T-Rex: Moeller 2

I had to check this one out. I'm currently into pedals that reinforce themselves, the Moller 2 enables the user to activate both its drive & booster functions. That's quite a feat considering its other siblings sporting 2 buttons won't allow a simultaneous operation to occur. Let's understand that the M2 here is an under-drive pedal, so to speak. It contains nothing that could put its mild-mannered nature to disrepute. The job of the booster function is to add a clean boost to proceedings. For a more throaty drive manifestation, the boost levels must be pumped way up but it won't give you a definite distortion performance, just some re-inforced drive settings. This one's aimed at the type of player who is content with some dirt in the signals, nothing excessive. The clean boost offers some saturation without pushing anything into dark & dirty places.

T-Rex: Moller 2

Availability: Davis GMC

Price: $265

T-Rex: Totenschlager

This is a mouthful: TOTENSCHLAGER. Whatever's the case, be informed that it's a little menace. It's an intense distortion type pedal which hails from the 'mini' T-Rex Tone Bug series. The control features there speak everything about simplicity but that's besides the point. It's there to deliver noxious metal & it does the job.

When I tried this pedal yesterday, I thought it would be a half-baked unit, much hype without a serious intention but that's definitely NOT the case. The simple layout there is exactly my idea of a no-frills metal pedal, just the level, intensity & EQ to deliver the needs. If there's any need to refine this pedal then the manufacturer has to look into the dodgy EQ sliders but they are effective nevertheless. Spare the treble, please. Anything more than 50% application gives you this screechy voicing, akin to DOD's Death Metal pedal (that's right, the version before Digitech took over). Enough talk already, listen to this:

Thanks to DAVIS GMC for letting me try this one! Kudos!

T-rex: Mudhoney 2

I was attracted to the (T-Rex) Mudhoney 2 pedal for its dual distortion offering. I thought it'd be cool (not to mention economical) to own such a feature but the circuit is wired such that one simply cannot activate both distortions simultaneously... *SIGH*

Fav ODs

Yes, I prefer a straight-through plug in; guitar + amp sounds immaculate, your tone sounds more unpretentious this way. If you rely on your guitar's volume knob to tame your overdrive at times, you'd appreciate this honest set up. However, my playing techniques thrive on drive/ distortion overdose- more drive/distortion means lesser picking/ fretting effort, I play faster this way & there's reduced lethargy in the mix. In order to achieve this overkill, I employ my fav pedals as depicted above:

1. Ibanez TS7: The most uncelebrated Tubescreamer of them all, the least preferred among the purists but certainly my preferred pedal. The TS7 gives that slight but necessary overdrive addition to my fiery Marshall JVM410H; that's what it's coupled with all the time.
2. MXR Distortion+ : I love the Distortion + for its very gritty voicing, unlike the very tame BOSS DS-1 (which I also own), the Distortion + ensures a coarse-sounding output for an all-out distortion assault. This pedal is also coupled with my Marshall JVM410 all the time. The Distortion + provides an alternative output voicing compared to my TS7.
3. Danelectro Cool Cat Transparent Overdrive: The Cool Cat series are some of the best sounding units out there on a budget. I always employ this pedal with my LINE6 PODs as it sounds more appealing rather than pushing an already driven amp. I feel this is the case because The Transparent OD lacks a midrange control, the inherent scooped tone somehow sounds more attractive with digital units such as the POD.
4. T-REX Tonebug Overdrive: The latest in my pedal acquisition, the Tonebug OD sounds 'different' as its voicing sits between an OD & a distortion but it doesn't get as throaty as a blues/crunch type distortion unit (eg: BOSS Blues Driver). It's best played with an amp's crunch channel, nothing too intense. The resultant voicing sounds almost fuzz-like but with more definition for all us dweebs who think the average fuzz unit does little wonder for individual note definition- especially so when we solo.
   

T-Rex: Tonebug Overdrive

It's midway through 2009 & this is my first pedal for the year; yes, I'm not a pedal fan, I like a straight-through plug in, yes?

The T-Rex Tonebug Overdrive debuted only this February. It had been there all along at Davis GMC's display case but I have been on a pickup lookout so it was 'invisible' until recently, of course. I'm only keen on any overdrive unit if it's appealing when used in conjunction with an already overdriven/ distorted amp; as a (drive-type) booster function to the rest of us.

The Tonebug Overdrive, as a stand-alone unit, offers a slightly more raspy sounding tone than the average OD unit; you can say it's heading in the (BOSS) Blues Driver direction but nothing too protrusive in the upper end frequencies. It's definitely more forceful than the proverbial Tubescreamer.

What: T-Rex Tonebug Overdrive
How much: $165 (list)
Where to get: Davis GMC