New Arrivals For December

We’ve just had Black Friday, and Christmas is right around the corner.

I’m keeping my eye out for anything unusual, interesting or an outright bargain, but in all honesty, there isn’t going to be much left over to spend on gear after Christmas shopping for my family.

Rode M5 Matched Pair Microphones

One of the things I want to do with my revamped home studio is record a lot more acoustic guitar. And I’d like to try my hand at doing it the old-fashioned way, by micing up the guitar.

Reading around, it looks like the Rode M5 is a good compromise between price and performance. For less than a pedal(!!), I’m going to get a matched pair of microphones that’ll certainly be good enough for my level of recording.

They’re on back-order at the minute, but hopefully they’ll arrive in time for me to use them over the Christmas holidays.

Abasi Pathos Overdrive Pedal

Yes, I bought something because it was heavily discounted in the Black Friday sales.

But hey – it’s a pedal designed by Brian Wampler. It had been reduced to less than these things go on the second hand market. And I doubt that it sounds like anything else I’ve tried this year.

Why not take a punt? (I’ve written up my first impressions of this pedal.)

Tone City Wild Fro Rabea Massaad Distortion Pedal

I’ve pre-ordered this entirely on the strength of the demo that Rabea posted onto YouTube.

Since getting my Sage Green Strat, I’ve been playing my Strat a lot more recently. I like the idea of a drive pedal that’s been tweaked to deliver low-gain tones for a Strat. Hopefully it’ll pair really nicely with the Keeley Oxblood, giving me a fantastic complementary tone palette to record with.

It should arrive just before Christmas, unless the first batch had already sold out before I got my order in.

Update: it has arrived, and here are my first impressions.

Tone City Durple Overdrive Pedal

I’m sorry – Danish Pete is a fantastic musician – but I thought his YouTube demo of his signature Tone City pedal didn’t sound good at all. So why did I pre-order this one too?

I think when it comes to capturing tone, demos shot by Andertons can be very hit and miss, and I’m hoping that’s the case this time around. It’s just my personal opinion.

These signature pedals – the Wild Fro and Durple – are existing Tone City designs that have been tweaked to suit Rabea and Pete. In Rabea’s case, the Wild Fro was tweaked to suit his Strat, and it would make sense that Pete’s Durple was tweaked to suit his Telecaster.

That’s got to be worth the punt, right? I’ll find out when it arrives.

Yes, it was totally worth a punt.

Fulltone OCD v1.4 Overdrive Pedal

The Fulltone OCD is a legendary pedal, right up there with the Klon, King of Tone, and Timmy as one of the greatest and most revered pedals ever created. As a result, it’s a pedal that’s been cloned many, many times. It’s also a pedal that’s been revised many, many times.

They hold their value very well on the second hand market, and the older revisions can be highly sought after. But I finally have one 🙂 And boy, was it worth the wait.

Unlike the clones that I’ve played or heard, the real thing isn’t harsh at all. It’s got a little less bite than a plexi tone – more chunk than crunch, to my ears, but without sounding like a Honey Bee, Sweet Honey Overdrive or other Tweed-inspired tone. Definitely its own sound.

I’m looking forward to spending a lot of time getting to know this one better.

Lovepedal Champ Pedal

I bought a (very cheap) clone of this pedal earlier this year, but it arrived DOA. Since then, I’ve been on the lookout for an original to try. One turned up on the second-hand market this month, and now it’s here.

First impressions? This might just be right up there with the Sweet Honey Overdrive and Uber Bee as my favourite tone for me.

The thing that really stands out to me is the clarity of the sound. There’s a simplicity and directness to the tone that really works for me. It doesn’t have the thick mid-range of other pedals – and I think that’ll turn out to be a good thing.

Still, early days 🙂

Alexander Jubilee Overdrive Pedal

This is another pedal I’ve been after for most of the year. There were a bunch of them on the second hand market at the start of the year … and then nothing until just before Christmas.

I’m looking to pair it with the Lovepedal Jubilee that I picked up earlier this year. I’ve heard them described as emulating the Silver Jubilee’s rhythm (Lovepedal) and lead (Alexander) channels.

Fender MTG:LA Tube Distortion Pedal

Last month, I picked up Fender’s new MTG pedal. I’m a huge fan of these new Fender drive pedals, and the MTG didn’t disappoint. Along with the MTG, Fender also released the MTG:LA. These haven’t reached the shelves yet, so I’ve taken a punt and ordered one in anyway.

Why? Well, I’m kinda hoping that the ‘LA’ in the name means that they’re chasing the 80’s modded Marshall tone synonymous with the 80’s rock scene in Los Angeles. Think Appetite for Destruction – not much gain, but plenty of weight and clarity.

Now that I’ve got it, this pedal is not what I thought it would be. It’s actually something much better.

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