Inspired by Paul Cochrane’s Timmy Overdrive pedal, the Billy pedal is a soft-clipped op-amp drive that gives you more overdrive without changing the character of your tone.
Boutique custom shop Messiah Guitars is excited to release their first overdrive pedal: Billy, a transparent drive.
“I love the original, but I wanted to tweak the gain and add more clipping options for more flexibility and variety,” says Hejda. “And as a bonus, you get a weird fuzz built in the same box!”
Billy provides four knobs for shaping tone and volume. BOOST adjusts the gain from a near amp-break-up to a Rock’n’roll distortion. A pre-gain LOW knob provides bass control entering the gain stage, and if the frequency range is too low or too high, players can shift the bass response with an internal trimmer adjustment. HIGH control adds the necessary treble post-gain. LEVEL controls the pedal’s output volume.
In addition, the pedal features a 3-way MODE switch for selecting among three clipping modes: ’S’ -silicon which offers a classic rock drive, ‘G’ - germanium that adds more compression, and ‘?’ - an experimental fuzz setting not for those faint of heart, achieved with a complimentary pair of vintage germanium transistors. The ‘?’ setting requires a strong signal to be properly excited - you can get there with a preceding booster pedal, or by cranking up gain and the 2-band EQ. An optocoupler in the footswitch helps to keep those pesky clicks to a minimum.
Billy comes in two different versions. The standard version is available in silver finish. A limited-edition pedal in a Brown Sugar finish features NOS germanium diodes in the ‘G’ mode setting for a true vintage feel.
Like their custom guitars and amplifiers, Messiah’s pedals are hand-crafted in Los Angeles for a long life with guaranteed quality.
Each Billy pedal includes:
- 4-knob controls and a 3-way mode switch
- Durable enclosure with fun artwork and space-saving top-side jacks
- Easy to see, illuminated optical true bypass footswitch
- Standard 9V pedal power input or an internal 9V battery
Billy Pedal Demo
Billy retails for $199.00; Billy Limited Edition ‘Brown Sugar’ retails for $219.
For more information, please visit messiahguitars.com.
Last August, metalcore giants Poison the Well gave the world a gift: They announced they were working on their first studio album in 15 years. They unleashed the first taste, single “Trembling Level,” back in January, and set off on a spring North American tour during which they played their debut record, The Opposite of December… A Season of Separation, in full every night.
PG’s Perry Bean caught up with guitarists Ryan Primack and Vadim Taver, and bassist Noah Harmon, ahead of the band’s show at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl for this new Rig Rundown.
Brought to you by D’Addario.Not-So-Quiet As a Mouse
Primack started his playing career on Telecasters, then switched to Les Pauls, but when his prized LPs were stolen, he jumped back to Teles, and now owns nine of them.
His No. 1 is this white one (left). Seymour Duncan made him a JB Model pickup in a single-coil size for the bridge position, while the neck is a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound Staggered. He ripped out all the electronics, added a Gibson-style toggle switch, flipped the control plate orientation thanks to an obsession with Danny Gatton, and included just one steel knob to control tone. Primack also installed string trees with foam to control extra noise.
This one has Ernie Ball Papa Het’s Hardwired strings, .011–.050.
Here, Kitty, Kitty
Primack runs both a PRS Archon and a Bad Cat Lynx at the same time, covering both 6L6 and EL34 territories. The Lynx goes into a Friedman 4x12 cab that’s been rebadged in honor of its nickname, “Donkey,” while the Archon, which is like a “refined 5150,” runs through an Orange 4x12.
Ryan Primack’s Pedalboard
Primack’s board sports a Saturnworks True Bypass Multi Looper, plus two Saturnworks boost pedals. The rest includes a Boss TU-3w, DOD Bifet Boost 410, Caroline Electronics Hawaiian Pizza, Fortin ZUUL +, MXR Phase 100, JHS Series 3 Tremolo, Boss DM-2w, DOD Rubberneck, MXR Carbon Copy Deluxe, Walrus Slo, and SolidGoldFX Surf Rider III.
Taver’s Teles
Vadim Taver’s go-to is this cherryburst Fender Telecaster, which he scored in the early 2000s and has been upgraded to Seymour Duncan pickups on Primack’s recommendation. His white Balaguer T-style has been treated to the same upgrade. The Balaguer is tuned to drop C, and the Fender stays in D standard. Both have D’Addario strings, with a slightly heavier gauge on the Balaguer.
Dual-Channel Chugger
Taver loves his 2-channel Orange Rockerverb 100s, one of which lives in a case made right in Nashville.
Vadim Taver’s Pedalboard
Taver’s board includes an MXR Joshua, MXR Carbon Copy Deluxe, Empress Tremolo, Walrus ARP-87, Old Blood Noise Endeavors Reflector, MXR Phase 90, Boss CE-2w, and Sonic Research Turbo Tuner ST-200, all powered by a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus.
Big Duff
Harmon’s favorite these days is this Fender Duff McKagan Deluxe Precision Bass, which he’s outfitted with a Leo Quan Badass bridge. His backup is a Mexico-made Fender Classic Series ’70s Jazz Bass. This one also sports Primack-picked pickups.
Rental Rockers
Harmon rented this Orange AD200B MK III head, which runs through a 1x15 cab on top and a 4x10 on the bottom.
Noah Harmon’s Pedalboard
Harmon’s board carries a Boss TU-2, Boss ODB-3, MXR Dyna Comp, Darkglass Electronics Vintage Ultra, and a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus. His signal from the Vintage Ultra runs right to the front-of-house, and Harmon estimates that that signal accounts for about half of what people hear on any given night.
