Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
2025 November Pedal-Chain Update - Episode XI - Double Decked
Another super busy month for me - particularly towards the end - with numerous large scale articles out this week. That also coincided with my busiest week of the year for my other day job. Meaning that I was up until 4-5 in the morning every day - just to keep up with my commitments.
I was already somewhat shattered and burned out before I even got to this super busy period - and it’s a relief that all that work has now been completed on schedule.
I’m especially proud of my work on the Bucket Brigade Devices feature - where November had quite a number of highlights as follows. A lot of work goes into this site, hopefully it is appreciated!
Key Articles for the month of November :
- A Brief Hobbyist Primer on Bucket Private Devices
- RhPf Electronics’ Swiss Touring Board Project
- 2025 Full Metal Racket
- Extended Range Marshall Types - Plexi + JCM800 Coverage
- 2025 ThorpyFX Capsule Collection - 31 Strong
- Highlights from the 4th Witney Pedal Party
- Also Engineered by Thorpy!
- Chase Bliss ’Mood Board’!
- Spaceman Sputnik I Silicon Fuzz + 2025 Quartet!
- Dublin’s Moose Electronics Pedals are now available at Joe’s Pedals in the UK
- 4 of a Kind - Tascam 424 Portastudio style Preamps
November Acquisitions List [19]
19 Pedals added during November.
Big month for Fuzzes, with the rest a fairly even mix!
- 4 x Overdrives
- 3 x Distortions
- 8 x Fuzzes
- 2 x Modulations
- 1 x Spatial Effects
- 1 x Utility
4 x Overdrives
Totally killer selection of Overdrives this month - every one a stone cold classic. These will all get extended rotations on the board - I love every single one of these - they're all easily top tier!
- Flattley Outlaw Plexi Drive + Boost
- JHS Pedals Kilt 10 Expandora and Red Remote
- ThorpyFX The J Preamp (Tweed)
- TWA Susumu Tamura Source Code Overdrive (TS808 Evolved)!
3 x Distortions
3 great distortions for the month - each one very different and with distinct character and output profile - a very high quality month!
- Drunk Beaver Disambiguation Muff-Rat Distortion
- Great Eastern FX Obsolete Devices D312A Distortion Filter
- Muir Audio Silicon Steel Distortion
8 x Fuzzes
Big big month for fuzzes - what a selection! And incredible mix of different modern and classic circuits. Everyone of these sounds amazing - one of the strongest selections all year!
- Drunk Beaver Irpin Bee Baa Fuzz
- Electronic Audio Experiments Glaive Opamp Octave Fuzz
- Intensive Care Audio Death Muff
- Manson Guitar Works Supermassive Black Fuzz
- Moose Electronics Electric Elk Muff
- Pasta Pedals FrankenSTEEN Fuzz (Dwarfcraft Eau Claire Thunder)
- Spaceman Effects Sputnik I Silicon Fuzz - Blue! (21st)
- ThorpyFX Secret Project 5 - Redacted Germanium Veteran
2 x Modulations
2 quality Modulations - one a quirky Digital Ambient Multi-FX, and the other a classic analog modulation with a killer Texture Control!
- Poly Effects Trails Unusual Effects that Sustain and Grow!
- Ritual Devices Rainmaker Vibrato / Tremolo
1 x Spatial Effects
The Empty Head Effects Falling Man Gravity Delay is such a uniquely modulated delay - so unusual in its action - but really cool and quirky in its own way - and delivers a very distinct chorus too!
1 x Utility
The ThorpyFX Fat General Parallel Compressor MKII is the simplest compressor I've had on the board to date. It doesn't have the usual granularity I like - but it really works - and sounds superb!
November Infinite Wishlist Additions and Future Targets
I usually buy my last pedals of the year in November, where the budget shifts to Christmas concerns in December - and I shift my focus to a retrospective of the year - picking out all the best pedals per the distinct categories. It's another huge task - and one which I largely enjoy. Where I already know what is going to be my 'Pedal of the Year' while the other places are more up in the air until I do the analysis.
The following are all for next year - with the Beat Friend and Scribble MIDI Controller being my key early targets for 2026!
MUST HAVE PRIORITY
- Audio.Computer Beat Friend Drum Machine
- Pirate MIDI Scribble Mini MIDI Controller
MUST HAVE
- Cosmodio Instrument Splinter Twin Delay Line Manipulator
- Fulltone Ultimate Octave
- Moose Electronics Brass Neck Germanium Diodes Boost / Overdrive
NICE TO HAVE
- Catalinbread Belle Epoch+ Tape Echo
- Chase Bliss Mood Desert Friends Black Friday Edition
- Death By Audio Infinity Reverb
- Electro-Harmonix Atomic Cluster Sonic De-Rezzer & Atomic Oscillator
- JHS Troika Delay
- Mojo Hand FX SMPLoFi Bitcrusher + Reverb + Filter
- Mr Black Analog Tremolo with Robot Waveform
November Pedal Chain Status
18 slots updated for November - 21 Pedals! (2 x Previous!) - Slots - #1, #2, #3, #4, #8, #11, #12, #13, #14, #20, #22, #25, #31, #32, #33, #37, #38, #41.
Including 8 Fuzzes, the PastFX Echo 600 (which I was unable to accommodate last month). And then the reappearance of the Sinvertek MGAT-1 GE as part of a Marshall Rundown.
Note also 5 x Thorpy engineered pedals on the board for November!
A very handsome selection indeed - with at least a couple of unusual ones!
Three Double Decked slots share a couple of pedals each - in order to give every pedal a fair shake. This is the last of the active pedal-chain of the year - with the final 'Class of 2025' taking on a more retrospective aspect.
We've had some incredibly strong months for the year - and this is another killer one. I'm delighted with the makeup of the board, and gap analysis reveals that there are no shortfalls - all those pedals are killer and top tier.
I would have liked to have gotten in one more Delay and Reverb - the Cosmodio Splinter Twin, and Hotone Verbera respectively - buy I didn't feel I really needed those. The Cornerstone Nucleo is so good - I really don't want to shift it - even though the Hotone Verbera will give me some different abilities - something will likely happen next year! I seem to have quite a number of delay still to get - the Spinter Twin, the new Beetroincs Bee Bee Delay, and the Tru-Fi Acqua Delay - those all remain targets for me - but not really a top priority!
I'm very well covered already!
Slot #01 : Typically the Pickup Simulator
The Electronic Audio Experiments Glaive OpAmp Octave Fuzz turned out to be exactly what I expected - a full on beautifully textured octave fuzz with immense potency. One of the fines octave fuzzes out there! Would have been cool if it had a second Footswitch for engaging and disabling the octave - it would be all the better for it. Still exceptional as is!
Slot #02 : Typically - Octaver / Pitch-Shifter / Harmonizer / Modulator / Bitcrusher / Utility / ANO Input-sensitive Effect
Yet another great Thorpy Fuzz - The Redacted Germanium Veteran - Fuzz Face + RangeMaster in single compact enclosure - featuring aggressive military spec Germanium Transistors - really high octane and richly textured!
Slot #03 : Guitar Synth, EQ, Pre-Gain, Note-Tracking, and Fuzz!
First of the 'Double Decked' slots - featuring both the Drunk Beaver Irpin Bee Baa Fuzz and Spaceman Effects Sputnik I Silicon Fuzz - both are superb and have smart switching functionality for ramping up and texturising the output further. Both Irpin and Spunik I sound superb - and have several tones onboard.
Slot #04 : Envelope Filter / Auto-Wah / Fixed Wah / WAH / PLL! / Octave Fuzz
Super potent versatile filter fuzz collaboration between Manson, Matt Bellamy, and Thorpy - The Supermassive Black Fuzz! Can be a little fiddly on the dial-in, and the lack of visible knob markers makes it a little harder to dial in and recreate favourite tones. Sill really grew sounding - and straddles all the key Fuzz food groups!
Slot #08 : Main Compressor
The ThorpyFX Fat General Parallel Compressor is in the collection and straight on the board. Surprisingly good actually - maintains the core analog warmth and adds a subtle but tone-enhancing boost and sustain. Supremely easy to deploy. Rather more simple than the kind of compressors I normally go for - but this one is really solid!
Slot #11 : Mid Gain Overdrive / Tweed / Amp-like Overdrive
Original Screamer engineer Susumu Tamura reclaims the throne with his TWA Source Code Evolved Screamer collaboration. This is genuinely the next generation of Tube Screamer and it sounds better than ever! Features really cook Symmetrical > Asymmetrical Bite Clipping Control. Simple - but supremely potent.
Slot #12 : Mid Gain Overdrive / Dynamic / Blues Breaker / Harmonic Overdrive / JTM45
Pasta Pedals' FrankenSTEEN Fuzz (Dwarfcraft Eau Claire Thunder) is a richly textured killer thunderous sounding muff - already sounds brilliant with everything at noon - and just gets better and better!
Slot #13 : Mid Gain / Blues Driver / Anchor Drive / Bassier Overdrive
Paul Flattley's new Outlaw pedal is a thing of beauty from every aspect. Looks great and sounds great. Perfectly balanced from the start and supremely easy on the dial-in. An every-way delight! Oh - and the independent Ace Tone Clean Boost is spectacular.
Slot #14 : Mid Gain / Dumble / Expandora / Fuzzy-Drive / Mostortion / OCD / TrainWreck
My favourite Thorpy overdrive to date is simply magical - the break-up character is extraordiary - I called it right from the start - 'The J' is for sure the Tweed Supreme - nothing else comes close to it.
Slot #20 : Multi-Fuzz / Fuzzy-Drive / Tube Drive / Vox Top Boost Distortion
Really elegant Big Muff - Moose Electronics' Electric Elk Ram's Head x Black Russian Muff is a really unique combination of circuits blending together the high octane with the mild. Sounds excellent - what a fantastic mix of influences.
Slot #22 : Multi-Drive 2 / Tweed / HiWatt / Analog Amp-like Overdrive
Another smart highly texted output profile - courtesy of superior Soviet D312A Diodes and a versatile Notch Filter - the Great Eastern FX D312A Distortion Filter.
Slot #25 : Modern Metal 2 / High Gain Metal 1 / Punchy Metal / Sometimes Plexi too!
The second of the Double Decked slots mixes up the Drunk Beaver MK2 Disambiguation Muff-Rat and the new 10th Anniversary JHS Kilt - another grand pairing - and both recent vast improvements over their previous iteration!
Slot #31 : High Gain / Metal Slot 2
Muir Audio's Silicon Steel Creamy Distortion is such a surprise - with such a layered and complex sounding breakup. It shares similar sensibilities and gain range to the Rat Distortion - but has a totally different timbre and character. One of the best sounding distortion pedals I have heard - Colin really gets the most out of that transformer and those diodes!
Slot #32 : Modern Metal 3 / High Gain Metal 2
An excellent new pedal from my good friend Patrick - he's really taken the Big Muff format to an extraordinary dimension with his super aggressive gain-overloaded Death Muff. Really angular an aggressive in the very best way!
Slot #33 : High Gain / Metal Slot 1
As part of the Marshall coverage for the month the MGAT-1 Golden Era is back on the board for a while. It's pretty much interchangeable with the MGAT-5 for potency - while they do have fairly distinct tones and timbres - where both are supremely shapeable!
Slot #37 : Typically Analog Modulation 1, Vintage style Vibrato / Tremolo on this occasion
The 4th and final part of the Ritual Devices Quadfecta is the excellent Rainmaker - which is the perfect moniker for this cool combination of Vibrato and Pulsating Tremolo. Wub's pedals always seem to have hidden depths - with unique variations!
Slot #38 : Typically Analog Modulation 2, Analog Delay on this occasion
The final of the Double Decked Slots - consisting of a legendary take on the EHX Deluxe Memory Man - PastFX's superb Echo 600, and then my good friend Nic's quick cool deformed PT2399 Falling Man Downward Gravity Delay. Each superb in their own way - and at opposite sties of the spectrum - while both sound superb.
Slot #41: Mostly a Poly Effects Slot! - currently a quirky ambient Multi-FX
Poly Effects' latest is a cool ambient Multi-FX consisting of a creative mix sympathetic string and bell resonators, unique delay and formant voicings - and even a brutal wave-distortion. A very unusual and quirky even selection of effects - but distinct and alway intriguing! I see his as somewhat adjacent to the Chase Bliss Lost + Found - possibly even a little more quirky than that too! So far I'm still having fun! Also the star-up routine on his devices is a lot quicker than on is predecessors!
Final Thoughts
A somewhat unusual month for sure - where I picked up a couple of non-pedal-related music devices this month - which I will still probably feature in the next couple of weeks.
My late Birthday Present was the very recently arrived Lava Music Studio Amp - where I'm still waiting for the stand portion to arrive! I had to nip into the Roland / Boss Store on Denmark Street to pick up a WL-20 Wireless System - I hate playing with wired instrument cables. Met all the usual gang at the store - including my good friend Matt B - who ended up serving me.
I'm really loving the experience of the Lava Music Amp - although my main rig sounds quite a bit better and more richly complex. The Lava Amp is not necessarily the best sounding - but you can really easily tweak the output to your preferences. Its usability and playability is second to none! And everyone who makes digital amps - needs to learn from this project - it really puts everything else to shame in the looks and feature set department. As some have coined it - 'what an amp would look like if designed by Apple'!
The other ting I picked up for the month - was every dub-head's favourite new toy - the Teenage Engineering Riddim & Ting - an early Christmas present in effect - I've still to get into that - I've just been too busy of late - but hopefully will find some time over the weekend. Where I will mosly be recovering from the most arduous week of the year!
I suffered another arduous week or two earlier this month when I singularly and spectacularly failed to connect with a brand - which I have featured on this site before. I believe there was some weird semantics issues and misunderstandings - and possibly I didn't use the best words for such an encounter.
I still hope to make amends eventually and win said individual over - while things evidently went so wrong that said brand blocked me from their Instagram Channel - which is a weirdly unique experience. I don't think anyone has blocked me before - and I find it strange to think that someone would!
I feel my record should speak for itself - and surely all can see the good and great works I do here at GPX HQ - most regard me as a force for good and a definite benefit for their brand. While there is evidently one that doesn't align.
I know a couple of dealers that support that brand, and I wanted to be able to support them in turn - but that now remains a very remote possibly. I can only apologise and endeavour to do better - while I'm not entirely sure where I went wrong.
Good intentions don't always win out, even though there is already a record of good deeds. I feel that I've been highly beneficial, even essential for some brands. So it's a little odd when you encounter someone who isn't aware and doesn't understand what you do - I would have thought the evidence would be overwhelming by now - but alas no!
In any case I look forward to making amends eventually at some stage - while of course it takes two to tango. And if their mindset is set against me for whatever reason - then I have some major challenges ahead.
In any case - I look forward to sharing with you my best of the year - during the month of December. There will stilll be the occasional launch - while my focus will be 99.9 % retrospective for the year.
There's still a few pedal stragglers to show up - will see if they get here in time to be handled before Christmas and the New Year roll around!
An early seasons greetings to you all! And yes even that one guy who seemingly hates me!
