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 ...

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. ...

The Mariupol Jazz Preamp is a noise-free, high-fidelity reimagining of the legendary Roland Jazz Chorus preamp section, specifically targeting the op-amp topology found in the stereo JC-77 and the James Hetfield-approved JC-120H head.

While the original amps are iconic, they are a family of varied designs; we (Vitalii) focused on perfecting the op-amp architecture by completely redesigning the circuit for the modern era. To eliminate the noise floor inherent in the vintage units, we ...

I seem to have had a number of conversations recently - about Mk.gee and his use of the Tascam 424 Portastudio Tape Recorder as a sort of signature ’Amp’. Which seems to have triggered a somewhat gold-rush from a number of brands - majors and minors alike.

I thought it would be good to roundup a selection of these - which includes mainstream brands JHS and Benson, alongside a couple of independents - MXNHL and Neutrino Labs MX. Three of those brands are American, and one is Mexican.

JHS...

This was a strange one for me - not that JHS and Jack White collaborated on a Mic Delay - with Mic Preamp and Balanced XLR Out. But the fact that the vast majority of demos use this as a standard stompbox / pedalboard delay. If I were Black Mountain - who just recently had the Jack White Roto Echo Delay out - in their shoes I would be a little peeved.

As the JHS one - which is principally designed for Jack WHite’s Microphone - is more being promoted as a general delay - in direct ...

When Thorpy first sent me the picture of ’The J’ - I briefly thought ’Do we really need another Tweed Preamp?’ Thorpy promised me it was special - and special it really is!

It has the most exquisite breakup texture I have ever heard for a Tweed type - it’s suffused with beautiful harmonics and exceptional balance - for a supremely high quality of warm and lively output.

The control topology is arranged so you can either smooth out or further accentuate the pedal’s output character. For ...

It seems like every successive pedal released by Tubesteader is even better than the one that came before - and each one that came before was already superb. It’s fitting that after the exceptional Vox AC30 style Roy, we get the even more instantly satisfying Plexi and JCM800 voicings of the Gainlord.

We have a 2-Channel Tube Preamp (12AX7) - with 6 controls per channel / side, and with a Direct Out switch on the side which outputs a flat signal (Tone Bypass).

This is an incredibly ...

I’ve struggled to keep up with Catalinbread and Pettyjohn recently - who have been fast and furious with small batch limited editions of late - with one or two new pedals often appearing within just a week or two of each other. This is not the typical small batch of old - where each batch of 8 or 10 used to be just continuations of a specific pedal.

This time around - everyone is making special and custom and limited editions in tiny quantities - in part to inflate FOMA and add urgency to a...

My friend Marc from Tark Audio was one of the first to go down this route back in late 2023 - with his Tark 144 Tape Machine Emulator - of course based on the 1979 Tascam 144 4-Track Multitrack Cassette Tape Recorder. TASCAM is of course ’Teac Audio System Company of America - so you can argue that it’s a Japanese device - per the parent company - or an American device - per the subsidiary.

Josh Scott was the first mainstream operator to deliver the Tascam 424 Portastudio sounds favoured by...