Arriving in a suave black velvet bag, the latest offering from effects Guru Robert Keeley, the Keeley Monterey Rotary Fuzz Vibe pedal strikes with immediate eye appeal adorned with its groovy painted enclosure, very reminiscent of the painted guitar Hendrix sacrificed at the pedal’s namesake festival in 1967. It’s a very appealing aesthetic, very ’67 and still contemporary enough to look great on a modern pedalboard.
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Category Archives: Effects Reviews
Klon Centaur vs. Klon KTR
When the original Klon Centaur professional overdrive was released in 1994, it was one of the very first boutique overdrive pedals on the market created for the player interested in fine-tuning their tone. Boutique in every sense of the word and hand built by its creator Bill Finnegan, each Klon Centaur was carefully crafted with premium and carefully selected parts. As other boutique pedal makers developed products throughout the decade and focused on expansion with other models, Finnegan stuck with the Klon Centaur as his sole focus.
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Last Boutique Builder Standing: Richard Coibion of Monsterpiece Fuzz
Richard Coibion was hit by the effects building bug back in 2001. With a background 
and education in electronics engineering and having a steady career in IT, Coibion dabbled in modifying fuzz circuits and tuned them to his liking. He hadn’t ever considered making a career out of building effects however.
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Analogman Mods Our Favorite Reissue Tube Screamer: The 35th Anniversary TS-808
In 2014, Ibanez introduced its 35th anniversary TS-808 Tube Screamer overdrive pedal, based on the original it created in 1979. What’s now known as the “narrow box 
model” by collectors, has returned in its original smaller footprint, with the rare “flying fingers” graphics along with side-mounted 1/8-inch 9v DC adapter jack just like the original. The lightweight aluminum 35th anniversary TS-808 was also changed under the hood to be closer to the original, and is outfitted with a pair of op amp chips. This is a variation that is the main difference between it and the single op amp version of the 1980 TS-808 Tube Screamer and others including the TS-9 that followed. These later TS-808 and TS-9 models deployed input and output transistor buffers rather than the additional chip used in the original and now reissued narrow box model.
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Maxon OD808X Extreme…Just Another Modded Tube Screamer?
The Tube Screamer is arguably the most copied and modified overdrive circuit ever. With good reason, this classic effect delivers a soft compression that truly is amp-like 
in response, feel, and tone. Maxon, the original manufacturer of the Tube Screamer, has now released its own response with a modified design and dubbed it the Maxon OD808X Extreme. But will the OD808X Extreme just provide more gain and the “same old” sound, or will it provide something truly unique?
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Sonus Pedals Fuzz Face 1966 Replica Reviewed
It has been some time since we wrote our Fuzz Feast series about both vintage and 
recent fuzz options on the market. After seeing the prices of original fuzz units climb, I wondered what the boutique market now had available in 2015 as far as the most accurate of Fuzz Face clones. During my search, I stumbled across Sonus Pedals based in the Netherlands and its Fuzz Face 1966 replica.
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Keeley Electronics GC-2 Limiting Amplifier Review
Among musicians, Robert Keeley has become a virtual household name in quality 
compression for well over a decade. With humble beginnings building early units based on the famed grey Ross compressor from out of his home, to now having sold over 40,000 compressors and growing his business with a complete lineup of original designs, Robert Keeley and the team at Keeley Electronics have achieved great success since the early days.
The latest designs in the company’s compression family are original and based on new circuits that Robert and his engineering team spent years perfecting. Today we’ll look review the more compact model, the Keeley GC-2 Limiting Amplifier.
Hughes & Kettner Replex Tape Delay Simulator
The Hughes & Kettner products as we all know are aimed for the professional or rich musicians out there. They don’t kid around when it comes to tone, durability, and looks. I will be the first to admit that before I even took this item out of the box, I had extremely high expectations based on the price.
The Hughes and Kettner Replex Tape Delay Simulator is a tube-driven Digital Analog tape delay simulator. What does that mean? The overall delay is a digital signal, but it is "warmed up" with a simple 12AX7 pre-amp tube. "Simulator" means that this unit has no actual analog or tape delay to it, but rather the inconsistencies of an analog tape delay are simulated digitally.
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Phaser Roundup: MXR Phase 90, Maxon PT999, EHX Small Stone
For this phaser roundup, I have selected three classic phasers that have been around for years and used by players of all styles, Funk to Blues, Classic Rock to Fusion. Here are three stompboxes that won’t disappoint. All have been re-issued but still retain their classic charm.
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Maxon AD999 vs Deluxe Memory Man
Originally, this review was intended to be a comparison between the two delay units, but as the delays showed their wares, I began to feel that they were actually two separate units that shared a common function and construction. And in a world full of different delay options, it’s these units shared and disparate qualities that set them apart.
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