So the recent launch of Origin Effects’ Halcyon enhanced TS808 type screamer prompted me to refresh my memory on what the competition to that was - and if the Halcyon was quite as appealing as it appeared to be. So I’ve trawled through all my usual resources, including my own memory banks - and come up with this list of 28 suitable candidates.

This list is specifically on enhanced / evolved Compact enclosure Tube Screamer types - so I exclude hybrids - such as Matthews Effects The Broker (...

In the wake of the recently released Becos FX Ziffer Overdrive and MXR Raw Dawg, I thought it opportune to do a roundup of some of the best Mini Tube Screamer Variants out there. In starting this article, as is often the case, I was encouraged to order the Ziffer Overdrive - where I’m currently awaiting its arrival. While previously I had the Function F(x) Clay Jones Overdrive and KHDK Ghoul Jr as my frontrunners.

I already own and have for some time - the Ibanez Tube Screamer ...

And here is the first of the category overviews for the year - combining those Overdrive and Distortion pedals which sparked some interest for me. Note that there will be 4 of these types of articles - Overdrive & Distortion (this one), Fuzz, Delay and Reverb (exc. Reverb Workstation already covered), and Modulation + Pitch + Untility pedals. Before I then reveal my overall 25 or so favourite favourite pedals for the year in a Best-of-the-Best listing - with possibly some sneaky additions....

I was trying to figure out how best to cover the new Wren and Cuff J Mascis Garbage Face Fuzz with Germanium Treble Boost, when along came the equally cartoonish graphic’d KHDK Unicorn Blood II - another Dark Matter Coffee Octave Fuzz collaboration.

In fact only the general aesthetic approach here is the same - similar form-factor and similar number of controls, but the internals being quite different. The KHDK one is a Dark, Fat, Octave Fuzz, capable of some really sludgy tones,...

This is an update to the feature I wrote back in March of this year. I now have more of this selection in my collection - 18 of these 24, and there are 3 pedals that are new to this updated roundup - the Airis Effects Nemesis PreAmp, Blackhawk Amplifiers Balrog Distortion V3, and of course the Redbeard Effects Red Mist MKIV.

The 6 here that I’ve yet to acquire for my collection but which are of course all on the wishlist are the aforementioned Airis Effects Nemesis PreAmp and ...

So last year I did a sort of 15 Metal Pedal overview - but I’ve come across a few more since - and there have been some new launches - so I thought it opportune to do a more extensive round-up. This is actually the first of a series of 4 articles featuring my favourite High Gain, Distortion, Fuzz and Overdrive - pedals - one feature per category - with 24 pedals in each overview. I have been doing these for the last couple of years and this is the 2019 series as such.

These are ...

So I’ve covered off a large variety of mini Drive and Distortion pedals in these last few features - starting with the 4-Size key enclosure type articles, then Mooer Micro PreAmps, then the older Mooer Minis, and most recently - the OneControl offerings in that area. This article is essentially a collection of the remaining mini drive and distortion pedals I rate from a variety of pedal-builders. They are not all strictly ’Boutique’ but I felt they fit best within that ...

I have featured most of these usual suspects before - with the exception of the PLBR Effects Floral Green which I’ve only briefly just touched on in ’Glance’. In my opinion these are the most formidable Tube Screamer Pedals for each of their given enclosure sizes. None of these are your typical classic TS808 or TS9 replicas, but all offer significant additional voicing and tone-sculpting controls.

Even though I have a number of Tube Screamer type pedals, I currently ...

This article was prompted by my earlier piece on the Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal Pedal / Alternatives, as well as a reader request to review the KHDK Dark Blood. As always though I never review anything in isolation - I try to take the pulse on the larger category and see what pedals are competing in that category and are worthy of consideration.

Even metal pedals as such have varying degrees of distortion, but I’ve tried to focus on those here that are intended as principally high ...