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Effect Type

Pedal Review: VFE Blues King

For irredeemable tone tweakers, this “low-gain” distortion pedal (it actually has plenty on tap) VFE’s Blues King (street $144) is a Pandora’s box of grind. Built by hand by a small family business out of Pennsylvania, the Blues King has “Buy American” credibility right off the bat. Couple that with…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: VFE Blues King

Pedal Review: Electro Harmonix Ravish Sitar

Unless you've been living under a rock you have most likely heard the sitar, an Indian instrument which creates a very complex and distinct sound derived by the use of sympathetic strings, a long neck, and gourd chamber. The Ravish Sitar (whose name is probably a play off of the…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: Electro Harmonix Ravish Sitar

Pedal Reviews: EHX Crying Tone Wah Pedal

The Wah pedal has long been a staple in rock, funk, r & b and many other styles of music. The concept of the Wah was created by accident by an electrical engineer in the mid 60's who was commissioned to redesign a tube amp as a solid state for…Click on the title for more

Pedal Reviews: EHX Crying Tone Wah Pedal

Pedal Review: T-Rex Roommate Junior

Most Digital Reverb Stomp Boxes attempt to recreate the authentic sounds of the classic Spring Reverb, but then provide other options utilizing the convenience and diversity of digital modeling. The reverb pedal on my bench today is called the Roommate Junior by T-Rex of Denmark, and it’s based on the…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: T-Rex Roommate Junior

Pedal Review: Pigtronix Fat Drive

In a world where you can’t swing a guitar without knocking 10 Tubescreamer clones off the shelf, new entrants to the oversaturated overdrive market had better have something new to say. Pigtronix’s new Fat Drive (street $140) accomplishes this by exploiting what some might perceive as a weakness in Fender-style…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: Pigtronix Fat Drive

Level up with these 8 bit guitar pedals

Hearing the term '8 bit audio' probably makes you think of old school arcade games or vintage Nintendo titles, but converting higher quality audio to 8 bits is an effect that can be used to achieve a variety of sounds - including some very cool guitar tones. Reducing the bit depth…Click on the title for more

Level up with these 8 bit guitar pedals

Pedal video review: Palmer Kaputt Octaver

Our legendary contributor Chris Cannon reviewed the Palmer Kaputt Octaver for us, but he did through a video - check it out!Click on the title for more

Pedal video review: Palmer Kaputt Octaver

Famous Guitar Tones: the Twang

In the mid-50s, great guitar innovators like Duane Eddy (pictured) started playing lead riffs drenched in tremolo and echo in the lower registers of the guitar, creating the bass-y sound that since then has become synonymous with “twang.” Tremolo, a regular change in volume which can be varied in speed…Click on the title for more

Famous Guitar Tones: the Twang

Pedal Review: VFE Distortion3

The VFE Distortion3 houses three classic low-to-medium gain distortions in one small tweakable enclosure. enclosure. This pedal simulates the MXR Distortion+ made famous by Randie Rhoads as well as the DOD 250 and MXR MicroAmp. While all of these classic 70’s and 80’s pedals have the same basic circuit, the Distortion3…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: VFE Distortion3

Pedal Review: TC Electronic Spark Booster

At first glance the TC Electronic Spark Booster looks like it may function as a very vanilla clean boost pedal. Fortunately TC put some bells and whistles into this pedal that make it really fun to play and especially fun to record with. I tested it out while recording an…Click on the title for more

Pedal Review: TC Electronic Spark Booster

Review: Audio Source Multiwave Bass Distortion

Some digital innovation brought to us today from the fine folks at Source Audio with the Soundblox 2 Multiwave Bass Distortion. The bass guitar can be one of the trickiest instruments to record. This may be because of several factors, but one of the more common reasons is that low-end instruments like…Click on the title for more

Review: Audio Source Multiwave Bass Distortion

BOSS RC-300 Loop Pedal – Review

The new Boss RC-300 looping pedal from Boss is like riding an Escalade into a garage filled with Ford Escorts. This much 'foot-power' will turn heads. With its metal chassis, and 21”x9” size; it's a substantial piece of gear on a small stage. But unlike other looping pedals that only…Click on the title for more

BOSS RC-300 Loop Pedal – Review