I had a (very minor!) bit of emergency surgery at the end of July, which really limited how much time I could spend with the guitar this month. At the time this is published, I’m pretty close to being fully recovered, and looking forward to getting a few more blog articles written.
I did pick up a couple of pieces of gear to try. It’s fair to say that I had mixed feelings afterwards …
JHS Pedals Notaklön
These were quite the sensation when they launched back in November 2023. The initial run quickly sold out, and JHS have been taking pre-orders for additional batches ever since.
I never buy pedals around Christmas, in case Kristi wants to get me some. So I missed out on the early batches. And honestly, since then, I kinda forgot about it. (I’ve had some great pedals this year!)
Then one popped up on the local second-hand market at a great price, and I thought I’d get it and see what it’s like through my rig. What did I think of it? Here’s my First Impressions.
One Control Blue Bee OD 4K Mini
There’s no two ways about it: Bjorn Juhl (aka BJF and BJFe) is my favourite pedal designer. Whether it’s the pedals he designed for Mad Professor (like my beloved Sweet Honey Overdrive – SHOD for short), or the pedals he did with Bearfoot FX, I honestly think that his work is head and shoulders above most of today’s famous boutique pedal designers.
These days, he’s releasing his designs in collaboration with One Control out of Japan. Sadly, they don’t have much of a presence in the UK, so I haven’t managed to get one before now.
But this might just be the perfect one to start with … a new spin on the legendary Honey Bee circuit. What do I think? Here’s my First Impressions.