The All-Pedal Microdose is a mind-altering experience, but itâs not for the faint of heart.
Endless sounds and tweakability, from subtle to brain-melting.
Expensive. Probably too much firepower for most users.
$325
All-Pedal Microdose
allpedal.com
When it comes to effects like phase, chorus, and vibrato, many of us tend to have a staple (and sometimes cheesy) sound in mind. But such preconceptions obscure the reality that these effects can be much more radical than their best-known applications.
If youâve ever thought that phaser pedals are one-trick ponies, All-Pedalâs new Microdose, a digital phaser collaboration with Portlandâs Spaceman Effects, will happily relieve you of that notion. The Microdose is to the MXR Phase 90 what the modern smartphone is to an old Nokia flip phone: Itâs so feature-packed and overflowing with an embarrassment of tone riches that it feels barely related at all to its humble â70s ancestor.
âIt gets percussive, punchy, and juicy, turning single-note runs into intergalactic transmissions, and full chords into blasts of alien goop.â
Discoveries From the Outer Reaches of Space(man)
The Microdose is an evolution and expansion of Spacemanâs Explorer Optical Phaser. Itâs maximalist in terms of both enclosure art and functionality, and can feel a bit cluttered as a result. Between eight knobs, two switches, two footswitches, and a groovy font and graphics vying for visibility there is a lot to take in. There are a lot of sounds too. The crowning achievement here is the collection of 16 wave formsâmore than triple the Explorerâs fiveâall of which are selectable via an 8-stop rotary knob and a switch that moves between standard or alternative (and weirder) versions of each wave form. Each setting can be treated to two-, four-, or eight-stage phasing, and the level control provides a hearty boost for the effect to make sure that when its engaged, differences between settings wonât get lost.
Rate, multiplier, blend, and depth knobs all function as youâd expect them to, but the Microdoseâs resonance and warp controls breathe new life into familiar sounds. Resonance controls phaser feedback, generating gentle, tried-and-true phase sweeps at low settings and more prominent, insistent phasing when cranked the other way. Coupled with the depth knob, it allows for precise tuning of intense phase sounds. The warp knob, meanwhile, does exactly what it says: At noon, the phase wave form remains unaltered, but turning it in either direction produces varied modifications to each wave form.
The Microdoseâs tap tempo is a welcome addition that adds flexibility and more control over complex modulationsâespecially in live situations. But with such a vast expanse of sounds on tap and no preset functionality, the pedalâs usefulness on stage can feel limited. While dedicated phase jockeys will no doubt find a spot for it on their gigging boards, it sometimes feels more like a piece of studio kit.
Mind-Expanding Tones
The Microdose lives up to its name. It can give you a subtle, just-fun-enough, vintage experience if thatâs what youâre after. But it can also blast way beyond that into sci-fi, psychedelic, and fearsome ghost-in-the-machine meltdowns that sound nothing like guitar.
Set for a classic, two-stage sine wave phase with all controls at noon, the Microdose is surprisingly unassuming, adding just a sliver of movement and dimension. This is where the pedalâs dense tweakability really shines. You can dial in a modest always-on sound that breathes life and unusual texture into rhythm or lead parts without overpowering your signal. Deep depth and blend will swing you well into Waylon Jennings territory, but thatâs just the start.
Things get trippy in the best way possible as you add phase stages and explore the alternative wave form algorithms, which are a lot of fun on their own and even more so with a wiggle of the warp knob. With each bump up in stages, the effect gets waterier and three-dimensional, which feels like splashing around in some interstellar swamp. When you max out at eight, the effect is in the driverâs seat. It gets percussive, punchy, and juicyâturning single-note runs into intergalactic transmissions, and full chords into blasts of alien goop.
The Verdict
Thereâs a whole world of sounds here between the Microdoseâs extremes. It can probably execute every single phase sound youâve ever dreamed ofâplus some wackier than what your puny human brain could come up with without lysergic inspiration. If youâre up for a phase experience, Microdose is a trip youâll want to take. PG
As CNC machines have become more prevalent, how much have they changed the building process?
âThe Ballad of John Henryâ looms large in the annals of American folklore. Versions of it have appeared in a number of narratives, usually referring to Henry as a âsteel-drivingâ man who dies from the effort of defeating a steam drill machine designed to replace his ilk. Henry, who cuts holes in stone for dynamite with his hammer and chisel or alternately pounds railroad spikes, represents a way of life threatened by a powered machine.
In this clash between man and rising technology we are reminded that the fear of progress is an age-old battle that humans have fought with every advance in tools. So goes the advent of computer numeric controlled machines. Commonly referred to as CNC, these machines can be routers, saws, welders, or any number of robotic machines programmed to do heavy, repetitive workâthe kind that killed John Henry.
At first, these machines were so huge and expensive that only large companies could afford them. The software alone could run into five-figure sums, locking out even medium-size operations. In recent years however, the cost of smaller machines has dropped to the point where even hobbyist builders can afford to put one in their garage or basement shop. Yet in the minds of many guitarists, the purity of a handbuilt instrument elevates it to a higher standard. But what is really the difference?
A century ago, guitars were made primarily with hand tools. But by the 1940s, guitar factories used large cutting machines, like shapers and routers, to perform the basic forming of bodies and necks. A staple of the guitar-building trade was the overarm âpinâ router. Along with its cousin the profile shaper, it simplified and accelerated the manufacture of instruments. The pin router is extremely flexible and can be used for hundreds of woodworking tasks. The tooling used to create repeatable parts can actually be made by the machine itself by copying an original form, such as an existing guitar body or pickguard.
Other advances in guitar manufacturing have included specialized machinery that followed physical templates to carve necks or create the archtops on bodies. Gibson famously used both these machines, which were originally conceived to make gunstocks and chair seats, respectively. Guitar factories employed multi-head drill presses to drill six tuner holes simultaneously, and mechanized glue spreaders replaced brushes and bottles. Each of these changes increased output and reduced the amount of hand skills required to make a profit. It also ushered in a new level of standardization that reduced human error. Today, a single CNC machine can do all of the above and more.
âGuitar factories employed multi-head drill presses to drill six tuner holes simultaneously, and mechanized glue spreaders replaced brushes and bottles.â
Just the same, there has always been a subset of guitar makers that rely mostly on hand tools. I find it to be the most satisfying part of what I do. For decades, small builders have existed alongside the behemoths as a way of providing the short run or custom work that a large factory couldnât afford or be bothered to do. The rising success of small builders who focused on handwork paved the way for large companies to create their own in-house custom departments. Now, the versatility, lower cost, and smaller footprint of CNC milling machines allows both types of shops to do a variety of modifications easily and profitably. So, what does this mean for the customer? Do robot machines suck the soul out of an instrument?
The way I look at it, there is a similarity between all means of manufacture. In the case of the shaper and pin-router era, designs had to be drawn by pen and paper, then transferred using hand tools into physical templates. At that point, an operator loaded a wooden blank onto a fixture and muscled it against a spinning cutter along a path determined solely by the template. The creativity and craftsmanship ended before the wood ever saw the blade, and the operator was mostly muscle. In CNC manufacturing, the designerâs pen and paper is replaced by the mouse and computer screen. The nuance of the procedures are determined in the design and tool-path phase long before someone on the shop floor loads the blank and pushes the start button.
The truth is that every instrument is made using some kind of tool, and automated equipment only does a small part of the job. A seasoned builder can spot problems (and opportunities) before they occur, which machines canât do yet. There is still a huge amount of handwork required to turn a CNC creation into a guitar. If you think that wood, plastic, and steel goes in one end of the machine and a finished instrument comes out of the other, you havenât been paying attention. Itâs just that now electric motors are the muscle instead of John Henry.
Four and a half years after Slayerâs last performance in 2019, guitarist Kerry King returns to the throne with his first solo outing, From Hell I Rise.
When Slayer played their last show in November 2019, Kerry King already knew he had no intention of slowing down musically. What he didnât know was that the pandemic would be the conduit to a second act. But, as German theatrical director, dramaturge, and playwright Bertolt Brecht once astutely observed, âArt is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it.â
Covid helped shape the foundation of Kingâs musical future, because the pandemic inadvertently created a luxury heâd rarely experienced before: time. Rather than feeling inconvenienced by the delays, he homed in on elements of his craft in ways heâd never done before, and the resulting album and his solo debut, From Hell I Rise, became his hammer.
âThe pandemic really shaped the sound and the performance on this record,â says King. âIt gave us some flat tires at first, because Paul [Bostaph, drums] and I both caught Covid, and it took a while for us to get back in the saddle.â
Bostaph had already digested so much of the material by the time they dove back into recording that it became a real game changer compared to how theyâd worked together previously in Slayer. âIt was the first [project working together where] he heard all the lyrics before he recorded, and he heard all the leads except one or two. Itâs the most prepared he ever was, and being so familiar with it made it that much easier for me to play what I wanted to play.â
Kerry King - Idle Hands (Official Audio)
King is a cofounding member of Slayer and arguably one of the most instantly recognizable and well-respected thrash metal guitarists of his generation. Over nearly 40 years, he has pioneered some of the most brutal and revolutionary guitar riffs ever created in the genre. His singular use of the tremoloâpulling up more than pressing downâand the multiple tunings that pepper the bandâs catalog, from D# to C# to B, are just two of the attributes that set King apart from his contemporaries. He also wrote or cowrote some of Slayerâs most incendiary songs, including âMandatory Suicide,â âRepentless,â âHell Awaits,â âDisciple,â and âRaining Blood.â
With Slayerâwho have announced reunion dates for September 2024, five years after the groupâs official terminusâKing lays claim to six RIAA gold certifications, one multi-platinum plaque, and five Grammy nominations with two wins in the category of Best Metal Performance for the songs âEyes of the Insaneâ and âFinal Six,â both off of the Christ Illusion album.
â[My solos are] usually an afterthought, and the last thing to get done. This time everything was thought out [beforehand] and not just thrown in there.â
Known for his allegiance to the Las Vegas Raiders NFL football team, his love of snakes, and his taste for Jägermeister, King is outspoken, opinionated, and authentic. The self-proclaimed âmetal kidâ famously takes himself a little too seriously for some. But the real testament to his seriousness lies within his attention to detail, and the songcraft on From Hell I Rise, as well as the time he and Bostaph spent refining the material during the pandemic, is demonstrative of his commendable work ethic.
Kerry King's Gear
As Kingâs debut solo release, From Hell I Rise was born and shaped during the pandemic, which came on the tails of Slayerâs last show in 2019.
Guitars
- Dean USA Kerry King V Limited Edition
- Dean Kerry King V Black Satin
- Dean USA Kerry King Overlord Battalion Grey
- EMG KFK Set
- Kahler Tremolos
Amps
- Marshall JCM800 2203KK
- Marshall MF400B Mode Four
Effects
- Dunlop DCR-2SR Cry Baby Rack Wah
- Dunlop Wylde Audio Cry Baby Wah
- MXR Flanger M117R
- MXR Kerry King Ten Band EQ KFK1
- MXR Wylde Audio Overdrive
Strings & Picks
- Dunlop String Lab Series Kerry King Guitar Strings (.010â.052)
- Dunlop Triangle .73 mm
Every note seems intentional, every beat meticulously composed, yet all of it played with a spontaneity that belies its years-long incubation period. Having almost all of his solos worked out by the time he went into the studio was a refreshing approach. âTheyâre usually an afterthought,â he admits, âon the back burner, and the last thing to get done. This time everything was thought out [beforehand] and not just thrown in there.â
From Hell I Rise is a decisive musical statement from a man on a mission, out to prove himself after the then-apparent demise of one of thrash metalâs âBig Four,â and was eventually spurred on by a furious two-week recording session at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Featuring a band that also includes bassist Kyle Sanders (Hellyeah), guitarist Phil Demmel (Machine Head), and vocalist Mark Osegueda (Death Angel), the record rages with intensityâreal musicians playing real metal in real time. In an era when technology can often smooth the edges off the human element on recordings, From Hell I Rise features fire-breathing performances from musicians who clearly honed their craft long before the crutch of technology was made available. And even though it has an intangible, nostalgic vibe to it, make no mistake, it is not some relic from the bygone past, but rather a bristling, modern-sounding tour de force.
âIf youâve ever liked any Slayer throughout any part of our history, then thereâs something on this record that youâll get into.â
From the opening salvo of âDiablo,â an instrumental call to arms that harkens back to early â80s Iron Maiden, to the first single, âIdle Hands,â a fast, aggressive track that highlights Kingâs deft, articulate approach to rhythm guitar, to the detuned manic riffing in the title track, From Hell I Rise runs the gamut from classic punk to thrash to straight-up old-school heavy metal. Familiar topics, including religion and war, abound. Herculean speeds are achieved. King says the album is heavy, punky, doomy, and spooky. âIf youâve ever liked any Slayer throughout any part of our history, then thereâs something on this record that youâll get into.â
Part of the X factor on From Hell I Rise comes courtesy of producer Josh Wilbur (Korn, Lamb of God, Avenged Sevenfold, Bad Religion). King says Wilbur grasped his lead guitar sound better than anyone heâs worked with in the past. âItâs a hard thing to duplicate if youâre not standing in front of it in a live environment,â he attests. âWhatever Josh did in his mixing and mastering, itâs the closest to my live sound Iâve ever heard. I know itâs a weird adjective, but itâs really fat and ominous. Iâm super happy with it.â
For From Hell I Rise, King took a new approach by planning out his solos in advance of the albumâs recording.
Reigning Phoenix Music cofounder Gerardo Martinez was responsible for suggesting Wilbur to King. âWe had a meeting down in Southern California,â he recalls. âI wanted to make sure I could respect the guy because if I donât respect the guy, Iâm not going to play it 10 times if he asks me to. I want somebody that will tell me to do that if I need to, and Iâll listen to him.â He says Wilbur is a wizard in the studio who brought intensity and energy to the recording sessions.
King doesnât tinker much with his rhythm tone in the studio from song to song. Heâs more of a set-it-and-forget-it kind of guy. âWe just go for the main rhythm because thereâs not a whole lot of things that need my sound to change,â he explains. âIf itâs a spooky song or something that needs a different vibe, Iâll mess around with it. But Iâm going for the home run. Iâm going to set my tone and roll with it.â
âWhatever Josh [Wilbur] did in his mixing and mastering, itâs the closest to my live sound Iâve ever heard. I know itâs a weird adjective, but itâs really fat and ominous.â
King is a bona fide âsuper old-schoolâ guitarist and runs through a very meat-and-potatoes signal chain for his rhythm tone. He goes from his Marshall JCM800 2203KK signature amp to Marshall MF400B Mode Four speaker cabinets with âa guitar right in front of it.â Thatâs it. No frills to the core. His self-assessed âprimitiveâ approach also applied to the demos he sent to Bostaph in the early stages of writing the new albumâhe has no home studio to speak of. âIâm playing out of an amp thatâs about as big as my boot and recording it on my phone,â he admits. âItâs deceptive how decent that sounds.â
King performing with Slayer at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on February 14, 1991.
Photo by Ebet Roberts
Live, King runs three of his signature amps and staggers the speaker cabinetsâhead one will go to cabinets one and four, head two goes to cabinets two and five, and head three goes to cabinets three and six. In this setup, the heads are not powering the cabs directly below them in a column. âI really love it because Iâve got a wash of all three heads at once,â he explains.
Due to his writing style, thereâs also not a whole lot of space for effects in his guitar sound. âThereâs not room for things like delay, because itâs very precise,â he says. His rhythm playing is a cornerstone of his brand, and much like James Hetfield with Metallica and Scott Ian with Anthrax, he plies his trade by executing flawless, intricate rhythms at breakneck speeds. The secret he says, is all in the wrist. âA lot of people donât know that they donât need to play from the elbow,â he explains. âIf you want any kind of speed and you want to be articulate, youâve got to play from the wrist. Youâve got to have as minimal movement as you can.â The elbow, he explains, is too far from the pick to be the appropriate hinge for speed. âIf your action is coming from your wrist, youâve got a lot more control over the speed and the articulation. Thatâs how itâs got to be if you want to play this kind of music.â
âI wanted to make sure I could respect the guy because if I donât respect the guy, Iâm not going to play it 10 times if he asks me to.â
King has historically paired himself with equally capable guitarists: first Jeff Hanneman, then Gary Holt, and now Demmel. He says that heâs never had to adjust his playing style to any of them, but does note what differentiates Holt and Demmel from Hanneman, and how that affects his live performances. âI had to learn to not listen to Gary and Phil because theyâre a lot more melodic than Jeff was,â he assesses. âAnd I donât mean that in a detrimental way. Itâs just that Jeff had his style. Gary is super melodic, and I think Philâs even a bit more melodic.â Shifting his focus from listening to what the other guitarist is doing so he can pay attention only to what heâs playing has become Kingâs superpower when playing live.
With Slayer, King has six RIAA gold certifications, one multi-platinum plaque, and five Grammy nominations.
Photo by Jordi Vidal
The addition of Sanders on bass has, however, pricked up Kingâs ears and facilitated an adjustment on his part, albeit in the demoing and recording phase of music making. âEarly on, I sent Kyle four songs with no bass just because I didnât want to influence him, even though Iâm totally capable of playing bass on a record or on demos,â he attests. âIâm like, âIf Iâm going to let this guy play bass, letâs let him come up with something.â Maybe itâs something I wouldnât think of because Iâm a guitar player. Iâm not a bass player.â Within two days, Sanders sent back the same four tracks with bass. King was blown away. âIâve never had anybody that into playing bassâit was very refreshing for me. So every time I sent him demos, I sent him bass-free ones.â
âI just play stuff until I find something that has a strong chorus, intro, or verse rhythm. Then I try to find some friends that make it a better song, and go from there.â
King moved to New York after Slayer called it quits in 2019. Now, when he goes back to Southern California to rehearse, he gets a rental car with SiriusXM radio, and has since gone through âa real big Ritchie Blackmore renaissance,â he shares. âMan, Deep Purple was so good. Blackmore was a madman. And that band was a supergroup. I mean, [keyboardist] Jon Lord, [drummer] Ian Paice; regardless which singer youâre talking about, thereâs so much talent in that band. It took me a minute to go back and realize it and now Iâm like, âHow did I not like this more [when I was younger]?ââ King, perhaps influenced by this âsupergroupâ concept, certainly assembled an A-list cast of musicians for From Hell I Rise.
Despite the musical pedigree Bostaph, Demmel, Osegueda, and Sanders bring to his first solo album, one canât help but wonder if Kingâs criteria for bandmates has as much to do with camaraderie as it does skillset. âI put a lot of songs together in â20 and â21,â he attests. âI just play stuff until I find something that has a strong chorus, intro, or verse rhythm. Then I try to find some friends that make it a better song, and go from there.â
YouTube It
Ignited by Kerry Kingâs co-lead playing, Slayer decimates the audience in Sofia, Bulgaria back in April of 2020.