Chris Loeffler

Electro-Harmonix Sovtek Deluxe Big Muff Pi Deluxe muff my good comrades! by Chris Loeffler Electro-Harmonix has been on fire with Muff releases these last two years, introducing no less than three of their most sought-after, discontinued versions (OP-Amp IC, Triangle, and Russian). While there are a few more reissues people are crossing their fingers might see the light of day, Electro-Harmonix chose their next release to be a “Deluxized” version of their Green Russian/Civil War Muff circuit. The Electo-Harmonix Sovtek Deluxe Big Muff Pi expands on the standard Volume, Sustain, and Tone controls by adding knobs for Blend, Gate, Mids Level, and Mids Freq, toggle switches for Wicker and High Q/Low Q, an expression pedal output, and a Mids stomp switch. The pedal features true-bypass switching and is powered by a standard 9v center-negative style power supply or a 9v battery. What You Need to Know The Electro-Harmonix Sovtek Deluxe is built on the circuitry of the Green Russian (tall font) / Civil War-era Big Muffs branded Sovtek in the 90’s. This circuit is known for having a fatter bottom, less mid-scoop, and less gain than the typical Muff variant. The gain is smoother and stands out in the mix a bit more than a USA Muff with a less gritty character. The standard Muff controls of Volume, Tone, and Sustain are present and identical to those of the EHX Green Russian Big Muff Pi, with Volume going from muted to reasonably above unity gain, Tone offering a passive filter sweep that goes from muffled to sweet to thin and punchy, and Sustain covering all ground from grumpy burps to focused, sustained lead tones as heard in GIlmour's work in the Pulse era. The introduction of a Blend knob provides the opportunity to bring reintroduce some of definition and dynamics of your guitar through the dry channel, which greatly enhances the ability of the pedal to stand out in a mix (something the typical Big Muff Pi doesn't always excel at, especially in live settings when competing with a bass and keyboards). The Gate control brings a noise gate into the signal path after the Muff circuit to tame stray noise when you aren’t playing (high gain = hiss). It isn’t quite so clampy that it will pull off the Industrial synth on/off attack, but that’s not what this pedal is all about. What it does well is knock off white noise in the idle space between notes and is especially useful with single coil pickups. The Wicker control is the same that debuted in the NYC Big Muff Pi with Tone Wicker and subsequent Deluxe Big Muff Pi, opening up the higher end of the frequency bandwidth for brighter, cleaner treble that carries through a bit more attack. Sonically, it sounds like a more modern, high-fidelity take on the Big Muff sound. With it off, the pedal sticks to the original tone stack that defined the Civil War sound. Things get especially out there with the two Mid knobs (Freq and Level) and the accompanying Mids footswitch. The Mids Freq is essentially a single-band parametric EQ that covers 310kHz to 5kHz, the sweet spot for guitar in the mix. By carving in a specific frequency, you can adjust both the way the fuzz reacts and how far forward you cut in the mix; think of it as a solo mode. The Mids Level allows to cut or boost the frequency selected in the Mids Freq section, from subtle boosts or scoops to cocked-wah style tones. The Mids section is topped off by a Mids Q switch, which sets the bandwidth of the EQ. In Low mode, the lower frequencies are accentuated and the range is thick, round, and warm (even dark), while Hi mode is, as described by EHX “sharper or peakier,” which is an apt description. The tone sizzles in Hi mode and melds well with an amp that is already breaking up but a bit dark. Speaking of cocked wahs, the Expression pedal out controls the sweep of the Mids Freq, which essentially means it turns into a mids-focused wah pedal. Parking the pedal allows for precision cuts in real time, while rocking the treadle creates thick, chewy sweeps in Low mode and searing, spiky slashes in Hi mode. The two Mids knobs and Mids Q switch are only active when the Mids footswitch is activated; they have no impact on the Muff when bypassed. There are a few hidden controls inside the enclosure that are meant to be fine-tune, set-and-forget tweaks for advanced users. These include an optional internal buffer that can be turned on for more high-end and a stronger clean signal when the pedal is activated, trimpots for High Q bandwidth and output volume, and a trimpot for to introduce additional boost to the Mids output. If you’re going to toy with these, consider taking a picture of the factory settings first in case you stray too far off the original path. Limitations It’s a Big Muff Pi; what sounds amazing by itself may get lost in a band setting. The mids control, fortunately, provides the opportunity to jump past this traditional limitation. Conclusion The Electro-Harmonix Civil War/Green Russian Big Muff Pu circuit is a classic for a reason; it is everything people love about the muff tone with smoother gain, a bigger bottom end, and less scooping of the mids. The Electro-Harmonix Sovtek Deluxe Big Muff Pi provides all this plus the ability to turn the pedal into a mid-forward lead machine, add articulation with the dry signal, and is a bonus wah pedal to boot. If the limitations of the traditional three knob Muff has kept one from staying on your board to date, the Sovtek Deluxe might be a game-changer for you. -HC Resources Electro-Harmonix Sovtek Deluxe Big Muff Pi Product Page Buy Electro-Harmonix Sovtek Deluxe Big Muff Pi at Amazon.com (Street $214.11) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

Haunted Labs Witch Hammer Overdrive Epic doom in a box? by Chris Loeffler Another week, another boutique overdrive. I first encountered Haunted Labs in early 2018, taking notice of their unique, horror-themed graphics and product names. I confess I quickly mentally filed them as a metal/doom focused brand. It is said you should never judge a book by it’s cover (a rule I’d like to believe I generally follow), but the Haunted Labs Witch Hammer caught me entirely by surprise. The Haunted Labs Witch Hammer is a virtually transparent overdrive with standard Drive, Tone, and Volume controls, true-bypass switching, and is powered by a standard, Boss-style center negative 9v power supply. What You Need to Know Given the dark-themed art and name, I was expecting a doom monster, something like the deep, stonery overdriven power section of a Sunn amp. The audience and messaging clearly leans toward the heavy side, so I was surprised to find an incredibly flexible, low-to-mid gain overdrive boost that was uncolored; offering anything from tone sweetening to light crunch to the beginning of chunky thrust depending on where the Drive knob is set. My experience, confirmed by a conversation with Chris Cozort (owner and designer of Haunted Labs), is that the Witch Hammer isn’t necessarily a pedal meant to create the metal/doom sound on its own; it is for heavy players who already have their basic sound and want to enhance it. That was the “ah-ha” moment for me. Don’t mishear me; the pedal gets heavy and pulls off tight, warm-but-modern ripping distortion at the max point of the Drive knob, but so much of the range of the pedal is in the light and mid gain levels that I found it to be a top-notch boost and overdrive for jazz, blues, and rock tones as well. The Witch Hammer plays well with both single coils and humbuckers and retains their character for whatever is further downstream. The gain structure of the Witch Hammer is relatively open for the first half of the knob’s sweep, with gentle, tube-like compression being introduced in the second half of the knob. The drive never quite hits the focused, liquidly lead tones of a high-gain pedal, but that’s where pushing your preamp comes into play. There is no perceived gain nor breakup in the lowest part of the Drive control. The Tone control seems to follow the standard passive-filter model of the average overdrive pedal, but the highs are airier and there’s significantly more low-end retention. I wouldn’t describe either ends of the spectrum as being exaggerated; it’s more that they are significantly more retained than most overdrive pedals that push the frequency spectrum towards the mids. There is more than enough volume on tap with the Witch Hammer to punish all but the cleanest of preamps. Unity gain is somewhere in the middle of the range, with plenty of dBs left to throw at your amp in the latter half of the Volume sweep. More than anything, the Haunted Labs Witch Hammer sounds like the amp it is in front of, but “more”. Into a clean amp, the gainin the middle third of the Drive sweep nails the “just breaking up” sound without altering the color of the amp’s tone. The overdrive character is vintage cranked Fender in how it breaks up, but much more open and even across the frequencies. In the last third of the Drive sweep, things tighten up and start to lean toward Bluesbreaker-style focus and crunch with slightly less mid-spike, a fatter bottom, and punchier treble. Limitations The art and name might disqualify the Witch Hammer from P&W boards. Conclusion I walked into the Haunted Labs Witch Hammer expecting epic doom-in-a-box, and instead discovered a tool designed not only to compliment an existing heavy rig but also an amazingly under-the-radar overdrive that is top-of-the-heap when compared to the overdrive du jour for Blues and Rock players. Amp-like, sugary, and crunchy, there are a lot of tones to pull from the Witch Hammer depending on your signal chain and musical tastes, and the one thing they all have in common is they sound like more of what you already love about your signal chain. -HC Resources Haunted Labs Witch Hammer Overdrive Product Page Buy Haunted Labs Witch Hammer Overdrive on Reverb ($169.00 Street) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

A Conversation with John Patrucci of Dream Theater Sound. Mind. Music. by Chris Loeffler

Electro-Harmonix Grand Canyon Super Delay & Looper If you thought the original Canyon ran deep, wait until you see how much additional territory the Grand Canyon covers! by Chris Loeffler What do you do when you release an award-winning, affordable delay pedal that covers ten classic delay tones and includes a looper? If you’re Electro-Harmonix, you listen to customer feedback and build on it to make an even more robust, feature-rich deluxe version and add a “Grand” to the title. The Electro-Harmonix Grand Canyon Super Delay utilizes the same algorithms and controls as their Canyon delay pedal put adds two additional delay modes, a bit crush function, expands the looper from 62 seconds to 16 minutes, brings the “hidden menu” parameters to dedicated knobs, independent tap tempo, and stereo outs. The Grand Canyon is true-bypass and is powered by a standard, center-negative 9v battery supply. What You Need to Know Harmony Central reviewed the EHX Canyon last year, so if you’re unfamiliar with the pedal upon which the Grand Canyon is built, please feel free to start there. As a touch-point, here was the conclusion- At nearly half the price of similar “multiple delay modes in a box” pedals, the Electro-Harmonix Canyon is hard to beat if you aren’t looking for deep parameter tweaking, saved presests, or stereo output. With great-sounding and diverse delay types (both common and "out there"), nearly every sought-after delay tone can be yours for under $150. With that out of the way, let’s talk about what Electro-Harmonix has added to the Grand Canyon, and how it works. In addition to the previously mentioned 10 Canyon delay modes, the Grand Canyon introduces a Drum and Doubler mode. The Drum mode introduces an Echorec-like drum echo mode to the mix, which has a slightly different preamp/saturation flavor than the Tape mode and creates rhythmic echo patterns modeled on which configuration of the four heads you incorporate into the wet signal. At its most basic, there are four drums that run in serial, creating a 1-2-3-4 standard echo count. Heads can be dropped out to create pronounced forms, like 1-2-X-4 or 1-X-3-4, for mid-career Gilmour-style lead enhancements. The “age” of the drum can be adjusted to be more faded and saturated, a good way to dial the delays into your mix without needing to address potential muddiness further upstream. The Doubler mode introduces a slight detune and delay that either thickens up a mono signal or splits in a stereo amp situation. This effect is a classic studio effect to make guitar parts sound bigger without being overly effected. The amount of detune and delay time is controllable, but the sweet spot seems to be in the 10-20 MS delay range. Too far out and you’re getting into chorus territory (not that that’s a bad thing). The Echo mode, which was the standard, high-fidelity digital delay mode in the Canyon, adds a bit crusher to it to add a little weirdness and tension to the delays. Controlling the sweep of the bit crushing with an optional expression pedal creates otherworldly artifacts and ring modulation-style fizz and hum. The Looper mode expands from 62 seconds to 16 minutes, increasing unlimited overdubs, a start/stop, reverse, speed adjust, and for the first time allows you to include the delay effect modes within the loop. The Grand Canyon allows for up to 13 presets, although the preset slots are tied to the delay mode, so there is only one preset per mode. The stereo output, depending on the delay mode, runs either true wet/dry blend to each channel or dry to both with a ping-pong between the two channels for the wet channel. While I’ve heard wider sounding stereo delays at the highest end of the market, the stereo spread is robust and spacious and more than accomplishes what it sets out to do in recording and live situations. Tap-tempo, a “kinda there” feature in the original Canyon, is now a dedicated footswitch with nine tap-tempo subdivisions. By exploding out the hidden parameters onto the faceplate (and including a legend on the faceplate describing how each control behaves in the different modes), the Grand Canyon becomes significantly more convenient to tweak in live situations (my one complaint/concern about the original Canyon). Because each delay mode requires different controls (for instance: Echo mode allows for control over the Filter and Bit Crush, whereas the same knobs on the DMM control the rate and depth of the modulation), there will be tweaking required when jumping between modes if you’re in live mode (as opposed to leveraging the presets), but all the controls are intuitive if you’ve ever used that delay type. Limitations The addition of stereo output greatly opens the pool of interested musicians, but the lack of stereo input means true stereo modulation effects either need to go after the delay, by summed into mono, or split prior to the Grand Canyon, meaning one side won’t be delayed. Conclusion Literally everything that was viewed as an acceptable sacrifice in the Canyon for price and form factor has been added in to the Electro-Harmonix Grand Canyon. It’s one of the most affordable delay workstations available and the quality of the build and easily competes with the most expensive delays in sonic quality. Moving all controls to the front of the box and making an independent tap-tempo will appeal to the traditional, “I hate menus” crowd, and it has enough delay modes and looping capability to be the only delay effect even the most ambient of players would need. -HC- Resources Electro-Harmonix Canyon Delay Product Page Buy EHX Canyon Delay at Sweetwater (MSRP $185.40, $139.00 Street) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

MXR Vintage Bass Octave Think your bass goes low? How about dropping it an octave? How about two?!? by Chris Loeffler The bass was always meant to go low, but players like Pino Palladino and Tony Levin felt that wasn’t low enough, latching on to sub-octave generating effects originally made for guitar players to get even deeper. Effects companies became savvy to this and started tuning those circuits to better track and play with the attack and range of the bass guitar. MXR was one of those companies, and given their recent spate of “new vintage” releases, it was only a matter of time until they revisited the MXR Bass Octave. The newly released MXR Vintage Bass Octave cleans up the original with more headroom, output, and significantly faster tracking. The pedal features knobs for Dry, Oct 1, and Oct 2, a MID button, true bypass switching, and is powered by a standard 9v power supply. What You Need to Know First thing first… the MXR Vintage Bass Octave is TINY. I’m used to MXR enclosures being the standard for a small footprint, but the VBO is half the size of those enclosures. The knobs for Dry, Oct 1, and Oct 2 are stacked in a pyramid formation and are standard sized, with easy but firm travel, which mitigated my initial concern of trouncing them out of place with an over-reaching stomp. The MID knob is a soft switch with a dedicated LED. Opening the enclosure reveals a trim-pot to set the amount of boost the MID knob provides, from zero to +13dB. There’s an additional switch, not called out in the manual, that selects between two mid frequencies, 400Hz or 800Hz, but as it isn’t mentioned in the instructions I assume MXR intends most users to use it as tuned in the factory. The Dry signal, to my ears, is completely uncolored on its own. I was able to coax a decent boost out of it with all other controls rolled off, which was a fun hidden feature. The MID switch (which I will get to in a minute) doesn’t impact the Dry channel, which makes sense but could have made for a ballsy dirty boost. The two Octave channels, representing one and two octave signals below the original note, both sounded incredibly clean and natural. I dialed each up on their own to hear them independently, and other than the inevitable few millisecond delay they could have easily passed as the original note from the instrument. The attack and decay were dead on, and only when the notes bled over each other did the octave fart out or sputter. I couldn’t play fast enough to throw off tracking; you’d probably need Victor Wooten for that. Speaking of tracking, it was lighting fast; less than a slapback effect, more like the barely-there latency when recording into a DAW with a mid-level recording setup. I’m not sure what magic they’ve done to tighten it up so much, but there’s none of the laziness nor looseness in attack that I’ve experienced in true vintage bass octaves. Starting with all the controls at 12 o’clock, the pedal was essentially at unity gain with the bypassed signal, although the lower frequencies of the two suboctaves gave some of the people who demoed it with me the impression they were slightly quieter. Blending in the right amount of Oct 1 brings in something close to the classic OC2 sound, and the Oct 2 channel is so deep it serves more as a “body” or “fullness” enhancer at lower settings to beef up the tone. The MID knob introduces a preset amount of midrange boost to the Oct channels, which thickens up the total sound and adds growl when fed into an overdriven amp or pedal. The added focus slightly (to my ears) pushed the lowest frequencies down a bit but was perfect for making the bass jump out for solo parts. Limitations Vintage and analog means monophonic. Things get funky and glitchy when two notes are being played at the same time, especially as the second note extends further away from the pentatonic of the root note. No batteries allowed with such a tiny housing (the pedal itself is barely larger than a 9v battery). Conclusion The MXE M280 Vintage Bass Octave is a hoot to play. It’s deep, thick, tracks well, and is a surprisingly organic enhancement to a bass rig (especially one with speakers to support the lowest subs). The micro-enclosure means it takes up minimal floor space, and it played especially well with active and passive pickups. I expected something a bit nastier, but this little blue box can get surprisingly subtle (if that’s your thing) or throw a bass fuzz into new levels of stoner rock lows.- HC - Resources MXR Vintage Bass Octave Product Page Buy MXR Vintage Bass Octave at Amazon.com (Street $149.99) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

Way Huge Purple Platypus Octidrive More than eight way huge reasons to own this pedal ... by Chris Loeffler Way Huge’s Jeorge Tripps is one of a handful of people musicians point to when they refer to the godfathers of the boutique effect pedal. Way before forums were a place where musicians could spread the word about new effects, share schematics, and argue for days over tonal nuances, Tripps brought tweaks and improvements to long unavailable circuits to market, and from 1992-1999 created some of the most sought-after and legendary pedals to show up on the used market today. While there were some larger (relatively) production pedals, such as the Red Llama and Aqua Puss, there were quite a few oddballs as well… Under the manufacturing guidance of Dunlop since a ten year stint at Line 6, Way Huge has released most of their big hitters, and they’re starting to reach deep into the bench. The Way Huge Purple Platypus Octidrive MKII is an overdrive pedal with an integrated frequency doubler that features controls for Volume, Drive, and High-Cut in the standard Way Huge enclosure. The pedal features true-bypass switching and is powered by a standard 9v power supply. What You Need to Know The Way Huge Purple Platypus, like its animal namesake, seems like it should exist. While fuzz and analog octavers have been associated to some extent since the late 60’s, medium overdrive tones given the octave treatment are much rarer. That unexpected combination, however, results in a surprising musical, new-but-old-sounding effect that is incredibly dynamic. The overdrive portion of the circuit is directly based on the most current incarnation of the Way Huge Red Llama, an overdrive pedal lauded for its ability to serve anything from a clean boost to a uniquely voiced mid-gain monster. The octave portion, to my ears, sounds like a take on Dan Armstrong’s Green Ringer octaver, which is known as a more cacophonous, present relative of the Tychobrahe Octavia heard on Hendrix and SRV recordings. The result is a surprisingly deep and flexible effect that has way more hiding underneath its enclosure than the typical three-knob overdrive. With the Drive knob rolled down, the octave effect shined through clear and clean, especially as I turned up the Hi-Cut. Playing with pickup selection and my guitar’s tone knob coaxed a diverse set of breakup characteristics and voicings, especially as I turned the Drive control up. By the last third of the Drive control, the gain began to saturate and fuzz out a bit while retaining a strong midrange. In the more extreme settings, pulling the Hi-Cut knob down further brought out pseudo-fuzz tones that neared Fuzz Face territory while retaining more body and presence. The octave effect can get outright “clangy” in the way of a ring modulator with the right combination of guitar volume and tone settings, and rolling back the guitar tone knob on my bridge pickup resulted in a sitar-like resonant vibe that responded accurately to both sustained drones and staccato plucks of the strings. To be clear, moderate fuzz tones are at the most extreme settings of the Purple Platypus, and the “Drive” in Octidrive designation is well earned. Single coils and (surprisingly, passive bass pickups) are accepted by the Purple Platypus exceptionally well, although humbucking pickups also sound fantastic if you want to give up some of the magic responsiveness of the pedal. Limitations While it can be reined in tightly, the Way Huge Purple Platypus is always going to have some frequency doubling applied to the drive, so it won’t out-and-out replace your Red Llama needs. Conclusion The Way Huge Purple Platypus is for players who want something different, but familiar, to add to their guitar tones. Not just a drive, not just a frequency doubler, the Purple Platypus walks somewhere in the middle, able to get 90% pure to either category, but excelling when embracing both effects at once and exploring the deep interactions between them. It can be raunchy or refined, warm or harsh, which is what makes it such an interesting pedal for me. I found drive tones that came alive with the right octave balance, and octave-focused tones that found just the right scream and frequencies with the Drive dialed in. Resources Way Huge Purple Platypus Octidrive Product Page Buy Way Huge Purple Platypus at Amazon.com ($149.95) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

Earthquaker Devices Swiss Things Pedalboard Reconciler Will you be able to reconcile another pedal purchase? by Chris Loffler How much would you pay for convenience? How about flexibility? Performance? The Earthquaker Devices Swiss Things aims to provide all three to those with more pedals on their board than fingers on one hand as a multifunctional AB-Y box, tuner isolator, clean boost with expression pedal control, dual effect loops, and buffer. The Swiss Things features input, loop one in/out, loops two in/out, and stereo outputs as well as a tuner out and expression pedal jack. A single knobs controls the Boost, a button controls phase inversion, and there are footwsitches for Loop 1, Loop 2, Boost, A/B, and Both outputs. Swiss Things runs on a standard, center-negative 9v power supply. What You Need to Know There’s a lot of signal routing to unpack with Earthquaker Devices’ Swiss Thing, but it’s simpler than you think, and nothing you need to learn if you’ve juggled a pedalboard before. The Swiss Things features a mono input that accepts the instrument. From there, the signal is routed to two channels, Effects Loop 1 (or the audio signal going to your amp) and a Tuner out. This immediately removes the tuner from the audio signal chain to avoid tone loss. The Effects Loop 1 is unbuffered to accommodate Wah, Fuzz, Compression, and general dirt, and the entire loop can be bypassed via footswitch. This means one could prepare multiple gain stages and have them activated with the stomp of a footswitch. For road warriors, it’s also a quick way to kill feedback if things go wonky. The lack of a buffer means the effects get as close to interaction with the pickups or your guitar as possible and improves the dynamics and response of the effects. The audio signal then passes through a buffer that activates the signal to a consistent, always-on level that kills signal loss but breaks the direct connection to the pickup magnets. This stage also introduced the Volume Out expression pedal jack and gives players the option to use an approved expression pedal to manage the post-Loop 1 output volume without introducing additional circuitry or tone-suck to the signal. This feature earns the highest praise a volume pedal can get, in that it is entirely transparent and has no perceived impact on tone. The signal then passes to Effects Loop 2; a channel intended for modulation, delay, and reverb effects that don’t require interaction with the pickups. In practice, this is effectively a reset in the signal chain but with a constant, active signal. Even with five or six pedals in the second loop, the high-end retention was obvious. The ability to turn on modulation, delay, and reverb at the same time made for rack-like levels of presets, with the ability to still tweak on the fly in real-time. After this, there is the Boost circuit, with is as neutral and clean as I’ve heard, that can be activated via footswitch. What’s true for me is I believe most players already have boost pedals if they are going to use them, but I immediately saw the benefit in how the boost could be a nudge in a live situation if you’re looking for more volume without upsetting the applecart of your individual pedal settings. From there, the audio signal hits one more buffer (super signal?) before splitting into Output A and hitting a transformer and phase shift to Output B. The Swiss Things allows for A, B, or Both outputs, giving a lot of flexibility to those with dual amp setups. It is worth noting that true stereo effects need to be run after the Swiss Things to be used in stereo, as the signal retains a mono status throughout the pedal. The elegance is in how it all comes together in a single package. Limitations Stereo effects need to be placed after Swiss Things, somewhat reducing the ability to turn on Channel B and activate multiple effects with a single stomp. Conclusion Swiss Things combines two true-bypass Flexi-Switch™ enabled effects loops, a Flexi-Switch™ AB-Y box with transformer isolation between outputs, a buffered tuner output, 20dB of clean boost with adjustable gain, an expression pedal output for volume control and a quiet, high headroom output buffer into a compact pedalboard-friendly signal routing junction box that lives at the top-right corner of your pedalboard and really ties your rig together without any signal loss. That’s a copy and paste from the manufacturer, because it’s what’s true. Whether you’re looking to reduce tone-suck, engage multiple independent effects at once, use multiple amps, or have a true no-loss volume pedal, the Swiss Things addresses it. It’s a rare pedal that I can say will make you sound better without changing a thing. Resources Earthquaker Devices Swiss Things Product Page Buy Earthquaker Devices Swiss Things at Amazon.com ($249.99) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

JHS Bonsai Overdrive A nine position tubescreamer that goes to eleven! by Chris Loeffler The world abounds in Tube Screamers -Not Swearengen I doubt there is any pedal more copied or modified than the Ibanez Tubescreamer (maybe a fuzzface or a RAT?). On of the reasons for this is it accomplishes exactly what guitar players are looking for when it comes to rock and country tones; a mid-range bump to cut through, adequate volume boost to push a strained preamp, and self-generated clipping gain to add thickness and complexity to the amp’s natural distortion. There are literally thousands of takes that now exist (some openly referencing their roots, some obscuring them entirely with black goop and marketing mojo), leaving players looking for which one is the right one for them with mountains of options and opinions to sort through. JHS has their own TS-inspired pedal, and offers mods to current production Ibanez units, so you’d think they’d adequately covered this well-trodden ground. Yet here comes the JHS Bonsai Overdrive. The JHS Bonsai is not just one, but nine Tubescreamer circuits crammed into a standard JHS smallbox enclosure. Centered around a nine-position rotary switch, the JHS Bonsai has standard Volume, Tone, and Drive controls, runs on a standard 9v center negative power supply, and has true-bypass switching. What You Need to Know The JHS Bonsai claims to replicate the following Tubescreamer circuits- Boss OD-1, Ibanez TS-808, Ibanez TS-9, MSL Power Series, Ibanez TS-10, Exar OD-1, Ibanez TS-7 (+mode), Keeley Mod Plus, and JHS Strong Mod. They accomplish through two highly impressive and innovative approaches. First, JHS thoroughly analyzed an original version of each circuit incorporated in the Bonsai through physical circuit dissection and an Audio Precision analyzer. This accounted for tolerance and performance drifts experienced by components (bear in mind the oldest circuit is more than 40 years old) to create exactly the circuit flow that left the manufacturer on day one. Identical circuit path and component values? Check. Second, they engineered an innovative way through the rotary circuit selector to activate components in the exact order needed to create that circuit. In any given mode, there are components (diodes, resisters) that are entirely bypassed. The result is the Bonsai leverages a different electronic path for each of its nine modes to truly create the original circuit, not simply adjust values as happens in a typical mod. I don’t have one of each of the original circuits presented in the Bonsai to A/B against, so my review relied on my ears and famous references on albums. That said, yes there are as noticeable a difference between the modes as can (should) be expected when comparing various TS tweaks, so I can confirm they nailed creating truly different sounding (and behaving, in some cases) modes. A quick run-down of my experience with each mode is as follows- OD1- As advertised, this mode has a brighter and moderate gain (for this pedal). The Tone control is disabled for this mode, and it differs technically from the famous TS808 by utilizing asymmetrical clipping. It is a little crunchier and less congested than the TS line. • 808- The magical TS-808 is supposed to be THE tubescreamer model (at least unmodded) that tone hounds want. It has less gain and a significant mid-range bump with a slight peak in the upper-mids. • TS9- When comparing modes with the 808, the sonic difference isn’t nearly as significant as the price difference! The mids seemed to be a bit lower in focus and I experienced it as slightly more exaggerated. I found it more to my liking than the 808 mode when pushing a bright and scooped (Fender) amp, but there was a more noticeable EQ shift. • MSL- While there is more gain and bass on tap than any of the previous modes, it’s a far cry from any metal I’ve heard, and has the undeniable TS vocal-thing happening. • TS10- This was a bit of a trip, as it is indeed lower gain, lower bass, and slightly more hi-fi. It does well in bringing focus and clarity to leads and is a bit less flabby on smaller speakers. • XR- Probably the least “tubescreamer” of the bunch, there is less mid-hump and either more gain or a differently structured gain. I like this one, and while “transparent” isn’t the word that comes to mind when compared to a KoT, Timmy, etc, it is the most natural sounding of the bunch. • TS7- This is a rude, crude take on the Tubescreamer. I get why this one would be overlooked by classic rock guys, and it almost worked best into a clean amp with the pedal’s gain cranked. All in, it feels tighter than the other modes. • Keeley- The the TS7 is tighter in gain structure, the Keeley Mod sounds tighter in frequency. It is smoother and really bumps the highs and lows for a fuller sound. This is the most refined sounding, but almost loses some of the TS-into-hot-amp advantages with its refined tone. • JHS- Probably the cleanest of the modes from a gain standpoint, and really lets the mids do the talking, significantly shelving the farthest reaches of the low end while boosting the highs. All three knobs (Volume, Drive, Tone) behave differently and have different limits depending on the circuit, so discussing them as a global phenomenon is a fool’s errand. One stray observation- Whatever the circuit design put in place to accommodate the switching, the Bonsai is as quiet (quieter, in many cases) than similary Tubescreamers I tested it against; Ibanez, boutique, or otherwise. I was glad to hear that the complex level of signal path switching in no way compromised signal-to-noise ratio. Limitations Due to the nature of different parts being used in each circuit, the output level varies greatly between certain settings. Conclusion The JHS Bonsai may be the first (and last) step future TS-seekers will take, and it is a fantastic place to start. With nine variations to explore, if you can’t find your sound you likely don’t want anything inspired by a Tubescreamer. As a studio tool, the opportunity to access these subtle-but-important shades of TS could be crucial to getting the right place in the mix before a production wizard takes over, and it is a pleasure to demo the different modes to find which ones your amp loves best. Even if the Bonsai isn’t your final stop in the search for the perfect TS (G.A.S. is a hell of a drug), it will take you MUCH further towards that final tweak than buying and flipping a half dozen boutique clones. - HC - Resources JHS Bonsai Product Page Buy JHS Bonsai at Amazon.com ($194.95) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

Cusack Music Resound Digital Reverb Resoundingly retro cool ... by Chris Loeffler Cusack Music can be single-handed thanked for many of the electronic advancements in pedals these last 15 years, introducing everything from tap-tempo control to analog devices to innovative switching approaches and a military-grade level of design efficiency. Most of his pedals, from the Tap-A-Phase to the Screamer, were so far ahead of the competition in terms of features when they were released that most of the press (professional and forum) was around how damned great they worked. “Yeah, it sounds really good too,” was almost an afterthought in most mentions. The Cusack Sound Resound Reverb is an eight-type digital reverb that features controls for Program, Mic, Par 1, Par 2, Decay, and Mix as well as switches for trails and extend, stereo output, expression in, and is powered by a standard 9v power supply. What You Need to Know With no less than eight modes (and eight preset options), the Resound packs a lot of sounds into a relatively small box. It is built around the much-praised Spin Semiconductor FV-1. The Level and Mix controls are intuitive, and the Par 1 and Par 2 set different parameters depending on the mode of the reverb. The reverb can be run in true stereo, with independent control of bypass to each channel. The eight reverbs available include Room, Plate, Catherdral, Modulation, Glisten, Hall/Freeze, Spring, and Shimmurmur. Room mode emulates the natural reverb of a small-to-medium sized room and has controls for Decay and Tone. At the shortest settings, closet-like refractions are possible, while the longest settings produce an authentic slap-back effect that would be at home in any vintage Memphis recording. Plate mode recreates the sound of a physical plate reverb, with the characteristic bright and slightly lightly metallic haze. The tone can be darkened via the Tone knob without taking away from the unmistakable plate sound. Cathedral mode is massive both in size of the space it creates and the tails it can leave. It’s easy to take this one too far with a distorted electric signal, but it sounds amazingly real with a clean acoustic guitar. Modulated mode isn’t merely the addition of a chorus to the reverb, it fluctuates filters, pitch, and even little sonic gremlins. It’s full and lush sounding without getting muddy. The Speed of the modulation is controlled by the Par control, but all the modulation quirkiness happens in a single control, so it’s more about enjoying swelling levels of discombobulation than it is fine-tuning how the filter plays against the pitch shift. Glisten mode is the now obligatory “shimmer” effect, applying both a 5th and an octave to the reverb signal. An additional twist in the inclusion of Tremolo for true amplitude modulation. The result is a more animated sound than many “shimmer” contemporaries. Hall/Freeze mode takes the standard hall (with long tails and all) and allows you to freeze the reverb at the highest settings for a droning background reverb. Spring mode sounds like it was pulled off the back of my vintage Super Reverb amp, but with a bit less grime. The Tone control is surprisingly effective in Spring mode, and dramatically changes the style of spring reverb to go from Blackface to Silverface. Shimmurmur mode is the true “no one has this!” mode on the Resound and is a collaboration with Rick Matthews of Matthews Effects of the Shimmer and Murmur effect. It is effectively two different voicings with independent controls for deeper, weirder, and more choir-like enhancements. The most surprising revelation in my time with the Resound (although, considering my experience with others in the line, maybe it shouldn’t have been) was how pristinely quiet it is. I don’t know that I’ve played a reverb with no perceivable white noise that didn’t at least have a touch of gating going on, but the Resound is just silent. Limitations Like other Cusack Sound pedals, there is more control than initial meets the eye, and I wouldn’t recommend giving it a go without having a manual in front of you the first time. Conclusion The amount of control and configuration Cusack Music offers in the Resound may exceed what simpler players are looking for in a reverb, and the learning curve that comes with that flexibility takes some time, but there is nothing like it on the market that offers as many quality, real-sounding reverbs that manage to sound professional and interactive without sounding too much like post-production polish.- HC- Resources Cusack Music Resound Product Page Buy Cusack Music Resound at Amazon.com ($279.00) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

Yamaha TRBX 600 Series Electric Bass 4 string seismic thunder ... by Chris Loeffler Yamaha upgraded its much celebrated 500 series basses with the 600 series, upgrading the aesthetics of their favored line with the bold statement of “great tone, outstanding comfort, boutique looks, zero compromise). What You Need to Know The Yamaha TRBX600’s body is constructed from a combination of alder and maple and was clearly designed with looks and ergonomics in mind, with enough mass to hold down a thick, sustained tone but well balanced between sculpting and horn design for a well distributed weight. The figured top certainly adds pop to the piece, and certainly adds the impression of a much more expensive instrument. The 5-piece maple/mahogany neck looks sharp and, in the unit I reviewed, was seamlessly sandwiched and well fretted across its 24 fret run. The headstock is positioned to create even tension (and spacing) across all strings, and the bass I reviewed was perfectly set up. The fretboard is just a hair skinnier than some vintage instruments I’ve played, but far from feeling modified to accommodate guitar players. I would say those with smaller hands might find a bit more enjoyment on it than a fatter neck while a longer-fingered player like me didn’t detect any “bunching” or perceived difference. The high-mass bridge is sturdy as heck and clearly contributes to the clarity and sustain of the core sound. It is adjustable, but mine arrived perfect (for me) out of the box. The Yamaha TRBX600 features controls for master volume, balance and 3-band EQ with an active/passive switch. These are fed by proprietary YGD H5 pickups, which I found to be especially clean and wide range, thanks in large part to the quad-pole piece design for some extra push to the preamp in active mode while retaining response and nuance for more expressive playing in passive mode. The preamp itself is, as stated by Yamaha, an audiophile-grade active/passive circuit that I found uncolored and well matched to the input. I appreciated the level-matched output, which guaranteed similar volumes when switching between passive or active mode and found it much easier both for on-the-fly switching and to evaluate the two modes. I didn’t run the battery all the way out, but it certainly lasted the duration (about four weeks of evaluation) of the review without dulling the sound or introducing the brittleness of a slowly starved circuit. Limitations While the Yamaha TRBX600 is a swiss army knife of tones, I couldn’t get it to nail the dirtier vintage tones of a Fender P-Bass. Conclusion The Yamaha TRBX600 is a bit of an odd duck for me to review. I’m used to a lot quirkier character in the basses I’m sent to review, but this bass just arrived perfectly set up and sounding fantastic. The balance and equal usability of both active and passive channels makes for a bass that’s up for anything from clean snap to driving aggression. -HC- Resources Yamaha TRBX600 Product Page Buy Yamaha TRBX600 on Amazon ($600.00) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

Matthew Effects The Chemist Atomic Modulator Chorus/Vibrato/Phaser/Octave. Who could ask for anything more... by Chris Loeffler Matthews Effects first hit my radar a few years ago, standing out for their uniquely thematic graphics and names (yes, pedals are about sound, not looks) and unique digital takes on classic tones in a compact multi-effect format. The analog interface that allows two channels is instantly accessible to knob-turning players and puts everything front and center. While this started with variations of a theme, the Matthew Effects Chemist broke the mold even further last year by combining three complete different effects types in a single pedal. Featuring chorus/vibrato, octave, and phaser effects in a single enclosure, the Matthews Effects Chemist v1.5 is a slight update to the original Chemist released over a year ago. The pedal features top-located input/output jacks, runs on a standard 9v center-negative power supply, features duplicate, multi-purpose controls (Reaction, Catalyst, Formula), a channel switching footswitch, an alternate input jack for external control of channel switching, and true-bypass. What You Need to Know The Matthews Effects Chemist has three effects modes; Cobalt, Lithium, and Iridium. The Cobalt mode is a classic chorus/vibrato circuit in the vein of a cleaner, brighter CE-2. As will be mentioned with each more, Reaction is a global mix control, and in the Cobalt it blends the chorusing effect until it becomes a true, pitch modulating vibrato when turned up all the way. The Formula control sets the width of the pitch sweep, covering ground from tone-fattening slight detunes to whole-step spanning shifts. The Catalyst control sets the speed of the modulation anywhere from slow arcs that stretch across several bars to the dizzying sound of a Leslie rotating speaker about to fly apart. The wave shape is symmetrical and smooth, very much the classic LFO. The Lithium mode produces a polyphonic octave effect that introduces and octave up and an octave down. Catalyst blends the octave up effect and Formula blends the octave down effect. Tracking is as reasonably tight as other polyphonic octave generators I’ve played, with barely noticeable lag and a wide range of stability. I couldn’t find weak points along the neck for the effect, but there is a touch of pitch jumping in the octave down mode when more complex chords are played. Not nearly as glitchy as a Blue Box is with single notes, but not exactly as constant as shifting pitch in post-production. The tones, when blended, sound extremely like an organ, and even fast runs seems to keep step. I found the quality of the tone depends heavily on the amp it is played into… high headroom and 12” speakers create glorious tones, while amps on the dirtier side will get nasty quick and 10” speakers struggle to keep up with the lows. The Iridium mode is the phasing effect, with identical wave form and speed control (Catalyst) as the Cobalt, and the Formula control setting the depth of the phase shift. The Iridium mode is more resonant than some of the subtler phase offerings, with a chewier swish and more harmonically rich content across the sweep. While this makes it a bit less “dead on” in emulating, say, a classic univibe tone, it is musically tasteful, creating additional presence in clean settings and giving overdriven amps (or pedals) a lot to work with. I found it to be tonally akin to the Red Witch Moon Phaser. Matthew Effects removed the conundrum of, “Great, I have three amazing effects in one pedal; how do I balance between them in a live setting?” by giving two channels, selectable via a second footswitch, that store the mode, meaning you can have any combination of the effects (or two different settings of the same effect) instantly accessible with the stomp of a switch. The three controls (Reaction, Catalyst, Formula) are duplicated in each channel, and each channel has a three-setting toggle switch to select which effect you want. The Matthew Effects Chemist v1.5 includes a few tweaks to the original Chemist, including improved algorithms, reduced power draw, and an upgraded Mix control that goes full dry to 100% wet. I didn’t have an original to compare the tonal differences brought forth by the algorithm adjustments, but all three effect modes sound thoroughly refined without being overly produced and the feel and reactivity is as lively as any analog circuit I’ve played. Limitations No tap tempo, no stereo, no simultaneous channel use. Conclusion I confess I hadn’t thought previously that if I were to combine three effects that they would be chorus, octave, and phasing, but that’s part of the genius of the Matthews Effects Chemist V1.5. It nails three great effects (each of which I could see commanding the street price of the Chemist) and feels coherent as a package. While only having two controls (other than mix) per mode seems limiting on paper, I didn’t experience a moment during the review process where I felt deeper parameter adjustment was needed (not even wanted) to perfectly nail what I was after. The Chemist holds its own against stand-alone effects of its ilk and comes together in a beautifully coherent way as a true tone tool for guitar players looking to add some magic to their rig. - HC - Resources Matthews Effects The Chemist Atomic Modulator Product Page Buy Matthews Effects The Chemist Atomic Modulator at Amazon.com ($199.99) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

Matthew Effects The Astronomer V2 Celestial Reverb This pedal would make Carl Sagan smile... by Chris Loeffler Reverb has come a long way, and its migration from being the domain of the big dogs to smaller, more boutique companies is proof that as technology improves and gets cheaper, the days of unaffordable, studio-quality ‘verb are over. However, there is only so far a reverb effect can go; how many parameters are controllable, how high-resolution the sampling it, etc. That’s where the scrappiness of builders like Matthews Effects comes in to play, bringing forth a reworking of the Matthew Effects Astronomer with a v2 that adds an algorithm, extends the blend of dry and wet signals to 100%, reduces power consumption, and allows for tails or bypass modes. The Matthew Effect Astronomer v2 is comprised of three reverb types selectable over two channels with multi-purpose controls to fine-tune each reverb. The all-analog dry signal path is married with the digital effect and can be set to true-bypass or buffered bypass so that reverb trails naturally fade once the effect is turned off. The pedal features top-located input/output jacks, runs on a standard 9v center-negative power supply, an onboard channel switching footswitch with an alternate input jack for external control of channel switching, and true-bypass. What You Need to Know The Matthews Effects Astronomer has three reverb modes; Canis Major, Orion, and Ursa Major. Each of the three modes use three controls- Mass (mix), Travel (reverb feedback), and Glow (shimmer/octave). Although the three reverb modes behave differently, the fundamental travel and scope of each control is the same. The Canis Major mode is what Matthew Effects calls an EchoVerb and feels less like a traditional reverb effect that defines a physical space and more like an infinite trail. There is a subtle delay and swell to the effect that plays well against the direct signal. Canis Major has a very specific sound that you can just get more or less of, and it is perfect for shoegaze, ambient, and lofi musical applications where a wash of sound is required. It can do subtle perfectly well, but it is clearly meant to add a spacy haze. The octave effect in this mode has a bit more sparkly and effervescent than the Orion mode, shimmering forward as the treble decays in the reverb. The Orion mode is a hall reverb effect with a shimmer (octave) effect. The amount of hall reverb is set by a combination of the Mass and Travel controls and allows for anything from a slight presence grounding to massive, cavernous spatial diffusion. Compared to classic halls from TC, Eventide, and Stymon the Orion hall is bit warmer and interactive with the direct signal, although it isn’t necessarily darker. The octave effect in Orion is fuller and more present than the Canis Major mode and more closely represents a choir. The Ursa Major mode is a chamber reverb effect at heart, expanding on the textures and perceived reflective pivots of the Canis Major mode for something darker, more textured, and complex. This mode lends itself better to single notes and simpler parts as the amount of space it fills quickly starts to muddy when met with complicated chords and dissonant notes. The octave effect in this mode feels more like a ping echo against the reverb despite being created pre-reverb. The result is the reverb picking up the octave as well for a subtler shimmer than the Orion. The magic to having three great sounding reverbs come from two channels, selectable via a second footswitch, that allow for foot switching between two different modes (or settings within a mode). The three controls (Mass, Travel, and Glow) exist in both channels, with each channel driven by a three-setting toggle switch to select which effect you want. As mentioned, the Matthew Effects Astronomer v2 includes a few tweaks to the original Astronomer, including improved algorithms, reduced power draw, an upgraded Mix control that goes full dry to 100% wet, and an entirely new reverb mode. I didn’t have an original to compare against, but the Astronomer v2 sounds very much like a mature product, comfortable in its own skin. Limitations No stereo, no simultaneous channel use. Conclusion The Matthews Effects Astronomer v2 offers three sound-effect focused reverbs (no spring reverb here) for the same price of a stand-alone reverb. While there are reverbs out there that are more diverse in their modes (Strymon, Eventide) and reverbs that offer deeper tweaking within a single sound (Earthquaker), the Matthews Effects Astronomer offers a little bit of both… three non-traditional reverbs that are meant to be heard with simple controls and easy channel hopping. - HC - Resources Matthews Effects The Astronomer V2 Celestial Reverb Homepage Buy the Matthews Effects The Astronomer at Amazon ($199.99) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

Singular Sound Beat Buddy Mini 2 And the beat goes on ... by Chris Loeffler The Singular Sound BeatBuddy launched several years ago and was one of the first products to successfully marry a digital drum machine with the format and interface of a guitar pedal. The new BeatBuddy Mini 2 branches off of the core BeatBuddy by stripping away a few pro features and pushing a few of the external controls into concentric knobs or digital menus to accommodate a smaller footprint and price tag. The BeatBuddy Mini 2 has two external controls, Volume and a shared, push-button knob for Genre, Song, and Tempo as well as a multi-purpose footswitch and an input jack for an optional controller, running at a standard 9v power. What You Need to Know Even if you’ve never used a drum machine, the BeatBuddy Mini 2 is as straightforward as could be, with the ability to choose between 24 genres of music (each of which features a myriad of variations for a total exceeding 200), set tempo via tap or the control knob, and introduce fills and transitions hands-free. After choosing a genre, variation (Song), and tempo, stepping on the stomp switch initiates the beat with an intro drum fill that counts off four beats into the first bar. Once the beat is initiated, fills can be thrown in at any time by stomping on the footswitch (the BeatBuddy always quantitizes to the next bar) and transitions between choruses and verses are achieved by holding the footswitch for a second. To end a song, simply double-tap the foot switch and the BeatBuddy will cut out at the next bar with an outro fill. Yes, it’s really that easy. The beats themselves are, in general, varied and nuanced enough to be inspiring without being so full of character that they distract from the job at hand. Unless you are in an eclectic cover band, I suspect you'll find a hald dozen or so favorites and stick to those, but the deep bench means there are opportunities to stretch your confort zone if you're looking to step out of your box. As to how it sounds? Really good, actually. While I wouldn’t say any of the settings could be mistaken for a professional drummer physically playing the part in a well mic’ed studio, they are absolutely of a quality that they are additive to a live performance and miles from the dopey drum parts included on many mid-level keyboards. The sound is natural, and while there’s no denying the inhuman precision of the beats, there is enough play in them to not feel robotic. Integrated into a pedal board and run in to a traditional amplifier, there are sonic compromises as the signals compete for space and headroom, but even a low wattage tube amp like a Fender Champ does an admirable job of keeping up (at least enough for a solo gig). Where the BeatBuddy Mini 2 shines, though, is direct into a PA or run in parallel with a modelling amp system into a crisp, clean amp. Let me stop the review short to say- If you don’t have a system for playing against beats yet, the BeatBuddy line is the top consideration. It doesn’t include a baseline like the Digitech Trio line, but I found that 50% of the time the Trio hurt more than helped, whereas the BeatBuddy was always helpful and never distracting. Limitations The BeatBuddy Mini 2 got mini by stripping MIDI functionality, the ability to load new content and sounds, and downgrading audio from 24-bit to 16-bit. Conclusion The BeatBuddy Mini 2 is a well thought-out product that perfectly walks the fine line between simplicity and deeper-level control. There were concessions to be made to hit the dead-simple control schema and price point that might keep it from being a must-have for live performers (that’s what the original BeatBuddy does best), but the deep library of 24 genres and over 200 styles of beats makes for a compelling (maybe essential?) tool for intermediate players looking to tighten their chops and pros who want an accompaniment to play over and try new things. -HC- Resources Singluar Sound BeatBuddy Mini 2 Product Page Buy Singlur Sound BeatBuddy Mini 2 at Amazon.com ($149.99) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

JHS Kodiak Tremolo Pedal sound so big it's un-bear-able! by Chris Loeffler To my ear, there are few effects that set a mood as immediately and effectively as tremolo. Maybe that is because it is one of the first effects to be introduced to electric guitar and therefore one of the most embedded in its sonic vocabulary, but there’s something about tremolo, be it soft up-and-down tremor of a light sine wave or the on-off stutter of a cranked square wave, the hypnotic powers of the effect are undeniable as it lulls even the most passive listener into a trance. The JHS Kodiak Tremolo is another addition to JHS Pedals’ rapidly growing line of small box tap-tempo pedals; an analog tremolo with variable waveforms. The Kodiak features controls for Volume, Speed, Wave, Mix, and Ratio, true-bypass switching, and is powered by a standard negative center 9v power supply. What You Need to Know One of the beauties of the tremolo effect is how simple it is, and the controls follow suit, making the Kodiak a pedal you can master without referencing the users guide. The Volume control sets the total output level of the effect, which is helpful to make up for the perceived volume loss that happens when the effect is turned on at unity. Cranking the Volume even higher results in a satisfying crunch when run into a preamp on the verge of overdrive that really stands out in the mix and adds harmonic complexity to a part and for bonus points you can even roll the Mix all the way down, effectively killing the tremolo effect to product a nice, clean boost. The Mix control is a bit of an outlier of standard parameter nomenclature, as it functions identical to what is typically called Depth and adjusts how deep an amplitude (volume) cut occurs, setting how pronounced or understated the effect is. Anything from “not on” to complete volume cuts are available. The Speed control, intuitively, sets the duration of the waveform, from multi-second waves that take an entire bar to resolve to machinegun stutters that stop just short of going into ring modulation territory. The Wave control is where most of the tweaking will be done, and blends as it sweeps through four unique wave forms. Sine wave is the most standard tremolo sound, producing perfectly round, even throbs a la classic Surf music. As the control moves upward the wave morphs to Rhythmic, which generates a dah-da-da-dah type stutter for a slightly less monotonous, but no less mesmerizing, pattern. Next is the square wave, which forms a hard step from the direct signal to the Mix cut for a choppy, broken signal effect. The Ramp mode forms infinite cascading swells from the lowest point of the Mix setting to the loudest. It’s a different sound and probably one of the most dizzying, making it prime for use in Indie Rock and general experimental music. The effect itself doesn’t have a tone and introduced no noticeable coloration to my direct signal. I also tried hammering it with cranked active humbuckers and wasn’t able to torture it to break up. Limitations The Rhythmic setting is cool, but only has one pattern. It would have been cool to have the pattern change as the sweep of the Wave control went through that ¼ of the setting. Conclusion The JHS Kodiak Tremolo is a compact, flexible was to get four great tremolo types on your floor with tap tempo for less that $200. The tremolo is transparent, high-headroom, and low-noise, the tap tempo is accurate, and there’s enough boost to remove any perceived signal drop. Short of adding true stereo panning, there’s not much more to do in the world of amplitude modulation, making the JHS Kodiak a top-contender in my book if you’re looking for a tremolo. -HC- Resources JHS Kodiak Tremolo Product Page Buy JHS Kodiak Tremolo at Amazon.com ($199.99) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

RPS Tremulus Maximus Optical Tremolo Tremulus maximus for the carnivourus vulgaris guitarist... by Chris Loeffler How flexible can an amplitude modulation effect be? Boutique pedal makers have been taking the standard Speed and Depth controls of the classic pulse first found in amplifiers and pushing it to the limits by offering alternative wave shapes, adding digital controls, and going true stereo for panning effects. RPS has taken on this classic effect with their own twists(s); reactive playing and the coolest visual tempo indicator I’ve come across. The RPS Tremulus Maximus is an optical tremolo effect that features Rate, Depth, and Avto controls and a Triangle/Square waveform selector. The Tremulus Maximus is true-bypass and is powered by a standard, 9v center-negative power supply. What You Need to Know Rather than starting with dessert (Avto control and the LED), let’s chew into the meat of the Tremulus Maximus. The standard Rate and Depth controls on the RPS Tremulus Maximus do exactly what you would expect, with the Rate knob taking you anywhere from multi-second sweeps to helicopter-like chops by noon. The last half of the Rate control gets pretty wild, with ring modulation sound effects thereafter. The Rate can be controlled by an expression pedal as well, which seems to bypass the Rate control entirely and mimic its sweep, giving the same fastest and slowest speeds. With the Depth knob rolled all the way down, the effect might as well be off. Other than a slight clean boost, there is no change to your core tone when activated. The depth has a fairly linear cut all the way to the most extreme setting, at which point the signal entirely disappears at the peak. In the pulsing Triangle wave mode this cut can be more subtle, but when cranked in Square wave mode it sounds like an automated kill switch. All this talk of what it does leaves open the question of how it sounds. To my ears, it sounds exactly like a tremolo should… invisible. No weird EQ shifts, no “warming” of signal; just a smooth amplitude modulation. There are perceived harmonic spikes, but those are mostly due to how we perceived a sound at various volumes (excepting, of course, when driving an already pushed preamp after the fact, in which case it is pushing out different harmonics). The Avto control is the one area the Tremulus Maximus veers fairly off what a “normal” tremolo sounds like. It sets an envelope follower that uses the strength of the input signal to dictate a speeding up of the modulation, introducing a truly dynamic experience where the speed ramps up when hit hard and then gradually slows its cycle as the sustained notes begin to fade. The control itself sets the sensitivity and level of the effect; when it is all the way down the Tremulus Maximus acts as a standard tremolo, but as it is cranked up the responsiveness of the effect picks up. I found lots of cool uses for this, from subtle expressiveness like an uncolored vibrato effect to rotating-speaker style ramps without the phasing effect. A final note on the whole of the RPS Tremulus Maximus is how it handles visual feedback of the speed and depth. Rather than a top-mounted LED, there is a piece of transparent material sandwiched between the enclosure casing and the bottom plate. When the effect is activated, the bottom sides of the pedal pulses in synch with the waveform from all four sides. It doesn’t impact the sonics, but it looks damned cool (especially on a dark stage). Each wave form has its own color (green and pink) for easy identification of which mode you are in and, again, because it’s just a pleasure to see in a sea of red and blue indicator LEDs. Limitations The slight goose in output volume keeps the RPS Tremulus in the mix, but you can’t increase or decrease the volume. Conclusion The RPS Tremulus is a playful yet 100% serious take on optical amplitude modulation, with two unique wave forms to choose from and an Auto control that brings the pedal to life, reacting to your playing style. The color-coded flashing speed indicator between the bottom plate and the enclosure is far more fun than it should be, and a great bonus to what is all-around a fantastic sounding, flexible tremolo with a little extra. Unless you’re looking for extremely customizable wave-shapes, there’s no reason to not consider the RPS Tremulus as a top contender for your tremolo needs. - HC - Resources RPS Tremulus Maximus Product Page Try Out RPS Tremulus Maximus at www.PedalGenie.com ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

Chase Bliss Audio Condor EQ Overdrive Filter Pedal With a sound as large as an Andean wingspan... by Chris Loeffler Chase Bliss Audio came crashing out of the gate with modulation like chorus, phaser, and tremolo, marrying all-analog signal paths with state-of-the art digital control over more parameters than any analog effect to date can match. This was a revelation for players looking to move beyond the standard three controls and in search of different, more expressive ways to enhance their sound. Then Chase Bliss Audio moved to gain with the Brothers overdrive/distortion. How that level of control would translate to such a seemingly singular effect was high on the minds of people, but as the early reports trickled in from the industry the answer was clearly “amazingly well.” So how about EQ? The Chase Bliss Audio Condor is marketed as an EQ/Preamp/Filter and arrives in the standard small enclosure with dial controls for Gain (Ramp), Freq, Volume, Mids, Bass, and LPF, toggle switches for Bass, Mids, LPF, and presets, and stomp switches for Drive/Hold and Bypass. The Condor also features an Expression/CV input and MIDI control via a ¼” TRS jack and optional Chase Bliss Midibox as well as an array of DIP switches on the back for additional parameter control. The pedal runs on a standard 9v center-negative power supply and operates in buffered or true bypass. What You Need to Know While there’s nothing new in terms of its individual components, the Chase Bliss Audio Condor can take a while to wrap your head around (at least if you want to fully realize it’s potential). It is an EQ pedal at heart (filters) that combines gain and amplitude (overdrive, boost, tremolo) that can dramatically warp your tone in real time, with near synthesizer levels of control. The possible sum of these effects far surpasses the individual components, yielding anything from light EQ to wah tones to even flanger-like regeneration. Because the Condor is guitar-focused, there is a lot of thought put into the mid-range. The Mids knob sets the boost or cut of the mids, like a standard Mid tone control, and the Freq knobs selects the specific frequency you are targeting, from 150hz to 4KHZ. This allows for precise carving of the signal, creating anything from a natural mid-bump to parked-wah like, cutting tones. The Bass knob controls, as you might expect, the low end and works like the Mids knob in that it raises or cuts the low end, and a three-position toggle switch selects the amount of bass on tap, from Small, Moderate, to Big. I like to be respectful of the bass frequencies for four-string slingers, so I found plenty of control in the least setting, but I could see my drop-C brethren enjoying the window rattling subs of the deepest settings. The LPF (low pass filter) is where all the funkiness happens, producing an analog filter sweep that does everything from tone sweetening to the smoothest wah tones I’ve experienced, dedicated effect or otherwise. Kicking up the mids and bass fattens up the tone considerably in a very complimentary way to both single coil and humbucking pickups, and I was even able to capture the transistor radio effect at the into of Wish You Were Here by annihilating the lows. The preamp section has more headroom than I was able to exceed, even when hit with an irresponsible amount of boost from a different pedal, and the overdrive itself is crisp and doesn’t change your EQ (unless you want it to). The overdrive being blended with the direct signal allows for more clarity and definition in higher gain settings without ever sounding too effected or segregated (something many overdrives with blend controls I have played fall short on). Like all Chase Bliss Audio pedals, there are a ton of DIP switches on the back of the pedal (16, to be precise). These switches control everything from how many parameters are synchronized to the expression pedal or ramp function to how core functionality behaves. There are more functions and applications than would be digestible in a simple review, but anything from simultaneous filter and overdrive ramping for the most wicked wah you’ve never heard to matched tremolo and chorus-like pulses. The filter section is where all the tone shaping and wackiness happens, and it really shows how underutilized filters are in the world of guitar effects. Yes, you can cop amazing autowah tones and wah effects with an optional expression pedal. The Condor unlocks studio-level tweaking that touches on phasing, filtering, and even synthesis. Locking the sweep of the filter to ramp or expression results in tones that no one would assume came from EQ+gain. The Chase Bliss Audio Condor shines on its own, but it is fun to stack with other pedals as well. Placed after a Big Muff Pi, I was able to maintain the classic BMP lead tone while kicking up the mids to push it forward in a crowded mix. I confess the core functionality of the Condor seems underserved in a live setting being utilized just for that, but as a studio tool it can give a lot more pre-production control of what the mixer picks up. Limitations Like most Chase Bliss Audio pedals, there is a decent learning curve to mastering its higher-level functionality. It’s easy to tweak knobs and get great tones, but mastery of the tool is where the true reward lies. Conclusion At this point, I shouldn’t be surprised how much innovation Chase Bliss Audio is capable of squeezing from seemingly over-trodden effects categories, digital or analog. The Condor is more than a gain device, more than a filter, and more than a dedicated EQ… it blends the three in ways that could never be accomplished in running three dedicated effects in series. While it may take an hour to crack, the Chase Bliss Audio Condor has everything going for it to be your favorite boost, or overdrive, or EQ, or filter effect, or tremolo, or regenerative modulation, or… -HC Resources Chase Bliss Audio Condor Product Page Buy Chase Bliss Audio Condor at Amazon ($349.99) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

JAM Pedals RetroVibe MKII For flower power jammin' ... by Chris Loeffler The Univibe, like fuzz, is one of the earliest effects to hit the electric guitar market and is closely associated with classic rock, being one of the original modulation effects (being surpassed only by tremolo) to be utilized to create movement or general psychedelia to a part. Jimi Hendrix, Robin Trower, David Gilmour… all names associated with making the Univibe sound part of the electric guitar lexicon. Jam Pedals originally released the RetroVibe almost a decade ago and originally created buzz with their claim of 100%-to-spec recreation of the original Univibe. Players like J. Mascis and Andy Timmons provided pull-quotes stating the RetroVibe was their modern replacement for their vintage Shin-E units, and the forums went wild. Small niggles like the missing Chorus/Vibe switch were all that kept the RetroVibe from being a dead-on contender, and the upgrade of the pedal this year (MKII) added this feature, erasing any perceived difference. The Jam Pedals RetroVibe MKII features controls for Speed, Depth, Chorus/Vibe, and expression pedal in, true-bypass switching, and is powered by a standard, center-negative 9v power supply. What You Need to Know The RetroVibe MKII claims to be a circuit-perfect recreation of the original Shin-E Univibe, up to utilizing the same original NOS 2SC828 transistors and carbon comp resistors. The vibe effect, which is technically a phase shifting effect, is created by four light-sensitive sensors surrounding a bulb that brightens and dims, creating the shape of the modulation. Unlike op-amp driven phasers, the audio signal in general becomes more harmonically rich with soft distortion and a slightly uneven shape that pulses. Adding to the authenticity in internal step-voltage to get the unit to run on an identical 15V via a traditional 9V power supply, increasing headroom and clarity. The Jam Pedals RetroVibe MKII features controls for Speed and Depth that, when compared with settings on an original, carry about the same swing, from bar-spanning slowness to Leslie-like machinegun with a slightly underwater feel. The Depth control dictates the range of the effect, with barely-noticeable sweetening on the shallowest settings and engulfing throbs all the way up. The Chrous/Vibrato switch jumps between two pre-determined mix settings, with Chorus being about 50/50 wet/dry and Vibrato being 100% wet for rotating speaker sounds and edging on perceived pitch shifting. The buzz around the Jam Pedals RetroVibe MKII has been around how much thicker, fuller, and more authentic it sounds than the standard Univibe clone, and my experience with a half-dozen or so (including the awesome FoxRox Captain Coconut 2) is that they are all slightly different, despite sharing a similar heritage. There’s something about simple circuits that really makes every component and decision matter. I won’t knock others down, but I can say I was surprised by how accurate the RetroVibe MKII was to the sounds of Hendrix and Trower. The shape, depth, and general tonal sculpt was just there. It has a more robust low-end than many of the more affordable clones that lends itself to a chewier tone but doesn’t get flabby or boomy. It distorts when hit with a hot signal, but not unpleasantly. It certainly seems to walk the line of slight distortion without ever sounding obviously “clippy”, and it has a satisfyingly subtle sag that responds to signal spikes. The expression input allows for control of the speed via their EXP4 expression pedal or identically spec’d pedals. It follows the same high and low points of the Speed control, so it doesn’t exactly unlock new sounds, but manually speeding up or slowing down the rate is the ticket to true-to-life rotating speaker simulation or even more expressive solos. Limitations No battery option. Conclusion I walked into the Jam Pedals RetroVibe MKII with an unhealthy amount of skepticism because the early buzz and artist endorsements felt a bit heavy in the marketing side of thing. This isn’t the best way to approach a review, but I’m only human. What I experienced, however, completely affirmed all the praise I has been suspicious of. The Jam Pedals RetroVibe MKII is a thick, throbbing effect that is one of the most visceral “that’s EXACTLY the sound I heard on the album” moments I have had upon my initial dive into a review. It doesn’t do anything dramatically different than other Univibe clones, but it does what it does so damned well that it doesn’t need to. - HC - Resources Jam Pedals RetroVibe MKII Product Page Buy Jam Pedals RetroVibe at Amazon ($299.99) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

Electro-Harmonix Triangle Big Muff Pi Reissue Who doesn't like reheated Pi...? by Chris Loeffler Three reissued Big Muff Pis in two years? Electro-Harmonix is clearly fully digging in to giving guitar players what they want, and what they want is clearly more Muff. There are dozens of Big Muff variant clones currently available, and hundreds have shown up in the last decade, proof of the mark Electro-Harmonix made on the guitar world. After much applauded re-releases of the Electro-Harmonix Green Russian Big Muff Pi and Electro-Harmonix Op-Amp Big Muff Pi, EHX is going all the way back the the Muff’s roots with the new Electro-Harmonix Triangle Big Muff Pi. The Electro-Harmonix Triangle Big Muff Pi features three controls for Volume, Tone, and Sustain (gain), is true-bypass, and ships with a 9v battery or can be powered with a standard 9v center negative power supply. What You Need to Know The Electro-Harmonix Triangle Big Muff Pi purports to recreate the original 1969 issue of the first fuzz box they released under the Big Muff Pi name. The pedal was conceived to be a gain pedal that brought massive amounts of sustain to replicate the sound of cranked amps at reasonable levels. This design was brought to life by multiple cascading gain stages to create a huge, saturated sound that Matthews described as “violin-like.” One of the most contentious arguments in the world of Muffs is what the original BMP sounds like, due in large part to there being nearly 18 circuit variants released in the same enclosure and the specifications of the individual components drifting over the decades since they were released (the BMP was made to be affordable, and that mean using less-than-rigorously spec’ed capacitors). So while at this point there is no “one” sound to the original BMP, it’s fair to say that if anyone can make a claim at recreating the sonic twin of what it was meant to sound like it would be the engineers at Electro-Harmonix. With three simple controls, the Electro-Harmonix Triangle Big Muff Pi creates a thick, smooth distortion/fuzz hybrid that stays musical while pushing the envelope for how much gain is “too much.” The Volume control takes the output of the pedal anywhere from well below unity gain to noticeably hotter and louder, although the final output is dictated by the interaction between the Sustain and Volume controls. The Sustain control increases the level of gain in the Triangle Big Muff, starting with a heavily distorted, gated sound that crunches on rhythm parts and thickening, focusing, and smoothing out as it is turned up. The Tone control filters through all levels of sweet and sour spots, depending on your guitar and amp, and helps to anchor the distortion into the mix. The Big Muff Pi sound, generally, is scooped in the midrange and bonds best with a clean amp or an amp that already has a mid focus. The Triangle Big Muff Pi, however, has noticeably less of a scooped mids and does a better job of standing out in the mix. Although less mid-heavy than the Green Russian BMP reissue, the Triangle BMP still has enough presence and extra distortion to jump out for leads without the hinderance of the Green Russian’s heavy bass emphasis. Compared to the Op-Amp BMP, the Triangle BMP has more clarity and preserves note definition and is less hollow in the midrange. There’s a gritty sharpness to the Op-Amp BMP that contrasts with the smoothness of the Triangle BMP, although the Triangle BMP does produce slightly more grit surrounding notes than the Green Russian. Demoing the three reissues head-to-head for several hours, the Triangle Big Muff Pi was the Goldilocks of the group, not too scooped, not too gated, not too bass-heavy. It is most like the Green Russian, but more aggressive, flexible in varying gain characteristics, and more vintage sounding. A cool trick I found to have the Triangle Big Muff Pi serve double-duty as rhythm and lead without tweaking the knobs was to place a treble booster (Dallas Rangemaster) in front of it for leads. The treble boost kicks in additional presence bite to the Muff sound adds dimension and texture to the distortion that really takes the BMP into a Marshall-style amp to a new level. Limitations Like all Big Muff Pi circuits, the Triangle Big Muff Pi isn’t the quietest pedal. While the hiss and rumble that swells when the pedal is on but not being played is almost entirely lost in a band setting, bedroom players used to more refined circuits will quickly learn to turn the pedal off when not playing notes. Conclusion With three classic Big Muff Pi circuits to choose from now (in addition to a handful of modern versions EHX offers), the Triangle Big Muff Pi stands out both as one of the most sought-after tones and as the truest to what the Big Muff Pi sound is. Those looking for a bass and mid heavy Muff to run in to clean American amps will most likely bond with the Green Russian, and those looking for high-gain, gated fuzz that dominated Alternative Rock in the 90’s would be best suited to starting with the Op-Amp Big Muff Pi, but those looking for the smooth, stringed-instrument bloom of classic soloist like Gilmour and Santana should jump on the Triangle Big Muff Pi as their starting point.. -HC- Resources Electro-Harmonix Triangle Big Muff Pi Product Page Buy Electro-Harmonix Triangle Big Muff Pi at Amazon ($99.99) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

Frantone Cream Puff Fuzz Pedal One sweet pedal... by Chris Loeffler Frantone was founded by Fran Blanche in the 1990s after a run as design engineer at Electro-Harmonix, where she designed the Electro-Harmonix NYC Big Muff Pi, the pedal that brought the BMP closer to its roots after years of black and green box variants. The design and aesthetics she brought to the Frantone line of pedals was unprecedented at the time and, often reported, part of what created financial business challenges in trying to keep up that level of quality and hands-on involvement in the famously expensive NYC area. Despite famous users like Lou Reed and R.E.M. and an assortment of over a dozen pedals, financial pressure forced the closure of Frantone more than a decade ago. Then, in 2016, Fran came back, bringing three of her most popular pedals back to players; the Frantone Vibutron, the Frantone Peach Fuzz, and the Frantone Cream Puff. The Frantone Cream Puff, inspired by the Op-Amp Big Muff Pi circuit, returns in its iconic (and deceiving) Pepto-Bismol backed pink enamel enclosure with puffy white font, bakelite knobs and a pink LED, featuring controls for Volume, Tone, and Fluff (distortion), true-bypass switching, powered by a 9v battery or 9v center negative power supply. What You Need to Know The Frantone Cream Puff paradoxically sounds like a Big Muff Pi, and yet its response, presence, and gain structure are uniquely different than any Muff I’ve every played (and I’ve played more than a few). It has tightness modern metal amp makers would kill for (no, it sounds nothing like the Metal Muff) and manages to punch while being scooped. The first chord I strummed through it sounded so big I was taken aback. The Cream Puff is about as articulate as one could ask for such a heavy sound, and while it does still suffer from the “leads disappearing in the mix” syndrome of most BMP circuits, it held up better than any I’ve tried but the Green Russian. Running it into an EQ or mid-focused overdrive helps it stand out, but also kills some of the character, so I found it best as a rhythm monster or recording lead tool, where some post work can better represent it. There is no “clean” setting on the Cream Puff, it starts out aggressive and only gets bigger. The Tone and Fluff knobs impact each other, so as the Tone settings shift the structure of the gain does as well (especially how the midrange compresses). I found a couple of minutes or teeter-tottering the two was required to get the final 2% I was looking for in various settings. Highs take a noticeable (but not crippling) hit for a warm upper-mid cap that keeps the distortion from turning into a sonic icepick, and there is a highly rectifier-like attack to it that is the only non-ironic connection between the looks and sound of the pedal. Despite utilizing an op-amp for distortion, if I was told it was germanium driven I would believe it, as there’s a warm halo of wool around the distortion that contributes to the “vintage tone, modern attack. The Frantone Cream Puff LOVES high-wattage clean amps. The detail and articulation of the pedal really need enough headroom to be expressed, and while I achieved great heavy tones in low wattage tube amps they were nothing like the soaring tones teased from my Marshall 2208 power amp into a set of overpowered Mesa Boogie speakers. Limitations The Frantone Cream Puff has a bit less high-end than your typical Big Muff Pi variant, resulting in a darker sound that kills in a bright amp but can get muffled if you’re already running your guitar and rig dark. Conclusion The Frantone Cream Puff is the most modern sounding, aggressive Big Muff Pi-inspired pedal I’ve played, managing to nail that BMP sound people hear in their heads but with a tightness and punch that is anything but vintage. Like those of its ilk, what sounds great in a bedroom won’t working in a live setting, and visa versa, but the Cream Puff can be gloriously crushing in both settings.. - HC - Resources Frantone Cream Puff Fuzz ($295.00 Direct) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

RPS Warp Drive Analog Delay To boldly go... by Chris Loeffler How do you do something different with delay? How about adding touch-sensitive shifts to the delay time to create anything from dynamic slight de-tunes to octave dive-bombs in real time! RPS Effects is a relative new entrant into the pedal world, but they’ve already stuck a solid landing with the Bit Reactor and Tremulus, so their new analog delay pedal, the RPS Warp Drive, is sure to peak interest with its simple feature set and unique Warp control. The RPS Warp Drive is true bypass, features controls for Dry/Wet, Feedback, Time, and Warp, expression pedal in for Feedback and Time control, and is powered by a standard center-negative 9v power supply. What You Need to Know The RPS Warp Drive is a BBD-based analog delay pedal with a maximum delay time of 900MS. The standard controls one would expect include Feedback (the number of repeats the effect will produce), Time (choosing the space between repeats, from a few dozen milliseconds to nearly a second), and Wet/Dry (mixing in the effected signal against the dry signal). The Dry/Wet signal veers from some traditional blend controls in that it can go 100% on either end, from 100% dry to 100% wet, meaning noon is about where the two signals are at equal volume (although the high-end roll off and companding of the delayed signal mean you might go a touch above the mid-point to achieve perceived unity gain). The Feedback control tends to go into self-oscillation in the final quarter of the dial, with the delay time significantly impacting the exact point of take-off. Anything past self-oscillation increases the volume and speed at which the feedback roars over your direct signal, so regular run-offs benefit from backing down the Wet/Dry signal a touch so you don’t blow your speakers (or your eardrums) as you start tweaking the pitch with the Time control. While everyone’s definition of “musical” is different, I found running the pedal on the verge of self-oscillation created beautiful washes that filled in the background, like a sweetened reverb with harmonic feedback. From a tone standpoint, the RPS Warp Drive brings the attack and slight high-end roll-off of classic analog circuits without being as noisy and compressed. It walks a middle-ground between digital and analog sounds and achieves what I would say is the best of both worlds; clarity without sterility, warmth without noise. While long repeats sound gorgeous in leads, and the slapback settings at low Time settings is incredibly tone-appropriate for rockabilly. The Warp control is where the RPS Warp Drive takes a hard left from a traditional AD-9/DM-2 world. The Warp control modulates the Time control of the delayed signal based on the dynamics of the input signal, resulting in anything from warped record sounds to out-of-control, multi-step pitch zips. It’s much more reactive than the typical, LFO-based modulation overlay; it sounds more like stretching space and time, with your right hand determining when to kick things into overdrive (er, warp drive?). There are expression inputs for both feedback and delay time controllers for hands-free control. While they are great for hands-free tweaks to the standard delay, using it to control runaway feedback and craft music out of it is where most people will find the most use. Limitations The RPS Warp Drive is true to its mission of being a time-based effect with something extra, but the lack of tap-tempo may be a deal-breaker for some. Conclusion Of the hundreds of delay effects I have played, the RPS Warp Drive is probably the most “time-bendy” I’ve played outside of the Mid-Fi Clari(not). The standard, simple controls make the pedal immediately accessible, the tones are vintage without the noise or muddiness, and the Warp control is the key to some out there sounds without requiring menu diving or multiple controls. - HC- Resources RPS Effects Warp Drive Analog Delay ($299.00 Direct) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

Stacks FX Thsee Anomaly Modulated Delay Does this pedal deviate from what's standard, normal, or expected? by Chris Loeffler If delay is one of the most complicated effects to create, it also holds some of the biggest opportunities for experimentation and stretching sonic possibilities. While modulated delay has been a thing since engineers tried to recreate the random warble of a tape-delay effect in a stomp-box format, modulation in those circuits has almost always been viewed as adding flavor to the delay and not an effect unto itself. Enter the Stacks FX Thsee Anomaly. The Stacks FX Thsee Anomaly is a digital delay pedal with a host of unusual features, including an optically-controlled LFO with tap tempo (for the modulation, not the delay) and a foot-switchable second feedback mode for instant, controlled chaos. The pedal’s controls include Delay, Mix, Regen, Swell, Output, Tone, Wave, Depth, Multiplier, and Speed as well as foot switches for Bypass, Swell, and Tap. The Thsee Anomaly is mono in/out, includes an output jack for expression pedal control of the delay time, and is powered by a standard 9v power supply. What You Need to Know To fit easily into a pre-defined box, the Stacks FX Thsee Anomaly (oh, TH-See, I get it) is best described as a delay effect, although it has chorus, tremolo, vibrato, and even pitch shifting available without ever needing to hear a repeat. It accomplishes this with (more or less) standard controls for the delay and modulation section but diverges quickly from the crowd with how it sounds and how far the controls extend past where most manufacturers stop. If you are looking for a standard delay effect, or even one that’s just a shade left of center, you can stop reading now. While the Thsee Anomaly can cop great sounding traditional analog-esque and warm modulation delay tones, there are pedals out there that cost less and do it easier. The Thsee Anomaly is for people who want to challenge themselves, find new textures, and bring the sort of aural derangement to a live performance that used to be the exclusive domain of studio producers. For me, the Thsee Anomaly is pure inspiration in a box. The delay section of the Thsee Anomaly is comprised of controls for delay time (Delay), repeats (Regen), and Swell. The delay time runs from 40ms-3400ms, going from slightly dark at the front end (although not as soft as a BBD-generated delay with compandors) to nosier and more pixelated as it goes way past its intended delay time (around noon). Anything in the last third of the dial is essentially sound effects territory, but a lot of the noise in the middle third of the dial can be backed off with the Tone control. The Regen control selects the number of repeats, from a single slap-back to 50’s UFO takeoffs. The Swell control is a secondary feedback control that allows you to create a pre-set feedback point when you step on the momentary foot switch labeled (what else?) Swell. This is effectively your control section for creating the sonic equivalent of tearing a house from its foundation, swirling it through the air across the trailer park, and gently placing it back down, and is most effective when used to punctuate a passage, create a transition, or send the entire song into chaos. If you don’t use the Swell control in at least a song or two, you aren’t realizing the full potential of the Thsee Anomaly . The modulation section of the Thsee Anomaly is different from the standard “delay with modulation applied to the wet signal” configuration, so throw that knowledge out the window or you’ll only be confused. Start with thinking of the modulation section as its own beast, and not in service to the delay, as it can (and will) entirely scramble your delayed signal in certain settings. As mentioned, the tap tempo is applied to the LFO and controls the modulation, NOT the delay time. This lends itself to dramatically different effects without needing to tweak knobs. The Wave control gives the modulation eight different shapes, from traditional sine, square, and triangle shapes to odd ramps and randomization. The differences are much more noticeable in slower settings than they are at the most extreme settings, where ring modulation and bizarre sound effects live. There are warm sounding chorus and vibrato sounds that slowly morph to full-blown, octave-wide pitch shifts (if you want) and amplitude modulation ala tremolo that goes from amp-like pulses to speeds so fast you’re well into ring modulation and bit crushing. The Speed control sets tempo and has an insane range. The LFO effectively leaves “normal” territory by noon and turns into a zoo of wild animal and robot noises. The tap tempo control will override the Speed control (and visa-versa) based on one of six multipliers set by the Multiplier rotary knob for .5, 1.5, 2, 3, and 4x the speed of the actual tap. Again, most traditional sounds will be found on the low end of the Speed controls. The Depth control sets the deepest point of whatever waveform you select, effective determining how pronounced the effect is. The Depth control is equally capable of going so far past the point of being musical that it somehow becomes musical again. The delay and modulation sections are rounded out by a set of global controls for Bypass, Output, Mix, and Tone. Output sets the pedal well past unity gain, but brings any white noise in the delay circuit along for the ride. The Mix control is your (not so) secret weapon to determining whether the otherworldliness of the Thsee Anomaly is subtle background enhancements or your entire signal is going to be beautifully twisted and mangled into something entirely different. The Tone control is a low pass filter that darkens the tone but is mostly used to tame in the artifacts of longs delay times (if that’s your thing). Make no mistake; the Thsee Anomaly is incredibly consistent (surprisingly so, considering how quirky the sounds get) and dialing back to setting you’ve marked instantly recalls whatever sonic stew you’ve created. Limitations Like most PT2399-based delays, the Thsee Anomaly gets noisier past 500MS. This is a part of its vibe, but don’t expect a pristine 1.5 second digital delay. Conclusion The Thsee Anomaly isn’t for the faint of heart, you either dedicate the time to understand what you’re changing and unlocking as you turn the dials or you need to be a reckless noise freak with a “devil may care” attitude who blindly accepts what each tweak may bring. The Thsee Anomaly is a delightfully dirty delay, with glitchy ghosts and sonic gremlins for days, and you will either applaud them for embracing the chaos and bottling it for you or scratch your head and move one. Believe me when I say there are sounds in this box you’ve likely never heard before; I know I found a few I wouldn’t want to live without! - HC- Resources Stacks FX Thsee Anomaly Delay Product Page ($399.00 Direct) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

Keeley Aria Overdrive and Compressor This aria isn't an operatic solo! by Chris Loeffler Robert Keeley made his name in the late 90’s with two things- his upgrade to the Ross Compressor circuit (the original Keeley Compressor) and his Tubescreamer mods. Whether it be SRV, Trey, or Cliff Burton (yes, that Cliff Burton) the marriage of a mids-pushing overdrive into a hot amp is a part of the foundation of electric guitar tone, and the inclusion of a compressor to eke out more sustain or round out the rough edges of distortion has been par for the course for over four decades. The Keeley Aria is two pedals in one, (parts of) the Keeley Red Dirt Drive and the Keeley Compressor Plus. The Drive side features controls for Drive, Level, and Tone as well as a Low / High switch to select the amount of gain on tap and the Compressor side features controls for Level, Sustain, Blend, and Tone. The Keeley Aria runs on a standard 9v power supply and features true-bypass switching. What You Need to Know Let’s start by breaking the pedal into two parts, as each can be activated independent of the other, effectively creating three different tones without ever touching a knob. Harmony Central reviewed the Keeley Compressor Plus earlier this year, and I can attest the Compressor side of the Aria is identical, other than shifting the Single/Humbucker switch from the outside of the pedal to a DIP switch inside. If you know the Ross (or Keeley, heck, he’s earned it by now!) sound you know just what you’re in for… effected compression that goes from subtle tone tamer to wacky quack-and-pump funk snap with a significantly reduced noise floor. The Drive side, on the other hand, isn’t quite a dead-on take of the Red Dirt Drive; it’s something in between the Red Dirt and his other 808-style mods. The structure and amount of gain vary based on whether you are in Low or High mode, with Low mode sharing the general drive range of a Tubescreamer but with a fuller frequency range and a reduced mids bump. I found the lowest gain settings in Low to be cleaner and less raspy than a standard TS9/TS808 variant at similar drive settings, and the gain has a less grainy texture to it as it is turned up. Dimed, the gain gets crunchy but never really saturates, making it ideal for classic rock rhythm tones. The High mode significantly ups the gain while further pushing the mids without the nasal tone of a classic 808. It also sheds less of the lows and highs, creating a more solid support for the mid bump without stepping on the bass or becoming too busy. I found the High mode worked best into a clean amp, as its character and response can hold their own without help from a distorted preamp, but there was plenty to love running it hot into a cooking amp for focused leads that teeter on feedback. The Tone control works the same as an 808-style pedal, with a noticeable shift in where and how it filters. Said differently, I found the full sweep of the knob to be more useful than Ibanez offerings and more musical without dramatically changing the character of the overdrive like an active EQ control would. How these two sides play together is interesting, and answers one of the most common first questions asked in a forum by an effect neophyte- do I put my compressor before or after my overdrive. The Keeley Aria accomplishes this with an external switch that selects the effect order, so you can have it both ways without pulling cables. The short of it is that by placing compression before overdrive you increase the sustain of the core note but run the risk of adding a tad-more noise for the overdrive to latch onto with resting single coils. This is the most standard approach to ordering the two effects, and the most “raw” sounding. Running compression after overdrive really reigns in the distortion to conform within the compression, creating a “cleaner” sound that retains the character and saturation dialed in with the drive, often slightly darkening the tone. Trey Anastasio is the most famous example of this tone. The Blend control on the compression opens up possibilities in this configuration by allowing some of the grit and dynamics to come through while keeping the focus that the compressor brings. I found both configurations within the Aria to work well within their specific applications, and was pleasantly surprised to find significantly less white noise than I typically experience with this sort of stack, undoubtedly thanks to properly shielded and laid-out circuit boards and the omission of cables. Using TRS cables, you can even introduce other effects between the two, if that’s your thing. Limitations Tubescreamers were made for Fender amps, which tend to be a bit hollow in the midrange, and the High mode of the drive is no exception. In mid-heavy classic British amps things get a bit congested without some tone tweaking. Conclusion Two of the most iconic effects in rock music, together, without the need to physically swap them to determine the order makes a heck of a lot of sense to me, especially when priced in line with most stand-alone boutique overdrives today. Add to that a Drive section that essentially has two different voicings and I can see the Aria being a single-gain stop for the few-frills blues, rock, and country player. At the end of the day, the Aria combines refinements of two pedals most players will own at least some point in their lives, leaving little on the table for someone else to scoop up.- HC - Resources Robert Keeley Aria Compressor + Overdrive ($199.99) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

Harmony Central has always been proud to be a part of the online world of musicians, sharing both people and information across multiple sites. One of our most conspicuous cross-polinators is Bart (DiscoFreq) from Guitar Effects Database. You can regularly see links through to the Guitar Effects Database site every trade show, and it makes for a great one-stop shop to see everything in the world of effects pedals that has been announced, as well as a valuable resource to looking up anything that's been released in the last decade or so. We asked Bart, its owner, to take a few minutes to talk guitar effects, running an effects database, and what gets him excited. What is your personal relationship with Harmony Central? I think I started visiting the site and forums around '98-'99, when I had my first internet connection. The Effects forum was both interesting and fun, I'm still in touch with some of the other people from that time. What inspired you to begin the Effects Database? Around April 2003 I was looking for information about envelope filters (to use on my bass, analog synths and drum machines), especially about the different models and their options. When I googled I mostly bumped into the same few models and the longest list I found had less than 20 models on it. After a few evenings I already had a much longer list, so I dediced to make a very small and very basic site about it: DiscoFreq's Envelope Filter site. When I moved to a different appartment (to live with my girlfriend) I lost my provider and had to move the site from the provider's free hosting account to a "real" hosting account (at filters.muziq.be because I planned to make several music-related websites) where I installed a CMS (Content Management System) and started adding filters for modular synthesizers (in Eurorack, MOTM,... formats), after that I started adding synth pedals and ring modulators because there was not a lot of info about those either, then flangers, phasers,... until I decided I couldn't keep avoiding the huge amount of distortion and overdrive pedals... In 2008 I renamed the site to Effects Database. A few years later I also registered modulardatabase.com with the intention of moving all "module" info to a separate site, but I never had enough time for that, a shame given how that market blew up 🙂 How many people are involved in the maintenance and updating of the Effects Database? I do it all by myself. The last 2 years it became really hard to combine with job and family (2 young kids) and the constant stress to get the costs covered. Since a while manufacturers can submit info and pictures for their pedals, which I still process but it definitely helps. But so far that's only a small part of the new additions. For reviews and demos I use local guitar players (including Bieke from HCFX), but I'm also working on something to make that more uniform and improve the quality of the videos. About how many people visit your site a month, and what do they do while they are there? It used to be more than 100,000 unique visitors per month until a new Google algorithm changed the ranking quite a lot. Earlier this year I was around 70,000 unique visitors but since a few months I'm being punished for not being "mobile friendly", so it dropped to around 50-60,000 now. There have been a few designers who were working on a new (and mobile-friendly) design, but so far they didn't deliver... Since August 2006 there have been more than 26 million pageviews. Why share content? So many sites do everything they can to pretend they are the only places musicians can get information, yet you generously point your users to the best place for a given piece of content and regularly participate in Harmony Central during trade shows. My first site was a kind of directory site based on my bookmarks. For the effects site I also wanted to link directly to the manufacturers to make it easier to find the small manufacturers. I also linked to review sites and schematics as I didn't want to do the same, just link it all together. What are some of the hottest effects at the moment? I really like Chase Bliss Audio: analog pedals with a LOT of (digital) control possibilities and very useful for almost everyone. Also Drolo, Alexander Pedals, Hologram Electronics, Meris, Lightning Wave, HomeNoise Effects,... What are some of your favorite effects companies? D*A*M: classic pedals of the highest quality, especially for those pedals the matching of the components makes a big difference. The price makes it hard to afford them though (I should have bought them when I discovered them on eBay ), but that doesn't mean they're not worth it... Spaceman Effects: high quality, lots of attention to detail,... Just rather expensive as well... Chase Bliss Audio (as mentioned before ;-)) Electro-Harmonix: big company, but they still dare to put out "weird" new pedals. And a lot of others, like EarthQuaker Devices, Smallsound/Bigsound,... They make great pedals, I know a lot of them for years and they're great people to talk to. I wish I had the same "bond" with newer companies, but I'm so busy that the personal contacts suffer from it and there are so many new companies popping up that it's hard to get to know them all personally. They often grow faster thanks to social media, so they often have their own community and focus on that. What effects are you most excited about that have yet to be released? I'm looking forward to what Rose Pedals will be doing... That's the new brand by Tom Cram, who was responsible for all the recent DOD and DigiTech pedals until Harman "reorganized" the brand. What’s your take on the musical instrument industry? Where are we at? I think the financial crisis combined with the trend towards crafts and trades (probably also boosted by that crisis) was responsible for the boom in new small brands from all over the world. The last few years there were also a lot of very innovative small brands (as mentioned in the question about "hottest effects"), so even "high tech" pedals are not only coming from big companies anymore. What’s your dream effect that hasn’t been invented yet? I keep a list of ideas about pedals that "should" exist (often a twist on existing pedals which miss a certain feature), but I can't think of a real "dream effect" right now... What’s your personal favorite effect? It depends a bit on what I'm doing, but in general envelope filters are still my favorites (closely followed by fuzz). And both for its history, sound and response I'll choose the Mu-Tron III or the Micro-Tron. How do you make better music? Not sure how to read that question 😉 How do I improve my own music? Because of the site I don't have time for my own music anymore, but what I always did was trying to combine a lot of interesting sounds and keep working on the sounds of each instrument. More than working on the song itself, so I only have a number unfinished projects and a few songs that were about ready. How do I improve music in general? Sounds pretentious if that's a bad interpretation of the question, but I know that in those 15 years I helped quite a lot of people find sounds they needed and also helped several brands get their first exposure (some are aware of that, others probably never noticed ;-)). I received mails and messages from some very famous musicians as well and pointed them in the direction of a pedal/brand they were looking for. And I helped Vernon Reid by bringing him in touch with the maker of the Pefftronics Randomatic pedals because his was broken and nobody could repair it. When I met him last NAMM he remembered and was still very grateful for that (a bit later he introduced me to Doug Wimbish when I saw him again at the Pigtronix booth :-)). Thanks to DiscoFreq for taking the time to talk pedals! -HC- ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

Dusky Electronics Hypatia Fuzz Overdrive Distortion Pedal Could this pedal have roots to a Greek philosopher renowned for her intellect? by Chris Loeffler Dusky Electronics is an amp company first and foremost, with their D₂O being one of the most unique looking (and designed) guitar amplifiers to come out in some time. As Dusky Electronics rolled out its new effects line, it was clear the “do something different” ethos was going to carry forward and be a core part of their brand. Presumably named after the first recognized woman scholar and philosopher in Greek mathematics (although the same-named first comet nucleus discovered would be an equally apt inspiration), the Hypatia is a Fuzz/OD/Distortion that began its humble design origin with the DIY Bazz Fuss circuit and quickly ballooned in features until it evolved into an utterly unique beast. The Dusky Hypatia features controls for Heat, More, Light, and Meat, true bypass switching, and is powered by a standard 9v power supply. What You Need to Know The Dusky Hypatia is nothing if not flexible, designed to enhance both guitar and bass sounds as well as produce vintage and modern tones. There are a lot of tricks at play (which we will get to after we cover the controls), none of which are revolutionarily different, but seldom are they brought together in a such a cohesive way in a single fuzz pedal. The gain controls are More (Volume) and Heat (Gain) and play out the same as any standard gain device, with an amp-pushing level of output for those looking to stack their distortion stages and distortion range that earns its designation of Fuzz/Overdrive/Distortion. The More control stands alone in its function, but the Heat control not only increases the gain but also shifts the character of the gain from what I would describe as the highs and lows all the way down to the entire frequency spectrum as it is turned up. The Meat control adjusts the low-end of the gain circuit, producing a synth-like square wave all the way up and then melting to reveal refined upper mids and highs as it is dialed back, bringing the gain closer to traditional overdrive-like character. Maybe even more so than the Heat control, the Meat control is the most effective (effected) voicing control of the Hypatia. The Light control is an active treble control tied to the output section that pushes forward (or dials back) the high-end in a musical way that feels closer to a presence control than a standard tone filter. I found it to be the final control I tweaked when dialing the Hypatia in to different settings, and an integral part of defining how the fuzz ultimately hit the various amps I demoed it on. Like all fuzzes, there are ragged settings to be found, but I didn’t find one I couldn’t tame with the Light control. As mentioned, there are two “non-tweakable” tricks at play that separate the Dusky Hypatia from the typical fuzz; the input and output buffers. The input buffer essentially recreates the interaction a magnetic pickup would have with the fuzz transistors when it is first in line anywhere in the signal chain to create urgency and response in the pedal whose overall effect is a more lively playing experience. The output buffer, conversely, creates the same smoothing, muscular luster of a hot tube power amp. Dusky Electronics recommends starting the pedal with all the knobs cranked and then backing to find the sound you’re looking for, starting with gain and volume settings that best match your amplifier settings, and I agree this is a good place to start (tweak the More control first!). The reason for this is the controls are incredibly interactive, so adjustments to Heat will also slightly tweak the EQ. The Dusky Hypatia has the character and texture of a fuzz but the presence and clarity of an overdrive, with a more pronounced mid-range than most fuzz circuits (but nowhere near the bump of a Tubescreamer). At the lowest gain settings the Hypatia produces a gritty halo around a light crunch that opens or compresses based on the input signal and your playing, on higher settings the gain shores up and focuses without getting overly compressed. If I had to put a finger on how the Hypatia stands apart from many fuzzes, it would be in the refinement and fullness it has in nearly all settings. Especially in voicings where a fuzz circuit would typically by thin and reedy, there is enough midrange preservation to anchor the tone and give it a chance to step forward. I was able to dial in tones anywhere from a more “produced” Keeley Fuzz Head tone to a pretty dense Gilmour-like BMP sustain, but found my favorite settings were in the middle, where the input and output buffers created interactive bookends to the gain for the most dynamically responsive settings. Limitations When using the Hypatia on bass at higher distortion settings, the lower mids are a touch less prominent than I wanted to punch through the thicker mix of a stoner rock band, but that’s generally the nature of transistor-based fuzz circuits meant to serve double-duty. Conclusion The Dusky Hypatia feels the like final statement on the standard fuzz circuit, engineered to address nearly every complaint or “quirk” of fuzz that’s popped up in forums over the last two decades… control over the lows and the highs without getting unmusically raspy, high input impedance to get past the “first in the chain” requirement we’ve all learned to live with, and an output buffer that round out the fuzz with an amp-like polish. Covering anything from glassy overdrive to wooly fuzz, there’s a lot of ground to cover for a single pedal, and I found myself hard pressed to choose where the settings would rest if it were a permanent fixture on my board. -HC- Resources Dusky Electronics Hypatia Fuzz/Overdrive/Distortion Product Page ($180) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.

Chase Bliss Audio Thermae Pitch Shifting Analog Delay Seriously, what could be better than chasing bliss? by Chris Loeffler After an informative stint at Zvex Effects, Joel Korte founded Chase Bliss Audio to pursue his own passion for guitar effects and has been stretching the possibilities of what is possible with analog effects since his first release, the Chase Bliss Warped Vinyl. In the years since, Korte has touched on phasing, gain, tremolo, filter/eq, and delays, bringing an unprecedented level of tweakability to these classic effects without introducing a 1 or 0 to the audio signal path. With players (myself included) still unwraping the hundreds of new tones hidden within effect types they already know and love, Korte gifts the guitar world the Chase Bliss Audio Thermae analog delay and pitch shifter. The Chase Bliss Audio Thermae ships in the now iconic wooden keepsake box and faux-velvet bag for coddled transport. The pedal itself features no less than six knobs, three toggles, and tap tempo on the front , with 16 DIP switches on the backside to select expression or ramp parameters. MIDI integration is possible with the optional Chase Bliss Audio MIDI Box, and the pedal runs on a standard 9v power supply. What You Need to Know There’s a lot to unpack with the Chase Bliss Audio Thermae, but let’s start with what it fundamentally does…leveraging four MN3005 (Xvive) bucket-brigade delay chips and a digital processor for control of the parameter, the Thermae manipulates the delay chips to precisely shift pitch, sequence, modulate, and so much more for anything from pitch-shifted delays to glissando-style modulations and even bird-like chirps reminiscent of old analog synths. The primary controls are Mix/Ramp (the blend of the wet and dry signal) or the ramp control, LPF (low-pass filter for tone and resonance control), Regen (repeats), Glide (level of portamento to delayed signal), Int1-Speed (sets the first interval of the delay and/or the modulation speed), and Int2-Depth (sets the second interval of the delay and/or the modulation depth). The three switches on the front select the tap division of the delay, the tap division of the first interval, the shape of the ramp, the tap division of the second interval, and the waveform of the depth. DIP switches on the back toggle on (or off) how the Expression or Ramp controls work with all five primary controls (alone or in any combination), the Bounce, Trails, and MoToByp (momentary bypass). What’s true for this reviewer is there could be a small novella written about what each of these controls do, but I’ll defer to the Chase Bliss Audio Thermae instruction manual for those who want to understand the fundamentals and get right on to the specificity of each control. There are ten handy presets included with the Chase Bliss Thermae to get you started and give you an idea of how much it can do, from the aforementioned bird chirps to dark, swirling delays unlike anything ever coaxed out of a EHX DMM. The delay itself can be quite crisp and clean or murky enough to create a drone that’s more felt than heard thanks to the LPF control (which is much more powerful and versatile than a standard tone control). The LPF control is interactive with the Regen control as things near self-oscillation, so some fine-tuning is required to “ride the wave.” Core to the Thermae sound is how the Interval controls are set to bend the pitch of the delays, effectively creating a precise pitch shift to the first two intervals (delays) the same way a delay trail shifts up or down when you adjust the speed while it is still trailing, but happening so fast you don’t hear the pitch bend from the original note to the assigned pitch intervals (unless you want to!). The Glide control dictates for much of the bend you hear (or don’t). Here’s Korte’s statement- Int 1 and Int 2 is where this pedal goes from a standard delay to something pretty extraordinary. By tuning the interval knobs to a specific interval as marked on the pedal, your first and second repeat will jump from your unity pitch to an octave down and up, a fifth, a fourth and so on. Here, you can create arpeggios and rhythmic, pitch shifting lines that are truly inspiring. Just by feeding the Thermae a single pitch and experimenting with the interval knobs, you can clearly tell that this is a standalone performance tool. Once you wrap your head around the standard controls, things get even more interesting as you start incorporating the ramp feature. Any or all of the main parameters (except Mix) can be assigned to the ramp, so as you step down on the switch to have the settings glide to their new place you can have a standard pitch shift, or have the low-pass filter shift with the pitch, or have modulation speed an depth swell up and down, or even have the glide arpeggiate like a glitching musical box. For a sample of sounds hidden in that tiny box, watch Korte's video at the end of the review (I promise it's work it). MIDI control allows for integration into a MIDI system for even more preset and digital control, and the EXP/CV jack allows for optional Expression/CV control in place of the Ramp switch to give exact manual control over the sweep from the default and peak of the ramp controls. Limitations Even with a month of daily use, I’m hard pressed to find a limitation to the pedal other than the learning curve required to truly unlock and master the pedal. Conclusion The Chase Bliss Audio Thermae is not for the faint of heart… users either need to have a healthy understanding of basic effects parameters and the time to understand how they interact or be OK getting random (if tasty) results as they blindly twist dials and flip switches. That said, less than 30 minutes will get you the basics and a few hours later you’ll be turning various knobs knowing exactly what the expect on your next repeat. The otherworldly possibilities of the Thermae are primed to be the next “How did famous musician X get that sound?!?” in forums for years to come; thankfully there are hundreds (if not thousands) of sounds to discover, so there will still be room for everyone! - HC- Resources Chase Bliss Audio Thermae Product Page and Manual Buy the Chase Bliss Audio Thermae at Sweetwater ($499.00 Street) ____________________________________________ Chris Loeffler is a multi-instrumentalist and the Content Strategist of Harmony Central. In addition to his ten years experience as an online guitar merchandiser, marketing strategist, and community director he has worked as an international exporter, website consultant and brand manager. When he’s not working he can be found playing music, geeking out on guitar pedals and amps, and brewing tasty beer.