2025 September Pedal-Chain Update - Episode IX - 55-Part Lunacy!

The first official Chain arrangement featured a relatively modest 25 pedals - including the Stryfecta - where you can follow the flow and evolution of the chain on the Pedal Chain dropdown of the Highlights Section of this site!

The mission started at the beginning of September 2016 - and it took me to around April of the following year to establish a fixed layout for that time!

The chain now standing at 55 units is a major upheaval for sure - while the recent pedalboard updates have made for an incredibly stable environment.

I surely have enough slots now - to accommodate the monthly intake of pedals - I feel pretty much most of the core food groups are covered, while there is no active Synth pedal currently on the board - I think that's the major omission - obviously also the fact that we don't have our usual complement of Modulation pedals - where the core of tha section is currently housing / hosting the Mono Black Mountain Roto Echo, and the Mono Fjord Fuzz Fjær Spring Reverb!

Quite the selection for sure! Definily a little unbalanced for this month - but it will soon snap into back into place.

I was suppoed to be brining the Strymon Riverside back onto the board this month - but there were enough changes anyway - so that will be happening next month!

26 Pedals added in September!

Heavy on Overdrives and Modulations! while most of the food groups are covered here.

The Boss XS-100 earns a permanent slot - as the Pedal Chain evolves to a maximalist and hopefully maximum 55 pedals.

Something for everyone this month!

• 9 x Boosts & Overdrives
• 4 x Distortions
• 2 x Fuzzes
• 7 x Modulations & Pitch
• 3 x Spatial Effects
• 1 x Utility

A really formidable Boost and Overdrive section for the month - a solid mix of Old and New - and some real classics among them!

• Drunk Beaver Kherson Drive Retro
• JHS Pedals 424 Gain Stage Console Preamp
• MI Effects Tube Zone Overdrive V1
• Movall Jumpspace Overdrive (Tube Zone - £18.75)
• Origin Effects Halcyon Gold Overdrive (Klone)
• REVV Amps G2 Crunchy Overdrive / Distortion - Anniversary Ed
• RhPf Electronics Tri-Harmonic Phalanx
• ThorpyFX Secret Project 2 (Have Blue) Germanium Boost / RangeMaster
• Wampler Germanium Mini Tumnus

A kind of mixed bag for the month! The Fortin Kali impresses - but still can't hold a candle to the Sinvertek MGAT-1 GE, I've still to fully gel with the new EVH Brown Sound ToneX One. And while the REVV G3 sounds pretty impressive - it's a generation behind say Fortin's Meshuggah Distortion - and the G4 is just underpowered really, They both have some great tones onboard - particularly the G3 - but could both do with more volume - that High Quality High Gain sector is currently bossed by Fortin, Lichtlaerm Audio, and Sinvertek as far as I'm concerned!

• Fortin Kali Preamp - Plexi & JCM800
• IK Multimedia ToneX One EVH Brown Sound Red Edition
• REVV Amps G3 Cutting High Gain Distortion - Anniversary Ed
• REVV Amps G4 Fat High Gain Distortion - Anniversary Ed

Two incredible versatile fuzzes - both somewhat leaning into the experimental - but with amazing classic tones onboard too. The Thor has already been reviewed - and the Fuzz Fields review is out on Friday - an absolute killer fuzz!

• Blue FX Devices Fuzz Fields Ultimate Modulated Fuzz - with 'It...' LFO Modulator
• Fjord Fuzz Thor Wild Self-Oscillating Lighting-Strike Fuzz

Absolutely killer selection of Pitch and Modulation Pedals.

I spend 2 days looking for my metallic purple Vinage Vibe - and just could not find it - so I bought another - not quite as handsome - but a slightly later version with top-mounted jacks.

• Boss XS-1 Poly Shifter
• Boss XS-100 Poly Shifter
• Formula B Vintage Vibe MK2 (My Second One)
• PastFX Elastic Mistress Deluxe Flanger (EHX Electric Mistress)
• PastFX Gallstone (EHX Small Stone V2 XTD!)
• Strymon Orbit dBucket Flanger
• ThorpyFX Chain Home MKII Percussive Tremolo (Vox Repeat Percussion)

Excellent but oddly Mono selection of Delay and Reverb effects - some really smart pedals for sure - while I normally favour full stereo for my spatial effects pedals - which include Delays, Reverbs, and well as Rotary Speaker Simulations.

• Black Mountain x Third Man Hardware Roto-Echo Roller Delay
• Fjord Fuzz Fjær Lush Spring style Reverb (ex Dovre)
• PastFX Echo 600 Analog Echo w/ Chorus & Vibrato (EHX Echo 600)

Excellent essentially simplified / streamlined Stella Compressor - the Becos FX CompIQ Pro Yuna Blackmer VCA Compressor. The Yuna delivers soft-knee compression only - but otherwise covers around 95% of the Stella's feature set. I'm waiting on the official demo to be released - which is due to be some time in October - the featured article will go live at around the same time!

MUST HAVE : PRIORITY

• Gamechanger Audio Motor Pedal
• EHX Pico Swello Bowed Swells
• EHX Bender Royal Tone Bender MKIII
• EQD Barrows Fuzz Attacker Mini
• Reeves Electro May Boost
• Singular Sounds Beat Buddy 2 Drum Machine + Super Switch

MUST HAVE

• Drunk Beaver Okhtyrka Honey Bee Overdrive
• Silktone Expander - Clea / Preamp / Drive / Fuzz
• Tru-Fi Analog Echo 600
• Beetronics Bee Bee Dee Analog Modulated Delay with Digital Controls
• Crazy Tube Circuits Mirage 16-Mode Reverb
• Way Huge Doom Hammer Pounding OpAmp Fuzz

NICE TO HAVE

• Alexander Pedals Now We Are Ghosts Sci-Fi Stereo Reverb
• Anasounds Utopia MK2 PT2399 Analog Style Delay
• Citadel Electronics Particle Drive, Plutonium Overdrive, and Vector Octave Fuzz
• Greuter Audio Fuller Drive 10 Boost + 10 Wah! Edition
• Land Devices Hunter Stereo Distortion with Dry Blend
• MXR Randy Rhoads Distortion+
• OPFXS Dig Deep Sub-Harmonic Octaver
• Source Audio Encounter Stereo Delay + Reverb
• Walrus Audio Ltd Lüm Granular / Textural Reverb

19 slots updated this month - and including 1 newly created - Pitch Shifter!

Slots - #2, #3, #4, #5, #8, #10, #12, #13, #14, #15, #18, #20, #21, #22, #25, #33, #34, #40, #41

Total Expanse Now 55 Units!!!

I had to massively scale the visual - to accomodate the full arrangement. It meant reducing the pedal size by 10% - and we now have a little more gap between most pedals - to the arrangement looks particularly neat now.

Of course this arrangement is for the purposes of showcasing as many pedals as practically possible each month.

The chain started off with just 25 pedals at the start of 2017 and has evolved and grown to its currently lunatic size of 55 units! I don't recommend this degree of complexity for anyone else - as it takes a fair amount of maintenance to keep everything running smoothly - and there are always at least temporary issues when swapping out so many pedals all of the time - every week we have up to and around 10 or so swaps - and as many as 30-40 for the month. I've had to deal with a number headaches and conundrums along the way!

The second and smaller of Boss's new Polyphonic Pitch-Shifters - the Compact Boss XS-1 Poly Shifter. Super fast tracking glitch-free pitch-shift intervals - with up to 3 octaves in both directions. State of the art really for the pitch-shifting sector - Boss challenges all-comers!

I had been meaning to pick up the Thorpy Have Blue for a long while - which I managed to snag in initial Secret Project 2 Ediition. And Excellent Germanium RangeMaster / Treble Booster - that pairs particularly well with the Tacit Blue Fuzz Face - for a kind of deconstructed Veteran Fuzz Combo!

I'm picking up two further Thorpy pedals during October - for a full rundown of that classic British Brand - when I will have 30 Thorpy Pedals in total!

The first of 2 amazing Fuzzes new on the board for this month - the Fjord Fuzz Thor Wild Self-Oscillating Lighting-Strike Fuzz is a dual Bias Tone Bender MKII essentially - but as an experimental journey - with all manner of weird, wild and wonderful tones - and yes you can go fairly classic too - but why would you want to?!?

The Blue FX Devices Fuzz Fields Ultimate Modulated Fuzz - with 'It...' LFO Modulator - is an exceptional Fuzz Tone Machine - with myriad different flavours and textures onboard, and a really smart control topology. The main pedal is already exceptional on its won - while he 'It...' LFO Modulator adds further layers of texture. It sounds everyway fantastic - where my only niggle is that there is currently no proper function for bypassing the 'It...' LFO Modulator on the fly. One of my favourite all-time Fuzz Pedals for sure!

My latest Compressor is the Becos FX CompIQ Pro Yuna Soft Knee Blackmer VCA Studio Style Compressor. It is essentially a somewhat streamlined take on the Stella - rendering only the soft-knee compression - and with 2 combination controls - Comp and Timing - otherwise it delivers about 95% of the Stella's feature set - but with a simplified control topology - and some internal switches, and jumpers!

Review coming up later this month when the official demo video is out - date still to be confirmed!

I'm a little late with the Origin Effects Adaptive Series Halcyon Gold Klone - picked up recently as part of my updated Klon Klone Kapsule rundown - I had been meaning to get that one for a while - only my 3rd Origin Effects pedals to-date. You rarely get discounts or opportunistic opportunities with Origin Effects - which is a little anathema to how I operate. I'm on friend terms with the team - but it's the only UK brand of note that I don't have a proper relationship with - seems like they like to keep everyone at arm's length. The Halcyon Gold is pretty decent indeed - but not quite at the top of my Klone hierarchy - worthwhile though!

So I finally have a Drunk Beaver Kherson - the Drunk Beaver Kherson Drive Retro Edition (Based on Sound JS DS-5 / Boss SD-1). I somehow missed out on the first version - which was also the very first Drunk Beaver pedal drop - the only one to date that I did not own. That is rectifies by this slightly improved version - which also seemed to be cursed - as the package was initially returned back to Poland as an undeliverable! I have no video record of any prior attempt to deliver this pedal - and if so - certainly no card was left at the scene - I didn't really figure out what had happened until Vitalii told me it had been returned. He of course sent it out once more - and it properly landed on the 'second' attempt (first as far as I was concerned). I don't think they attempted delivery for the first time - someone was supposed to send me a letter to say that it was ready for pickup - but no letter arrived - so I wasn't in the slightest bit aware of what was happening - it's just part of the course for the post office here - which is even worse now after the latest take-over!

Of course this was a rapid prototype release - and no direct emo is available - which this is an improved take on the Ukranian Sound JS DS-5 - which is in turn a take on Boss's DS-1. So think Boss DS-1 - but with more flavour and vibrancy!

Even though I have had the JHS 424 Gain Stage Console style Preamp for most of the month - I've not spend too much time with, Enough to figure out how versatile it is - and I really quite like it, but it sits outside my JHS Trifecta of Morning Glory, Violet Distoriton, and Hard Drive High Gain Distortion. Pretty versatile - and great of those more lo-fi and jangly sounds - a decent acquitting for sure - time will tell if this is a long-termer - or a passing fad!

The RhPf Electronics Tri-Harmonic Phalanx Multiband Overdrive is quiet the revelation - super versatile - at times with really superb output - but it often really makes you work for it - with not the simplest of dial-ins. When you balance those 6 knobs appropriately - it can sound utterly amazing - probably my favourite RhPf pedal to date - but not as instantly satisfying as the Mosferatwo. With a little patience and due diligence though - the Phalanx can and will eventually deliver more for you - you just need to get used to it first!

The REVV G2 Crunchy Overdrive arrived quite late in the day - but still gave me enough time to figure out that it's probably my favourite of the current crop of REVV G's. Super versatile - and with a vast range of volume and gain - better balanced than its G3 and G4 - which sound a little underpowered in comparison - particularly the G4 - which is lacking in volume, Some very decent tones onboard - the G2 is definitely  the favourite among those siblings. And that is borne out by how stock of the G2 are lower than the other 2 - the G2 would seem to be the most popular of that range - and understandably so be its relative prowess!

Boss's XS-100 Poly Shifter is the stare of the art for the Ptich-Shifting discipline - super fast seamless tracking and glitch-free playback of most intervals, The flagship pedal is imbued with all kinds of smart features - where mine is simultaneously running as Ptitch Shifter (+2.0), Drop Tuner (-0.5), Further Octace Up with the Toe Switch, and 2-Part Harmonies (Dry-Bledn) with the Effect switch, The Pitch Shifer is always-on - but is bypassed when the Treadle is in the Heel Position.

Everyway superb device - I so loved it that I gave it a new permanent slot on the board - and it's my largest  / longest pedal to-date - but some distance (23cm).

I finally snagged a Wampler Germanium Tumnus Mini - mostly because of my recent Klone rundown. I really like it - but I overall prefer my Decibelics Golden Horse - and the better Tumnus is the Germanium Deluxe Version - which I'm better able to tune to my preferences I'm glad I have compiled my Tumnus family set - while I was pretty much fully covered already! 

The MI Audio Tube Zone Overdrive has been long on the cords - while my good friend Ben Bordiss kind of took matters into his own hands on the sourcing. I probably would not have bought that particularly copy as it's a little battered - and I normally go for more pristine looking ones. Looks are often a measure of who well the deice has been used and stored - while the mote battered a device is - the worse it has been handled - and the more likelihood of issues, The pedal mostly works really well - albeit the LED is barely there any more - and it could probably do with some kind of service - as I feel sure that some of those part values have drifted  - my Ben Bordiss source V1 Tube Zone is from 2019 - It's quite bright sounding and with some unusual controls - but is really quite a vibrant and decent, distinct sounding overdrive - indeed with some of hose amp-like dynamics!

And here is MoVall's Jumpspace Tube Zone Clone - a little less vibrant - and not quite as dynamic or engaging as the original - but still a very decent versatile overdrive. If you didn't have the original for comparison you would think it very decent - while head to head - there is something a lot more magical about the original - it's quite a lot more vibrant. The Jumpspace is a little bit like a dulled knife in comparison!

That said - I only paid £18.75 for my Jumpsace (on Amazon) - my cheapest ever pedal by some distance! The current price hovers between £35 and £50 - so I obviously got it for a bargain. And however good the MoVall Jumpspace is - and it is pretty decent - the Tube Zone is still a significantly better sounding pedal - especially in the same room!

I've still to fully gel with the IK Multimedia ToneX One Red EVH Brown Sound Edition - and in many ways I seemingly prefer the Joe Satriani versions - even though I'm more of a fan of EVH. I've not had too much time with this one - but I'm kind of at the point of deciding that 'Plugin' style pedals really aren't for me.

You need to register the pedal before you can access it via the relevant apps - and before I could do any of that - I needed to update all 3 of my IK Multimedia / ToneX apps to proceed - which I find incredibly clunky. I'm kind of in part happy that Boss don't do too many updates for their digital pedals - as for other brands - you're constantly having to update the firmware seemingly! For the recent Klowra Delay - I had to update that several times before and after its official launch. That is why I largely much prefer the steady predictability and consistency of Analog Pedals.

I've kind of had it with all these serial updates! And also I don't like how on the Red Panda pedals - I need to access the desktop app (va cable) to set the Jacks to Stereo function - that is clunky in the extreme. Also the way you upload / download the apps and settings - and don't have direct access to o the device as such.

Most smart brands now have small toggle switches on the rear of the device - like indeed Strymon and Colortone to. At times I don't mind the clunky interface of the ToneX one - while it could definitely do with a secret - like the Valeton equivalent. I had though of adding one of those to the collection - but I've since gone off the idea - I will almost always take an analog pedal over a digital one - particularly on the gain side of things!

Possibly there is more stability with the Universal Audio devices - I've still to try those units!

And it doesn't look like IK Multimedia is really supporting this particular ToneX One rollout - as there are no device-dedicated demos yet weirdly!

The Kali Preamp - Plexi / JCM800 is my 3rd Fortin Pedal in a row - following on from the excellent Natas and Meshuggah High Gain Distortion pedals. This Kali is pretty decent - but it somewhat pales in comparison to the Sinvertek MGAT-1 GE - that is still by far and a way the best MIAB full-range Amp-Like Preamp Pedal - and has several nuances of tone that no other device can reach. The Kali is still impressive - and with a tonne of range onboard. Not as viscerally exiting for me as its two forebears - and not as good as the Sinvertek - but still decent in its own way - and yes - ir very much goes to 11!There's just something even more magical about the Sinvertek one - while in every other way the Fortin Kali is pretty much top tier!

I landed all 3 REVV G-Series Pedals this month - including the G3 Tight + Focused High Gain Distortion - Anniversary Ed. Before the G2 landed - the G3 was my favourite - while both G3 and G4 could do with more volume - and are not quite so vibrant as say equivalent products from Fortin, Lichtlaerm and Sinvertek!

The REVV Amps G4 Thick + Fat High Gain Distortion - Anniversary Ed - seems somewhat markedly volume-disadvantaged, If the REVV G3 goes to 10 - then the G4 is at 8 - where they both really need to be at 11 - to compete with the best of the current generation of high gain devices!

The Black Mountain Signature Jack White Roto Echo  Rotary Expression Delay is an excellent innovation - for instant dynamic control of the delay - it's a wonder someone hasn't done his before! Now just the wait for the Deluxe Modulated Version with Full Immersive Stereo Signal.

The Fjord Fuzz Fjær Spring Reverb - is the latest and greatest somewhat sparkly evolution of the Spring Reverb algorithm which first appeared on the MIME 2 pedal, then on the Dovre, and then further honed - and with a different preamp - on this Fjær - the best edition to date!

I want to start here by sharing my frustrations about the increasingly rogue nature of courier services. Where Fedex and UPS seem to be competing with each other over who can reschedule a package's delivery the most often. Fedex is slightly in the lead - having re-scheduled a package 4 days in a row.

My Chase Bliss Lost + Found sort of landed at the weekend - from UPS - who could not be bothered to deliver direct to me - but instead delivered it to a collection point 10 minutes walk away. I also had an instance with UPS recently - where I was flagged as a 'Second Missed Delivery' when actually no attempt had been made - and whichever way you cut it - that was the first indecent - never the second!

I was told that mos couriers have now rescinded the 3 attempts rule - while that system only triggers on the 3rd Miss - and so the first miss becomes the second while that categorically wasn't the case either - as the driver's tracker showed that he had never entered my street!

All too many times I get false 'missed' delivery notices when a courier de-prioritised the deliver to my address - and then ran out of time and left the area, This has happened 4 times for Amazon on a tracked service - where I tracked the incoming van - X deliveries in front of you etc. Once I got to 'You're Next' but then the van just promptly left the are - without stopping by!

For International Services the only one that is still relatively decent is DHL - that's the only one worthy supporting, while even they don't have a perfect record - but my goodness - it's so much better that Fedex and UPS - almost shockingly so.

For domestic delivery services Royal Mail and Parcelforce are totally rogue now - I think they're under new management now - and the government has allowed them to get away with even lower standards of services. There used to be a time when 95% of First Class Letters were guaranteed for next day delivery - while now it's all kind of best endeavour. The only timed delivery left is the 'Special Service'. We used to have 24 meaning 24 hour deliver cycle, and 48 being twice that - while nowadays the 24 Service SLA's mean you're not allowed to post a lost package notice until several weeks have passed - and it's over a month for the 48 Service.

You can also no longer connect to a customer service representative - it's just recorded messages now - and then the system hangs up on you.

The only reliable domestic service is DPD - which remains pretty Decent. Generally DHL and DPD are best. While Pedal Brands tend to favour the national post offices - which unfortunately are just wholly dysfunctional now - with service levels having fallen through the floor.

There are few things as frustrating as waiting all day for an ever delayed and rescheduled package - for it then not to be delivered on the applicable day. The actual time slots are a joke - I usually t get the message that the delivery while be between 11:00 and 14:00, but generally I don't get any traction until gone 5, and then often the courier ducks out without bothering to deliver the package, You would have though they would priortise for early next day when they mess up - but no - you just get the same dysfunctional pattern repeating. With far too many false status updates along the way - several of which are evidently fraudulent.

My recent package from Blue FX Devices (the first one) languished in customs for nearly a fortnight before being returned to the place of origin. While the Status went from 'Held in UK Customs' back to 'On its way from Denmark' - when the package was actually heading in the other direction. The follow-up package came in by a different courts - and that landed on time, and at my address - while nowadays it seems to be something of a roulette as to exactly what kind of delivery experience you're going to get - you know it's going to be bad - it's just a question of how bad it's going to be!

So for the second Woking Boutique Guitar Show I am a Media partner - which is why I keep mentioning that event!

it's hosted by my good friend Jason Snelling of Maybury Guitars.

For the first show in March we had just 2 Pedal Brands - my good friends Joe from Hello Sailor Effects, and Tim from Fredric Effects - this time around we have a few more - including the rare visit of Mainz, Germany-based brand Empty Head Effects - where auteur Nic is actually originally from the Woking area. 

Other friends who are exhibiting at the show include Neil of NRG Effects, Angus and Ruth of Cave Pedals, and Wub of Ritual Devices.

Most of the same Luthiers are returning from the first show - with a total of 39 exhibitors overall confirmed at this stage. Including of course 6 Pedal Brands!

Andy Ferris / The Guitar Geek will be there all-day which should be exciting - he tends to bring a lot of enthusiasm and positive energy wherever he goes - will be good to make a proper connection on the day!