It’s that time of year again and unsurprisingly, we found ourselves GASing more than usual. Here is a quick series of posts with some new and not so new pedals that I for one would like to see under my tree on December 25th.

To kick off the series, Xotic has recently released the SP compressor, a mini pedal in the same format as their super popular EP booster. Inspired by ‘the’ Ross compressor, it is what you’d expect from Xotic: awesome tone and superb quality.

In this compressor shootout video, Michael Thompson, a top LA session guitarist, demonstrates the SP Compressor and compares it against a bunch of other compressors he’s been using over the years:

 

As a huge Hendrix fan, I feel some serious G.A.S. for the brand new and limited edition 70th Anniversay Tribute Series by MXR. It consists of a Univibe, an Octavia (named Octavio) and a Fuzz Face. The pedals are “MXR compact” which is great news for people with limited pedalboard estate. And the psychedelic look is really cool.

The following demo is by Eric Gales. The man is a genius guitarist who could make my shoes sound good so obviously it’s not all in the pedals, but still, I think they do sound good although I have some reservations about the Octavio:

The signal chain for the video is as follows (so you’re not crazy, there is indeed some delay at some stage):
Fender Stratocaster + Lava Cable+ Hendrix Cry Baby Wah + Hendrix Limited Edition Tribute Univibe + Hendrix Limited Edition Tribute Octavio + Hendrix Limited Tribute Fuzz Face + MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay + Marshall Super Lead 150 + 4-12″ Marshall Slant Cab w/ 25watt Celestion “BlackBacks”.