Normally, I try to pick up something memorable in January, to celebrate another year of running my own business. It doesn’t always happen, but the idea’s always in the back of my mind when I’m looking at what’s around on the second-hand market.
This month, I picked up just the one item … but it turned out to be very special to me.
Lazy J Cruiser Deuce Boost Pedal
Since I hooked up my Synergy rig to the Axe-FX 3, I’ve been having a total blast with it. The BMan module (based on the Fender Bassman tweed amp circuit) has just really suited my mood this month. Whether it’s Strat cleans or classic Les Paul rock tones, the Synergy BMan module has delivered for me.
Lazy J make some of the finest modern tweed amps on the market. They also make a pedal specifically for boosting those tweed amps. They’re pretty rare on the second-hand market, so when three turned up at once this month, I decided that the timing was just too fortuitous.
I’m glad that I did.
Although it’s sold as a pedal for getting lead tones at lower volumes, I’m using it to get some great rhythm tones out of my Synergy BMan module. There’s just something about boosting a lightly-overdriven tweed amp that (to my ears) sounds better than just cranking the amp a bit more. It’s absolute heaven with my Les Paul.
I’ll do a proper First Impressions post soon (with audio clips!) at some point in February. As part of that, I need to compare it to some other boost pedals that I have (to find out how different it really is), and also demonstrate why it’s not the kind of pedal that you run into a totally clean pedal platform amp.