Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
2026 July Pedal-Chain Update - Episode VII - Tremendous Tremulations
Key Points
July delivered 47 articles and 20 devices: 3 Boosts and Overdrives, 7 Distortions, 8 Fuzzes, 1 Modulation and 1 Utility. Highlights covered Brighton Guitar Show, Denmark Street, Mid-Size Modulation, DS-1 Distortion Evolved, ebbe design, Redbeard Effects, Darkglass Anagram and Chase Bliss.
Demiurge, PastFX, Talisman, NRG, iStingor and RhPf releases updated 21 slots; the board now has effectively five Tremolos. As of July 2026, the price was £119 for JHS NOTADUMBLE V2.
Priority targets include Continua, Bad Mood, Timeline MX, MXR Textures and In The Water. August targets include Big Time, DS-1 Twin Drive Mod, Cleanless and Wyatt Audio pedals. Fourteen late arrivals caused burnout; recovery and fewer shows are planned.
Another month filled with strong releases! Too many for me to cope with in short order. I’m still waiting for my Chase Bliss Big Time to land - and Strymon goes ahead and launches the Timeline MX - which is of course also on my list. AC Noises launches its killer Continua, just shortly after I landed my Purr-ting in a similar category. And Native Audio launches the killer In The Water - not too long after I landed my Hotone Verbera. All pedals have specific target slots, and I always want to give a pedal a decent run / innings on the board - so I can appraise it in its totality. Similarly Chase Bliss launches the Bad Mood just after MXR releases the Textures - also in a similar category and destined for the same slot.
I already have numerous commitments in place - and there has to be an order and priority to everything - for all pedals to get a fair shake! Someone told be that Chase Bliss is not doing another Small Batch for a couple of years now - so you’d better get your Bad Mood in now or you will have to wait at least a couple of years. Quite frankly I’ve waited quite a bit longer for some pedals - I was chasing down a Spaceman Gemini III for the best part of 10 years. I can stand a couple of years. In any case I already committed to the MXR Textures - and I have limited funds - and don’t really wish to unnecessarily extend my debt exposure. So the Timeline MX, AC Noises Continua, and Chase Bliss Bad Mood - will just have to wait.
My dance card is already pretty full for August! All these shows I attend lead to promises and commitments which need to be upheld - and I have a sizeable backlog still from Norwich Fret Fest and the Brighton Show.
There were so many individual releases this month that I didn’t do as many of my larger rundown articles as I wanted! A decent handful for sure - but there were many more intended, and there are still some with moving parts - still waiting for long-promised pedals to land. I am all about commitment and integrity - while those essential attributes for me don’t seem to be applicable to everyone I deal with.
In any case - we do have some decent highlights for the month, not quite the list of 10 that I get to in the best months - but still pretty worthwhile.
I don’t feel enough of you have read up on my Denmark Street feature - which has shown no take-up from those stores at all. Parts of the street are somewhat in decline, others more stable - but could still do better. I ’@-ted’ all the stores I featured, expecting at least one or two would get in touch for a follow-up but none did! Perhaps that says something too about the slow demise of the street as an Instrument Retail space - compared to its heyday of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. There’s no Macari’s just around the corner any more either. I don’t think you get anywhere near the crowds you used to. Young folk seem a little less interested in music-making these days - at least via traditional means!
There’s plenty to get stuck into this month - with 47 articles completed in total, and several long-form ones. And I promise that next month will be even better!
A lot of you are on vacation around now - do make sure you take some time out to recharge your batteries!
HIGHLIGHTS for JULY :
[Click on below Images to access articles, as before]
June 2026 Acquisitions List
20 new devices landed in July!
This month it's all about Fuzzes and Distortions, the Brighton Guitar Show, and PastFX and Demiurge Instruments in particular - that's pretty much the whole story.
14 of these arrived relatively late in the month - and as a result I've been somewhat overloaded!
- 3 x Boosts and Overdrives
- 7 x Distortions
- 8 x Fuzzes
- 1 x Modulation
- 1 x Utility
3 x Boosts and Overdrives
3 really decent wide-ranging overdrives - both Earthburners sound particularly killer while all of these can go from a whisper to a scream, Indeed the Earthburners can get incredibly aggressive and fuzz--like. More on these coming up!
- Demiurge Earthburner Full Range Brit Stack Streamlined
- Demiurge Earthburner Full Range Brit Stack Expanded
- JHS Pedals NOTADUMBLE V2
7 x Distortions
A superb selection of Distortions - each of these are really impressive - they're all very distinct and superb potent. I'm still waiting on some demos to materialise for some of these - at least 3 reviews still to come here!
- DigiTech Hot Head Distortion
- iStingor MS-1 Metal Shredder
- iStingor SL-1 Super Lead
- Leyland Pedals Peace Lilly Distortion (Ibanez Soundtank PL5 Powerlead Distortion)
- NRG Effects 2026 5K Gnawer Distortion
- PastFX OG-2 Distortion (DS-1+)
- Spruce Effects Americana States Series Limekiln Edition
8 x Fuzzes
One of the best selections of fuzzes landed to date - each of these are totally killer - with richly harmonically textured searing tones onboard. Pretty much all of these are top-tier!
- Blue FX Devices Piluxx Mini 70's Switch Fuzz
- Demiurge Swamp Coffin Signature Cultist Doomy Swampy Sludge Fuzz Expanded
- Demiurge Swamp Coffin Signature Cultus Doomy Swampy Sludge Fuzz Streamlined
- Drunk Beaver Ivan Mazepa 2 Fuzz
- Farmer Factory Colombeta Ge/Si Fuzz
- PastFX I.C.Mufnstuf Evolved OpAmp Muff
- Talisman Audio Deluxe Face Blender Ge/Si Fuzz
- Talisman Audio GP7 Soviet Gas Mask Canister Fuzz
1 x Modulation
The PastFX Ring Modulator has been a genuine revelation for me - as I finally figured out how to get the best out of this modulation type. Something finally clicked into place for me - and I am now a RingMod convert - especially for one so great as this!
1 x Utility
RhPf Electronics' Regista Amek Mozart MZ15-RN Neve Channel Strip Style Studio-Grade Parametric Mids EQ & Preamp - is a killer laser-honed high-precision studio-style mastering EQ - which allows you to pin-point very specific frequencies to enhance or entirely remove from the signal chain. A proper high quality singular balancing EQ!
July Infinite Wishlist Targets
PRIORITY targets up TOP in order and in BOLD A-Z below!
- AC Noises Continua Stereo Sample-Repeater / Glitch / Modifier / Multi-FX
- Aclam Go Rocky Go Vox Conqueror Amp Emulator White Album Edition
- Chase Bliss Bad Mood Ambient Mischief Micro-Looper / Modifier
- Darkglass Anagram Multi-FX Guitar Essentials Edition
- David Ross Summer Heat Dynamic EQ & Overdrive
- DOD Drag Multi-Mode Modulated Analog BBD Delay
- EarthQuaker Devices Mini 2-Transistor Bellows Fuzz
- Ebbe Design Magnetic Modular Pedalboard : _ma and o_ma snap-on modules
- Freqscene Effects Cleanless Expanded HM-2 Heavy Metal Distortion
- Fuzzlord Nazareth Doomy Octave Distortion
- Gamechanger Audio Plus II Real Piano Sustainer
- Gigagain Golden Legacy and Silver Legacy
- Greer Amps Mori Drive (Klon-Screamer)
- Hungry Robot Stargazer Spacey Ambient Dual Channel Reverb
- Mr Black Vintage Ensemble Stereo Chorus
- MXR Textures Granular / Glitchy Synth Texturiser Engine
- Native Audio In The Water Wave Reflector
- OFX Purple Ohm Fuzz
- R2R Electric x Waterslide Guitars Time-O-Lite 2-Transistor Ge Fuzz
- Seward Park Electric Maravilla Germanium Preamp
- Solar Guitar Chug Capo Low Latency Pitch-Shifter
- Strymon Timeline MX Stereo Dual Algorithm Multi Delay Workstation
- Venuram Las Lunas Classic Rock Distortion
- Warm Audio Dirty Boy Jr. Fuzz
- Wyatt Audio Kozel (Muff) and Heiress (Fuzz Face) Fuzzes
July Pedal Chain Status
21 Slots updated this month with 20 new incoming pedals and one re-up!
Updated Slots : #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #10, #11, #12, #13, #13b, #14, #15, #17, #18b, #20, #21, #24, #30, #31, #37, #39.
Mostly Fuzzes and Distortions, but something in every row, bar the final one.
And quite coincidentally - I now have effectively 5 Tremolos on the board - a couple as a primary pedal function, and the others with Tremolo as a secondary or tertiary function!
Slot #01 : Typically the Keyztone EXchanger Pickup Simulator; currently more typically another Fuzz Slot!
Talisman Deluxe Face Blender killer Ge/Si Transistor Switching Fuzz, one of two pedals I picked up from Talisman Audio : Tom at the Brighton Guitar Show - every way excellent!
Alas there are no demos out yet - not even an Instagram sound sample that I can find - will post something up as soon as it materialises!
Slot #02 : Typically - Octaver / Pitch-Shifter / Harmonizer / Modulator / Bitcrusher / Utility / and/or Input-sensitive Effect - or Fuzz!
Another killer Ge/Si Transistor Switching Fuzz - this time with a different Transistor in every slot - for some seriously wide-ranging tones - sounds superb - as does its neighbour.
In my article I referred to one of the Horny '66 All-Germanium Fuzzes - and will do so here again also - here below! The Horny '66 is essentially the Germanium half of the Colombeta!
Slot #03 : Guitar Synth, EQ, Pre-Gain, Note-Tracking, and Fuzz!
Yet another small-batch fuzz without a proper YouTube demo - one is coming soon - this is the magnificent Talisman GP7 Soviety Gas Mask Canister All Soviet Ge/Si switching fuzz.
Please refer to instagram for sounds samples - per the below link! :
Slot #04 : Envelope Filter / Auto-Wah / Fixed Wah / WAH / PLL! / Octave Fuzz
Fantastic Blue FX Devices Pillux Fuzz - a 2-mode Fuzz Fields Redux circuit built into a 70's Greek electrical switch - sounds amazing!
My version is the original Batch Green Edition, while the demo is for the Brighton Show Silver-Grey Edition - same circuit inside - while the functional labels have been inverted!
Slot #05 : Germanium / Sensitive Fuzz
The much improved and slimmed down Ivan Mazepa Dual Voice Fuzz - evolved from the Soviet Poltava Fuzz Wah - while I prefer it with the Big Muff Tone Stack engaged - sounds immense!
Slot #10 : Neutral / Light / Organic / Transparent / Klone Overdrive / Screamer
Slot #11 : Mid Gain Overdrive / Tweed / Amp-like Overdrive
The 4 Demiurge Pedals I picked up at the Brighton Show are essentially 2 pairs of 2 different roll-outs of the same circuit - the first more streamlined, and the second one more granular and expanded.
The first Cultus / Cultist pair is a Doomy Swampy Sludge Fuzz - actually the signature pedal for band Swamp Coffin. There are demos for the streamlined original Cultus - as above, but nothing yet for the more expansive Cultist that has just recently been released. I like the 2 footswitches on the original, but overall the Cultist is more potent and Doomier! I don't see why that one can't have 2 footswitches also - so that you can switch things up more fluidly - sound-wise though it's blisteringly good. I'm kind of waiting on demos before I can publish a review!
Both of these sound great - but the newer more expansive one sounds superior to me! Especially on the middle clipping option which I think is the Schottky one!
Slot #12 : Mid Gain Overdrive / Dynamic / Blues Breaker / Harmonic Overdrive / JTM45
Slot #13 : Mid Gain / Blues Driver / Anchor Drive / Bassier Overdrive
My second pair of Demiurge Pedals - this time the Earthburner Full-Range Brit Stack - Streamlined and recent Expanded model - both in compact editions. The only demos that exist are for the former 1590BB edition - as below - while Joseph has been able to shrink the circuit down considerably from the original - both larger and smaller editions have 6 knobs. The more expansive edition with Channel Split has 7 knobs and 2 switches. For me the newer more expansive variety is the preferred choice - but that brings further questions as to why the expanded Cultist didn't have dual footswitches also. All 4 of these Demiurges sounds great - and there's significant overlap for each of the pairs - while I generally overall prefer the Expanded editions - neither of which has a demo yet! The Earthburner is incredibly versatile and I need to spend a little more time with this pair - as so far I've been spending most of my time on the Cultist!
Slot #13b : Occasional expander slot
The all conquering PastFX OG-2 DS-1 evolved take - sounds absolutely superb - and a massive improvement over the original. I have a number of evolved DS-1 types - while this one is the king of the hill currently! I seriously love everything about this pedal - including all the killer clipping options!
Slot #14 : Mid Gain / Dumble / Expandora / Fuzzy-Drive / Mostortion / OCD / TrainWreck
An intriguing Germanium Transitor + Opamp Distortion - with gorgeous 4-way Artwork Choice - I like my Limekiln the best - looks amazing - and sounds particularly great on LED Clipping Mode - which is more open and searing. The Schottky is slightly grittier and more compressed - darker sounder. I much prefer the LEDs!
Slot #15 : Pitch-Shifter / Synth / Sustainer / Occasional Fuzz and Overdrive Overflow slot too!
The V2 is twice as much fun - I love piecing these together - such a clever design. It's better than the V1 - but still probably only B-Tier overall, I have a slew of better sounding Dumble Drives in the collection - but this one is still pretty decent- and there are some cool tones onboard - it's just that some of my other Dumbles are signficantly better sounding. While for just $119 this is surely about as good as it gets! The knobs are a little untidy - they're off the sort that come in a big bag - where these rub up against each other and have some minor surface blemishes. That's the only part which is a little either way on the quality - everything else is exemplary. Be very careful not to tighten the jacks up too much on one side - do them slightly loose on both sides - and then refine - otherwise the board is liable to shift too much over to one side! The build was a breeze - where getting the knobs on was the trickiest part - everything else was so simple and intuitive - you didn't need a manual!
Slot #17 : Mini Pedal #1 typically, occasionally a compact!
So yes I picked up a DigiTech Hot Heat for my Evolved DS-1 piece - and it's surprisingly good actually. Noway near the 3 Top Tier ones, but interestingly far more potent than the Keeley Angry Orange - which came in a distant last in that head-to-head. There's a slew of DigiTech pedals in that series - including this Hot Head, the Bad Monkey, Grunge, Screaming Blues and Death Metal - all are pretty decent actually. I was pleasantly surprised by this Hot Head - it sounds great in my rig - warm and expressive - and a considerable improvement over the stock DS-1 - especially into a Clean Pedal Platform Rig!
Slot 18b : Extra Mini Slot for very occasional use!
I had to sub the Decibelics V2 Reverend back in again - as I was missing it! It's one of the most potent minis I own - and that ability to switch in the Forbidden Fuzz Mode on the fly is just brilliant - every one should have one!
Slot #20 : Multi-Fuzz / Fuzzy-Drive / Tube Drive / Vox Top Boost Distortion
The Leyland Pedals Peace Lily is a killer take on a long forgotten Ibanez PL5 plastic Soundtank Series 6-transistor distortion. It is super crunchy and vibrant - just as you would expect a 6-transistor Distortion to sound - can get quite grindy too - but is also capable of beautifully singing lead tones - you can dial the crunchy rasp in - or else you can smooth it out. A really dynamic sort of fuzz-distortion - but leaning more into the distortion side - very crisp! Full review still to come!
Slot #21 : Mini Pedal #2 (Typically) - occasionally a compact too!
The superb expanded range PastFX I.C. Mufnstuf OpAmp Fuzz - sounds amazing - like all the PastFX stuff usually does. I'm still waiting on a demo for this one - not sure what's happening there. This pedal should be in high demand - it's surely one of the best OpAmp Muffs out there!
I will of course add a demo video - as soon as on materialises!
Slot #24 : High Gain Fuzz 2 / Modern Metal 1 / Mid-Pushed High Gain
Another one of my Brighton Show pickups - Neil from NRG has unleashed the most incredibly Vintage Rat style distortion - warm, dynamic and beautifully textured - with unique soft clipping and 'Sizzle' boost - sound totally killer - definitely a top-tier / S-Tier Rat style pedal - well worth checking out! No demo yet - so I've referred to the previous model for below demo!
Slot #30 : Brown Sound / EVH / JCM800 / Liquid Distortion
So many of this month's pedals are very 'hot off the press' and so don't yet have any demos - that alas includes this iStingor Super Lead SL-1 too - which is very Marshall-adjacent - kind of inspired by in some ways, but a distinct sounding circuit just in the overall same sort of ballpark - slightly lower gain than the Metal Shredder MS-1 - but equally great sounding. There are all kinds of familiar visual cues for these iStingor pedals - but they're all their own circuits really - not built or cloned from anything - and using mostly proprietary Mosfet-based gain circuits. As soon as we have a demo I will publish my review!
Slot #31 : High Gain / Metal Slot 1
Excellent high octane / high gain Metal Distortion with a lot of range. Really punchy and tight with a modern edge, but a vast range - including more vintage style sounds too - but without the inherent sag. Tight, punchy and richly textured metal - sounds great!
Slot #37 : Typically Analog Modulation 1, Analog Chorus + Vibrato + Ring Modulator on this occasion!
The PastFX Ring Modulator has been a genuine revelation for me - I haven't always got on with this particular flavour of modulations - while this pedal really clicked for me - and I finally get why so many people love Ring Modulation. This PastFX variant is particularly expansive and delivers really classy classic modulations as well as more clangy / metallic otherworldly timbres and textures. As with all my PastFX pedals - I really love this one. If you're not yet convinced by Ring Modulation - try this one for size! I found it everyway excellent - got some fantastic sounds out of it!
Slot #39 : Co-opted Slot especially for a Studio Grade Parametric Mids Mastering EQ!
The RhPf Regista is a fantastic high-precision Parametric Mids Mastering EQ which can pin-point clean up or enhance very specific frequencies or frequency clusters. It's a totally different animal to my Empress ParaEQ 2 - which does several things for me at the same time. This Regista is absolutely precision-honed and laser focused - for noiseless sound manipulation - really great looking pedal to with cool looking custom knobs and wide-ranging potentiometers!
Final Thoughts
The last 2 weeks have been utter chaos for me as 14 pedals landed in quick succession and I really struggled to keep up. What with the Brighton Show (which took 3 days to photo-edit and write up) - and all these kind of almost last minute pedals - I've been way overworked of late, and one the precipice of complete burnout.
The end of month roundup also takes a significant effort - meaning that I'm quite physically and mentally exhausted right now - and will be looking to recuperate and re-charge over the weekend!
I don't think anyone puts as much into these show reports as I do - they can really take it out of you! So I'm glad that there are no imminent shows on the Horizon. The next one I'm scheduled for is October's Kempton Park one. Otherwise I'm not confirmed for any shows in-between. There may be a couple in September - I will do one or the other, or perhaps just sit it out entirely - I could do with getting some of my weekends back again!
There's already significant plans for August Pedal Targets, several of the following list are already landed or on their way, and the others will need to be priorities in due time. I'm hope to give myself a little breathing space for at least the first week in August - as I still have a number of reviews to post up!
Here's what's already on my list for August! :
- Becos FX CompIQ MINI Pro Compressor
- Boss DS-1 Distortion Twin Drive Mod
- Chase Bliss Big Time Hybrid Delay / Filter / Preamp
- Collateral FX Ge-Bendz Germanium TB MK3 Fuzz
- David Ross Summer Heat Dynamic EQ & Overdrive
- Dr Scientist Dungeon Crawler High Gain Distortion
- Drunk Beaver Kramatorsk Wah Rocker
- Freqscene Effects Cleanless Evolved and Expanded HM-2 take
- Hello Sailor Effects Gibbons Llama-Ranger
- Mentha.Works Monk Echo Reverb + Delay - Choral Infused
- MXR Textures Granular / Glitchy Synth Texturizer Engine
- Native Audio In The Water Wave Reflector
- Overkill Effects V7 Extended Range Sovtek Era Muff [actual launch!]
- Wyatt Audio Kozel Extended Range Ram's Head x Sovtek Muff
- Wyatt Audio Heiress Extended Range 2-Transistor Fuzz / Face
Inevitably some of those will be delayed and waylaid and others will come in instead.
I'm aware of a few launches to - which are under embargo - so more on those at the appointed hour.
The year feels like it's been pretty relentless for the most part - while some pedals have been unusually long-term delayed. Also the communication for a number of these brands isn't fully up to scratch. So many brands play it somewhat fast and loose with ETA's - in fact some never commit to any eventuality! It's just a series of situational updates - without recourse or remedy!
In any case - one way or another - I soldier on! Hopefully you're still enjoying this journey!
