Special thanks to Tech Michael Bethancourt for taking PG through the nuts and bolts.
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StewMac Ghost Drive Pedal Kit
More than a "klone"—StewMac’s Ghost Drive is the closest we've ever heard to the original and unobtainable Klon Centaur. We scoured the globe to find 1N34A germanium diodes just like the original to recreate this "holy grail" circuit. Many claim these diodes were the heart of the original and why so many imitators fall short.
It's a guitar player's dream come true: transparent tube-like overdrive at a reasonable volume. The gain knob adds sweet saturation and harmonics while retaining the character of your amp. The treble acts as a boost or cut, allowing you to dial in the perfect mid-range.
Never built a pedal before? Our industry-best instructions walk you through every step and our techs are always ready to help.
StewMac
$124.99
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Boutique custom shop Messiah Guitars has introduced their first two guitar effects pedals: the Dandelion fuzz drive and Quiggly octofuzz.
The “Dandelion” fuzz drive pedal is a three-knob, high-gain dirt pedal that spans tones from a heavy fuzz to a beefy overdrive, brutalizing all the notes while keeping them decipherable even while strumming the most complicated chord. The wide range tone knob is highly interactive with the other controls to bring you a vast variety of sound quality. Its retro goldenrod color, purple knobs, and stylish dandelion graphics add to the joy – and the purple light-up foot switch replaces the need for a boring LED display light.
“We wanted to make a fuzz drive pedal where you can hear the individual notes in a chord even when they’re heavily distorted,” says Tom Hejda, owner of Messiah Guitars. “Most pedals just squash the notes into a big mess, so you don’t get the complex sound you’re looking for. We found a way to do it differently.
”Messiah’s “Quiggly” octofuzz pedal dares to perfect the Tycho Brahe Octavia pedal made famous by Jimi Hendrix. With a quirky octopus-in-a-sweater design on a vintage robin’s egg blue face, its 3 knobs are bright pink and the light-up foot switches glow red and – in a nod to Hendrix – purple. The innovative pedal preserves the ‘wooliness’ of the Octavia, adding a couple of useful features. The ‘Choke’ knob cleans up the input signal to tame fuzziness when desired, and a second footswitch kicks in the octave on demand.
Each pedal includes:
- 3-knob controls; space-saving top side jacks; illuminated true bypass footswitches
- Durable, cast aluminum alloy 125B enclosure with fun artwork
- Easy to see, illuminated true bypass footswitches
- Standard 9V pedal power input and internal 9V battery operation
- Made in USA
Dandelion & Quiggly Pedal Demo
Dandelion and Quiggly retail for $199.00 each. For more information, please visit messiah-guitars.myshopify.com.
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A software recreation of Strymon's best-selling BigSky hardware reverb.
The plugin features 12 custom reverb algorithms, with traditional physical spaces like rooms and halls joining unique filtered and pitched ambient machines. With Infinite hold/Freezefunctionality, jaw-dropping sound quality, and industry-leading flexibility, the new BigSky plugin offers DAW users a powerful new tool for creating ambient textures.
Multidimensional Reverb Plugin: The new BigSky plugin from Strymon is a direct port of Strymon's best-selling hardware pedal, bringing all of the functionality, uniqueness, and pristine sound quality of the original to your favorite DAW. Now you can use as many instances of Big Sky in your session as you’d like, using it to add simple Room ambiance to a drum kit while wholly transforming a string pad with the Shimmer or Chorale machines. With 12 custom-tuned reverb algorithms that cover everything from traditional acoustic spaces to wildly creative ambient machines, Infinite/Freeze functionality, and a dynamically simple user interface, the BigSky plugin is destined to become your new secret weapon in the studio.
Product Highlights:
- 12 custom-tuned reverb algorithms, perfect for a variety of sound sources.
- Traditional high-resolution algorithms like Rooms, Halls, Plates, and Springs.
- Entirely new and transformative reverb machines featuring pitch shifting, filtering, tunable room ambiance, and more.
- Easily add modulation to any reverb machine.
- Infinite and Freeze functionality with Hold, to create undulating soundscapes.
- Easy-to-use dynamic interface puts every parameter right where you need it, so dialing in killer sounds is quick and easy.
- Resizable user interface with four sizes to choose from (and big is BIG).
Strymon BigSky Plugin - Acoustic Performance
The new BigSky plugin comes in AAX, AU, and VST3 formats, and is available directly from Strymon and at select retailers worldwide, for $199 US. For more information, please visit strymon.net.
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The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and EarthQuaker Devices Collab on Limited-Edition Pedals
October 26, 2022
The special edition pedals feature the artwork of Cleveland artist Anthony Zart and come in limited designs and colors.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has teamed up with EarthQuaker Devices (EQD), the Akron-based guitar pedal manufacturer for a collaboration that features a series of limited design and colorway guitar pedals.
The first pedal of the collaboration, Plumes, was released as an online exclusive item. With few still available, it is a unique, all-analog approach to a classic tube-like overdrive circuit offering 3 different clipping voices, loads of headroom and almost three-dimensional clarity that will push your amp over the edge.
The second pedal, the Hizumitas, is a Fuzz Sustainar originally designed for guitar player Wata from the legendary band Boris. The heavy distortion and smooth sustain, combined with an underlying grit was designed to offer unmatched clarity that is unsuspected a typically aggressive sounding pedal.
“Effect pedals are a massive part of guitar driven rock and roll,” said Rock Hall President and CEO Greg Harris. “Throughout the years, Inductees ranging from Jimi Hendrix to The Edge have relied on effects pedals to craft their own unique sound. Thanks to EarthQuaker Devices, we invite you to shred with us at home or inside the Museum’s Jam Room using our limited-edition guitar pedal.”
The pedals feature the hypnotizing artwork of Cleveland artist Anthony Zart. “Seeing a project like this one come to fruition — especially when collaborating with Northeast Ohio pedal manufacturer EarthQuaker Devices— is a very gratifying experience. Factor in an iconic museum? That’s icing on the cake” said Zart.
For more information, please visit rockhall.com.
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