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Idiotbox Redrum V2 Distortion

Born as a one-knob hybrid Rat/HM-2 circuit (with the distortion of the former running into the tone stack of the latter), the Idiotbox Redrum - with its Kubrick-inspired name and graphics - was recently updated to V2, which provides more control without losing any of the original murderous tone. The Drive…Click on the title for more

Idiotbox Redrum V2 Distortion

Bleak District Electric Sun V2

The Bleak District Electric Sun V2 belongs to the restricted niche of pedals voiced after the Sunn O Model T, a tube amp that was adopted by stoner and doom metal bands, to the point of inspiring the name of those genres' pioneers: Sunn O))). The circuit employs both op-amp…Click on the title for more

Bleak District Electric Sun V2

Master Effects Martyr Distortion V2

Built by a Calgary-based company specializing in guitar and bass pedals for loud rock genres, the Master Effects Martyr is a pedal voiced after the sound of the Marshall Valvestate 8100 from the '90s, a guitar amp that defined the sound of death metal. This is V2 of this circuit,…Click on the title for more

Master Effects Martyr Distortion V2

Chase Bliss Audio Warped Vinyl HiFi

Chase Bliss Audio just unveiled a new, "HiFi" version of their popular Warped Vinyl pedal (we blogged about the old version here). This is an analog vibrato/chorus with an unthinkable amount of switches (dip, toggle, button, you name it). At $379, it may be a little pricey, but it will…Click on the title for more

Chase Bliss Audio Warped Vinyl HiFi

EarthQuaker Devices Ledges Reverb

The EarthQuaker Devices Ledges represents the Ohio company's entry product in what could be referred to as the "streamlined, multi-algorithm bread-and-butter reverb pedal niche" - which is a pretty popular niche since most guitarists commonly use traditional reverbs like Room, Plate, and Hall. By EQD's standard, this looks like a…Click on the title for more

EarthQuaker Devices Ledges Reverb

Blammo! Electronics Blues Blaster

It doesn't look like this new hand-made Blues Breaker evolution by the dudes at Blammo! Electronics is officially out yet, but since there's a video of it, it must exist! Enter the Blues Blaster. The circuit is an updated version of that venerable overdrive, that fixes all the known limitations…Click on the title for more

Blammo! Electronics Blues Blaster

Palmer The Solarist Fuzz

With two channels based on the venerable Fuzz Face and Rangemaster, the Palmer The Solarist is a bona fide fuzz + boost on steroids. The pedal offers 3 clipping options per channel: on the Fuzz side you can choose between a pair of Germanium diodes (GT404B transistor), Silicon ones (NTE123),…Click on the title for more

Palmer The Solarist Fuzz

EarthQuaker Devices Zoar Distortion

The EarthQuaker Devices Zoar is the Ohio company's take on the modern-sounding, transistor-based medium-high gain distortion. Moderately tweakeable thanks to the (passive) 3-way EQ section, which operates on the frequencies between 0 and 800Hz for Bass, 500Hz and 3kHz for Middle and 1kHz and 10kHz for Treble, the pedal also…Click on the title for more

EarthQuaker Devices Zoar Distortion

Greer Black Mountain Crunch Drive

The Greer Black Mountain is a new, British-style crunch overdrive by a Georgia-based boutique builder with a growing following, mostly because of the Lightspeed overdrive, a true "sleeper hit" of the stompbox industry. While the Lightspeed is a very transparent drive, the Black Mountain offers a definite tonal flavor reminiscent…Click on the title for more

Greer Black Mountain Crunch Drive

New Pedal: NRG Effects Gnawer Distortion

The NRG Effects Gnawer is a RAT-inspired dual-channel overdrive by a small British builder that has built a reputation for solid and tweakable pedal designs. Unlike original RATs and many of its variations, it has a very usable range of tones also at lower gain. Based on a NA5534P op-amp…Click on the title for more

New Pedal: NRG Effects Gnawer Distortion

Poly VERBS Reverb

Australian pedal company Poly Effect has never played the pedal game the way the other companies do, and their new stereo reverb is another demonstration of that. With its touch-sensitive controls (no knobs!) and convolution reverb capabilities, the Poly Verbs is a unique entry in the very competitive reverb pedal…Click on the title for more

Poly VERBS Reverb

Holy Island Audio Deforming Delay

Hailing from the Wales, the Holy Island Audio Deforming is a delay built around the PT2399 chip with a peculiar, footswitch-triggered "warp" function that links the delay's time to an envelope, generating the classic "sound warping" effect you get when you turn the time knob while the guitar strings are…Click on the title for more

Holy Island Audio Deforming Delay