Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi NYC

     This pedal is well known, a total classic.   The world famous Big Muff Pi, made by Electro Harmonix.   This is the most recent version, a total steal at $70.00, pretty amazing for a pedal made in NYC.
     The pedal offers a smooth, slightly dark distortion/fuzz sound with a scooped mid, a fat bottom end, and a sweet high end.   With the three knobs you can get a fairly wide variety of fuzz tones.   With the tone at noon, the pedal is slightly darker than most, but the tone knob has enough range that you can dial in a bright enough sound with ease.  Lower gain settings sound pretty awesome, the pedal sounds pretty distorted with the gain knob at noon, and with the gain knob dimed, you get massive sustain and tons of gain.   There's so much written already about this pedal and all of the variations that I don't feel the need to write anything more.   Buy it.   A pedal collection without at least one Big Muff Pi is not complete.

Catalinbread Karma Suture, new superior Harmonic Percolator copy

     First of all, the silk-screened box, custom pick and free sticker were really nice.   I've never bought a pedal that came in a static shielded bag before-- nice.   Secondly, the graphics on the Karma Suture are really nice and the white vintage-style knobs are cool too.
     After I did the review of the Chuck Collins version of the Interfax Harmonic Percolator, I ended up selling it.   The pedal was noisy and had a subdued high end on all of it's settings that started to bug me after a while, and it ended up on Craigslist.  Although it's authentic to the original, the enclosure was flimsy and the components, although NOS, were not the highest quality.   The enclosure was held together with huge wood screws and one of the holes stripped.   It looked home-made, which it was, mostly due to it's lack of lettering or other graphics.
     A few months later, the folks at Catalinbread introduced the Karma Suture.  This is a boutique pedal, with NOS and newer components of the highest quality.   Right off the bat, it solved both the noise issue and the subdued high end.   Plus, at it's highest settings, it never gets nasal, like the Collins version.   It's got the standard output (volume) and input (gain), plus two extra knobs: one for diodes and one for density.
     The diodes knobs goes from more open and uncompressed with less clipping, less high end and more volume to a more saturated, compressed sound with more high end and less volume., Between the two extremes ther's a wide variety of tonal shades, which you can fine tune to your liking.   The output knob can be used to compensate for the differences in volume.
     The density knob controls the amount of low end fed into the input and goes from a thinner, cutting brighter tone all the way counter-clockwise to a fatter, slightly more saturated sound all the way clockwise.    With the knob at noon, it offers the most balanced tone.   The tone is a little cleaner with the knob all the way down and a little more saturated with the knob all the way up.
     With the two extra knobs, the pedal offers a substantially wider range of usable sounds than the Collins version, with more fidelity and less of the Collins pedals unwanted noise.   The enhanced even order harmonics are still there, with useable tone on all the different settings of the density and diodes knobs.    The pedal is touch responsive and dynamic, with excellent note clarity, even with complex chords.   The even order harmonics the pedal churns out keep all the notes clear and distinct.
     This is probably the best Harmonic Percolator type pedal out there.   I haven't seen or actually tried out of them (obviously), but of the two I've tried, the Karma Suture is definitely the better sounding and more versatile of the two.   Plus, it's substantially cheaper than the current price for a new Chuck Collins Harmonic Percolator.

Electro Harmonix Germanium 4 Big Muff

     This pedal receives a more bang for the buck award for combing two separate pedals in one, an overdrive and a distortion, with the option of stacking both sides at once.   It uses two Germanium transistors in each side, hence the Germanium 4 in it's name.
     The first side in the chain is the distortion, with knobs for gain, bias, volts, and volume.   The bias knob goes from compressed and squishy counter-clockwise to having more attack and a sharper sound clockwise.   The volts knobs controls how much voltage the circuit gets and can be decreased for a starving battery effect.   The volts knob is highly interactive with the bias knob.   With both of them, you can get low-fi tones, stuttery gated tones, open ringing overdrives, all the way up to more modern high gain distortion and everything in-between.
     The overdrive side has knobs for gain, bias, tone, and volume.   This side has a warm, low gain overdrive.   Even with the gain knob and bias knob maxed, it doesn't have alot of gain.   The bias knob offers a decent amount of gain shaping range and the tone knob is functional enough.   I wish it had more range on the gain knob, but it's a minor complaint.
     With both sides on the tonal options increase and you can further modify the overall sound substantially.   This pedal offers a wide range of options and has fairly complex tones for a pedal in it's price range.

Boss DN-2 Dyna Drive

     This pedal used to go for over $100.00, then it dropped to around $90.00, now it can be had new for about $50.00.   I don't know if this is limited to stock on hand, it might be on sale for being discontinued, I'm not sure.
     This pedal is in-between an high gain overdrive and a distortion.  Although it's a digital pedal, it still sounds fairly warm and musical.   It's got a fairly transparent tone, none of the mid-scoop and screeching high end of the DS-1.   Although not as sophisticated as the Fulltone OCD, it's got a nice touch responsive mechanism in it's circuit based on the Dyna Amp circuit of the Roland Cube 60, so that when you play softly it distorts less and as you play harder the gain increases.  At it's current price of $50.00, I'd say it's a steal, offering yet another flavor of Boss dirt for the budget-conscious guitarist.

Vanhouten Maestro MFZ-1 copy fuzz, currently available as Chicago Ironworks Black Fudge

   This pedal is no longer made as a custom pedal in a plain yellow enclosure, but it's currently available as the Chicago Ironworks Black Fudge.   If you order it now it comes in a nice silk-screened black enclosure with the Chicago Ironworks logo and Black Fudge graphics.   It's a copy of the infamous Maestro MFZ-1 fuzz, with the original TL022 chip and modern and NOS parts, built in a smaller enclosure with user-friendly knobs.
     The pedal has two knobs for volume and gain.   The volume has to be turned up fairly high to get unity gain.   The gain knob goes from a crunchy lower gain overdrive/distortion to a fairly high gain fuzz, with an emphasis on the odd order harmonics.   The pedal sounds good throughout all of the gain settings, with a fairly smooth distortion that has it's own unique sound.   It's a cool sounding pedal and although I never tried an original Maestro, I'm convinced that it faithfully recreates the vibe of the original, as it has a unique and musical sound.   Both creamy and gritty, sounding like the 70's pedal it copies, it was worth the low price I got it for,   The new version is well worth the money too, with it's improved look.   Vanhouten has been building all sorts of cool boutique-quality pedals for a long time, his new line of Chicago Ironworks pedals are the next logical step in his development as a worthy pedal maker.

Moen Moo fuzz

   This sturdy pedal from Chinese pedal makers Moen offers a nice, inexpensive version of the Electro Harmonix Big Muff, with gain, volume and tone knobs, like the real thing.   It's got a similar sound, with a little more upper mids and high end and a less pronounced low end, although it still sounds fairly fat.   It seems to have a little less gain, but still offers alot of sustain and harmonics.   I read somewhere on the internet that it's circuit is similar to a Ram's Head or Triangle Big Muff, but i have no idea of this is actually true.   If you're on a budget or if you simply collect Big Muff knockoffs, this pedal might be right up your alley, for around $50.00.

Black Arts Toneworks Black Forest

     First of all, I have to comment on this pedal's killer artwork.   It's all black, but somehow etched with a forest, so if you look at it in the light you can see the relief.   It's pretty sophisticated for a stompbox, I think the newer version has a less elaborate design.
     This pedal is based on a Coloursound overdrive pedal and is a medium gain overdrive with a healthy dose of fuzz, 60's style.   At it's highest gain setting think Led Zeppelin, at lower gain settings it ranges from a low gain drive upwards to various shades of fuzz flavored overdrive, with a very sweet high end and a healthy low end with a smooth midrange.   It's got high and low tone knobs along with the gain and volume knobs, and with these you can dial in a huge range of tonal flavors, as each tone knob has quite a wide sweep.   The clipping of this pedal sounds soft to my ears, it's not a harsh pedal by any means.   As a matter of fact, when placed before my Fender Super Champ on a low medium gain setting, the pedal sounds a little mushy.   But when running into a clean Fender 59 Ltd Bassman, it offers a nice range of overdrive sounds with a wide range of tonal options for when I want a vintage 60's-70's overdrive with a taste of fuzziness thrown in for good measure.   It cleans up well with adjustments to the volume knob and it's fairly touch responsive.   Not for everyone, but I suspect there's a healthy number of guitarists who rely on this pedal for their dirt needs.

Real Tube Overdrive by BK Butler

     This is the one pedal I own that is not fairly new.   It's from the late eighties.   Also, it is the only pedal I own currently that has a tube in it.
     With the stock tube, the sound was too high gain for me, with a mid-scoop sound that verged on being too metal.   I replaced the 12AX7 with a 12AT7 (ECC81) made by Mullard in the UK.   Now it has a little less gain, but still enough for a decent amount of drive when maxed and a wider range of settings with lower gain for more subdued sounds.   The change in tubes also added some mids and gave the pedal more of a classic rock type sound.
     There are knobs for gain, volume, hi, mid, and lo.   The EQ knobs have a lot of range in them and you have a huge range of EQ settings available, thanks to the 3-bands.   The pedal goes from no volume at it's lowest settings up to a bluesy/early rock sound, upwards to varying degrees of crunch all the way up to a fairly high gain sound, even though I swapped the stock 12AX7 for a lesser gain 12AT7/ECC81.   The sound is fairly smooth and sounds like a nice tube distortion should, with the overall amp-like feel that is alot like playing directly into the gain channel of a high quality tube amp.
   These pedals are usually fairly expensive for a used pedal on eBay, but are still alot cheaper than the Chandler Tubes Overdrives (new and used).   If you want a nice vintage real tube overdrive, these are worth checking out.

Idiotbox Mad Doctor Stutter Box

     This is another pedal from Idiotbox called the Mad Doctor Stutter Box.   It has two knobs, one for rate and the other for Ratio.   It's a simple idea, rather than tremolo, which is a modulation effect that rhythmically pulses low to high volume, it instead goes from no volume to unity gain volume.  On and off.   It stutters, so to speak.   Square wave stutters.   The rate is self explanatory, the ratio controls the ratio of the on to off, with the knob counter-clockwise giving a longer on signal and the knob to the right giving less on and more off.   There is a toggle switch that, when turned to the right, gives more of an even response.   When it's turned to the left it gives a more percussive response.   The two knobs are interactive, turning the ratio knob counter-clockwise slows the rate down, turning it clockwise gives faster repeats.   With the rate knob all the way on and the ratio knob at a faster position, the effect is cancelled out.
     The effect is a great alternative to more traditional tremolo.   It sounds more modern and can be used for a variety of effects, similar to tremolo and even delay, but with it's own unique twist.   With a fuzz in front and a delay after it, it offers some super killer sounds.   I give the pedal an A+ and the mad doctor on the artwork's eyes even light up in response to the rate of the effect.   Super cool!

Klinger Buzz Fuzz II

     This review is for a pedal that's my new favorite pedal of all time.   It's a hand-made Boutique version of the rare Burns Buzzaround pedal, as used by Robert Fripp during his heyday with the original King Crimson.   It's got the traditional three knobs the original has (Sustain, Balance, and Timbre), plus an added Pre knob, which controls the amount of signal going into the circuit, giving the overall gain of the unit more options.   Sustain controls the gain, Balance is kinda like a volume knob, and Timbre shapes the tone.   The Pre and Sustain knobs are highly interactive.   The pedal does overdrive, distortion and fuzz type tones with it's own unique sound.
     The pedal gives a wide variety of gain structures depending on the Pre and Sustain settings, from a nice crunch to a highly saturated yet very musical fuzz with a lot of natural sounding warmth and a smooth, yet bright high end, while still maintaining a healthy bottom end, with a distinct texture that recalls Prog-rock type tones, yet still sounds very modern.   The three germanium transistors give the pedal a smooth breakup, yet it maintains a healthy dose of crunch, and practically every setting of the four knobs is very useable.  The pedal stays touch responsive at all settings.    Arpeggios and complex chords ring fairly clear.   The effect retains relative note clarity for a fuzz, even at high gain settings.   It never mushes out.  The gain  cleans up well with the guitar's volume knob and retains its high end edge even as the volume is turned down.   This pedal is one of the best stompboxes I've ever had the pleasure of playing.
      This pedal is hand-built to order and uses premium NOS and modern parts mounted and hand-wired on turret strips, yet the price to order direct from Klinger is still very reasonable, even with the extra $20.00 AUD for shipping.    My pedal features a custom enclosure in silver Hammer, the first Buzz Fuzz II in that color, which Shaun Klinger did free of charge.   He stayed in contact with me during the building process and his replies were prompt and very helpful.   Check out the inspiring youtube videos of his current pedals.   I'm sure you'll be as impressed as I was, they are truly magical.

Idiotbox Death Ray Mangler

      I usually stick to fairly traditional dirt boxes.  Before I bought the Idiotbox Death Ray Mangler, I stayed away from the weirder boxes and stuck to the basics.   This might be a turning point in my taste on stompboxes...
     The Idiotbox Death Ray Mangler is one weird beast.   It's got an on/off switch and three knobs: Z, A, and P.   Z controls the main pitch of the square wave divider, A knob slews the pitch.   With the A knob on full, the Z knob gives a filtered square wave fuzz.  With the A knob backed off the pedal gives a wide range of lo-fi blip outs, octave overtones, video game sounds, and ring-mod type textures.   While the pedal is capable of more stable fuzz tones, it's all still pretty gated, so the notes kinda cut out as they fade.   The P knob controls the volume.   There is a huge variety of sounds to be had, from the more traditional to the way out stuff that noise freaks adore.  Again, this is one trippy pedal.   I spent a few hours playing with the knobs and still haven't done it all, the controls are highly interactive with each other and it would be impossible to dial in everything this pedal is capable of in a short time, if at all.
    I did Devo-ish ring-mod sounds, Wall of Voodoo "Ring of Fire" fuzz, 60's punk freak outs, early Cabaret Voltaire industrial chunks, Butthole Surfers inspired noodling, tones worthy of the Unsane and Sonic Youth, and I've just started...   Check out the Idiotbox Death Ray Mangler if you want unique and interesting fuzz with a twist.
     Just to say, the box takes a expression pedal to control the Z knobs parameters, I haven't tried it yet, but I'm sure it will add a substantial extra dimension the the already impressive sounds coming out of this stompbox.
     This pedal is very reasonably priced, a big thanks to rocknrollvintage.com for what turned out to be a screaming good deal.   You can also order them direct from  idiotboxeffects.bigcartel.com.

Lovepedal Provalve 2

     After reading the original Provalve's review in Guitar Player a few years ago, I decided I had to check out the pedal.   While I was trying to scrounge up the money to buy it, it sold out.   Lucky for me, Lovepedal reissued it as the Provalve 2, with a slightly different tone cicuit.   I was able to purchase it while it was still available and I'm glad I did, for it's a really neat stompbox.
     Basically, it's two high gain distortion pedals in one.   It's got knobs for volume and tone, plus two knobs for the two footswitchable gain levels.   One footswitch turns the pedal on or off, and the other switches between the two gain settings.
     Before I get to how it sounds, I have to note that this pedal is LOUD!   Unity gain is around 9:00 and it's got plenty of volume to really push the front end of a tube amplifier for extra gain.   The pedal has a very usable tone circuit that is great sounding no matter how you set it.   The gain goes from a solid AC/DC crunch to a super high gain half-stack sound, with all the attendant feedback and sustain.   This pedal will make a small combo sound huge, and it's one of the better high gain distortion pedals I've had the pleasure of trying out.
     As far as I know, it's pretty much sold out, although the last time I looked, there were used Provalve 2's and one new one available on eBay.   Check it out for yourself and good luck...   

    

Danelectro Fab Distortion

     This pedal has got to be the cheapest pedal ever, only $15.25 on eBay.   After I got it I looked it up again and now they can be had for about $12.00...   Despite it's low price, it's a pretty nice pedal.   Plastic enclosure with a metal base, tidy PCB inside.   Volume, tone and gain knobs.
      The sounds it gets are actually pretty cool too.   Based on an unnamed 70's box from Japan, it gets a balanced warm distortion with a decent low end and a sweet high end.   It sounds as good or ever better than a Boss DS-1, at less than half the price.   Check it out on eBay for the best price.