I’m delighted to have finally got around to DryBell’s The Engine Foundation Preamp - as I’ve wanted it since I did the launch feature almost exactly one year ago on June 9th 2020 - I’ve just had a lot of obligations and priorities to cover off in the interim. I’m obviously a huge fan of MIAB style pedals and have several of those mostly in the compact enclosure form factor. I am firmly of the opinion that you cannot have too many Marshall-style pedals as each of ...

I’ve had and loved the Hamstead Odyssey Intergalactic Driver pretty much since the start, and was for a long time considering acquiring the Low-End-Focused Subspace Intergalactic Driver follow-up - which hasn’t quite happened yet. That added a Parallel Dry Path - which made it ideal for bass players in particular. It also somewhat re-voiced and re-engineered the Odyssey to deliver overall more of a bass and low-end / body frequency profile.

The Comet is kind of a stripped-...

I actually see this as an evolution and refinement of the Dedalo FX Beat from Winter NAMM 2020. Of course there is a lot more to the Snare Trap - but the core concept is roughly the same - where you tap in different percussion sounds / voicings to create a beat. I was actually waiting for an official manual to materialise for the Snare Trap in order to gain further insights, but none such seems to be materialising any time soon - so it was now as good as ever.

There are several ...

Readers will know that I’m a huge fan of Marshall-voiced pedals and have quite the number of those in the collection - particularly in compact enclosure editions. I have a real fondness for dual-footswitches and extended feature topologies - and love that this pedal has no less than 8 external controls including 4-Band EQ, alongside a single internal trim-pot to set the Boost Level.

I’m not sure of the exact reasoning behind the Room #40 moniker except for the fact that it ...

I have long been a fan of the highly convivial Paul Gilbert - with his Racer X Scarified fretboard workout being a particular favourite of mine. Paul is one of the most naturally gifted players out there and can pretty much play anything in any style. He’s a big fan of the Beatles and can play near enough their whole back catalog off the cuff.

There’s certainly plenty to admire about Paul - a lifetime Ibanez Artist with a few signature guitars and pedals to his name. What I...

I’ve been lucky enough to have this formidable overdrive pedal since pretty much the start of May. However, like Thorpy’s Pulse Doppler had to be delayed because of parts supply issues - much the same happened with the production of the Angry Rhubarb. It’s great to finally be able to share this gem with everyone.

This is a Single Parametric EQ Overdrive with Pre Drive and Post Drive control over the gain stages. The first realisation here is to start with selecting ...

It was about time I turned my attentions towards Boss’s excellent individual Modulations, and which of those I deem perennial classics which appeal to me the most.

Boss’s parent company Roland famously created the Chorus Effect back in 1975 for its then revolutionary solid state JC-120 Jazz Chorus Combo Amp. That same effect was then evolved to become a stand-alone stompbox - first in 1976’s Boss CE-1 Chorus (Chorus Ensemble). Later derivations included the Roland SDD...

As a follow-up to the enormously entertaining Maisy Millar Zander Circuitry voiceover Video (which I shall reference at the base of this article) the happy couple have teamed up again to deliver the Perfect First Effects Pedals introductory book for Children - a sort of toddler’s guide to stompboxes!

With a cast of 8 cute cartoon component characters, that you can see on the front cover, Alex & Maisy’s ’Wonderful Noise Awaits’ tackles 13 different key ...

I’ve known about this one for a while - just haven’t been able to snag one yet - while I am hoping to get one from the next batch whenever that is - while Darko Vadja seems to be sort of suffering from the same parts supply issues that are plaguing most builders - so no word on when the next batch is likely, while these tend to be fairly short runs of just 10 or so pedals.

Per the above visual - the controls here are relatively simple - with 7 knobs and 2 x 2-way option ...

Emilio designed the original version of the Antique, the one with the white knobs, back in 2016. The challenge then as now was how to replicate that well-loved Mayer Tone through a single pedal - where traditionally John Mayer uses a combination of pedals to achieve his core tones.

The original foundation of the Antique is a sort of TS808/TS10 circuit which has evolved quite considerably. Mayer typically combines TS10 and Klon to create his signature sound, while Emilio would endeavour...