Top Finds of 2009 / Fryer: Brian May Treble Boosters

Anyone dedicated to reproducing the legendary gear of guitarist Brian May is ok with us. Everyone knows if there's one sound that has gone down in rock history as one of the greatest guitar tones of all time it's Brian's. It takes no more than a single chord to know you are listening to Brian's magically enormous tone. This warm, harmonically rich, and aggressive sound that was created back in the 1960's is something that many greats since then, along with studio engineers and every day players have been trying to painstakingly achieve. So how does one go about dialing in this sound? Well, before you can get started on your road to Brian May's tone there are a few components you will definitely need in order to be successful. There's the Red Special guitar, a proper AC30, and probably most important is a mighty sounding Treble Booster. This is where Fryer comes into play. Fryer Guitars is the brainchild of Greg Fryer and Nigel Night, two highly passionate cats who have made it their goal to create some of the world's most spot-on Brian May tonal tools. One of the amazing pieces of gear they have decided to take on is a stunning line of Brian May Treble Boosters. I had a chance to put a few of these products through their paces and I must say I am very very impressed. Throughout my many years of playing guitar I have come across many different treble boosting units, from vintage originals to boutique reproductions. These Fryer/ Brian May Treble Boosters really have something going for themselves, something every guitar player will absolutely fall in love with. Let's take a closer look at these bad boys shall we?

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Fryer Guitars

London, UK

Crew: Greg Fryer/Nigel Night

Years in the Game: 30

The three Fryer/Brian May treble boosters are the Treble Booster Plus, Treble Booster Deluxe, and Treble Booster Touring. Each unit sports Greg Fryer selected components and is dialed in for the best possible performance. The boosters also use Switchcraft Jacks for an ultimate professional sound, Bulgin battery drawers for quick and easy battery swapping, and are housed in a heavy-duty enclosure for a lifetime of use. Just like the vintage Rangemaster the three Brian May treble boosters are also designed with a simple straight In/straight Out design, and no On/Off footswitch. There are no volume, eq, or gain control knobs of any sort on these units. Instead you get a straight, uncut, and pure blast of harmonically charged Rock and Roll goodness. According to the cats at Fryer Guitars, you set one of these boxes up with a Red Special guitar and AC30 amplifier, and you'll be seeing the light. Well I don't own a Red Special or Vox Ac30, but I will say that each and every setup I did plugged these boxes into sounded like heaven to my ears. You talk about getting a quick and easy tone? Wait till you try these little devils. We set each box up directly through a guitar and amp alone, through other effect pedals, and through a number of different wattage amps. The end result was the same each time, sounding beautiful and aggressive without absolutely NO FRILLS.

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Treble Booster Touring

“Moderate Gain, a balanced sound with sweet harmonic detail and smooth treble definition.”

The Treble Booster Touring is the booster that Brian May has been using for his live and recorded work since 1998. It gives 31dB gain, has a sweet rich harmonic character to its sound and gives good defi nition and detail even at full volume distorted amp settings. The TB Touring provides balanced rhythm guitar sounds as well as soaring lead guitar sounds, and as the guitar’s volume control is wound down the TB Touring cleans up beautifully with sparkling rhythm sounds on offer. Although designed initially for the Brian May Red Special style guitar, many of our customers have found that the TB Touring works extremely well with conventional single coil and humbucking pickup guitars when used with a range of different valve amps. Recorded examples of this treble booster can be heard on Brian May’s 1998 solo album “Another World”, and on all his recorded work since 1998 including the 2008 Queen + Paul Rodgers album “The Cosmos Rocks”.

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Treble Booster Deluxe

“Powerful, rich, good treble detail”

The Treble Booster Deluxe gives 35dB gain, is tonally placed between the TB Touring and TB Plus and produces richness and punch whilst retaining much defi nition too. This booster has been developed to strongly evoke Brian May’s sound from the mid 1970s Queen albums such as “Sheer Heart Attack” and “A Day At The Races”, as

well as being very similar to Brian’s well known 1980s live concert sound. The TB Deluxe has been the favorite booster choice of our customers when using a speaker attenuator with their Vox AC30 amps. Many customers have also reported that the TB Deluxe works very well with other humbucking and single coil pickup guitars into various types of valve amps.

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Treble Booster Plus

“Fat, smooth and powerful”

The Treble Booster Plus gives 36dB gain and is the fattest and most powerful of our treble boosters. It is designed to evoke the rich powerful vocal-like tones of Brian May’s recorded sound from the late 1970s Queen albums “News Of The World” and “Jazz”. On the frequency response graph, the TB Plus shapes its boosted frequencies more towards mid range territory than the other boosters, with its peak at approx 2.5K Hz and its top end smoothed off more than the TB Deluxe or TB Touring pedals. For non-BM use, several of our customers have told us they like the TB Plus for producing fat overdriven rock sounds when using humbucking pickup guitars into bright sounding 6L6 or EL34 valve amps. The TB Plus is also very useful for adding punch and

richness to single coil pickup guitars.

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Now for some of the tones we were able to achieve with these boosters. We'll start with the first setup which was a Les Paul, Super Lead, and two Core One Bullet Cables. I set the amp to one of our favorite recording overdrive tones and fed it with the Treble Booster Touring's 31db of gain. Before I continue here there's one thing you must understand. This Super Lead overdrive sound we use for recording is something that not only took us a good while to dial in, it's also a sound we've taken much pride in. Anyone who's spent a good amount of time in the studio environment knows how tuff it is to get those few really special guitar tones. These are the sounds we use as the lifeline to our tracks. The amount of frequency character and overall size that the Treble Booster Touring was able to add to the sound was absolutely off the hook! It almost made me sad that my special rockin' tone could be improved. This is what it's all about anyhow right? I never want to be finished seeking out the "immaculate tone". What this little box was able to hand me was another tool for shaping, creating, and polishing a new world of tones. What was already a grade A tone turned into an entire new beast of the same class. Playing chords dry without any reverb or delay sounded huge, perfectly balanced, and so damn mean'n'good it was ridiculous. Like a brick wall slamming war machine of classic rock tone heaven. Throttling back on my guitar's volume knob gave me the ability to hit ranges from semi-clean to all-out screaming leads. Next came the Treble Booster Deluxe, which we paired up with a cherry, built from scratch, custom Strat that I had put together myself. Again, like the Super Lead tone I take much pride in, this guitar is also something that is very dear to me. I spent weeks researching and trying loads of different vintage guitars, pickups, hardware, and options to make sure I put together the best possible sounding Strat. The amp of choice for the Treble Booster Deluxe was non-other than a Twin Reverb. I set the amp like I always do with the volume and eq stack at 7, and reverb at around 3. So that I could compare the amp's root tone to the boosters I used a true bypass loop pedal for switching in & out. Alone the Twin Reverb and Strat produced a thick, sparkling clean tone that lit up the room with chime and spank. Once engaged the Treble Booster Deluxe added a huge amount of fat'n'honky boost that turned the tone from sweet'n'clean to beefy'n'mean. The sheer addition of harmonic boost that these boxes add to your sound is remarkable. Many treble boosters can take your sound and make it thin and fizzy, eating away at the weight and eq value of the overall sound. That is not an issue here, not in the least. The Fryer treble boosters take everything that is holy about your hard worked tone, and bumps it up a few notches into a super hero version of itself. Last on the menu was the Treble Booster Plus, the strongest and loudest of the bunch. For this demo I broke my one and only "Lady", the candy apple red Tele that I've hot-rodded into a perfect rockin' machine. I used our 15/7 watt amp head and 2X12 combo for this session, setting the amp to 7 watts first and dialing in a nice semi-clean rhythm tone. I switched into the guitar's neck pickup first for some a warm and round tone. The neck bucker is also hooked up to a CLK push/pull knob from Rothwell Audio Products which lets you dial in single coil, P90, full humbucking, and everything in between tones. I let the Treble Booster Plus loose and BAAM! The humbucker took on an entire new face, not that I lost any of my root's character, no sir. Instead the booster gave the pickup a charge that sent it into a booming, scorching, sonic assault. The string articulation was still there only much more defined and a lot more aggressive. The lows tightened up, mids shot across the room, and highs stood their ground only with a hint of being rounded out. When one comes across a tone this good it's almost impossible to put it into words. These are the tones that hit your soul and you more feel than hear. I flipped into the amp's full 15 watts, cranked it full blast maxing out the bass, mids, and keeping the treble at noon. I stood with my back to the 2X12 cabinet and could feel the force and brilliance of the treble Booster Plus's work. For gigging situations these boxes would work perfectly for dialing in a universal tone you could work with your guitar's volume. You could use these to cut through any mix, or use them to drive your favorite overdrive and distortion pedals (which we also did and got great results from). You can set them on a switch and use them to drive your amp's natural sound, and even drive bass guitars, keys, and other fun instruments to get more size. There is no wrong way to go about using these boosters. Fryer has blown us at Analog War Cry away with these insanely simple tone tools. I mean come on, no switch or knobs! How good is that!? This is only a piece of the Fryer Guitars puzzle, there are more killer products in store and a few on the way. Along with the Brian May Treble Boosters there is also a switchable treble booster, Vari-Booster pedal, Fryer Amp Protector to keep you from frying your amp, and a 1watt amp kit for tons of fun. On the horizon for Fryer is a Brian May Deacy Amp Replica, which it's release will be announced in the next few weeks. We will continue to bring you guys more from this rockin' company and keep you all up to date on their happenings. In the meantime go and get yourself one of these Brian May Treble Boosters, for the price it can't be beaten. I'm happy to say we used them on a recent recording session and the outcome was fantabulous. Keep'em coming Fryer!


For more info on Fryer Guitars products go to www.fryerguitars.com or click the direct link in our sidebar. Also remember to keep an eye out for more features from Fryer in the near future. We're all about supporting the cause and ready to use their weapons for the fight. Dig it!

Top Finds of 2009 / The Tone God

The Tone God. What more could you ask for? A company with a name like that you just know is going to rock and produce some interesting pieces of gear. In these times of mass amounts of gear, clones, and gimmick driven products, it's nice to have someone like TTG bringing us something original and something we can actually use. When I first started Analog War Cry I thought I'd only be featuring stompboxes. Little did I know there was going to be so much interesting stuff out there. So what is it that makes The Tone God so special? It's called the Tubeulent, a mini amplifier preamp unit that works to provide you with some of the most heart pounding overdrive and distortion tones you will ever hear. When I first saw the TubeUlent I just knew I was in for something really cool, it has a design you just can't ignore. Everything about this product screams user friendliness and great tone. I promise you have never seen, played, or heard a piece of gear this cool. Check this out!!!

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The Tone God

Ontario, Canada

Builder: Andrew "The Tone God"

Years in the Game: 15

TubeUlent

Mini-Tube Amplifier Preamp

* Pure tube distortion tone

* No extra gain stages

* No artificial clipping techniques

* No starving voltages

* Smaller size/Light weight: Makes for easy gigging

* Rugged construction = Less maintenance/Higher reliability

* Tube amp response/sound with tube and solid state amps

* Other effects can be used with TubeUlent

* Can be used as headphone amp, practice amp, or gigging amp

* Change gain structure by using different tubes

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This here my friends is one of the most useful tone tools we have ever come across. The TubeUlent's design, control layout, sound, and size all make it an outstanding product. In other words it's one hell of a product. Of all the years I have been playing music, and of all the gear I've seen in that time this is by far one of the most addicting products I have ever come across. The feel of the overdrive and distortion from this baby just pours with organic richness that keeps you coming back for more, and more, and more. The soul of this product's awesome tone lies in it's tubes. What better place to get a proper rock tone right? The TubeUlent ships with one EHX 6V6GT, and one EHX 12AX7. One of the really cool things about the TubeUent though is that it can also run off of a number of other tubes, such as the 5751, 12AT7, 12AY7, 12AV7, 12AU7, and many more. Depending on what tube you use will factor on what kind of sound and how much gain you get. This alone makes the TubeUlent a very versatile piece of gear. The control panel on this unit was designed very intelligently. The layout is Drive, EQ, Damp, Sag, and Level. There is an In jack on the front, Out jack on the back, On/Off toggle switch, and 15VDC 1A adapter input. Each one of the controls responds and works great with your playing, helping you dial in the exact sound you're looking for. There are so many ways to use this piece of gear that I don't even know where to start. Once I jumped in to this tone beast I was lost in a sea of overdrive and distortion, and not wanting to find my way back home.

I guess I will start with the TubeUlent's ability to work as a overdrive and distortion unit. You set this unit up just like you would any other overdriver or distortion box, with one cable going to your guitar and another to your amp. I was able to get really sweet tones through both clean and dirty tones, and every pickup I paired it up with fell in love with it's sound. I set up a Twin Reverb with a medium output, light reverb, and eq stack at 7. I started with the TubeUlent's Drive at about 5%, matched the EQ to the amp's, rolled the Damp and Sag to about 5%, and matched the Level to the amp's. Even at this low drive setting the TubeUlent added a hint of tube-grit richness to the clean sound. The Damp being down so low kept the sound a bit tighter and more focused. This was a great all-around sound that worked great with just about everything I played through it. The attack of the notes was very defined which made for big, full chords. Next I rolled up the Drive to about 15%, and added a bit more Damp and Sag. The dirt in the sound started getting really smooth'n'creamy at around this point, and with the Damp rolled up a bit more it also started opening up the tone. I noticed the best way to work the Sag control is by interacting it with the Damp. Rolling up the Sag gives the tones more girth and overall size. Next we switched guitars to a Studio Les Paul and plugged into a slightly overdriven Super Lead. Having an already tube saturated overdrive tone from the amp and adding the TubeUlent made things even nicer. It accented and brought out all of the dynamics in the overdrive signal. I was still able to feel the clean tone's character only it was layered by a frosting of sweet sounding drive. I now rolled up the TubeUlent's Drive knob to about 50%, Damp at 75%, and Sag at 50%. All of the other controls were set to match the Super Lead's root tone. Along with the Les Paul's beefy tone and Super Lead's huge sound, this was by far my favorite setting on the TubeUlent. The unit's tube saturated overdrive combined with the amp's natural grit turned into one of the most rockin' distortion tones I've ever heard. With the neck pickup we were able to get just about every rock rhythm tone we needed. The TubeUlent pumped out hard rock, classic rock, metal, and screaming blues tones. Rolling back the guitar's volume knob produced some subtle yet crunchy overdrive tones which I would imagine working out great for live situations. Once we worked out every possible overdrive and distortion tone with the TubeUlent alone we added in some pedals to the mix. First we worked in a simple booster before the TubeUlent, using it to push the tubes natural grit even further. I found that no matter where the pedals were placed the sound was equally as awesome. The madness really got going once we started adding in overdrive, distortion, and fuzz boxes. I honestly have never heard a product that works so well with my pedals. The tubes in this piece of gear really bring out and accent all the magic that my pedals had to offer. A sweet little extra about this baby is you can also run your headphones into it and use it a solo practice device. This is perfect for practicing riffs at high drive settings and not bothering anyone with the sound. It's also powerful enough to use as a practice amp, to plays shows with, and use it to give your solid state amps some soul and character. We plugged a solid state Fender into the TubeUlent and got some pretty decent tones from the amp. When it comes down to it it's all about the tubes, nothing beats a nice rich sounding driven tube. I have to give it up to the cats at The Tone God, they hot a homerun with this design. There isn't one application I can think of that this product wouldn't work with. The size makes it very easy to carry around from gig to gig, sessions, band practices, and home use. The option to swap in different tubes also gives a world of tones I imagine all sound fantastic. To make sure your TubeUlent doesn't burn out the On/Off toggle switch also works as a self-exiting standby mode. This means that when you flip the power on the TubeUlent automatically goes into a standby mode until it's ready to operate. This prevents any mishaps that can occur from misuse of standby switches. The Tone God really covered everything when they built this bad boy. Something I am super stoked about is The Tone God is coming out with his first effect pedal in the near future. I am sure it is going to absolutely rock! Until then we are more than satisfied with having the TubeUlent available to us. If you're still looking for that extra special present late present for yourself this is it. We will be running a video an audio podcast demo of the TubeUlent in the near future so make sure to keep your eyes peeled.

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For more info on The Tone God go to www.thetonegod.com There is a bunch more great info on the TubeUlent which I'm sure you'll dig. Remember to keep an eye out for our video and podcast demo of this product. We will also make sure to keep you up to date on The Tone God.

Top Finds of 2009 / Skincontrol Pedals

The killer gear just keeps on rolling through! My dearest of friends, I'd like to introduce to you SkinKontrol Pedals. This talented little outfit I came across just a few months ago, and from that first encounter I was hooked to the gills. SkinKontrol uses NOS parts, custom artwork, and the highest quality components to handbuild each and every one of sonic masterpieces. If there's one company out there that's definitely going all out, bringing it to the max, and thinking outside the box, it's SkinKontrol. The SkinKontrol mothership is run by the one-man team of Jason Marshall. From the few of Jason's pedals I've had a chance to try I'd say he's definitely one of the most gifted I've come across. We will be looking at two SkinKontrol creations in this feature, and both are exciting enough to write home about. Dig it and see.

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SkinKontrol Pedals

Temple City, CA

Builder: Jason Marshall

Years in the Game:

Skinface AC128

Fuzz Pedal

* 2 AC128 Germanium Transistors

* NOS Carbon Comp Resistors

* NOS Illinois Capacitors

* 3PDT Cliff Footswitch

* 9V Battery or 9Vdc Adapter

* Hammond Die Cast Aluminum Box

* Handbuilt One at a Time

(current lead time is approx two weeks)

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The fuzz pedal. My favorite of all the effects that are out there today. For as long as fuzz has been around it has been one of the prime tone tools for Rock and Roll music. This is an effect that can convert your guitar's natural sound into a screaming wall of attitude and soul. Comparing the feeling one gets when coming across a really great fuzz box is second to none. I can only imagine the feeling cats like Hendrix, Page, Townshend, and Richards must've gotten when they plugged into and heard the sound of those first available fuzz units. We've come a loooong way since then and today have an arsenal of fuzz boxes capable of shaking the world. The Skinface AC128 from SkinKontrol Pedals is exactly one of these pedals, and capable of pushing your guitar tone into the golden realm. The ability this pedal has to get one's creative juices flowing is impressive to say the least. I myself have not been able to put the darn thing down ever since it landed on my doorstep. The Skinface AC128's circuit is based around the same powerhouse AC128 germanium transistor that was used in the Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face. The difference between the Skinface and the classic design? Well, this baby uses some of the highest quality components and is built like a tank. The Skinface is capable of reproducing all of the signature tones from the original and can also take you into some newer territory via it's Bias control. The other two controls on the pedal are a Volume and a Fuzz control. I was stunned at just how much control I had over this pedal's fuzz sound with just these three knobs. I could hit everything from traditional fuzz tones to the rudest of rude splattery fuzz mayhem, and everything in between. One thing's for sure, the Skinface AC128 never sounds weak.

I noticed from the first few runs I put it through that this pedal wasn't going to mind which kind of guitar pickup I played it through. So let's start with a not so traditional pickup, the mini-humbucker. We have a three stack mini-humbucker guitar we've been playing with that really sounds killer through many fuzz boxes. Pairing up the Skinface AC128 with the mini-buckers was an absolute dream. The amp for the job was a Twin Reverb with it's eq stack set at 7, reverb at 3, and plugged into the #1 channel of the vibrato side. For the first pedal setup we matched the Volume to the amp's and set both the Fuzz and Bias at it's lowest. The sound we got here was strong, chunky, and full of vintage feel. With the guitar's neck pickup I got these great sounding thick'n'warm rhythm tones. I was stoked I was able to pull not only great chord work but also huge sounding single note runs. I love nothing more than a fuzz pedal that can make a single note sound like a big fat chord. I started adding in the Fuzz knob alone which gave the sound an even bigger fatter sound, but what I noticed quickly about this pedal is that it works much better when combining the Fuzz and Bias together. With the Fuzz at around half power and Bias at about 15% the fuzz begins to get tighter and a bit more jagged. With both controls at about 50% you start getting a killer sounding octave-up effect in the higher range notes. This was Hendrix city all the way baby. The clarity and character in the notes was magnetic! It was like having the baddest cream of the crop Arbiter Fuzz Face. Another awesome quality that really stood out about the Bias knob was the affect it had on double stops. It added a sustain that really brought out the dynamics and undertones. Here I also started testing what kind of an affect rolling down the guitar's knob had on the fuzz tone. To my amazement I discovered it didn't take much to start cleaning things up. With the volume knob down about 25% it cleared the fuzz of all the over-the-top hair but kept all the rumble. At about 50% down I was able to control the amount of grit with my pick attack, getting both a fuzz and overdrive sound. From 75% on things start to really get clean, not spic'n'span but enough to give you a great semi-clean rock tone. For a fuzz pedal capable of taking things to a wild extreme it's pretty impressive the Skinface AC128 was able to clean up so well. Another guitar we paired the pedal up against was single Lollar P90 equipped Junior copy. With the P90 we were able to get all the same aggressiveness we got from the mini-humbuckers only with a bit more spank and midrange punch. With the P90 at lower volumes the Skinface produced these really crunchy fuzzy overdrive tones. A sweet blend between a hairy overdrive and vintage fuzz. The next setting we dialed in absolutely floored us, Fuzz at noon and Bias control all the way up. The Skinface AC128 all of a sudden became this 8-bit, synth-like, octave monster. The further down the neck you went the more extreme the effect would get. I threw in all of the amp's reverb and got a great haunting fuzz howl. Bringing the Fuzz knob all the up as well gave the sound even more balls and lots of girth. In the end I found the Skinface AC128 to be an absolute epic fuzz box. You'll come across many many fuzz boxes these days and most likely more than half of them will be absolute clones or just unusable. With this pedal you get something that will give you a realm to explore and a sound you can be proud to showcase. I'd give the Skinface AC128 three thumbs up if I had them.

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Germanium Push/Pull

Octave Fuzz

* Germanium Design

* Neutric Jacks

* Cliff Footswitch

* 9V Battery or 9Vdc adapter

* Hammond Die Cast Aluminum Box

* Handbuilt One at a Time

* Signed and Numbered

(current lead time is approx two weeks)

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These days when you comes across an octave fuzz box you're bound to get either something way too extreme or something just not appealing. When the pedal boom hit I kept hearing "Octave fuzz box, you gotta get a octave fuzz box!". Only problem is that every time I went out and tried one it just never cut it. When I think of an octave fuzz I think of the great pedals that the heavyweights of yesterday used. The octave pedals of the 60's and 70's had this character about them that you just couldn't ignore. One thing I always wanted to see was someone taking the octave fuzz design to the next level, with the same soul and same intensity. The wait is over. This little devil, the SkinKontrol Push/Pull Octave Fuzz is everything one would want from a classic octave fuzz box and everything you'd need to take your sound to the next level. The Push/Pull's layout is very very simple, two knobs, being Gain and Volume. The pedal is built with the highest possible components, this along with it's design make the Push/Pull a beast of a octave fuzz pedal. I promise you if you've been on the hunt for a rich sounding, soulful, guns blazing octave fuzz box, this is it. When I first plugged it in my partner had to double check that I hadn't plugged into a few pedals. Both the fuzz and octave effect on the Push/Pull are like nothing I have ever heard in my life.

There isn't much to say other than this pedal is absolutely stunning. I know the octave fuzz pedal isn't all the insane of a design, it's something that has been around for a long long time. When the pedal first arrived I took a Strat, a nice cable, and plugged directly into an amp. The transformation that took place in the guitar's natural sound was unbelievable. I wanted to rock out to some loud guitar settings so we plugged the Push/Pull into a 100 watt Super Lead and got to steppin'. I cranked the Super Lead to a nice gigging volume and set the Push/Pull with it's Volume matching the amp's and Gain knob at about 15%. One really cool thing about this pedal that you won't find in many octave fuzz pedals is that the octave sound is always present no matter if you'r ein a high fuzz or low fuzz setting. At this setting we could still hear the natural sound coming through, blended with a hint of fuzz and a nice amount of octave up madness. All of a sudden what were great sounding licks turned into killer sounding wails and cries. The higher we went up on the Gain knob the better things got too. At about 50% Gain the Push/Pull hands you a hefty amount of both fuzz and octave-up sounds. Here you can turn your blues licks from traditional to out-right nasty. It's as if you've taken the guitar's tone and spanked it into an angry fury. The notes hang in the air a bit longer and bark like racing banshees. With a tad bit of each guitar knob rolled off I was able to get this strange half jazz/half rock sound. Something in the way fuzz and octave effect blend that gives the overall sound oddly beautiful character. It was time for me to swap guitars. The next lucky bastard to get a taste of the Push/Pull was my Custom Tele, the ultimate guitar for testing pedals. When I put together this Tele I wanted to make sure I was able to get as many tones as possible, which is why I added a humbucker to the neck with a push/pull knob for splitting the coil, and an extra hot bridge Tele pickup. In the humbucker position the Tele took to the pedal like it had been friend's with it for a long long time. I was flew around the neck and never got one bad note. With extreme sounding fuzz pedals and octave boxes you can tend to hit bad places in the neck, areas that just don't sound too good. Not with this pedal, the Push/Pull loves every inch of the guitar's neck and will work with you like a dream. In the middle position with both humbucker and Tele pickup engaged I got a P90-like tone that gave the pedal this extra thump and growl. Still the octave effect stood out clearly only now the fuzz sound was much more in my face. Kicked into the lead pickup with the Push/Pull at 100% Gain was again a mighty mighty sound. Chords didn't work too well at the higher levels, but playing single note runs blended beautifully and evenly. Here's a little trick in case you get one of these bad boys. I took my favorite chorus/vibe pedal, set it pretty super lush and floaty. Switched into the neck pickup, rolled off a bit of the volume and tone, then played below the 12th fret picking just above the guitar's bridge. I got some of the most trippy sounding sitar sounds I've ever heard come from a guitar. Playing it through a delay pedal and swelling in the sound with a volume pedal also created some extra fun tones. The SkinKontrol Push/Pull is definitely one of these pedals you can use to add that extra bit character to a song, album, or gig. It is impossible not to notice this pedal's genius sound. If you do one thing this year to your rig I'd say go here, you'll fall in love with this pedal. Jason has quickly become a favorite around our little studio and we hope to continue working with him so we can bring you more of these wonderful stompboxes. I am absolutely certain the rest of the SkinKontrol line is just as impressive as this pedal. Analog War Cry is going to keep a close eye on this little company, we just know great things will keep on coming from this outfit.

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For more info on SkinKontrol Pedals go to www.circuitbentlasergun.com or click the direct link in our sidebar. There also some cool vids on the website and on Youtube. To access the SkinKontrol video demos fastest go down to our Analog War Cry Youtube search engine at the bottom of our site and type in SkinKontrol Pedals. Hope you dig it!

Top Finds of 2009 / Heaven 57 Pickups

What better way to bring some character into a guitar than to wire it up with a new set of pickups? A new set of pups is not only capable of delivering great tone, but can also shape your guitar into the tone monster you've always wanted it to be. Coming at us from our Nordic friends across the sea is Lundgren Guitar Pickups, a Swedish based pickup company with a talented ear for great tone. Of all the fantastic pickup builders I came across last year Lundgren was by far one of my personal favorites. The mastermind behind Lundgren Guitar Pickups is non other than Johan Lundgren, a man on a mission to hand the world as many great tone tools as possible. After many years of playing the guitar, playing in bands, and studying guitar pickups, Johan decided to dive into the art of rewinding pickups. Then after years of trial and error, dissecting old pickups, and paying close attention to what makes a great pickup sound great, Johan finally mastered the rewind process. The next logical step was for Johan to build his own pickups, and so was born Lundgren Guitar Pickups. Today Johan and his company are responsible for some of the world's greatest sounding, greatest performing pickups. We had a chance to put a set of Lundgren Heaven 57 humbuckers into action. The outcome?... Well, it was absolute tone heaven.

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Lundgren Guitar Pickups

Jönköping, Sweden

Builder: Johan Lundgren

Years in the Game: 20

Heaven 57®

Humbucker

* Designed to 50's Specs

* Modeled after late 50's P.A.F.'s

* Wound with Plain Enamel Wire

* 5-40 Polescrew

* Wooden Spacer beneath the Bobbin

* Nickel/Silver Baseplate

* Alnico Magnet

* Heaven 57 also available in Aged Cover

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In only took about five minutes to decide Lundgren was one of my new favorite pickup companies. We took the set of Heaven 57's and swapped them into an Epiphone Dot we had laying around the studio. I also switched the stock ceramic capacitor for a .1uf polystyrene orange drop capacitor. Instantly the guitar was thrown back into the studio's rotation and sounding fantastic. The sound of the Heaven 57's vs the stock pickups was like a breath of fresh air, like playing a proper vintage Epiphone. The Lundgren pickups are that good, literally. The mission Johan had to dial these pickups into a late 50's P.A.F. sound is spot on the mark and without error. We had a chance to compare the pickups with a proper late 50's Les Paul Standard that was loaned to us and the similarities were uncanny. All of the woody, earthy, and chunky tone you would expect from a great set of vintage humbuckers can be found in the Heaven 57's. They added a classic vibe to the guitar that made it seem as if we were thrown back in time. The construction of the pickups is also very impressive, you will see just from holding them in your hands that they are built extremely well and will last you a life time. When hunting for pickups, at least for me this is true, I want to make sure it will be the one and only time I will be installing pickups into whichever guitar they are going into. Honestly it would be nice if all of us could afford to purchase our dream guitars, guitars with rockin' pickups and awesome specs. With the way things are going these days it just seems more logical to get a mid-priced decent guitar, then hunt down a great set of pickups to bring it up to par. I'll tell you this much, the set of Lundgren Heaven 57's definitely added a much needed boost of life into our Epiphone Dot.

There weren't many amps we paired these pickups up with that didn't produce an amazing sound. Everything from low-watt to high-watt amplifiers, and low to high volumes worked great with the Heaven 57's. Their classic Gibson P.A.F. tone gave them a natural aggression that drove clean tones into some of the most grit tearing rock tones I'd ever heard. Even better was driving an amp on the verge of overdrive and letting the pickups take care of the rest, this is where the pickups truly shined. Then matching them up with some of my favorite fuzz boxes? Oh yeah, absolute psychedelic/garage rock heaven. The first setup for us was a 100 watt Super Lead, and a TS808 for extra boost. We set the amp up straight up the middle and plugged into it's High Treble channel. I played through the neck pickup first without the TS808 engaged. The amp and pickups produced a sweet, warm, and rich sound that improved the guitar's dynamic range and enhanced the overall tone. To get a little grit out of the sound all I had to do was strengthen my pick attack. To get a completely sparkling clean tone from the neck pickup all I did was roll the guitar's volume back a tiny bit. Next I flipped into the Heaven 57 bridge pickup. Here I was able to get some stunning lead tones and growling rhythm sounds. The dynamic qualities that are in the neck pickup also translated to the bridge pickup. In the middle pickup position I got a perfect balance of punch and warmth. Taking the guitar's tone knob back about half way and kicking in the Tubescreamer created the most insane sounding overdrive sound. Think of Neil Young's tone blended with a bit of Stevie Ray's and that's what I got. Not too aggressive and just dirty enough to do some damage. In fact, this became my favorite Heaven 57 sound. Before switching amps we took the Super Lead and pumped it straight into a natural low overdrive. Like I mentioned earlier this is where the pickups really did their best work. I was stunned at how great our guitar was sounding. After flipping back and fourth from pickup to pickup I stepped on the TS808 and let everything fly. The distortion was open and whole, clear and not muddy, and in perfect harmony with the Dot's semi-hollow body design. With both amp and pedal cranked to their fullest we even got some edgy modern distortion tones that worked great for knocking out huge sounding power chords. One of the other amps we plugged into that really stood out to me was my modified 4x10 Deville. My Deville is the kind of amp that leaves no room for hiding, either something sounds good through it or it doesn't. Without any pedals, a tad bit reverb, and a evenly set tone stack, the pickups came off just lovely. The neck pickup was round and full, and bridge pickup crisp and clear. Playing both simple and complex chords sounded amazing. This is where you can tell a good pickup from a not so good one. A nice pickup will project every string evenly and clearly. A cheap pickup projects everything muddy and congested. Next the fuzz pedals came rushing in, both classics and newer stompboxes. All of them worked nicely with the pickups and never got out of control. When playing fuzz pedals you always want to make sure you have a pickup that can handle the job. We had no problem getting all the tones we wanted from the pedals. Even when we set really extreme fuzz setting the Heaven 57's were able to bring it back a notch by rolling back the guitar's volume. Just like you would expect from a vintage Les Paul or 335. In the end the Heaven 57's were able to cover many many different rock genres. Classic rock, blues, punk rock, alternative rock, country, hard rock, and even some jazz was possible with these bad boys. Now we have another guitar we can use in our recording sessions, gigs, and practices. I would highly recommend anyone looking for a authentic P.A.F. tone to seek out these pickups. Or if there's some other flavor you thirst for Lundgren I'm sure is capable of quenching it. There are a handful more different humbucker models, Strat, Tele, P90's, and even bass pickups. If you have a set you need rewound Lundgren can also take care of that for you. What does that say to you? I know what that tells me.... that these guys are on top of their game and very experienced in the pickup building process. We will try and report back on more from this awesome company and hopefully have some different models to introduce you to. For now if the 50's rock thing is what you crave, start here. You won't ever look back.

Aged Covers

also available for

Heaven 57 neck and bridge pickups

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For more info on Lundgren Guitar Pickups go to www.lundgren.se Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for more from this awesome pickup company. Lundgren also offers a wide variety of other pickup models and also does spectacular rewinds. Keep on rockin' and bringin' the noise!

Top Finds of 2009 / CoreX2 DIY Kit

One of the most useful products we came across last year was this top of the line DIY cable kit from our good friends at Core One Creative. It's all fine and dandy to have a killer top notch setup, but if you don't have some quality cables to run your gear through you might as well just keep that gear at home. There was a time when I thought it didn't matter what cable I used, as long as it worked it was good enough for me. All of that changed a few years back when I was introduced into the world of top grade cables. After switching to high quality cables the difference in my tone was off the hook, like it had been truly unleashed for the first time. Today Core One Creative is one of the leading manufactures of high quality cables, and for good reason too. My first experience with Core One Creative's products was the Bullet Cable line, and from then on it has been all lovely. Core One offers everything from electric and acoustic instrument cables, to speaker and microphone cables. If you're on the hunt to give your setup the cable facelift, this would be a great place to start.

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Core One Creative, Inc.

Torrance, CA

President: Ted McCann

CEO: Kimmy McCann

Years in the Game: 8

CoreX2

GK-20 Premium DIY Cable Kit

* 2 Straight connectors with 24K gold-plated tips

* 8 Angle connectors with 24K gold-plated tips

* 1 Self-retracting cutter blade

* 1 Hex Key
* 20 ft (6.1m) of cable w/CoreX2 Technology

* Lab formulated jacket for heavy stage use

* 99.9% Oxygen-free copper conductors

* Quad-balanced design rejects RFI/EMI noise

* Carbon impregnated shield

* Multi-gauge wire

* Wide 20Hz - 40kHz ± 0.5dB frequency response

* Lifetime warranty

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Of all the solderless cable that is floating around out there today this CoreX2 stuff is by far some of the best. Both the cable and connectors in this DIY kit are built to last, sound spectacular, and setting this stuff up is as easy as pie. Once you have your pedalboard plan worked out all you do is measure, cut, and assemble. It couldn't be easier. The 2 straight and 8 angled connectors make for an accurate and tidy job. If you're looking to put together some custom length, top quality instrument cables you can do that also. All in all there is no way to go wrong with this stuff, whether you use it for pedals or guitar cables you're all good.

I was in desperate need of a smaller gigging board. So when the CoreX2 DIY Kiy landed on our doorstep I was super stoked. The enormous setup I had been using for small gigs was really beginning to be a pain in the butt. With the CoreX2 DIY Kit I was able to put together a perfect 6 stompbox pedalboard with no problem. I used the kit for all the pedal connections and plugged Bullet Cables at each end to connect from my guitar to the board and from the board to the amp. The exact setup for those of you who are curious was; Wah-Compressor-Overdrive/Dist-Tremolo-Delay-Tuner. This pedal setup has ended up being the perfect little board and has got me through some awesome gigs. The quality in the sound that the CoreX2 cable has been able to provide me with is stunning. If you've never had the luxury of setting up a custom pedalboard with solderless cable you're missing out. Core One Creative engineered this cable to produce the best sound possible and I'd say they hit it right on the mark. The sound of all my pedals ever since I swapped in the CoreX2 cable has been crystal clear, and without any noise or loss of character. When you go out and buy that perfect overdriver, or delay, or whatever it may be, you want to be sure it delivers at it's fullest. I don't know how much I have to stress that good cable is just as important as a good amp, hot guitar, or killer set of pickups. I A/B'd some generic brand cable up against the CoreX2 cable and the difference was like day and night. The generic cable created this muddy layer of film that ate away all the brilliance and attack of my playing. It was as if a wall was standing between me and my speakers, very very ugly sounding. Then we switched to the CoreX2 cable and it was like the sun was shining through bright and clear. The thing that makes a great pedal or guitar great is those little nuances, those little hints of magic that separates them from all other pedals and guitars. In order to unleash the true character of any great piece of gear you need great cable. In every situation I put it up against the CoreX2 cable was helpful. For the price you can't beat it. This is one of the quickest and simplest ways to upgrade your sound without breaking the bank or loosing an arm or a leg. Check some of this stuff out, you'll be stoked you did.

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For more info on CoreX2 and all Core One Creative products go to www.kepur.com or click the link in our sidebar. Make sure to keep an eye out for more from this killer company, we have some more great products from Core One coming soon. Dig it!

Top Finds of 2009 / Atomic Boost

Our Top Finds of 09 continue here with the good people of the Swart Amplifier Co. For those of you who haven't heard of these cats or have not had a chance to take one of there amps for a ride, you are missing out. Michael Swart, the man behind the plan of the Swart Amp Co. has one thing on his mind and one thing only. Great tone, period! My first run-in with one of their wonderful amps was at my local guitar shop (True Tone Music), and I was hooked from the first chord I struck. The attention to detail of these amps inside and out is unlike any other, both the tones they produce and appearance are stunning. There is a retro, furniture-like vibe to the amp's designs that makes them really cool looking. So when I discovered Swart also had a pedal in their line, you can only imagine how stoked I was. The pedal's called the Atomic Boost, and it's the solo soldier of the Swart pedal line. Just like the amps the Atomic Boost also sports a classy and hip look. So what kind of stompbox is it you say? It is of the treble booster species. Imagine the ultimate Dallas Rangemaster and you have the Atomic Boost. With this pedal you get all of the legendary tones that come from the classic treble booster, and none of the flaws. This is hands down one of the best sounding pedals I have ever used.

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Swart Amplifier Co.

Wilmington, NC

Builder: Michael Swart

Years in the Game: Many

Atomic Boost

Treble Booster

* Vintage NOS Mullard OC44 "Glass"

Transistor Hand Selected / Gain Tested

* All Point to Point Wiring

No Circuit Boards

* Toggle Between Mid/Full Boost, optional

High Boost with sacrifice of Mid or Full Boost

* Full Bypass Switching

* Bright Blue Power LED

* Dedicated 9V Battery Operation for

Cleanest Power and Lowest Noise

* Sound Goes from a Semi-Clean Boost to

Over the Top Creamy Tube Distortion

* Lovingly Hand Built by Michael & Ole Sam

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I'm always a sucker for killer looking black stompbox. Now one that not only looks badass but also sound great, that's a dream come true. If I only had two words to describe the Atomic Boost I would choose instant gratification. The Atomic Boost will take your tone to heaven and back quicker than you can blink your eye. The layout of this little darling is super simple, you have an 11 position Boost knob, and a Mid/High toggle switch. With these two controls alone you can take your tone from mellow grit to an all-out scorching rock distortion that your amp will love. The Atomic Boost works great with all types of amplifiers and sounds fantastic through just about any setting you run it through. The reason for this simple design's effectiveness comes from one place... the Mullard OC44 transistor. This magic-like little transistor has been the heart and soul for so many player's tones throughout the years. Many of history's heavyweight's such as Clapton, Iommi, Brian May, Ritchie Blackmore, and Mark Bolan all based their sound around the mighty treble booster. It's awesome to see that in the last few years the treble booster has made it's way back into rock'n'roll. As a player it is a gift to have such powerful tools like the Swart Atomic Boost available for the picking. This pedal not only works wonders for us, but also gives us a touch of yesterday's golden sound.

There is nothing like a great sounding mid-watt tube amp, a sweet guitar, and a rockin treble booster. These are three elements that make up one tasty recipe for splendid tone. My main influences come from and have always come from the music of the 60's and 70's, at least when it comes to rock and roll they have. The reason for this is the guitar tones that were discovered and created back then, one of these being the sound of the treble booster. The Atomic Boost pedal is not only able to create many of the golden era rock tones, but also has a vibe of it's own that makes for one soul pounding guitar tone. We must've ran the Atomic Boost through every possible guitar, pickup, and amp we had available to us, and each time it came through with flying colors. One of the setups we ran the Atomic Boost up against was a duel humbucker Hagstrom Viking semi-hollow body guitar, and our trusty 15/7 watt amplifier. I set the amp to the cleanest tone possible and got to steppin'. I wanted to see just how far the pedal could push the amplifier's clean tone. One of the really cool features of the Atomic Boost is it's 11-position Boost knob. This lets you set different boost levels for different songs with the ability to keep them consistent time after time. Now this may not seem all too fancy of a feature but when you're gigging night after night this can make a huge difference. Unity gain on the Atomic Boost is right at about 4, this matches up with your amp's volume beautifully, adding in a nice right on the edge break-up. With the toggle switch in it's Mid boost position your amp's tone stays close to it's roots only with a nice midrange honk added to it. This makes for the ultimate rhythm guitar tone, a tone you can easily control with your picking dynamics. Laying back on your hand produces a warm, subtle, semi-clean tone. Start hammering down, and things get crunchy real fast. This works out nicely when switching from a verse to a chorus. If you want to keep the grit amount where it is but want to change it's character, all you do is flip the toggle switch to High. This bumps every frequency into a fat'n'chunky wall of soul. Next I jumped the Boost knob up to 6 and set the toggle back into the Mid boost position. This is where the Atomic Boost starts to really produce those classic treble booster settings we all love to hear. Depending on what kind of pickups you're using the grit level in this position can go anywhere from crunchy from to downright devilish. All of my favorite classic rock rhythm tones came howling from my amp. Riding the guitar's volume will also give you even more tone range, if you're one of these style players this pedal will work beautifully for you. Then we took the Atomic Boost from 8-11, the pedal's highest settings and where the Mullard OC44 really starts working it's mojo. At 8 the pedal pushed the clean tone straight into a healthy rock'n'roll overdrive. Switching from pickup to pickup and flipping the toggle switch from Mid to High boost created more tones than I knew what to do with. You wouldn't think one knob and one toggle switch could do so much, it definitely impressed the hell out of me. I was amazed at how smooth and balanced the string articulation was, you could literally hear each string evenly and clearly. These are the tones I live for, the tones that push me to want to write my music. At full blast it was more of the same only more of it. This is where all those old school Dallas Rangemaster loving bastards will fall in love with this pedal, and things didn't end here, no sir. I switched guitars to a Strat, set the amp to it's full 15 watts and set it slightly dirty. Things only got better through a dirty tone too. I quickly discovered that where the Atomic Boost really shines is through a nice naturally overdriven tube amp sound. Imagine dialing in the baddest of the bad sounding tube amp sound and being able to take everything that's beautiful about that sound and magnifying it. All of the lows become boomier, the mids jump out and grab, and the highs get richer. It's just awesome! Running the pedal through the Strat's single coils also produced an entirely new vibe of overdrive that makes for layering guitar tracks a total dream. But my ultimate favorite use for the Atomic Boost was stacking it with other pedals, using to push other overdrive and distortion pedals. This setup created some of the most desirable overdrive sounds I've ever been able to get from my pedals. Just like it was able to take an already overdriven amp sound into tone heaven was it able to drive my favorite dirt pedals into overdrive bliss. For a cat like me who depends on pedals for his overdriven sounds this is a huge plus. In the end we were able to run the Atomic Boost as a semi-clean booster, overdrive pedal, distortion, and to help push other pedals into lead tones. Take all the in between sounds you can get from the toggle switch and rolling your volume knob, and that makes for a sea of dirty tones. I would love to see more pedals from the Swart Amplifier Co., lord knows they have the talent.

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For more info on the Swart Amplifier Company go to www.swartamps.com You will find more killer info on the Atomic Boost along with the collection of amazing amps. We will try and get our hands on one of their amps in the near future so keep your eye for more on this awesome company.

Top Finds of 2009 / Moonphaser

We discovered, got to test, and were introduced to lots of a great gear this past year. In all the years I have been playing music never have I seen so much great quality, great sounding, and such innovative gear. It seemed like everywhere we looked there was another great company just waiting to be discovered. Out of all the killer gear we featured there were a few pieces that stood out, jumped out, and really caught our attention. Now we're not saying anything was better than anything else, or placing anything above or below anything else. After all, it is about preference right? What this month is about is us sharing that gear that was special to us for one reason or another. One of the Top Finds for me personally was Moonphase Guitar Electronics. I came across the Moonphase outfit a few months back while doing some hunting for phase shifters. A few weeks before this we had started getting emails from our readers asking us if we knew of any companies that were building great vintage sounding phasers. So I began to dig, and low and behold there it was, the Moonphaser. It was a handful of great reviews and articles that first caught my attention, then on the Moonphaser website I got hear some pretty damn impressive sound clips. I said to myself, "If this pedal sounds this good through a couple of MP3's it must sound even better up close and personal." The rest is history, I contacted David Cartwright and we worked out a review. From the moment I plugged into this pedal I fell in love with it. What can I say? This is one stunning stompbox.

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Moonphase Guitar Electronics

Little Shelford

Cambridge, UK

Builder: David Cartwright

Years in the Game: 8

Moonphaser

Analogue Phase Shifter

* Rich Spatial Effect

* Vintage Liquid Tone

* Six-Stage Phasing Circuit

* True Bypass Switching

* LED Power Indication

* LED Phasing Speed Indication

* 8 Seconds per Cycle - 6 Cycles per Second

* Long Internal Battery Life

* 2 Year Warranty

* Handbuilt in England

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The Moonphaser's sound is straight up 100% vintage and tone-to-the-bone full of soul. With absolute ease I was able to dial into both the psychedelic and classic rock eras. It is so important (at least for me it is) to have a phase shifter that isn't going to sound robotic or sharp. You have no idea how many phasers I have gone through looking for the right feel, "feel" is the key word here. This six-stage mono phaser will deliver a swimming-swirling, warm yet clear, evenly balanced phase shifting effect that will rival any vintage phase unit. Believe you me, I have been around lots of different great sounding vintage units and this baby can easily hold it's own. The Moonphaser's layout is very simple, one Speed knob, one Depth knob, and that's that. For an extra touch of class both knobs are made of steel and not plastic. Each control is very responsive, accurate, and will cover a lot of ground. I was able to find usable sounds throughout the entire range of both controls, and able to get both classic and modern tones. You can go from intense mind boggling phase shifting and rotary speaker sounds, to airy accents and subtle breathing effects for livening up your sound. The pedal can be powered by both 9V alkaline battery or 9Vdc power supply. The Moonphaser's guts are based around a 70's design, and uses NOS components for an ultimate classic feel. There are two LED's on board, one which indicates the bypassed and active modes, and the other pulsating the phase shifting speed. This makes for easy gigging and dialing in on the fly. Everything is housed in a heavy duty enclosure with simple, straight to the point artwork. The black and grey art design give it a slick look that works for me any day. Last the Moonphaser is true bypass and is designed/hand built in England. It is damn near impossible to find or hear any flaws in this pedal. The Moonphaser is all no frills, and no bull.

It was apparent from the get-go this was no ordinary phase shifter. Even before I plugged it in and turned it on I could see by it's construction that this was going to be a delight to play through. One of the many problems players have with phasers these days is that once they're engaged they can tend to eat away the meat & potatoes of your tone. Your lows disappear, mids become weak, which make all the high frequencies in the phasing effect sound shrill and piercing. This is why vintage units are so appealing, because of their rich'n'full tone. These are the kinds of phase shifters you hear all over classic rock albums. Then again there are a few drawbacks that come with vintage units. Either they aren't made to last, or their designs are inconsistent. This means you never knew if you were gonna get a good unit or a bad one. With the Moonphaser all of these negatives are banished. You get a great sounding, great performing phase shifter that will deliver from stage to stage, and studio to studio. I started out with my main gigging axe and amp, dialed in the cleanest/sweetest guitar tone, and put the Moonphaser to work. First up to bat was my 4x10 Deville and Custom Telecaster. I started out with the pedal's knobs set all the way down and guitar in it's neck pickup. The Moonphaser produced a subtle effect that added just enough phasing to my tone to give it some extra character and depth. The balance between my root tone and phase effect was beautiful. I was stunned at how transparent the pedal was, I flipped back and fourth from on & off and noticed 0% change in my root tone. This makes for great gigging and awesome recording. I went ahead and added in a bit more Depth and got one of the sweetest rhythm guitar tones I've ever heard come from my amp. Usually I'm not too big on using phasers to add body and size to my sound, I'm more of a tremolo or vibe guy when it comes to that. The Moonphaser has changed everything. It actually adds this subtle hint of low frequency that makes your tone stand out a bit more. This is great for those of you who use phasers in your lead tone and need to stand out from the mix. I actually started writing down settings as I was testing the pedal so I could go back and use them, you can never be too short of great sounding tones. Next I flipped into the guitar's bridge pickup, set the Moonphaser's Speed to about 50% and Depth at around 25%. This produced a perfect universal phasing effect that worked great with everything I threw at it. I added in one of my favorite overdrivers to the signal chain which created a world of swirling grit and liquid. One thing is for sure, the Moonphaser is definitely a pedal friendly unit. Many phasers will take over any effect you throw at them, making things either too weak or too harsh. This pedal was able to hold it's own through both cold and hot overdrive settings, screeching lead tones, and even sounded nice combined with fuzz boxes. It was nice to see none of the grit, distortion, or fuzz disappeared into thin air once I added in the Moonphaser. I went back to the clean tone and bumped both the Moonphaser's Speed and Depth knobs up to a good 50%. Again my root tone stayed right on target while the pedal went to work producing it's golden sound. In this setting I was able to reproduce some of the coolest David Gilmour phase shifting effects. If you're a Floyd fan like I am you will absolutely dig this pedal to the fullest. There is a trippy, hallucinogenic, multi-colored vibe to this pedal which makes it the perfect candidate for psychedelic music. That's the thing about a great phaser, you want it to give you visuals when listening to music, that's what kind of an effect the phase shifter is. Even when I jumped everything up to more extreme settings the phase effect stayed usable. Not once did I get a corny, cartoony, or overboard sound from the Moonphaser. I believe it's this pedal's ability to keep your root tone intact that makes it such a usable unit. The sweep of this pedal's phase effect is addicting! You'll find yourself inspired and moved to expand your playing into uncharted areas. If you're looking for a phase shifter that's gonna last, make it easy to deliver the sounds you want it to, and hand you a bit of yesterday's vibe. The Moonphaser is it. It sounds great through clean tones, dirty tones, and mixes well with other effects. To find a studio quality phaser in a stompbox these days is not easy. I'm sure you all know how expensive things can get when searching for the right modulation effects. The Moonphaser easily sits up top of the list of stompboxes that will be hunted down in the years to come, by which I mean this will be a collector's item. I am very excited to see what else David Cartwright comes up with in the future. In fact there is a overdrive/distortion unit in the works from Moonphase Guitar Electronics as we speak. I can only imagine how tuff of a pedal that will be. Until then we will stay patient and continue to fix on this magnificent pedal known as the Moonphaser. "Keep'em coming David we're more than ready for them."

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For info on Moonphase Guitar Electronics go to www.moonphaser.co.uk or click the direct link in our sidebar. Make sure to keep an eye out for more from this killer company.

Happy New Year You Gear Loving Freaks

We made it through our first year! First I want to say thanks to all of you who have been supporting us and keeping us alive. Analog War Cry had a chance to work with some of the best companies this last year and was blessed to try out some of the best gear out there today. I personally made more discoveries than I thought were out there. With every week that passed by there was something new to be excited about. This shows just how much players have begun to care about their sound, what they use, and how they go about achieving there signature sounds. It seems like just about everyone in the market has jumped on the band wagon to produce higher quality, better sounding, and much more user friendly products. Many of the bands I had a chance to go out and see this passed year sported boutique, custom, and limited run gear. Along with the pedal boom, custom shop guitars, and amazing amplifiers also came a wide variety of amazing studio equipment. With so many cats these days building either smaller or home studios, it was nice to see so much great quality affordable gear. I only see things getting better too. Then there's always the "sleepers", those few special pieces of gear that we end up discovering later. This is gear that's usually lower in price and component quality that nontheless gets the job done. You always have to keep your eyes and ears open because there is so much gear that is ahead of it's time, gear that isn't hype driven or in the spotlight of some hot company. To me there is no way to go wrong, if something works for you more power to you. This is what we try and project here on Analog War Cry, to share all the gear that touches us, lightens up our music, and just plain out sounds great. You guys better strap on your seatbelts this year, we have lots of killer new companies to share with you, and all the stunning gear that comes with them. We thought what better way to kick off the new year than to share with you some of the hottest gear of 2009. We will be posting all this month and next what will be known as our Top Find's of 09'. Along with gear there will also be bands, artists, podcast demos, more Builder Spotlights, and of course our regular flow of updates and news. I hope everyone's holidays were fantastic and wish you all a kickass 2010. Please keep subscribing and sending us your emails letting us know how we're doing and how we can better serve ya'll.

- Alfie C.