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2024-GPX-MXR-Gran-Torino-Boost-Overdrive700.jpg

I believe this is mostly just a pivot on 2015’s Custom Shop Il Torino Boost - now with a slightly different name and very attractive racing stripes look. I’m not sure how much changed the circuit is - while I would imagine this is a full SMT build by now - with the earlier Custom Shop version possibly a little more THT in construction surely.

 

A really handy / multi-purpose warm sounding MOSFET circuit Boost / Overdrive pedal which with its 3-Band EQ is a supremely versatile front of chain ...

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2024-GPX-MXR-Joshua-Ambient-Echo-700.jpg

Colour me impressed! MXR has done an incredible job here of giving you the Edge’s Ambient Effects - as deployed on the 1987 Joshua Tree album - which I believe mostly means a smart take on the TC 2290 Rack Unit.

 

The compact form factor somewhat disguises the complexity and prowess of the pedal - which has full stereo ins and outs via TRS Cables, and no less than 18 parameters across 6 knobs and with a total 9 controls - with the Echo 2 and Trails buttons triggering secondary and tertiary ...

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Rob Chapman's All-Time Favourite Guitar Pedals

Amp and Cab IR SimAtomic AmpsBad Cat AmplifiersBlues Driver Style OverdriveBoostBoost and OverdriveBossCryBabyDawner Prince EffectsDelayDelay WorkstationDigital DelayDigital ReverbDigiTechDistortionElectro-HarmonixEQFuzzG-Lab Guitar LaboratoryGuitar Synth and SequencerJim DunlopKlone and Transparent OverdriveKorgMarshall Style DistortionModulationMooerMXRMythos PedalsNeunaberOctave FuzzOddball ModulationODR Style OverdriveOverdrivePitchPitch-ShiftingPreAmpReverbReverb WorkstationRob ChapmanRockBoxSilicon FuzzThropyFXUAFXUniversal AudioUtilityVemuramVox Style DistortionWah and Fixed WahZvex+-
2023-GPX-Rob-Chapman-Favourite-Pedals-700.jpg

So right at the end of last month Rob Chapman posted up a YouTube video of a rundown of his all-time favourite guitar pedals. He initially states he’s going to name his 10 most favoured ones - but goes on to mention 20 - which I’ve fully included here.

 

Rob has a great ear for tone - as countless of his own and Anderton’s videos have proven time and time again. And I really love his everyman approach to guitar gear. I’ve encountered him in person 2 or 3 times now over the years - and he’s ...

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4 Cool Germanium + Silicon Hybrid 2 and 3 Transistor Fuzzes acquired over the last couple of months

FuzzFuzz Face Style FuzzGermanium FuzzHello Sailor EffectsLoe SoundsMXRSilicon FuzzSpaceman Effects+-
2023-GPX-4-GeSi-Hybrid-Fuzzes-700.jpg

So pedals are often like buses - in that you don’t get a certain type for a while but then all of a sudden you get a cluster of pedals appearing in sequence - all with notable similarities, as happened with this selection.

 

It’s occasionally difficult to remember in exactly what order they landed, but I’m pretty sure the MXR Custom Shop Hybrid Fuzz came first, followed by the Spaceman Charon, then Loe Sounds BLow, and finally the Hello Sailor Effects Abbey Road Hybrid Fuzz.

 

Unlike where ...

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MXR Celebrates 20 Years of its Zakk Wylde Collaboration with reissues of its Wylde Audio Trifecta - Chorus, Overdrive and Phase

BoostBoost and OverdriveChorus and VibratoModulationMXROverdrivePhaserTubescreamer Style OverdriveWylde Audio+-
2023-GPX-Wylde-Audio-20YA-700.jpg

Those familiar swirly shapes are back! - with some new designs of those geometric patterns - and mostly with colour-coordinated LED at the centre of the swirl.

 

I believe the Chorus and Phase are mostly just the corresponding MXR Analog Chorus and Phase 90 in different enclosures - while there may be some very slight tweaks to those circuits. I can’t recall whether the Overdrive (Based on Boss SD-1) ever existed as a standard MXR pedal too - there’s certainly not another in the range ...

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A fair and balanced contemporary appraisal of the new Ross Pedals versus their MXR sort of equivalents

Chorus and VibratoCompressorDistortionFuzzModulationMXRPhaserRoss EffectsRoss ElectronicsUni-Vibe and VibeUtility+-
2023-GPX-Ross-vs-MXR-700.jpg

Revisionist history is all pervasive these days - with overly romanticised and fantasised origin stories somewhat lacking in total ’nothing but the truth’ saliency. I witnessed many a healthy debate recently where some people were citing the JHS videos as some sort of wholly impartial official factual record of that time - rather than the cleverly scripted promos that they were. Of course there was a veneer of realism to them, but no proper mentions of the original motivations or business ...

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Personal Uni-Vibe Capsule Collection is up to 14

Colortone PedalsDigiTechDryBell EffectsEarthQuaker DevicesFjord FuzzFlower PedalsFormula B PedalsHorrothia EffectsJHS PedalsModulationMXRRitual DevicesThorpyFXTru-Fi Guitar EffectsUni-Vibe and Vibe+-
2923-GPX-Uni-Vibe-Capsule-Collection-700.jpg

This year has seen a number of additions to my Uni-Vibe roster - where 9 of the 14 featured here are proper bulb / photocell varieties - indicated by the bulb icon. Some of these have Uni-Vibe as secondary voices, and some are very slightly adjacent or produce Uni-Vibe tones via other means.

 

New additions this year have been the Colortone Roundhouse, EQD The Depths, Fjord Fuzz Njord, Formula B Vintage-Vibe, ThorpyFX ER-2, and and Tru-Fi Ghost Vibe. For the longest time I just had 2 Uni-...

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16 of the most notable 'Bread & Butter' Pedals!

Analog DelayAnalog.ManBehringerBig Muff Style FuzzBlues Breaker Style OverdriveBoostBoost and OverdriveBossCompressorDelayDistortionDriveDual-DriveEarthQuaker DevicesElectro-HarmonixFulltone EffectsFuzzFuzz Face Style FuzzFuzz-Drive and FuzzstortionGermanium FuzzGreer AmpsGuitar Pedal 101IbanezIconic GearJHS PedalsKeeley EngineeringKlone and Transparent OverdriveLooperMXROCD Style OverdriveOrigin EffectsOverdriveSilicon FuzzSuper-Fuzz StyleTC ElectronicThorpyFXTubescreamer Style OverdriveUtilityXotic EffectsZvex+-
2023-GPX-Bread-n-Butter-Pedals-700.jpg

I’m expecting this post to attract a lot of ’whataboutisms’ as many of my rundowns seem to do. While every single choice / selection here is well considered, pondered upon on and properly weighted up against pertinent criteria and then further rationalised, whittled and distilled down into a top 9 or 16 or 25 - as I always favour symmetrical grids.

 

If I find 18 or 19 suitable candidates - then only 16 can be featured on the grid etc. - you need to draw the line somewhere. And you can also ...

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2023-GPX-MXR-Hybrid-Fuzz-700.jpg

MXR’s new Hybrid Fuzz is its prettiest pedal to date - utilising Moorish / Arabian architecture as part of that pedal’s aesthetic.

 

Inside you have a Hybrid Fuzz Face circuit - where one of the Gain stages is a Germanium Transistor and the Second Transistor is Silicon. So as you raise the ’Fuzz’ dial you go from the smooth, shaggy warmth of the Germanium Transistor, to the snarling, high-gain aggression of a Silicon Transistor.

 

You only have two controls at your disposal here - Volume ...

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The Inaugural London Synth & Pedal Expo takes place at Motel Studios, Hoxton - TOMORROW - See you there!

Beetronics FXBleak District ElectricBlurry PedalBossChase Bliss AudioCicognaniCioksCollision DevicesCornerstone Music GearCrazy Tube CircuitsDaredevil PedalsDarkglass ElectronicsDeath By AudioDreadbox FXDryBell EffectsDunlop ManufacturingEarthQuaker DevicesEmma ElectronicsEmpress EffectsEventideGreat Eastern FX Co.Guitar Gear ResourcesGuitar Gear RetailGurus AmpsJ RockettJackson AudioKeeley EngineeringKMA AudioKorgKSR AmplificationMaxonMeris EffectsMXRNobelsNuTektOld Blood Noise EndeavorsOrigin EffectsPeterson TunersPRS GuitarsPRS PedalsRainger FXSolidGoldFXSource AudioTwo Notes Audio EngineeringValco FXVemuramWalrus AudioWay Huge Effects+-
2023-GPX-Stomp-Box-Exhibit-London-2023-700.jpg

With me being a pedal aficionado first and foremost - that’s obviously my main area of focus for this imminent show and the above pedal brand visual - while there is an equal amount of killer Synth brands present too - as listed below.

 

This London Synth & Pedal Expo is my good friend Paolo De Gregorio’s first UK Event - who always has a fantastic multi-brand Stompbox Exhibit Booth at the NAMM Shows - and has organised a series of events for several years now throughout the North ...

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