Chicago Iron Tycobrahe Reissues - Wow!

Exact reproductions of the legendary Tycobrahe Pedalflanger and Parapedal!?! Yowza, you know I'm going to have both of these babies in my ever expanding sonic arsenal soon!


Original 1970's Tycobrahe Pedalflangers are among the rarest vintage pedals. Not very many people have ever seen one, let alone played/owned one. The Pedalflanger was one of the earliest flanger pedals and was also certainly one of the most unique and versatile ever made, with the capability to produce chorus, flange, leslie, and vibe effects ranging from liquid lush to sci-fi alien.


The Tycobrahe Parapedal was also an extremely rare and special pedal, similar to a Wah Wah, but with fortified with a unique and difficult to describe (you've gotta hear one to truly understand the cool, interstellar sounds they can produce!) phaser/synth-like effect. Another impossible rarity and incredible sonic tool, now made available to humble hacks like you and I, without requiring a second mortgage, by the fine revivalists at Chicago Iron! For more info and to order one for yourself, check out their website at : http://www.chicagoiron.com!

LOVEPEDAL - OVER RATED!!!

In my humble opinion, all the positive buzz about Lovepedal effects is unwarranted. I've owned a couple of Sean's offerings, a Les Lius and a Dragon, and was not particularly impressed with either. Both sounded thin and shrill to me; not the kind of smooth, full overdrive/distortion/fuzz tones I prefer and get from makers like Analogman (King Of Tone, Peppermint Fuzz, and Sun Lion), Fulltone ("Vintage" Full-Drive 2, OCD, '69 and Soul Bender) and Way Huge (Angry Troll and Green Rhino).

In addition, I feel that the Lovepedal's business model is exceedingly cynical, coming out with a seemingly endless string of only slightly different pedals in limited editions that are here today and gone tomorrow in order to create a faux aura of collectibility that the above mentioned manufacturers achieved as a result of the quality of their products, not as a premeditated business strategy. In the case of, for example, Fulltone, they've pumped out tens of thousands of units of some of their pedals, so they're hardly limiting their production to create false demand in collector circles. And Analogman? After all his years in business, Mike has what, less than 10 pedal models (not counting, say, a Bi-Comprossor and a Mini Bi-Comp as being two distinct pedals; which they're not, given that they have the same circuitry and functionality - the only difference is how you access the controls!).

To each his own, of course, but, as for me - no more Lovepedals! They are over rated!

Some Pictures And Info Regarding The Original Way Huge Pedals

Photos of some of the way cool pedals made by the legendary Jeorge Tripps under the Way Huge moniker!


The legendary Way Huge Aqua Puss AP-2. Perhaps, the best stompbox analog delay ever made and probably his best known/most famous effort! Apparently 399 were made; one of the larger Way Huge production runs.


One of Way Huge's rarest pedals (approximately only 25 were made!), the Camel Toe, was a combination of two other Way Huge pedals, the Green Rhino and the Red Llama, which were both overdrives. It allows the lucky few who own one to play through either circuit separately or have one drive the other for maximum overdrive!


Another Way Huge mega-rarity, the Angry Troll Overdrive! Less than 20 were made and all came with way cool, custom paint jobs! This one is number 7!


The Saffron Squeeze Compressor. Very sweet, very smooth. For Way Huge this pedal was relatively "mass produced", with 260 being made.


The aforementioned Green Rhino overdrive (the most produced Way Huge pedal, a massive total of 414 were made!), above, and the Red Llama overdrive (another of the larger Way Huge production runs with 383 being made), below.



A cool and rare custom painted version of the Piercing Moose Octifuzz. Only 132 Piercing Moose Octifuzzes were deemed necessary for the needs of all of mankind! Of course, most were not custom painted


The Way Huge Swollen Pickle Jumbo Fuzz. 281 were produced.


The Blue Hippo chorus. One of the rarer Way Huge pedals. Only 101 were produced.


Another Way Huge rarity, the Purple Platypus Octidrive. Only 129 were produced.


A picture sent to me by, perhaps, the ultimate collector of Way Huge pedals. Holy Shit! A Superpuss, a Camel Toe, a Sasquatch, some rare, custom painted versions (an Angry Troll and a Tegu - what was a Tegu?!? I've never heard nor seen anything about it!); there's gotta be $20K+ in pedals there! Incredible!

The Fulltone Full-Drive - A Brief History

Here's a brief review of the history of the legendary Fulltone Full-Drive overdrive pedal. There seems to be so much incorrect info out there/so many versions of the evolution of this great and popular pedal. Now I may just be adding to that trail of BS (and I would be most happy to be corrected/make corrections, if someone, such as Mike Fuller or some other authority gives me the word), but, I believe that this is the correct info. I am not including any of the many cosmetically different versions (Custom Shop editions, and so on), only real differences in internal circuitry or external controls.

Original Full-Drive (FD1) - 3 dials, no boost level knob nor "Comp Cut".


Full-Drive 2 (FD2.1) - 4 dials, including boost level knob, no "Comp Cut", serial number #275A.


Later, production FD2.1, in orange, serial number #645.


Full-Drive 2 (FD 2.2) - 4 dials, with "Comp Cut" on volume pull (even though this example does not have it printed on the pedal, so it looks just like the 2.1 model, above!).


Full-Drive 2 (FD 2.3) - 4 dials, with "Comp Cut" on volume pull, "Flat Mids" circuit, serial number # 6629.


Full-Drive 2 (FD 2.4) - 4 dials, with "Comp Cut", "Flat Mids" and "Vintage" on toggle switch, also known as the “Switchable” version.


A Custom Shop version of the FD2.4, serial number 375, in Ferrari Yellow, below.


Full-Drive 2 (FD 2.5) - 4 dials, with "Comp Cut", "Flat Mids" and "Vintage" on one toggle switch and "Mosfet" and "Standard" on another toggle switch.

A Couple Of Great Fulltone Fuzz Pedals That Are No Longer Being Produced - The '69 and the Soul-Bender

The Fulltone '69 (A Modern Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face Clone) - All those knobs (plus an internal trimmer!) give those lucky enough to own one the ability to precisely sculpt their fuzz tones! A great sonic tool!


The Fulltone Soulbender (A Modern Sola Sounds Tone Bender Clone) - Also very cool. The "Tone" knob gives this pedal a lot of flexibility (personally, I like it cranked back at varying points between 12 O'Clock and 2 O'Clock for a more raw sound, as opposed to the smoother sounds produced at 5 O'Clock) and it also has an internal trimmer that allows the user to go from bombastic square wave fuzz (again, my preference) to a rich legato sustain.