Beebadoobee Built
Ask Beetronics why they chose to explore the realm of fuzz and overdrive in a single pedal and the likely answer will be “because we could.” Indeed, Beetronics tends to march to its own drum. With just a single footswitch, there are limitations to Beetronics’ take on the concept. Most players that use fuzz and overdrive use two different pedals, or a larger pedal that uses two footswitches to access the two circuits together or independently. Here, you have to use a toggle on the pedal’s crown. But for players that love saving space, having one little pedal that can cover it all is an appealing proposition. Another is how the Nectar’s tones often seem to blend fuzz and overdrive, creating complex dirt sounds.
The Nectar doesn’t mark the first time Beetronics dabbled in fuzz/overdrive fusion. The Royal Jelly runs the two effects side by side, in a much larger three-footswitch, seven-knob pedal. Nectar takes a more economical approach. Apart from the fuzz/drive mode toggle, there are knobs for output volume, “honey,” which controls the gain, and “taste,” which is a dark-to-bright tone knob. All are mounted on the pedal’s crown, which can make it tricky to see your settings on the fly, but it’s easy to navigate the controls by feel after a little practice. The Nectar is a very what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of pedal, with no secret settings or hidden controls or sub menus.
Beetronics pedals are very nicely built. And they have made it a signature of sorts to creatively stretch the meaning of “printed” in printed circuit board—adorning it with a floral graphic similar to the one on the plastic plate on the pedal’s face. Checking out this nifty internal touch is, however, the only reason to remove the plate. There’s no battery connection inside and the pedal is run by an external 9V DC supply only.
Bouncing the Beebop
The core tone in the Nectar’s fuzz mode, which I’m guessing many players will use the most, is rich, creamy, dynamic, and full of sustain. It strikes me as voiced to appeal to a wide range of guitarists and playing approaches. And at the risk of over-egging the metaphor pudding, it is undeniably honey-like, rather than a reproduction of the harsh, edgy, Velcro-like tones you associate with early fuzz boxes. Such smoothness—some might hear a balanced, contemporary distortion— means the Nectar works across genres without sounding too vintage, which is a good thing, in my opinion.
That said, the Nectar’s fuzz mode can sting when the taste knob is up high. With some guitar/amp combinations, you might even hear traces of harshness. But it is mostly appealingly sweet and luscious at heart, and there is so much range in the gain control that you might be tempted to skip the drive mode. Right up to around 10 o’clock on the honey knob, the fuzz maintains a thick, clear, edge-of-breakup response that’s very dynamic and definitely well south of true fuzz in terms of gain. It’s an appealing overdrive alternative.
As rich as the fuzz mode’s low-gain sounds are, the drive side’s fat-boost and low-gain overdrive sounds offer a practical alternative to fuzz mode. Real breakup, predictably, happens much deeper in the honey control’s range. And when you max it, the drive mode gets aggressive, with a throaty bark reminiscent of, if not precisely like, the MXR Distortion+. It’s a gutsy sound and adds character and muscle to any guitar you put in front of it. In drive mode, the Nectar also stacks well with other overdrives. I love how it meshed with a Marshall-like JHS Angry Charlie and a Tsakalis Six (which approximates the Paul Cochrane Timmy, Marshall Bluesbreaker, and Analog Man King of Tone) without devolving into a muddled mess.
The Verdict
With a tonal range that bridges brawny boost and a particularly delectable fuzz, it’s hard to avoid wishing the compact Nectar’s two modes were footswitchable rather than toggle activated. Still, the sounds alone, which mostly manage to avoid glitchy, spitty fuzz and tend more toward the smooth, creamy side of drive, will appeal to a lot of players that like their gain devices more predictable than unruly.
TWA OCTOVERDRIVE
Just in time for Halloween, the TWA Octoverdrive features a 100% original drive circuit coupled with an analog Octavia.
Like Frankenstein’s Monster, cobbled together from discorporate parts and then electrified back to life, the heart of the Octoverdrive hides archaic, undead components that should not create sound – and yet, it lives!
Cursed to clip for all eternity using a set of selenium rectifiers, the Octoverdrive offers two channels of diabolical dirt:
TREAT – A thick, harmonically rich tube-like drive with the perfect degree of compression. Treat goes from creepy crunch to ghoulish gain with eerie ease.
TRICK – Adds a haunting, high-octave harmonic to the drive signal. Unlike other Octavia’s, the Octoverdrive retains low-end while boosting output level, effortlessly raising your guitar tone from the grave.
The Octoverdrive also features a 3-band cut/boost EQ circuit to hack & chop your tone to pieces. For the faint of heart, there’s a Dry Blend control to add a touch of purity to the Octoverdrive’s evil goodness.
KittycasterFX Groovy Wizard Fuzz Driver
The Groovy Wizard Fuzz Driver is for all you wizards of guitar that have been searching for the most dynamic, touch-sensitive fuzz to drive your amp whether it is set clean or overdriven. Groovy Wizard’s open and transparent response lets the character of your guitar and amp shine through while accentuating every playing nuance. The wide ranging controls go from boost to amp-like touch-sensitive overdrive all the way to raging fuzz! And it was specifically designed to extend the range of your guitar's volume control - from amazing cleans, to tight overdrive, all the way to raging fuzz - all by merely turning your guitar's volume control and varying your picking attack.
Adapted and extended from a classic ’60’s two-transistor console preamp circuit originally associated with Jimi Hendrix, the Groovy Wizard is not a mere clone, nor is it a fuzz face. The circuit was modified and voiced from the ground up to achieve the perfect sound + response. Utilizing a combination of a PNP germanium transistor coupled with an NPN silicon transistor running at up to 18 volts, the Groovy Wizard has a greatly increased range of gain from clean to fuzz, more tonal control, bigger soundstage and punch, and more transparency to create the perfect fuzz driver for any musical style or rig.
This is your always on dirt pedal!