like a lot of variety so on a couple of tunes I still use scales and modes that are Prog but the tunes are really more Hard Rock then Metal. On those tunes Metal OD's and even Marshall-in-a-Box pedals are too overwhelming. The SD-1 is ideal. I pull back the gain and get a really nice clear and chunky sound with just enough punch to say listen to me! 

Up Date

Check my Post of the Caline Osmium of Apr.11,2022.

It is a clone. A damn good one. Keep in mind the Boss

is made in Taiwan and uses current parts.

These parts are not pricey. So a price of $35.00 USD

is valid to do a decent replica of the Boss.

Worth considering? Yes? ....Yes.

OVERDRIVE- REDBEARD EFFECTS Angry Rhubarb ...a modern hardclipper!

 REDBEARD EFFECTS ANGRY RHUBARB OD 

$260.00 USD

This was just released and is the 3rd pedal for Redbeard. It is a killer hardclipper OD ...or to put it another way it started with the schematic of a RAT pedal but transform it into a modern OD. Keep the balz and fat sound but tighten it up and give it better sustain.

The first OD they did the Red Mist is killer. The Rhubarb takes all that and adds some of the kind of characteristics of a JFET like Amp-in-a Box pedals. 

The layout has volume, both pre and post gain and a qusais mid control so you can fatten low or high mids or leave centered to boost all mids. There is a lot of range in every control. You could easily find 3 sounds that would pass as having 3 different OD pedals.

CONCLUSION

It is very, very impressive!

OVERDRIVE- LPD PEDALS SIXTY8 ...one of the very best got better!

$360.00 USD

 LPD PEDALS SIXTY8 STACKED 

Lawrence Petross over the past 5 years has a reputation of making 3 of the best Marshall-in-a-Box pedals on the damn planet. I own all 3 and I use them literally every day. Guys that buy them soon get to know other guys that have them and it is literally an improvised club. 

Once on anyone's board they never come off!

His first pedal was indeed the Sixty8. Lawrence virtually cloned his own amp.

This was brought out because of years of endless E-mail by guys who already owned the original. Some already had bought two to stack. Hey! ...I can't make this shit up!

Lawrence makes every one himself. Many makers boast about the quality of the parts but although they use great parts they do not go to stupid levels on things no one would notice or care. Lawrence does!!!

CONCLUSION

For a small board or no board perhaps add a low gain pedal like a Tube Screamer

and you great OD search is done!

CHORUS- ELECTRO HARMONIX Small Clone... a classic still worth considering

$100.00 USD

 ELECTRO HARMONIX 

 SMALL CLONE CHORUS 

This is a reissue of a classic. It is on thousands of recordings. The most obvious is Kurt Cobain's efforts.

It could not be simpler. You have a control for speed and a switch for two depths.

CONCLUSION

It is hardly versatile but you don't buy it for that. It is at it's best when flatpicking some mellow chords. It has a very glassy transparent sound that is very distinct. It manages to stay up front yet not take over and swamp your tone. If you buy it to fatten up dirt soaked 

power chords it isn't the best. On the other hand

using 2 different chorus pedals in your rig could

make a lot of sense.

OVERDRIVE- GREENCHILD Valve Reaper ...parallel gain?

 GREENCHILD VALVE REAPER OD 

$225.00 USD

It looks like 'same old' with a layout of gain, tone and level. Actually the gain is labeled 'ratio' as it has a parallel gain structure. When you move it past 12 o'clock on the knob it brings in the second gain which changes booth its gain and voice to a creamy thick mid boosted sound.

Overall it has bluesy American sound.

CONCLUSION

It is very warm and pleasant. Primarily a medium gain pedal. Nothing to hate here but it is not even meant to be aggressive. It is all about the detail of it's tone. A lot of guys will love it. It is not my thing. Except for low gain pedals I prefer some serious aggression.

FUZZ- FUNCTION FX Clusterfuzz Jr. ....old n new and painted blue

 FUNCTION FX CLUSTERFUZZ 

$170.00 USD

This is not just just less of but a best. The full size is a big pedal with a lot of bells and whistles but circuit is the same.

The layout has volume , tone and gain. A switch triggers between a tight OD/Fuzz sound and a classic spit sputter on the bias. Another switch gives you a choice between smoother sounding LED clipping diodes, classic silicon and

Boost OD sound.

CONCLUSION

Cool! ...a basic classic Fuzz with modern control to use it

like an OD

OVERDRIVE- JPTR FX Tesla Overdrive ... Woah!!!

 JPTR FX TESLA OVERDRIVE 

$140.00 USD

Guys into any aggressive Metal genres have been in the cheering section of this company for years. Everything they do is in your face when they say their pedal shreds they mean it tears the listeners into chunks and flails the pieces against the wall. LOL 

The layout is volume, tone, gain and a blend control lets you add clean signal for added definition.

Inside the box is are 3 dip switches. Two to change the voicing and another if you want to boost the lows.

This is the new model now in a smaller casing.

CONCLUSION

The sound in a word is 'brutal'. Nothing is this aggressive.

Thick fat and menacing! Love it!

FUZZ- FROST GIANT ELECTRONICS Four Horseman Massif :Famine

 FROST GIANT ELECTRONICS FOUR HORSEMAN MASSIF 

 :FAMINE FUZZ 

$175.00 USD

Yes it is a mouthful of a name. But the original one knob Fuzz just kept getting more features and as it did the name got longer.

It started life as a take on a Colorsound 1 Knob Fuzz. It was than just called the Massiff and it became a 'Must Have' of

Doom Metal players. It has caught the interest of other Metal genre players as it has been given more control and fits in with more complex styles. You have control over volume, gain, and now on this 

version you can adjust the BIAS to taste for more spit and sputter.

CONCLUSION

It indeed has a massive sound. It has huge mids and definitely better lows than other pedals trying to do a similar thing. In fact there are 7 other one knob Fuzz pedals I can think of that do the same thing. But they are not cheaper and have less control.

YES I KNOW ...But there are no videos of the 3 knob.

____BEST OF JUNE 2021

 NEW STUFF 

                    

              

          

A/DA PDF & RETRO-SONIC INC. FLANGERS

In the 70's A/DA brought out the Flanger of all Flangers.  

Since then every bells and whistles gourmet Flanger has ripped it off. Five years ago they still kept the original but offered it in a  v.2 model keeping the sound but doing a couple of 'real' improvements and named it the PBF (pedal board friendly)

Even the new one received several awards.

But! I always wanted the the 1978 Electro Harmonix Flanger. Often referred to as the Andy Summers Flanger. 

Opposite of the A/DA as it is dirt simple with a couple of killer sounds. A flanger sound and Chorus like sound.

The short story is a couple of gourmet companies did a "wannbee' E-H that sold for gouging prices and were still not close enough. But then after I already had the A/DA ...Retro-Sonic brought out the perfect clone that  is so good it won several awards and got reviews from guys that STILL have an original but it stays at home and the Retro is on their boards. OK ...here's the point I thought sell the A/DA for the price of the Retro and if it goes I get one. In the real world this does not happen easily or quickly. 

I put it on Reverb yesterday and decided to forget about LOL

It is less than 24 hours ...the A/DA is sold

The Retro-Sonic is on order. :-)

TORTUGA EFFECTS DEATH ADDER

So I am heading out of my place and I open the door and pushed 

up against it is a large package. It had Russian written all over it. 

What else could it be but a pedal made in Idaho that I ordered from 

Russia 3 months ago :-)

The pedal is meant for Metal and came out designed over 

12 years ago & has a Mesa Dual Rectifier vibe to it.

I only have one tune that opening riffs that need 'more' !!!  

The closest thing I got to work is my Amptweaker Tight Metal. a 2150 sounding Eddy box. The tone is a hardened dick 

but it's balz are too small. lol The Adder is in mint shape & at $119.00 USD it is worth a shot

The Adder arrived. The most notable thing is it is fat. I have been

trying to find a sweet spot for where I wanted to use it but at low 

volume & not at band rehearsal I have no verdict.

CALINE CP 503 QUEEN BEE

This just arrived by UPS today.

This is Calines take on the old T-REX Mudhoney. 

It is a low to medium gain OD. It has an excellent very, very transparent low gain. I am not impressed by the high gain settings but I really wanted it for the low gain thing.

I seldom play a tune not using a lot of gain from Marshall pedals or a Fuzz but I can just as easily slip into a verse or chorus that I flat pick. If I flatpick dead clean it is does not blend with the dirt in that same tune. My solution is a selection of low to very low gain pedals. This is my second drive at an extra low gain. I like it's bright sound. My other is as clean but very mellow.

COLUMBO AUDIO ELECTRONICS PLEXI BREED

This sweet Plexi-in-a Box does 3 amps. The JTM45 then the 

first 50 watt Plexi the model 1987 and the King of all Plexi's

the model 1959. Yes the 100 watt Super Lead. It is not just

that it sounds great. The big deal is how scary accurate 

sounding these voices are to the actual amps!!!

My last count of pedals I am using daily is 80. I really got to

knock it back to 70 tops. I did pull 2 this week. But I have been

pulling 2 a month for a year but then getting more. lol

NOTE: None of my Posts this year has got more hits than

           this pedal!!! It has already had 10 times as many!!!

Mine was finally shipped and I got in early!!!

BOSS SD-1 SUPER OVERDRIVE

Endless vids are going around about the 40th Anniversary of this

pedal pushing one painted black for the occasion. The big deal when

it came out was it was the first tube amp sounding pedal. Back then

with only a pedal or two on the floor guys would dime the gain 

and the level. 

Some of the new vids showed what it can also do with lower drive and a 'unity' gain level. I was impressed. It has a very convincing at the edge of breakup sound. So I scooped up a standard yellow one for only $45.00 USD

OVERDRIVE- TC ELECTRONIC Zeus ...a Klon that is not a Klon?

 TC ELECTRONIC ZEUS OD 

$60.00 USD

This is the second pedal after their Rat like Magus pedal that comes in the new style casing that is about 3/4 the size of a Boss pedal. It is their take on a Klon but they have added a germanium clipping diode that when pushed fatten and warms of the sound and gives you a very rich OD sound. Dimed it borders on a near high gain distortion.

The layout is simple with a volume, gain and tone. A switch labeled fat brings in a mid boost.

CONCLUSION

It is an impressive medium gain OD with kind of a 70's like

tube combo amp dimed sound. It has a fat rich warm sound. Like a Klon it mixes clean with the dirt as you turn it up to give you clarity and definition. It sounds nothing like a Klon but TC has managed to create a very nice original OD.

OVERDRIVE- SABBADIUS Black Gold Versatile Distortion ...another RAT pedal ???

SABBADIUS BLACK GOLD VERSATILE DISTORTION

$200.00 USD

It all started with a RAT schematic just like a hundred others. The company says it isn't a Rat. Actually it isn't. A Rat is a however a 'hard clipper' type OD but so are several Boss pedals. The gain does have a wide range from low gain to a very high gain. At high gain it is very 

Fuzz like.

CONCLUSION

At it's heart it is a $70 RAT. You can also get the TC Electronic Magus 

for $60. All 3 have do their thing a little different. 

The Black Gold has the variable gain, the Magus does the original Rat thing including does the Turbo Rat thing. The Ratt II is the fattest. But! At over twice the price I can not hear twice the value.

FUZZ- TC ELECTRONIC Rusty Fuzz ... silicon Fuzz Face ...$50

$50.00 US

 TC ELECTRONIC RUSTY FUZZ 

It appears we have TC's take on a silicon Fuzz Face. 

The layout is classic with gain tone and volume.

CONCLUSION

A very pro sounding pedal for an entry level price. Add to that TC's heavy casing and no shortcut electronics. The EQ is welcome addition that a real Fuzz Face simple does not have.

OVERDRIVE- SUBDECAY Variac OD.... but is it Browner than others?

SUBDECAY VARIAC OD

$180.00 USD

It is still around since 2014 so it must do something right?

Well it is a take the sounds of the late 70's and 80's.

The layout is treble, bass, gain and level. A switch gives you a choice of voices and final control controls the saturation.

CONCLUSION

There are other modern pedals that are not dissimilar and

several much more impressive but are definitely a lot more. 

FUZZ- INTERCHANGE NOISE WORKS On Air Fuzz ...one size fits all ???

INTERCHANGE NOISE WORKS ON AIR FUZZ

$175.00 USD

..................................................................................................

They boast it is Fuzz with enough control that it could be used in any genre. But one has to ask if you played in a specific genre why not get 

a Fuzz meant for it? :-) 

The layout gives you volume, tone, gain and boost and a switch to choose where the bias is set.

CONCLUSION

Well my ears tell me they have mixed in some clean signal which is 

not a bad idea as it gives a lot of definition to the signal. On the other hand it does make the pedal a very specialized thing not the one 

size fits all pedal at all.

OVERDRIVE- VS AUDIO Blackbird ...vintage Fender-in-a-Box

 VS AUDIO BLACKBIRD OD 

$220.00 USD

This pedal attempt recreate the old Fender brownface and blackface amps. I find this a thing that to great degree is near impossible. 

With a Marshall you have an amp that natural distorts to a greater degree and can overwhelm just about any amp you might own and inprint the Marshall sound. A Fender is far more subtle. If the amplifier you own does not have a very clean and relatively flat sound a Fender sounding pedal has an impossible job. My Marshall amp can sound clean enough but it's fat mids fight a Fender sound. If I want that I am better off just to get an EQ and scoop the mids. 

If luck has it you have a more modern Fender amp like a Hot Rod then a putting an old Fender sound into it can be killer.

The layout is a simple volume, tone and gain. You get a switch to choose a brown or black face era tone.

CONCLUSION

It is a tough call because of all the before mentioned problems

So in short weigh the problems before diving in.

this video was added Aug.22/21

and underlines what I said about adding

a fender vibe to dead clean very neutral amp

FUZZ- DEFECTS FX PEDALS Total Havoc ...yes but havoc that is under control :-)

 DEFECTS EFFECTS TOTAL HAVOC FUZZ  

$135.00 USD

Hailing from the Czech Republic comes Defects. Thomas does several Fuzz pedals amongst his dozen plus pedals. He always manages to make a statement with pushing them to the edge yet they do not self destruct like many makers. Yes you actually play a tune without nasty drop outs.

You know where this is going with the layout. You get level, gain controls and a bias control for spit and sputter.

CONCLUSION

It is an impressive pedal aggressive balzy and in your face

At $135.00 USD the price is fair.

OVERDRIVE- ZVEX EFFECTS Box Of Rock- still a favourite ???

 ZVEX EFFECTS BOX OF ROCK 

$220.00 USD

This was a Marshall-in-a-Box before the term was even created. It has been a steady seller for 14 years.The idea was to capture the sound of a '66 Marshall JTM 45.

The layout is simple with a volume, tone and gain another control and footswitch provides a boost.

When it arrived 14 years ago a serious pedalboard was not a 'thing'. Most players only few pedals and any board was just that ...a small piece of raw plywood. the results for years the pedal designed to used horizontal to give easier access to the switches. Keeping with the times a vertical enclosure is also offered.

CONCLUSION

It still sounds impressive but these days there are dozens as good or better. It is certainly a bit muddy but so is the '66 JTM amp that it claims to clone. The video I chose is a comparison to the LPD Pedals Sixty8. Which is probably one of the best takes on a take on a '68 Plexi. 

It was the Amp that replaced the JTM45 when it arrived.

OVERDRIVE- KLON ....A SHORT HISTORY

 KLON CENTAUR 

Long time readers will have probably picked up everything in this video from several Posts that I have made on the Klon over the years but even if you have this video is an excellent summary of the whole story.

FUZZ- FUZZSIMP FX Triple Doom ...a boost into an OD into an octave Fuzz ...Whoa!

 FUZZSIMP FX TRIPLE DOOM 

$160.00 USD

Another Fuzzsimp offering which is all part of a sale. 

This time it is a clean boost going into Rat OD then into an octave Fuzz. You have a gain and level for each effect and separate footswitch for each.

The principle is not new and many of us stack dirt pedals all the time. But having a pedal like this that has taken the care to mate the sounds to work together can be a real blessing,

CONCLUSION

Impressive. The octave Fuzz gives you any spit and splutter you might want. The Rat fattens and tightens up the sound. The boost takes it to never ever land ;-)

FUZZ- FUZZSIMP Fuzz Fire ...it gets a boost :-)

 FUZZSIMP FUZZ FIRE 

$135.00 USD

This is the flagship Fuzzsimp Fuzz and it get a remake with a heavy boost and a few tweaks and is now the Fuzz Fire. It's roots are in the Muff camp but it has lots of growl in the lows and is generally more aggressive than any Muff.

CONCLUSION

It has OD qualities that makes it useful across many Metal and Rock genres. You can add a bit of spit and sputter but you can easily keep that under control. It is very aggressive and has balz plus.

OVERDRIVE- IDIOTBOX EFFECTS ..Repro Man ...the joke is on me?

$130.00 USD

  IDIOTBOX EFFECTS REPRO MAN OD/DELAY 

What if you put a fat knurly OD in a box with 2 delays. One delay in front of the OD and one after.

It seems like a totally stupid gimmick. A novelty to impress your friends and a pedal destine to collect dust or put on Reverb.

The layout is simpler than it appears. You have volume, gain and tone. You then get 2 basic slapback delays. One is pre distortion and one is post. If a slap back has very short delay time it almost becomes one with the input signal. The result is you fatten the clean coming in and the refatten both coming out. Such short delays tend to sound very much like a reverb. The over all result is a massive dirt sound with a bit of reverb. 

CONCLUSION

I use a similar effect with an analog delay pedal when I want

a massive sound. But there is an obvious advantage by getting 

the sound dead right by designing it into a pedal and then 

doubling it. In short a very usable dirt pedal especially as it is 

not over priced.