Way Huge’s Red Llama MkII is a simple pedal that does one thing awesomely well: highly musical overdrive/distortion. While the name implies a redesign, it’s more of a second coming. The Red Llama (street $120) is a reissue of what became a highly sought-after pedal after it disappeared in 1999, now resurrected by Dunlop.... Click on the title for more
Author Archive
The Persuader from MOD Kits DIY (available at modkitsdiy.com for about $65) is a U-build-it, starved plate, 12ax7 distortion box kit. It arrives as a collection of parts to be assembled into a powder-coated purple, pre-drilled Hammond-style cast-aluminum box. A 16 page assembly manual identifies all the included components, and has a solid, but brief tutorial on soldering. At the end of the manual are various tear-out drawings to use as guides in the build process. The step-by-step build instructions were clear, and if you've built a few kits of reasonable complexity, it's fairly straight-forward to build The Persuader. There were one or two steps in the build I thought were not in ideal order; I'll address those later in this review.... Click on the title for more
It's rare to see a band mature as fast as Lucius did. Started as a mellow and rather ordinary duo of female singer songwriters, this project in the last 2 years or so has expanded and grown in unexpected, abnormal yet wonderful ways. Their impressive performance at our Deli NYC B.E.A.F. 2011 event showcased a band that, with a little imagination in the arrangement and performance departments, can take traditional songwriting to an entirely new level. Music fans (and industry) seem to be noticing, since they have started to sell out shows in NYC and Austin during SXSW. The two ladies can write good songs and sing beautifully, and with the help of the two boys in the band, put on a show at once emotional and powerful.... Click on the title for more












