If you've been on top of your game the last few years you know that Canada has been responsible for delivering some of the coolest and best sounding pedals to be seen in a long time. The last few years has shown some great boutique, one-man, and even big-time gear companies, all coming at you from The True North. One of these awesome pedal companies that I've had the pleasure of getting to know is Goudie FX, a great quality, super service operation run by the hard working and always pleasant Russel Goudie. These are effects pedals that any seasoned and tone conscience player will appreciate. They are extremely well built, tuned for every style of rock, and capable of adding some life to any setup. For those about to rock I say "Get your hands on some of these."
Goudie FX
Blue Daddy
Product Features:
* True Bypass Switching
* 9V DC - Pin 2.1 mm Adapter Jack/Battery Clip
* 5mm Bright Blue LED
* 1% Metal Film Resistors
* Polyester Metal Film Caps
* Socketed IC/ to allow experimentaion
* PCB Securely Mounted Using PEM Standoffs
* Two Year Warranty
When you dig gear as much as I do and tone is something you live and die by there is nothing better than the discovery of a great pedal company. I'm not exactly sure just how long Goudie FX has been in the scene but if I were to go on the sound of their pedals I'd say they've been doing this for quite some time. Their pedals are built extremely well, sound wonderful, and perform on the professional level. The first Goudie design we had the pleasure to run through was the Blue Daddy, a mellow, natural sounding overdrive pedal with the characteristics of mild tube distortion. Goudie FX got the inspiration to build the Blue Daddy from one of the best overdrivers of all time and one of my personal favorites...the original Bluesbreaker. The Bluesbreaker was a pedal that was around in the early 1990's and was known for it's great low to mid overdrive tone. Goudie FX not only improved this pedal but out of it came a design all their own. The Blue Daddy pushes your tone just far enough to create some sweet break-up, that grit we hunt for when we're pushing our favorite tube amps. If I had to throw this pedal into a musical category I'd say it is the perfect pedal for Blues Rock, Classic Rock, and all around Rock Rock Rock. The Blue Daddy is hands down one of the best mild overdrive pedals I have ever come across. The sound is mellow enough to live in the blues sound and just dirty enough to produce some great chunky rhythm/lead tones. Right from the get-go you're able to get a great sounding, solid, usable tone. In just about every position was I able to dial in something I'd be proud to play with. Let's face it not all pedals produce tones that can actually be usable on records, stages, and sessions. I have plugged in many 'o' pedals that sound interesting coming out of an amp, but once you mix them with a band setting or mic them everything goes to hell. This is not so with the Blue Daddy, it's design was aimed at producing some of the most organic drive tones which gives this pedal the ability to be used live and in recording sessions. Some cats dig digital, amp modeled, and overly processed guitar tones, not I. Not that there aren't some great devices out there that are capable of creating some pretty interesting sounds. It's just that when it comes to getting my guitar tones, especially my rhythm overdriven tones I like to use the most natural tube or tube-like sound as possible. One great example of pulling a killer overdrive tone from a pedal is Stevie Ray's double Tubescreamer tone. Something about feeding one TS into another just sounds really freakin great, it hands you a thick and rich overdrive that screams rock and blues. I've never been a huge fan of the TS style stompbox, the midrange pump and throaty sound has never worked for me, use two though and it's a whole different story. The Blue Daddy can get you that killer open, transparent, and well balanced drive tone that some get by stacking drive pedals or get by running clean boosters to drive tube amps. You get an overdrive sound that works perfectly for both chords and lead runs, sounds great for gigging and session work. I noticed that even with the Blue Daddy's three knobs I was able to get a wide range of different sounds. By using different guitar pickups I got some great tones that worked great for layering rhythm guitar tracks. The pedal adapts wonderfully to humbuckers and single alike. My favorite I would have to say was definitely running it through a Stratocaster, I got some spot-on classic rock and blues tones and with a flip of the knobs was able to get some more modern blues/rock sounds. You really bring your Strat pups to life with this pedal especially your neck pickup, which we all know can be a tuff pickup to control and shape. So who is the driving force and creator behind these fantastic pedals? It is no other than the very talented Russell Goudie. Russell really went to town testing and putting this design through it's paces making sure that in the end he was going to deliver a great sounding and performing overdriver. With this pedal he has solved many of the issues that come with vintage ovedrivers, the problems of inconsistency and one-trick pony pedals that come from the past. Every one of his Blue Daddy's will deliver great sound and is capable of producing more than just one usuable sound. These are pedals that work great with many different guitars, situations, and styles of music. Like all the overdrive pedal that come through here I had to run it through my baby, my custom Tele and favorite gigging, recording, and all around guitar. The Blue Daddy more than handled the neck humbucker and custom bridge pickup I had built for it. Even when engaging the Rothwell CLK switch that installed for splitting and manipulating the humbucker did it deliver some killer tones. I was able to get everything from meaty bucker sounds to tight'n'springy Strat drive, and rich'n'full P90 grit to light country rock twang dirt. Try that with an old TS808, not gonna happen. I've officially labeled the Blue Daddy the TS Killer, something you have to experience for yourself, you will absolutely love it. I also did run a clean booster in front of this pedal to see how well it handled some more power. Some pedals can tend to loose their character, tones fall apart, and eq becomes all out of wack when boosters are thrown into the mix. Not here my friends, again the Blue Daddy stood it's ground and did what I expected it would do. I can only imagine what stacking two of these badboys would sound like, maybe I can get Russell to shoot another one down...hehehehe. Seasoned players and tone freaks alike will love this pedal. You cats that love to keep it close to the tube arena will dig it, and anyone for a true love of tone will appreciate it. This is one of those pedals that let's your hands do all the talking, that really brings out the style you've worked so hard to get, and tone that loves in your bones.
For more info on Goudie FX you can go to www.goudiefx.com Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for more info on these killer pedals. We are super stoked to have discovered Goudie FX and can't wait to report back with more of their awesome designs.
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