New department

New from the Blackstar camp - Department 10 tube laden pedals. Some of us had been through Blackstar's initial foray of tube pedals, the HT series. Those were quite a hit when they first debuted but they did not really latched onto any pedal geek's long term interest. This is the subsequent tube in a pedal adventure & they went one up by turning it into a speaker / mic emulator as well if you are into DAWs & stuff. The range consists of a boost, overdrive & distortion unit in the mean time. McRocklin here will show you the dynamics of one of them:

Pic: Blackstaramps

BC trio

A very functional trio by Laney's Black Country label. From L-R, we have a boost, OD & a reverb unit. From the initial demo clips, they sound good & I'm rather attracted to the reverb. I've not heard something as appealing as Strymon's BlueSky unit but that one's too much money for something that I would use on occasion. The Second Path might be a good alternative. A little concerned with those control knobs as they block the pedals' labels. 

Red assault

These pedals are on constant rotation lately:

• Killing Floor (Seymour Duncan)- Very intense booster, just the way I like it. Top of the list if I wish for a non-drive boost with lots of intensity. Works best with high output pickups.
• Raspberry Booster (One Control)- Another great non-drive booster with drive-type responses. Not as intense as the KF but the fact it features MASTER control means you have saturation unlike standard volume boost units. Thumbs up to the presence (Z) control as well. Works best with darker voicings.
• Santa Ana (Fender)- 2-in-1 unit (drive/ boost) featuring 3-band EQ & two bypass types for a slight difference but something you'd appreciate. Not as creamy as expected but a good drive unit to own. 

Coincidentally, they are all red. 😁

New trio

So folks, more new Fender pedals in the market Summer NAMM 2018), this time it's a booster, distortion & fuzz serving. It's a waiting game, really. Despite constant visits to the stores, I don't see them in store till I gave up & dismissed them as unavailable that I get personal updates on availability. Hopefully these three won't be subjected to such lesser treatments. Interested in the boost. 

The clean end

Had some playing time in the evening so ended the day with some great cleans. That's right- clean. Coming from someone who doesn't give a hoot about driveless tone, it means a lot. The formula: Single coils + chorus + boost. The chorus you see here is One Control's Little Copper Chorus & I have good things to say about it in the next instalment. 😁

To boost or not to boost

Seymour Duncan featured my pic of their boost pedal just a couple of weeks ago & there was a smart ass comment stating a high gain amp like the EVH 5150 was in need of no such assistance.

True. High gain, angry amps voiced to crush proceedings don't need further gain supplements but we need to understand the method of employment. If one curbed gain levels to the lower quarter to capture crunch voicings (not high gain drive), then the employment of a clean boost in the signal would manifest higher saturation. This means, the signal becomes a little more pick sensitive and harmonics are easier to trigger. That's how boost pedals come into the picture & it's not about the amp requiring a supplementary pedal to begin with. Sometimes we tend to juxtapose our ideals unto others' setup without thinking of differentiated applications. Knowing what others use is half the picture, knowing how they use it is the crucial other half.

On SALE @ SV Guitars

Some stuff are on sale at SV Guitars, I'd recommend the above pedals (I own them) if you are looking for something above average but nothing excessive.

Hotone: Wally Looper

A simple looping unit, something that would definitely squeeze onto your pedal board. Has great clarity & that elusive output control, it actually adds gain to your signal.

Artec: Gainer Boost

One of the numbered boost units out there that feature an EQ section. Set the bass to nought & pump up the treble for a -you guessed it- a treble boost function. Raise the bass & set the treble to 20% - 25% setting for a smooth legato application. All this without muddy-ing out or sounding too piercing. This isn't merely a volume boost, the gain adds a good amount of drive to your settings, do note. 

Prestigious

Managed to grab this JHS little ditty on the final day of SV Guitar's festive sale last week. I had the Morning Glory as the initial consideration but after hearing it it action, it was a no. I managed to try this one out & was happy with the tone as well as what it has to offer in terms of dynamics. It's actually a 4-in-1 pedal; at the initial stages it's a clean buffer, past 25% it turns into a volume boost, past noon, it's a drive unit which eventually fuzzes out beyond 3 o'clock. Too bad it's not battery compatible, otherwise it'd become my pedal of choice when I head down to guitar stores. Free Gravity guitar pick with the later batch of JHS pedals but I'm through with this brand name.

JHS: Prestige

Availability: SV Guitars

List: $189

Killing it

This is a new one by the Seymour Duncan people- the Killing Floor pedal. It is a clean boost as well as an angry boost, treading into the drive territory. Definitely on my to-check list. We have Nick Johnston here with some Killing Floor applications:

That pretty much wraps up the mid-year as well. Happy second half of the year, everyone. Time sure flies.

Martin Howe

Something to look forward to- Carl Martin's Lick Box. It's a signature pedal as indicated. I'm a sucker for a stackable overdrive arrangement, especially one offered in a single housing. Pedal will debut this 1st August. 

Wampler: Tumnus

This is a new one by Wampler, the Tumnus. With the reference to the control labels alone, we know which pedal this was modeled after. More details in the following clip, it will be available at SV Guitars in time to come.

Prehistoric drive (if there's such a thing)

I think I'm beginning to be a sucker for drive pedals with on-board extras. OK, the extra is usually a mere boost function because it saturates the drive, not necessarily intensifying the proceedings. The pedal you see here is the Oddfellow Caveman Drive. The name doesn't imply a backward approach to overdrive, it's just a label. What's offered is a good dose of drive which isn't quite in line with any BOSS voicings out there, more girth to the tone dare I say. Once the boost is activated, you can opt for a pre or post arrangement at the flick of a switch. Together with simple controls, the CD is my kind of drive- as smooth as it could be (to deliver great fusion tones) & as coarse as it could possible get for some hard rockin' tones. If only those knobs would light up. Hmm...

MXR: Micro Amp +

MXR's Micro Amp + isn't a complete re-thinking of its standard, non-Custom Shop version, the Micro Amp (M133). This pedal isn't a dedicated drive unit, it's a boost pedal which is suffering from a performance confusion of sorts (in a positive way, definitely) because it's clean for most part of its gain stages, dirt only kicks in past the 1 o'clock mark (depending on the pickups of your guitars).

Like its standard sibling, the MA+ offers up to +26dB of gain so you get what this one's driving at (no pun intended); subtle push when used as a stand alone unit. The 2-band EQ there adds to some gain at upper settings in addition to some frequency push.

In use, the MA+ has no drive push in the lower gain settings. However, you can hear the output difference, namely a fattening effect unlike a bass-only enhancement. I am pleased with the Treble control for its ability to enhance clarity as opposed to making the signals too sharp-sounding. The Bass knob delivers what it says- more lower end. This control also enhances gain in its upper settings unlike the treble counterpart. In its stand alone application, I observe that single coils benefit more from the MA+ in fattening notes up but a treble restraint need to be observed.

Because I'm a distortion dweeb, putting the MA+ in a drive enhancement situation is obligatory so it was made to push an already driven amp. Verdict- wonderful provided you understand it's more-boost-than-drive function but with that said, the MA+ makes an angry amp sound more defined so it gets a thumbs up from me in this application.

The 2-band EQ here gives an illusion that the MA+ has more dirt than its M133 counterpart but it's clear that both pedals serve the same amount of gain range. Yes, the EQ plays some part in gain enhancements but do not expect a marked jump in drive if you put it through some applications. Let's see now, the MA+ is a proto-under drive pedal but serves a bit more pleasure if you think it's an exclusively clean boost. Get it?

MXR: Micro Amp +

Availability: Swee Lee/ Davis GMC

Price: Please refer to the respective stores for exclusive prices

Greenchild: Tribus drive

My kind of pedal- all 3 drive inducing effects in a single serving. I'm a distortion person, anything clean & I'd be easily put off especially when my playing style demands utmost sensitivity. Overdrive means I am assured of some top end polish across the frequencies & the boost section ensures the distortion & drive would bite when the need arises. All 3 activated simultaneously- it helps define the type of player you are. One more time- the Green Child Tribus Drive is my kind of pedal! Question: Will it ever appear in stores here? Hmmm...