AMPLIFIER- BEST PRO SOUNDING PEDAL PLATFORM AMPS FOR THE LEAST $$$$

 PEDAL AMPS 

WHY NOT USED? 

I have been looking for the cheapest 50 watt amp I could find. I wanted it for a back up amp. In my Prog Metal 3 piece there is limit to what will get you thru a gig if your main amp dies. At a small club it is unlikely the small rig for the vocals is going work to push your pedals direct and get by. LOL

So I needed a reliable used old school solid state 50 watt RMS amp. Modern amps use Type C power amps. A 50 watt Type C is about as loud as a 15 watt tube amp so I was avoiding that route. I decided to avoid a tube backup amp as tubes are like light bulbs they unexpectedly burn out.

Old timers that play a Blues gig swear by the old Peavey Bandit amps. Add to that

everyone from Metallica on up in the 80's used them in the studio on their famous recordings. The entire Swedish Death Metal scene/recordings started out with a Boss HM-2 going thru a Peavey Bandit 112 'Blue Stripe'.

Tube amps did not kill the Peavey Bandit's 'cool factor'. It was killed off by extremely pricey Gourmet tube amps. Do not get me wrong I love tube amps. I play a Marshall Plexi.

BIG BUT! I have to admit it is not better than the Peavey Bandit 65 I bought yesterday. It is just different. Think of the Peavey as gourmet vanilla ice cream but I prefer my Marshall gourmet chocolate ice cream:-)

POWER TOO MUCH TOO LITTLE

Last but not least. All the amps I recommend are 40 watts RMS or more. If they are solid state (old style transistors) they do not naturally compress the signal so 75 watts is not too much. In short the db level or 'loudness' is the same.

WHY?

In spite of the recent bullsh@t I am hearing from endless video's boasting amps that are 15 watts etc will do the job ...forget it. 

Yes many can squeak by with less but they are happy to think small time. I do not go and see a band grateful for second best ...I do not expect my audience to either.

Playing for an audience is like moving your furniture to a new home..  A small van may be OK ....but don't show up with a wheelbarrow!! 

If you are so big time you always have a giant sound system with a guy on the board that knows his craft then ignore me.

I am 74 and have played in small to medium size clubs for decades. Nothing has changed. The drummer of today still does not have a volume knob to turn down. The average rock drummer can drowned out anything less than 40 watts RMS.

Secondly the player on one side of the stage can not hear the guys on the other.

If you have to carry your own sound system it needs only be used for vocals. The whole situation becomes practical. All downsides are minimized.

Yes the 100 watt beasts are really too much and can even cause hearing damage but anything bigger than a 50 watt combo barely ever shows up in the inventory of your local Music Store. In short it is not an issue.

The golden amp should be 40 to 50 watts RMS capable of 119 db ...as is a drummers drums. Not more not less!

_________________________________________________________________

THE AMPS

PEAVEY BANDIT (Made in the USA) 

The first Peavey bandit is actually a little lame. If you are looking for used do not worry they were only made for a year and the possibility of even finding one is improbable to the extreme. Everything from 1983 to 2004 is USA made and quite good.

THE BEST

A few are now collectors models and are very impressive.

> (1983-1987) Peavey Bandit 65

> (1984-1985) Peavey Bandit 112  'Blue Stripe'

> (2004-2005) Peavey Bandit 112  'Red Stripe' (Transtube Series II)

$50.00 to $500.00 USD
Used

FENDER HOT ROD DELUXE

They started out made in the USA in 1996 and are now made in Mexico. The USA ones are not made any better. In fact the latest model is housed in a tongue and groove pine box. 

All of the bad mouthing is about the dirt channel or that the spring reverb is too dark. 

WTF I do not care. I am a pedal guy I do not need the damn built in dirt chanel.

I also prefer the drama I get from digital reverb pedals so a spring reverb is never an issue.

The first one had a dirt channel that was trying to sound Marshall do to Marshalls amp sounds were monopolizing the market. The problem was Fender guys review Fender amps and wanted something sounding like an old Tweed Fender. Current models know have heading that way. Secondly the reverb is a classic Accutronics spring reverb unchanged for decades. They need a circuit in the amp to run them which is designed to taste as the tech is barely different.

The point is this is a 40 RMS watts serious pro tube amp that will not get drowned out by even a Metal drummer. Add to that most pedal makers voice their amps to sound good thru a Fender amp. Usually a Fender Deluxe. The bottom line is

for the average pedal you can not get a safer match.

Lately a few used Hot Rods' have showed up used for as little as $350.00 USD.

$800.00 USD

$350.00 & up used!

MARSHALL ORIGIN 50

So it is basically a Plexi 50 watt. I owned 2 original Marshall 1987 models so those that want to argue that can go F. themselves. What's more if you do the Dave Barber mod. Marshall put a microfarad 1 on on the first cathode so swap it out for a 10 or higher.They do this as they expect most of the guys buying the amp will use it at home using the dumbed down quiet modes and it works better. If you run it in the full 50 watt mode thru a Marshall 1960 stack beside a real 1987 amp the 1987 has a bit more bass. You can only notice it by the nut on power chords on the low E and A string. My advice is run it at 50 watts clean for pedals and get an attenuator to cut any volume. You really do not NEED the mod.

I got the head. I use a separate cab. First it is easy to move the head and keep it in mint shape and avoid bumping it and risking even jarring the glass tubes. You can even buy a real 4x12 1960a 4x12 used & cheap or us a light and small single 12 cab.

$800.00 USD
or the head for $550.00

USED? $450.00 for the head 
It has not been out long enough
for many used ones to surface.
---

FINAL THOUGHTS

If you are a Fender guy get the Fender.

If you are a Marshall guy get the Marshall head and

a used cabinet.

If you don't know. Get the Fender used.

If you just don't have the bucks get the Peavey Bandit

.

All these amps can do a great job. Yes even the Peavey.

All may be keepers forever. All will stand in as a great 

backup amp even if in the future you buy a gourmet amp.

There is zero downside.

OVERDRIVE- MASTER EFFECTS Maurauder ...an OD/Pre based on the Peavey Bandit 'Blue Stripe'

 MASTER EFFECTS  MARAUDER 

$230.00 USD

Ever since the Peavey Bandit's second model the Peavey Bandit 65 came out Metal players of different genres found each subsequent model ideal for different genres. In this case it is Swedish Death Metal where

putting a Boss HM-2 thru a  Peavey Bandit 112 Blue Stripe became the basis of the whole genre.

CONCLUSION

Fascinating tie ins between amps and pedals

right up to the Marauder that is something, old, something older and something fresh

for us to add to are arsenal to create 

a wider selection of great sounds.

AMPLIFIER- 1983 PEAVEY BANDIT 65 ... used on Metallica's first LP ???

 1983 PEAVEY BANDIT 65 

Rumours abound but and gossip persists but even so the word around the Metal and YouTube scene is that Metallica and then followed by many other bands all through the 80's were use the 1983-1986 Peavey Bandit 65. It was a killer studio amp for Metal sounds although to be fair it was likely used more for overdubs and double tracking.

The Plexi still reigned supreme followed soon after JCM 800's.

So what's the big deal. I thought it was just another trashy solid state amp. Well the Peavey has a solid low end and and a fast percussive attack. It tightens up a Marshall track because the Marshall is not big on any chopping bite or to use todays jargon it does not 'Chug' and it depends on the resonance of a 4x12 cabinet to get it's famous low end 'Thump'. Pushed by a heavy Fuzz or a hardclipper OD like a ProCo Rat it gives you killer Death Metal and other Metal Genres that need dirt and mass and breadth over Tube tones.

The word got around to other studio's that were recording Metal bands in the 80's and 90's and they all grabbed one. These amps were new, cheap and dead easy to get. It was a nobrainer to have one.

By the time 2000 hit they dropped out of favour as the good early gourmet amps arrived.

CONCLUSION

Well I have been looking for a good reliable cheap and compact backup amp for some time now. A Peavey Bandit even a made in China new one could do the job.

I just got lucky. The recent thing about the 1983 and having a mint condition one

show upon Kijiji all at once. In fact I just got it hours before writing this Post.

I paid $280.00 USD. Right know a beat up one might be even $100.00 USD. 

BIG BUT ...there are a lot of home studio's these days and a lot of guys with small money that would love to have an amp with 'credentials'.

So if you want one ...now is the time!

FENDER DELUXE REVERB vs. THE PEAVEY BANDIT  ???

The thing about all subsequent Peavey Bandit amps as just like the many Fender Deluxe Reverb amps. They are all the same ...BUT different :-)

GUITAR- JACKSON DK3XR ...unusually good ...yet cheap!!!

 JACKSON DK3XR 

I only do guitars if the guitar is something special. Like a cutting edge tech or the guitar has something unique about it ...like the look or the material it is made of etc. In short it is a 'need to know' about guitar. Today it is budget!

With everyone budget is important. Add to that thousands of players do not have and have not seen themselves as a Floyd player. BIG BUT...who isn't crazy curious to try one. I mean try one properly at home. One last thing ...the timid can get an all black one. 

Except for perhaps upgrading the PU's at some point nothing much will ever need doing. If it were mine I would only change the neck PU. Hell it's a metal/Hard Rock guitar you do not really 'need' more.

$500.00 USD

<>|| FUZZ- FUZZROCIOUS The Demon Fuzz- if you play bass ...you have to check it out!

 FUZZROCIOUS THE DEMON FUZZ 

$155.00 USD

these guys make Fuzz pedals  ...and more fuzz pedals. What got my attention was not just the massive sound but that it has great definition and without any need for using a pick. my bass player come from a Jazz background and a pick is sacrilegious.

The layout is simple with just volume, tone and gain.

You can even choose a color.

CONCLUSION

Well first as I said 'no pick'. 

It sounds good throughout it's whole range of both the volume and the tone.The price puts the competition to shame!

.

OVERDRIVE- BOOTLEGGER Tube Distortion ... maybe yes ???

 BOOTLEGGER TUBE DISTORTION 

$190.00 USD

I am usually not a big fan of Tube OD's even though I am a fan of Tube amps. 

I find they do not mix well with all my other transistor based pedals. They tend to overly colour or they do not have good EQ. I am sure this is a hybrid with transistors for EQ and more gain In my book that is good thing.

CONCLUSION

It sounds a bit thin without pulling back on the highs and sweeping the mids into the lower mids. If you are using a solid state amp pulling the gain back to just shy of crunch and leaving this as an always on pedal could transform your amp.

Bootlegger are all about guitars and even tube amps at really affordable prices.

Yes the products are made offshore but they design everything themselves and get  prototypes built over and over until they look good, sound good and most important are roadworthy.

Their quality specs seem too good to be true. BIG BUT ...they don't let you down

and they stand behind their product!!!

OVERDRIVE- TSAKALIS AUDIOWORKS Room #40 ...a one size fits every Marshall ???

$285.00 USD

 TSAKALIS AUDIOWORKS ROOM #40 

The pedal is meant to cover all the classics from a Plexi Super Lead and Super Bass to a JPM and a JCM 800. The probability of doing all this convincingly is less than feasible. lol

So lets check the layout. you have level and gain ...variac? Oh my we get a device to starve the voltage input courtesy of what EVH put between his Marshall Super Lead and the wall. You also get volume II which is also labelled 'Body' ...this will be a mid boost. The level for setting another clean boost switch is internal. You also get presence, mid, bass and treble. Finally a toggle gives you the voicings.

CONCLUSION

This is basically the sound of an over produced Marshall

...the kind you hear after Post production in a studio for a recording. Nothing wrong with that. I have several. I also have a couple pedals that are totally designed to clone the ACTUAL sound of a particular 

Marshall. This is not one of them. It does sound damn good but 

it is pricy. It's versatility in spite of it's bells and whistles is debatable.

Check out the COLUMBO AUDIO ELECTRONIC Plexi Breed post.

It shows you what a real Plexi and a JTM45 sound like.

DELAY- NEUNABER Echelon Echo v2 ...Gourmet digital delay, basic but reasonable price!

 NEUNABER ECHELON ECHO v2 

$150.00 USD

A few years back if you did not have big bucks for a Strymon you could not get studio quality delays and reverbs. Then Neunaber came to the rescue. I bought their reverb at that time. The new mono v.2 delay has tap tempo and all the note divisions for doing the U2 thing. It sticks to one basic pure delay sound though they thru in a switch to go Low-Fi. In short this is the gigging players dream. All you NEED but nothing more and a reasonable price!!!

CONCLUSION

Yes you can get by very, very nicely with the FLAMMA SC03 Delay for $40.00 USD. But if you want a bullet proof gourmet delay with tap tempo and note divisions you can't beat this for value for money.

DELAY- SEYMOUR DUNCAN Vapor Trail Deluxe ...classic analog delay with modern features

 SEYMOUR DUNCAN VAPOR TRAIL DELUXE 

$220.00 USD

The original and still made Vapor Trail delay is a very good remake of the best of the classic delays of the past. Why buy an analog delay if you have a digital? Why not just stay with digital if you are just buying your first delay. You may of heard that analog delays have a very nice warm sound. Well they do but to me it is NOT their best feature. A digital delay is a clone of your guitars sound. In application it can create a confusing sound because one's ear can not tell what is your guitar and what is the delayed signal. Yes this can be used for a good effect but often you just want a sweet and soft echo to play a guitar solo or create a near reverb type mood and a good analog delay is perfect.

CONCLUSION

It can not be faulted for its sound or what it does.

But if you just need a conventional analog delay with

a great sound check out the NUX DCP-03. it is clone of

the old Ibanez right down to using the old Panasonic chips.

At $60.00 USD it is a nobrainer buy for a basic delay pedal. 

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.