So this is the second of this series - where the first was more about the uniqueness of the enclosure shape - more structural really - covering the overall form factor. While this edition is more about ’Trade Dress’ or the Memorability of the Aesthetics - style of graphics, consistency of theme, and consistency of control topology - doing something in a consistently measurable way that makes that pedal instantly recognisable from afar as belonging to a certain single brand.

So this one is ...

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...

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

^ 2022 Final Arrangement - December

So the time has come again to to the final reckoning of the layout and composition of this year’s ultimate pedal chain arrangement. I’ve introduced a new ’⚓’ symbol into the visual - which indicates those Slots / Pedals that are unchanged from last year’s Class of 2021 arrangement. That element really is testament to how much has changed between years. It’s also indicative of how much I love those particular pedals - and pretty much find them ...

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 ...

2021 was another very significant year for me - and one that signals that I probably need to slow down now - as I picked up well over 200 new pedals during the year - which really is excessive. Storage is starting to become an issue - and I will need to be a lot more prudent and strategic in my acquisitions next year!

So more than 200 new ones, and in fact 25 slots were switches up during the year - where only 12 were totally untouched and unchanged. A slew of new gain pedals as always - ...

The Boost, Overdrive and Distortion category is the most heavily contested, and indeed the most heavily congested category this year. I started with a Longlist of more than 70 and whittled down to the 39 featured here. Note that for balance I have included Rat pedals in the Fuzz Category already listed. This list features some of the more subtle fuzz-edged / fuzzy-drive varieties - although there will of course be some slight degree of overlap.

Featured above and listed here are 39 ...

August has been another impressively busy month with lots of excellent new pedal releases which has certainly kept me on my toes. I always thought August used to be a fairly quiet month in the annual release calendar. While I guess this year there have been so many delays - because of parts supply issues and the like - that lots of launches have been unusually pushed back - which means those pedals just weren’t ready until about now.

I am particularly impressed to have got my hands on the ...

Readers should know by now that I’m a huge fan of the overlapping genre of Fuzzy-Drive and Fuzzstortion style gain pedals - which tend to cover a variety of Fuzz, Overdrive and Distortion pedals - which all have a certain fuzzy character to them where they blur at least a couple of boundaries.

For me the sort of archetype of that sound is the Bixonic Expandora - while there are a great number of pedals that fall into that same sort of catchment area - and the 28 listed here are just a small...