The All-Pedal Microdose is a mind-altering experience, but itās 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 youāve ever thought that phaser pedals are one-trick ponies, All-Pedalās new Microdose, a digital phaser collaboration with Portlandās 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: Itās so feature-packed and overflowing with an embarrassment of tone riches that it feels barely related at all to its humble ā70s ancestor.
āIt gets percussive, punchy, and juicy, turning single-note runs into intergalactic transmissions, and full chords into blasts of alien goop.ā
Discoveries From the Outer Reaches of Space(man)
The Microdose is an evolution and expansion of Spacemanās Explorer Optical Phaser. Itās 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 formsāmore than triple the Explorerās fiveāall 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 wonāt get lost.
Rate, multiplier, blend, and depth knobs all function as youād expect them to, but the Microdoseās 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 Microdoseās tap tempo is a welcome addition that adds flexibility and more control over complex modulationsāespecially in live situations. But with such a vast expanse of sounds on tap and no preset functionality, the pedalās 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 thatās what youāre 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 pedalās 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 thatās 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 driverās seat. It gets percussive, punchy, and juicyāturning single-note runs into intergalactic transmissions, and full chords into blasts of alien goop.
The Verdict
Thereās a whole world of sounds here between the Microdoseās extremes. It can probably execute every single phase sound youāve ever dreamed ofāplus some wackier than what your puny human brain could come up with without lysergic inspiration. If youāre up for a phase experience, Microdose is a trip youāll want to take. PG
On their new album, Dan Auerbach and Pat Carney loosen up and pay tribute to all of their rootsāchasing the intuitive Zen of collaboration.
You know that feeling you get when you find a hundred-dollar bill on the ground? That jolt of joy that makes a bad day better and a good day even more awesome? Thatās the feeling I get when I hear the new Black Keys album, Ohio Players. Except, in some ways itās more like stumbling on a diamond.
There are so many facets and reflections, so many angles beaming influences and ideas ā¦ and itās clearly the product of timeāa work Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney say they could not have completed earlier in their partnership, although there has been lots of groundwork along the way.
āItās amazing to be 20 years into our career and have a new trick to be able to do, which is collaboration,ā says Auerbach, when asked about the sprawl of styles and the roster of mighty contributorsāincluding Noel Gallagher and Beckāon Ohio Players. āThatās kind of the key to most peopleās success throughout musical history, but weāve shied away from it, extremely. Now, itās lit a fire under our asses, and the possibilities feel endless.
āPat and I are at the point in our careers where we feel like letting other people into our space. We never used to be.āāDan Auerbach
āWe were just too insecure back in there,ā he continues. āBut now weāve produced enough records, weāve worked with enough people, so itās really fun for us. Pat and I are at the point in our careers where we feel like letting other people into our space. We never used to be. And at the same time, our own relationship is tighter than itās ever been.ā
The Black Keys - Beautiful People (Stay High) ("Official" Video)
Revisiting the Black Keysā first two albums, The Big Come Up and Thickfreakness, itās hard to imagine they would become an international juggernaut and that Auerbach, their singer and guitarist, would evolve into one of the most interesting players, producers, and songwriters in modern American music. After all, the duoās initial recordings were raw as uncooked baconārecorded in a basement in Akron, Ohio, with mics bought on eBayāand their repertoire bridged garage rock and a style, cultivated by North Mississippi hill country rural bluesmen Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside, thatās so rough and thunderous that even some hardcore fans of that genre had difficulty comprehending it.
But Auerbach and Carneyās intelligence, empathy, and history as collaborators might be more apparent to their fans than it seemingly was, at least until this album got underway a few years ago, to them. Starting with 2008ās Attack & Release, theyāve worked with Danger Mouse as a producer and co-writer; Mos Def, Ludacris, Q-Tip, Olā Dirty Bastard, RZA, and other hip-hop luminaries on their 2009 Blakroc album; North Mississippi firebrands Kenny Brown and Eric Deaton on 2021ās blues payback Delta Kream; even Billy Gibbons and Sierra Ferrell on 2022ās raucous Dropout Boogie. And Auerbachās co-op rock band, the Arcs, recorded two acclaimed albums and toured the world, while his second solo recording, 2017ās Waiting on a Song, was a spelunk into the heart of his adopted hometown Nashvilleās studio history, drawing on a cross-generational cast of legendary session players. Then, thereās the guitaristās football-field-long production credits, ranging from the Black Diamond Heavies to Dr. John and Grace Potter to La Luz to CeeLo Green to Marcus King to Hermanos GuitiĆ©rrez to Robert Finley and Yola.
āWe got to this maturity as a band where not only can we call these friends, but we can deliver music our idols want to play on.āāPat Carney
Sometimes, when youāre in the forest, all you can see are the trees. But now, after all that experience, the Black Keysā omnivorous tastes, ceaseless drive, and undeniable success tilted their creative compass and comfort zone to Ohio Players, which might be poetically described as an album of peace, soul, and thunder. Also, eclectic and skillful af. Here, Auerbach and his drumming buddy have evolved what sounds like a mastery of every genre theyāve chosen to assimilate over the years: blues, jazz, country, classic pop, rock in its old and new variants, soul, hip-hop ā¦ even ambient music. Spend 20 minutes listening to the anthemic chords of āOn the Game,ā a co-write with Noel Gallagher; the fuzz fests āPaper Crownā and āEverytime You Leave,ā the latter co-written with Beck; the psychedelic hip-hop-pop of āCandy and Her Friends;ā and the period-perfect reworking of William Bellās 1968 Stax hit āForgot to Be Your Lover,ā and youāll get lost in the vibeāa happy time traveler through roots-informed musicās past and present.
The bandās new release was made at the same time as they were creating their last few albums, with Dan Auerbach and Pat Carney collecting the results of their collaboration wish list.
The albumās other spark plugs include hip-hop-beat brainiac and producer Dan the Automator; Memphis rap legends Juicy J (of Three 6 Mafia) and Lil Noid; producer/guitarist Angelo Petraglia, whoās made records with Kings of Leon and many others; and Nashville session hero Tom Bukovac, a truly estimable guitarist.
Of course, the biggest surprise is Gallagher, who co-wrote three rockers for Ohio Players, lending his patently anthemic touch. As it turns out, Gallagher is a big Black Keys fan, and in 2009, the duo were invited to open for his former band, Oasis. āBut we were busy,ā Carney says, āand they broke up.ā
Despite a four-year hiatus from 2015 to 2019, the Black Keys stayed busyāeven separately, during that break. They resumed making Black Keys albums in 2018, with āLetās Rockā, and while they were creating its two successive releases, Auerbach and Carney also launched the series of collaborations that yielded Ohio Players.
āWe had this epiphanyāwe can call our friends to help us make music,ā Carney says. āItās funny because we both write songs with other people, but we got to this maturity as a band where not only can we call these friends, but we can deliver music our idols want to play on.āāNoel Gallagher was feeling inspired because he hadnāt recorded like that. Itās not really common to have zero baffles between the vocals and the drums.āāDan Auerbach
The first call was to Beckāa major influence on Auerbach and Carney when they were growing up in Akron. āHis aesthetic was incredible,ā Auerbach says. āHe wore his influences on his sleeve, and we learned from that. There was someone showing us a way to go.ā Beck was also an early Black Keys fan, and took them on tour in 2003. He is on half of Ohio Playersā 14 tracks as a writer, vocalist, guitarist, and keys player.ā
After weād gotten Beck in the studio, we were throwing names back and forthāāWho else would be meaningful and write big songs we like?,āā says Auerbach. āNoel was at the top of the list.ā The Keysā manager, and even Gallagherās team, when initially approached, responded that the former Oasis co-leader simply doesnāt co-write. āBut we got a message back a few days later that said heād be down if we came to London. We didnāt know if it was going to work, but after we recorded one song the first day, it took all our nervousness away.ā By the end of a week, they had three numbers for Ohio Players.
Dan Auerbach's Gear
Dan Auerbach plays one of his original Supros in concert in 2023. He has a collection of vintage guitars, including instruments owned by Hound Dog Taylor and Mississippi Fred McDowell.
Photo by Jordi Vidal
Guitars
- 1960 Fender Telecaster Deluxe
- 1965 Teisco Del Rey ET-300
- Gibson J-45
- Danelectro Vincent Bell Signature Coral Firefly
Amp
- 1950s narrow-panel tweed Deluxe
Effects
- Analog Man Sun Face
- Marshall SupaFuzz
- Fulltone Octafuzz
- Vintage flanger
- Strymon El Capistan
- Xotic RC Booster
- Custom fuzz (gift from Pat Carney)
Picks, Strings, & Slides
- National metal finger pick
- Custom picks
- SIT .011 sets
- Brass slide
āThat was amazing on a lot of levels,ā Auerbach continues. āIt was fun as hell. Weād really wanted to go to Toe Rag Studios in London and record there. Toe Rag is such an amazing studio. Itās one room, no vocal booths or anything like thatāsmaller than a single-car garage. [The all-analog space is where Wolf Alice, Tame Impala, the Kills, James Hunter, Hugh Cornwell, and many others have recorded.] Patās got a drum kit, Iām on guitar, and Noelās playing his ES-335 most of the time, with Leon Michaels on this weird little German ā60s keyboard, and [engineer] Liam Watson behind the old, beautiful desk.ā
After the sessions, Auerbach and Carney dubbed Gallagher āthe chord lord.ā āHe would sit there and cycle through chords until he found that one that worked with mine,ā Auerbach recounts. The songs they cut, āOn the Game,ā āOnly Love Matters,ā and āYouāll Pay,ā were essentially recorded live, with additionsālike Bukovacās guitarādone at Auerbachās Easy Eye Sound studio in Nashville. āEvery time we listened to a playback, it sounded so good that it was inspiring, and Noel was feeling inspired because he hadnāt recorded like that before. Itās not really common to have zero baffles between the vocals and the drums. We were just going for it.ā
āI definitely tend to classic sounds, and then itās nice to be able to move from there, finding new ways to use them.āāDan Auerbach
If anything, collaborators like Gallagher and Beck have amplified the Black Keysā already impressive way with hooks and chorusesāreinforced as usual by Auerbachās guitar, which, regardless of musical setting, always seems rooted in the tones of the ā60s and ā70s.
āI definitely tend to classic sounds,ā he says, āand then itās nice to be able to move from there, finding new ways to use them. But just being able to find that classic sound has always been thrilling. Itās finding the right fuzz pedal or finding the right combination of things that make that magic thatās on all of this stuff.ā
On their most recent major tour, the Black Keys hit the road as a sextet. āOur band is so capable,ā says Auerbach. āThe guys that weāve been touring with sing and play percussion and keyboards, so we can recreate anything, which is awesome.ā
Photo by Debi Del Grande
Fuzz has long been an important element of Auerbachās sound, and it expands the dimensions of āPlease Me (Till Iām Satisfied),ā āPaper Crown,ā and others. Auerbach primarily used three fuzz pedals on Ohio Players: an Analog Man Sun Face, Marshall SupaFuzz, and Fulltone Octafuzzāsometimes in combination, mostly driving a narrow-panel tweed Deluxe when he was on home turf at Easy Eye. But thereās plenty of sweet stuff in the grooves, too. In particular, the cover of āForgot to Be Your Loverā enjoys not only a sweeping string arrangement but a lovely, chiming phase-shifted guitar that pairs perfectly with Auerbachās near-falsetto vocalāanother element of his singing that heās perfected over time. (āMy family would sing bluegrass, with all those falsetto parts, so it never felt out of the realm of possibility for meāalthough I never had the balls to do that until we made the Blakroc album, and we were messing around and experimenting,ā he notes.) āForgot to Be Your Loverā was done at Valentine Recording Studios in Los Angeles, a room frozen in time, left exactly as it was after its last remodeling in 1975āa place perfect for the trackās old-school vibe.
With its intuitive intersections of locations, collaborators, and the Black Keysā realization of the strength of their own artistry, maybe there was some Zen at work during the Ohio Players sessions. And perhaps beyond. As we end our conversation, Auerbach offers an anecdote: āI was just making a record with Early James yesterday, in a friendās hundred-plus-years-old home. As I was getting ready to record, my friend said, āHey, Iāve got this guitar in a case here. Your friend dropped it off for you a couple years ago. He couldnāt get ahold of you or something.ā It was an old Supro Res-O-Glass that I had bought in Akron and completely forgotten about. I had loaned it to somebody 10 years ago. We took it out of the case. The strings on it were prehistoric, rusty, and we plugged it into a little black-panel Champ, and James played slide guitar on it, and itās got a little Airline pickup. God! It sounded so amazing. And it was just like all kinds of wrongāhadnāt seen a luthier in a decade. You know what I mean? But it was the perfect thing for the sound that we were looking for. The perfect thing.ā
YouTube It
On October 9, 2023, the Black Keys threw a blues party at Nashvilleās Brooklyn Bowl, digging into their North Mississippi hill country sonic roots with Magnolia State ringers Kenny Brown on guitar and Eric Deaton on bass. Here, they play āFireman Ring the Bell,ā a variation on the āRollinā and Tumblināā theme by the late R.L. Burnside.
Patoma Music's Original Diamond Grip Picks offer an extreme grip with a patented non-slip natural diamond grip. Handcrafted in the U.S.A. with DelrinĀ® plastic for durability and consistent tone. Available in two lines, "The Original Line" and "The Sharp Line", with varying thicknesses.
Patoma Music is proud to announce the launch of their Original DiamondGrip Picks. They have two lines, āThe Original Lineā and āThe Sharp Lineā. The two lines of guitar picks consist of 13 Original Diamond Grip Picks in varying thicknesses. The Original Diamond Grip Pick gives the user peace of mind and confidence while playing, knowing that the pick will never slip from their hands.
The Original Diamond Grip Pick has a patented non-slip natural diamond grip that gives the user an extreme grip, unlike any pick currently on the market. The non-slip diamond grip has approximately one carat of natural diamond encrusted on it, allowing it to have a firm and secure grip like no other. The body of the picks are made of a strong DelrinĀ® plastic that offers durability and a consistent tone. Each pick is handcrafted with the utmost precision and care and is proudly manufactured in the U.S.A.
The Original Line Thicknesses:
- Thin - .60mm Orange, .71mm Vintage White
- Medium - .88mm Green, 1.0mm Blue
- Heavy - 1.14mm Black, 1.5mm Black, 2.0mm White
The Sharp Line Thicknesses:
- Thin -.60mm Orange, .73mm Yellow
- Medium - .88mm Green, 1.0mm Blue
- Heavy - 1.14mm Purple, 1.5mm Black.
Patoma Musicās Original Diamond Grip line is available for $17.00 each on their website and at various retailers in Northern New Jersey.
For more information, please visit patomamusic.com.