Hello everyone and welcome to my little corner of the world! My name is David Lee and my friends call me the Reverend. I earned that title because I have been preaching about “tone” for most of my adult life.
I have been playing the guitar for over 44 years now, and I have been in working bands for the past 35 years. I’d like to think I’ve learned quite alot about tone over the span of those years and it admittedly takes quite an effects pedal to surprise and please me after all this time.
The pedals and other gear that you see reviewed here are the cream of the crop and the ones that I have personally used (or still do) on the road.
There’s so much hype out there about guitar effects that I decided it was time to produce a viable resource for musicians to visit and hear from someone just like them - working it out in local clubs and venues - and making the most of every hard earned dollar to buy only those pedals that truly do live up to their claims.
Pedals that have been thoroughly road tested in real world live performance conditions to prove their road-worthiness - and that have been put through multiple setups of guitar and amplifier combinations and different places in the pedal chain that speak to their versatility and real world applications and expectations.
Tone is not a hobby for me - it is a way of life. A religion so to speak. I have spent hundreds of hours (and dollars) and many years studying the interactions of different effects and their specific personality traits and disorders - where they shine and where they fall short. Only the best of the best - by the very best Master Builders on the planet are reviewed here. Thanks for reading and welcome to my gear resource page - where only the best get in.
Rev
BLUES
FOR BOBBIE
Where do I start... this has been a labor of love for over a year now - but
some things don't always go as planned and despite a few bumps in the road
- I finally found a builder -not just any builder -but Analogman
Mike - to finish a concept I had way back when.. the important
thing now is that it's finished and it holds a power greater than the sum
of it's parts (Thanks Mike!) I also want to give a shout out to
Kirk at Pedal Parts Plus for the beautiful paint and screening
work on the pedal enclosures - thanks Kirk!
The serial number is the date my Brother Bobbie passed away.. the Chinese symbol is the symbol for HARMONY - to pay tribute to the beautiful harmonies my brother and I shared for over 40 years and (not showing up very well in this photo) is the Sun Lion placed on the top of the pedal by Mike Piera.
Let's get to the detail of what's inside this beautiful tribute effects pedal - from Right to Left:
The Analogman Comprossor (with internal sustain and attack controls) , the Overdrive part of Analogman's King of Tone, and a Clean Boost. Three pedals in one enclosure and the sweetest setup anyone could hope for. You can run each effect independently or all 3 at once or any combination of two effects. It's a Blues Pedal because that's what I wanted - and the lethal combination Mike has come up with here are absolutely perfect - tonewise and in functionality and this has to be heard to be believed. What a fantastic lethal threesome and what a wonderful way to dial in the Blues for Bobbie..
But make no mistake about it -this one can also easily cover a large genre of classic and southern rock voicings without flinching. And it will do the one thing I wanted it to do the most of all -sustain a wailing lead note for days until I lift my finger off the fret... this has brought out a creative wash of emotions and memories and music that I didn't know I could play - it's coming straight from the heart to my Brother Bob - I pray he can hear me up there.. Love to all that helped make a beautiful tribute come true...
2006 PEDAL PICKS
Rev's January, February, March 2006 Pedal Picks!
MI
Audio
Tube Zone
SubDecay Studios Flying
Tomato Fuzz
Red Witch
Fuzz God
Digitech
Expression Factory
Hot Wire Audio
Boss FA-1 Clone
BjF
Baby Blue Overdrive
Frantone
The Sweet
Emma ReezaFRATzitz
Home Brew Electronics Psilocybe
Phaser
Demeter Amplification Fuzzulator
Tone Factor Analogue
Filter
Foxrox
Hot Silicon Fuzz
April
2006
Pedal Pick
Hot Wired Audio's
Fuzzwork Orange
May
2006
Pedal Pick
Skreddy Screwdriver
June
2006
Pedal Pick
Effectrode Tube Vibe
July
2006
Pedal Pick
Demeter
Double Drive
2005 PEDAL PICKS
January
2005 Pedal Pick
Toadworks John Bull
February
2005 Pedal Pick
Musician's
Junkyard Screamer
March
2005 Pedal Pick
Pedalworx (BENT)
Tonebender
April
2005 Pedal Pick
SIB EchoDrive
May
2005 Pedal Pick
Toadworks Lil Leo
American Overdrive
June
2005 Pedal Pick
Analogmans BiChorus
w/Deep Option
NO
PEDAL PICK FOR JULY
Out of respect for our fallen Brother & Drummer Bob Stanley 1951-2005
R.I.P.
August
2005 Pedal Pick
Foxrox
Electronics Octron
September
2005 Pedal Pick
HBE
Big D Distortion
October
2005 Pedal Pick
Barge Concepts
BB-1
November
2005 Pedal Pick
Demeter
Amplification FOD
December
2005 Pedal Pick
Foxrox Captain
Coconut II
2004 PEDAL PICKS
January
2004 Pedal Pick
Hermida Audio's
Mosferatu Series
February
2004 Pedal Pick
Robert Keeley's
Fuzz Head
March
2004 Pedal Pick
Foxrox ZIM
April
2004 Pedal Pick
RGW Electronics
Bad Bob Booster
May
2004 Pedal Pick
Bigtone Music
Brewery's Classic OD+
June
2004 Pedal Pick
Red
Witch Moon Phaser
July
2004 Pedal Pick(s)
Steve Webster's V-Stack
Classic & BHM
August
2004 Pedal Pick
Monster Effects
Swamp Thang Tremelo
September
2004 Pedal Pick
Pedalworx Texas Two
Step
October
2004 Pedal Pick
Monkey FX
Cheeky Monkey
November
2004 Pedal Pick
Fox Rox
Paradox TZF Flanger
December
2004 Pedal Pick
Love Pedal's Karl
Fuzz
2003 PEDAL PICKS
January
2003 Pedal Pick:
Joe Gagan/Nine Volt Nirvana's Dinosaur Fuzz
February
2003 Pedal Pick
Legendary
Tones/Keeley
Time Machine Boost
March
2003 Pedal Pick
Mojo
Vibe by SweetSound
April
2003 Pedal Pick
Mr.
Squishy by Toadworks
May
2003 Pedal Pick
Keeley
Java Boost
June
2003 Pedal Pick
Zinky
True Grit
July
2003 Pedal Pick
Ibanez
Tube King
August
2003 Pedal Pick
Bennett
Music Labs Brown Sound
September
2003 Pedal Pick
Fireman
FX Baron Boost
October
2003 Pedal Pick
Toadworks
Death Rattle
November
2003 Pedal Pick
Geoffrey
Teese
Wheels Of Fire Wah
December
2003 Pedal Pick
Love
Pedal's Fab 50
2002 PEDAL PICK
December
2002 Pedal Pick:
Robert
Keeley's Compressor
2008 PEDAL PICKS
January's Pedal Pick was the Teese RMC2 Custom Blue Edition!
February's
Pedal Pick was
Visual Sounds Angry Fuzz!
March's Pedal Pick was Toadworks Texas Flood Overdrive!
April's
Pedal Pick was
Fulltone's GT-500!
May's Pedal Pick Ibanez Flying Pan Reissue FP-777
As part of the recent Midwest Music & Gear Slut Event in Kansas City last Thursday & Friday, Robert Keeley & MrBluetone & myself visited the Musician's Friend Clearance Center (and another big store).
We also spent the night at the Quarterage Hotel - excellent security all around us - and saw Dave Weiner (from the Steve Vai band) and Rob Balducci in concert at the Grand Emporium -what a fantastic show - these guys are killer guitar players - I think most of the audience was made up of guitar players!
They treated Robert Keeley like a ROCK STAR and constantly heralded him from the stage. What a NIGHT OF PURE GUITAR!! A memorable night that I'll never ever forget! Thanks John, Charise & Robert - I love you all. Rev
2009 Pedal Picks
Blackout
Effectors
Whetstone Phaser
Toadworks Barracuda Flanger
CMAT Mods Brownie
Fulltone Soul Bender
Gibson Fuzz Tone
Toadworks Fat City
Electro
Harmonix V256
Vocoder
Line 6 M-13
Vox Time Machine Delay
Fender FRV-1 Reverb
Ross Phaser Distortion (Vintage)
Way
Huge Angry Troll
Linear Boost
I stumbled across this one on my local craigslist a few weeks ago and I've had the time now to sit down with both my Vintage 80's ProCo Rat - of which this pedal is based on - and the Hartman LM-308 Overdrive Distortion. Hartman Electronics has not only "captured the Rat", they've injected him with steroids and he's stronger than before and tighter and more focused too. Here's the techy stuff from their website:
QUOTE
The
Hartman Electronics LM308 Op-Amp Distortion guitar pedal offers two modes
of distortion inspired by the edgy, modern styles distortion popularized
by punk, new-wave and college-rock bands of the late 70's and early 80's.
Selectable on-the-fly via stomp switch, the first distortion mode (A) employs
a diode-clipping stage to produce a classic distortion and crunch of the
original upon which it is based, exhibiting the same sensitivity to player
pick-attack, palm-muting- and pinch-harmonics. The second distortion mode
(SYM) transforms the pedal into an overdrive, increasing transparency, headroom,
and dynamic response, and producing a hotter output signal suitable for
overdriving the input of downstream amps/devices. Your strat sounds like
a strat, your LP sounds like an LP; no more masking the tone of your instrument,
but still plenty of scream, crunch, and sustain.
Pedals are hand-wired and assembled to order. Lead time is two weeks. Features:
- 3PDT Heavy-duty True-bypass switching
- Hi-intensity LED Indicators or ON/OFF and Distortion type (A/SYM)
- Plated-thru-hole printed circuit board (PCB) construction
- Premium quality Switchcraft jacks and Alpha potentiometers
- Ultra-quiet 1% metal-film resistors throughout
- Hi-fidelity tantalum, silver-mica and film capacitors
- LM308AH (round, metal-can) op-amp
- Blackened-bronze powder-coat finish, Crème knobs
END QUOTE
My favorite part of that verbiage (and if you're into really short reviews), this one has "plenty of scream, crunch and sustain. There. That's it. Go plug in and play now :o) As previously stated, I've owned the Rat for decades, and loved and used it many times along the way - but after A/B'ing them side by side - if I had to choose one or the other - I'd jump all over the Hartman. Why? Because while you can certainly get classic Rat Distortion out of it - no surprise here folks - it's a clone - but that's where the similarities stop. The Hartman LM-308 may share the same chip as the Rat, but the differences between the two were noticeable. The Rat, for the first time in my memory - sounded like it had a blanket over it in direct comparison. Wow. That surprised me. So with the A Drive (Rat side) alone - the punch was tighter, better refined - and had more volume on tap than the original. So it not only retained it's vintage personality - the pinch harmonics and sustain are to die for - it's punchier and thus has more bite.
The
Overdrive side of the pedal instantly adds more headroom and clarity which
is exactly what you need when you're trying to cut thru a live mix with
loud and rowdy crowds and sometimes fellow band members too :o) And as others
have mentioned, being able to switch from one side to the other on the fly
sets you up perfectly for going from rhythm to screaming sustaining sweet
wailing notes. No brainer win for this months Pedal Pick and highly recommended
at only $149 it's two great pedals in a smaller enclosure than the original
Rat. Thanks for reading! Rev
Click HERE
to go directly to Hartman Electronics & tell Theo, Rev says Howdy!
January
2010 Pedal Pick
Frantone Electronics
Hep Cat Overdrive
February 2010
Pedal Pick
Keeley Electronics
Six Stage Phaser
Fender COM-1
Fender Compressor
Vintage find - Feb 2010
Click HERE
to see Pics!
