gear giveaway

Effect Type

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

Hagerman Reactivator Tube Overdrive

Hagerman is a small American boutique pedal builder dedicated to manufacturing amps and pedals, and the Reactivator belongs to a series of stompboxes featuring an actual tube in the circuit - in this case, a 12AU7. A two-transistor / two-triode overdrive, the Reactivator is a development of the company's Valve…Click on the title for more

Hagerman Reactivator Tube Overdrive

EarthQuaker Devices Hizumitas Fuzz

EarthQuaker Devices is back at it with a new fuzz designed in collaboration with Wata, guitarist of the cult Japanese experimental band Boris. The pedal, called Hizumitas, is a recreation of Wata's favorite distortion pedal, the Elk BM Sustainar, a Japanese variant of the "Triangle" Big Muff Pi. The EQD…Click on the title for more

EarthQuaker Devices Hizumitas Fuzz

Death By Audio Germanium Filter

The Germanium Filter, by our friends at Death By Audio, is uncharacteristically low on controls, but as noisy a pedal as the NYC company has gotten us used to. Inspired by the "ripped speaker" type of fuzz loved by the seekers of impure and corrupt tone, the Germanium Filter offers…Click on the title for more

Death By Audio Germanium Filter

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

J Rockett Melody EQ/Overdrive Pedal

As many of our readers have learned from this popular post, an EQ pedal is a powerful tool for sculpting precise tones from your favorite overdrive stompbox. J. Rockett Audio Designs clearly appreciates the power of that combination. The company has just introduced Melody, a signature EQ/overdrive pedal designed for…Click on the title for more

J Rockett Melody EQ/Overdrive Pedal

JCA Texas Flood Boost/Overdrive

The JCA Texas Flood is a high-quality boost/overdrive pedal hand-made in Germany that encapsulates the sound of Stevie Ray Vaughan - or, as some say, it's an "SRV in a box." The reference tone for this stompbox is obviously the guitarist's debut album reference in its name, considered by many…Click on the title for more

JCA Texas Flood Boost/Overdrive

Walrus Audio Fathom Reverb

On the heels of the successful release of the Arp 87 Delay, Walrus Audio just unveiled the Fathom, a multi-function reverb + modulation built on the same form factor. Featuring four modes (Hall, Plate, Lo-Fi and Sonar, which is a reverb with added octaves for that famous "shimmering" effect), this…Click on the title for more

Walrus Audio Fathom Reverb

Wonderful Audio Apex Distortion

The Wonderful Audio Apex is a distortion pedal that started as a RAT-based circuit and ended up becoming its own (still vaguely ratty) thing. The original idea was to experiment with the vintage RAT's LM308 chip. A JFET front-end gain stage was then added to recreate the effect you get…Click on the title for more

Wonderful Audio Apex Distortion

Tone Cloud Tone Snifter Fuzz

Hand-wired in Melbourne, Australia, the Tone Cloud Tone Snifter is inspired by the VOX Tone Bender fuzz, the Italian version of the circuit with a distinctly different sound from the more popular British version. But it's a lot more than that. The vintage unit's two germanium transistors were replaced by…Click on the title for more

Tone Cloud Tone Snifter Fuzz

Glowfly Retroflect LoFi Tape Sim

The Glowfly Retroflect LoFi Tape Sim is a fun looking pedal that recreates analog cassette tape sounds, lofi textures and analog artifacts, with a Saturation knob delivering tape-style soft clipping on the high-frequencies, and a pitch modulation that's controlled directly by the input volume. The Wow knob adjusts modulation sensitivity,…Click on the title for more

Glowfly Retroflect LoFi Tape Sim

Tubesteader Sunkeeper Preamp

The Canadian folks at Tubesteader don't mess around with the build of their pedals, maybe also because they like to fit them with rather fragile tubes to deliver the best possible tone. The Sunkeeper, a dual-channel preamp/overdrive recreating the sound of the Orange amps, is the third stompbox in the…Click on the title for more

Tubesteader Sunkeeper Preamp