We started the day at Jim Dunlop and checked out their new octave fuzz, the Octavio. Hitting a note above the 10th fret creates some wicked overtones and Hendrix-style riffs come alive when the fuzz is cranked. Available now for $129. Quite the deal.
The cosmic-country cowboy touts a rig inspired by the greats and powered by a mix of vintage and modern-day gear.
Hot on the heels of his new record, Horizons, Daniel Donato took PG’s John Bohlinger on a trip through his live setup, which spans more than 70 years of electric-guitar history.
This Fender Custom Shop 1963 Telecaster has “everything that a great traditional Telecaster needs,” says Donato.
Jack of All Trades
This DGN Custom Guitars T-style, built by Dan Neafsey, is dubbed the Epoch. Donato wanted a Tele that he could play all night without tiring of the tones, so Neafsey assembled this do-it-all electric. Its body is an eighth of an inch smaller than a traditional Tele’s, and its flame-maple neck sports a compound radius. Neafsey wound the PAF-style pickups, which can be configured as overwound single-coils via a coil-tap function. The steel ashtray bridge was cut to fit a humbucker.
Donato plays Dunlop Jazz III picks, and loads his guitars with a .010–.052 set of Ernie Ball Slinky strings.
Pro Tip
This 1966 Fender Pro Reverb is the first black-panel amp Donato ever purchased. It’s been converted to a 2x12 configuration in place of the usual 1x15, and it’s loaded with Weber 12F150 speakers.
Daniel Donato’s Pedalboard
Donato says that while the Pro Reverb is the steak, the Fender Tonemaster Pro is the best thing to season it with. His effects run into this floor unit, which is set to a black-panel Twin Reverb program, through a Radial Highline, and out to the front of house at a clean, crisp level. Donato uses some of the Tonemaster Pro’s onboard effects, too, like a graphic EQ and tape echo.
The rest of the board, designed by XAct Tone Solutions, carries a Dunlop X Volume Mini and CAE Wah, Gamechanger Audio Plus, Greer Lightspeed, a Keeley Noble Screamer, Cosmic Country Phaser, and Rotary, a Strymon TimeLine, Walrus R1, Universal Audio Max, DigiTech FreqOut, and Eventide H90.
An EHX Hum Debugger, always on, rests on top of his amp to keep his Teles in line.
OC Pedal Co. was formed in 2024 by Santa Ana native Evan Haymond, a session ace who toured with Jack Russell of Great White in the 2010s. Not surprisingly, OC Pedal Co.’s U.S.A.-made LA HABRA Hard Clipper evokes many of the crunchy sounds from that era.
Less is More
The LA HABRA’s control panel is minimal, with just two knobs—volume and tone. There’s no gain knob, instead you get a gain switch that lets you choose between two clipping profiles. In the right position the pedal employs op-amp clipping. Set it to the left and a set of LED diodes are activated. With humbuckers, the gain switch set to LED mode, and the tone knob at 11:00, the LA HABRA produced a toothy sound that, sure enough, produced power chord sounds that sounded more than a little like Great White’s cover of “Once Bitten, Twice Shy.”
Though the lack of a gain knob may leave some players feeling limited, the tone knob is a powerful tool for shaping the characteristics of the distortion, and with the tone knob at its darkest setting, the LA HABRA still delivers ample definition. Move the tone knob up to around 3:00, though, and there’s enough clarity and treble detail to make leads sizzle. To my ears this is where the pedal shines, and bumping the tone knob all the way up (with the gain switch still set to the LED clipping mode), the sound is super aggressive without being over-saturated.
In general, with the gain switch set to LED clipping you get a high-end boost and hear and feel more compression. Op-amp clipping tames some of the highs yielding a more balanced output, which is particularly noticeable when the tone knob is set to 3:00 and above. I generally preferred the gain switch set to op-amp clipping but each clipping mode yields sounds that can work in many contexts.
The Verdict
The LA HABRA has plenty of definition for melodic parts and is tough enough for bluesy riffs. For legato shred-type playing, there were times when I wished the pedal had a little more gain. But LA HABRA has a knack for feeling amp-like, particularly in terms of dynamics and touch sensitivity—much more so than many pedals that occupy this mid- to high-mid-gain category.
The aptly named Kali distills elements of the Fortin Cali—a Plexi-inspired amp—into a 2-channel pre-amp and distortion pedal. Each channel has three gain modes—vintage, raw, and saturation—which are selectable via a mini toggle. And each mode has a very distinct vibe, which could be loosely categorized as low-end-heavy, midrangey, and high-gain-centric, respectively.
Charging right into Kali’s arms, I selected the vintage mode on Channel 1, and set the gain 2 knob to 9 o’clock. The gain 2 knob, which controls the gain level that hits the circuit’s front end, is the default gain knob for both channels. The gain 1 knob, which adds additional gain stages, only works on channel 2. But even at this modest setting, I was already into toothy distortion that was very touch-sensitive.
Wide Range of Rage
Without changing any other settings, things got significantly filthier by merely switching over to the saturation mode. And even at this lower-gain setting, the output is tailor-made for heavy rhythm in a classic metal jam. Pumping the gain 2 knob to around 3 o’clock, meanwhile, makes the Kali a very in-your-face proposition, with sounds rooted in Sunset Strip/Jose Arredondo Marshall-mod energy.
Interestingly, even though saturation mode has the most aggressive gain structure, it doesn’t feel especially compressed. It’s also the quietest of the three modes when tested across identical settings. This was especially noticeable when I switched between vintage and saturated modes at high gain 2 settings. It follows, then, that raw mode—the pure sound of the pedal without any extra gain stages and essentially the preamp only—is the loudest of the three modes.
Well Put Together, With a Bright Personality
Channel switching is handled by one of the two footswitches (the other
is for bypass) and it enables you to cascade one channel into another. In cascaded-stage mode, gain knob 1 is active and serves as a pre-gain (hence the gain 1 designation). In saturation mode, with both gain knobs at noon, switching between the channels sounds organic. Channel 2 is generally thicker and sustains bends for a tad longer. But the two channels definitely do not feel haphazardly thrown together. They are clearly cut from the same cloth.
“[It’s] a very in-your-face proposition, with sounds rooted in Sunset Strip/Jose Arredondo Marshall-mod energy."
In general, the Kali is bright, but if you need brighter, there are a pair of 3-position bright switches for each of the two channels. At low output volumes the changes offered by these bright switches are noticeable but not too dramatic. They are much more pronounced at high output volume. The active +/- EQ knobs actually have much greater impact on the Kali’s personality—particularly in the zones between 9 and 3 o’clock, where minor tweaks yield very different tonal realms.
The Verdict
The Kali comes across as a cohesive whole, yet its interactive controls and powerful EQ unlock a wide range of Plexi and modded-Plexi tones. No matter how you set it, it sounds impressive.
Unlock your guitar's true potential with the Fralin Pickups Push-Pull Blender Pot! Blend tones, split coils, and explore endless sonic possibilities without permanent changes. Ready to elevate your sound? Check out the Joe BonamassaHumbucker Set and more gear to keep your music alive!
Fralin Pickups
Push Pull Blender Pot
Unlock a wider range of tones with the Fralin Pickups Push-Pull Blender Pot. Compatible with guitars and basses, this versatile control blends pickup outputs, adds coil-splitting and out-of-phase options, and enables many wiring mods—giving you flexible, player-friendly tonal shaping without permanent changes to your instrument.
Joe Bonamassa has long been a fan of Tommy Bolin, whose work influenced generations of guitarists. After a 10-year search, Joe acquired Tommy’s 1960 GibsonLes Paul and worked with the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop to recreate these P.A.F.s. The first 500 sets are signed by Joe and Seymour Duncan.
Don’t let fret sprout stop you from playing your favorite guitar. This kit has everything you need to fix it yourself. When dry weather comes around, your fretboard can shrink and the fret ends poke out. Sharp fret ends can slow you down, feel uncomfortable, or cut your hand.
When performing live, the small problems can turn a great show into a nightmare. A loose screw, slipping string, or guitar poorly leaned against an amp can create major stress. So, we created the Guitar Tech Case Candy Set—a compact collection of essential tools designed to keep your guitar stage-ready.
Designed for matching specific fretboard curvatures, Floyd Rose Original saddle sets now offer several radius options without the need for individual saddle shims. Crafted in the U.S. from high-quality tool steel using precision CNC machining, the saddles are then heat-treated and plated to withstand the demands of the heaviest performers.
Introducing authentic upgradable hardware kits for FR Tremolo Systems, available in eight stainless steel finishes as well as titanium. Each hardware upgrade kit comes with seven string-lock screws, seven saddle-mounting screws, four nut-clamping screws, four block mounting screws, and string lock insert blocks.
There are more flexible means for mashing up fuzz and delay thanBenson’s Deep Sea Diver. And in a time of preposterously low-priced pedals, there are more economical methods, too. But there’s no guarantee that a more traditional and cost-conscious path will yield results as interesting—or inspirational—as those offered by the Deep Sea Diver. It’s a pedal that often serves up zigs where you seek zags—depending on your sense of adventure and creative latitude, it can feel versatile, forgiving, and full of exciting surprises.
Bathyspheric Battiness
The Deep Sea Diver was developed withJessica Dobson, who fronts the band that shares the pedal’s name—and for whom more unusual applications of the fuzz/delay equation are a sonic cornerstone. The basic architecture of the Deep Sea Diver makes a great departure point for any player keen to ply the odder corners of that stompbox formula. It’s hard to know firsthand exactly what that architecture is—Benson flipped the circuit board so that you don’t see components, but rather a stylized representation of Dobson’s face in silhouette. (For the record, the solders you can see all look exceptionally tidy).
Chris Benson says that the 3-transitor fuzz section of the circuit uses a mutant mix of the 2-transitor Tone Bender MK 1.5 and the 3-transistor Tone Bender MK 2.0 as a foundation. Dobson says she envisioned a less hectic version of the ZVEX Fuzz Factory—a relation borne out here by the gate and bias controls. The delay section, meanwhile, is built around a PT2399 chip. This is a device many builders have put to creative use in spite of first turning up in karaoke machine delays. Its sonic signature—lo-fi, hazy—can be similar to that of bucket brigade delays, but still occupies a different lane than the analog EHX Memory Man and Diamond Memory Lane devices that underpin Dobson’s rig. As a whole then, the Deep Sea Diver doesn’t really replicate any particular part of Dobson’s tone recipe as much as it adds a new color formed in the spirit of where her playing has been and where it might be going.
One Deep Sea Diver feature that is a fixture of Dobson’s tone is a delay that is situated before the fuzz—except for when it isn’t. By holding down the bypass switch while powering up, you can reverse the order of the effects. If you’ve never experimented with switching fuzz and delay, the results can be revelatory.
Submarine Flip Flops
Given how interesting it is to move between the order of effects on the Deep Sea Diver, it’s a shame that you can’t make the switch without powering off the unit. Obviously, that’s not the most complicated process, but it’s also not one you’ll attempt in the middle of a song or set. Many pedals enable effect-order switching via a toggle or alternate footswitch input. In this case, the latter possibility was difficult for good reason, as pressing and holding the footswitch activates an endlessly entertaining runaway oscillation effect.
To a passively listening bystander, a switch in fuzz/delay effects order isn’t always glaringly obvious. In a very general sense, fuzz before delay results in greater clarity, and vice versa. But on the Deep Sea Diver, situating the delay before the fuzz lends a gauzy, foggy smear around the edge of transient notes and the repeats that you feel as much as hear. Comparing the Deep Sea Diver to a bucket brigade delay and a ZVEX Fuzz Factory, you can hear why Chris Benson employed the PT2399 chip. There’s a slightly more lo-fi blur to the Deep Sea Diver’s delay signature, which, to my ears, lends extra mystery.
One Deep Sea Diver feature that is a fixture of Dobson’s tone is a delay that is situated before the fuzz—except for when it isn’t.
But it’s the fuzz section of the Deep Sea Diver that really expands its performance envelope. The gate and bias controls both have impressive range and work together pretty seamlessly to broaden the pedal’s fuzz voice. There are lots of collapsing, fractured fuzz-on-the fritz and dying-AM-radio sounds made more appealing by the smoky delay signal. You’ll find many shades of super-cool mid-1960s buzz, too. But it’s also capable of unique, punchy drive sounds that hit hard and are easy to compose with, and situate in a mix without sounding entirely unhinged. The Deep Sea Diver will happily go bonkers if that’s what you’re after though, and as you get a feel for the way the gate and bias controls interact you might not even miss the conspicuously absent gain level control—which, I venture, would complicate matters significantly.
The Verdict
I played the Deep Sea Diver next to a few different fuzz/delay combinations, and there is an audible cohesiveness in the two effects at the Benson's core. Furthermore, the resulting dovetailed fuzz/delay voices lend the Deep Sea Diver a truly individual voice at many settings. Though it falls short of mimicking the butter-smooth sustain of, say, a Big Muff and a Boss DD-5, it can still dish many rich fuzz tones in that spirit—just a bit filthier. The Deep Sea Diver is most certainly eccentric, just as its creators no doubt intended. But it’s not exclusively weird. There are plenty of sounds here for classicists, even if the Deep Sea Diver tends to beckon the player toward more unorthodox ends.
StewMac
