gear giveaway

Distortion Pedals

Sinvertek N5+ Drive

A boutique Chinese manufacturer on the rise, Sinvertek offers a "more is more" approach to stompboxes by providing extremely deep functionality for each one of their product, with a price tag that is extremely competitive compared to similarly fully-featured pedals made in the US or Europe. Their latest drive, the…Click on the title for more

Sinvertek N5+ Drive

Tape Audio Co. TWO Distortion

The Tape Audio Co. TWO is the second release from this small boutique builder whose first pedal, the ONE fuzz, turned heads and ears earlier in 2022. TWO is an original distortion circuit driven by two distortion/gain circuits blending a combination Germanium (pre stage) and Silicon (gain stage) transistors. A Master…Click on the title for more

Tape Audio Co. TWO Distortion

Haunted Labs Old Ruin Distortion

North Carolina's scariest boutique pedal company Haunted Labs just unleashed their first distortion pedal, the Old Ruin, which delivers a variety of tones from low-gain overdrive to terrifying howling distortion. The ubiquitous Gain and Volume knob are joined by a Texture knob that - to quote the builder - "summons sonic…Click on the title for more

Haunted Labs Old Ruin Distortion

Rare Buzz Effects Cyborg

The Rare Buzz Effects Cyborg distortion is a special edition of the company's Rat'style Snitch. The 170 units already sold out, allowing the company to gather $10,000 for donations to the Ukraine cause. More info at the bottom of this post and here, video below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rgV9DCxpU4&t=13s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoRC8RTEH2o Rare Buzz Effects…Click on the title for more

Rare Buzz Effects Cyborg

Caline Nightwolf Drive + Fuzz

The Caline Nightwolf is a very affordable dual drive+fuzz pedal that combines a Timmy-style circuit with a Fuzzface-style one. Handily, the order of the pedals can be changed through the middle footswitch, while the side ones activate the two effects. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BlIso9NswY https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=139&v=x3TIZ2SexSo Based on CP-46+CP-12 Pure sky (Caline best seller)…Click on the title for more

Caline Nightwolf Drive + Fuzz

New Pedal: Tone Charm Audio Into the Waves Modulated Delay + Distortion

The Tone Charm Audio Into the Waves is a delay/distortion/modulation pedal hailing from Poland and (hand) made with the shoegazer guitarist in mind. Those three effects (with an added, hefty dose of reverb) represent that dreamy genre's foundational sonic trinity, and the Into The Waves, with its eight knobs, three…Click on the title for more

New Pedal: Tone Charm Audio Into the Waves Modulated Delay + Distortion

Gamechanger Audio Plasma Coil (with Third Man Records)

Everyone closely following the stompbox "scene" should be aware of Latvian builder Gamechanger Audio's intriguing devices. The Plasma Distortion is an original design that employs "a series of continuous high-voltage discharges within a xenon-filled tube" to create distortion. Third Man Record owner Jack White, of The White Stripe fame, evidently…Click on the title for more

Gamechanger Audio Plasma Coil (with Third Man Records)

Source Audio Ultrawave Multiband Distortion

After an initial limited batch sold directly through the manufacturer, The Source Audio Ultrawave is now widely available through all the shops that carry the Boston company's pedals. We also learned that there is a bass version of it. This is a multi-mode, multi-band distortion pedal presented as a "Stereo…Click on the title for more

Source Audio Ultrawave Multiband Distortion

Electrofoods Ultd. + Dirge Electronics RBMK

For those born too late to know or remember, RBMK was the name of the (lovely) model of nuclear reactor that melted in Chernobyl that day in 1986. If you wanted to find just a word to described it, probably "unstable" would be it. Electrofoods Ultd.'s RBMK is a boost/overdrive/distortion…Click on the title for more

Electrofoods Ultd. + Dirge Electronics RBMK

GOAT Analog Distortion Generator

The GOAT Analog Distortion Generator is a stompbox that will intrigue those who love vintage circuits with an interesting story. It's a pedal that recreates the Rockman Distortion Generator, a rack-mounted effects from the '90s designed by Boston's guitarist Tom Sholz, and a parent of the somewhat legendary Rockman, a…Click on the title for more

GOAT Analog Distortion Generator

Joyo Dark Flame R-17 Distortion

Metal guitarists in search for something new should take a look at the new Joyo Dark Flame, a high-gain distortion that doesn't break the bank (it's only $59!) featuring a 3-knob EQ and three different voicings (Stock, Bright and Dark). You can hear its aggressive tones in the videos below.…Click on the title for more

Joyo Dark Flame R-17 Distortion

Cult Overdrive Circuits: Clark Gainster Clones, and the Hoochee-Mama

The Story of the Clark Gainster Clones and the Hoochee Mama The Clark Amplification Gainster and Browntone Hoochie Mama are two overdrive pedals that are rarely mentioned separately. This might be due to the fact that the latter, although inspired by the former, is still able to deliver something different…Click on the title for more

Cult Overdrive Circuits: Clark Gainster Clones, and the Hoochee-Mama