Author: Stuart

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First Impressions: PRS Mary Cries Optical Compressor

At the end of September, seemingly out of the blue, PRS dropped their first three guitar pedals ever: an overdrive (the Horsemeat), a double-flanger (the Wind Through The Trees) and this one, an optical compressor (the Mary Cries).

The photo shows the PRS Mary Cries optical compressor, sat on my pedal board.
The PRS Mary Cries Compressor Pedal

Mine has just arrived. What do I think of it? Is it worth the price? Read on for my First Impressions.

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First Impressions: Joyo Sweet Baby Overdrive

Earlier this month, I revisited my first-ever tweed-tone pedal: Joyo’s Sweet Baby Overdrive pedal.

Many years have passed since I’ve played one of these. Is it going to be a happy reunion, or am I going to get a crash course in why I replaced it with my beloved Mad Professor Sweet Honey Overdrive?

On the pedalboard: Joyo Sweet Baby Overdrive, Mad Professor Sweet Honey Overdrive, and the Klon KTR
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New Arrivals: November 2022

The end of the month saw a huge change in the second-hand market here. For the first time in … I don’t know, it feels like 18+ months … there’s a lot of very interesting (to me) amps and pedals available. And I swear there were more Les Pauls listed during a 5-day period than overdrive pedals. It sure seemed that way, anyway.

Sadly, I think most of these pieces are being listed because people need the money. The mood of the country is pretty grim right now. We’ve had 12 years of single-party government, and they’ve led us into the worst cost of living crisis in living memory. The worst of it is still come too, too.

I was working abroad for part of the month (it was educational taking my new company to Web Summit for the very first time), and had no time to do very much at all with a guitar.

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First Impressions: Tone City Dry Martini Overdrive Pedal

Back in October, I picked up a new (to me) mini pedal: Tone City’s Dry Martini overdrive. I’ve seen folks recommending this as a viable alternative to Fulltone’s legendary OCD pedal.

This photo shows two pedals on my pedalboard. On the left in shades of purple and pink is Tone City's Dry Martini mini pedal. On the right in a warm cream colour is Fulltone's OCD pedal.
Tone City’s Dry Martini pedal next to the Fulltone OCD

But … is it really? And if not, is it still worth checking out? Here are my first impressions.

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