Showing posts with label Fuzz Pedals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fuzz Pedals. Show all posts

Monday, February 14, 2011

Have much fear - Tonebutcher is here


 Bronx Cheer
dynamic fuzz

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I must say it has been an honor to have come across such a cool and creative stompbox company. Each and every Tonebutcher pedal that I have had the chance to try has been nothing short of amazing! In each one of these boxes I have found the ultimate in excitement and madness. Besides the crazy cool sounds that this particular Tonebutcher pedal is capable of it also sports the super hip signature Tonebutcher look - A look which by the way reminds me of a tail light on an old Volvo that I once drove. The Bronx Cheer is certainly a dynamic fuzz to say the least, and an effect that will inspire and pull from you tons of wild child riffs. Plugging into this bad boy I found myself drenched in a world of super thick and syrupy fuzz tones. And probably the most impressive thing about the Bronx Cheer is it does what it does with only a couple of controls. On it's face there are only two controls - one controlling the pedal's effect output, and a switch that flips between wild and wilder fuzz sounds. For those of you synth-fuzz loving, extreme rock tone addicts, this pedal will be a dream. A big part of wha this pedal dishes out has to do with what pickups you play it with and how you pluck and pick your guitar's strings.


At first go I thought to myself "How, when, and where will I use this pedal?" The fuzz tones  that were blaring from my amp had me overwhelmed and ready for new heights. I'll say this much, If you stompboxes adventures have only led you to the average everyday ol' fuzz box, you're in for quite a treat. Getting hooked on this pedal is as easy as plugging into a 100 watt monster and strumming away - something that will have you stuck for hours and hours. After cranking both the pedal and the amp I wanted to see what kind of range the Bronx Cheer had - so next came taming this beast. I began by setting the Super Lead clean and serene, and setting the pedal at it's mellowest level. This got me a tight and super focused fuzz tone that rumbled and filled the room with magic. My amp bled out a rhythm tone alien to anything I'd ever heard before. It was still chill enough to sit beautifully in a mix, yet aggressive enough to let cut through beautifully. The Les Paul's smooth sounding humbuckers ended up being a perfect candidate for the Bronx Cheer. Everything from fierce blues tones to slamming alt-rock guitar tones were ripe for the picking. Slowing I began rolling up the pedal's level while still in the mellower toggle switch setting. At mid levels the Bronx Cheer was entire different beast. Here it began dishing out subtle hints of frizzed out/synth-like undertones. The super thick'n'creamy fuzz tone was still there 100%, only now it was chased by a completely new animal. These tones were still very usable for blues licks and rock n'roll of all types. It especially sounded killer being played to dirtier rock flavors, such as garage, punk, and hard rock. Adding in some analog delay or reverb and I had a massive lead tone. Way up on the guitar's neck the pedal's tone stung with chilling wide open harmonics. Last, before going to the pedal heavier toggle switch setting I went ahead and blasted the level knob. Here the Super Lead sang and growled like a mythological ancient Greek beast. The only limits of what could be done were my imagination. Once I got an idea of the first setting's range, I flipped on over to the Bronx Cheer's wild side. I also swapped out the Les Paul for something with single coils - first P90's then a Strat with a set of spectacular handwound 60's spec pickups. My first impression was vintage Japanese fuzz meets classic Arbiter + robotic synth sputter. I don't know about you but I do love me a fuzz box that converts single note hits into huge sounding chords. Playing even the most elementary of single note guitar runs sounded like World War III. I could strike a single note and listen as it warped and transformed into a being of it's own. And still as wild and freaked out sounding as this setting was, it still had the original smooth and articulate fuzz sound that it had at low levels. Like the humbuckers the P90's created a sound all their own, being very punchy and in your face. This sound also ended up working quite nicely through low and med watt amps, and single speaker cabs. Containing and pushing the pedal's sound out through a smaller package seemed to bring out even more oddball harmonics and undertones. Again cranking the pedal and playing way up on the neck made for some interesting effects, and even cooler was dialing in some gritty amp tones then playing the Bronx Cheer through it. My chords all sounded twice as insane and exaggerated, lines and riffs became much more complex, and the simplest of licks sounded enormous. And as I began to delve deeper into the Bronx Cheer's mean side through different amp and guitars, I began to hear possibilities for other instruments, such as bass and keys, and even vocals. On hand I had myself an old Dano bass, a Rhodes keyboard, and a very hip electric mandolin. Each of these gadgets did something different when played through the Bronx Cheer, and all of them being down right awesome. This is something not possible with all fuzz pedal, especially with fuzz pedals that are a bit on the wilder side. Yes it's fine and dandy to own a crazy wild noise machine for experimentation and trickery. But this is only true if you can actually use those sounds. Many of the freakout fuzz machines that exist out there today are only that - noise machines. You get those pedals home and realize they can't be used for anything other than noise. The Tonebutcher Bronx Cheer is the alternative to many of these pedals. Once getting a hold of what this pedal is capable of it makes it almost impossible to walk away from, and mainly because of how usable it actually really is. I found dialing in the sounds I wanted was a cinch, getting completely original fuzz sounds was cake, and getting this pedal to go bananas was a walk in the park. I can only imagine what other strange and beautiful creation Tonebutcher has in store me next.


--------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           


You know where to go for more info on Tonebutcher.... but in case you don't the website is www.tonebutcher.com or click the direct link. You can also check out some video demos on our Youtube Search Engine at the bottom of our site, just type in Tonebutcher and the pedal you're seeking info on. We do have more to come very very soon so please hang tight you stompbox freaks.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Night of the Living Fuzz





Spencer Amps
Distortion Processors/Modifications






That's right kids, we've got another extra special treat for you from the awesome mind of Bill Spencer. Earlier this year when I discovered Spencer Amps I had no idea what I would be in for. In this life of a tone conscience/tone hunting fool - I come across and am introduced to lots of different gear. Some of the time the finds are real gems, and other times it is just more of the same. With Bill's gear it was a refreshing combination of familiar and wild'n'crazy tones. For those of you didn't catch our Spencer Amps feature on the Mystique Overdrive click here and come back to us once you've finished. You'll be glad you did. So what is it that makes these pedals a force of their own? Well, it appears Bill has a knack for uniting distortion tones with killer sounding fuzz. This is a talent that has led Bill to modify and design some real champion stompboxes. Below Bill has taken what in my opinion is not all that great of a pedal, and converted it into a spectacular one. You players that dig swimming within the distortion and fuzz box realm will ab-so-lut-ely dig this one. 




Supra Zombie Distortion
Mixfuzz (Total Conversion Mod)


Controls:
  • Level: Controls overall output, with enough on tap to send your amp into a fierce overdrive
  • Tone: Shapes your overdrive's tonal character - From smooth to sting
  • Gain: Dials in grit amount and overall aggression
  • Mix (Zombie): Works to blend in a second distortion circuit for a world of dirty tones

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is one pedal I have been very very excited to share with you. I have always thought DOD pedals could be easily improved on and always wondered why more builder hadn't done so. Bill Spencer's "Zombie" modification of the DOD Supra Distortion is one that not only converts this pedal into a higher quality stompbox, it also provides it with the ability to deliver tons more tonal possibilities. What was once a normal run of the mill dirt pedal, is now a beast of many many faces. The Supra Zombie is capable of hitting you with everything from gritty boosts and overdrives, to distortions of all types and fuzz's of all colors. But dirty signals isn't all this pedal can do, no sir. In the right settings this pedal is also capable of synth-like tones, gated overdrives, and even controllable noise and feedback sound effects. Exactly how this pedal does this I won't get into. If you'd really like to read up on the specs and techs of the Supra Zombie you can click here. Instead I will share with you my experience with this saucy demon.

One of my favorite amp's to push with the Supra Zombie was a mighty fine ol' 22 watt Fender Deluxe. This amp's ability to go into naturally smooth and silky overdrives, makes for a great painting canvas. The Deluxe is an amp that on it's own is capable of great clean, semi-clean, gritty, and all-out distorted tones. By playing the Supra Zombie through this amp I was able to add to and accent everything the amp created. Guitars of all sorts were also something this pedal worked with magnificently. Through the Deluxe amp P90's and Strat pickups were my favorite. With the Strat I was able to get awesome Texas blues tones, super sustain soaked lead tones, and Hendrix-like fuzz tones. With the P90's I was able to some of the most aggressive and brutal dirt tones ever! And getting all of these tones was a cinch too, all thanks to the Zombie knob. Some dirt pedals you will wit with for hours trying to find and dial in sweet spots. Many dirt pedal you will plug into and just end up with the same old thing. With this baby that ain't so. In one direction the Zombie control will act much like an overdriven tube amp, giving you plenty of dynamics and letting you control the character of the crunch with your pick attack. At the opposite end the Zombie knob will take you into non-traditional dirt tones. I began by experimenting with the pedal without it's Zombie circuit blended into the signal. I Set the pedal's level and tone at noon, and the gain at 9'o'clock. Here the pedal pushed out a spot-on Pete Townshend rhythm tone that sounded amazing through all types of chord work. No matter how strong or soft I pushed the strings, the signal would dish out balanced and defined notes. It was something quite special actually, and it really took me my surprise. Strumming lightly the Supra Zombie kicked out perfectly clean notes that had plenty of sparkle and chime. Whenever I wanted more from the pedal I had to do was dig into the strings and I was home-free. With every bit of gain that I added to the signal I would get more crunch and more attitude. Once I got to about noon on the gain knob, the pedal began producing these harmonically rich super charged under/overtones that sang and howled with every little touch. This was really noticeable when chugging down on the strings, playing up on the higher frets, playing harmonics, and bending and playing double-stops. Here I was able to dial in a killer sounding David Gilmour lead tones. Then by adding in a hint of analog delay only made it that much better. Last before getting into the Zombie knob I went ahead and cranked the gain to full blast. Just like I expected the pedal's grit stayed intact with killer note articulation and smooth sweet compression. But even with the gain at full blast the pedal wasn't done doing it's magic. By rolling off on the tone knob I was able to get even more tonal characteristics and colors.And then, it was time to mix in the Zombie control.I started slowly, rolling it up while playing a chord. At low levels the Zombie control created these light synth-like tones that only got in the way enough to give the tone some extra sizzle. I began crunching down on a bunch of complex huge chords, and just like magic the pedal was able to hold it's own. Everything from riffing to bending sounded spectacular! Then I rolled the Zombie up a little more and the pedal began creating these killer sounding gated overdrive/distortion tones. But unlike sticking a normal gate pedal into your signal, this baby made things much more user friendly. The Zombie control was able to maintain and tighten the guitar's overall signal, yet produced a smooth enough roll-off that things didn't sound too choppy or robotic. Then I set the Zombie control at noon and things really started getting interesting. Here is where the signal turned into something other than just an overdrive or distortion tone. It was synth city all the way.And once this started the possibilities were endless. I was able to shape and mold the tone with my guitar's volume and tone, with my picking, and with my feedback. It was lovely! A little trick I found to be quite fun was playing way close to the bridge, with the volume rolled back half way, and the tone at full blast. Talk about a stinging hot signal. Passed noon the Zombie control began to blend a perfect balance of the first distortion stage into the second one. I got plenty of sizzle and zap, lots of smooth overdrive, and a hell of a lot of weird overtones. The type of pickups I played with the Zombie circuit engaged also made a huge difference on it's outcome. High watt amps, overdriven signals, through clean boosters, wah pedals, dirt boxes, etc... all sounded rock and roll. What was really cool though was how the pedal's dirt signal would stay defined and balanced no matter how much gain or Zombie I introduced into it. For anyone on the hunt for something a little bit different, a little bit strange, yet capable of getting back to the traditional - this pedal is it. If any of you out there have a stock DOD© Supra Distortion laying around the house collecting dust - Do yourself a favor and contact Bill Spencer for a proper mod. You'll be stoked you did!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


For more info on Spencer Amps go to www.spenceramps.com or click one of the Spencer Amps links. Make sure to check out our other Spencer Amps reviews and look out for more from this company in the near future. 

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

LSD Frequency

Mountainking Electronics




Having the amount of variety that today's effects pedal world has to offer, has provided us with just about every tool needed to recreate and shape any tone imaginable. Just look at any of your favorite guitar player's rigs, setups, or pedalboads, and you will be sure to find an impressive collection of stompboxes and gadgets. This has made today's music much more interesting and given us some of the most memorable guitar lines ever. Compared to 20 years ago, today's musician can pull off way more sonic stunts while performing live. This is all possible because of the awesome gear that companies like Mountainking Electronics is provided us with. Mountainking's stompboxes will take you down only one road - True originality. Alan Pavlica, the creator and builder of Mountainking Elecronics, is truly one of the most talented and inventive cats I have ever come across. Anyone who has ever tried to created something out of nothing knows it is not an easy task. If we're patient and put in the work, our efforts will be successful. And if we're lucky enough, every now and then our tone shaping adventures will give birth to something completely original and unique. Alan's stompboxes are here to make sure we don't miss any of these opportunities.


-----------------------------------------------------


Frequency LSD
(synthesized-oscillating-note shifting-world of fuzz)




CONTROLS
Sag: Starves pedal's voltage - Creating a world of possibilities
Feedback: Works as feedback loop - Changing fuzz's character
Color: Works as tone control - Giving you many shades of sound
Out: Effect output - Makes it truly squeal
Freq Out Switch: Ungates circuit - Making things go wild
Turn On: Engages effect

----------------------------------------------------

Once the pedal boom kicked into full swing, and fuzz boxes became the talk of the town once again. Builders began to experiment with different tones, textures, and sound effects. This gave birth to an entirely different breed of fuzz box. Just like Hendrix, Page, and Townshend experiencing fuzz boxes for the first time, today's players also found new psyched-out colors to paint and express themselves with. I will have to admit - When I first came across my first "freakout" style fuzz pedal I was quite scared and damn confused. There was just so much going on with the sound that I had no clue what to do with myself. The Frequency LSD brought me back to this exciting and fresh world sonic assaults. The controls on this pedal interact so well with one another that the possibilities are just about endless. I won't go into the exact details of how each control works. This is really a pedal one needs to experience for themselves in order to learn it's rhythm. Instead I will share with you the many strange and beautiful shapes and colors I was able to pull from it.


What pickup, guitar, amp, and tone you play this pedal with really makes a huge difference in it's tonal outcome. How you pick and dig into the notes also affects how the sound and character will turn out. I wanted to start by getting as stinging a tone as possible, something that would cut through any mix. So I started with an ice cold Tele and AC15 clone. I ran the Frequency LSD straight up the middle and set the amp up as gritty and crunchy as possible. I was not prepared for the insanely cool sound that went flying out of my cabinet. The pedal created all of the characteristics of a traditional fuzz, only with a layer of thick synth-like overtones following closely behind. The possibilities with a sound like this are endless. For there is nothing better than a crazy sounding fuzz that can be used musically. A lot of the oddball fuzz boxes that are out there today just don't cut it. Either they lack in versatility or cannot be used to make anything that sounds like music. This is what I noticed right away that separated this box from many others. I began to dig in and let loose on some bluesy licks and riffs and was able to get everything from Black Keys and White Stripes tones, to QOTSA and NIN sounds. In fact, this pedal took those sounds to whole new level, by adding a world glitch'd out semi-controllable madness. Don't ask me how, but somehow Alan was able design this pedal to work extremely wild but with the ability to still deliver defined and clear notes. Even when I took the LSD to buzz sawing sputtering type tones I was able to hear what I was doing loud and clear. I started playing around with the Sag and Color controls and quickly the pedal responded by giving me an entirely new flavor of the existing sound. The further I'd turn the Sag control, the more it would squash and rip my sound apart. At extreme Sag setting the notes would even morph and grow entirely new sounds from one another. Very cool stuff. All that was going through my mind was psychedelia madness. I can only imagine what the cats in the 60's would have done if they had had access to something like this. Something else that really turned me on about this pedal was how well it worked with other effects. It didn't matter what you stacked it up against, it would blend to create even more extreme sound effects. I was able to convert my guitar into something completely different sounding by just splashing on some delay or reverb. So far the pedal worked great through a dirty signal, but now it was time for some spankin' good clean tones. I broke out my modified Hot Rod Deville and partner's Jazzmaster. Once engaged the Frequency LSD ate everything clean about the sound converted it into one of these meanest sounding fuzz tones I had ever heard. I has never heard such insane sounding square wave and sine wave fuzz tones in all my life. I then discovered while playing with the controls that the pedal would self-oscillate. I was able to control the sounds with my guitar's pickups by switching from neck to bridge, and by playing with the tone and volume knobs. I also plugged in a Les Paul, which was able to get me some really tasty smooth fuzz goodness. I could literally sustain a note as long as I wanted by simply digging in and shaking the note with my fingers. With a little patience I was also able to get some cool vintage Shin-ei fuzz tones. If you've ever played one of those old Japanese fuzz boxes you know how hip and original a sound they can create. By the time I was done playing with the Frequency LSD I had more fuzz tones under my belt than I knew what to do with. In today's world of rock'n'roll, just like in yesterday's world of rock'n'roll, there are no rules. You take what you find or can muster up, and you mold into something creative. Tools like the Frequency LSD are the perfect weapons to give anyone a head start.

----------------------------------------------------



For more info on Mountainking Electronics go to www.mountainkingelectronics.com You can also visit Alan on Myspace at www.myspace.com/mountainkingelectronics There you will find more awesome creations and video demos. Stay tuned for more.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Deep Trip Land/Lessons in Fuzz Part 2



It's time to bring you guys the next round in the Deep Trip Land saga, just make sure stay in your seats and try not to fall out. For those of you not hip on Deep Trip, pay attention and get ready to be schooled. I am probably the biggest fuzz box addict I know. Meaning I am a sucker for a great sounding fuzz tone. It is the sound of the fuzz that has always drawn me to so many of my favorite tunes. It is also the fuzz that makes the most excited when gigging or recording. A great fuzz box can do for you what no other dirt box can. It can literally rise your tone to rock god status in the blink of an eye. The cats at Deep Trip most definitely share the love and passion I have for fuzz pedals, and I'm sure definitely I suffer from the same bug. In the many years I have been playing music there are only a handful of fuzz pedals I consider timeless champions. You know the pedals of which I speak. They are the ones that give us goosebumps, make us sweat, and drive us mad. These here pedals are amongst those few champions.


Deep Trip
Hellbender


  • Power Consume: 10mA
  • Swiftcraft Jacks
  • Alpha Pots
  • External Battery Drawer
  • 9v (-) DC jack Operation
  • Nos Ger Transistors

  • Volume Knob: Controls overall output
  • Mood Knob: External bias control for one of the Ger transistors
  • Fuzz Knob: Controls dirt, texture, grit, etc...
  • Mode Switch: Adds high impedance cell in front of circuit
  • Voice Switch: Filters out bass frequencies and decreases overall gain

-----------------------------------------------------------------------


I don't even know where to start with this pedal. The Hellbender is a pedal that has lived on my pedalboard since the day it arrived on my doorstep. The controls on the Hellbender give it the ability to land in both vintage and modern fuzz territories, and everything in between. This alone sets this fuzz box apart from many others on the market today, but it's more than this that makes this pedal so special. Getting a cool sounding fuzz tone from a stompbox is something that isn't all too difficult. It's dialing in a fuzz tone that makes you shiver and drives your speakers into howling beasts that's the challenge. I believe it is a combination of a few things that makes Deep Trip pedals the champs that they are today. #1. The components. Having a keen ear for what makes certain components tick is something that cannot be taught. This is something only a passionate and experienced ear can pick out. Then there's getting a hold of these parts, which isn't always an easy task. #2. You must have the talent the create the sounds that live on your head. I can dream up a thousand cool tones, but bringing them to life is a whole different thing. #3. There must be some kind of mojo, hippness, and mystique to a box to make it legendary. Many of the classic fuzz boxes had this element about them, which is why they are still so hunted down. Deep Trip posses all of these traits, and uses them to create what I think are some of the best pedals out there today. Let's also not forget that Deep Trip pedals also have one of the coolest looks in existence.

This is a pedal I know inside and out. I've used the Hellbender in the last couple bands I've played in and continue to do so to this day. And for those of you thinking "Ok so it's just another Tonebender clone..", uh uh, that it not all it can do. The Hellbender is not all looks and class. Under the hood of this pedal are some of the world's finest components and parts, which give it the ability to produce some of the greatest feeling and sounding fuzz tones out there today. One of the of the things I dig most about the Hellbender is it's ability to blend well with other dirt signals, whether they be tube amp or stompbox grit. This pedal also sounds especially good when being pushed with clean boosters. You can literally set this pedal in either of it's mode or voice settings, dial in a medium fuzz, and get yourself a stunning tone. For recording you can get humongous tones from this baby by pushing it through a medium watt tube amp (22-40 watts) and setting it up slightly dirty. Just throw a decent mic on the cab, and another mic in room for some ambiance, and you're home free. When gigging it's a whole different story. I like to dial in big'n'loud clean tones, then enjoy stacking theHellbender's fuzz tones on top of them. This gives me all of the sparkle and bounce of the clean tone mixed in with the unique and exciting sound of the pedal. The Hellbender works like a true classic champ in this area. I have used a variety of different amps in my time, most if them being Fenders, some Vox, some god knows what they were. The most important thing when using clean tones as my root tone has always been finding dirt pedals that work with the signal and not against it. Our friends over at Deep Trip must have had the same thing on their mind when they created their pedals. The Hellbender most of all works super fantastic through clean tones because of it's fat, warm, and huge sound. It naturally has adds lots of spank, size, and weight to anything it touches. So you can only imagine what this pedal does through a dirty signal. Pickups play a huge roll in how this pedal dishing out tone as well. You can plug in your vintage Strat to get thumping, spanking fuzz tones, plug in a semi-hollow body for a more earthy fuzz tone, P90's to get something super aggressive, or a modern style guitar to get something with some edge. I also found using Jazzmaster and Jaguar style pickups work quite nicely with this pedal. The Hellbender responds to guitars volume controls really well, giving you different takes on the set tone. This is always great for live shows or in those moments when you can't get to your pedal to switch it on or off. There are certain tunes where I will leave the Hellbender on at all times and only use my volume control to go from rhythm and lead tones. The versatility this pedal has is also something that is quite attractive. With it's voice toggle switch and Mood control alone the Hellbender can give you a world of different fuzz flavors to choose from. In it's upper setting the voice switch gives the pedal it's fattest boomiest tone. This will take you to insane QOTSA type fuzz tones, and produce great warm vintage fuzz tones in low fuzz settings. In the middle setting the voice switch gives you it's thinnest tone. This is great for slicing through any mix, for screaming/scorching lead, and for adding some bite to your pickups. The down position of the voice switch gives you somewhere in between the other two setting, with more punchy mids, throatier feel, and tighter reaction. Here you can get just about anything you want. From Black Sabbath tones to Jack White, and Wolfmother to Zeppelin. Then depending on where you have the mood knob set you can get stinging fuzz, splatty fuzz, octa-fuzz, buzzing fuzz, dead battery effects, and so on and so fourth. The mode switch can also come in handy and works great for getting a more sparkling and defined tone. With this switch engaged your dynamics, harmonics, undertones and overtones, all hit the distortion signal much quicker. Giving you a more in-your-face tone. This mode switch is also a great option for playing the Hellbender through a wah. The Hellbender definitely has one of the widest tone palette's out there, and just like all of the Deep trip pedals it is built to last. These will be amongst the few modern stompboxes that will become timeless champions and collectibles. Deep Trip has done their homework to the fullest and knocked out what are some true winners. I cannot wait to see what these cats can do with a distortion or overdrive pedal. ;^)


-----------------------------------------------------




For more info on Deep Trip pedals go to www.deeptripland.com or click on the direct link in our sidebar. We will be wrapping up our three part article on Deep Trip very soon so make sure to look out for out next feature. The Deep Trip website has a bunch more interesting and cool info on their pedals so make sure to stop by. See ya soon.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Guitar's Best Friend

Spencer Amps

That's right kids... I've hunted down another kickass effects pedal company. And his little outfit has really caught me by surprise. Spencer Amps is the brain child of one Bill Spencer, a passionate and experienced brother on a mission to build some of the best sounding and performing musical gadgets. Bill's outlook on the pedal game is aimed in one direction and one direction only...... to bring us tone hungry players as many original and interesting designs as possible. We're talking a cat that built his first fuzz box back in 76', a cat with numerous pedal and vacuum tube circuits under his belt, and a cat with 28 years experience in electronics, digital hardware design, patents, and repair. Throw in a musicians passion for tone and there you have it, Spencer Amps.

------------------------------------------


Mystique
Overdrive w/Fuzz


  • X-Mode Switch: Provides Xaggerated, Fuzz, and Normal
  • Volume: Dishes out loads of output
  • Tone: Enhances bass,treb, and mid frequencies
  • Gain: Adds various types of characteristics to tone

--------------------------------------------

For me it was most definitely the X-Mode Switch that reeled me in and had me hooked. In the Normal mode alone I was pretty satisfied, but things just got even better when I tapped into both the Fuzz and Xaggerated modes. Another thing I dug about this pedal was that Bill was able to deliver an extremely versatile dirt box, while able to keep things familiar, and without going overboard on the controls. Many dirt pedals with the same types of capabilities will end up having twice as many controls, on twice the size enclosure. I was able to find usable tones in all modes, found it worked great through clean tones (huge plus!) as well as dirty ones, and the Mystique also played well with others. The simple handcrafted design of this pedal really comes though and it reminds you that there are still a few die hard boutique operations out there.

I don't even know where to begin, this pedal hit me with way more than I was ready for. I guess I'll start with my 4x10 Deville and 60's Strat build. Like many of you I'm sure know by now, I rarely push my Deville to overdriven levels. This means I must either A: have a pedal/pedals that will maintain my root tone, or B: a pedal/pedals that will enhance my root tone. The Mystique went way beyond any of these expectations. I first set the pedal to it's N setting (Normal). I matched the volume output to the amp's, rolled back on the lows just a tad to accent the amp's round sound, and started with the gain at around 15%. What I got was this; The Strat's booomy/spanking tone, amp's tight'n'warm sound, and Mystique's defined and rich vibe.... all in one sound! As I kept cranking the gain level up higher I noticed that the clarity and definition of my tone stayed intact, as if it were pushing out a hint of my clean signal along with the dirt. This my friends was be-a-u-ti-ful. I sometimes mix in a dirty signal through a parallel effects looper to achieve this same feel. It provides an enormous sounding tone that cannot be rivaled. Like playing through two amps. This was the type of sound the Mystique's N setting did for me. This effect would become more intense, and my overdrive would become more gritty when played through humbuckers. The break-up in my notes came and crumbled away with ease, never being too harsh and always working with my hands and fingers. Next I switched into the F mode (Fuzz). Something that really caught me off guard in this setting was the intensity and usable nature of the sound. The sound was howling mad at times, producing these huge throaty fuzz tones. But just like a well put together engine and exhaust of a killer muscle car it was tolerable and killer sounding. It also sounded great and adapted beautifully to my clean tone, and even better than that was this sound through a dirty tone. With the gain control set light while in the F I was able to produce these cool 50/50 distortion/fuzz tones. My favorite was definitely P90's, a slightly gritty amp tone, and a light pedal fuzz tone. Think of Tom Petty's Mary Jane guitar tone and you got the tone I'm talking about. It broke up beautifully, had plenty of splat, and lots clarity. To get a lead tone out of this tone all I did was push it with a clean booster or overdriver. Some pedals do not play nice with others.... this pedal does. In medium fuzz settings the pedal created fat'n'smooth fuzz tones that worked for both rhythm playing or lead lick work. Next it was time to switch amps, I wanted to see if this pedal worked good in small gig settings, studio levels, and bedroom levels. Cause as we all know, there are lots of pedals that can do either a solid quiet or loud tone, but rarely both. If there's one thing I hate it's not being able to reproduce my stage tones into the studio, or late at night when I'm writing and rocking out. For finding pedals that sound and work great with small amps are always a secret weapon and a gold find. The recruit for experimenting with some low level tones was a 15/7 watt head set to 7 watts, a 1x12 cab, and a Tele with a bucker in the neck. In light to medium fuzz settings the pedal and amp created these tight'n'focused fuzz/distortion tones that worked great for rhythm playing. Big, chunky, and full of body. Rolling off the guitar knob about half way brought about some tasty semi-clean tones, and once again pushing this tone with a booster provided me with some lead tones. I was stoked at how many sounds I was able to get from this one setting. At full blast the F setting did things that just plain scared me. The sound was somewhere between a super smooth distortion pedal and screaming vintage style fuzz box. Last was the X setting, where things got even wilder and cooler. This setting was kind of a mix of the other two. I was able to get some over the top overdrive/distortion tones, while able to also get lots of clarity, punch, and sparkle. In this setting the lows became much fuzzier, highs became more intense, and mids more pronounced. This setting sounded especially good when cranked up real loud. It pushed out this big meaty tone that ate up everything in it's way. A great setting for cutting through any mix. I also found the X setting sounded nice when stacked up with another dirty guitar, and when playing up in the higher frets of my guitar. Playing blues guitar with the tone at around 9'o'clock, gain at noon, and volume slightly pushing the tubes, created a tone to die for! It was tuff to pin-point whether I was hearing a modern or vintage tone through the X mode. It had the same characteristics of an brutal modern distortion tone, but also the forgiving nature of a vintage overdrive sound. The more I cranked the gain knob or used the volume to push the amp, the more the grit reacted like a vacuum tube. This meant it responded well to the guitar's volume, and was also a great candidate for clean boosters and other drive pedals. By the time I was done playing with this pedal I was dizzy with excitement, like being tone buzzed... if there is a such thing. Bill Spencer's mission to deliver a unique and usable dirt box is totally captured in the Mystique. At times I felt like I was playing some priceless 60's fuzz box. While other times I felt like I was tapping into something completely new. This is the magic behind Spencer Amp's pedals, the experience that Bill owns, and the visions he is skillfully able to bring to light. Get some!

-------------------------------------------------



Make sure and check out the new Spencer Amps website at www.spenceramps.com Analog War Cry will be looking into more of these super cool pedals and sharing with ya'll our insight and feelings behind them. Stay tuned for more from Spencer Amps!

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Mar: Monthly Pick / Backbeat Electric



We've had some awesome luck here at AWC hunting down and discovering a ton of killer sounding tone tools. Our first year saw many innovative, revolutionary, and one-of-a-kind music gadgets. Along with the pedal boom also came many many builders producing their take on vintage voiced effects pedals. If there's one thing we can never go wrong on it's a great classic rock sounding fuzz box, overdriver, or distortion pedal. One of the golden finds for us this last year and what we've chosen as our March Monthly Pick is Backbeat Electric. A German handmade effects pedal company with a collection of mind blowing stompboxes that are more than capable of delivering a rockin' good time. The focus of the Backbeat Electric team does seem to be on the vintage vibe side of things, which they have masterfully recreated, but it doesn't end there. You will find yourself easily capable of dialing in both classic and modern rock tones with these pedals, and at the same time find yourself in a sea of high quality dirt tones. With the touch of class and style that Backbeat Electric has thrown into the mix, you will also find yourself owning one of the coolest looking stompboxes to land your pedalboard.


---------------------------------------------------

Backbeat Electric


X-Bender
Fuzz/Distortion


Features
* Anti-Slide Bottom Plate
* Heavy-Duty Aluminum Case
* Stained Fireland Cherry Tree Side Walls
* 9v DC Jack w/Battery Off Switch
* Sliding Drawer 9v Battery Compartment
* Handbuilt in Germany
* High Quality Components
* True Bypass Circuit

-----------------------------------------------------

Ladies and gents, let me introduce you to the mighty mighty X-Bender from Backbeat Electric. This three knob, user friendly, and built to last stompbox was capable of some of the loveliest rock tones I've ever had the pleasure of rocking out to. The X-Bender's control layout is simple, Volume, Tone, and Sustain. There are In and Out jacks, a true bypass switch, and it can run off of it's 9v DC jack or a single 9v battery. It's anti-slide bottom plate keeps the pedal in it's place, a sliding battery compartment makes swapping 9 volts easy as pie, and when using the 9v DC jack an On/Off battery switch saves your battery power. The X-Bender is built with high quality components and it sports true bypass switching. You all know I am a huge fan of the fuzz pedal world and can never get enough of these bad boys. I am also tuff on a lot of the madness that is out there trying to call itself authentic fuzz. I'll tell you one think, the X-Bender easily makes the cut. This is a pedal built for one thing and one thing only... Sweet awesome epic fuzz tones!



For this pedal demo I pulled out an array of different amps and guitars. This is something I always like to do whenever coming across an awesome and versatile fuzz box. I plugged in low watt amps, mid watt amps, and of course the mean high gain amps. Through each of these amps I was able to pull great sounding rhythm, lead, and experimental fuzz tones. The three guitars that did the job for this session were my dear sweet Erica, Lady, and Solo (aka Hagstrom Viking, Custom Tele, and Junior copy). I paired the X-Bender up with a handful of my favorite effect pedals, ran it with some boosters for extra juice, and also played some gigs with it. In all of these applications the X-Bender came through like a true champion. I'll start with my low watt 15/7 watt head and 1x12 cab. I plugged in the semi-hollow body Hagstrom Viking, set the amp to 15 watts, and dialed in as clean a tone as possible. I matched the X-Bender's output to the amp's, set the tone a bit bright to balance out the amp's warmth, and last dialed in about 15% of the sustain/fuzz effect. The perfect rhythm guitar tone came screaming from my little amplifier. I had great tight lows, chunky mids, and just the right amount of highs. The fuzz effect of the X-Bender was thick, raspy, but focused and full of definition. Everything from simple to complex chords sounded great, riffs to quick lead runs, and light bluesy'n'jazzy playing. By rolling down some of the guitar's tone and switching to the neck humbucker I was able to get an even smoother and rounder rock tone. It was somewhere between a light blues tone and a woman tone. Next I pushed the X-Bender's sustain knob up to about 50%, rolled down the tone, and cranked the volume to help bring the tube amp into a bit of natural aggression. I was stunned at how well the fuzz sound stayed intact and how much control I still had over my notes. With some fuzz pedals when you start to turn things up you also start to loose a bit of what you naturally hold in your hands. This was not the case with this bad boy. Even in the highest of fuzz settings was I able to do my thing and let my playing do the talking. Not once did my playing get lost in a sea of fizzy madness. Just for kicks I dropped the amp wattage from 15 to 7 watts. I was surprised at how giant a fuzz tone came from the 1x12 cab. I was able to setup great sounding bedroom levels, recording levels and small gig settings. In fact this was the setup I used when I gigged the X-Bender. The next amp to see some of the X-Bender's fury was my modified Hot Rod Deville, dialed in to a big'n'beautiful clean tone with lots of lows, mids, and a perfect amount of highs. The guitar of choice for this amp was the neck bucker custom Tele. The X-Bender was able to turn the Hot Rod's clean tone into a screaming/howling fuzz. In low fuzz settings with the Tele's neck humbucker and some of the guitar's tone shaved off, I got these great distortion/fuzz sounds that rumbled the 4x10 Deville into a hard rock rhythm machine. To blow into a banshee lead tone all I had to do was turn the sustain knob up, flip the tone knob back to unity, and kick into the lead Tele's bridge pickup. Then to get an even more intense fuzz sound I paired the X-Bender up with a great sounding clean booster. Both pedals played well with each other and complimented one another's strong points. The X-Bender was proving to be another well rounded, great sounding fuzz box. Finally I pushed the X-Bender through my 100 watt Super Lead and single P90 Junior copy. The thick but loose feel of the P90 combined with the natural overdrive of the Super Lead worked beautifully! The fuzz and distortion sounds I was able to get from this setup was completely different from the rest. I was able to pull out more of a midrange focus, and looser highs and lows. I also found that rolling the amp back into a mellower, semi-clean tone worked very very nicely. This was by far one of the best tones I got throughout the entire demo. It sounded like an epic stadium rock tone. Before putting this amp away I had to do one thing... Pull out the Strat and a great sounding vibe pedal. And what tones do you think I went for here? That's right, Hendrix and Trower tones. I'm not saying it was an easy thing to do, but it was certainly much easier having a rockin' tube amp, a killer guitar, a sweet vibe, and a epic sounding fuzz box. I dialed in a medium amount of fuzz from the X-Bender, pushed it through a smooth low distortion, then dialed in my vibe to a great all-around tone. I was in killer tone heaven! The combo of everything engaged created pure tonal bliss. Some gear can't be used like this, once you start to pair things up you notice certain tones eating away at others. I was stoked to discover this was not an issue with the X-Bender when pairing it up with multiple gadgets. Last was the couple gigs I played with this pedal. For this I took my small 15/7 head and a 2x10 cab. I'm always big on taking low watt amps and pushing them to sound stronger than they appear. This was exactly what I was able to do with the X-Bender. Once mic'd, the sound that came out of the PA was gigantic. No one would have ever known I was pushing 7 watts through a 2x10 cab. In the end the X-Bender worked great for just about everything. I was able to get both modern and vintage fuzz tones, subtle and extreme sounds, and everything in between. I highly recommend anyone looking for a versatile and powerful fuzz box to look into the Backbeat Electric pedal line. I've said it before and I'll say it again. The last year or so has been one awesome ride of sweet and killer effects and gear. Backbeat Electric's X-Bender easily falls into this category.


---------------------------------------------------



For more info on Backbeat-Electric go to www.backbeat-electric.com or click the direct link in our sidebar. Backbeat Electric offers a wide range of awesome sounding fuzz that you're sure to fall in love with. Make sure and stay tuned for more from this super hip company. Peace!

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Top Finds of 2009 / Octave Drone


If there's one pedal company that never ever disappoints and always comes through with innovative, great sounding pedals it's Seppuku FX. Rhys Gillespie, mastermind behind the Seppuku name, has been steadily producing some of the music world's most exciting effect pedals for the last couple years now. As new to the game as Rhys is he has certainly proved himself and his talents with his unique and inspiring designs. This is a builder who's visions and creativity flow effortlessly and naturally. I can only imagine the future holds more of the same for the Seppuku FX line. For those of you looking to take your sound into the dark and bright spaces of psychedelic rock and roll, these are the pedals for you. For those of you looking to open your minds with swirling colors of sonic vibrations, these are the pedals for you. For those of you looking for something other than the norm......... these are the pedals for you.

---------------------------------------------------

Seppuku FX
Melbourne, Australia
Builder/Designer: Rhys Gillespie
Years in the Game: 2



Octave Drone
Octave Fuzz Pedal



* True Bypass Circuit
* Heavy Duty Aluminum Enclosure
* 9V Center - Adapter
* High Quality Parts & Components
* Hand Built in Australia

Controls
* Volume: Controls preamp volume
* Input Gain: Controls effect amount
* Input Filter: Controls frequencies amplified by preamp

(These is the control layout for the first generation Octave Drone which is the model I have and which is pictured above. Newer model is pictured below.)

-----------------------------------------------------

One would think from the sounds capable out of this pedal that the control layout would be much more complex. Rhys somehow figured out how to keep this pedal simple and user friendly, while able to do the magic that it does. On board you find exactly what is needed to get the job done, no more no less. The pair of knobs and single toggle switch of the Octave Drone deliver more variety than I've seen from much more expensive and multi-featured stompboxes. You can always count on me to be a huge fan of cats that know how to keep it simple while at the same time able to dish out tons of tone. The Octave Drone's layout goes like so; Input Filter, Input Gain, and Volume. The Input Filter control on this pedal is really quite special as it is capable of not only giving you control over the frequency flavor but also the effect's size and weight. The possibilities can go anywhere from fizzy, sharp, thin'n'brutal, to wide, gooey, thick'n'creamy. The Input Gain controls the pedal's overall effect amount and aggression. Here you can dial in low-gain gritty fuzz tones all the way to "Time to sell the house because we killed the neighbors with noise." fuzz. The Volume sets your overall output and has enough power to push your amp even further. In both octave settings the Octave Drone is capable of maintaining a tight and focused sounds, or wild and unpredictable madness. Chords, lead runs, double stops, and massive bends all sound fantastic through this pedal. The pedal works well with many different pickups, amp settings, and playing styles. You will find yourself able to pull classic and modern rock vibes from this pedal, and also create wild and furious experimental effects.

As a pedal fiend and gear junky I've always found myself drawn to the mystical sounds of the fuzz effect. Fuzz throughout rock and roll's history has always been able create memorable and timeless music. Fuzz isn't distortion and it isn't overdrive, it lives in a category all it's own while at the same time capable of delivering subtle hints of it's close cousins. I found the Octave Drone to be exactly this type of fuzz, a fuzz sound you can take into a world of it's own while at the same time able to scratch at hints of both distortion and overdrive. It is this type of fuzz box that always pulls the creative side out of us players, and keeps things exciting and fresh. I started the Octave Drone's demo through a JCM 800 Lead Series combo (one of the best amps of all time if I do say so myself) and a self-built 70's spec Stratocaster. I started with the amp's Normal channel with Vol, Treb, and Bass all at noon. The Octave Drone was set with it's Volume unity to the amp's, Input Gain back at 3'0'clock, and in it's Input Filter in the more subtle 1-Octave down setting. Without the pedal engaged the JCM's tone was thick, creamy, and swimming in thumping richness. Blended with the pedal the overall sound became even more splendid! I got a subtle but edgy octave fuzz effect that worked nicely with both rhythm, riffs, and lead work. Most exciting was the ring modulation sounds I got when playing double stops and unison bends. The higher the fret the more intense the ring mod sound became, and the more fuzz added to the signal the more possibility for off-the-wall tones. In lower fuzz settings a nice amount of the clean signal is still present, this makes for a super cool 50/50 (clean/dirty) tone. Rolling up the gain amount made things much heavier and changed the character of the overall sound. The fuzz's behavior also became much more interesting. The Octave Drone's sound swirled and morphed into a bunch of futuristic and psychedelic rock sounds. In it's 1-octave down setting I was able to produce everything from traditional classic rock fuzz tones to sharp'n'violent modern sound effects. Just when I thought things couldn't possibly get better I flipped the Input Filter switch into it's more intense setting and OH MOMMA! This wasn't my first rodeo as far as Rhys's effect pedals go, I knew there was to be more to this badass little box. In this setting the Octave Drone created some of the wildest fuzz tones I'd ever heard. Even at low Input Gain levels I was able to get brutal sounding fuzz tones. The pedal turned chords into thunderous walls of modulated soaked fuzz tones, leads into screeching futuristic howls, and sounds impossible to describe. I found the Octave Drone to be one of the most useful and user friendly extreme fuzz boxes to ever cross my path. This isn't one of those wild fuzz boxes that only produces one usable sound, with the puppy you'll find your sound taking all kinds of killer shapes. It is my mission to try and bring ya'll all the models Seppuku FX releases, and share with you the ins and outs of each pedal. Ever since my discovery of this little pedal company I have been highly impressed by the designs. Seppuku always keeps things exciting and is always willing to push the envelope to the fullest. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for more from my good brother Rhys.

-----------------------------------------------------







For more info on Seppuku FX go to www.seppukufx.com or click the direct link in our sidebar. I recently discovered a couple new designs from Seppuku FX, the Mind Warp and Repeater. We will try our best to bring you both these pedals. See ya soon!









(Second generation Octave Drone model)

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Top Finds of 2009 / Jam Pedals





This was a no brainer for us, we took one look at these pedals and knew these were going to be some of the most splendid stompboxes we'd ever come across. Whenever anyone puts this much creativity into their work it's bound to touch the heart and soul of the player. Besides the fact that these pedals look insanely cool riding your pedalboard, they sound equally as amazing and deliver a vintage tone unmatched by anything other than a handful of originals. JAM Pedals builds their analog works of art with the highest quality components available, using rare NOS chips, carbon comp resistors, and hand selected matched transistors. I'm the kind of cat that can easily be satisfied with a blank box as long as it sounds good. Throw the right components into an enclosure, close her up, and I'm ready to go. With the cats at JAM Pedals it is apparent there's more going than just building a great sounding stompbox. These are people that are crawling with artistic fever. The vibe, look, and sound of their pedals all point to one thing and one thing only... Rock & Roll! JAM Pedals; Avant-gard, retro, classy, and lovely musical tools. All wrapped into a sound that will bring your soul onto it's knees.


------------------------------------------------------
Jam Pedals
Handmade in Greece




Fuzz Phrase
Vintage Germanium Fuzz


* Controls: Level, Gain, Internal Bias Trimmer
* High quality components
* Power: 9V battery or 9VDC adapter (positive ground)
* True Bypass Switching
* Uses only 5mA of power when On
* Custom artwork available
* Point-to-Point version available
* Bass version available
* Lifetime warranty

----------------------------------------------------

I come across and am probably most addicted to the all mighty fuzz box. It is the sound that was captured on classic rock albums that first planted the love for the sound. Anyone with even the slightest knowledge in rock and roll knows that a good fuzz tone can go a long way. When JAM Pedals took on the task of creating their version of the famous Fuzz Face they sure as hell made it a point to capture it's character and soul, but there's more. The Fuzz Phrase is well capable of producing the tones of any great sounding original, and can also take the sound to create a special voice of it's own. The collection of rare and high quality components that go into building the Fuzz Phrase have a lot to do with it's overall vintage sound, but it is the heart of this pedal that gives it the sound and feel of an original. At the heart of this pedal lies the almost magical Mil-spec OC44 germanium transistor. Hand picked for gain and leakage this transistor can shape it's sound into some of the smoothest, grittiest, and even cleanest fuzz tones possible. On the Fuzz Phrase you will find Level and Gain controls for dialing in the overall volume and fuzz amount, but there's more. On the inside of the pedal is a Bias trimmer for a wider range of tones, flavors, and colors. With these three controls I found the Fuzz Phrase capable of more than some pedals with twice the amount of knobs. The sound of this pedal can go anywhere from brutal screams to light'n'fluffy grunts. Incorporating your guitar's volume knob into the equation also helps to capture the exact sound you're looking for and will help with those on-the-fly dynamic changes in live situations. Easily one of the best fuzz boxes I have ever plugged into.

We put the Fuzz Phrase through a handful of different amps and guitars, lots of different volume levels and gain settings, and stacked it with a bunch of pedals. Each time the pedal came through with flying colors. I found the Fuzz Phrase's character changed when played through different pickups, which was a big help for achieving the most tones possible. I first plugged the pedal into a 70's spec Strat and Twin Reverb. I set the amp to a med level so that I could easily control the sound's grit with my pick attack. The Fuzz Phrase's Level was set at unity with the amp and Gain set just passed 9'o'clock. The snap and bounce of the Strat's pickups came through beautifully while the pedal produced a light to medium fuzz that rose and fell as I dug in and held back. This made for great semi-clean and gritty overdriven fuzz tones, great for blues, classic rock, and everything in-between. The sound brought me a spot-on Hendrix tone, like Castles in the Sand, Ain't no Telling, and Little Wing. Opening up the pedal and playing with the Bias control gave me the ability to match and dial in the exact feel I wanted. This led me to plugging the Fuzz Phrase into a Super Lead and 4x12 cabinet. I tell you, I couldn't have dialed in a better Hendrix tone if I tried. Cranking the Super Lead to a slight overdrive and pushing it with the pedal's light fuzz created an even hotter classic rock tone. The Marshall was able to go from a crunchy tube overdrive to wailing smooth lead tone. I could literally feel the thickness and creamy sustain shaking in my fingers, as if it were coming directly from my hands. Again the internal Bias control took the sound even further, giving me an entirely new playing field to roll around in. I noticed the higher I'd set the Fuzz Phrase's Gain the more control I had over the sound's sustain, and where I'd set the Bias control would help with my pick attack style. This is something you won't find possible with many modern style fuzz boxes. These days fuzz pedals have taken it to such an extreme that it is literally impossible to grab a hold of the sound, or even play chords through it. This was not an issue with this pedal, in fact I found every type of chord sounded wonderful through this baby. Next I plugged the Fuzz Phrase into a Hagstrom semi-hollow body and Les Paul Studio, both guitars sporting duel humbuckers. First on the scene was the Hagstrom plugged into a 7/15 watt head and 1x12 cab. The amp was set at 7 watts cranked to a healthy crunch, and pedal dialed in to take the sound to the most extreme level possible. Here I set the Fuzz Phrase's Level higher than the amp's and Gain at around 2'o'clock. What came out of that little head was to be one of the biggest sounding rock tone's I'd ever heard. This ended up being one of those few tones we jot down and store in our "tone book" for a later day. Hey, you can never have too many guitar sounds when it comes to recording. Imagine a 100 watt Marshall pushed to the limit with a fat vintage fuzz tone thrown on top of it. This is what came from the little amp only at a lower volume. With the rhythm pickup I got a thick and velvety fuzz tone. Chords rang out evenly with each string perfectly in sync with the next, creating a balanced and defined sound. Single note runs sounded huge and became more interesting the higher the fret number. Depending on where you set the Bias control would land you some mellow octave up effects, a very very cool option. Through the lead pickup I got all of the same characteristics only with much more bite and intensity. I was able to get that beautiful warmth that semi-hollow bodies produce only with all the sting and aggression of the bridge pup. With this pedal setting alone I was able to get just about every tone needed simply by rolling off some of the guitar's tone and volume levels. I could roll down the guitar's volume and get a mild hairy fuzz, or shave off some tone to warm up the overall sound. With the Les Paul I got just as amazing results only with a tighter, meatier sound. Cranked up to 15 watts I dialed the amp up to 10 on every knob. First I pushed the amp with a light fuzz, setting the Fuzz Phrase's Level to unity and Gain at about 10%. I got a fluffy, airy overdrive type fuzz that worked nicely with everything and all styles of playing. The higher gain setting I dialed the pedal with it Level almost maxed and Gain at around 80%. Here the Fuzz Phrase took the 15 watts into buck wild frenzy of fuzz overtones and undertones. In the end it was all about one thing, authentic vintage fuzz tones. Everything about this pedal bleeds the classic and mystical feel of an old time favorite. This is a pedal that can take any guitar or amp and turn it into a classic rock warrior. There is not one pedal from this company that I found to be shy from immaculate. JAM Pedals has a talent and passion not easily attainable or found in today's boutique market. If you're looking for something truly special, with vintage sound, and immense feel. Turn to these cats, your setup will thank you for it.

-----------------------------------------------------

For more info on JAM Pedals go to www.jampedals.com or click the direct link in our sidebar. JAM Pedals also offers amazing custom artwork on their pedals which you can check out on their website. They offer a handful of stunning effect pedals that will leave you drooling! Stay tuned for more from this awesome pedal company, we are not done in the least. More to come soon!