David has massively evolved his 2017 mini Deep Space Pulsar (DSP) into a monster interactive performance modulator which can absorb 2 separate instrument inputs, and/or a Mic - side-chaining one input against the other, and outputting in a variety of fashions including panning ping-pong stereo. It works brilliantly with just a single input too - but much of the magic happens when you double up on your inputs.

I was particularly enamoured with the interplay between the Rainger FX Snare Trap ...

This has turned out to be the largest category for 2025 with 38 pedals in this selection. As I favour those pedals that I own first, and then the more pedalboard-friendly editions - inevitably there would be some casualties for the year. With the most significant of those being the larger format Meris Enzo X, and the Polyend MESS Multi-Effect Step Sequencer. I know there are some who favour each of those - but they just aren’t targets for me personally.

 I always talk about having a lane - ...

I originally referred to this as a Trem-Fuzz, which is not exactly correct - it has the most amazing and versatile 3 x 3 mode Fuzz, supplemented by a secondary Chopper Circuit - a sort of signal slicer / stutter which with Speed at peak levels delivers Drone and kind of Ring Mod tones - which you then can tune into a particular note / frequency with the Fine-Tune control. The 2nd channel cannot be engaged independently - as it has to chop the fuzz signal to produce an output.

The main left-...

This has been in the works for a while - where I’n delighted to report that I’ve finally got my hands on these exceptional Black, White and Gold Hangman fx pedals - which sound as beautifully richly detailed as they look. These are exactly the type of full-flavour extended range pedals that I so love!

There’s at least one more that I have my eye on - the Tyrannosaur MegaDriver which I will look to pick up next time around. In fact Hangman fx has a new pedal out next month - that I should be...

I’m a huge fan of the power and prowess of the Polyend Step Drum Machine - which I’ve owned for a few months now. Polyend is obviously on something of a roll at the moment - with its newest product coming out so hot on the heels of the Step release.

There’s only an ’Effects List’ so far - which I’ve transcribed into the visual and below - and without the Manual I can’t fully gauge exactly what we have here.

In essence we seem to have a library of 125 stereo effects which can be assigned...

There’s an incredibly rich mix here of no less than 38 killer Modulations, Utilities and Pitch-Shifters - no one does rundowns quite like me! I always dive in at the deep end of things - and give you maximum expansive scope!

There are several here that I don’t have yet, in fact some hat I’m somewhat unlikely to ever have - for reasons of rig compatibility, size and overall sensibilities, practicalities, and preferences!

These 19 are still to be acquired or eventually overlooked :

2024 has been quite the monumental year for me as regards Modulations - with several of my all-time favourite varieties having been added to the reference collection this year, some very recently - including the slightly older Krozz Airborn and Strymon Lex V2 - which I could have gotten in sooner, alongside 3 killer modulations that were released this year :

Modulations added to the Reference Collection in 2024 :

• 2024 : Chorus : PastFX Kurt’s Cologne Small Clone Multi-Era Analog Chorus -

So Fractal Audio Systems has thrown its hat in the ring with its first non-modelling device / unit - the VP4 Virtual Pedalboard Multi-FX Processor - which is quite a departure for the brand.

It’s obviously gunning for Line 6 and Eventide in particular, but also looking to knock out Boss and Strymon Workstation pedals. It has several of its own advantages, but with a number of caveats too. Overall it’s well priced for what it delivers - but for my own preferences it’s still somewhat over-...

I have always liked the look of the Walrus Audio Mako Series of MI Multi-Modulator, D1 Delay, R1 Reverb and ASC1 Amp Cab and Sim. And feel that these latest changes have really propelled some of these to the top of their respective categories - particularly in terms of Compact Enclosure Editions!

The new control interface is actually remarkably simple and intuitive - the knobs above each of the 3 screen segments allow you to click through different ’pages’ or screen of options - where you ...