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Line 6 releases ingenious 'My First Fisher-Price' style Beginners All-in-1 Multi-FX Box - the POD Express

Amp and Cab IR SimBoost and OverdriveDistortionEQFuzzLine 6LooperModulationMulti-FXNoise GatePreAmpUtility+-
2024-GPX-Line-6-POD-Express-V2-700.jpg

I was a touch critical about the HX One - possibly overly so - as it’s really decent for what it delivers and how. While I could not be more effusively positive about this new POD Express!

 

For anyone starting out in guitar effects - you get everything you need in one smart little box - with intuitive and mostly surfaced control (vs Noise Gate).

 

If I was thinking of buying in my very first guitar effect pedal - then I don’t think I could do better than this. It contains 7 Amp & Cab ...

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2024-GPX-Catalinbread-Belle-Epoch-Family-700.jpg

We’ve had a number of pedals released into Catalinbread’s Belle Epoch Tape Echo family - starting with the original 2015 compact edition. The Deluxe edition arrived 2 years later, and and 2 years after that we had a large-format Epoch Pre - Preamp/Buffer, which is alas discontinued now.

 

In fact 2024 kind of sees something of a replacement for that Epoch Pre - in the shape of the 4-controls Epoch Bias - Preamp/Bias pedal.

 

The range currently consists of 5 pedals - One large DLX, a mini, ...

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2024 February Pedal-Chain Update - Episode II - Triple Tremolo Flutter

Blues Driver Style OverdriveBoostBoost and OverdriveDistortionDriveDrunk BeaverDumble Style OverdriveFuzzGreer AmpsHotone EffectsKeeley EngineeringLoop-SwitcherMad Professor EffectsMetal DistortionModulated FuzzModulationOctave FuzzOverdrivePedal ChainPreAmpReeves Electro Guitar PedalsSilicon FuzzStone Deaf EffectsTone Bender Style FuzzTremoloTubescreamer Style OverdriveTubesteaderVictory AmpsVox Style DistortionWinnipeg Electrical Co+-
2024-GPX-Pedal-Chain-Update-February-700.jpg

February can often seem a rather odd month after the hustle and bustle of NAMM Show January - where a lot of new stuff always gets announced - while increasingly outside the NAMM schedule - but certainly in and around it! Projects delayed from the previous year often get released in January, but this year those kind of seem to be more spaced out - with some not feted to happen until March / April. February always seems slow compared to January, and that sometimes extends into March too before ...

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It's the turn of the excellent Victory V1 The Copper and The Sheriff Preamp pairing to take on the Brian and Eddie slots of the board

BoostBoost and OverdriveDistortionMarshall Style DistortionOverdrivePreAmpThorpyFXVictory AmpsVox Style Distortion+-
2024-GPX-Victory-V1-Copper-Sheriff-700.jpg

It seems a long while ago now since I reviewed the V1 The Jack and The Kraken - respectively November 14th, and 21st of 2022. I had intended to tackle the remaining 3 Victory V1 pedals - The Copper, The Sheriff and The Duchess - not too long after that - but all kinds of other happenstances and priorities got in the way. So it seems a timely exercise to revisit the Victory V1 Series - which was / is a close collaboration between my good friend Adrian Thorpe and Victory Amps’ Martin Kidd.

 

It...

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Chase Bliss reissues the Condor in new HiFi edition - which delivers lower noise floor, smoother breakup, and more headroom

Boost and OverdriveChase Bliss AudioEnvelope Filter and Auto WahEQMulti-FXPhaserPreAmpTremoloUtility+-
2024-GPX-Chase-Bliss-Condor-HiFi-700.jpg

I’m not sure any of us were really expecting the return of the Condor. A lot of us are rather waiting for a stereo Dark World, the assumption was that the Condor was largely obsoleted by the Automatone Preamp MKII.

 

Yet here we have a new and improved version of that well loved format - and whether this is exciting news depends largely on how you mostly use this pedal.

 

If you mainly use the EQ and Filter elements - then the newer lower noise, smoother breakup and higher headroom HiFi ...

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2024-GPX-Tubesteader-Lightkeeper-V2-700.jpg

This is an incredibly exacting shrink-down of 2021’s Dumble-style Lightkeeper Preamp with the full flavour and all features fully intact - just in a significantly more compact and pedalboard-friendly enclosure.

 

I’m a little late to Vacuum Tube powered pedals - having dithered on the larger varieties by Kingsley and Tubesteader for quite a number of years. I once came pretty close to acquiring a Kingsley Minstrel V3 - but that was about it for a long while. Effectrode’s Tube pedals are cool ...

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Horizon Devices releases its own special take on ultra transparent compression - The Clarity Compressor

Best of BrandsBoostBoost and OverdriveCompressorDelayDigital DelayDigital ReverbDistortionEchoverbHorizon DevicesMetal DistortionOverdrivePreAmpReverbUtility+-
2024-GPX-Horizon-Devices-Quartet-700.jpg

Misha Mannsoor’s Horizon Devices has quietly made its way to 4 superior modern tone enhancers. It kind of set the mould with its specialist Metal tone enhancing Precision Drive, then came its Apex High Gain Preamp, then the Flux Echo/Reverb - and here we have a very unique take on a Compressor.

 

Horizon Devices’ slogan is "Sound great, and be easy to use" and that theme is very clearly carried through all 4 pedals which are about as straightforward a pedals as you might expect to encounter -...

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Brand new Drunk Beaver Webstore is now live and active on Drunk-Beaver.Rocks

Big Muff Style FuzzBlues Breaker Style OverdriveBoostBoost and OverdriveChorus and VibratoDelayDigital DelayDistortionDriveDrunk BeaverFuzzFuzz-Drive and FuzzstortionGermanium FuzzModulationOpAmp FuzzOverdrivePhaserPreAmpRat Style FuzzSilicon FuzzTone Bender Style FuzzTubescreamer Style Overdrive+-
2024-GPX-Drunk-Beaver-Website-700.jpg

I’m delighted to report that my friend and yours Vitalii Bobrov - of Drunk Beaver fame - at last has a proper website / webstore for his pedals - DRUNK-BEAVER.ROCKS - where his full current range of 19 pedals can be purchased - of course when in stock.

 

All these pedals are made in relatively small batches (20 or so at a time) and when there is high demand as there often is - then stock clears out very quickly and then there is typically a wait of around 3-4 weeks before more stock is ready ...

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2024 January Pedal-Chain Update - Episode I - Blues-Driven

Ambient EffectsBig Muff Style FuzzBlues Breaker Style OverdriveBlues Driver Style OverdriveBoostBoost and OverdriveDigital ReverbDistortionDrunk BeaverEnvelope Filter and Auto WahFuzzGermanium FuzzKuro Custom AudioMarshall Style DistortionMetal DistortionModulated FuzzModulationMulti-DriveOneder EffectsOpAmp FuzzOscillating FuzzOverdrivePedal ChainPlate ReverbPoly EffectsPreAmpRack Style ReverbReverbReverb WorkstationShimmer ReverbSinverteksmallsound/bigsoundSpacey ReverbSpring ReverbSubdecay EffectsTone Bender Style FuzzTremoloTru-Fi Guitar EffectsVictory AmpsWinnipeg Electrical Co+-
2024-GPX-Pedal-Chain-Update-January-700.jpg

So 2024 is off to a pretty spirted start! I treaded myself to 2 pedals right at the tail end of the year - the Poly VERBS puts in an appearance in this month’s selection - while the Reeves Electro BHS-D is running a touch late and will be part of the February selection instead.

 

This time of the year has to be mostly about NAMM - while I feel that a lot of builders kind of took away from NAMM and launched / showcased their new release in advance!

 

I’ve still to make it to NAMM - timing’s ...

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Zoom release a compelling 200-Flavours Compact Gain Workstation - the MultiStomp MS-200D+

BoostBoost and OverdriveDistortionDriveDrive WorkstationDual-DriveFuzzMetal DistortionMulti-DriveOverdrivePreAmpZoom FX+-
2024-GPX-Zoom-MultiStomp-MS-200Dplus-V2-700.jpg

As soon as I saw this I thought - ’mini Boss OD-200’ - at least in concept. Zoom effects are fully DSP as far as I’m aware - so we don’t get a JFET input section like on the Boss and Strymon Hybrid / Digital gain pedals - while there should still be plenty of interesting flavours to be found here. The Bixonic Axentrix and Mooer Model X Preamp X2 were both instrumental in convincing me that you can get really decent gain voicings just from digital - also the Neunaber Neuron - all stand-alone ...

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