Elite Tone Fillmore Thunder
As legendary as the original
Octavia octave fuzz is—especially
to Hendrix disciples—it’s not a
widely or readily understood
effect. It’s a little bit hairy, alien,
and random, which of course is
why Jimi loved it—and why so
few players in search of Jimi’s
tone ever master it. The Fillmore
Thunder (
May 2010 web exclusive),
a beautiful Octavia-style circuit
from Elite Tone may not be much easier to get your head around,
but a player with the patience to unlock this pedal’s many capabilities
will find a wealth of Octavia tones that evoke Jimi’s sickest octave
tones—and realms beyond, too. A Bias knob helps players dial in a
less-compressed distortion than original Octavias, and a Gain control
makes it easier to tailor the pedal to your guitar’s output. Together,
they make the Fillmore Thunder a more expansive and capable take
on the Octavia sound. Reviewer Kenny Rardin took this praise a step
further, calling the Fillmore Thunder “the most controllable Octavia
I’ve ever played.” He cited the unit’s exceptional flexibility, too, noting
that “usually Octavias are used on the neck pickup and above the
seventh fret; this one tracks well throughout the fingerboard and even
works well on the bridge pickup.” Sounds to us like a true evolution
of a revolutionary and timeless effect.
Street $177
elitetone.com
Godin ICON Type 3
Godin has always packed a lot of value into their guitars, but the
ICON Type 3—with its Lollar P-90s, rock-solid and super-clean
construction, and clever High Definition Revoicer (H.D.R.) active-to-passive switching capability—is one of the most value-packed
6-strings we’ve seen in a long time. For starters, it’s a looker. It
features a simple, elegantly sculpted mahogany body that steps
off from Gibson design territory but employs an offset waist and
smooth top carve to claim an aesthetic all its own. The chambered
body also makes the guitar light and extremely comfortable to
hold. Reviewer Gary Guzman found
that the H.D.R. gave the ICON Type 3
(
November 2010) greater punch and
responsiveness in many situations and
added presence and brilliance when
needed. But he also found the simple
combination of the Godin and the
Lollar pickups a perfect match. “With
or without the H.D.R., the Lollar P-90s
had me hooked with their balance of
midrange, clarity, and warmth. These
pickups inhabit an ideal sonic space
that’s brighter than a humbucker, yet
has a fatter, thicker tone than a traditional
single-coil that breaks up very
smoothly with distortion.”
Street $1395
godinguitars.com
Kilpatrick Audio Vibro Man
Canada’s Kilpatrick Audio knows how to
pack a lot of tricks into a single pedal. But
few pedals by any manufacturer come close
to packing as many truly useful and expressive
tricks as the Kilpatrick Vibro Man modulation
pedal (
March 2010). Its ingenious circuit
gives you not just delicious vibrato and
tremolo effects, but also a vibrating bandpass
filter that can be used in conjunction
with the tremolo to produce mind-bending
modulation madness. With such deliciously
twisted modulations, it only makes sense
that the Vibro Man also enables you to send your signal out in stereo
for warped synchronization effects. It also includes a Touch switch
that accentuates a given effect the harder you play. Reviewer Jordan
Wagner said using the Tremolo and Vibrato together produced some
of the coolest modulation effects he’d ever heard, noting that the
Tremolo occupied a modulation sweet spot that was “not too soft,
but certainly not too choppy.” But what impressed him most was the
Vibro Man’s range: From subtle to seasick wobbly, its tones make it a
“multi-function modulation powerhouse.”
Street $249
kilpatrickaudio.com
Lovepedal RedHead
Sometimes it seems tonehounds spend
their whole lives trying to clean up their
dirty tone. Fair enough. But sometimes we
like our dirty a little more wild. That’s where
the Lovepedal RedHead (
September 2010 web exclusive) comes in. Steve Ouimette
used the word “irreverent” to describe this
pedal’s fiery voice. He also invoked the
name of Billy Gibbons, a virtual patron saint
of grease, sleaze, and attitude, as someone
who would adore the RedHead’s snarling
and delightfully boxy tone. In more aggressive settings, Ouimette used the RedHead to summon controlled
harmonic feedback and create a bed for more Gibbon’s-like pinched-harmonic
effects. Ouimette found the tone control very flexible and
useful for adding bite and presence. He also found the RedHead to
be the ticket for kicking his Stratocaster and Marshall into amp-blowing
Blackmore territory, declaring with glee that the RedHead served
up “the thickest, most badass attack I’d heard through my Marshall in
years . . . the sound of the amp acting like it was going to give way
at any second.” He also gave the RedHead what we consider high
praise (at least when we’re in a dirty mood) when he emphatically
declared, “This is not a subtle pedal!”
Street $199
lovepedal.com
