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.