It seems like every successive pedal released by Tubesteader is even better than the one that came before - and each one that came before was already superb. It’s fitting that after the exceptional Vox AC30 style Roy, we get the even more instantly satisfying Plexi and JCM800 voicings of the Gainlord.

We have a 2-Channel Tube Preamp (12AX7) - with 6 controls per channel / side, and with a Direct Out switch on the side which outputs a flat signal (Tone Bypass).

This is an incredibly ...

So we have Santiago Alvarez (ex Marshall), Tommi Otsavara (ex Darkglass Electronics), and Torsten Woelle (ex Hughes & Kettner) in a very formidable new partnership - with an excellent mid-priced full-range offering! Quite a pedigree really in terms of the principals involved.

According to Andertons these are mostly at the £169 mark, with two of the compacts being just £149, and then the Tube Preamp / Tube Driver going for £269 - all announced, but not yet in stock. Actually GuitarGuitar got...

So these 14 are some of the pedals that continue to evade capture for me. Most of these are discontinued and were only made in  very limited numbers. Some of these are small batch productions - like the GNI Octa Fuzz and Iron Ether FrantaBit. And some are also impossible to get outside their country of manufacture. Some of these I’ve been chasing for nearly a decade so far.

Many of you will be familiar with my quest for the Blakemore Effects Deus Ex Machina OpAmp Muff - where I tracked down...

The month started off strong with the unique ThorpyFX and Origin Effects Thorigin Folked Up Fuzz April Fool’s - but genuine product collaboration. The NAMM teased DigiTech HammerOn finally landed, and we saw the release of the stunning ThorpyFX Purple Edition The Dane Drive + Boost.

I introduced the Butterfly Effects Dobbo Granular Playground - whose second batch should be out be the ned of next month - that is a major target for me!

I also visited Reeves Electro on the 10th - while ...

I originally covered the TODP Pro Modular back in March - where Jonny kindly supplied me with all 3 of the different ’Tube’ Overdrive Boards / Modules (actual and emulated). I mentioned then that there would be some alternative swappable Distortion / Clipping Boards coming soon - and obviously that time is now!

My original supplied Distortion / Clipping board came with Dual Germanium D9A Diodes along with the usual 1N4148 Silicon Diodes and Twin Red LEDs. Those Silicon Diodes and LEDs ...

This is not another BK Butler Tube Driver take - like say the recent CTC Venus, this model is rather more derived from the Tubeworks Real Tube RT-901 if anything. Of course significantly evolved by Vitalii - and using one of those really cool mini tubes that he seems to have a knack for finding!

The Tube here is the 6Н16Б-В (6N16B-V) (where V denotes military version) - subminiature dual triode (mu of 25). As mentioned - the circuit is closer to a Tubeworks Real Tube RT-90, but far from an ...

This was an unusually busy month - with 3 significant Guitar / Pedal Shows and in-depth show reports by me for each - which I’m incredibly proud of - no one does those to the same degree of detail as I, and for the Birmingham show I really lucked out with some amazing pictures - including of me and TheGigRig Crew.

Fuzzes are very significant this month - with a 10 Unit Fuzztopia acquired overall - of which I could only fit 6 on the board in the end - where all of those though had an innings...

The Journey!

So this quest started at the tail end of January when the Venus was first teased at the NAMM show. I contacted Christos straight after the show and requested that I be fully in on the launch. I cover most every CTC launch - while typically it’s mostly just from the materials that Christos sends me - which are extensive.

I thought I had indicated that I wanted to be in on an hands-on deep dive review - but I’ve since read my statements and my meaning wasn’t always crystal clear...

Many thanks to my good friend Henry Kaiser - who introduced me to my new friend Jonny Brelliott. Henry was one of the early adopters of Jonny’s TODP Overdrive - where his model hadn’t yet evolved to the modular format / concept that it is now - as per my pictured one. The core Pentode Tube circuit is the same in my review version as in Henry’s, as are the clipping options and controls - but more fixed in their arrangement. The exterior has an identical control topology with all the same ...