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12 Degrees of Saturation 2023 Compact Edition

12 Degrees of SaturationAll-PedalAudiostormBardic Audio DevicesBig Muff Style FuzzBispell AudioBixonicBlackhawk AmplifiersBogner AmplificationBoostBoost and OverdriveBossBrown Sound DistortionChase Bliss AudioCKK ElectronicsCustom TonesDemon PedalsDistortionDr ScientistDriveDrive WorkstationDrunk BeaverDryBell EffectsDual-DriveEmpress EffectsFeaturedFoxpedalFriedman EffectsFuzzFuzz Face Style FuzzFuzz-Drive and FuzzstortionGermanium FuzzGreer AmpsHamstead SoundworksJ RockettJackson AudioJHS PedalsJRADKMA AudioMarshall Style DistortionMenatoneMessiah GuitarsMetal DistortionMI EffectsMidValleyFXMulti-DriveNordland ElectronicsOhmless PedalsOpAmp FuzzOrigin EffectsOverdrivePettyjohn ElectronicsRedbeard EffectsREVV AmplificationSilicon FuzzSinvertekSnouse Electric CompanySpaceman EffectsSuhrThorpyFXTone Bender Style FuzzTone InkTsakalis Audio WorksVictory Amps+-
2023-12-Degrees-Compact-Edition-700.jpg

This article has been a long time coming - where I originally started this ahead of the Mini Edition - which went live on January 24th. I was waiting for a couple of new pedals to be released - while the article has been iterated around 20 times now with a number of recent additions.

 

And the pedal I was waiting to launch still hasn’t quite happened, while the builder has authorised me to tease it in advance of its official release. And if I were to do the same exercise tomorrow - no doubt ...

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12 Compact Gain Pedals with Fully Variable Sweepable Parametric Mids

Abominable ElectronicsBig Muff Style FuzzBig Tone Music BreweryBoostBoost and OverdriveBossChase Bliss AudioDistortionDOD EffectsDriveEmpress EffectsFuzzFuzz-Drive and FuzzstortionHardWire EffectsJHS PedalsKMA AudioMarshall Style DistortionMenatoneMetal DistortionOverdriveRat Style FuzzSilicon Fuzz+-
2023-GPX-12-Parametric-Mids-Compacts-700-V2.jpg

So a follower on Instagram asked me to do a piece on which pedals had Sweepable mids - meaning really semi-parametric mids - with one control for Mids Frequency, and another to Cut/Boost that Frequency.

 

I thought there were a lot more than those that I finally uncovered. It’s mostly distortion pedals that have 3-Band EQs, and so it stands to reason - that it’s mostly distortion pedals that have parametric mids too.

 

While there is also a now long discontinued series - by Big Tone Music ...

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9 cool pairs of Vox-in-a-Box and Marshall Plexi style Pedals which have, or are about to fill slots #17 and #18

Bearfoot FXBispell AudioBoost and OverdriveBossCatalinbreadDistortionGreer AmpsMarshall Style DistortionMenatoneMI EffectsPettyjohn ElectronicsVictory AmpsVox AmplifcationVox Style Distortion+-
2023-GPX-9-x-Vox-Marshall-700.jpg

Readers of this blog will know that I’ve long and consistently had 2 key pedal types in my pedal-chain - namely a Brian May Vox style pedal, and an Eddie Van Halen Marshall Plexi style pedal - which for the last number of years have populated slots #17 and #18.

 

My very first pairing was the hybrid set of Bearfoot FX EGDM and MI Effects Super Crunch Box V2 - which overall probably served the longest innings on those two slots.

 

Since that first pairing we’ve had matched brand pairs - from...

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15 of the Best Compact Enclosure Vox in a Box style Overdrives

AMT EffectsAMT ElectronicsBearfoot FXBispell AudioBoostBoost and OverdriveBossCarl MartinCatalinbreadDriveGreer AmpsLovepedalM.A.D. EffectsMenatoneOverdrivePettyjohn ElectronicsVictory AmpsVox AmplifcationVox Style DistortionWestminster Effects+-
2023-GPX-Vox-Style-Pedals-700.jpg

It’s been a while since I last did a Vox-in-a-box roundup - in fact all the way back to my 2018 12 of the Best Vox Style Pedals feature - so it was about time I did an update. Readers will know that I always have a Vox pedal in my pedal-chain - occupying what is now slot #17.

 

It started with the Catalinbread Galileo way back when - and then following this rough sequence :

  1. Catalinbread Galileo
  2. Bearfoot FX Emerald Green Distortion Machine Silver (Silicon) - longest raining to-date
...
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12 Degrees of Saturation 2023 Mini Edition

12 Degrees of SaturationAnalog.ManBecos FXBJFEBoost and OverdriveCoppersoundDecibelicsDistortionEl Músico Loco FXEWS EffectsFeaturedFortin AmpsF-PedalsFree Fall DiverFunction F(X)FuzzIbanezKHDKKO AmpsMenatoneMooerMXRNFYFXOneControlPickdropperPigtronixRainger FXSchu-ToneSnouse Electric CompanySonderySuhrTWA EffectsWamplerXotic EffectsXvive Audio+-
2023-12-Degrees-Saturation-Mini-Edition-700.jpg

So it’s about time for another round of ’12 Degrees of Saturation’ - featuring an updated selection and including most of the more recently released notable Mini Gain Pedals. Please note that as before - this is something of a Grey Science with simply approximated best fit positioning - as all those pedals have slightly different gain ranges, and certain ones within each selection / category can have vastly more extended range than others - and often cover more than one of the categories.

 

...

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Five Formidable Multi-Bender Fuzzes - Germanium, Hybrid and Silicon Varieties

FuzzGermanium FuzzKeeley EngineeringMenatoneRed Noise PedalsSilicon FuzzTampco PedalsThorpyFXTone Bender Style Fuzz+-
2022GPX5FormidableMultiBenders700.jpg

I thought it would be a decent exercise to gather up, contrast and compare my thoughts on my 5 Multi-Bender pedals to-date - all of which have been reviewed individually in the last 6 months or so.

 

There’s an interesting mix of approaches here - some more deliberate and scientific, while others a touch more serendipitous. All the key Tone Bender circuits consisted of Germanium Transistor types, while there has been a recent trend to replicate those as closely as possible with Silicon ...

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32 of the Best Compact Overdrive Pedals - 2022 Ultimate Selection

Barber ElectronicsBest in ClassBJFEBlues Breaker Style OverdriveBlues Driver Style OverdriveBoostBoost and OverdriveBossCKK ElectronicsCrowther AudioCustom TonesDemon PedalsDumble Style OverdriveFairfield CircuitryFeaturedFoxpedalFulltone EffectsGreer AmpsGreuter AudioHamstead SoundworksHot Cake Style OverdriveJ RockettJHS PedalsJRADKlone and Transparent OverdriveKuro Custom AudioMenatoneMissing Link AudioNeunaberNordland ElectronicsOCD Style OverdriveODR Style OverdriveOverdrivePaul CochranePettyjohn ElectronicsRedbeard EffectsSnouse Electric CompanySpaceman EffectsThorpyFXTimmyTrue North PedalsTsakalis Audio WorksTubescreamer Style OverdriveTweed Style OverdriveWampler+-
2022GPX32CompactOverdrives700V2.jpg

So I last did one of these back in 2020 - meaning that these ’Best of Overdrive’ run-downs seem to be a circa biennial affair. We’ve upped the numbers to 32 this year, while they represent barely a quarter of the overdrives I have in my reference collection - so there are obviously a lot of honourable mentions listed below - before the Final Thoughts section.

 

These types of exercises are incredibly tricky to strike the right balance of generally considered classic overdrive pedals and ...

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In honour of Howard Alexander Dumble's Legacy - 18 of the best Dumble ODS Style Compact Overdrive Pedals

BJFEBoostBoost and OverdriveCause & Effect PedalsCornerstone Music GearDemon PedalsDumble Style OverdriveGTown AmpsHoward Alexander DumbleJ RockettJetter GearJRADLovepedalMad Professor EffectsMenatoneMojo Hand FXMXROverdriveProvidence PedalsShin's MusicStudio DaydreamTanabeVertex EffectsWamplerWilson Effects+-
2022GPX18CompactDumbleODS700V2.jpg

I had been meaning to do this exercise for quite some time - and have had a number of readers chasing me up about it - since my last Dumble Style Pedal overview was way back in February of 2019, and where I listed my then 9 favourite candidates - including three that I owned. This time around I’ve thrown 18 hats into the ring or twice as many as the last roundup.

 

The delay occurred  in part because I was waiting for my friend Brian Mena to officially launch his V2 Dumbstruck pedal - which ...

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2021GPXMenatoneLawBendeGE700.jpg

I’ve mentioned a few times before on this site - the unique confection / merging of Fuzz Face and Tone Bender voicings in a single pedal - as exemplified by D*A*M’s Drag ’n’ Fly and Graveyard Tramp which both deploy hybrid GE+SI Transistors, I’ve also cited the 5-Transistor Boss FZ-3 as a decent candidate for that same category. While the featured Menatone Law Bender GE here really goes a step further in its overall versatility.

 

At its core the Law Bender ...

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12 Great Brian Mena Menatone Mini Pedals

Best of BrandsBoostBoost and OverdriveCompressorDistortionDriveEffects Pedal MakersEnvelope Filter and Auto WahFuzzGermanium FuzzKlone and Transparent OverdriveMarshall Style DistortionMenatoneModulationOverdriveSilicon FuzzTremoloUtility+-
2021GPXMenatoneMinis700.jpg

Readers will know that I’m a big fan of Brian Mena’s output, and own several of his flagship pedals. Early this year I identified a number of his Mini Pedals that I would really like to add to the collection. I had in mind then the formidable trio of Hindenburg Distortion (Supro Thunderbolt), Simplexity Germanium Harmonic Preamp, and The Thundering Revival Red Snapper -derived Hight Gain Distortion.

 

As is often my way I like to do these sorts of range overviews to really firm up and ...

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