Soldano’s Supercharger GTO reissue is freaking big. It practically dares you to make it the only pedal you haul on stage. But if you’re a rock player that likes to run your Marshall or Fender amp right at the verge of breaking up, it might actually be the only pedal you’ll need—it’s just that growlingly perfect for the job.
This new version of Soldano’s much-coveted two-12AX7-driven preamp in a box makes it easy to hear why the original became an object of lust. Players that associate the Soldano name with high-gain tones will be surprised how the GTO excels at mid-gain tones (they are, to my ears, its strength) and just how much headroom there is to play with. Some players might also be a little surprised by the pedal’s relatively tame low-end output. (Is it just the box’s physical dimensions that suggest low-end fatness?) But what the GTO might lack in bottom-end oomph, it makes up for in detail across the harmonic spectrum. Purring midrange has rarely sounded so good, and that emphasis brings the best out of British-inflected amps and transforms 6L6-based circuits into killer, more Marshall-like versions of themselves.
Test gear: Fender Stratocaster, Fender Telecaster Custom, Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster, silverface Fender Bassman and 2 X 12 cabinet with Warehouse G12C/S speakers.
Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster, 1968 Fender Bassman with Warehouse G12C/S speakersSection 1: Gain 10 o’ clock, tone 9:30, output 2 o’clock
Section 2: Al controls at Noon
Section 3: Gain at 2 o’clock, tone at 2 o’clock, output at noon
Section 4: Gain at maximum, tone at 2 o’clock, output at noon
Ratings
Pros:
Dynamic, responsive, harmonically rich overdrive with excellent headroom. Vibe for days.
Cons:
Big enough to displace five pedals on your board.
Street:
$499
Soldano Supercharger GTO
soldanodirect.com
Tones:
Ease of Use:
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Slayer guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman formed the original searing 6-string front line of the most brutal band in the land. Together, they created an aggressive mood of malcontent with high-velocity thrash riffs and screeching solos that’ll slice your speaker cones. The only way to create a band more brutal than Slayer would be to animate them, and that’s exactly what Metalocalypse (and Home Movies) creator Brendon Small did.
From his first listen, Small has been a lifetime devotee and thrash-metal expert, so we invited him to help us break down what makes Slayer so great. Together, we dissect King and Hanneman’s guitar styles and list their angriest, most brutal songs, as well as those that create a mood of general horribleness.
This episode is sponsored by EMG Pickups.
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Offering precise tuning accuracy and a super bright display screen, the Crazy Little Thing is approximately the size of your guitar pick – easy to use, unobtrusive and utterly dependable.
Housed in a sturdy shell, the Crazy Little Thing can be rotated for easy viewing from any angle, and its amazingly bright display makes it perfect for the sunniest outdoor stages or the darkest indoor studios. You can clip it to the front of your headstock or on the back of your headstock for extra-discreet usage – and you can easily adjust the display to accommodate your preference.
As the newest addition to Snark’s innovative line of headstock tuners, the Crazy Little Thing is rechargeable (no batteries!) and comes with a USB-C cable/adapter for easy charging. Its display screen includes a battery gauge, so you can easily tell when it’s time to recharge.
The Crazy Little Thing’s highly responsive tuning sensor works great with a broad range of instruments, including electric and acoustic guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin and more. It also offers adjustable pitch calibration: its default reference pitch is A440, but also offers pitch calibration at 432Hz and 442 Hz.
Snark’s Crazy Little Thing rechargeable headstock tuner carries a street price of $21.99. For more information visit snarktuners.com.
