Rather than do a ‘best of’ style post, every year I’m going to do a rundown of what pedals I’m using, and why.
Previous posts in the series: [2019]
Continue reading “2020 Review: Pedals”First Impressions: NABLA Custom Black Tweed Overdrive Pedal
This arrived all the way back at the start of December, and since then, it’s barely been off my practice pedal board at home. Although that sounds like a really good thing, the reality is a little more complicated than that …
Continue reading “First Impressions: NABLA Custom Black Tweed Overdrive Pedal”2020 Review: Pedal Platform Amps
Rather than do a ‘best of’ style post, every year I’m going to do a rundown of what amps I’m using for pedal platforms, and why.
Previous articles: [2019]
Continue reading “2020 Review: Pedal Platform Amps”First Impressions: Wampler Belle Overdrive (in Claymore Finish)
Late 2020, Wampler Pedals launched the Wampler Belle, which comes in a fetching green. They also did a limited run of these in the Claymore finish, as a tribute to the late Alex Abernathy Clay. Same circuit, just a different finish.
Here are my (long overdue) first impressions of this delightful overdrive pedal.
Continue reading “First Impressions: Wampler Belle Overdrive (in Claymore Finish)”New Arrivals: November 2020
November 2020 is mostly about what didn’t arrive this month, alas.
I ordered a couple of cool pedals from Italy at the end of October, and they only just didn’t make the cut (they arrived 1st December 2020). They’ve both awesome pedals, and I’ll have a lot more to say about them soon.
Another shipping target for the Neural DSP Quad Cortex has been and gone. Both the first and second batch were expected to be in backers’ hands this month, but once again that didn’t happen. With Christmas right around the corner, this is surely going to slip into 2021 now.
The other thing that didn’t arrive? This post. It disappeared without trace from WordPress. Twice. That’s happened a few times in recent weeks. Not yet sure whether it’s WordPress or my new hosting arrangements.
So what did arrive? I got a couple of cool things. Oh, and the world got several COVID19 vaccines too 🙂
Continue reading “New Arrivals: November 2020”New Arrivals: October 2020
This month is mostly defined by constraints.
I had to replace the car last month. Unfortunately, with everything that’s going on in the world right now, there’s a lot of unusual shortages, and I just couldn’t get replacement parts to keep my car on the road. That puts a significant limit on how much I can spare to spend on hobbies for a bit.
Secondly, we’re back in lockdown. We can travel, we’re just very limited on where we’re legally allowed to travel to. [By the end of the month, the local lockdown had become a full lockdown once again – Ed] Normally, this time of year, we’d be visiting far-flung guitar shops to hunt for unusual items and surprises. That’s just not an option right now.
Finally, there just isn’t that much interesting (to me) gear hitting the second hand market right now. All too often, the items that do catch my eye are priced optimistically, and I’m not yet sure if this is a temporary thing, or whether prices are going to remain this high in the long term.
Continue reading “New Arrivals: October 2020”First Impressions: Bearfoot FX Emerald Green Distortion Machine Overdrive Pedal
Here’s a pedal from (probably) my all-time favourite designer, made by one of the classic American boutique pedal makers, that chases one of the three most famous archetype amp sounds of all time.
Read on for my first impressions.
Continue reading “First Impressions: Bearfoot FX Emerald Green Distortion Machine Overdrive Pedal”First Impressions: ProAnalog Devices Manticore v2 Overdrive / Distortion Pedal
Here’s something you don’t see every day. I recently picked up a second-hand Manticore v2, and spent a full week with it on the practice board at home.
How did I get on with it? Read on to find out.
New Arrivals: September 2020
I think this month is mostly going to be defined by what doesn’t arrive.
- I’ve cancelled the PRS S2 McCarty 594 SC that I ordered back in January. It’s probably not going to arrive until 2021 now, and I can’t be confident that I’ll have the money to pay for it when it does finally turn up.
- After months of insisting that it would ship on schedule, Neural DSP has finally admitted that the Quad Cortex is going to be delayed after all. Given the current state of the world, it’s not a surprise. Delivery dates have slipped twice in the last two weeks alone. If this arrives for Christmas, it’ll be quite an achievement.
It’s a good job really, because the car needs some repairs. Whether or not those parts arrive this month or not remains to be seen. [They did not – Ed.] Right now, it’s a really bad time to be repairing or replacing pretty much anything.
Continue reading “New Arrivals: September 2020”New Arrivals: August 2020
Going into August, it was shaping up to be another quiet month for new (to me) gear.
While the second hand market on eBay UK has picked up (a bit) in the last couple of weeks, I’m just not willing to pay what’s being asked. There’s a growing trend of sellers listing second hand gear for more than it originally sold for brand new. I’m still seeing buyers piling onto the same items that I’m interested in, too.
Did I get anything at all? Read on to find out.
Continue reading “New Arrivals: August 2020”