Scheduled to be released in late August of 2022, the Decibelics The Reverend is the latest pedal by the Spanish company responsible for one of the most highly regarded Klon Centaur clones on the market, the Golden Horse. It’s also a recreation of a sought-after circuit with a mythical name, the vintage Bixonic Expandora, now selling used for over $300 USD.
The original circuit was an evolution of the ProCo RAT with an added expander that made it more responsive to touch and to the guitar’s output. Three different versions of it, with slight variations in circuitry and features:
- EXP-2000, aka the ‘Original Version’. The most famous one, with 2 internal DIP switches to change between 3 gain stages plus the additional ‘Forbidden Setting’. Uses some now-obsolete parts such as the LM308 chip and the Sharp PC419 (among others) which made it sound very musical.
- EXP-2001, a larger version with slightly different sound, replaced the original switches with an external 4th knob. No ‘Forbidden’ setting on this one.
- EXP-2000R, the Reissue version of the EXP-2000. The internal switches were replaced by external ones and added an extra Bass switch. Replaces some of the rare components of the EXP-2000 for more widely available ones.
The Reverend is a part-for-part recreation of the original, in mini format, with three classic knobs for Gain, Level and Tone, and a fourth rotary control switching between four modes recreating tones from all three versions of the pedal.
Modes I, II and III offer the sound of the three vintage units, while F Mode (aka ‘Forbidden Setting’) replicates the explosive gated Fuzz mode found on the EX-2000 and EXP-2000R.
Here’s the first video of it!
Decibelics The Reverend
The Reverend will be my take on one of my all-time favorite pedals: The sought-after, vintage Bixonic Expandora – One of the first ‘Boutique’ pedals, Made in Japan, used among the greatest guitarists the likes of Joe Satriani, Megadeth, Bootsy Collins, Slipknot… And made famous by Billy Gibbons for its ZZ Top signature sound.
The Bixonic Expandora was a phenomenal Overdrive/Distortion/Fuzz, a highly evolved Rat with an ‘expander’ circuit that made the pedal dynamically sensitive, allowing users to vary the amount of distortion with the pick’s attack or by adjusting their instrument’s volume knob.
Apart from the ‘Script Logo’ beta version (very rare), there were 3 variations of the pedal through the years:
EXP-2000, aka the ‘Original Version’. The most famous one, with 2 internal DIP switches to change between 3 gain stages plus the additional ‘Forbidden Setting’. Uses some now-obsolete parts such as the LM308 chip and the Sharp PC419 (among others) which made it sound very musical.
EXP-2001, a larger version with slightly different sound, replaced the original switches with an external 4th knob. No ‘Forbidden’ setting on this one.
EXP-2000R, the Reissue version of the EXP-2000. The internal switches were replaced by external ones and added an extra Bass switch. Replaces some of the rare components of the EXP-2000 for more widely available ones.
The Decibelics Reverend will be a part-for-part replica of the ‘Original Version’ EXP-2000 but with added elements/characteristics of all three versions. Thanks to my trusty supplier of New Old Stock/Vintage parts, it will make use of some of the nearly-unobtainable NOS components found in the original, Decibelics-style.The pedal is still in the development phase but here’s an advance of what I’m working on:
Mini format, to fit any pedalboard
Part-for-part replica of my original MIJ Bixonic Expandora
Hand Made using Old Style through-hole components just like the originals
Highest Quality components and hardware
N.O.S. vintage ‘key’ components for the original tone, feel, and dynamics
4 Knobs, being the fourth one the replacement of the original switches
‘Forbidden Setting’, the explosive, brutal, gated Fuzz mode found on the EX-2000 and EXP-2000R
Internal Guitar-Bass switch of the EXP-2000R
True Bypass
