Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
Spruce Effects' Americana States Series Germanium Transistor + JFETs Distortion makes for a very compelling proposition with high aesthetic and sonic appeal
For whatever reason - this is only the second time I cover a Spruce Effects pedal, and much like my earliest 80’s record buying forays - this one had much to do with its cover art! I somewhat got the wrong handle on the recent Spruce Blow-out Sale - which I presumed was a going out of business sale. But no - it was more of a pivot really - selling off remaining stock to put funds into a re-launch of the brand in some V2 rejuvenated guise - to happen as early as this Autumn / Fall. In any case ...
2026 July Pedal-Chain Update - Episode VII - Tremendous Tremulations
Another month filled with strong releases! Too many for me to cope with in short order. I’m still waiting for my Chase Bliss Big Time to land - and Strymon goes ahead and launches the Timeline MX - which is of course also on my list. AC Noises launches its killer Continua, just shortly after I landed my Purr-ting in a similar category. And Native Audio launches the killer In The Water - not too long after I landed my Hotone Verbera. All pedals have specific target slots, and I always want to ...
Spruce Effects Bids Farewell with a Magnificent Blowout Sale
The Spruce Effects Sale kicked off yesterday - Sunday, July 12th at 9:00 AM PST - and of course most everything is already gone!
I was determined to pick up a Limekiln Edition of the Americana States Series - which I very fortunately did!
Note that these are B-stock Editions - typically with some minor surface dings / blemishes. And that some pedals have different styles of metal knobs to those pictured.
It’s sad to see another unique builder retire. I of course wish them luck with ...
In tribute to recording legend Steve Albini's passing - here are 23 representatives of the Fuzz Format he helped popularise - the InterFax Harmonic Percolator HP-1
I last did a roundup selection for Harmonic Percolators back in May 2019 (around 5 years ago!), where this time around I near enough double down on the possible options. Of course the late 70’s Ed Giese designed pedal was absolutely ginormous, and famously with just 2 slider controls - one for ’Harmonics’ or input gain, where the second ’Balance’ one represented Volume / Output. Interestingly this was a hybrid Fuzz circuit - which originally featured 2N404 Germanium, and 2N3565 Silicon ...
