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Guitar Pedal X News
Text • Stefan Karlsson

Tampco's Rodolphe rolls out Custom Editions for his Warm and Transparent, Versatile Classic Tone Oven Overdrive

The original standard / stock Tone Oven had the Bass Cut and Comp controls as internal dip-switches. While for this Custom Edition those have been externalised via toggle-switches - for more on-the-fly versatility. The Bass Cut applies to both Start and Grill Modes, while ...

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Text • Gary Nava, Luthier

Making a Mandolin Rosette

I’ve just started building my next mandolin. In this video, I look at making its rosette in quite some detail. Hope that you find it interesting.

Cheers Gary



 

Guitar Pedal X News
Text • Stefan Karlsson

PRS trolls Fender with a cheeky Silver Sky Land Rover Defender Collaboration

For me - Fender CEO Bud Cole and Ed Sheeran have been on a similar journey - both entirely on the wrong side of history - and still carrying on digging themselves a deeper hole! Both blaming everything and everyone bar their own actions or lack thereof.   I’m actually...

Guitar Pedal X News
Text • Stefan Karlsson

PastFX unveils the doppelflänger - its own exacting vintage specs, high headroom, compact take on the original 1970's MXR flanger/doubler Rack Unit

The original MXR flanger/doubler Rack Unit which emerged in 1976 - used a Reticon SAD1024 BBD chip for the Flanger effect, and a RD5101 chip (4096 Stages) for the Doubler. It had a ±12V power supply or a 24V swing as such. It also had a Vactrol / Light-Dependent Resistor o...

Guitar Pedal X News
Text • Stefan Karlsson

Overkill Effects unleashes probably my favourite compact Muff to date - the no-compromise expansive V7 Softek Era Fuzz

This has been a long time coming, and dates all the way back to the end of May, when I very first received my V7 unit. That then came with DM 1510 knobs - which I didn’t feel did the pedal full justice (you can see those in the below demo). And so my friend Nikola set out ...

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Text • marcusohara@aol.com

The Giannini Craviola

  Harrison with Rickenbacker By 1970 I had played guitar for over six years. I’d seen George Harrison and Roger McGuinn both using Rickenbacker 12 string guitars and loved that sound. However, in that period those instruments were retailing for around $500. That was b...

Guitar Pedal X News
Text • Stefan Karlsson

JAM Pedals updates its superb flavourful Wahcko Wah - now with JAM's own Custom Inductor onboard, and additional internal Q-trimmer

One of the best sounding and most flavourful Wah Pedals since 2008 - gets further improved, with some really neat touches.   The gorgeous multi-coloured Wah-li-gator artwork remains, while it gets a new JAM Custom Designed Inductor based on the classic 60’s TDK Induct...

Guitar Pedal X News
Text • Stefan Karlsson

Boss's new EX-4 Effects Expander is a fantastic intuitive Multi-FX Pedal which delivers 4 killer stereo effects at a time from a selection of 120

Boss delivers a really fantastic Multi-FX Pedal here - which has a super intuitive and visually appealing interface - and which is a joy to deploy. I’ve had this pedal for the best part of a month now, and I’ve really enjoyed the experience.   I feel that Boss has tak...

Guitar Pedal X News
Text • Stefan Karlsson

Mojo Hand FX revives its Crosstown Hybrid 2-Transistor Fuzz - available in Classic and Rasta Editions

The Crosstown Fuzz is a Hybrid Fuzz Face - utilising one Germanium, and one Silicon Transistor. At one stage these used to be the Ge AC187 and Si BC109 - while Mojo soon ran out of the AC187’s - as those are long since discontinued and in very short supply.   Supposed...

Guitar Pedal X News
Text • Stefan Karlsson

Great Eastern FX Co's latest Obsolete Devices release - the 2N1175 Germanium Transformer Boost is a superb always-on tone-enhancer - all the way up to killer low-to-mid-gain Overdrive

This is quite a notable period for me as I picked up 3 Germanium Devices within a month, while one of those probably won’t land until next month. Alongside this killer Germanium Transformer Boost, there is also the PigDog Germanium Overdrive, and then the Martian Sound Cyd...

Guitar Pedal X News
Text • Stefan Karlsson

Mad Professor announces preorders for its brand new Milestone Handwired Germanium Fuzz

Mad Professor has just announced preorders for its new Handwired Germanium Fuzz - while it doesn’t really provide too many details beyond the below statement, the nature of the control topology, and a picture of the insides from a jaunty angle!   "Milestone is a germa...

Guitar Pedal X News
Text • Stefan Karlsson

Setting up Delay Presets and Tap Divisions on the Chase Bliss Big Time Hybrid Echo - alongside first impressions

When the Big Time was first announced at the end of April, I wasn’t sure it was for me. I needed some further convincing - which took the form of Doug Tolley’s Big Time Tour - where he travelled to 4 locations in the UK, including Hanwell in West London - where interested ...

Guitar Pedal X News
Text • Stefan Karlsson

Electro-Harmonix revives its Analog BBD Echoflanger Multi-Modulator as a Limited 2,500 Run Adrian Belew Signature Edition

One of EHX’s best loved pedals is back! Which has variously been labelled the Echoflanger (1977-1979), Polyflange (1979-1980), and Polychorus (1981-1984) throughout those years - until discontinued in the mid-80’s.   Adrian Belew is a power user of said pedal - on his...

Guitar Pedal X News
Text • Stefan Karlsson

Pedal Pawn unleashes gorgeous hot pink 120 unit limited run CV7005 Germanium Transistor Fuzz Face edition

I have a couple of CV7005 Transistor Fuzz Faces to my name already - including my first one from Expresso FX. It’s one of my favourite sounding Fuzz Face transistors - which is military spec equivalent to OC71, and unerringly close to NKT275 and AC128.   This 120 run ...

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Text • Gary Nava, Luthier

Making a Bass Bridge

About a year or so ago, I built myself a short scale bass, inspired (aesthetically) by the Kay EB-100 that I had previously restored. I play this bass pretty much daily: it’s set-up with flat-wound strings and I love its smooth richness of tone. However, having recently restored the Westone Thunder Bass which has a long-scale and round-wound strings and spent some time playing it, I have found whole new range of tonal possibilities, which contrast and complement the short scale.

So, whilst having a brief breather from mandolins, I thought that I would make a bridge for a bass guitar which I intend building at some point in the future!



Guitar Pedal X News
Text • Stefan Karlsson

Rodenberg Amplification's latest release is the intriguingly potent Daphne Hight Voltage Amp-like Overdrive with Tube-like Dynamics

A really cool amp-like Overdrive which ramps up 9V DC [-] input voltage to circa 280V internally. This gives the pedal a really Dynamic and Amp-Like feel and output, which is highly reactive to your playing style and pick attack.   The central Amp Voicing toggle-switc...

Guitar Pedal X News
Text • Stefan Karlsson

RockBoard releases super handy Snap-in Second Tiers in Small and Large Sizes - with a hinged design for full Tier 1 Pedal Access

RockBoard may have fallen a little under the radar for some of late - where it’s actually a killer supplier of superbly practical and capable Pedalboards in 16 core variations. These have a slew of smart accessories which make pedalboard assembly and maintenance a breeze. ...

Guitar Pedal X News
Text • Stefan Karlsson

ThorpyFX adds more versatility to its ER-2 Uni-Vibe, now in Block 3 Edition with additional Phase Switch

So here we have the further evolved Block 3 Edition of the ThorpyFX ER-2 Uni-Vibe. This was first released in June of 2023, and then re-engineered in November of 2024 - after Light Dependent Resistors (Vactrols) were put on the RoHS ban list. At the time the circuit was bu...

Guitar Pedal X News
Text • Stefan Karlsson

Dr. Scientist unleashes the Dungeon Crawler - an incredibly saturated and sustaining Extreme Metal High Gain Distortion with Active Gyrator EQ's, with extra Grind Rectifier and Boost

A killer magnificently saturating Extreme Gain Distoriton - which does the Grinding Metal thing exceptionally well - with almost limitless saturation and sustain. It’s not the sludgiest of distortions or necessarily the most thudding and thunderous in the low end - but it ...

Guitar Pedal X News
Text • Stefan Karlsson

A Brief Hobbyist Primer on Effects Pedal Circuits Fixed Resistors - in collaboration with Drunk Beaver's Vitalii Bobrov

This article was composed and assembled in collaboration with good friend Vitalii Bobrov of Drunk Beaver Pedals - a fantastic engineer, with an encyclopaedic knowledge of effects pedal components - which you can see in all his smart circuit builds.

 

This article focuses on Fixed vs Variable Resistors and Potentiometers - those will be covered in a follow-up article.

 

There are 6 Key Chapters to this project of differing length and detail.

Hopefully we have covered everything you need to know about Fixed Resistors, and how they apply to Guitar Effects Pedals!

 

 

CHAPTERS

  1. A Brief History of Resistors
  2. The Key Types Of Effects Pedal Resistors
  3. How a Typical Resistor Works
  4. Identifying Resistor Values
  5. Key Functional Applications for Fixed Resistors
  6. Smart Resistor Deployments and Mods in Specific Circuits (Fuzz Face etc.)