There were all kinds of weird rumours going around before the launch of this pedal - I though it was more likely to be a sympathetic resonance modulator / filter style thing - where there are filters here - but used rather to define the different delay voicings.

This is mostly a digital device, I’m not 100% clear on the inflection of ’Hybrid’ in respect to Delay here - as there are no specific analog / BBD delay-line components that I’m aware of. This is very much a sibling to the CXM 1978 ...

Another fantastic show in an amazing venue - and the weather gods definitely smiled on us!

Congratulations to Ross on another supremely smooth show - wish that it’s duration could be a little more extended - as it’s a struggle to get around all the stands in the time available.

This year’s show was a little beset by fall-outs - as initially Boss and HiWatt withdrew from the roster - which was great news for my friends Ian from Gigahearts and Stephen from Northern Stompboxes - as those were ...

I thought I should focus on my large format heavy-hitters for a change - where these 8 are some of my largest, most potent, and best favoured gain pedals. They are arranged here in alphabetical order, while they were released in the below chronological order. All 8 have featured heavily in my rig at different times - and all 8 are still very valid award winners and still in rotation. While the enormous girth of the Elektron Analog Drive means that is gets somewhat less of a rotation nowadays - ...

The Habit was launched in March of 2022, and was the third of Chase Bliss’s Experimental Looper / Delay Trifecta - following the Mood Micro-Looper from June 2019, and the Blooper Endless Looper in September of 2019 - that same year. All three are Experimental Looper / Delay types - with the emphasis on Looping for the first two, and the emphasis on Delay for the Habit - which has some very clever tricks on scanning through and doubling up on the sample buffer. So in essence the Habit is a smart...

We have another great event now for the annual roster - where Adam has done a brilliant job in bringing this all together. Really handy venue too - very close to the centre of Birmingham and New Street Station - and so good for me! I alas forgot to grab a snap of show runner Adam - who was to be everywhere that day - to ensure the smooth running that we witnessed. Noise Maker Market is definitely here to stay!

There was a handy bar downstairs - with some exotic and unusual beverages - ...

I believe this is the first time I’ve met Paolo’s lovely partner Nadège - and it’s her birthday today when this article goes live - so let’s all wish her well!

Nadége was on the door for most of the two days, and missed out on Sunday Roast - which Paolo and I had on the second day. I decided that Nadège and Paolo deserved to be this year’s covers stars - they put so much work into this event - to make sure it runs flawlessly smoothly - and the easy ambience and vibe of the event is a ...

There was a ripple of excitement when people first saw the somewhat oblique teasers for 2 ’new’ Chase Bliss pedals - turns out it’s just new colourways! Exciting still possibly for those who favour single tone pedalboards - but I already have these in their original editions. I don’t feel the need to have duplicates of these, and I actually prefer the original colourways. I run a large pedalboard of 52 pedals - which changes every week - it’s essential for me to be able to rapidly identify and ...

New Pedals in the Class of 2025 Pedal-Chain Snapshot = 41

[OCTOBER]  = 9

[NOVEMBER] = 6

[MARCH] = 5

[SEPTEMBER] = 5

[AUGUST] = 4

[JANUARY] = 3

[FEBRUARY]  = 3

[APRIL] = 2

[JUNE] = 2

[MAY] = 1

[JULY] = 1

[A-Z by Brand]

1. Becos FX CompIQ Pro Yuna Soft Knee Blackmer VCA Studio Style Compressor [SEPTEMBER]
2. Blue Colander Grimrobe Dual Cascaded Super Rat [OCTOBER]
3. Blue FX Devices Fuzz Fields Ultimate Modulated Fuzz [SEPTEMBER]
4. Boss RT-2 Rotary Ensemble Leslie / Rotary Speaker

And here we have the GRAND FINAL- with all 36 Award Winners from the Group Stages - across all 5 categories!

The first two places have kind of been obvious for a while, where the 3rd / BRONZE position was actually the hardest to decide on - it was between the eventual recipient - the Tubesteader Gainlord, Boss’s XS-100 Poly Shifter, Blue FX Devices Fuzz Fields and Gamechanger’s Motor Synth - all of whom would have been worthy runners-up - while in the end I went for the one that overall ...