Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
Mad Professor Capsule Collection and Future Intended Targets
It seems a long while since I first met the new owners of Mad Professor the Iconic Finnish Pedal Brands - Jussa and Mikko - at the London Synth and Pedal Expo back in March - where they announced their new MK2 Simble. They were sort of queuing up the pre-sales for that pedal - which started a week or two later, but it took quite the while for it to be officially launched and in stock.
I’ve been a big fan of Mad Professor pretty much from the start - especially as it’s somewhat connected to my friend Björn Juhl - while ironically the first Mad Professor pedal I bought had nothing to do with Björn, but was instead created by Finish Amp Tech Lassi Ukkonen!
I love the original Simble, it was my first ever Dumble Drive, and I was determined to get the new updated MK2 one - which didn’t quite go according to plan - but more of that later.
I’ve come to rely on HotRox more and more for my Mad Professor pedals - as they stocked most of the Mad Professor Custom Editions, and are the best stocked generally of the UK Mad Professor dealers (always been good to me too!) - while historically I’ve acquired these pedals from a wider number of sources - as you can see in the below overview! Mostly HotRox and Juno.co.uk though!
I’m always looking forward - in the hope of completing a particular set or selection - often 9 or 10 pedals initially, and then 12, 15, and up to around 20 for some brands, some quite a bit more, and some a little less.
I own 10 Mad Professor Pedals to date - with the addition of the Simble MK2 and Amber Overdrive Custom - which both came from HotRox last week.
There are 3 more active targets that I want to get my hands on - the Bluebird Overdrive / Delay, Double Moon Analog BBD Modulator, and the Hand-Wired Sky Blue Overdrive - funnily all discontinued! I always try to get older pedals at the very best prices - for mostly Mint and Excellent condition pedals. There don’t seem to be that many Bluebirds around currently, there are a few of the other two - but the pricing is not quite right for me yet - a lot of those are priced higher than their condition warrants.
That’s often the case with Reverb.com - a lot of sellers can overstate and exaggerate the conditions of their pedals - apart from the Japanese - where some of their Very Good pedals would pass for Excellent elsewhere. It seems hardly anyone understands the meaning of the word ’Mint’ (Freshly Minted) which should mean new and unplayed, but possibly taken out of its box for an inspection at some stage - where the correct descriptor should be ’Near Mint’ as Mint is really synonymous with Brand New!
In any case none of my targets has suitable candidates for me at this sweep-through - but I did pick up that Custom Amber Overdrive - which was long intended. Smart pedal acquisition is so much about patience - and knowing what’s a fair price - and then pouncing rapidly when the opportunity arises - before someone else gets a chance to get their mitts on it!
So 9 of these are in the collection already - plus a standard Amber Overdrive also.
Here is my selection of 12 :
- Amber Overdrive Custom Midas Touch Edition [discontinued] - I paid £159 for mine (HotRox)
- Bluebird Overdrive / Delay [discontinued] - €199 when new
- Double Moon Analog BBD Multi-Modulator Chorus / Flanger / Vibrato [discontinued] - $289 when new
- Golden Cello Overdrive / Delay - €199 (£149 Andertons)
- Little Tweedy Drive [discontinued] - I paid €144 for mine (Thomann)
- #1 Brown Sound Distortion [discontinued] - I paid £149 for mine (Juno.co.uk)
- Royal Blue Overdrive 20th Anniversary Ltd Edition [discontinued] - I paid £167 for mine (HotRox)
- Simble Dumble Drive (by Lassi Ukkonen) [discontinued] - I paid £138 for mine (Juno.co.uk)
- Simble MK2 Dumble Drive (by Lassi Ukkonen) - €199 (£133 HotRox)
- Sky Blue Overdrive (Hand Wired) [discontinued] - €269 when new
- Stone Grey Distortion Custom [discontinued] - I paid £133 for mine (Peach Guitars)
- Sweet Honey Overdrive Deluxe 5K [discontinued] - I paid £129 for mine (Juno.co.uk)
As mentioned earlier - I’m waiting for the right units of Bluebird, Double Moon, and Sky Blue to hit the market - at the right price and in the appropriate condition. My first ports of call are always Reverb.com and then Ebay - but I do cast a wide net - and try to pick up on pedals also that some dealers might still have in stock - even though said pedal/s have been long discontinued. If you play it smart you can get some very decent prices, as I have done - you just need to be patient, and have lightning reflexes!
Here follow the usual individual details :
Amber Overdrive Custom Midas Touch Edition [discontinued] - I paid £159 for mine (HotRox)
Controls - Volume, Drive, Tone.
I didn't know it at the time I acquired my first standard Amber Overdrive - but supposedly that is just the same circuit as the Golden Cello, minus the Delay! This Custom Modded variety mostly just gives you more of the best stuff - more harmonics, and more silkiness!
"The Amber Overdrive with Midas Touch Mod brings more harmonic definition and carefully added silky presence to this highly sought after distorted tone bordering on fuzz. It is like the circuit got a new heart of gold and the golden tone got even more golden!"
Bluebird Overdrive / Delay [discontinued] - €199 when new
Controls - Delay, Distortion, Volume, Tone.
A really smart Overdrive / Delay - much like the Golden Cello, but not so silky. The core overdrive here sits somewhere before Mad Professors Little Green Wonder Screamer, and Sweet Honey - less boldness and compression - with more Honey Rather. Great as a Solo Boost - which obviously automatically here comes with a delay-augmented singing lead. This is one of the 3 I'm still after, wile they seem to be in very short supply and don't pop up very often at all.
Double Moon Analog BBD Multi-Modulator Chorus / Flanger / Vibrato [discontinued] - $289 when new
Controls - Speed, Mode : C1 / C2 / C3 / DC1 / DC2 / DC3 / F1 / F2 / DF / FC / V, Depth, Tone, Variable Control per Mode.
I've long wanted one of these - it's been high on my wishlist before - I think I bought a stereo analog modulator round about that time - so this mono variant became less of a priority. I will definitely be getting one of these - once I find the right one for me - it contains 3 Chorus Modes, 3 Double Choruses, 2 Flangers, 1 Dual Flanger, 1 Flanger Chorus, and 1 Vibrato.
Golden Cello Overdrive / Delay - €199 (£149 Andertons)
Controls - Delay, Drive, Volume, Tone.
The silkier, smoother sibling to the Bluebird Overdrive / Delay - to deliver those Eric Johnson Violin / Cello style fuzz tones - smooth and beautifully textured. The Golden Cello has long been a favourite of mine. So much that I picked up the Standard Amber also, and then then enhanced Custom Midas Mod version of that!
Little Tweedy Drive [discontinued] - I paid €144 for mine (Thomann)
Controls - Volume, Drive, Bass, Treble.
I remember when I got this - I A/B'd it against the Big Tweedy Drive - and I preferred the snappier / punchier sound of the Little Tweedy. Interestingly I seem to have been in a minority - as the Little Tweedy was discontinued not long after - but the Big Tweedy Drive is still on the roster. Everyone for sure has different preferences and sensibilities - but when I heard that one of the Tweedy's had been discontinued - I was briefly convinced the Big Tweedy was the one getting the boot - but no - I was wrong! And I still prefer the Little Tweedy!
#1 Brown Sound Distortion [discontinued] - I paid £149 for mine (Juno.co.uk)
Controls - Reverb, Brown (Distortion), Level, Presence.
Classic Brown Sound EVH Distortion Pedal - here enhanced with a vision of Eddie's core Plate Reverb Sound - this was good at its time of release, but there are other later pedals which sound more authentic for that style, and have more range. I think this might have been the first Brown Sound pedal I bought - and I liked it for at least a good couple of years. I don't return to it too often nowadays - I should give it another spin soon for sure!
Royal Blue Overdrive 20th Anniversary Ltd Edition [discontinued] - I paid £167 for mine (HotRox)
Controls - Volume, Drive, Bass, Treble.
This is a great sounding Overdrive - which sits somewhere between a Screamer and a Blues Driver for me. It has a wonderful core timbre and tonality with really great versatility too - which allows you to turn it to a variety of different purposes.
Simble Dumble Drive (by Lassi Ukkonen) [discontinued] - I paid £138 for mine (Juno.co.uk)
Controls - Level, Sensitivity, Contour, Accent.
My very first Dumble Drive Pedal - much loved and my preferred choice until I came across the Wampler Euphoria, then Demon Pedals Kondo Shifuku, Custom Tones Ethos Clean Fusion II, and Tanabe Zenkudo - which may be preferred on occasion - the Simble is still a top tier ghoice - and if you dial it in just right - it's still pretty perfect in its category. I like this pedal so much - which meant I was very intrigued by the upcoming version - as next!
Simble MK2 Dumble Drive (by Lassi Ukkonen) - €199 (£133 HotRox)
Controls - Level, Sensitivity, Contour, Accent.
The updated MK2 has More Headroom, Brightness and Openness - it cuts through better, and gets louder when you need it to. I had an issue with my pedal - and Craig and Toni at HotRox were really helpful, as was Mad Professor's own Jussa Palve. I still very much have a soft spot for the original, and am so used to dialling that one in - that it may take me a while to fully acclimatise to the new one - which has slightly different tapers. Both are really excellent for me, and there's really very little to separate the two in terms of their overall quality of output. Many will for sure prefer the attributes of the new one. While I've always felt that the original was very well calibrated - and had a lovely resonant woody tonality - which is why I gravitated to it in the first place. It's nice to see the Simble back on the roster in any case.
Sky Blue Overdrive (Hand Wired) [discontinued] - €269 when new
Controls - Volume, Distortion, Z (Upper Resonant Peak), Texture.
The final of my 3 targets - I have had some opportunities to get this one over the years, but because of other priorities I had to pass on 2 highly suitable candidates. There's nothing quite right for me currently - those that are at a decent price aren't really in the appropriate condition for me - I like Brand New, Mint and Excellent and those are typically the ones I target. This is a nowadays slightly unusual but classic in the 'Overdrive' sense - to be used to Overdrive and Distort already cooking amps - with similar dynamics to the Boss DS-1 but a warmer and more even profile and tonality. Works great for stacking too!
Stone Grey Distortion Custom [discontinued] - I paid £133 for mine (Peach Guitars)
Controls - Volume, Distortion, Tone.
Amazingly textured high gain distortion aimed squarely at Hard Rock. Slightly fuzzy undertones make for a quite superb timbre on this pedal. The Custom Edition comes with a tweaked and augmented gain profile - with a little more attack and aggression.
Sweet Honey Overdrive Deluxe 5K [discontinued] - I paid £129 for mine (Juno.co.uk)
Controls - Volume, Drive, Bass, Treble, Focus.
I have several of the Björn Juhl Honey Bee / Drive pedals across his different associated brands and at different sizes - while this extended format variety has long been one of my favourites - in particular in terms of range and dial-in-ability. All the Honey Bee style overdrives sound pretty great for those smooth mellifluous tones! The very original source for the Honey Bee / Drive series was a somewhat weathered and beaten up Supro Combo Amp - with a warm, elegantly textured output - one of the classic overdrive varieties for sure - oft underestimated!
