GUITAR- FENDER Jag-Stang ...the Kurt Cobain monsterpiece is back!!!

 FENDER JAG-STANG 

It came out in '94 as a U.S. made model. Kurt used it a bit on a European tour. The build was move to Japan from 1995 until 2001 then resurfaced again in 2003 until 2005.

It is now back but in Mexico and appears unchanged.

So what-da-ya-get? 

For a start a lefty if needs dictate 

It is a cross between a Fender Mustang and a Jazzmaster. It has a Mustang neck and a Jaguar whammy. You can get it in Sonic Blue or Fiesta Red.

I do not know who it is aimed at. Many fans may love the guys music but may not be comfortable with being be seen with the guitar.

These days the market has so many factions that it may even be adopted by younger players that like me have a F. you and your sheep like attitude of following the flock of Strat or LP players.

The odds are it will be gone in a couple of years.

Early buyers are asked to layout $1800.00 USD for a guitar with a $1250.00 USD price tag. WTF!!!

I can not help but think a made in Indonesia Squier would be the way to go. It would have an equal build quality and could be sold for $500.00 USD or less.

OVERDRIVE - MXR -FOD Drive ....another Billie Joe Armstrong OD ??? Basically YES!

MXR FOD OVERDRIVE

$170.00 USD

Back in the not too distant pass MXR made a Billie Joe Armstrong signature pedal ....the pricey limited edition Dookie drive followed by 

a second Ltd, Edition minus the overkill art work. These pedals sell for $1000.00 USD used. The idea was that 'ol Bill used two old Marshall Super Leads on his recordings. One was set for Crunch and the other was set at a high gain. Each was recorded on a separate track so both could be blended to get any variation of the two that fit the tune.

The FOD (F. Off & Die) is virtual the same pedal but without Mr. Armstrong getting his cut :-)

You get the standard level, gain and tone, a switch to choose a boost or cut to the mids and a faux blend control of the the 2 amp thing. 

It is bull of course or it would have to be 2 separate pedals in one box. Of course the marketing boys just love it.

CONCLUSION

BUT ...how does it sound !!! I find the damn thing muddy 

and without any richness or detail in the harmonics. 

Most of favourite OD's are about $60 more but a fair 

comparison is the Keeley El Rey Dorado. It's a very good 

JTM 45 not not a poor Super Lead. Not as fat but otherwise 

it has great tone, sag, and great touch sensitivity.

MIXER- FLAMMA FM10 Mixing Console ....live, online, home studio or even to a phone!

 FLAMMA FM10 MIXING CONSOLE 

$150.00 USD

Yes Flamma to the rescue. Or should I perhaps say Mooer as they own the company. They have made several digital pedals all to specs as good as or better than Strymon for stupidly cheap prices. Even Josh at JHS has had them on his show and says he will do more. This mixer can be used to make recordings, to make sound tracks for videos or even to live stream. 

if you do a live gig with only the vocals going through the your small sound system it will do that to  with better spec than most of what's out there.

The layout, features is similar to mixers and USB audio input type input boxes made by Presonus, Tascam, MOTU, Solid State, Steindberg and Focurite, etc. commonly used that cost more and provide less features and have less headroom.

Finally if you combine the mixer and your phone

with a couple of mics you can record anywhere. 

It can be used as a side car to add to a large mixer for more channels or an interface for larger mixer to record a whole band.

CONCLUSION

My partner and bass player has an online instructional thing going and is doing well but just using a phone and the mic is it. lol This will be a big improvement.

She is the lead vocalist for our band and it is perfect for our set up. We have just guitar, bass, drums & her lead vocal. We do not mic the backline and only use one mic. In short we do not need a bigger board. Just a line out to our sound system and another to the monitor.

I ordered one.

GUITAR- IBANEZ Q(Quest Seies) guitars... Strandberg hits the street!

 IBANEZ QUEST SERIES GUITARS 

.

Another 'Need to Know' product.

Just when you thought it was safe. lol Yes, Strandberg has hit the street level. The marketing boys must have been checking the stats and saw a big potential. There are 7 guitars not just a couple. 

The prices are not publish but I worked for Ibanez in another lifetime so I knocked on some old doors and $1200.00 USD+ was hinted at. Like all the recent guitars they are made in Indonesia which recently has proven to produce at worst a B+ product.

They do them with ergonomic and conventional frets. Only one is a 7 string.

Signature Artist Ichika Nito

 Model  ICHI 10-VWM

...the guy has a Chapman Stick tapping

       technique in a YvetteYoung style 

JUST A THOUGHT

If you have been feeling the itch ...a cheap way to scratch it is a Bootlegger Spade guitar

It is a very well made neck thru body design. The hardware is killer, which is really important as lets be honest you can not cheaply up grade it. The PU's are more than passable. It was design by a guy who wanted a carry on guitar for gigs where taking only a guitar would make the money worth while. A lite hardshell case comes included that fits right in the hand luggage rack over your seat. 

The best part is it is only $550.00 USD

...it is small but ergonomically designed

                                                      to be totally balanced & stay in a 

                                                        comfortable position either 

                                                           standing or sitting. 

TUNER- PETERSON StroboStomp HD pedal tuner - the best of the boring old tuners

PETERSON STROBOSTOMP HD PEDAL TUNER

$140.00 USD

There are a lot of tuners. A lot of guys grab a Snark clip on and there done. Others still us 'ye old Boss pedal or they scooped up the TC Electronic little white miracle when they came out. They all do the job. 

BUT! the Peterson StroboTuner HD  is the cheapest one in the batch that you might find on your local guitar techs desk.

HISTORY

Conn invented the thing in 1936 with there Stroboconn and had a monopoly until Peterson brought out the lighter more portable and over all better one. The Peterson Model 400 in 1967. The Conn needed a wheel barrow to move it and the Peterson was just shy of a tube amp head in size. 

The first chromatic guitar tuner was the Boss TU-12 in 1983. They are 

a bit slow but do the job.They are reliable though. They better be it's all I have. lol My regular tuner died which nudged me to research for 

the best new one. In the meantime the Boss will do.

FEATURES

In 1936 Gibson announced that the
warranty will not cover headstock
damage cased to their new J36  by
clipping on the new CONN tuner.

Like any good tuner it has all the bells whistles like alternate tunings etc. 

The screen size is generous and you can literary choose from 10 different colors for the display.

CONCLUSION

If like me you have multiple guitars, you do not want to be pulling off a damn clip every time you swap a guitar on stage. Worse yet if you do your own set ups you need the accuracy and tech in a Peterson that stabilizes the readout long enough to tweak a saddle.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Why does a guy get all anal about  the 'look' of his guitar and defend his choice with a passion only to walk on stage with a tuner that looks like some cheap plastic clip on device from the neighborhood 'Dollar Store' used to hold onto a recipe while working in 

the kitchen.

WTF is the guy thinking of !!!

Before you strut out proudly with that beautiful $7000.00 USD
guitar you took years to get
then go that last extra step to visual nirvana and
clip on a Snark !!!

...YES! You too can have a 'nose wart' on your guitar!
Now in nose bleed red or gangrene green!

REVERB- LPD PEDALS Cascade Reverb ...a total killer always on Reverb

LPD PEDALS CASCADE REVERB

$225.00 USD

The trouble with all the killer expensive Reverbs on offer that at a club gig they are excessive and unusable most of the time. If you own a Fender ...like a Deluxe Reverb ...what do you do? You leave the verb on all the time!

Yes you can buy a Spring reverb in a pedal but they are all less than convincing. Add to that a Plate Reverb 'is' convincing. Dave Gilmore only ever used a real Plate in the studio but when the first Studio reverbs with a Plate setting came out he took one on the road. I use 4! Yes I said 4! One for each channel on my board. this way I have a very wet sound on a solo but dryer sounds on the verse, chorus mid 8 etc.

CONCLUSION

If  you want the best it ain't cheap. You spend $500, or more and get a great reverb with the sounds dumbed down so you get several. Or you pay $225.00 USD for one sound that is beyond killer! Best of all it can stay turned for the whole gig. 

If you already have a Strymon you just have to see the advantage of 

owning the cascade as well.

FINAL WORD

     WTF! .... I want 4 of them!!!!

GUITAR- EPIPHONE Alex Lifeson Les Paul Axcess Standard ...because you asked.

 EPIPHONE ALEX LIFESON LES PAUL AXCESS STANDARD 

Alex Lifeson needs no introduction. He wanted a guitar that would cover all the bases live. To get a classic PAF Gibson sound but to split the coils to cover single coil chores. Last but least a piezo to cover acoustic sounds and a whammy that stayed in tune.

He wanted it affordable. Alex is for real. He doesn't need the money or the fame. Trust me he is the same guy he was in the late 60's. He remembers needing but not being able to afford good sh@t.

I can say this with some authority. Geddy and my bass player were friends even before Rush. My piano player bought Alexis's Hohner piano.

My Prog Rock band Tallis opened for Rush. Shortly after Michael Sadler our singer/keyboard player left for Saga. The remainder of Tallis moved to London UK's

West End and played the clubs that everyone played in on the way up. Photos of the Stones, the Yardbirds with Clapton, Elton John, The Who, Queen and even Hendrix and for that matter ..you name the band and they played these clubs. A great majority of the guys who started out in the West End came to see the guys coming up. We made a few big name friends. I hung out with Keith Moon we always went to the Marque Club. You played the Marquee for your 'signing up'party. Yes's singer Jon Anderson's wife hosted the parties. One night Ron Wood played with his Blues band.

The band was something to do on the Stone's down time. Ron play's like Clapton on the 'Beano' LP when he is not in the Stones. 

Tallis packed the clubs. We were an inch away from the 'big deal' when the Sex Pistols broke. Overnight if you weren't Punk you did not get signed. 

$900.00 USD

FLANGER- RETRO-SONIC Flanger ... Summer Returns ??? with Andy's sounds!

 RETRO-SONIC  FLANGER 

$200.00 USD

Yes I have been here before but the tale of this pedal must be told. In 1978 Electro Harmonix brought out a Flanger. It was beyond killer and ended up on endless recordings from the get go. Even today guys like Dan from 'That Pedal Show' can spend 10 minutes without running out of another descriptor just trying to describe the sound.

When the Police hit the scene I new that Andy Summers was using the new at the time Roland Jazz Chorus stereo amp. I like many thought that those clean chorus sounds on the Police records were the Roland. Wrong!!! Everything was the sound of the E-H Flanger. The price of an original has headed to Klon-ville. A couple of stupidly overpriced poor copies have come and left.

In 2019 along came Retro-Sonic with an award winning killer clone ...as in duplicated sound!!!

A couple of reviewers did not complain but pointed out that

the EH had a teeny tiny nano bit more highs. They had to point it 

out because in their a/b test you could not hear it on-line. 

When you buy a new Reto-Sonic you get their v.2. 

So say Hi! to the highs. LOL

Cons ???
Fixed! v2 has the missing sparkle.

CONCLUSION

This is a conventional Flanger that does conventional Flanger stuff. It just does it with better tone than any other. It is only reason for me to buy one. I do not need

great revues or famous people swearing it is killer.

This is not a pedal that you turn on and say ...."It sounds great ....BUT"

There are no 'BUTS'.

A Tale of Two Flangers

In 1977 A/DA made their Flanger. It does not have the character of the EH. It was and still is all about state of the art function. It does sound good because it is analog but as clean as digital. It has a whole new set of fans since the pedal world now does great sales with players into 'Ambient' music especially with esoteric reverbs and delays. So guys into that have started to find out that many new Flangers are a rip off A/DA Flangers. They are not as good and cost even more. A great deal of new jobbies are digital so getting all the crazy esoteric stuff and staying analog is bonus. At the moment the AD/A PBF flanger is not to be found new or old anywhere. Reverb has zero.

OK ...finally ...the punch line.

A few years back I gave up on getting a E-H and Retro-Sonic did not exist. I settled on the A/DA. But the shortage of the A/DA pushed me into putting it on Reverb. Just 8 hours later it was sold. I took the money and bought the Retro-Sonic ... LOL

Yes folks ...I will have the 1954 Porsche 356 1500 Speedster ...of Flangers. LOL

OVERDRIVE- BIG KNOB Black Metallic Distortion ... a simple no bull high gain box with tone!!!

 BIG KNOB BLACK METALLIC DISTORTION 

$120.00 USD

Simple and to the point. A high gain overdrive with a great open tone that won't max that flexible friend tucked in your wallet. LOL 

The layout is just a level, tone and gain. It comes in a standard and reliable Hammond 1590B style box.

Big Knob do not offer Specs. It may be a modded Rat???

or even a modded BOSS DS-1 ???? I have a feeling it is a modded Boss SD-1 because of all the headroom.I use a Boss DS-1 when I need a tight but open sound.

CONCLUSION

A great fat and balzy sound without the headroom crushed so you get a really big open sound. Even if you own a pricey medium gain Plexi-in-a -Box this thing stacked with it could take it to a whole new level.

Definitely a maybe for anyone! Like me!!! :-)

OVERDRIVE FUZZLORDS EFFECTS Fet 120 Overdrive ...unexpectively cool!!!

FUZZLORDS EFFECTS FET 120 OVERDRIVE

$225.00 USD

The Fuzz lord guys sit in a tiny corner of out planet making dirt boxes for genres like Dome and Death Metal. Yes all handmade and cool like!

I am constantly amused since they sell product with an image of death and destruction but if you are on their YouTube site you meet Jason. The kind of guy you would trust to mind a group of toddlers down to the park to safely splash in the wading pool or get a push on the swings.

The description of the pedal is a bit ambiguous but it comes off sounding this is meant to be a 70's Orange Amp-In-a-Box. I find it a bit of a yawn when backed off but push it and you get a kind of sound that your Mother would hate!!!

The layout is simple with level, gain, treble and bass.

CONCLUSION

To be honest at the start of the video I thought the

pedal was mediocre. BIG BUT...just crank it a bit 

...no not dimed just a bit of a kick. Whoa!! the magic 

happens and the pedal has character big time. 

Just sh@tloads of personality. If this has all the markings

of pedals like the Rat and DOD 250 etc.of becoming

the next cult classic. No bull! It does!

DELAY- J. ROCKETT PEDALS Clockwork Echo ...the classic Memory Man updated right!

 J. ROCKETT PEDALS CLOCKWORK ECHO 

$400.00 USD

in 1976 Electro harmonix brought out the Memory Man. 

One of the first analog delays and they nailed the sound. Not long after the first Memory Man Deluxe came out. More features but the sound was not broken so they did not fix it!!! 

J.Rockett thought why not recreate it but with modern features? If you are going to reinvent the wheel why not pull that old guy who designed the first ones out of retirement. So up steps Howard Davis!

Surprise ...Surprise it paid off!

CONCLUSION

The results are impressive but like all of the

best vintage delays they may have different

features but they all have there own distinct

but desirable sounds. 

If they have all you need you can get pedals 

like the updated Ibanez AD80 knock off made

by NUX ..their DC3-03 at $60.00 USD. Boss

do a Waza craft update of the classic Boss DM-2

analog delay for $150.00 USD. Weight it up.

you have lots of good choices.

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.