There were two pieces of second hand gear that I really wanted to try this month. Both are in stores some distance away. One is a (tweed!) amp that’s only available for collection, and the other is a guitar that I’ve no experience with (so I’d need to try a couple of other examples first to help me understand whether it’s a good example or not).
Unfortunately, the pandemic is back with a vengeance here on Plague Island, and we decided that it wasn’t worth the risk of infection just for a couple of pieces of guitar gear – no matter how nice they might be.
That left the private sales second hand market, where popular and interesting pieces are currently going for quite high prices. Too many buyers chasing too few items, I guess.
I did manage to pick up something though, and I had a blast with it.
Lovepedal Superlead Distortion Pedal
This is a pedal I picked up partly because I haven’t met a Lovepedal pedal that I didn’t like (that I can recall), but mostly because I didn’t manage to win any of the other auctions I bid on this month.
Originally made as an exclusive for America’s Guitar Center, the Superlead aims to deliver the sound of a cranked Marshall stack in a pedal.
How well does it do that? And at what cost / limitations? Here are my First Impressions.
Hotone SoulPress II Volume / Expression / Wah Pedal
One of my Phase 1 songs has a lead guitar part that relies heavily on wah, and I don’t have one. So I asked Santa for one.
I picked the Hotone SoulPress II after watching Jonathan Koh’s demo. Kristi and I were both really impressed with the tones he got out of it.
There again, anyone who’s subscribed to Jonathan’s YouTube will know that he’s got an amazing knack for making anything sound special. Can I get anywhere close? Here are my First Impressions.