This is one of the very best 2-Transistor Fuzzes I’ve experienced - it pays to check the instructions on this one though - as the Tone and Body controls are both inverted - going from Maximum to Minimum values! That sort of thing can at times catch me out a little!

So in one respect this is a Classic Fuzz Face, while in another it’s really a Fuzz Factory 7 style Fuzz Face - with very similar controls to that more evolved circuit.

It is therefore essentially my 5th Fuzz Factory proper - ...

It seems like the world-beating Cali76 Compact Deluxe FET Compressor is finally about to be knocked off its commanding perch - by an even better engineered and finessed replacement, which now includes a 10-LED Bar Graph Gain Reduction Meter for the first time so you can properly witness this Compressor’s superb agility and speed!

Everything you loved about the Cali76 is very much intact on this new model, but with an increased 24V Higher Headroom, further optimised all-analogue signal path,...

An interesting fact is that this collaboration almost happened several years ago, but evidently the timing wasn’t right then for various reasons. This time around though there was an added ingredient in the mix - ’Yours Truly!’ - and I was somewhat instrumental in bringing the two sides together and finally making this happen!

It’s great news for us Brits - as these Lastgasp Art Laboratories Pedals have always been somewhat beyond our reach until now.

I obviously recently covered my 9 ...

This is truly quite a feat of engineering, and it’s all so beautifully executed too. That said Boss’s Katana : Go had a useful tiny screen, and Bluetooth connectivity to its app - which this devices could really have benefitted from. I’ve long grown tired of having to USB-cable-connect my pedals to a laptop app for updates - it should all really just be bluetooth to an iOS or Android mobile phone app by now.

In any case, the operation of this device could not be easier - you first of course...

So back in and around 1975 there was a large aluminium box with red and black graphics made by Systech, and which had an open 9V battery bay built right into the front facia. It had just 3 controls - Bandwidth, Center Frequency, and Gain - which were instrumental in delivering the classic Frank Zappa sound of that era! The Gain knob sweep was fairly expansive, but not too heavy on the breakup until later along the taper - rather an amplitude control for most of the sweep - although it did climb...

I’ve been on something of a Tremolo kick this year - I decided that said capsule collection was a little slim in comparison to my other modulation categories - so I determined that I would focus on Tremolo for 2024.

The Drunk Beaver Chernivtsi Trembita Optical Tremolo kick-started this year’s journey, and I already have the Lastgasp Flikrrr and Tru-Fi Ultra Tremolo inbound - which will take that capsule to 15.

I had further identified around 8 or 10 targets for the reference collection ...

Around the same time last year as Luca Romanelli announced the retirement of Mastro Valvola, my good friend Mike Vickery announced that his Vick Audio would cease pedal production too. Not many know that Mike was my Big Muff Mentor really, and I really got the full grasp on what distinguished one Big Muff variety from another - via a series of highly involved chats with Mike back in 2020.

Mike is / was one of the very best producers of Big Muff style fuzzes - with the general acceptance ...

I always get pangs of sorrow when a pedal brand retires for one reason or another. Late last year Luca Romanelli announced that he was pulling the plug on his Mastro Valvola pedal brand - which at times I have referred to as ’The Strymon of Italy’.

There are so many complications and complexities with pedal-building in general - chip sets and key components increasingly harder to source, and numerous challenges with logistics and red tape. It’s a wonder more of these don’t go to the wire. ...

I say the Rabea Sabre is fully available - while noting that the Limited 30 Run Frenzied Flame Burst Edition sold out in just a couple of days or so. The Standard Vileblood Burst will be available at all Music Man Dealers, including at Andertons - where it’s priced @ £4,299 (Music Man = $3999).

My upper ceiling for guitar acquisitions is usually at £3.5K, but I would most definitely make an exception for this fantastic guitar. It’s designated as a Sabre Model - but there are so many cool ...