Top Finds of 2010 / MXR Micro Flanger

MXR has been doing it and doing it well for quite some time now. This is a company that has been steadily creating magic in a box for as long as I can remember, and a company that through hard work has become a favorite of players from every walk of life. Thinking back on my own pedal adventures I cannot think of one stage in my playing career where I have not had an MXR pedal as a part of my tonal arsenal. The MXR line has consisted of everything from timeless classics, no-frills champions, one of a kind originals, and let's also not forget the many MXR sleepers that have come to the surface to make our tonal dreams come true. Recently MXR chose to redesign a handful of their most sought after creations, breaking them down to their purest form, and releasing them onto the masses. Simple these pedals may be but nontheless quite useful within any situation. This little collection of pedals was one of the coolest of 2010, and below I will share with you my favorite of th bunch. This is a stompbox that once again shows us the beauty of the analog circuit and why less is most definitely more. 

Micro Flanger

M152

• All analog circuitry with bucket brigade technology
• Two control knobs for simple operation
• Faithful recreation of the classic 80's pedal

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This new M152 Micro Flanger is based around the sound of the super popular M117 Flanger. With the ability to knock out many of M177's tones and many of it's own, the M152 stands a beast in it's own right. Sporting an analog circuitry and designed with kickass bucket brigade technology, you can be sure you'll get the warmest and smoothest of tones. A true bypass footswitch has also been added to this design for the ultimate in tone preservation and clarity. Control layout is pretty simple - Rate knob for controling cycling speed, and Regen knob for dialing in overall intensity. I in fact have had lots of experience with the original 80's M177, and if there's one thing that has always impressed me about this pedal it is it's range. I was excited to discover the Micro Flanger rides side by side with it's classic cousin covering may of the same ground. How MXR was able to pack so much tone into such a small box I do not know, and do not care. All I know is that with all the gigantic stompboxes floating around out there it's nice to see something that saves pedalboard space while at the same time getting straight to the point. 


With an effect like the flanger you always have to be very careful how you use it. Dial in too much of the flanger and your root tone will suffer, but then use too little and you won't get the effect's point across. The key is to tap into that magical little area where your root tone and the effect will get along their best. With the M152 Micro Flanger it wasn't all that tuff to find it's sweet spots, thanks to it's stunning sounding analog circuitry and simple yet versatile control layout. I found the M152 capable of producing spot-on vintage flange tones, as well as rich and aggressive modern sounds. I first paired the pedal up with a big'n'beefy 100 watt Super Lead and my single P90 Junior copy. I worked in a mellow slow and subtle flange effect from the M152 and dialed in a nice'n'gritty rhythm tone from the amp. I picked out a handful of pretty chords to accentuate the pedal's velvety sound. The pedal produced a glowing type of effect that added imagination to my guitar's tone. The flange effect blew in and out like a mellow breath, never taking over my amp's tone while letting it's voice be heard. The subtle effect worked great for adding size to my chords and for giving the overall tone some sweet character. At medium flange setting it was more of the same. Here I found some of the coolest sounds from this pedal. Some flanger pedals you can't even dial into their medium settings without having things sound too strong. Here is where I give MXR some major props. They designed a flanger and not some extreme strange cousin. Both at high and slow speeds the Micro Flanger creates absolute magic. The little bit of grit being produced from my amp married perfectly to the Micro Flanger's warm and focused sound. Here I kicked in a bit more gain which again accented the flange effect beautifully. For those of you high gain freaks wielding hot rodded super amps, this flanger will do wonders for you. It doesn't matter if you use P90's, humbuckers, Strat or Tele single coils, or any of the many other pickups out there - the Micro Flanger will do you proper. Plugging in my buddy's Les Paul got me some more really hot tones. The fatness and weight of the humbuckers drove the pedal to really knock out some killer sounding classic sounding flange. Rolling the amp up to lead tones and getting the Micro Flanger to create stinging flange tones was absolute Rock God heaven. The effect swam in and out through the room helping to create wild psychedelic visions. Chugging down on big power chords, digging into double stops, bending strings, and striking down on harmonics all sounding spectacular, if not epic! Really there isn't much more to say about this little gun metal grey demon. Go out grab one plug it in and see for yourself. A small footprint enclosure, two knobs, and a simple design is all it takes to make this one of the coolest pedals in the scene today. The M152 Micro Flanger is small, elegant, and packs a punch much larger than most pedals twice it's size. It is pedals like these that make MXR the company it is today. With the experience that these cats own and the group of builders/designers that back their play - MXR continues to sit way up high on the totem pole. 

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For more info on the M152 and the rest of the MXR/Dunlop Manufacturing collection go to www.jimdunlop.com You can read up on a ton a cool info on many many of their products and check out some really cool vids. We will continue to bring you more from our friends at Dunlop so make sure to stay tuned. More to come very soon!

Aqua Puss

The Aqua Puss delay. A pedal that sooooo many cats have been dying to see back on the front lines of rock & roll. And for good reason too. Go out and try to find yourself an original Aqua Puss and you'll quickly learn the task is near impossible to conquer. I myself only through absolute luck got to experience the magic of the original. I can remember how impressed I was by the pedal's overall tone and simplicity. So when I first heard Way Huge was gonna be rockin' this baby again I became weak in the knees and giddy like a little school girl. But then again I guess Way Huge pedals just do that to people... at least I hope they do. I will tell you from experience that the Aqua Puss mkII definitely does justice to it's original brother. But then again, with gadget giants such as Tripps and Dunlop teaming up together - What else could we expect but the best, right? I am yet to see a failure from this duo and highly doubt one will ever see light. Get out there and get your hands on the new Way Huge collection. Your tone will thank you for it.

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Aqua Puss MkII

Analog Delay

• Delay: Deliciousness from 20ms to 300ms
• Feedback: Sets Echo Repeats
• Blend: Dry to Delayed
• Toggle Switch: On/Off
• LED: Bright Enough for Anything
• Power: 9V Battery or Standard 9VDC Adapter

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If ever there was an effect that has been universally excepted and loved it is the delay pedal. Delay pedals no matter what quality or kind can always be a blast to play with, there is noooo denying that. So imagine what the top dogs are capable of, mmm mmm. Well, take a delay with grade A tone, add some mystery, a bit of legacy, and wallah! You have yourself the unmistakable and magical Aqua Puss. There just is no replacing the soothing psychedelia of a killer sounding echo box like the Aqua Puss. So far Way Huge has been right on the money with every single box they have reissued, and this baby is no different. At the price and quality that this new reissue comes in at it really can't be beat. It maintains the same tonal characteristics as the original and sports the same user friendly layout. With only Delay, Feedback, and Blend controls, you'll find yourself easily moving in and out of just about any delay sound you can imagine. I was able to pull extremely accurate vintage delay sounds from this pedal, and able to work it into just about every style of music and amp tone I could muster. I found the quality of the pedal's repeats to be top notch, it's look super hip, and it's overall build to be immaculately tasty. Dunlop and George Tripps really have something special going here and I hope there is no stop to it anytime soon.

With the Aqua Puss (like all the rest of the Way Huge pedals) I was able to just plug in and just go. The pedal's tone and layout really make finding the delay sound you're after a cinch. You'll notice right away how the analog delay sound that this baby seeps is just designed to adapt itself to any signal you stack it up with. This makes it a fantastic all around echo box choice for any type of player or producer. I began my little Aqua Puss experiment with a simple little amp... a Deluxe Reverb. The guitar was my hot-rodded Tele, and cable of choice the mighty Colassal Sweet Fat. I began with the amp set squeaky clean, normal channel, with mucho bass and mucho treble. What a gorgeous sound it was too. I then set the Aqua Puss to a short/light slapback delay and let things rip. Smacking down on some of my favorite country licks the pedal created a quick jabbing delay that beautifully mirrored my picking and playing. This setting also created a spectacular sounding reverb effect that made things sound quite interesting. With the Aqua Puss engaged and me riffing up and down the neck, I was taken into some of my favorite classic country records. Each note I played jumped into the next with great detail, lots of warmth, and an overall quality in sound that was fantazmic to my ears. One thing I must say is - Way Huge/Dunlop really hit a homer in finding a sweet balance between bright and warm when designing this pedal. This is probably what makes this version so close to the original. You can dig in or lay off and hear the pedal's repeats with great clarity and sweet articulation. Exactly what makes analog pedals such champions. I now Lengthened the delay time just a bit to help me create a bit more space. I ended up getting an even sweeter sounding reverb effect, something between a traditional spring and plate type verb. It gave me a sound all it's own that handed me all the benefits of verb but without the emptiness and loss in volume. This sound works beautifully for those looking to get more from their tone or anyone who's not too big a fan of reverb. Rolling up the repeats with the delay time set quick I was able to get this killer sounding trailing echo effect that swirled and bounced into itself creating absolute magic. Again my attention went straight to the pedal's overall tone and how well it worked no matter how many repeats were dialed in. Next I moved the delay to about 10'o'clock and dialed in a bit more feedback and blend. Here I found the delays worked great for chugging away at chord work and riffs. Here the delays jumped out with great definition, then smoothly tucked back to let the playing do it's thing. Only at the tail end of my riffs would I hear what the delay was doing, sort of like a subtle ducking effect. For those of you who like to leave your pedal on at all time this makes for perfect choice. Leaving the feedback as is, I then proceeded to crank the delay to full blast. Here I got the unmistakable U2 Edge sound that so many cats dig to play and copy. Only I noticed the Aqua Puss's sound to be much more user friendly and not as sharp. More like something you'd hear on a classic Floyd album. The movement of the trails is what really had me stuck on this pedal and what had me spaced out and playing tripped out runs for hours. The Aqua Puss produced this swimmy and organic vibe that flowed out to make it really damn unique and special. I could incorporate a hint of drive, a lot of drive, or a bunch of distortion and get killer results each time. With a nice amount of dirt the amp and pedal combined to give me a big'n'beefy rock tone that stacked up really nicely with other guitars. These medium delay settings also worked really good with keyboards and even vocals. Taking the pedal to noon on each control and cranking the Deluxe to full blast got me what ended up being one of the baddest sounding classic rock tones I'd ever heard. Something about the actual tone in the Aqua Puss made the amp's tone much more desirable. This is something that units like the Echoplex were known for doing. The combination of the amp and pedal created the perfect root tone on which to play whatever style I pleased. Even in longest delay setting the Aqua Puss's sound was still usable as an all around sound. The warmth and subtle nature of the pedal's delays give it legs for days. I was then itching to play this pedal through a proper heavy rock tone and so broke out the Super Lead. Along with this I also took out one of my favorite fuzz boxes which broke out an enormous sound! Taking the Marshall into ear splicing levels, then setting the pedal to a medium length delay created the true definition of Rock and Roll. Then by stomping on the fuzz box I was able to go even further. This provided me with a great lead tone which flew and swirled through the air like magic. I could simply reach down and manipulate the pedal's knobs to morph and oscillate into space aged madness. And just as easily I was able to get back to my root tone. I tell you - As a no frills delay box this is it baby. With the Aqua Puss set to quick short echoes I was able to get everything from blues and country, to jazz and funk. In medium settings I was able to hit every era of rock and roll period! And at long delay setting able to beam into the psychedelic and tripped out scene. A box this simple should bot be allowed to do so much. I am really curious to see what else Way Huge releases and if Tripps ends up doing some completely new designs? Hint hint.

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You can check out more info on Way Huge pedals at www.wayhuge.com or click the link in our sidebar. You can also check out some awesome demo videos on our Youtube search engine at the bottom of the site, just click Way Huge pedals and you're good to go. Be on the look out for our venture into the Dunlop and MXR realm coming at you very very soon.

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"Can I get mine on rye?"

Aaaaaaand we're back with another kickass Way Huge guitar pedal. What can I say, these are pedals that need no introduction. The shear mystique and popularity these stompboxes carry is enough to send anyone diving into their favorite guitar shop for a go at one of them. Back when George Tripp made his first run of these it was the same thing, everyone wanted one and no one could seem to get their hands on one. Well times they have a changed, now we have access to his killer line of pedals. But for how long?

Way Huge Electronics

Presents

The

Fat Sandwich

harmonic saturator

TOP CONTROLS:

* Volume: produces mucho output for mucho headroom

* Tone: dials in your tonal flavor in cahoots with the Pres & Reso controls

* Distortion: produces a endless roar of dirty greatness

* Presence: shapes your trebles and highs

* Resonance: spanks the bass and lows into place

* Footswitch: see that bright light? hmm what does that mean?

INTERNAL CONTROLS:

(these controls are for fine tuning to your guitar and amp)

* Curve: works to fine-tune the edges of the 1rst gain stage

* Drive: controls the hair of the 2nd stage of dirt

* Highs: sets the highs in the 2nd stage dirt

By now you must be saying to yourself "That is one monster of a pedal! Ooooh doggie!" Well you're right, and this isn't even the craziest of the bunch. Like all the Way Huge pedals the Fat Sandwich is a unique pedal monster with a control panel slick enough to hand you just about every tone in the book. Harmonic saturator is damn right! This pedal dished out the sweetest brown sounds, women tones, and warm, buttery overdrives you will ever hear. You will notice right off the bat the Fat Sandwich is not designed after anything out there, this is definitely an entirely new class of overdrive pedal. It's unique layout of controls, components, and overall design out this pedal into a category of it's own. With the hundreds it not thousands of overdrive pedals available today the Fat Sandwich is a breath of fresh air. How many times have we gone out hunting for an overdrive pedal only to find something that tops it a few weeks later? I know I'm guilty of that sin. This pedal will not only keep you busy for a long, long time, but push you to want to play, write, and perform. Each of the Fat Sandwich's controls are extremely responsive, sounds great in every setting, and capable of covering everything from classic to modern rock. I must have spent two hours tweaking the Fat Sandwich and was happy with everything that came out of it. As someone who spends their life writing in the studio and always hunting for new tones this is the perfect stompbox. In the studio the pedal delivers quickly and the quality it produces behind a mic is fantastic. I also had a chance to take it along to a gig with me and found it easy to match it to the room I played. I guess the easiest way to learn your way around this pedal is to just jump in and go for it, which is exactly what I did. I found a clean amp setting works best with this pedal, just set your eq the way you dig it and fly baby fly. Not that the pedal doesn't sound killer through a sightly dirty tone but you will definitely get the most out of it through a nice, warm clean tone, just my opinion. We plugged it into my modified 4x10 Deville, played it with a Custom Tele, and started with the Fat Sandwich's settings at around 15%. Through the neck pickup the tone was warm, crunchy, and perfect for rocking some rhythm guitar. Every time I dug in the grit would break up a little more, become richer, and more open. Played in the middle pickup position was probably my favorite. I was able to get the perfect balance of highs, lows, and mids. You can hear each frequency clearly without any clashing or interference from the drive. Through the bridge pickup the sound became even more defined, the mids became punchier, and highs stronger but not shrill. Next I tweaked the pedal's Tone and Presence knobs to match my amp, kicked the Resonance to noon, and slowly upped the Distortion. The sound was stunning! It had all characteristics as before only much bigger, thicker, and in your face. It was like the definition of a killer modern tone and warmth/character of a classic rock sound all in one. It really shocked me just how tight the eq stays no matter what level of distortion you're pushing out of it. Some pedals lose their sweet spot once you start turning things up, not here. This is a great pedal for anyone having trouble cutting through a live mix. Chords sound great, notes shine through, and harmonics jump out evenly and balanced. Your amp's sweet spot is instantly enhanced. If you're looking for an instant brown sound this is your pedal. It's insane how responsive the controls are, a flip of any knob and you got a whole new flavor. How many of you need up to two, sometimes three overdrive pedals on your board to get all the sounds needed for your live sets? Lord knows I could use some slimming down on the old board. With the Fat Sandwich all you need to do is mark down a few of your favorite setting and you're home free. I was easily able to dial in a solid Stoned mild crunch, Neil Young grit, and scorching blues lead tones. Opening or fattening up any sound you dial in is as easy as turning the three internal controls. You can also set one tone and use your volume knob to clean it up or tame it. The possibilities are endless with this pedal, Way Huge really did one hell of job.

For more info on Jim Dulop/Way Huge products go to either www.jimdunlop.com or www.wayhuge.com You can also click the Way Huge logo in our sidebar for direct access to their website. Keep your eyes peeled for the rest of the Way Huge gang, we'll be posted another review on these killer pedals shortly.

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