And here we have the GRAND FINAL- with all 36 Award Winners from the Group Stages - across all 5 categories!

The first two places have kind of been obvious for a while, where the 3rd / BRONZE position was actually the hardest to decide on - it was between the eventual recipient - the Tubesteader Gainlord, Boss’s XS-100 Poly Shifter, Blue FX Devices Fuzz Fields and Gamechanger’s Motor Synth - all of whom would have been worthy runners-up - while in the end I went for the one that overall ...

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 - ...

So we’re at that time of year again for another Full Metal Racket Rundown. I meant to have it coincide with halloween - but was so inundated with new releases work - that I really struggled to fit this one in. And it now appears a month later than I wanted it to - but still very much at the appropriate end of the year!

As is ever the case - this selection continues to evolve over the years - and inevitably some previous candidates get bounced for more impressive newer variants.

For this...

I personally find it sightly infuriating when demoers announce something as gamechanging which is anything but. In this sense TONEX is largely playing catch-up with the industry’s current leaders in that space - Boss, Fender and Nux.

Each of their solutions has compelling reasons for acquisition - but in truth it’s mostly about what core platform you’re mainly subcribed to. If you largely play though Boss Katana Amps like I do - then the Katana : GO is the natural extension for that ...

A Bucket Brigade Device (BBD) is an analog electronic circuit (Integrated Circuit Chip) that delays an audio signal by using a series of capacitors to ’hold’ and ’pass’ tiny samples of the signal, much like a line of people passing buckets of water. The signal is moved from one capacitor to the next within each ’Clock Cycle’, and the speed of this transfer can be adjusted to change the Delay Time - typically regulated by a further ’Clock Chip’.

In accordance with this feature, the Max Delay...

Another super busy month - where the lack of a holiday is really starting to impact my wellbeing - as I’m about as shattered and burned out as is possible without going entirely into meltdown - I’m teetering on the edge!

Here follow the highlights of the month - which I normally try to limit to around 10 elements - but stand at 12 for September. No show or onside attendances this month - while plenty of other activities - and some killer releases of course!

• Jo Quail @ the Roland Store,

Over two years in the making, Boss has evolved pitch-shifting to a more pristine clear and precise glitch-free style of Polyphonic Pitch-Shifting. Most previous efforts deliver a somewhat ’effected’ signal - where unwanted artificial and additional artefacts are typically added into the mix. This new generation of XS Polyphonic Pitch-Shifters gives you the most precise pitch-shifting experience to-date.

These devices have very much been optimised for high-gain drop-tuning players - who have...

I would like to start by thanking my sister Katrín (Bína) for accompanying me to the Jo Quail Masterclass / Loop Station Showcase / Performance - she took near enough all the best pictures here - and the video excerpt below - those are all hers - I should bring her along more often! We both really enjoyed ’experiencing’ Jo Quail - whose immersive microtonal symphonies take you entirely out of this world!

Jo spoke of sculpture and sound design, and being inspired by the national treasure ...

August turned out a little bit different than expected. Not so many releases - as expected - but really busy regardless - with a number of Marquee Events and Articles throughout the month. With the king of the crop being the Extended Capacitor Primer - to which I’ve just added a further section on Capacitor Lifespan. Obviously I hit 15,000 followers on Instagram - which is a significant achievement - a really killer month all-round with some big articles - meaning I’m a little bit burned out ...