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March 2011 PEDAL OF THE MONTH!
MOOGERFOOGER LO-PASS FILTER This is the big daddy of all filters, basically just part of a high-end synthesiser stuck in a box. The envelope bit of it is a deeply funky touch wah - fully adjustable - while the right hand side is the lowpass filter bit, and what an incredible filter it is - and I should know as I've made a lowpass filter or two... Truly trouser-shaking lo end is available round the anti-clockwise part of the cut-off knob, while the resonance control starts to take it well and truly away from any 'wah wah' preconceptions you might've had, ending up with the sine-y-est of sinewaves from about 3pm onwards on the dial. I added a rocker pedal, hardwired to replace the cutoff knob at the flick of a switch, and with a 'range ceiling' control too. But what's up with that drive knob?! Yeah, it's like a sensitivity control on a regular envelope wah - but it works even when the pedal is off!!! And what LED setting is 'bypass' - red or green?? I can never remember... This is a pedal made by a truly incredible synthesiser company - who don't actually use effects pedals in anger, let alone with guitar. But it has got wood. January 2011 PEDAL OF THE MONTH!
I'd got a bit bored with wah wahs. They just didn't inspire me - and I'd heard enough of them. The Budda Wah cured me of that though. It doesn't have loads of settings and adjustable features; you just turn it on and use it. But it has the most brilliant sound of any that I've tried - and I've tried lots. It's got a very even spread across the range, a nice amount of 'Q' - while never being harsh - and at any point of the rocker travel it sounds sweet and somehow very 'musical'. You could leave it parked at any point, and just be fascinated with the tone. It just gives the impression that you're dealing with a proper instrument... November 2010 PEDAL OF THE MONTH!
THE DIGITECH SPACE STATION PEDAL The mighty Space Station sweeps all other pedals before it. Released in the 1980's to a criminal absence of fanfare, the XP300 (Space Station) quietly blew the minds of anyone who tried it, and there's still little to compete with it. Bit crushers, totally original ring modulation effects, portamento'd pitch shifters, sample-and-holds, pseudo-strings, turntable effects, crazy ultra-fast tuned echoes clanging away, all with the coolest vintage electro tone. It's extremely fun and musically very inspiring. Arpeggiators, resonators... everything adjustable in real time with the rocker pedal. The sound groups are called 'Synth', 'Warp', 'Alien', and 'Sonic'; how exciting is that?? I'm thrilled to have this one - it's the awesome Digitech at the very height of their game. August 2010 PEDAL OF THE MONTH!
BTW this is a one-off that I made - not part of the Rainger fx range. Note 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' cake lettering on it - 'J' is an upside-down 'P', and the 'W' has part of an upside-down 'Y'... June 2010 PEDAL OF THE MONTH!
DANELECTRO BACK TALK REVERSE DELAY How the hell have you managed up to now without a reverse delay pedal?? Probably quite well actually. It's not an effect heard that often - but if you want to get psychedelic in the classic Beatles-esque way, it's a must-have - though you've got to be prepared to forget concepts like 'timing' and 'chord progression'... However if you turn the feedback right up (like we're all dying to do) and turn the speed right down to very fast, the Danelectro Reverse Delay becomes a stuttering abrasive demon that turns the slightest string noise into an epileptic saw-edge frenzy. You have to applaud a company for bringing out such an offbeat pedal. When people start to work out how to make something like this, they first of all ask questions like 'When do you want time to start?'. That's pretty far out.
April 2010 PEDAL OF THE MONTH!
RAINGER FX KIL SWITCH I've been looking for a guitar-friendly lo-pass filter for a long time. These filters have been around for a while now - ever since the idea of remixing properly got going; still sounding cool today, but usually rackmounted or software-based. With the KIL Switch though, in a handy little package you can get a high 'Q' lo-pass effect, with the cut-off frequency foot-adjustable through an Igor pressure pad (the same Igor that helps out Dr Freakenstein) to get sounds like some sort of techno-wah. Also - via the revolutionary new Heel Switch - the whole thing can be used in a four-on-the-floor pulsing way, but dead easy to use live, always in sync, and with the Heel Switch you barely notice you're doing it. Plus there's an LFO to modulate the cut-off frequency up and down. The KIL Switch bit of it is the red push button on top; simple but fun. Covered in bright orange flashing LEDs this box is hard to stop playing through... December 2009 PEDAL OF THE MONTH!
3rd HAND BY TONE-IN-PROGRESS This is a marvellous creation. When you want to tweak some control on your favourite pedal while you're actually playing - but you realise you're one hand short, the 3rd Hand is the only sensible alternative to extreme surgery. You remove the pedal knob in question, and one end of the 3rd Hands long aerial thingy clamps onto the bare pot sticking up. The other end sticks out of the top of the 3rd Hand itself. Then you do your wah wah thing with the rocker pedal. And the magic happens! Its pulleys and belts - a purely mechanical thing. (www.toneinprogress.com) October 2009 PEDAL OF THE MONTH! This is a simple little Boss delay pedal, from back in the day (produced from ’81 to ’84). It’s analogue, so the longest delay is a brief 300ms, but it has that lovely mellow tone that makes an echo seem so much more natural.
July 2009 PEDAL OF THE MONTH!
ARTEC BIG DOTS TUNER It's a guitar tuner - and it's terribly exciting! Can you imagine that?! I mean, having your guitar actually in tune is pretty exciting in itself, but as you use the Artec it shows the note you're aiming at in a massive LED display with the letters scooting past in deeply satisfying fashion. Yeah, it's a bit temperamental sometimes, don't chuck away your current tuner just yet. But the display!!! The display!!!!
May 2009 PEDAL OF THE MONTH!
Boss have done tons of distortion pedals, loads of them really great, and the DF2 is no exception there. When it's on though, if you play a note and hold down the pedal switch...a spooky note of 'feedback' emerges from behind your original sounds, gently wobbling away with vibrato!
April 2009 PEDAL OF THE MONTH!
This is from Craig Anderton's frequency boost circuit. I made it with a selection of hi/mid frequencies to pick from, the idea being to give a boost and tonal tweak to cut through for solos - without ruining your favourite sound. Clean-sounding and simple to use, the knobs control amount of tone boost, plus general volume boost. They're filed down so they don't stick out too much - and get moved with your foot when switching on or off. There are in/out sockets in the top panel giving a nice and small
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BOSS DR-2 SUPER FEEDBACKER AND DISTORTION 
GET UR FREQ ON