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2024-GPX-Wampler-EGO76-Compressor-700.jpg

I’m not sure it was Brian’s intention to become a Compressor specialist - but he now has 3 full size offerings covering all the different basis.

 

This time around it’s his UREI 1176 FET Studio Compressor - and for me comes with the perfect complement of controls. Those are pretty much exactly the control parameters that I would specify for a compressor :

 

Controls - Tone, Attack, Release, Level, Blend, Compress.

 

On the stock EGO variety (supposedly based on Ross Compressor), he has ...

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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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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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MIDI is essential to getting the most out of the 2 Kernom Pedals - the Moho Magmatic Fuzz, and Ridge Augmented Overdrive

Big Muff Style FuzzFuzzFuzz Face Style FuzzFuzz-Drive and FuzzstortionGated and Velcro FuzzGermanium FuzzHotone EffectsKernomLoop-SwitcherMaestro Style FuzzModulated FuzzOctave FuzzOddball FuzzOpAmp FuzzRat Style FuzzSilicon FuzzSuper-Fuzz StyleTone Bender Style FuzzUtility+-
2024-GPX-Kernom-Moho-MIDI-V2-700.jpg

In my recent review of the Kernom Moho Magmatic Fuzz - I already lauded it to the high rafters as the greatest Multi-Fuzz pedal ever created. It’s the perfect tool for proper fuzz fans - and in particular for those who have fully mastered the relatively tricky Zvex Fuzz Factory and similar - all those should get along with the Moho fabulously. Newbie fuzz fans may find the device a little tricky to dial in - as every knob impacts the texture and tonality of the output - so pretty much all 6 ...

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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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Pedal Chain State of Power for 2024

Best in ClassCioksFriedman EffectsNux FXPower SuppliesStrymonUtility+-
2024-GPX-SK-Power-Supplies-700-P2.jpg

I hadn’t intended to upgrade my power supply infrastructure this year - but was kind of compelled to because of the recent Poly VERBS addition to the chain. The Poly VERBS needs 500mA, so I swapped over the supplies for the VERBS and Hologram Microcosm slots - as the Friedman Power Grid was powering the particular VERBS slot and only delivers 350mA - which turns out is actually not enough for either pedal (Microcosm states 400mA requirement). The Microsm kind of works with no noticeable ...

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2024-GPX-KMA-Machines-Endgame-Duality-Calibrator-700.jpg

As mentioned, the KMA Machines Endgame Duality Calibrator has been several years in the making, and no expense has been spared in delivering the ultimate end-of-chain tone-enhancer - this thing is wholly feature-packed!

 

It combines True Stereo Double-Tracking, with stereo width enhancement, with Stereo FX Loop, Celestion IR / Cab Sim, with further Tube Power Amp Sim - options for Bluetooth or TRS inputs, alongside Ambient Space Simulation, and a plethora of connectivity - with pertinent ...

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Vox releases second quartet of NuTube-powered Valvenergy Pedals - an EQ, Compressor, Treble Booster, and Tube Overdrive

BoostBoost and OverdriveCompressorEQTube OverdriveUtilityVox Amplifcation+-
2024-GPX-New-Vox-Quartet-700.jpg

So a couple of years after the Valvenergy Series launch - Vox has 4 more NuTube candidates for your consideration, where the template has supposedly been somewhat refined and simplified. I believe the first 4 were originally priced at around £169 (c. $215), where currently they go for £119 / $129.

 

The original quartet consisted of VE-CD Copperhead Drive Distortion (Plexi), VE-CE Cutting Edge Distortion (Tight Metal), VE-ME Mystic Edge (AC30), and VE-SD Silk Drive (Fender Black Face). Of ...

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2024-GPX-Ground-Control-UWU-Virtual-Pet-Buffer-700.jpg

There seems to be something of a trend now to incorporate interactive computer graphics into pedal displays - and this UwU Virtual Pet Buffer kind of takes it a step further than most.

 

It’s obviously part novelty device - while it of course serves a proper core function. The thing is - the OLED screen is way too small to mean anything from a standing / floor-based stompbox position. So if you want to use the extra functions it really means deploying this in a table-top arrangement - as you ...

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2024-GPX-Drunk-Beaver-Rivne-Compressor-700.jpg

Rivne Compressor (fun naming - as the Rivne city name could be translated as ’Flat’). It’s Vitalii’s take on classic Dyna Comp / Ross Compressor circuits with some necessary mods : clean signal blend, better high impedance input buffer, must-have attack switch (classic / shorter / longer), and a tone control to get back the highs usually lost due to compression itself.

 

A few interesting design choices here. After much research Vitalii found that Japanese versions of that classic circuit (...

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