Fulltone OCD

52 pedals, week 8—Fulltone OCD

Recently I broke what was most likely a pretty solid run of weekly articles for this website. It’s not that I’m lazy, but there’s this thing called the real world and it often pokes it’s nasty head out and screams “The grass isn’t going to mow itself” or “Get a haircut!” I usually tell that real world to pull its head in and mind its own business. That mentality allows me to write at the same time each and every week. That suits me because I am rather habitual. So much so that some people consider my infatuation with consistency to be a problem. Well if being OCD is a problem, I don’t care.

Also, if someone wants to send me an OCD pedal by Fulltone I’m perfectly OK with that. Wednesday (Australian time) articles are back people. Sorry for the inconsistency. … 52 pedals, week 8—Fulltone OCD

MXR Phase 90

52 pedals, week 7—MXR Phase 90

As I mentioned in my previous article, time has slipped away from me lately. Not posting my weekly articles on time bothered me greatly. I’d let myself down. My family however did not share my pain. Actually, they didn’t appear phased at all. That’s when it came to me. They should be phased. This is a big thing. And when it comes to big things in the phase pedal market, few come close to the MXR Phase 90. It’s been the pedal others aspire towards since 1972.

Time to get phased. … 52 pedals, week 7—MXR Phase 90

Bad Monkey

52 pedals, week 6—DigiTech Bad Monkey

For over two years I’ve been writing weekly posts about random pieces of guitar gear I wish I owned. Now that I think about it, why does anybody come back to read this stuff? I’ll never know. Having said that, last week I dropped the ball. I let my real-world life get in the way of a good article. When I say good, I don’t mean it. Clearly I was naughty. Bad Monkey!

And with that piece of honesty I’ve linked to this week’s pedal. Last week’s pedal really. Let’s kick it into overdrive.

See what I did there? … 52 pedals, week 6—DigiTech Bad Monkey

Mystic El Rey Effects

52 pedals, week 5—El Rey Effects The Mystic

I enjoyed writing last week’s article in the 52 pedals series so much that I decided to stick with the same theme I’d chosen for that week—pedals I’ve actually played through. The Mystic by El Rey Effects is one of those pedals. And just like last week’s entry, this is a pedal I came across at the 2015 NAMM Show.

As I have played this pedal I will let you know that the settings in the photograph I’ve included with this article are all set to the pedal’s sweet spot. To my liking at least. This pedal has it going on. … 52 pedals, week 5—El Rey Effects The Mystic

EHX Tone Tattoo

52 pedals, week 3—Electro Harmonix Tone Tattoo

Sometimes when you’re researching pedal after pedal after pedal, they all start to blur into one. It becomes hard to differentiate one pedal from another. When I started researching the pedal to add to my wishlist this week, I thought I’d been at it too long and combined several pedals into one. I was wrong though. It wasn’t me. No, Electro Harmonix (EHX) went and did that themselves when they created the Tone Tattoo. … 52 pedals, week 3—Electro Harmonix Tone Tattoo

Sovereign

52 pedals, week 2—Wampler Pedals Sovereign Distortion

I have a few distortion pedals. I’m sure I’ll get more. After all, it’s my favourite effect. There are two reasons if I’m going to be honest. Firstly, it’s metal. That’s pretty much the only reason you need. The other convenient reason for a guitar player like me is that it is good at covering mistakes.

Having shared that, I will say that the tone of a distortion pedal is incredibly important (even to a no-talent-hack like me). So the Wampler Pedals Sovereign Distortion appeals to me on account of the varied tones this pedal provides. Why settle for one distortion tone per pedal when one pedal can provide you with distortion ranging from something blues-friendly to a full-blown heavy metal distortion? The answer? You shouldn’t.

… 52 pedals, week 2—Wampler Pedals Sovereign Distortion

BOSS DM-2W

52 pedals, week 1—BOSS DM-2W Delay

Every year I like to challenge myself to find 52 different guitar related items from a theme. Two years ago it was 52 guitars. Last year it was 52 amplifier heads. This year I’ve decided to write about 52 different guitar pedals. Knowing this would be the theme, I decided a few days ago to ask folks on social media for suggestions. I just didn’t let people know why I was asking. Evil right?

I asked the same question on Instagram. One suggestion I ended up with was delay. Many individual models of delay were suggested, but I decided to focus on one of the more recent models—the DM-2W—because it’s a very nice blend of old and new.

Let the next 52 article series begin. … 52 pedals, week 1—BOSS DM-2W Delay