Ambient EffectsAnalog DelayBeetronics FXBlack MountainBuzzing Bugs Audio DevicesColortone PedalsConvolution ReverbCornerstone Music GearCosmodio InstrumentsCrazy Tube CircuitsDeath By AudioDelayDelay WorkstationDiamond PedalsDigital DelayDigital ReverbDouble TrackingEchoverbElectro-HarmonixEmpty Head EffectsFjord FuzzGranular DelayHello Sailor EffectsHotone EffectsHungry Robot EffectsKHDKKlowraKMA AudioLo-Fi Delaymentha.worksMojo Hand FXOddball DelayPastFXPlate ReverbPolarbear EffectsRack Style ReverbReverbReverb WorkstationReverse DelayReverse ReverbShimmer ReverbSource AudioSpacey ReverbSpring ReverbTape DelayTru-Fi Guitar Effects+-

In many ways this is the most straightforward category with singular award nominees - GOLD, SILVER and BRONZE.
It’s the second smallest category after Distortions - and the one where I own the least number of pedals in proportion to the whole - just 10 out of these 26.
The order pretty much set itself - with the Cornerstone Nucleo being the clear winner from the start. I’m so impressed with every aspect of that pedal - it’s a perfect Trifecta of Design, Feaures and Playability - pretty ...
Big Muff Style FuzzBlind Panic DevicesBlue FX DevicesCoriolis EffectsDrunk BeaverEarthQuaker DevicesElectronic Audio ExperimentsEmmergy FXFarmer Factory EffectsFjord FuzzFredric EffectsFunny Little BoxesFuzzFuzz Face Style FuzzFuzz-Drive and FuzzstortionGated and Velcro FuzzGermanium FuzzGreat Eastern FX Co.Hangman fxHello Sailor EffectsIntensive Care AudioManson Guitar WorksModulated FuzzMoose ElectronicsOctave FuzzOddball FuzzOpAmp FuzzOscillating FuzzPasta PedalsRainger FXRedbeard EffectsRhPf ElectronicsSilicon FuzzSoundLad LiverpoolSpaceman EffectsSuper-Fuzz StyleTeaching MachinesThorpyFXTone Bender Style FuzzWampler+-

Probably the strongest selection of the year - each one of these is amazing and sounds killer. But then agin similar was true of the Overdrives. I’m very much a fuzz fanatic - so his selection has to take the edge - what a selection!
This selection includes 3 from EarthQuaker Devices, 2 from Drunk Beaver, 2 from Fjord Fuzz, and 2 from ThorpyFX.
It also includes the likely pedal of the year - within a selection of 10 award winners here - these are so good - I could have labelled even ...
Best in ClassBlue ColanderBrown Sound DistortionDistortionDrunk BeaverElectric Eye AudioEmpty Head EffectsEngl AmplificationFortin AmpsFuzz ImpGreat Eastern FX Co.Hello Sailor EffectsKrozz DevicesLastgasp Art LaboratoriesLichtlaerm AudioMarshall Style DistortionMetal DistortionMuir Audio DesignOla EnglundRat Style FuzzREVV AmplificationRhPf ElectronicsSinvertekSolar PedalsThis Heavy Earth+-
And so onto the Distortions of the year - the smallest group stage this year! There’s no particular logic as to why there are just 20 Disortions this year. There were a further couple of acquisitions that I was disappointed with - and I deliberately left out of this selection. It’s mostly a case of what appeals each year - and evidently there weren’t that many appealing ones beyond those I acquired. I’m not aware of any particular ones that are still in the wind. The last one in was the ...
AudiostormBest in ClassBlammo ElectronicsBoostBoost and OverdriveBrelliottCatastro FXChase Bliss AudioCrazy Tube CircuitsDr. No EffectsDriveDrunk BeaverFlatley Guitar PedalsGigaheartsHangman fxHello Sailor EffectsJHS PedalsLichtlaerm AudioMad Professor EffectsMXROrigin EffectsOverdrivePaul CochraneReeves Electro Guitar PedalsREVV AmplificationRhPf ElectronicsRogue RehousingSoundLad LiverpoolThorpyFXTubesteaderTWA EffectsWalrus AudioXotic Effects+-
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 ...
Blammo ElectronicsBlue ColanderBoostBoost and OverdriveBrown Sound DistortionChase Bliss AudioCoriolis EffectsCrazy Tube CircuitsDr. No EffectsDriveDrive WorkstationDual-DriveEarthQuaker DevicesElectro-HarmonixEmpty Head EffectsFlangerFortin AmpsFuzzGamechanger AudioGermanium FuzzGigaheartsHangman fxHarmonic OverdriveHello Sailor EffectsMarshall Style DistortionMetal DistortionModulationModulation WorkstationMulti-DriveMulti-FXMulti-GainOctave FuzzOddball FuzzOpAmp FuzzOscillating FuzzOverdrivePastFXPedal ChainPhaserRat Style FuzzSilicon FuzzSpaceman EffectsTanabeTeaching MachinesTone Bender Style FuzzTubesteaderVox Style Distortion+-

October was a super busy month - one of the busiest ever - with such a scope and scale and body of work covered - I’m quite shattered as a result!
We had of the penultimate Events of the year :
- The 2nd Woking Boutique Guitar Show
- Kempton Park London International Guitar Show
And around one dozen key posts as below also :
- Letter from Dr.No
- Teaching Machines FuzzBillion Component Combinations Wheels Gain-Shaper
- Hangman fx DAGG’R Dynamic Auto-Gain/Gate Mighty Morphing Gain-Ramper
...
BoostBoost and OverdriveFuzzFuzz-Drive and FuzzstortionGermanium FuzzHello Sailor EffectsSilicon Fuzz+-
So Joe Halliday made me a killer Dual RangeMaster - with Silicon Texas Instruments 2N4060 Transistor on the left channel, and Germanium Newmarket NKT CV7001 on the right - which I picked up a week before my Birthday.
It’s literally and liberally filled to the brim with the best of Primo Components - for a wonderfully richly textured output. And it features that fantastic looking ’Bees’ fabric that Joe spotted in a store while on holiday.
Controls - SILICON } Boost, Range : Hi / Mid, ...
Alchemy PickupsAncoats GuitarsCave PedalsDevil and Daughters GuitarsEmpty Head EffectsExpoFredric EffectsGood Fuzzy SoundsHello Sailor EffectsLT Custom GuitarsNRG EffectsOGEE PickupsPatrick James EggleRitual DevicesWoking Boutique Guitar Show+-
So a quick second Woking Show in the same year - for reasons I will endeavour to explain. A bittersweet moment for me as I have really loved the Fiery Bird venue - it’s a great setting for these kinds of events - and so close to the town centre - just 5 minutes or so form the main Woking Train Station. The reason Jason brought the 2nd show forward is that the council has taken back the licence for the building - with a view to redeveloping the premises - so presumably demolition beckons - which...
81 Guitar WorksA.D. GuitarsAlchemy PickupsArken GuitarsAscots GuitarsBlanch Flower GuitarsCave PedalsCMG Custom GuitatsDevil and Sons GuitarsDJW GuitarsDuncan Cruttended GuitarsEmpty Head EffectsExpoFiodhan GuitarsFlame GuitarsFredric EffectsGreen PickupsGuitar Making SchoolHello Sailor EffectsHugh Barlow-Brown GuitarsJAS GuitarsJC Guitar CompanyKarl Longbottom GuitarsLost Soul LeatherLT Custom GuitarsMadoc GuitarsMaybury GuitarsMike Hobbs GuitarsMorsola GuitarsNAH GuitarsNCG GuitarsNRG EffectsRD AmplificationRitual DevicesSL GuitarsTJS Custom GuitarsTone Wolf GuitarsTuffset BridgesWest Valley GuitarsWoking Boutique Guitar ShowZeitgeist Guitars+-

If you didn’t make the first one - you really missed out! Check out my Inaugural Woking Show write-up to get a flavour of how good that first show was back in March - it genuinely had amazing vibes - in fact all the March shows - including The Birmingham Guitar Show and the London Synth and Pedal Expo - all had a really friendly and chilled ambience to them - and all three were a joy to navigate - where I often struggle to get around at the Birmingham show.
The Woking Boutique Guitar Show ...
AjaxCornell DubilierFeaturedGuitar Pedal 101Hello Sailor EffectsIconic GearK40Y-9LemcoMullard-PhilipsMurata Manufacturing Co.Nichicon CorporationPhilipsSangamoSprague ElectricWIMA+-
The most popular post on this blog to date is ’A Brief Hobbyist Primer on Clipping Diodes’ which has to date been read 117,610 times! It was always on the cards to follow up that article with deep-dives into Capacitors and Resistors too. I wanted to be even more encompassing than before - and go into more detail - and it was a matter of finding the best possible partner and collaborator for that task.
And no one has a deeper exotic-filled parts bucket than my good friend Joe Halliday at Hello ...
AudiostormBoostBoost and OverdriveBossChorus and VibratoDistortionDriveDrunk BeaverDumble Style OverdriveEarthQuaker DevicesElectro-HarmonixEQFuzzFuzz Face Style FuzzGated and Velcro FuzzGuitar Synth and SequencerHarmonic OverdriveHello Sailor EffectsKeeley EngineeringKlone and Transparent OverdriveLovepedalMad Professor EffectsMaestro Style FuzzMetal DistortionModulationMXROctave FuzzOverdrivePedal ChainPhaserPreAmpRhPf ElectronicsRotary SpeakerSilicon FuzzSpaceman EffectsSwellTremolo+-

July was a tough month for me! Plenty going on for sure - and I had a particularly traumatic Sunday a couple of weeks back - when I was unable to get any sound out of my pedal-chain for the best part of that day. At the end of that I retired incredibly frustrated and kind of distraught - which zapped whatever remaining energy I had - and left me entirely shattered.
After a night’s sleep - I turned up a little sharper on the following day - and was able to fairly quickly and systematically ...