Guitar Pedal X News

PigDog's Germanium Overdrive delivers a beautifully rich and harmonic mid-gain overdrive profile courtesy of its vintage RCA 2N270 Germanium Transistor and 2 Germanium Diodes

Stefan Karlsson — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 11:00:00 GMT

As expected for a Steve Williams production - this is another superb high-quality build - utilising a super rare late 50’s/early 60’s RCA 2N270 Germanium Transistor.

The knobs were set up so they all pointed due south - albeit I had to adjust every single one as they weren’t 100’s in alignment (and it offended my OCD) - so many knobs have odd set-screws, and these are no exception - very good looking silver-top varieties though - perfect for this pedal - while part of me feels they should be gold-tops - as I always associate Germanium with amber or gold hues! I’m very fussy about knob choices, and the alignment of such - everyone should use some sort of ’better-setter’ device when affixing those knobs - so they all line up at their starting point!

Controls - Level, Drive, Filter.

I started with all knobs in the 12 o’c position (a half turn from their lowest point), and then moved the Filter (Low Pass Filter) right back to 7 o’c, and ended up with both the Level and Drive @ circa 1:30 o.c.

If you crank the Drive and Level knobs up - you do end up with a somewhat audible noise floor, not one of those fizzy ones - but definitely some extra white noise - so I advise some degree of caution in how high you crank those. This Germanium Overdrive has absolutely superb guitar volume gain cleanup - so you can set the Drive relatively high - and then wind it all the way back to clean. But you do need to balance the Level and Drive, and indeed the Filter / High Cut / Low Pass Filter - helps shave off some of those highs - which can lead to some reduction in the noise floor too.

I really love this pedal as is - it’s a very classic sounding Germanium Harmonic Overdrive with superb dynamics - mid-gain in its gain profile - and sounds superb with my settings! And like I said - you can beautifully control the gain profile with your guitar volume - all the way down to clean!

4 of a Kind - Superior Germanium and Silicon Transistor Switching 2-Stage Fuzzes

Stefan Karlsson — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 07:00:00 GMT

An adventure that started back in September of 2019 and culminated at this year’s July Brighton show!

I was very lucky to snag one of the very last Austin Pride editions with the classic pairing of Germanium NTE103 and Silicon NTE123 Transistors. I acquired mine during the peak of Dan Querner’s ’Fabric Wrap Era’ with really colourful designs. Later models are much more single block colours than patterned fabric - although various tolex and textured finishes are now used - I really liked that earlier fabric wrap era though.

Expresso FX makes a slightly different 4-knob Edition now - with an additional 4th Filter knob, it also only has Transistor-switching on one of the stages - so that version would not quality for this selection - but it’s the closest pedal Sof currently makes - he does still take the occasional commission - but I’m not sure he has any of those CV7351’s left any more!

I had clocked the Farmer Factory Colombeta back in October of last year, while it took me until the start of this July to snag one - just a smidge ofer a fortnight before I acquired the Deluxe Face Blender. The earliest Colombeta’s had black knobs - but I think I prefer the later red-knob editions. And Sebastien assures me that I got his favourite arrangement of transistors with those 4 superb disparate types onboard!

The Talisman Deluxe Face Blender I picked up at the Brighton show on July 18th - one of two fuzzes I picked up from Talisman Audio’s Tom - where the other was the excellent GP7 Fuzz. Overall the Deluxe Face Blender is a litter fatter, and a touch more potent - with 2 relatively similar sets of Transistors. They are obviously more differentiated than the first two listed in this selection - but not quite as eclectic as the Colombeta’s mix.

All-in-all a superb selection of the top-tier examples from this particular class. Each one of these here is a wonder-fuzz for sure. You would be delighted with any one of these, I am very fortunate to own all 4!

Intriguingly these are arranged in Alphabetical Order, which also just happens to be the order I acquired them in (by year) :

2019 : DanDrive Austin Pride Fuzz - Q1 : Ge NTE103 / Si NTE123, Q2 : Ge NTE103 / Si NTE123.
2020 : Expresso FX Custom Ge/Si Fuzz - Q1 : Ge CV7351 / Si CV10806, Q2 : Ge CV7351 / Si CV1080.
2026 : Farmer Factory Colombeta Fuzz - Q1 : Ge OC41 / Si 2N2905A, Q2 : Ge GET113 / Si NC307.
2026 : Talisman Audio Deluxe Face Blender Fuzz Q1 : Ge OC140 / Si BFX84, Q2 : Ge OC141 / Si BFY50.

Note that because of the rarity of certain transistors - newer models will have a different selection to mine typically - but there are proper finds happening all the time - and some of these transistors are still in small slight circulation - if you can find them!

All 4 varieties are still available - while the look and finish may vary, as may some of the overall specs and the number of controls. 3 of these guys still take the occasional commission - so you may try your luck with that - but you will of course have to pay for the privilege.

All of these are at the top of the tier list! As I often say - the perfect mix of Germanium, Silicon, and Hybrid Fuzz Face - all in the same box!

Further details below - with the original reviews related to this article - to the right on desktop - and below on mobile!

Note that Current Pricing is quoted here, a couple of these were a touch more affordable a few years back!

MXR reboots its 1970's Rack Unit Flanger/Doubler, now in reissued mid-size pedal enclosure format

Stefan Karlsson — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:00:00 GMT

I believe the original MXR Rack Unit Flanger/Doubler was first manufactured in 1976, and lasted most of that early period of MXR before its bankruptcy in 1984.

Flanging and Doubling Effects occur at different Delay Times (Manual) - with Flanging normally around 1 to 20 milliseconds, and Doubling around 15 to 35 milliseconds. Thereafter you’re in Slapback territory!

So the Doubler button switches up the Delay Time to a more expansive range for the Doubler.

The Phase Invert - gives you a thinner more hollow / tubular sound - which contrasts nicely with normal positive phase. I typically much prefer the positive phase for flanging - but there are distinct usage scenarios for each - depending on what degree of sound you’re trying to achieve - and how subtle or accentuated.

Controls - Dry>Wet Mix. Regen / Feedback / Intensity, Manual (Delay Time), Doubler Button (Increased Delay Range), Width (Modulation Sweep Range), Speed (Modulation Rate), Phase Invert Button.

This is essentially a Delay Line Manipulator - which has been honed for Flanging and Doubling. There are more expansive Delay Line Manipulators already out there - like Cosmodio Instruments Splinter Twin, and Spaceman’s Meridian Time Modulator. Which also take you into Chorusing and proper Delay.

This is a cool reissue for sure, but I’m not always a fan of the landscape mid-size format. I would much prefer this to be portrait style. It’s a cool device with some decent provenance, but there are other more expansive devices out there - which deliver more in a more pedalboard-friendly enclosure.

It’s cool how it takes its design cue from the black frame of the original rack unit - and deploys a black framing effect of its own. For sure many will welcome its return. While I probably have other priorities in this area.

The MXR M226R Flanger/Doubler Pedal goes for $333 an equivalent, £339 in the UK. Many will reference how artists like Dimebag Darrell and Zakk Wylde favoured the original unit. But for me - a lot has happened in the interim. And I feel I have better, and more compact options available to me - which better suit my preferences.

You can read up more on the M226R Flanger/Doubler on the Jim Dunlop / MXR Website.

My superb sounding Boss DS-1 Distortion with Twin Drive Mods has landed!

Stefan Karlsson — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 07:00:00 GMT

It turns out that I’m quite a fan of these Twin Drive Mod types - this is my second of that ilk after the Twin Drive OD-3. These are Japanese Mods made by more than one party, I’m not sure who did the very first one, and for us in Europe and the USA - mostly available via Ebay, but in very limited quantities. There are several marketplaces in Japan that carry these Mod types - including jp.mercari.com.

For my 2 - I acquired the OD-3 Twin Drive from Reverb.com, and the DS-1 Twin Drive from Ebay - where they’re priced around £150-£175 and equivalent.

They feature a second gain channel - with second Gain and Level controls - where said channel essentially functions as a boost on top of the core original gain channel. So with the controls at noon you get an audible boost with more saturation and a touch more volume - which you can then crank up further.

These Twin Drives have a second footswitch to flip between the Channels, and they come with 2 extra toggle switches - one of which is usually a Phat Mod, and the other is either Compression or Clipping Options - as is the case with this one.

Within the circuit - several components have been upgraded and switched up to improve the output profile - here to deliver a lower noise floor, thicken up the mids, and smooth out any harsh high / top-end frequencies. You get a much richer and more sounded soundstage.

2 quirky and unique green circular enclosure superb sounding Mode-Switching Fuzzes - the Blue FX Devices Piluxx, and Talisman Audio GP7 Soviet Gas Mask Canister Fuzz

Stefan Karlsson — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 11:00:00 GMT

So I’ve reviewed both of these within the last fortnight - they were both picked up at the relatively recent Brighton Guitar Show, while I had ordered the Piluxx just a day or two after the Leeds Pedal Show which took place 3 months earlier!

I always see things in terms of patterns, and the Piluxx was already in the bank as such - when I spotted the GP7 - and had to have that one too!

Both of these have very unique and unusual re-purposed enclosures, and both are fantastic sounding Mode-Switching Fuzzes.

The GP7 is a little larger than the Piluxx which is around the same diameter as the typical compact enclosure.

I have an affinity for quirky enclosures - but they have to be practical too - not too large, easy to accommodate within your pedalboard, and easy to operate - which both of these are. There are of course all kinds of over-sized and odd-shaped pedals out there that aren’t particularly practical or pedalboard-friendly - while both of these most definitely are, and sound just as exotic as they look!

I feel very lucky to have snagged both of these - it’s so much about timing these days, as the second batch of Piluxx Fuzzes were in Silver Grey enclosures - which would not have fit this pattern!

I’m all for great sounding quirky pedals - but they have to be practical too - in order to enter my Reference Collection.

Props to Blue FX Devices and Talisman Audio for their creativity and superior engineering here - this sort of thing needs to be celebrated!

Wyatt Audio unleashes killer unique full-fat 7-Controls 2-Stage Hybrid Heiress Fuzz

Stefan Karlsson — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 09:14:46 GMT

Wyatt very evidently likes to do things differently, and this is about as different a Fuzz Face as you can get! Beautifully conceived and executed.

It leans a little more into its wiry and searing Silicon side, but gives you the option of switching in a Germanium MP10B Transistor to warm things up slightly - if that’s more your thing.

The 3 top knobs are your usual Fuzz Face style controls - essentially Tone, Fuzz, and Level. You then have the Transistor Selector, a Bass-cut option, then a highly unusual LOAD Q1 Gain Overload control, and VOLTS / Starve control - for more Raspy / Gated / Spitty and Velcro tones.

There’s plenty of range on every dial - as you can see by the fact that most of my preferred settings (below) do not exceed

the mid-way point.

A key aspect here is balancing the NOISE and LOAD dual gain controls, and figuring out how raspy you prefer the output - courtesy of the VOLTS control. As with many fuzzes this is an exercise in balancing and blending. There is some slight overlap with the Fuzz Factory too - but this Heiress is very much its own thing!

Of course this Fuzz has great guitar volume gain cleanup - so you can set the overall gain quite high - and then temper / attenuate it with your guitar controls. That’s typically how I operate most of my 2-Stage Fuzzes. This one cleans up really well on both transistor types.

Old Blood Noise Endeavors further enhances its Beam Splitter Triple Tracker Overdrive / Distortion, now in improved V2 Editions - Shadow, Cool and Warm

Stefan Karlsson — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 15:34:46 GMT

OBNE bills this as ’Further Adventures in Trereo’ - meaning Triphonic essentially - or having 3 outputs (one per Gain Section essentially). This is a really cool parallel multi-stacking gain machine - with added Dual Independent Delay Lines - which can be manipulated to deliver Flanging, Chorusing and Broken Vibrato too.

This new V2 one is much more granular and dynamic - coming with 3 footswitches rather than just the one of the original - so you can ramp things up and down on-the-fly!

Each of the 3 Gain Section has 3 controls - Gain, Volume, and Tone.

The 3 Gain Sections :

I : Hard Clipping Distortion
II : Soft + Hard Clipping Overdrive
III : Transistor Overdrive / leaning into Fuzz

Controls : III} Gain, Volume, Tone; II} Gain, Volume, Tone; I} Gain, Volume, Tone; Delay 2} Time, Feedback, Preset 1-3, Spread, Deviate, Delay Select across Channel I / II / III; Delay 1} Time, Feedback, Footswitch III, Footswitch II, III+II = Scroll Preset, On/Off Footswitch.

Ports - TS/TRS In, TS/TRS Main Out, TS AUX Out, Mini TRS MIDI In and Out, USB-C, TRS Expresion, 9V DC [-] 350mA.

So you have super smart routing which allows for purely Mono, Mono to Stereo, Mono to ’Trereo’ - via TS / TRS ports - and using the 3rd AUX Output!

It’s a really cool capable pedal, but large with it too! So not the most pedalboard-friendly in that respect - while it does accommodated 3 user-assignable Footswitches for maximum on-the-fly dynamics.

The V2 Beam Splitter goes for $379 / €399 / £369 and equivalent, should be widely in distribution already!

You can read up more on the Beam Splitter on the OBNE Website.

Becos FX's CompIQ Pro Mini is a Mighty Blacmer VCA Studio Grade Compressor with Hard and Soft Knee Compression, Dynamic Fast and Slow Attack and Release, WET>DRY Mix, and Feed-Forward and Feed-Back Modes

Stefan Karlsson — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 07:00:00 GMT

So I finally complete my Becos FX CompIQ Pro Compressor Trifecta, which started with the Stella, was followed up by the Yuna, and is now fully rounded out by the most diminutive Mini Pro Edition in the range, there is an even simpler CompIQ Mini One - which is default Hard Knee, has just 4 controls - RATIO, Make-up GAIN, SENSE : Hi/Lo (THRESH), and WET > DRY Mix - alongside a number of auto/dynamic built-in functions - like Attack and Release Timings. As I prefer my compression super soft and subtle, that one’s probably not for me!

There’s also a larger mid-size Dual Band / Stacked Compressor Variant called the TWAIN - which is more intended for Bass players really, each channel is not as fully granular as the Stella, but mostly around the same granularity as the Yuna. But wish Hard and Soft Knee options on both channels!

I’ve really enjoyed my journey with Becos FX - which for me is the preeminent and leading Pedal Compressor brand, no one makes studio-capable compressors as fully featured as these - and they perform fantastically, really hi-fidelity. Generally available from Becos FX in Europe [Austria], Joe’s Pedals in the UK, and Lep International in Japan. This has long been my go-to brand for Compressors, even though I do favour a few!

Controls - RATIO : 1:1 to Infinity:1 for Feed-Forward / 1:1 to 10:1 for Feed-Back Mode, KNEE : Hard / Soft, THRESHold : Compression Trigger : -40dBu to +10dBu, 5-Segment LEDs, Make-up GAIN : -6dB to +20dB, WET > DRY Mix, Auto TIMING : Fast / Slow (Attack & Release), SCF Variable Side-Chain Filter : ±12dB @ 90Hz, 12dB/octave; Feed Mode : Feed-Forward / Feed-Back.

JHS's NOTADÜMBLË V2 Dumble Drive + Box Later Boost is twice the fun!

Stefan Karlsson — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 11:00:00 GMT

I thought I should do a quick update on the recent V2 NOTADÜMBLË which landed a little over a week or two ago - I had other priority reviews to post first - but I though just a few notes on this one would be a worthy exercise.

I passed up on the NOTAKLÖN - as I tend to favour more full-featured and expanded variants, while I did plump for the original NOTADÜMBLË. I loved the build process, and it’s a decent Dumble Drive, but really only B-Tier overall - compared to all my other favourites. I recently listed out my 6 Favourite Dumble Drives - and they are head and shoulders in tonal quality above both NOTADÜMBLËS.

The new one may be more fully featured, but it’s only marginally better sounding than its predecessor. While I probably enjoyed the build twice as much - no manual needed this time - and the whole thing was fully assembled in under 10 minutes. The fiddliest bit was aligning the knobs. Those knobs aren’t the best quality, and the set-screws are a touch inconsistent. The overall build experience though is really great - with otherwise excellent quality components in the mix - and deft finishing. It’s only the knobs that let down the side a little - but only very marginally.

Keeley offers up limited 100 run high fidelity 12AT7WA pre-release Edition of its Tube Drive Twin Triode Dual Overdrive

Stefan Karlsson — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 07:00:00 GMT

This pedal has been long teased now - we’ve seen excerpts and snap shots of it for quite a few months, and Keeley have finally decided that the time is ripe for release, or at least a pre-release!

It goes without saying that the limited 100 pre-release run sold out very quickly on the day of release - this past Friday the 7th of August. The actual general release takes place on September 1st - where there will be at least 2 editions, a Gold Dealer Edition sporting a 12AT7WC Tube, and a Standard / Stock Edition seemingly sporting the more standard 12AX7 Tube.

The big question here is how swappable those tubes are - and say if I buy the stock 12AX7 edition - but then managed to get my hands on a 12AT7WA or 12AT7WC - can I easily and instantly swap those around? My understanding is that these smaller triode tubes typically don’t need to be re-biased so much - compared with some of the other more regular amp tubes in circulation!

Also the limited release has a Black ’K’ Tube Shield - where the Dealer Edition has it in Gold! Surely you could just spray-paint your K-Shield to match your colour preferences - no?

It’s funny that those are the first questions I have. It goes without saying that the pedal is going to sound great - with a proper Tube Drive on the Left, and a Super Phat Mod / Blues Driver on the right. Pretty much a perfect combination for me.

The timing of the Tube Drive release kind of clashed with a couple of my other priorities - namely the Martian Sound Cydonia, and PigDog Germanium Overdrive - both of which I managed to acquire at the same time as the Keeley Tube Drive launch - the Tube Drive would have been a step too far for me - I will need to circle back in September. I definitely want one!

It’s a simple Dual Overdrive with Level, Gain, and Tone Controls per each side - which drive order you can order / re-order either way. I will probably go with the Tube Drive boosting into the Super Phat Mod by default!

Robert tried out a slew of different 12Axx variety Tubes in the early tests - so I expect there to be a number of small batch releases with different tubes onboard and in different colourways. We’ve obviously had the first release, and as mentioned - we will next get 12AT7WC and 12AX7 varieties. Seems like the default colours are Gold or Black, but no doubt we will get Purple eventually too - we always do!

I really like the Gold for this variety - the Dealer Edition looks like the one for me - but I still want to know how easily I can swap out those tubes!

The Tube Drive is well priced at $500 and equivalent, and also operates perfectly with 9V DC [-] @ 500mA. Perfect specs for me, and a fair price. Will be good to see what the UK Pricing will be when the Dealers get in on the action - so far only those Keeley Direct 100 have been listed - and they’ve all been snapped up already!

You can read more about the Tube Drive on the Keeley Electronics Website.

I will most definitely look to land one of these in September!

Key Features for the Pre-release 100 Run Model :

Limited RKFX.com Exclusive – 12AT7WA version with brushed gold gloss finish
Vintage Sylvania Tube – Genuine 1950s 12AT7WA tube, burned-in and fully tested
Real Tube Drive – High-voltage tube feel with warm, touch-sensitive grit
Super Phat Mod Drive – Legendary Keeley overdrive voice with punch, body, and sustain
Switchable Effect Order – Stack Tube into Drive or Drive into Tube with a simple foot gesture
Numbered Initial Run of 100 – Built in Oklahoma City with each pedal numbered on the faceplate