Wampler pedals are designed by Brian Wampler and handbuilt in the USA. The Company's website is not shy in telling the world how good these pedals are, describing them as "the most inspiring and musical guitar effect pedals available today" and "the bench mark for boutique level effects pedals worldwide". No small claims! I have two Wampler pedals in my rack - the Ego Compressor and the pedal that's the subject of this post, the Plexi-Drive British Overdrive. I bought both pedals from Andertons in Guildford, here in the UK. Unfortunately, the Plex-Drive had a broken switch. I should have taken it back, but as I place most of pedals in a rack rather than on a board, the fact that the switch was faulty didn't affect the way I wanted to use the pedal. As the name implies, this pedal is designed to make your rig sound like a Marshall amp. The pedal features three simple controls - Gain, Tone and Volume, plus a Bass switch that adds some serious thump to the bottom end. What I like best about this pedal is the huge range of useable tones, from light gain to seriously overdriven. In the video, I'm experimenting with different levels of gain and different pick up selections on my Suhr Modern Custom, to demonstrate the range of sounds available. I also added a little delay from a Way Huge Aqua Puss and Echo Puss, and reverb from a Hermida Reverb 2.
From the moment I heard the opening notes of Cliffs of Dover, I loved Eric Johnson's playing. He's one of my favourite guitarists! I was fortunate to get a ticket to an intimate Masterclass with the great man, held at the Radisson Hotel in Guildford, on 5 July 2012, organised by Andertons Music Co. I arrived early and was able to secure a seat on the front row, right in the middle, which I considered to be the best seat in the house! Mick Taylor, then Editor of Guitarist Magazine, was the compere. After a brief introduction from Mick, in which he told us that Eric was in the wings filing his pick on wet and dry paper, the band came on and played stupendous versions of Manhattan, Fat Daddy, Gem and Mr Pc. Mick then facilitated questions from the floor, with Eric standing at the mic providing answers and demonstrating aspects of his awesome technique. The band finished with an extended version of Cliffs of Dover. We were asked not to take photos during the show, but I found the one included here on the Internet, taken by someone who was sitting a few rows back from me. All other photos are mine. After the show, Eric came out to sign merchandise and talk to his fans. I bought a Tour t-shirt and a poster, which he signed. I shook his hand and told him I loved the show, and he graciously thanked me.
There are lots of great pictures of Eric's pedalboard on the Internet, including on his own web site. My own photo isn't great by comparison, but it does show what I believe are the following pedals: Ibanez Tubescreamer, Fuzz Face (which looks like the gold signature model), Toadworks Barracuda Flanger, Cry Baby Wah, TC Electronic Chorus/Flanger, Electro Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man, Boss Digital Delay, and various A/B switches. Eric's board is pretty scruffy, with long coils and tangles of cable, but that's the way he likes it!
Eric was using his old Marshall amp heads and 4x12 cabs, plus what he described as prototypes of new Fender amps being built for him. I was interested to see that Eric angles his amps away from him. There was a lot of hum and buzz, which surprised me. Eric said it was because he was using vintage amps, but it sounded like ground hum to me. I've no idea whether his A/B switches contain isolation transformers to prevent ground loops, and this may be the problem. Anyway, extraneous noise aside, this was an absolutely cracking event, with Eric in magnificent form.
Xotic effects pedals are rather special! I first discovered them when I was surfing the web and came upon the Prosound Communications web site. I kept going back to this web site time and again to watch the Reality Web videos of pro guitarists putting the Xotic effects through their paces. This was my first introduction to Scott Henderson and Allen Hinds, who are now two of my favourite players. At that time, Xotic effects were not easy to find in the UK, but I discovered that Jam Guitars in Clifton, Bristol, were stockists. Sadly the specialist shop in Alma Vale Road is no longer open, although the compoany still trades online. It was from Jam Guitars that I bought the RC Booster and AC Booster.
The RC Booster is a clean boost pedal offering 20db+ of clean boost, with controls for Volume, Gain, Treble and Middle. For me, the two-band active EQ allows for more tone shaping than a simple Tone knob. The AC Booster has the same controls and can be used as a booster or overdrive pedal. I like to set the RC Booster to give my sound a bit of a push for clean lead passages, and use the AC Booster on a mild overdrive setting for more of a vintage flavour. These pedals are solidly built, using high quality components. I also have an EP Booster, which I might write about on another occasion.
Xotic effects are now available from more shops in the UK, and the line has expanded to include several other pedals, including the new small enclosure models. There are lots of Artist testimonials on the website, and I would add my own voice to these: Xotic effects are great pedals and a worthy edition to any pedalboard or pedal rack!
My first wah pedal was a Jen Crybaby, purchased in the 1980s from Cooke's Band Instruments in Norwich. I used it along with an Ibanez Sonic Distortion (which I had chosen in preference to a Tubescreamer!) and an Electro-Harmonix Small Stone Phase Shifter. Sadly, I no longer own any of those pedals. I sold the Crybaby to fund the purchase of a Vox V847 Wah, which I later modified with a True-Bypass kit purchased from an eBay seller. This involved a bit of soldering to replace some of the components, resulting in less treble loss. The V847 will soon find a new home, via eBay, as I have a new toy: the Fulltone Clyde Standard wah. I'm a big fan of Mike Fuller's Fulltone effects. I also have a '70 Fuzz, a Fat Boost and a Mini Deja Vibe.
Clyde McCoy was an American jazz trumpeter. He developed the signature "wah wah" sound in the late 1920s by fluttering a mute in the bell of his trumpet. In 1967, Vox introduced the Clyde McCoy Wah-Wah Pedal to replicate this sound for electric guitar. This pedal was used by both Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. Mike Fuller says he took the best from his collection of more than 25 Vox Wah pedals in the development of his Clyde Standard Wah. I'm really enjoying this pedal. It has a wide sweep, and is particularly good with fuzz and overdrive, owing to the switchable Booster/Buffer, which Mike describes as being a "fuzz-Friendly" circuit. I also like the fact that it runs on either a 9v battery or can be powered with an AC adaptor. This means it can be hooked up, along with my other pedals, to my Generator and Distributor power system from TheGigRig. Now, if only I could play like Hendrix or Clapton ...
I love modulation! Whether it's an ethereal touch of chorus, phasing or flanging to add interest and variety to a song, or a great cascading, swirling soundscape, modulation can be hugely fun to use. These three pedals from MXR - the Analog Chorus, Micro Flanger and Custom Shop Script Phase 90 - are just what you need to create other-worldly sounds. The Analog Chorus uses bucket brigade circuitry to create lush, liquid textures. In addition to the usual Level, Rate and Depth controls found on many chorus pedals, there are two additional knobs labelled Low and High, which are used to control the amount of low and high frequently cut respectively. The pedal can be run in mono or stereo. What I like most about this pedal is its ability to replicate those wonderful 1980s "in your face" chorus sounds, when it seemed like every rock guitarist's sound was awash with modulation. This pedal can do subtle, but it can also do big and bold.
The Micro Flanger was originally launched in the 1980s. According to Dunlop, who now owns and distributes the MXR brand, this pedal is a faithful recreation of the original, with the same simple controls: a Rate knob to control the speed of the flanging effect and a Regen (short for regeneration) knob to control the intensity. Technology is 100% analog bucket brigade for a warm, organic tone. This new version has a true-bypass switch, and offers everything from jet plane swoops to cool outer-space effects. It also sounds great with my Fulltone '70 Fuzz pedal. The Custom Shop Script Phase 90 is a special pedal! The original version was available from MXR's inception through to the late '70s and can be heard on everything from hard rock to jazz-fusion to funk hits. Dunlop says this pedal "brings back the headroom and clarity of the original, along with its ultra warm and smooth phasing and reduced midrange swell". You also get the original smooth orange paint job and script logo, and my version has the added benefit of a LED. The pedal delivers smooth and lush 4-stage phasing. I love using it with my Free the Tone SOV-2 overdrive and a touch of delay courtesy of a Way Huge Echo Puss.
The Free The Tone SOV-2 Overdrive is something quite special. Evolving from the Providence SOV-2 Stampede, it has an ultra-boutique vibe with hand-written labels, and bears the signature of its designer, Yuki Hayashi. With simple level, tone and drive controls, it offers anything from a cleanish boost to a thick overdrive. In this video, I played a few simple lines and chords, using my Suhr Modern Custom through a Rivera Clubster Royale Top and a little Orange PPC 112 with a single Celestion Vintage 30 speaker. I kicked in a Way Huge Echo Puss Analog Delay at 4:53, to add a little more ambience.
It must be an accepted fact that cats like guitars, and they are particularly enticed by the lure of the soft interior of a plush guitar case. It's my observation that cats also like amplifiers, and if its an amp head on top of a 4x12 cabinet nothing could be better. Cats, of course, like a high vantage point. It gives them a sense of security, while affording them a better view of their territory, but cats also know how to be cool. My own cat is no exception, and is shown here enjoying an Orange AD30 HTC, Rivera Venus 5 and Cornford MK50ii, as well as various cabinets. Cool cat!
