My mood is one of bemusement on considering this matchup - and you will note that I did not feature the REVV Northern Mauler when it was launched last November - as I considered it a slightly lesser rip-off of the Klirrton Grindstein, and now EHX has launched the Hell Melter - a slightly lesser equivalent to the KMA Guardian of the Wurm - all 4 are pictured above, and at the start of this overview I must say I’m somewhat overwhelmingly biased in favour of my own king-sized reigning champions of...
This article has been such a long time coming - I last did a compact high gain distortion pedal roundup all the way back in 2019 - where only 24 featured. This time around I was determined to have it as comprehensive as possible, and like the recent 32 Overdrive and 32 Mini Fuzz selections - I was determined to have all in my reference collection.
I’ve long been a fan of heavier / metal textures and tones, and have always had certain pedal-chain slots dedicated to high gain pedals - in ...
2021 was another very significant year for me - and one that signals that I probably need to slow down now - as I picked up well over 200 new pedals during the year - which really is excessive. Storage is starting to become an issue - and I will need to be a lot more prudent and strategic in my acquisitions next year!
So more than 200 new ones, and in fact 25 slots were switches up during the year - where only 12 were totally untouched and unchanged. A slew of new gain pedals as always - ...
The Boost, Overdrive and Distortion category is the most heavily contested, and indeed the most heavily congested category this year. I started with a Longlist of more than 70 and whittled down to the 39 featured here. Note that for balance I have included Rat pedals in the Fuzz Category already listed. This list features some of the more subtle fuzz-edged / fuzzy-drive varieties - although there will of course be some slight degree of overlap.
Featured above and listed here are 39 ...
2021 has been a magnificent year for the HM-2 Chainsaw / Twin Peaks / Swedish Death Metal Distortion Weapon of Destruction category - punctuated of course by the revival of the OG Boss HM-2 - in the guise of the all-round improved HM-2W Heavy Metal Waza Craft Edition.
6 recent HM-2 style pedals / editions entered the collection this year besides the HM-2W - the Abominable Electronics Pedalboard-friendly Chaotic Evil Ned, Bardic Audo Devices HM-Demon, Lone Wolf Audio Left Hand Wrath, ...
So this is the culmination of my first ever ’Boss Month’ concerted focus on everything Boss! I do hope you enjoyed the broad sweep of all those articles - and had some fun with my speculative projections and suggestions. The natural end to all of that is of course to set out the pedal-chain as a Peak Boss implementation - using what I have within my extensive Boss collection. I of course had to add a few more units - but only a handful really. I’m guessing some who don’t read my text ...
There’s no doubt that I’m a fan of the HM-2 format - and there are some very fine derivations of that circuit out there in all different shapes and sizes. Much like in many parts of my collection I try to assemble a carefully curated selection of the very best examples out there - and obviously there are plenty of new surprises evolving which keep you on your toes.
My original capsule collection was all set to have 7 classic pedals - while there have been a slew of great ...
Readers of this blog will be familiar with my quest to find and collect the very best of HM-2 style twin-peak distortion pedals. The Grindstein is fairly unique in having two complementary channels which you can blend to your own preferences. It’s a unique collaboration between Carsten Pinkle of Klirrton Manufaktur and Metal Producer Kristian Kohle of Kohlkeller Studio fame.
The pedal is best approached via 3 distinct sections / rows :
CHAINSAW CHANNEL
Controls ...
May turned out to be another pretty busy month as far as new releases and the overall collection is concerned. I personally acquired around 20 or so new pedals - with some further acquisitions not having landed yet.
Obviously a fair amount of new Overdrives and Phasers in particular - while May covered most of the key pedal categories in one way or another. And most of the pedal-chain additions for the month have been reviewed or touched on in some way previously - with the exception of the...
Most are aware that the updated and revived Boss HM-2W Heavy Metal is due for imminent release - I believe sometime around June. In order to celebrate that momentous occasion I’ve been building up a sort of capsule collection of some of the very best HM-2 style distortions - specifically in that Black and Orange colourway. Note that I’ve taken liberties with the Klirtonn Grindstein visualisation which is actually currently Black and Red, while I’m going to try to persuade ...