Since attending a Dave Matthews Band concert as a teenager, Jason has been into all things guitar. An Iowa native, Jason has degrees in Music Business from Minnesota State-Mankato and Jazz Pedagogy from the University of Northern Iowa. Since then, he has spent time doing everything from promotion at an indie music label to organizing guitar workshops all over the country. Currently, Jason lives with his wife, son, and daughter in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
"Among Vivino's favorites are the Futurama, 1953 Gibson Les Paul goldtop, and a Fender American Vintage у72 Telecaster Custom, as well as this Gibson Super 400 CES."
The gear that passed through our reviewer’s hands in 2025 was a thrillingly varied bunch. There were new takes on old friends, slimmed and shrunken evolutions of proven designs, and radical reinventions of the instrument we love and treasure so much. Join us as we review the guitars, pedals, amps, modelers and more that stood apart from the pack.
Keeley Zoma
Keeley chased one of the most perfect effect combinations—the tremolo and reverb from a black panel Fender amplifier—in the form of the Zoma. But the tremolo-and-reverb combo goes beyond mere black-panel flavors. There’s a versatile plate reverb setting, harmonic tremolo, and vibrato, too, and it’s all very straightforward and easy to use. Stereo capabilities take the lushness to another level if you choose, making the Zoma a standout in a class of pedals chasing magic Fender amp effects formulas.
Phil X’s signature drive and boost is not, at its foundation, a unique idea. But by making the boost and overdrive order switchable and adding flexible EQ controls, the PXO becomes more than the sum of its parts. It can make single coils sound as fat as humbuckers or add treble that burns. It’s a fantastic studio and stage tool—both for discovery and backline problem solving.
Over several decades, Gibson’s minimalist, more economical version of the Les Paul enabled a lot of players to own the fabled—but often expensive—solidbody. In this case, $1,599 might still feel a touch pricy, but reviewer Dave Hunter found the playability on our review model superb, and described the hotter-than-vintage-spec Burstbucker Pro pickups as extremely articulate.
The Schaeffer-Vega Diversity System isn’t exactly a household name—even among gear nerds. But as an early wireless system, its mild coloration became essential for Angus Young and Eddie Van Halen. The SVDS Boost reduces its inspiration to its essence, beautifully fattening every facet of a guitar’s output without favoring any particular frequency.
Many of Orange’s solid state amps in the Crush and Terror series have become staples of studios and the road. The Gain Baby, which is part of a trio of new “Baby” solid state offerings, is crushing in its own way. It also weighs just 6 1/2 lbs. Stuff it in the included shoulder bag and you have a highly portable monster that can deliver headroom and rage.
The Plethora X1 doesn’t do gain effects, but it covers just about everything else. It’s packed with models of TC’s signature delay, reverb, modulation, octave effects and more, plus access to the company’s star-studded Tone Print library. At just $159, it's a stellar value.
To resurrect one of the ’80s most essential tone machines in pedal form, the MXR team set their sights on the Rockman X100. They’ve recreated all four modes from the original: cln2 is the default setting, cln1 in the second position is EQ’d with a mid-boost, edge delivers moderate clipping, and dist is high-gain. Both distortion settings use the same hard-clipping LED diodes as the original. Preset compression and an analog chorus circuit add to the fun and nail the vibe.
No stranger to our Year in Gear list, Carr Amplifiers delivered again. The brand made the already spectacular Skylark lighter, but also added an EZ81 tube rectifier and a Hiwatt-inspired tone section from their equally awesome Bel-Ray. With a 2x6V6 power section, it’s no surprise that the Skylark Special has more than a hint of Fender Harvard and Princeton in its makeup. But the extra bit of British flavor, as well as the bass response from the 12" Celestion, make it a thrillingly versatile twist on the Fender formula.
The magic of the Barstow Bat is its ability to expand the Pro Co RAT’s traditional vocabulary to include 1960s-style fuzz realms, exploding lo-fi student-amp tones and extreme sounds spanning fat and blurry and hot and trebly. A 3-band EQ replaces the traditional filter knob on a RAT, extending its sound palette significantly—and in ways an old RAT could only hint at.
Some might find it hard to imagine Cory Wong without a Stratocaster. But in helping design the StingRay II, Wong not only deviated from the Strat template but delved into the realm of humbuckers. Our reviewer found the pickups warm and tight in the low end and more than articulate enough to accommodate Wong’s signature rhythm riffing. They’re also capable of smoky jazz tones and burly alt-rock rowdiness, making the StingRay II an axe for any mission.
The Jordan Boss Tone is one of the nastiest 1960s fuzz artifacts—check Big Brother and the Holding Company's Cheap Thrills for reference—and Barcelona’s Ananashead captured every bit of that potency in the Spirit Fuzz. The Spirit Fuzz isn’t exclusively mean—it can be smooth and mysterious, too. And while it really loves humbuckers, it will happily take a buzzy trip with just about any guitar or pickup you put in front of it.
The Focus Fuzz Deluxe was destined to be a rare bird from the start. Great Eastern boss David Greeves had just 400 of the NOS transistors required to arrive at the Focus Fuzz Deluxe formula. But oh, what a formula it is. Unlike many fuzzes, it leaves lots of headroom for a dynamic touch, but still screams—all while offering superb boost and drive sections.
Boss’ first Tube Amp Expander reactive load box stood out among the competition for its integrated 100-watt power amp. Still, it was expensive, and though compact, wasn’t exactly backpack portable. The small, more wallet-friendly Core version addresses both issues, making one of the most powerful tools for recording big sounds at quiet volumes a more accessible proposition.
Clearly, Divided By 13 has thrived under the ownership and guidance of Two-Rock Amplifiers' Eli Lester and Mac Skinner. This brilliant design enables the lucky owner to select between 9-watt 6V6GT or 15-watt EL84 output stages. As you’d expect, it spans 1950s Fender tweed colors and 1960s Brit chime, all while staying dynamic and deftly ranging from clean to filthy.
Any overdrive that offers blendable clean and dirty tones promises a certain measure of extra flexibility. But the C. Regalis’ powerful +/-15 dB bass-and-treble EQ, as well as its smooth/crunch switch that adds even-order harmonics, make it capable of very heavy and subtly boosted tones that can coax magic out of any guitar/amp combination.
Seeing a Taylor on our Year in Gear list is practically inevitable. But even by Taylor standards the Gold Label 814e Koa Super Auditorium is Cadillac stuff—and a treat to play. For starters, the Super Auditorium body could be Taylor’s loveliest shape ever. But the just-right proportions, combined with Andy Powers' V-Class bracing, add up to a flattop that sounds seasoned, balanced, and beautiful.
It’s super cool to see Bowie’s right hand man and ripper supreme, Mick Ronson, honored with this fantastic looking Cry Baby. But there is much practical appeal to this wah, too. It stays bold and heavy in the midrange and is a great match for a nasty fuzz, a wide-open Marshall, or any occasion where you want a solo or riff to stand out like a pair of cherry-red platform boots.
Most of the time you don’t really expect a Marshall-in-a-box to rival the sound of the real thing. But Ted Drozdowski, who had the good fortune to test this pedal alongside a real 1972 Marshall Super Lead, found it more than capable of holding its own against the original.
Chase Bliss’ Joel Korte and “Analog” Mike Piera—now there’s two sticklers for detail. It shows in the fruits of their collaboration, the Brothers AM, a take on Analog Man’s King of Tone that could help sate the hunger of players marooned on the King of Tone’s seemingly endless wait list. It’s a fantastic, agreeable drive that can add a lively edge to any guitar/amp pairing.
Most players probably associate the Archon name with ultra-high gain. But that’s not the direction PRS went in with this evolution of the original. The 50-watt, 2-channel Classic is, instead, a relatively streamlined affair that, as the name suggests, coaxes a lot of mid-rangey, Marshall-like tonalities from its 2x6CA7 power tubes and six ECC83S preamp tubes.
One of the more distinctive newcomers in the boutique amp world, Strange Audio has turned heads with its bold, midcentury-modern-inspired colorways and patterns—and circuits that sound as striking as they look. For its first head-and-cab design, the company has built a uniquely interactive control set with switchable preamp tubes, housed in a 35-watt, 2-channel, 6L6-powered package that appeals equally to natural-overdrive purists and pedal-platform players—and looks incredible onstage.
Leaping into the future, luthier Robin Stummvoll re-thought the nuances of electric guitar design and created an “expressive guitar” in the Sine. This truly experimental instrument pairs a powder-coated flexible steel “top” with Lehle expression controls to offer playability never before seen on a guitar, including volume-swell capabilities and two expression outs to run to your outboard devices. Plus, the Sine’s easily movable pickups and stereo outs multiply the sonic possibilities exponentially. It’s fun, forward-thinking, and intuitive.
A digital reverb pedal that lives beyond simple effect categorization, the DSS is a feature-rich stomp built for creativity. With a control set that includes pitch shifting and bit crushing, the DSS provokes experimentation. There’s a great balance between the pedal’s deep, tweakable controls and easy usability. And it sounds just as great at always-on reverb settings as it does diving into the sonic cosmos.
Built on a Klon-style foundation, the Voyager delivers a level of versatility that reaches well beyond the average klone. By combining the tight boost and overdrive users expect with a 2-knob sweepable-mid control set and switchable diodes—1N34A and silicon, both with and without bass boost—the Voyager opens up the sonic possibilities of the genre and demands attention.
If you’re looking for the one distortion to rule them all, the Harvezi Hazze from SOMA Laboratory is a good place to start—and end—your journey. It can do your typical rodent-style dirt, but this transistor-based stomp’s unbelievably deep tweakability—centered around its wave-folding function—make it capable of just about any overdrive, distortion, or fuzz tone you'd dream up. It’s not cheap, but the Harvezi Hazze can outperform most signal-clipping boxes in its price bracket.
Fish Circuits designs pedals with equal attention to both sight and sound. The Echo Limiteur—a hefty, striking delay box—offers two modes that blend a warm analog echo with the extended range of a digital PT2399 chip. Its standout feature, dynamic delay mode, lets your playing intensity control the number of repeats, and when they start or stop. This stompbox has the rare, exhilarating ability to transform the way you play.
Montreal builder Justin Cober did something remarkable when he built the Pique: He made an EQ pedal that’s fun. The Pique is technically a 3-in-1 (a boost, buffer, and EQ—or, as Cober puts it, “frequency enhancer”) built around Mile End’s beloved Preamp 150 circuit, a take on the sounds in vintage Roland Space Echo units. By incorporating three straightforward EQ modes that enhance targeted frequencies, Cober ensures you spend more time chasing inspiration and less time tweaking settings.
Did you really expect Robert Keeley to build a simple klone and leave it at that? Of course not! Keeley made sure his Manis possessed all the essential goodness of a Klon Centaur—it’s adaptable to changing rigs and backlines, and its overdrive and distortion profile ranges from barely boosted to raging. And while in many respects it's faithful to the Klon’s architecture, the addition of a germanium transistor clipping and bass boost options extends its utility and enhances its personality significantly.
With 12 stages, the all-analog APH-12 phaser is capable of much more than simple phasing as most players understand it. It chirps, quacks, thrums, and throbs with intensity, richness, and personality. The likeness to the beloved Moog Moogerfooger MF-103 is not entirely coincidental. Designer Rick “Hawker” Shaich worked at Moog and helped refine the original MF-103 design. With that model long since discontinued, it’s wonderful to see an all-analog phase conceived in that same adventurous spirit.
Khruangbin’s music is driven by groove. And bassist Laura Lee’s tasteful parts, which often evoke vintage soul and reggae lines, are ideal for the fat, punchy tonalities of a Fender Jazz Bass. This signature edition is actually a copy of a copy in one sense: Lee always used an inexpensive SX-branded J-bass-style instrument. But this flawless evolution of that bass, with DiMarzio Ultra Jazz noiseless pickups and jumbo frets—not to mention that ashtray pickup cover—is both a looker and a studio-grade performer.
MXR’s Bass Synth is the kind of pedal that can blur the differences between a stringed instrument and a keyboard. And the “synth” in the name is not one that MXR tosses about lightly in this case. Several textures here use vintage keyboards like the Minimoog and Stevie Wonder’s TONTO synth as sonic departure points. The MXR not only captures these tones convincingly, but makes it easy for novices with less synthesis experience to incorporate them into their vocabulary.
We’re used to PRS guitars being well-built, smooth-as-butter players. And yeah, they tend to sound pretty great, too. But the S2 Special Semi-Hollow, with its 58/15 humbuckers in the neck and bridge positions, a Narrowfield pickup in the center, and a bevy of switching and tapping options, is wildly versatile and possesses a distinctive, airy semi-hollow voice that represents a cool alternative to PRS signature sounds.
In terms of pure sonic presence, it’s hard to match the toothy, trebly tones that marked many Beatles recordings of the 1966-1968 period. Much of what made those sounds distinctive was the band’s occasional use of Vox amps with all-solid-state circuitry or solid-state preamps. The Go Rocky Go, the third of Aclam’s homages to these amplifiers, apes the sound of the Vox Conqueror, which spiced up many White Album tracks. But it’s also a drive, distortion, and fuzz that offers delicious alternatives to familiar, run-of-the-mill dirt sounds.
Four pedals, four award winners. Not a surprise, perhaps, given that it’s Marshall. On the other hand, generating the sheer mass and presence of a Marshall from a pedal isn’t easy, which makes this quartet of heavies—which span a rainbow of gain colors—very impressive indeed. Just as impressive is the $159 tag for each, a very nice price considering how close these stomps come to the real thing.
We’re always intrigued when a manufacturer releases a “fuzz for those that don’t like fuzz.” What could that possibly mean? In the case of the Cryptid, it definitely isn’t a fuzz that skimps on nastiness. While it doesn’t imitate any specific classic fuzz, it can erupt with explosive tone—and its bias control adds sputtery, delightfully deranged textures. Where it breaks from fuzz tradition is in its ability to deliver overdrive and bright, near-clean tones, creating a versatility that could make many pedals on your board feel obsolete.
Vox has always been fearless about messing around with familiar formulas. Sometimes their success in these endeavors is in the eye of the beholder, as any collector of mid- to late-1960s Vox oddities will tell you. But the V863-CA, which can switch from wah to envelope generator or envelope follower merely by lifting your foot from the treadle, fits seamlessly into Vox’s history as a design renegade—while remaining highly functional and musically intuitive.
This simpler evolution of Boss’s discontinued RT-20 is definitely one of the better rotary speaker simulators you’ll find in a compact pedal. It’s rich and realistic, in no small part because its simple control layout still enables a user to shift emphasis between virtual treble and bass horns, add simulated tube amp drive, and switch between slow and fast ramp times. The resulting modulations are much less binary, more organic, and considerably more atmospheric than those from a simple vibrato pedal.
Typically, when a pedal maker tries to capture Echoplex tones, the solid-state EP-3 is the go-to reference. Strymon, however, took a different path: it based its design on the less common—and in some circles, more coveted—tube-driven EP-2, and used one modded by legendary amp technician Cesar Diaz. The result is an Echoplex simulation that feels both warmer and punchier than many others on the market, an appealing proposition in a crowded product segment.
The name may suggest a note-for-note copy of Analog Man’s much-coveted King of Tone, which is a modified mashup of two Marshall BluesBreaker circuits. But NUX’s two-headed overdrive machine actually unites the company’s BluesBreaker-style Morning Star overdrive and their take on the Klon Centaur, the Horseman. You can, of course, switch the order of the effects, which can yield many interesting colors, but you can also opt for a raspier “silver” version of the Horseman or a FET circuit that will hammer the front end of an amp.
The affordable, U.S.-built Aquanaut takes an interesting approach to achieving its pleasing and unmistakably analog-like tone color. For generating repeats, the unit employs the PT2399 digital chip—an inexpensive device once used in karaoke machines that delivers analog haziness. However, the Aquanaut also uses analog filtering at the input and output, which adds to an overall sense of bucket brigade toastiness without the clock noise.
At first glance, the single-cutaway might mislead a novice into thinking the SE NF 53 is just another T-style guitar—but that label hardly does justice to its distinctive qualities. The Narrowfield DD humbuckers, for instance, can deliver tones that are punchier, grittier, or smoother than a Telecaster’s, depending on how you set the guitar’s volume. Meanwhile, its streamlined design will feel familiar—and inviting—to anyone drawn to T-style guitars for their elegant simplicity.
Like most of you, I would guess, I’ve never had the pleasure of playing aDumble amp. I have a fair idea of what they are supposed to sound like thanks toStevie Ray Vaughan and, presumably, David Lindley and Henry Kaiser (I’m never sure what amp I’m hearing on records from those two mad geniuses). But I definitely don’t know how a Dumble feels, or how it sounds up close in a room. So, I have to take NUX’s word for it that they deliver on the Steel Singer—an overdrive inspired by the Dumble Steel String Singer.
Fat and Snappy
While I can’t comment on the Steel Singer’s ability to perfectly ape a Dumble, there is a lot of reason to recommend the NUX Steel Singer as an overdrive. As a light drive or near-clean boost it can be a great thickening agent (at bassier filter settings), or a better-than-serviceable treble booster at toppier filter settings. At its trebliest extremes it can be a bit crispy, so you should take care. Additionally, the NUX tends to move beyond light drive pretty quickly—requiring only a slight bump in pedal to filthy up a Deluxe Reverb and Stratocaster.
To many ears, single coils and clean Fender-style amps might be the most natural and well-suited companions to the Steel Singer. In these setups, the pedal adds discernible edge in the midrange, while retaining the scooped essence of those formulas. Humbucker users can get in on the fun, too, and a PAF can coax many Plexi-like drive tones from a Deluxe Reverb. British-style amps, however, are less accommodating to the NUX’s charms. AC15-style and 18-watt Marshall-style settings on a Carr Bel-Ray, for instance, clashed with the NUX at times, a setup where klones and TRS-style pedals got along reasonably well.
The Verdict
To many ears, single coils and clean Fender-style amps might be the most natural and well-suited companions to the Steel Singer.
There are two keys to success using the NUX Steel Singer. One is to keep the gain and tone at relatively modest settings and out of the range where merely excited tones become fried. The second is to expect the best results with single coil pickups and clean Fender-style amps. This makes sense. Dumble’s Steel String Singer is, in many respects, an evolution of black-panel Fender designs. And if the goal is to create smooth overdrive and boost tones, a pedal that dovetails more precisely with that Fender-style profile is a smart move. That isn’t to say there aren’t joys to be found in a Steel Singer/humbucker combo, or even with an AC30. But such tones will be better suited for more adventurous players less aligned with classic amp-drive results.
Get ready to dive into the gear-head dream: we teamed up with our friends at eastside music supply and pedal-wizard Blair White to build a pedalboard inspired by Queens of the Stone Age. From fuzz to filter sweeps, octaves to tape echo, we traced the band’s signature sound and then assembled a stacked board you could win. Whether you’re chasing heavy riffs or sculpting atmosphere, this one’s for pedal lovers and riff monsters alike.
The groundbreaking DC7 has a one-inch (25,4mm) profile and weighs 1.1 pound (500 grams) thanks to the pure 2-stage switch-mode technology inside. The profile may be low but the power ratings are certainly not – the DC7 puts out a maximum of 48W and allows the user to connect multiple high-current effects such as devices from Effectrode, Line 6 and Eventide without noise of any kind.
The Whammy Ricochet lets you bounce your playing up or down in pitch in controlled or crazy shifts. A momentary switch and customizable independent rise and fall time ballistics, allow you to get the Whammy action you know and love without the use of a treadle. Just hold your foot on the footswitch and let the Ricochet do the rest. Seven pitch selections – 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, Octave, Double Octave, and Octave+Dry, as well as a toggle to select up or down for the selected pitch.
The Whammy Ricochet also has latching footswitch mode so you can rise or fall to pitch and stay there, and an LED ladder that shows your shift trajectory at all times.
All these controls combine to create classic Whammy pitch-shifting as well as new sounds never heard before.
We've brought back the most sought after Parametric EQ pedal with groundbreaking updates. We kept everything people loved about the original ParaEq and added more fidelity and control.
In late 2023, we had a cool idea for a compact pedal, based on a recording technique pioneered in the 1950's… This radical, yet deceptively simple technique elevated great recordings to downright incredible, enhancing the depth, character and tonality through a process called Double Tracking. This simple, yet elusive concept was initially executed by recording a track twice and overlaying the two [nearly] identical takes on top of each other.
Fast forward 70-some years and we can now create "double-tracked" sounds in real-time, delivering the full, rich and complex intensity that was once only possible by employing slick studio tricks during a session!
The 2023 compact DoubleTracker was an instant hit, and we received a ton of feedback and praise regarding the pedal, but there was a reoccurring theme within…
Make it STEREO!!
Well, it wasn’t easy, but we are VERY proud to say: we did it! And it sounds marvelous. (Literally marvelous, as in something one will marvel at/about.)
XPND is the pedalboard that adapts to you. With its patented telescoping technology, XPND lets you instantly change the size of your board and number of pedals – forever expanding your sonic potential. XPND also features a unique cable management system and comes fitted with loop Velcro, keeping everything neat, while making swapping pedals super easy. XPND 1 is built to accommodate one row of pedals and is expandable from 14" to 24" and XPND 2 is built to accommodate two rows of pedals and is expandable from 17"to 31".
D’Addario’s Custom Series Flat Patch Cables optimize pedalboard space by allowing you to place pedals closer together while accurately transferring all the subtle details of your playing. Utilizing the latest in high-quality instrument cable manufacturing technology, these cables feature an oxygen-free coaxial copper conductor with two layers of noise-rejecting shielding, formulated for extremely low capacitance and handling noise. The lower cable capacitance allows your instrument’s brilliance, presence and character to be transmitted with the utmost transparency. The Flat Patch Cable plugs feature the patented Geo-Tip™, ensuring a secure connection in any instrument, pedal, or amplifier. Additionally, encapsulated soldering points and molded strain relief combine to deliver the ultimate long lasting, high-performance patch cable.
A warm grittiness to the warble, a rippling, wooshing, bubbling irregularity to the modulation and a dynamic response to your picking are all hallmarks of the true vibe experience.
Thicker and chewier than any chorus, earthier than any phaser and uniquely magical in front of a driven amp, the perfect vibe pedal moves you to dig in and play without inhibition.
This feeling has been difficult to find outside of large and expensive fully-analog boutique units, but the search for that elusive experience is now over.
Delivering vintage vibe tone that’s second to none with simple and powerful controls for instantly obtaining a rich variety of captivating sounds, UltraViolet is the vibe pedal you’ve been looking for.
The StroboStomp Mini™ delivers the unmatched 0.1 cent tuning accuracy of all authentic Peterson Strobe Tuners in a mini pedal tuner format. We designed StroboStomp Mini around the most requested features from our customers: a mini form factor, and top mounted jacks.
Introduced in 1974, the Roland RE-201 Space Echo stands among the most legendary and sought-after effect units ever produced. This tape-based classic remained in production for over 14 straight years, and its distinctive rhythmic echo sounds, warm character, and highly playable sonic quirks still inspire musicians, producers, and audio mixers over four decades on.
Backed by intensive R&D and our latest innovations, the RE-202 faithfully delivers the authentic sound and behavior of the Space Echo like never before. Built by the company that designed the original, this advanced pedal captures the RE-201’s magic in flawless detail, from the magnetic tape and motor properties to the vibrant spring reverb and colorful preamp circuit. And to take things even further, we’ve expanded the vintage Space Echo experience with lots of new features tuned for today’s music.
The Dispatch Master is a hi-fi digital Delay & Reverb Device that combines independent delay and reverb effects into one space-saving enclosure, so you can keep deep ambient echoes (or just a quick slapback) on speed-dial.
The best-selling EarthQuaker Devices pedal just got bester [sic] with new Flexi-Switch® Technology! Want to dip into ambient delay and reverb sounds for just one note? Press and hold the footswitch for as long as you use the effect, release it when you’re finished, and resume your regularly scheduled dry sound. To use the Dispatch Master as a normal effects pedal, press the switch once to activate and again to bypass.
Yesterday Effects Private Military Auditor - Eastside Exclusive
The Private Military Auditor is a collaboration between Yesterday Effects and us, your favorite real life music store in the whole world, eastside music supply.
What we got here is a highly tuned, 2-in-1 fuzzstortion + filter. One knob a piece, with the optional expression port out to sweep the frequency of the filter if you should choose to do so!
Left side of the pedal is the fuzz, the knob controls the volume. That's all you need because this baby is DIALED. Harmonically rich, with great note definition and insane sustain. The volume cleanup is killer and reminiscent of how fuzz faces feel. Plays well with every pickup combo we've thrown at it. And gives a surprisingly large amount of tonal variation depending on your pickup/volume/tone situation. Just a really great fuzz/distortion on it's own.
Right side of the pedal is the filter, the knob controls the sweep of the frequency. Kick this baby on when you're ready for your leads to stand out, or just to give yourself that gnarly parked wah tone.
this is an analog preamp inspired by the Decade practice amp, which was the secret to the bassist of Stone Temple Pilot‘s tone. Get that on your board and secure the crunch for whatever you run through it! Works with 9v or 18v (for a more amp-like response).
Packed with knobs that let you control everything from tight, radically fuzzy sounds that gate off instantly when you stop playing, to intermodulating oscillations that fight for control of your guitar as your notes decay, to shortwave radio sounds, ripping velcro and octave-like fuzz. Includes an on/off LED and center-negative DC power jack.
The Argonaut is a no frills pedal offers a clean-ish octave up sound. Using it alone offers you a gnarly, ring mod-esque sound that is pretty funky. The fun begins when you combine it with your favorite overdrive or fuzz pedals. Once combined all the iconic octave tones we know and love begin to jump out of your signal. It’s very touch responsive, weird, and fun all rolled into a small little package. The Argonaut uses a pair of Hand matched NOS Germanium Diodes, this gives the most prevalent octave up effect that is present all over your guitar neck. Unlike traditional octave pedals the octave effect can be heard up and down the guitar neck, so get ready to get weird once you add this bad boy to your setup.
We like the Argonaut after a fuzz pedal but before an overdrive. Like all things though, your mileage may vary and there is no right answer with guitar tones. Experiment and you’ll find what works best with your setup and hands.
he Echodriver Limited-Edition Reissue has been the core distortion sound of Troy Van Leeuwen (Queens of the Stone Age), delivering a harmonically rich, mid-scooped voice with the clarity and power to cut through any mix over his last few years of touring.
The tone stack uses a notch-style filter, similar to classic fuzz circuits, offering a broad sweep of EQ flexibility. The Tone control scoops mids at center, rolls off low end when turned down, and rounds off highs when pushed up—letting you shape the pedal’s response to your guitar and amp with surgical precision.
Clipping is handled by a dynamic combination of MOSFET and NOS Germanium diodes, producing warm, touch-sensitive gain. A right-side toggle engages Silicon clipping for a more aggressive, compressed response. The left toggle bypasses the tone stack completely, delivering a full-range, unfiltered drive straight to your amp.
Thanks to some key years working at a celebrated music store, this band of brothers has the goods.
The Band Royale, the Chicago-based brotherly “yacht metal” outfit, know a thing or two about gear—guitarists Joel and Zach Bauman, plus bassist Marc Najjar, all worked at Chicago Music Exchange, one of the premier music shops in North America. PG’s Chris Kies traveled deep into the band’s bunker in Chicago for this Rig Rundown with Najjar and the Bauman brothers.
This 1972 GibsonLes Paul Custom was Joel’s first “real” guitar, which he bought from CME. It’s all original except for the tailpiece, and weighs in at a whopping 11 pounds. Joel keeps it in open D6 tuning.
Mock Mockingbird
Someone brought this fake Mockingbird into CME one day, and Joel decided he had to have it. It boasts neckthrough construction with maple and mahogany, a Bill Lawrence dual blade pickup, brass nut, and heftier .012-gauge strings. The original builder must’ve liked the sticker he added to the body; it’s underneath the lacquer.
Warming Up
While Brian Carsten was still an amp tech at CME, Joel bought this Carstens Amplification Warm Machine off of him—the first he ever made. It’s designed around a master-volume, 50-watt Marshall head circuit, with a bit more warmth. Joel has had this one for over two decades now, and runs it through a Fender Bassman 2x12 cab with Celestion Creamback speakers.
He’s also been experimenting with a Quilter Overdrive 200 for a lighter solution, which he runs through a Bergantino 2x12 cabinet—Joel calls the cab and Quilter combo a “game-changer.”
Joel Bauman’s Pedalboard
The jewel of Joel’s board is a 1981 Ibanez Tube Screamer, gifted to him by Josh Klinghoffer. There’s also a Durham Electronics Sex Drive, EHX Micro POG, Xotic EP Booster, Friedman BE-OD, Boss CE-2W, Strymon El Capistan, and Strymon Flint, plus a Korg Pitchblack Advance tuner.
Holesome
Zach Bauman isn’t bothered by the gaping hole in his 1990 Gibson SG; it gives the guitar a whole lot of character. This guitar has a Gibson T-Top Burstbucker in the bridge, and has been modded to have just two pots for master tone and volume. Zach strings it with .011–.052s.
Painted Paul
Zach snagged this 1979 Les Paul while working at CME, and scraped off a nasty previous paintjob with a card before getting to work making it his own. A friend painted the headstock, and another made him this custom pickguard. It’s also got T-Tops in the neck and bridge.
Mig Buff
Zach loves his Sovtek Mig 60 head, which he plays through a cab he built himself at a pipe-organ shop in Denver. Every glue joint is lined with thin leather for maximum air tightness, and it’s stocked with Celestion G12M Greenback speakers.
Zach Bauman’s Pedalboard
On Zach’s board, we find a Klon clone, Ibanez Tube Screamer, Boss VB-2W, Ibanez Mini Chorus, Strymon Flint, and Strymon El Capistan, along with a Dunlop Volume (X) pedal and a TC Electronic PolyTune.
Bergantino’s Best
Najjar has deep love for Holly and Jim Bergantino and their Bergantino Audio Systems products. He plays with both a Forte and Forte HP Ultra—a 2000-watt prototype—through a Bergantino HDN112 cab and special 3x10 cab.
Bass for Babies
Najjar’s Sandberg Forty Eight finished in shoreline gold, nicknamed the “golden baby,” was the first of its kind.
Going to California
This Sandberg California TT4 has ’70s-style J-bass pickups and a 34” scale. Najjar gets a “Geddy Lee-style” vibe from it.
Marc Najjar’s Pedalboard
Najjar’s tone temple is topped off with a Bergantino Super Pre brass preamp into his Neural Quad Cortex.
Khruangbin is a band that moves freely in negative space. They don’t deal in negative vibes, mind you, but the spaces in between objects—or in music, between notes and tones. In Khruangbin’s case, negative space isn’t quite as empty as it seems. In fact, a lot of it is colored with reverberated overtones, which is an aesthetic well suited to Mark Speer’s instrument of choice. Because if you want to color negative space without being a space hog, there are few better means than a Stratocaster.
Speer’s signature Stratocaster, is not, in the strictest sense, a classically Strat-like specimen. Its bridge and neck pickups, after all, are DiMarzio Pro Track humbuckers, with a design informed more by PAFs than Fender single coils. Nor is it modeled after a priceless rarity. Speer’s main guitar is a humble ’72 Stratocaster reissue from the early 2000’s. But the Speer signature Stratocaster is a thought-provoking twist on classic “Stratocaster-ness,” and one well-suited to the atmospherics that mark Khruangbin’s music, but also soul, reggae, jazz, and any other expression where clarity and substance are critical.
Mr. Natural Takes It In Stride
I have to admit—and no doubt some of you will disagree—for most of my life, as an early- to mid-1960s-oriented aesthete, an all-natural-finished Strat with an oversized headstock looked flat-out wrong. My opinion on the matter has softened a bit since. And I think the Speer Stratocaster is beautiful, elegant, and does much the flatter the Strat profile. The pronounced grain in the ash body is lovely, and it certainly doesn’t reflect the drop in ash quality that many feared when ash-boring beetles started to decimate swamp ash supplies. It also looks great against the milk-white single-ply white pickguard and all-white knobs (another nice study in negative space).
Elsewhere, many features are authentically 1972. The 1-piece, 3-bolt maple neck with a 7.25" fretboard radius boasts a micro-neck-adjust feature as well as the practical and cool-looking bullet truss rod. The tuners also feature early ’70s-styled machine covers. The neck itself feels great—slightly less chunky, perhaps, than early ’70s Strats I’ve played, and, oddly, not worlds apart from the neck on my Mexico-made ’72 Telecaster Deluxe, which has a much flatter 12" radius. Some of the similarities in feel may have to do with the jumbo frets, which here give the gloss urethane fretboard a slinky, easy touch. Less delicate players (like me) who tend to squeeze when chording should check out the Speer before purchasing to make sure they don’t pull everything sharp. The frets do make string bends feel breezy, though. Other details, apart from the jumbo frets, that deviate a bit from 1972 Fender spec include a bone nut and Graphtec saddles and string trees.
Warmth of the Sun
The DiMarzio Pro Tracks dwell in an interesting tone space. They’re built with ceramic magnets (vintage Strat and Gibson PAFS were made with alnico magnets) with a resistance of about 7.7 k ohms, which is in the range of a vintage PAF humbucker but hotter than most vintage Stratocaster pickups. In terms of tone signature, they sound and respond a little more like PAFs than Stratocaster pickups, too, which aligns with DiMarzio’s design objectives. But in the neck pickup in particular, the Strat-iness is very present. And when I switched back and forth between a Stratocaster and PAF-equipped SG as baselines for comparison, I marveled at how well the DiMarzios retained qualities of both. It’s hard to know how much Fender’s 25 1/2" scale factors into lending the extra bit of Fender color. But the sound is distinctly, authentically, Speer-like. (For the record, I replicated much of Speer’s circa 2018 signal chain for this test, including a Fender Deluxe Reverb, Dunlop Cry Baby, Boss PH-3 and DS-1, MXR DynaComp, and a Echoplex-style pedal).
The PAF qualities of the DiMarzios are most pronounced in the bridge pickup, which is much burlier and thicker than a Stratocaster single coil. The one single coil on the guitar meanwhile, the middle pickup, will sound and feel familiar to any old-school Stratocaster player. It’s also perfect for chasing Jerry Garcia tones if you’re selecting the Speer for its likeness to Jer’s “Alligator.” The real treat among the Speer’s many sounds, though, is the number 4 position, which combines the neck pickup and middle pickup out of phase. It’s snarky, super-focused, and just a little bit nasty, especially with overdrive and treble bump from either a wah, OD, or boost pedal.
The Verdict
For those players who fall in love with the comfort, feel, and looks of a Stratocaster, only to find it a bit thin-sounding for their purposes, the Mark Speer Stratocaster is an intriguing option. The humbuckers deftly thread the needle between Stratocaster and PAF tonalities, with a distinct lean toward the latter, and the out-of-phase number 4 position is a cool sound that lends the Speer Strat expansive smooth-to-nasty range. Like so many Mexico-made Fenders, the quality is superb. And while the $1,499 price tag represents a Signature Series bump compared to the similar $1,209 Vintera II ’70s Stratocaster, the Speer’s extra tone range and ash body do a lot to soften any sticker shock. If the options here fit your style, it could be well worth the extra dollars.