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2024-GPX-Walrus-Fundamentals-Ambient-700.jpg

I did a fairly substantive feature on the original set of 8 Fundamental Series - and how they stacked up against the other competing Budget Boutique Series. I love this format - while there are still questions about how long-term robust those sliders are - but so far so good! And then there’s the price - which sits mostly at the $129 which is quite significantly above the usual $99 price tag.

 

Overall though I feel Walrus have about got the formula right - while I feel that they may not have...

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2024-GPX-Buzzing-Bugs-BB03-Lo-Fi-Chorus-700.jpg

The BB03 is a great classic chorus right from the get-go - start with Room and Age all the way down, Depth and Time at Noon, and Mix at circa 3 o’c for the perfect classic chorus sounds. You can then wind the Mix back for vibrato, and bring in the Room (Ambience / Reverb), and Age (Warble / Wow & Flutter) controls for more Lo-Fi and Ambient tones. At its peak the Room control delivers a sort of slapback echo too.

 

I like my modulations quite flavoursome - so I tend to have the Depth / ...

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2024-GPX-Champion-Leccy-Skitzy-700.jpg

Champion Leccy - aka Woolly, the king of whimsical pedal design, has delivered another really cool textural ambient pedal - which combines two his previous greats - the Skitter TremVerb / Verbolo, and Woozy Lo-Fi Pitch-Shifting SwayVerb.

 

It always takes a minute or two to figure out what’s going on with these pedals - as the control labels tend to be fairly whimsical too, while the breakdown on this occasion is actually pretty straight forward.

 

Controls - LFO } Space (LFO Depth), Time (...

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ALABS Audio's Cetus 9 Mode Stereo Compact Reverb is truly one of the finest of its kind - mixing up classic and unique Reverb Algorithms in superb fashion

ALABS AudioAmbient EffectsDigital ReverbPlate ReverbRack Style ReverbReverbReverb WorkstationShimmer ReverbSpacey ReverbSpring Reverb+-
2023-GPX-ALABS-Cetus-Reverb-700.jpg

So I’ve kind of left the best to last! All 4 ALABS Audio Adam Adventures Series pedals are amazing, and particularly for the price. I note that the TimeSlip and Cetus have moved up $10 to the same price point as the Orbital - or $109.99 vs $99.99 - but they’re really worth it at twice the price even!

 

Someone commented the these were Walrus Audio levels of production and packaging - but with JHS 3 Series pricing. I feel they’re going to be very hard to beat at that price point - and for me ...

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The first GPX Deviation of 2024 is a speculative Concept Visual for a possible Boss RV-7 Reverb

Ambient EffectsBossDigital ReverbGPX DeviationGuitar Gear Improvements and PrototypesPlate ReverbRack Style ReverbReverbReverb WorkstationReverse ReverbShimmer ReverbSpacey ReverbSpring Reverb+-
2024-GPX-Deviation-RV-7-700.jpg

It’s been quiet a while since Boss completed its Digital Delay Range Revamp with the DD-3T and DD-8 - back in September of 2019 - that selection is fully rounded and up-up-to-date still - with each of the 4 pedals at the top of its respective game - DD-3T, DD-8, DD-200, and DD-500!

 

We had to wait an age for the RV-200 to arrive - where the DD-200  was part of the original June 2019 200-Series quartet. The current generation of compact Boss Reverb is the RV-6 - which was released as long ago...

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Horizon Devices releases its own special take on ultra transparent compression - The Clarity Compressor

Best of BrandsBoostBoost and OverdriveCompressorDelayDigital DelayDigital ReverbDistortionEchoverbHorizon DevicesMetal DistortionOverdrivePreAmpReverbUtility+-
2024-GPX-Horizon-Devices-Quartet-700.jpg

Misha Mannsoor’s Horizon Devices has quietly made its way to 4 superior modern tone enhancers. It kind of set the mould with its specialist Metal tone enhancing Precision Drive, then came its Apex High Gain Preamp, then the Flux Echo/Reverb - and here we have a very unique take on a Compressor.

 

Horizon Devices’ slogan is "Sound great, and be easy to use" and that theme is very clearly carried through all 4 pedals which are about as straightforward a pedals as you might expect to encounter -...

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2024 January Pedal-Chain Update - Episode I - Blues-Driven

Ambient EffectsBig Muff Style FuzzBlues Breaker Style OverdriveBlues Driver Style OverdriveBoostBoost and OverdriveDigital ReverbDistortionDrunk BeaverEnvelope Filter and Auto WahFuzzGermanium FuzzKuro Custom AudioMarshall Style DistortionMetal DistortionModulated FuzzModulationMulti-DriveOneder EffectsOpAmp FuzzOscillating FuzzOverdrivePedal ChainPlate ReverbPoly EffectsPreAmpRack Style ReverbReverbReverb WorkstationShimmer ReverbSinverteksmallsound/bigsoundSpacey ReverbSpring ReverbSubdecay EffectsTone Bender Style FuzzTremoloTru-Fi Guitar EffectsVictory AmpsWinnipeg Electrical Co+-
2024-GPX-Pedal-Chain-Update-January-700.jpg

So 2024 is off to a pretty spirted start! I treaded myself to 2 pedals right at the tail end of the year - the Poly VERBS puts in an appearance in this month’s selection - while the Reeves Electro BHS-D is running a touch late and will be part of the February selection instead.

 

This time of the year has to be mostly about NAMM - while I feel that a lot of builders kind of took away from NAMM and launched / showcased their new release in advance!

 

I’ve still to make it to NAMM - timing’s ...

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Gamechanger Audio brings Advanced-Dynamics Modular Synth Cross-Cabling to Stompboxes with its innovative MOD Series

Analog DelayChorus and VibratoDelayDigital DelayFlangerGamechanger AudioModulationPlate ReverbRack Style ReverbReverbSpring ReverbTape Delay+-
2024-GPX-Gamechange-Audio-Mod-Series-700.jpg

I love that Gamechanger Audio exists and is so free and forward looking in its innovation - continuously delivering new and distinct ideas into the world of pedals. They certainly make very interesting form factors, while their pioneering spirit often kind of ignores the more practical aspects of day-to-day pedalboard management. All their units are larger than the norms - often quite substantially - which makes those pedals difficult to accommodate on a typical board. And those considerations ...

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Boss's brand new VE-22 Vocal Performer Effects Processor massively improves on 2009's VE-20

Ambient EffectsBitcrushing and Lo-FiBossChorus and VibratoCompressorDelayDistortionEQFlangerHarmonizerModulationMulti-FXNoise GatePhaserPitchPitch-ShiftingReverbRing ModulationSlicer and Stutter+-
2023-GPX-Boss-VE-22-Vocal-Performer-700.jpg

We’re steadily seeing the Boss 20-Series pedals being replaced now, and the VE-20 is the latest to get a very significant upgrade. The new VE-22 moves things on pretty massively and completely revamps and enhances the form factor, switches, knobs and overall control interface - with 3 core switches now in place of the former 2 - and really smart dedicated controls for each of the core functions - all served by a highly visibly and usable LED screen.

 

If you’re a singer or vocal performer of ...

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Poly Effects VERBS Convolution Reverberator brings something genuinely new to the Reverb Workstation Genre

Ambient EffectsDigital ReverbPlate ReverbPoly EffectsRack Style ReverbReverbReverb WorkstationShimmer ReverbSpacey ReverbSpring Reverb+-
2023-GPX-Poly-Verbs-700.jpg

Like many I was entirely captivated by the Andertons demo of this pedal (as below) - and was fortunate to be quick enough off the mark to snag one of from the very first edition. My good friend Joe Halliday of Hello Sailor Effects obviously came across the demo just a little bit after me - as I surely snagged one of the last ones from that small initial Andertons batch. The fact that there is an Icelandic Space featured (my country of birth) on the VERBS - was also instrumental in my rapid ...

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