New Pedals in the Class of 2025 Pedal-Chain Snapshot = 41

[OCTOBER]  = 9

[NOVEMBER] = 6

[MARCH] = 5

[SEPTEMBER] = 5

[AUGUST] = 4

[JANUARY] = 3

[FEBRUARY]  = 3

[APRIL] = 2

[JUNE] = 2

[MAY] = 1

[JULY] = 1

[A-Z by Brand]

1. Becos FX CompIQ Pro Yuna Soft Knee Blackmer VCA Studio Style Compressor [SEPTEMBER]
2. Blue Colander Grimrobe Dual Cascaded Super Rat [OCTOBER]
3. Blue FX Devices Fuzz Fields Ultimate Modulated Fuzz [SEPTEMBER]
4. Boss RT-2 Rotary Ensemble Leslie / Rotary Speaker

So this Orama is a wonderful take on the early Orange 120 style of Amplifier from 1974, combined with legendary 90’s Boutique Fuzz - the Frantone Peachfuzz from 1997.

We have 6 controls on the Amp side, and 4 controls for the Fuzz. We also get the typical Send / Return FX Loop that Chrisots normally includes on his Dual Pedals. The two voicings here combine really beautifully - adding further richer textures and harmonics into the mix.

Controls - ORANGE AMP SIDE } Master Volume, High ...

36 outstanding Boost and Overdrive pedals  featured here in various sizes - 35 of which are already in the reference collection - with the Superlunar SR-01 the last remaining straggler!

The rules of the game are that I can only finally recommend pedals that I own and have lived with, while I can also feature a few other intended targets in the overview which I fully intend to acquire (like the Superlunar SR-01) - but those can’t feature in the final rankings. So there is only one remaining ...

I came across this recently on Coast Sonic - and then quite forgot where I saw it original - where it took me a further day or two to find it once more. This Multi-Gain pedal is definitely a target for me early next year.

It’s a cool Overdrive pedal with Fixed High Pass Filter, and fully variable Low Pass Filter, Input Gain Attenuation, and Q2 Bias.

The Blue push-button engages a further gain stage - which delivers Distortion and Fuzz tones.

This is a highly stylised and stylish ...

Another super busy month for me - particularly towards the end - with numerous large scale articles out this week. That also coincided with my busiest week of the year for my other day job. Meaning that I was up until 4-5 in the morning every day - just to keep up with my commitments.

I was already somewhat shattered and burned out before I even got to this super busy period - and it’s a relief that all that work has now been completed on schedule.

I’m especially proud of my work on the Bucket ...

Interestingly - the original compact JHS Kilt has typically been my least favourite Expandora take. To me it was somewhat cold and dense - and not nearly bright enough or sufficiently expressive. I hate brining in the wet blanket analogy once more - but that was my experience of the original take. Your typical Expandora’s tend to be quite more vibrant than JHS’s original take.

And it’s almost as if someone read my critique - because all my then niggles have been addressed in this new version. It...

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...

My close association with Thorpy started back in late September of 2018 - at the now defunct Olympia UK Guitar Show. He was the first pedal maker I reached out to, and the first I connected with.

Since then ThorpyFX Pedals have become my 3rd most populous selection after Boss and Drunk Beaver. Those 3 brands alone contribute over 200 pedals to my reference collection!

The fact that I’m now at 31 ThorpyFX Pedals is a major milestone - and features every mainline MKII pedal Thorpy has made. ...

Third in the Silicon Steel Series - following on from the excellent Boost, and Overdrive pedals, we now have probably the best of the 3. It delivers an utterly unique harmonic and somewhat refined output profile - whose breakup sounds slightly soft-clipping if anything, actually you would probably best describe it as ’creamy’ - the incredibly texture of this Distortion is due to a number of factors. This is next level engineering for sure!

"The Diodes are top secret Silicon Signal Diodes. ...