First Impressions: Tone City King of Blues Dual Overdrive Pedal

This photo shows the Tone City King of Blues overdrive pedal on my pedalboard, next to my Analogman King of Tone overdrive pedal.

It’s impossible to talk about the King of Blues without comparing it to the Analogman King of Tone – because that’s the question everyone wants to know. Is it a King of Tone clone, or (at the very least) a passible substitute?

No, it isn’t. The King of Blues is its own thing. And I really dig it. Read on for the full details, including audio demos to demonstrate why.

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New Arrivals: May 2023

This month, I had – and took – the opportunity to add a couple of increasingly-rare tweed tone pedals to my collection. In both cases, I’m very glad that I did.

I also tried out a new (to me) pedal brand for the first time: NUX. I grabbed a couple of their pedals. Both were excellent in their own way.

Finally, I picked up another clone-in-a-box from my favourite pedal clone maker, websmurfer. It’s always a delight for me to try one of their designs.

Read on for all the details.

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New Arrivals: April 2023

This month, I was able to tick off three items from my gear bucket list.

One of the things I’ve been (re)learning this year is this: the kind of gear I’m interested in trying is only getting rarer and rarer. If I see something, and don’t get it, there’s a very good chance that I’ll be waiting a very long time before I see another example.

And it’s always hard to tell whether or not an item was worth getting until you have it in your hands …

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