Nick Greer Sweetback Driver boost pedal

     First of all, I'll repeat the description of the pedal from a Nick Greer dealer:

"The Sweetback is the mean, angry brother to the Sonic Boom. This pedal is a boost/distortion pedal that features one knob labeled "Turn N Burn." As the user turns the knob up the pedal begins to crackle and pop as DC voltage is being adjusted. Once the knob is set, the pedal is quiet. An increase in the knob's position results in an increase in volume as well as an increase in gain coming from the pedal.

This pedal will drive the front end of an amplifier like no other. Users should note that the pedal, when the knob is full down, produces whatever signal is being fed into it; it does not limit the sound but can only boost or distort the sound that is being injected into it. Though the pedal does add some hair as the user brings the knob up, it does not color the sound drastically. The coloration of the sound is a fattening effect that results in very little loss of the fidelity of the original guitar sound."

     The pedal is a combination of a boost in volume and an increase in gain.   The increase in gain is the result of a change in the negative feedback of the guitar's signal.   This change increases how hard the input tube of a tube amp is pushed when the pedal is used.   With a clean amp, the pedal is still basically a clean boost, with just a little grit and bottom end added.   But with an amp that is already overdriven, the pedal offer just enough oomph to push the amp into more sustain and an increase in harmonics, with no unnatural compression and none of the mushiness that may occur when pushing an overdriven amp with a standard overdrive/distortion/fuzz pedal.   All of this without increasing the overall volume excessively.
      When pushing my Fender Super Champ in the normal channel with the volume on 5 and the midrange boost pulled, the added boost/gain sounds amazing, pushing the input tube of the amp into rich, harmonically complex overdrive/distortion that retains touch sensitivity and note clarity and is totally unique to this combination of amp and pedal.   It's probably the best pedal for a high gain amp like the Super Champ, set on a low to medium gain setting, for adding extra signal to push the amp into natural, higher gain tube distortion.   With the Fender Super Champ and the Sweetback Driver, I have a low to medium gain rhythm sound with the pedal in bypass and a higher gain natural tube distortion with the pedal on.   This pedal will enhance the natural tone of your amp without coloring the sound, it's absolutely amazing into a overdriven tube amp.   More so than just a clean boost, this pedal drives a tube amp like no other.

Fuzzhugger Algal Bloom-- a true work of art!

     This pedal is a super cool, hand-made pedal, with a custom paint-job and killer green knobs to boot.   All of the pedals Fuzzhugger creates are works of art and they are one of the most important stompbox manufacturers to come out of the Boutique pedal craze.   All of their pedals are high quality and their prices range from about $100.00 and up, making them a great deal.   For this pedal I'm including the review I sent Tom Dalton, as well as the other stellar reviews posted on their website, fuzzhugger.com.

"The sounds this pedal gets are amazing. It's almost more of an high-gain overdrive than a
typical fuzz, with a sweet high end (no fizziness whatsoever) and a harmonically complex yet
very refined sound, very open and dynamic. Crunchy yet fairly smooth, lots of sustain yet not
too compressed. The overall tone is nice and balanced, bright but not too thin w/ a nice low
end. It's definitely a unique pedal, with a wide range of sounds, yet nothing too over the top or
vulgar. And it never sounds harsh on any of it's settings."
--Bill, CA

"The Algal Bloom has found a permanent home on my board. I've tried at least 20 fuzzes over
the years and this is the tone I've been waiting for. Tweaking the knobs I can get some nice grit
... or I can play chords without it getting muddy ... I can even get those haunting Hackett-esque
tones ... and I can get it to cut and sting! Stacks with my overdrive too."
--Richard, FL

"...I just could not stop playing it. The fuzz sticks to the notes but isn't muddy. Bright enough to
cut, but not piercing. Cleans up like nobody's business into a gorgeous clean with light hair.
...You can get some spitty mudfuzz if you want too, but I'm more into the 'well rounded'
thang...quite a little trickster and a great tool to have."
--Benjamin, MA

"The Algal Bloom is just a fantastic fuzz, it pretty much eliminated a couple other fuzz pedals
from my current setup. It's the only fuzz
I've ever owned that can get that deep, thick fuzz sound while
retaining clarity and fidelity."
--Shannon, MO

"I just wanted to say thanks, your/my Algal Bloom is a complete work of art.
For the price I didn't expect miracles, but the Algal Bloom delivered in spades.
The sound, versatility, controls, design, everything, it just works like magic."
--Mike, IL

"This is the sound I've been trying to get from BOTH guitar & bass for a long time!! Absolutely
mind-blowing thick harmonic dripping fuzz...I can tell you for absolute certain now to
recommend the Algal Bloom to bass players. Amazing low end retention, punch & clarity...and
of course the most cosmic destroying fuzz ever...I am practically speechless!!"
--Adam, NC

"I can't thank you enough. Absolutely adore it, feels like the Algal Bloom filled a void in my board.
- Flexible to the point it's completely replaced my overdrive.
- Enough oomph to make for very chunky rhythm riffs when need be.
- Doesn't go too relentlessly wibbly when playing dissonant chords.
- Stacks well in front of my other fuzzes.
- It's one of the prettier looking boxes I have."
--Fredward, WA

"I love how this thing can go bluesy or to total fuzz. It's far out."
--David, NY

"Got my algal bloom yesterday. Put it on my board today. And my quest for a bass fuzz is over.
The controls are great [...] and the variation of fuzz tones is the most variant of any fuzz ever. I
am stoked to say the least."
--Randy, LA

"I'm really digging the tones. The usability of it as an overdrive unexpectedly sounds great."
--Ian, MO

"It is thick, rich, meaty and drips with harmonics. It can provide anything from syrupy and highly
saturated high gain, to gritty and gnarly overdrive like sounds.
The Algal Bloom provides so many shades of fuzz, always with its own character, that I
seriously think about getting a second one. It even gives my best FuzzFace clones a run for the
money."
--Juergen, Germany

"Received the Algal Bloom last week, and I am floored. Big fuzz freak here. Totally love the tone
of this masterpiece."
--Christian, GA

"It is one of the few pedals that shines whether you play at bedroom or stage level. I think you
just built my favorite fuzz pedal. Seriously. DRENCHED in harmonics...this thing is DREAMY!! I still
can't get over it."
--Mike, FL

"There are many, many sounds to be pulled from this pedal. From full-out roar to a thin, gated
fuzz. The four controls are highly interactive. I've only scratched the surface of what this thing
can do."
---Jason,

"Just got the Algal bloom and I couldn't be happier. I REALLY like the sounds you can get with
the starve knob right around 10-11 o'clock with the level around 12, bloom maxed and trim
maxed. Probably one of the more unique sounding fuzz pedals I've ever used..."
--Baird, NY

"I got the algal bloom today. [...] It's one of the best pedals I've ever played. The ground it covers
is amazing. It's a really good time and I have no desire for another fuzz now."
--Craig, CA

"Very nice! I got all the ranges of fuzz to insane gain/feedback distortion. In the lower gain
settings it's very warm and harmonic with a fuzzy crunch. In the higher gain settings I found
notes picked out of chords rang clear, while tons of gain was still at hand."
--Barney, OR

"The Algal Bloom, man, it's just got a great tone to it...you don't have to shy away from complex
chords, and playing "D" shapes up the fretboard is a lovely experience. I like the Algal Bloom's
control scheme, the adjustments let you really shape the tone."
--Jeff, AR

"Dude, that is one insanely good sounding fuzz. My god! This is one of the few fuzz pedals that
I've ever been able to shape and tame into the tone I want. You can actually hear every string
when you play chords on it."
--A.C., CA

"I'm getting some cool fuzz tones out of it. My favorite is a really cool, creamy, smooth fuzz. It's
almost like a Fuzz Face with better top and bottom end and more sustain. I've also gotten a
crunchy distortion, and an 'almost overdrive.' And that's just with the single coils.
I've been finding it to be a very usable/versitile fuzz. It's not a crazy, over the top fuzz. It's thick.
It's really something I needed."
--Mike, MD

"The AB is one sonically beautiful monstrosity. I think its a brilliant device, really. Thanks for
coming up with this beauty!!"
--Ramon, CA

Joyo Sweet Baby-- Mad Professor Sweet Honey clone

     This pedal is made in China by Joyo and is a clone of the Mad Professor Sweet Honey, which goes for over $300.00, which is alot more than the $40.00 I paid for the Joyo.   It comes in an all-metal enclosure and has a high quality switch and pots, with nice knobs and an LED too.
     The pedal has three knobs, for volume, drive and focus.   Focus dictates how quickly the pedal distorts as well as adjusting the EQ of the outputs signal.   At lower settings of the focus knob the low end is more pronounced and the attack is slower.   At higher settings, the tone is sharper and the attack is edgier.   The gain knob goes from a very light overdrive to a medium low-gain overdrive.   This pedal is extremely touch sensitive and it offers a wide range of sounds, nice and crunchy without too much compression.   All of it's settings offer a natural, uncolored tone and a pleasant break-up.   The pedal sounds quite amp-like and is just as much at home adding grit to an already overdriven amp as it is pushing a clean amp.
     This pedal can be had for about $45.00-$55.00 from a number of eBay dealers and is a complete steal for the low price.  It's great for beginners and pros alike, at this price it would make a nice gift for a budding guitarist.

Diaz Texas Square Face fuzz

     This pedal is basically a version of the pedal César Diaz built for Stevie Ray Vaughn when SRV's fuzz faces kept dying.   It is a Gemanium based pedal and uses NTE103's.   It's housed in a smaller MXR style enclosure and has knobs for volume and gain.
      At it's lowest settings the pedal offers a fuzzy overdrive that increases in sustain and harmonics  as you turn the gain up, all the way up to a massive high gain fuzz with a rich, warm, big sound, tons of sustain, and alot of complexity.   The overdrive tones on the way up are warm and round, with a huge low end and a super sweet treble.   Until you pretty much have the gain all the way up it doesn't sizzle like a normal distortion or even a Big Muff, it's mellower than that.   Totally authentic vintage style fuzz.   I found that setting the gain knob high almost all the way up and using my guitar's volume knob to control the gain was the best way to use the pedal, and it's quite remarkable the wide variety of tones that can be coaxed from the pedal just using the volume knob on your guitar.   There's more to this pedal than you would think with only two knobs.   And the volume knob has enough range on it to crank it up to push you amp harder and get even hotter sounds.
     This pedal also comes with silicon NTE123 transistors that can be swapped for the Germanium transistors or if you want you can combine the two types for even more sounds.   I've never tried this, but this is an added option to an already versatile pedal.   This pedal is about $225.00 new, a little on the pricey side, but to many guitarists it would be totally worth it.  

Visual Sound Open Road-- a better take on a Boss classic

     This pedal is basically a super well-made version of a Boss SD-1.  It's even painted the same yellow as the Boss.   But it's about $129.00 street price, $80.00 more than the Boss.
      It's got the same transparent basic sound, maybe even more transparent than the Boss, with a slightly softer attack and a better overall sound (more bass, less of a midrange-hump, sweeter highs), a lot like playing thru a high quality tube amp.   When you dig in with your pick, it feels like you're playing directly into an tube amp.  
     The three knobs are for drive, tone, and volume.   Almost every setting I tried out had a musical, useable tone and it had a enough gain for most classic rock and alternative.   It's not true-bypass, it has a nice musical-sounding buffer that sounds great when the pedal is in bypass mode.   And it doesn't have the bleed-thru problems that the Boss exhibits in bypass mode.
     I say it's definitely an option if you like the basic vibe of the Boss SD-1, but want a little bit of an upgrade in overall sound and quality and don't mind paying the difference

Freekish Blues Alpha Drive II Red Dot version

     This Chinese-made pedal has three knobs and a toggle switch.   The three knobs are labelled OD for drive, T for tone, and V for volume.   The toggle when switched upwards is Rock and down for Blues.  
     The gain of the pedal in Rock mode is fairly low gain until you crank it past 2 to 3-o-clock, where it reveals a creamy overdrive with a big low-end and a subdued high end.   I had to crank the tone to 2-o-clock to get a more balanced overall sound.  From there on it's got a decent amount of sustain and increased harmonics, with a rich, velvety texture, although it's only light medium gain.   This is not a thin, overtly crunchy pedal, it's supposedly got that Dumble-type sound, although to be honest I've never heard or played thru a Dumble.   At lower gain settings, it's got a pleasant, amp-like light vintage overdrive, more like a vintage 70's amp than a 80's metal amp.
     With the toggle on the Blues setting, the pedal, as you would think, has a bluesier sound, with a little less gain and volume and a hair less bottom end.   Neither of the settings are high gain, this is a medium gain pedal at best, just a hair over being a low gain pedal.
   With the original Alpha Drive, there was alot of controvery over the pedal being nothing more than a re-branded Joyo Ultimate Overdrive with a couple of simple mods.   This pedal is an original design supposedly, although it's still manufactured in China by the folks who make Joyo pedals.   Check out gearmanndude's videos of the pedal on YouTube.com before you make any decision to buy one if this is a problem.  Also, check out Freekish Blues website for more info.   It was only about $65.00 w/ shipping, so it's not much more than your run-of-the-mill Chinese clone pedal and it sounds pretty good, a unique take on an old standard...

Electro Harmonix Double Muff

     This pedal has two knobs, each of which controls the volume of a separate Muff overdrive circuit.   It also has a toggle for switching between single and double modes.   In single mode, the overdrive is warm and slighly ragged, with a fair amount of sag.   In double mode, depending on how you set the knobs, the overdrive ranges from fairly light to higher gain distortion tones.   With the first knob higher towards full-on and the second knob lower at about 11:00, the tone is fat and grainy.   With both knobs at noon, the tone is fairly transparent.   With the first knob at 2:00 and the second at full, the tone is high gain and thinner than the first setting I described, with a tighter bottom end and a bright high end.   It's all in how you set each knob, you can get a fairly wide variety of tones and gain levels depending on the settings.   One thing though, since the knobs control the actual volume, certain settings can be a little on the loud side.
     This pedal is fairly inexpensive and is a great deal for the money.   Maybe if it had a tone knob and a master volume it would be a little more versatile, but that would be a different pedal altogether.   As it is, it's a fairly versatile and unique pedal that only costs a little bit of money to own.

Goldea Odx overdrive-- Ibanez TS 808 clone

     This review is for the Goldea Odx overdrive pedal, which is supposedly a clone of the Ibanez TS 808 vintage overdrive.   It uses a JRC4558 chip like the original and can be had for only $25.00 on eBay.
     Despite the low price tag, this pedal comes with a all-metal enclosure.   The knobs turn smoothly and the pots and switch are decent quality, as far as I can tell.   The pedal has three knobs for level, tone, and gain.   With the tone knob at noon, the pedal sounds a little subdued, I found that I really only like the overall tone of the pedal with the knob at 3-o-clock or above, regardless of the gain setting.   At lower settings of the gain knob you can get clean boost sounds up to a light, smooth and transparent overdrive.  At about 2-3-o-clock the increased gain results in increased sustain and crunch and after that the tones are pretty distorted, although the maximum gain settings push out only a medium gain overdrive.   This is not a high gain pedal, for metal you'll need something else.   This pedal is best suited for blues, country, classic rock and other genres which don't require higher gain.   On all settings the noise level is low.   Like the original supposedly does, there is a slight decrease in low end, a distinct mid-range hump, and a sweet high end with the tone knob at noon, with a more natural sounding and open tone with the knob set to 3-o-clock or above.
     I've never actually used a real vintage Ibanez Tube Screamer or any of the newer variations, so I can't really say if it nails the tone of the original or not.   I'll just say that it's a nice pedal for the money and offers a slightly subdued smooth range of boost and overdrive sounds, much mellower than say a Boss DS-1 or other hi-gain pedals.   Compared to a Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive it's a little bit less crunchy with less high end presence.   I personally prefer the Boss SD-1 for transparent low to medium gain overdrive, but this pedal is still a good deal at half the price.   It's quite possible that you could buy this pedal for the pennies it actually costs and modify it to increase it's performance, all of which can be done for fairly cheap if you know what you're doing.   Good luck!

Chuck Collins Harmonic Percolator

     This review is for a Chuck Collins Harmonic Percolator I bought about 5-6 years ago.   It is built by Chuck Collins, who also builds Theramins, and is a clone of the rare original Interfax version, down to the NOS transistors, sliders, components, and enclosure.   Back then the box, which is brown and tan, didn't come with any lettering or graphics on the enclosure, just the two sliders for gain on the left and volume on the right.   No jack for any adaptor, battery powered only.   And the input jack is on the top right, with other output on the left, which is backwards from most pedals.
     With the volume at unity, and the gain below the 1/2 mark, the tones range from light to medium gain overdrive, which is quite transparent and warm.   Increased sustain and enhanced harmonic response with almost no coloring of the guitar's original tone.   Because this circuit almost exclusively enhances the even-order harmonics, the breakup is pleasant to the ears and crunchy yet smooth, very tube-like.   As you increase the gain above the 1/2 mark, the pedal goes into a nice balanced distortion and at the uppermost gain levels, into a slightly nasel,creamy fuzz tone that bring to mind the even-order harmonic enhanced sound of a germanium fuzz more so than a cranked tube-amp distortion.   Thru the entire travel of the gain slider the tones are well-balanced and easy on the ears and the volume slider has enough boost so you can overdrive a tube amp with some increased volume to further distort your overall sound.
     This pedal is just as much at home in front of an already overdriven amp as it is in front of a clean amp.   When driving a overdriven amp, it doesn't mush out too hard and note clarity is preserved well.   This pedal is great in all applications.
     When you open the pedal up to install the battery, the guts look a little primitive and simple, but the tones this pedal generates are anything but simple.   It's tones are 3-dimensional and complex and the even-order harmonic thing makes this a valuable pedal for anyone's collection.
     Steve Albini uses an original Interfax Harmonic Percolator for some of his guitar work with Shellac.   This pedal is great for 80-90's indie rock sounds but is not so much lo-fi as high-fi...
    When I bought the pedal it was only about $200.00, which is kinda pricey, but now it goes for about $300.00, which is kind of out of my spending range.   But if you have the funds, this pedal is worth it, it's a unique, excellent sounding pedal that is hand-made by Mr. Collins using the original circuit with NOS components, for maximum authenticity.

Snakes Pedals Finger Print clone fuzz pedal

     This is a clone of the Finger Print pedal made by Snakes Pedals, who build high quality clone pedals with super-cool hand-painted graphics.   They can be found on etsy.com.
     The pedals has three knobs and two footswitches.   One knob for volume, one for gain, and one for texture.   One footswitch for on/off and one that switches between the gain knob setting and maximum gain with the gain knob bypassed.  For this review I used my Tele-copy guitar with single coil pickups.  With the texture knob completely counter-clockwise, the gain ranges from warm overdrive to no frills distortion tones.   As the texture knob is increased, the tones gain more upper mids and hi-end overtones and gets more and more complex with a jagged, Gang of Fourish type of sound as the knob is turned.   At about 2-3-o-clock an upper octave overtone starts to kick in and with the knob all the way up the pedal sounds the most unpredicatable, with octave overtones and a sputtering, highly textured fuzz tone that bring to mind The Jesus and Mary Chain, Bauhaus, and My Bloody Valentine.   This is not a metal pedal by any stretch of the imagination, but it offers a fair amount of gain and a wide range of interesting overdrive, distortion, and fuzz tones.
     This pedal does not take any battery, it uses a standard Boss-style 9-volt adaptor.   Each pedal has a different, hand-painted enclosure and all for a very un-Boutique price tag.   Snakes pedals are highly recommended, super high quality Boutique clone pedals for a great price.    Check them out on etsy.com.

Dwarfcraft Devices Internet

Dwarftcraft Devices Internet Overdrive-- Beauty and the Beast!

     This pedal is available with two different paint jobs, the one I got is the whacked-out owl, the other one available is a cool aliens with hatchets design.
   This pedal is pretty simple, the knob on the right is labelled "bandwitch" and it controls the level, the knob on the left is labelled "rams" and it controls the gain.    The pedal has two footswitches, the one on the right is labelled "pron" and it switches the gain boost on and off, the one on the left is labelled "gewgle" and switches the effect on and off.   The pedal does not take a battery, it's got an 9-volt adaptor plug on the right-hand side of the pedal that takes a standard Boss adaptor or one like it.
     The pedal has a warm, touch responsive overdrive when switched on and the boost is disengaged.   At lower gain settings it's fairly transparent with a big bottom end, as the gain is increased a fuzz-like overdrive becomes more apparent, with a increased bass, lots of lower-mids, and a mellow high end.   With the gain cranked it sounds alot like a germanium Fuzzface on a  3-o-clock setting, offering a fuzzy warm overdrive with an emphasis on the lower mids and bass.   With the boost switch on it's becomes a high gain fuzz/distortion with a balanced wide frequency response and slightly nasel tone, with endless sustain and the capacity for feedback drenched soloing.   The overall vibe of the pedal is Boutique fuzz-flavored overdrive with the boost off, while with the boost on it's over-the-top distortion with a vintage fuzz flavor.
     This pedal is one of the less expensive Dwarfcraft Devices pedals available and offers two channels of decidedly Boutique-flavored tone.   Recommended for those who like a little fuzz in their overdrive.

Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive-- Best bang for the buck!

      This is a review for one of the best bang-for-the-buck pedals of all time, from the world's biggest name in stompboxes, Boss.   It's been around since 1981 and has remained the same since, the SD-1 or Super Overdrive.   It can be had for around $50.00 from a huge number of dealers worldwide.
     First of all, despite the low price tag, it's still a Boss.   Which means it comes in a high quality, bulletproof enclosure with an excellent on/off switch.   It's not true bypass, it has the same low-impedance buffer that all Boss pedals share, but that's still okay-- in bypass mode you still get a decent tone that will drive a long line of pedals with minimal signal loss.  
     It has three knobs-- one for level, one for tone, and one for drive.   With all three knobs at noon, it provides a fairly transparent mid-gain overdrive, with just a hint of the unaffected signal mixed with the gain so as to provide a fairly uncompressed sound.   The lows stay almost intact, the mids are slightly boosted, and of course it's brighter than the unaffected tone.   The effect is fairly touch-responsive and note-clarity is good.    With the tone knob at different settings, the pedal can be set for darker or brighter tones, with good results at all settings.   With the tone at noon, this pedal offers an overall tone very close to the baypassed signal, more so than just about any other pedal I've tried personally.   With the drive set low and the level set high, you can get a very usable clean boost sound.   On a setting like this, the pedal is excellent for adding a little bit of oomph to an already overdriven tone.   With higher drive settings you can get grittier tones with more sustain, but even at the highest settings, the pedal is still just a medium gain pedal.   Don't expect metal or high-gain tones out of this thing.
     Another great way to use this pedal is to place it before a higher gain pedal, like a Boss DS-1 or OD-3, or just about any other fuzz/distortion/overdrive, and running both pedals at once.   It can provide a fairly transparent boost to the second pedal and with the right settings on both pedals, the resulting tones can be truly inspiring.   Considering that an SD-1 and a DS-1 together only costs about $100.00, and an SD-1 and an OD-3 is only $130.00, buying two Boss pedals to use together can still cost less than a single pedal by another manufacturer.   The sounds I've gotten running an  SD-1 with the level and drive at noon and the tone at 10-11:00 into an OD-3 with all three knobs at noon are truly great, with the nuances of each pedal contributing to a overall excellent tone when combined.  
     About the only drawback to the pedal is that there's a slight bleed-thru of the overdrive when the pedal is in bypass mode.   It's only noticeable on higher drive settings, but it's still there.     If you're real picky about you clean tones this is a definite drawback.   It can be modified to correct this problem if you like the pedal but hate the bleed-thru, however.
     There are may modifications available for this pedal, anything from true-bypass to symetrical clipping to differences in the tone and gain structure.    Just look it up on the internet and you'll know what I'm writing about. 
     It's an excellent pedal for both clean amp settings and overdriven amp settings and really is great if you want a fairly uncolored, low to medium overdrive.   Although it's grittier than a Tube Screamer, it's got a fairly smooth, tube-like sound, maybe from it's assymetric clipping and many well-known guitarists still choose this pedal over expensive Boutique pedals.   It's probably the best-selling overdrive of all time and has been a favorite since 1981.  Check it out, at only $50.00 you can't go wrong.