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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First Impressions: Catalinbread Formula 5F6 Drive Pedal

This photo shows Catalinbread's Formula 5F6 pedal on my pedalboard.

There are 5 knobs visible, but their labels are hidden from view by those knobs.

As regular readers will know, tweed-tone pedals are kind of my thing. Good, bad, or indifferent, I’m always on the lookout for an opportunity to try as many of these pedals as I possibly can. The Catalinbread Formula 5F6 is one of the few that’s in regular production.

The day this was delivered, I was pretty down on it over on my Twitter account. Has anything changed now that I’ve had a bit more time with it? That all depends on what kind of guitar you play …

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New Arrivals: December 2020

I had a plan for December: keep an eye out for outright bargains or ultra-rare pedals on the second-hand market, and spend more time enjoying what arrived last month.

Then, when writing up my Annual Review blog posts, that all changed. Looking back over the last 12 months made me realise that there was an obvious problem, and I needed to sort it out. So, I have.

I hope you had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year. We filled our house with music, and it’s what gets us through these historic times.

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