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The GPX take on the recent Warm Audio 'Replicas' - Josh Scott asked did they go too far with their recent editions?

BoostBoost and OverdriveDumble Style OverdriveFoxx ElectronicsFulltone EffectsFuzzGuitar Pedal 101HermidaKlonKlone and Transparent OverdriveLovepedalModulationMu-TronOCD Style OverdriveOctave FuzzOverdrivePhaserRolandWarm Audio+-
2023-GPX-Warm-Audio-Plagiarism-700.jpg

Many who read my blog don’t know that I used to work in advertising - mostly brand origination / development - and we dealt with a lot of copyright and trademark issues over that time. You quickly get a feel for how close you can sail into the wind - and the truth is mostly not that close at all! Of all of these replicas only probably the first one could be argued away against a top copyright lawyer - the other 5 would pretty much come under straight-up plagiarism - but there are other factors ...

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15 of the Best Compact Enclosure Vox in a Box style Overdrives

AMT EffectsAMT ElectronicsBearfoot FXBispell AudioBoostBoost and OverdriveBossCarl MartinCatalinbreadDriveGreer AmpsLovepedalM.A.D. EffectsMenatoneOverdrivePettyjohn ElectronicsVictory AmpsVox AmplifcationVox Style DistortionWestminster Effects+-
2023-GPX-Vox-Style-Pedals-700.jpg

It’s been a while since I last did a Vox-in-a-box roundup - in fact all the way back to my 2018 12 of the Best Vox Style Pedals feature - so it was about time I did an update. Readers will know that I always have a Vox pedal in my pedal-chain - occupying what is now slot #17.

 

It started with the Catalinbread Galileo way back when - and then following this rough sequence :

  1. Catalinbread Galileo
  2. Bearfoot FX Emerald Green Distortion Machine Silver (Silicon) - longest raining to-date
...
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32 of the Best Mini Fuzz Pedals - 2022 Ultimate Selection

AnalogWise PedalsBest in ClassBig Muff Style FuzzDeadFXDecibelicsD-SoundDunlop EffectsEl Músico Loco FXEWS EffectsFeaturedFortin AmpsFree Fall DiverFunction F(X)FuzzFuzz Face Style FuzzFuzz-Drive and FuzzstortionGated and Velcro FuzzGermanium FuzzIbanezJHS PedalsKO AmpsLovepedalMaestro Style FuzzMalekko Heavy IndustryModulated FuzzMXRMythos PedalsNFYFXOctave FuzzOddball FuzzOneControlOpAmp FuzzOscillating FuzzPigtronixRainger FXRat Style FuzzSilicon FuzzSuper-Fuzz StyleTone Bender Style FuzzWamplerZvex+-
2022GPX32MiniFuzz700.jpg

Much like with the recent 32 of the Best Compact Overdrive Selection I now own all these Mini Fuzz Pedals featured here. Actually where the Decibelics The Reverend (Mini Expandora) has yet to be officially released - I should be receiveing the latest prototype any day now, and judging by Guillem Vilademunt’s previous Mini Masterpieces we have every reason to look forward to that one.

 

Other than that - everything is now in the collection - while this larger quest is nowhere near complete yet...

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In honour of Howard Alexander Dumble's Legacy - 18 of the best Dumble ODS Style Compact Overdrive Pedals

BJFEBoostBoost and OverdriveCause & Effect PedalsCornerstone Music GearDemon PedalsDumble Style OverdriveGTown AmpsHoward Alexander DumbleJ RockettJetter GearJRADLovepedalMad Professor EffectsMenatoneMojo Hand FXMXROverdriveProvidence PedalsShin's MusicStudio DaydreamTanabeVertex EffectsWamplerWilson Effects+-
2022GPX18CompactDumbleODS700V2.jpg

I had been meaning to do this exercise for quite some time - and have had a number of readers chasing me up about it - since my last Dumble Style Pedal overview was way back in February of 2019, and where I listed my then 9 favourite candidates - including three that I owned. This time around I’ve thrown 18 hats into the ring or twice as many as the last roundup.

 

The delay occurred  in part because I was waiting for my friend Brian Mena to officially launch his V2 Dumbstruck pedal - which ...

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12 Degrees of Transmogrification : 2020 Key Modulation Categories Edition

12 Degrees of SaturationA/DA AmpsAlexander PedalsAnasoundsBitcrushing and Lo-FiBossCatalinbreadChase Bliss AudioChorus and VibratoCKK ElectronicsCoda EffectsCrazy Tube CircuitsCryBabyDawner Prince EffectsDigiTechDOD EffectsDryBell EffectsDunlop EffectsElectro-HarmonixEnvelope Filter and Auto WahFeaturedFlangerFlower PedalsFunction F(X)IbanezJAM PedalsJHS PedalsKeeley EngineeringLovepedalMad Professor EffectsMalekko Heavy IndustryModulationMooerMr Black PedalsMu-TronMXRNative AudioNeo InstrumentsOneControlPhaserPigtronixRetro-SonicRotary SpeakerSentimental Bob ElectronicsSource AudioStone Deaf EffectsSubdecay EffectsSwindler EffectsTC ElectronicTone CityTremoloUni-Vibe and VibeVS AudioWalrus AudioWMD Devices+-
2020GPX12DegreesOfTransmogrification700V2.jpg

This is the 4th of my recent ’12 Degrees’ Series - this time moving beyond the boundaries of gain / saturation into the area of modulation. There are of course many more than the 12 modulations I have selected here - there are aliasing, ring modulation and lo-fi signal degeneration effects as well as more complex multi-combo effects, splicers and complex pattern modulators - including for instance the excellent recent Big Ear Albie. Of course the more obscure the category of ...

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12 Degrees of Saturation : 2020 Key Overdrive Categories Edition

12 Degrees of SaturationAion ElectronicsAnalog.ManBarber ElectronicsBearfoot FXBJFEBlues Breaker Style OverdriveBlues Driver Style OverdriveBO EffectsBogner AmplificationBoost and OverdriveBosscmatmodsCrowther AudioCustom TonesDanDrive PedalDecibelicsDemon PedalsDumble Style OverdriveFeaturedFoxpedalF-PedalsFree The ToneFulltone EffectsFunction F(X)Greer AmpsHamstead SoundworksHot Cake Style OverdriveJ RockettJackson AudioJetter GearJHS PedalsJoyo EffectsKeeley EngineeringKlone and Transparent OverdriveKuro Custom AudioLovepedalMad Professor EffectsMenatoneMI EffectsMontreal AssemblyMooerMXRMythos PedalsNobelsNordland ElectronicsOCD Style OverdriveODR Style OverdriveOverdrivePaul CochranePedal DiggersPickdropperSarno Music SolutionsSnouse Electric CompanySpaceman EffectsThorpyFXTimmyTrue North PedalsTsakalis Audio WorksTubescreamer Style OverdriveTweed Style OverdriveVemuramVFE PedalsVick AudioWamplerWay Huge Effects+-
2020GPX12DegreesOverdriveEdition700V2.jpg

So this is one of most significant works in a while, and carries on the legacy of two of my most popular all-time articles on the 12 Degrees of Saturation - the Original that evolved in the early months of 2017, and the follow-up which materialised in September of 2018.

 

I obviously deal with a lot of reader inquiries pretty much on a daily basis, and one of the more popular lines of inquiry has been about overdrives. And while Josh Scott attests to the fact that there are only 5 core ...

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6 of the Best All-Rounder Relatively Compact Dual-Channel / Multi-Voice / Multi-Drive Pedals

Big Muff Style FuzzBlues Breaker Style OverdriveBlues Driver Style OverdriveBoostBoost and OverdriveBossBrown Sound DistortionChase Bliss AudioDistortionDriveDual-DriveDumble Style OverdriveFuzzFuzz-Drive and FuzzstortionKeeley EngineeringKlone and Transparent OverdriveLovepedalMarshall Style DistortionMetal DistortionMulti-DriveOCD Style OverdriveOverdriveStrymonTubescreamer Style OverdriveWampler+-
20206BestMediumDualDrivePedals700.jpg

This article was triggered by a question from Ryan C who wanted my take on the Boss OD-200 vs the Strymon Sunset - and why the latter was a more permanent part of my own pedal-chain versus the seemingly more capable and full-featured OD-200 - which I will endeavour to answer here as best I can.

 

I decided to widen the selection as far as possible and get in a few more alternatives for sake of comparison - while that task proved a lot tricker than I had foreseen. The key criteria were to...

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Josh Smith's Pedalboard Dynamics and Essential Tone Components

ArtistArrayBoostDanelectroDelayDelay WorkstationDigital DelayDigital ReverbDriveDunlop EffectsEchoverbEventideGFI SystemHarmonizerJosh SmithKing Tone EffectsLoop-SwitcherLovepedalMarshall Style DistortionModulationModulation WorkstationMorningstar FXMythos PedalsOctaverOverdrivePitchPitch-ShiftingPower SuppliesReverbReverb WorkstationTC ElectronicToneQuestTubescreamer Style OverdriveTunersUtilityVemuramWah and Fixed Wah+-
2020GPXJoshSmithPedalboard700.jpg

So I seem to have fallen into something of a Josh Smith ToneQuest phase of late. I’ve always been a fan of his core signature tone/s while not necessarily the biggest fan of his musical output per se. His first influence on me was his signature Eventide H9 Rotary preset - which settings I share in this post. I have somewhat fallen into using my own H9 mostly in Josh’s Rotary mode - with a few choice reverbs and delays too, but modulations generally coming from other parts of my pedal-chain.

 ...

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4 More Notable Dynamic Compact Overdrive Pedals

Boost and OverdriveLovepedalMI EffectsSpaceman EffectsWalrus Audio+-
2020GPX4NotableDynamicOverdrives700.jpg

A reader pulled me up on the fact that I had not included the Walrus Audio 385 Overdrive in my recent 28 Best Compact Overdrives roundup. In fact, as I stated then - there were a number of equally great overdrives that just missed out on that listing for a variety of reasons, but still deserve a mention.

 

This post seeks to highlight a few more exceptional overdrives which really play on touch-sensitivity and feel and pick-attack - where playing technique is a significant part of the ...

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28 of the Best Mini Fuzz Pedals - 2019 Edition

AnalogWise PedalsBig Muff Style FuzzDeadFXD-SoundDunlop EffectsEl Músico Loco FXEWS EffectsFree Fall DiverFunction F(X)FuzzFuzz Face Style FuzzFuzz-Drive and FuzzstortionGated and Velcro FuzzGermanium FuzzHendrix EffectsIbanezJHS PedalsJimi HendrixKO AmpsLovepedalMalekko Heavy IndustryModulated FuzzMooerMXRMythos PedalsNFYFXOctave FuzzOddball FuzzOneControlOpAmp FuzzOscillating FuzzPigtronixRainger FXRat Style FuzzSilicon FuzzSuper-Fuzz StyleSviSoundTone Bender Style FuzzZvex+-
2019fBlg28MiniFuzz700.jpg

When I started this roundup a few years ago, there were only 9 pedals in my selection, while this latest edition has 28 - which will likely be the maximum number I display here - I will just ongoingly swap in newer and more interesting pedals as and when I come across them - for future roundups.

 

I’ve long since singled out Fuzz Pedals as being particularly suitable for the mini format - and in fact my first long-term pedal-chain fuzz was the still excellent EWS Little Fuzzy Drive...

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