Stompbox Walkthrus

If classic psych-rock solo tones are your bread-and-butter, check out the Dvk Technologies SilverTop Overdrive / Vibe. It houses two classic effects in a single box for effortless retro glory.  

Owen exercises prima nocta over the Dvk Technologies The Mrs., a dual-effect stompbox that combines compression and clean boost. Get permission from your priest before watching this educational video.  

Whether you're a cat who can really shred or a total guitar hack, you're bound to appreciate the design that went into the dual-function Dvk Technologies Hairball Overdrive-Boost effect pedal. Owen expels a video demo for your edification.  

Owen cranks up the Dvk Technologies GoldTop, a dual-function stompbox that combines massive fuzz and swirling vibe effects to create instant heavy psych freak-outs. We edited that part out of the video. It was embarrassing. For everyone involved (Owen).  

No, it's not a sequel to the weather disaster flick that started it all, it's the T-Rex Twister 2 Chorus / Flanger. This nifty stomp offers two boutique effects for the price of one; Owen gave it a whirl in this stereo Gearwire demo.  

You've heard a tape-echo simulator, but if you've ever wondered what a vinyl-echo would sound like, then the massively powerful Strymon Timeline delay / echo / modulation pedal is right up your alley. Spend some time (fifteen minutes, eight seconds to be precise) with the Timeline in this demo video.  

So what if the dinosaurs were actually ancestors of modern-day birds? T-Rex Reptile 2 is still a badass name for a badass delay pedal.  

We wrap up our video series on Strymon effects with a look at the Orbit dBucket Flanger, yet another impressively-analog-sounding digital effect powered by Strymon's dBucket virtual bucket brigade algorithm and SHARC floating-point DSP chip.  

According to our research (Wikipedia), the Ola is also know as "the Wave," an "audience choreography." That's good an explanation as any of the Strymon Ola dBucket Chorus / Vibrator pedal's name. Of course, once you hear the thing, you won't give a damn what it's named after, you'll just want to know where you can get one.  

Hey you with the short decay/
This will put you in - your - place/
A revelation, Strymon Blue Sky's reverberatin'/
Its decay/
Lasts for longer than a day, hey-ey-ey.  

Owen demos the Brigadier dBucket Delay, a jacked-up digital effects pedal that does some very impressive impressions of analog, bucket-brigade delay circuits—more impressive even than Owen's impression of The Edge.  

In our continuing look at hand-wired pedals from Rochester, NY (a.k.a. "The Flour City" and "The Flower City" (seriously?)) we examine the Whirlwind Rochester Series Orange Box Phaser. This made-in-the-USA stompbox features a familiarly spartan layout and nostalgic swooshing sweep.  

Owen takes a look at the new Whirlwind Rochester Series Gold Box Distortion pedal and pits it against its ancestor, the MXR Distortion+. Or is the MXR the ancestor of the Gold Box? Bit of a chicken / egg thing going on here.  

Gearwire staffer caught philandering with attache from MemoryBoy.com! American Pedal Research Council co-founder publicly shamed! Sordid details detailed in this exclusive Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Boy Analog Delay effects pedal video demo!  

Metalheads, Prog-Rockers, Swedes, lend me your ears. And eyes. We've got a sweet video demo of the new Morpheus Droptune guitar de-tuner, a stompbox made for deeply de-tuned riffage, albeit without the need for physically de-tuning.  

Ben Fulton knows his effects pedals like the back of his hand, so we asked him to come in and demo the Red Witch TITAN Delay, effectively three delay pedals in a single housing with switchable series / parallel routing.  

Ben Fulton made the Red Witch Fuzz God II, so we thought it only fitting he lie in. The bed he made. I mean the pedal he made. Whatever, this is the greatest freaking thing. . .  

You don't always want to brag about your "funky cajones," but for those special times when you do, there's the Electro-Harmonix Enigma: Q Balls For Bass. It's an envelope filter wrapped up in a distortion pedal shrouded in mystery.  

We give the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi With Tone Wicker a thorough going-over in this video demo. This newest iteration of the infamous Big Muff distortion / sustainer may just be the best sounding revision yet.  

Imagine a pedal so big and sturdy it makes you feel like you're driving a semi, combined with a cute little psychedelic lightshow that makes shoegazing even more fun than it is already. Add in the fact that it's also a functioning phaser pedal, and you have the Fender Classic Series Phaser. See and hear it in action, courtesy of Owen O'Malley's great big dogs, in this video.  

When you have so many effects you sort of need a glossary to even find them all, how are you supposed to access them onstage? Feet are not known for their punch-button finesse, at least not for those of us without prehensile toes. In the third and final video on the Eventide PitchFactor, Owen O'Malley shows us how to tame this effects-laden beast, making it your musical slave. Turns out, taming the beast is pretty straightforward and clearly outlined in the manual.  

The Eventide Pitchfactor pedal-a-gogo has so many effects, Eventide ran out of real names and had to start making stuff up. Like, what's a "Harmodulator," anyway? No matter; when you hear what this pedal can do, you won't care if they start naming effects after Josie and the Pussycats.  

The Eventide PitchFactor has options aplenty! In the first of a three-part demo series, Owen O'Malley bravely dives into the daunting but rewarding array of goodies in this new pedal. Actually, "pedal" doesn't seem to do it justice, so let's think of another name for it. Suggestions?  

Owen's vast and diverse knowledge of musical genres can sometimes vex him in the Gearwire studio. Today he overcomes his intelligence, and manages to make only one snarky comment about Coldplay while demoing the Vox Satchurator. See if you can find it!  

Owen O'Malley and His Itchy Trigger Finger preview the Seymour Duncan SFX-05 Lava Box in this installment of Gearwire Stompbox Walkthroughs. Hear words like "ridiculous," "huge," and "sludge," all used in the most positive manner.  

Hiding his beardless face in shame, Owen O'Malley brings out the glorious Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress to try and make it up to us. The shiny black and silver temptress surprises even Owen with her many secrets . . . let's listen in.  

The DigiTech HardWire CR-7 is like Taco Bell's Seven Layer Burrito. Of course, instead of questionable meatstuff, the CR-7 is loaded with seven types of chorus. Check them all out here.  

Usually, we're a little bit skeptical when a big name effects company mass produces a "boutique" line. Find out why the DigiTech HardWire left our doubts assuaged, and give this demo a listen.  

Since compression isn't the most fun a guitarist can have with effects, many might be cautious before diving into purchasing a tube compressor like the Black Finger. Owen O'Malley is to show you what you're paying extra for.  

How does the Gearwire staff maintain such full, rich facial hair? Ancient Russian Secret™: liberal application of the Electro-Harmonix Russian-Made Big Muff Pi will keep your guitar tone dirty and your jawline obscured.