NAMM 2014 Picks – Pedals Part 2

Here is more from the NAMM, there is a lot of new pedals, some rather classic in their design but also some innovative ones.

  • Lots of new pedals at Dunlop:
    • Back to the basics with the CM95 Clyde McCoy, a reproduction of the first wah design, with some modern features.
    • The DVP1 XL, a cool volume and expression pedal with full rocker adjustment.
    • The Echoplex Preamp fits the preamp of the famed Echoplex echo in a compact pedal (Something that Xotix effect has done before actually).
    • The Uni-Vibe finally arrives in a compact pedal. The Leslie simulator favoured by Hendrix actually has a sound of its own and will now fit into small pedalboards.
  • From Italy with some help from none other than Eddie Kramer (aka Jimi Hendrix’s sound engineer) come some very innovative pedals that are wirelessely powered, see the F Pedals website for more info.

  • Fender introduces a line of Yngwie Malmsteen accessories (I did not expect this) including an overdrive pedal. Surprising since the swedish maestro had a Dod signature overdrive released not that long ago. From Fender as well, The FVP-1 pedal is an all metal volume pedal. There seems to be a resurgence in volume pedals, interesting trend.
  • Suhr introduces a smaller version of its popular koko boost and also a Fuzz, the Rufus. There is no shortage of Fuzz pedals on the market so it’ll be interesting to see how it fares against the competition
  • Lots of new pedals from Electro-Harmonix, I have covered the Soul Food extensively but there’s more, most notably the “TORTION”, a top of the range overdrive. They are on fire at EHX!
  • Finally, Digitech introduces the next generation of their floor multi-effect units, the RP 360 and RP 360XP

NAMM 2014 Picks – Pedals

There’s been quite a few interesting announcements pertaining to effects and amps at NAMM.

Here is a small series of posts dedicated to NAMM 2014 announcements.

This is not going to be an extensive list by any stretch but those products have caught my attention.

Two original pedals to start with:

  • First, the Logidy EPSi convolution reverb pedal: convolution reverbs are usually found in high-end studio reverbs or in software plugins. This pedal can receive new “impulses” and firmware upgrades via an SD card.
  • Secondly, the Sonuus Voluum is a pedal combining volume, tremolo, compressor, limiter and equipped with an expression pedal and MIDI/USB capabilities. The signal path, however, is entirely analogue:

Next on my list: Boss. A NAMM show would not be complete without new pedals from Boss.  The Boss DS-1X and OD-1X are digital recreation, or rather “augmentation” of the classic DS-1 distortion and OD-1 overdrive pedals. They use the MDP technology pioneered in pedals such as the DA-2 distortion or the TE-2 Tera Echo. This basically means they precisely react to their input and will, for instance, try to keep high notes fat and bass notes “focused”. The DS-1X and OD-1X also feature a two band EQ, unlike their illustrious namesakes which only featured a single “Tone” knob.

Here is the official Boss Demo for the OD-1X:

 More cool stuff:

  • The Simble Overdrive pedal from Mad Professor is a transparent Overdrive
  • A number of new Keeley pedals, I think I have counted 6 so far, including two secret ones.
  • Randall releases three pedals: RGOD, a two channel FET preamp, Facepunch, an overdrive pedal and MOR, a clean boost. I am actually quite curious about those.
  • Three new Bogner pedals (the details are a bit scarce at the moment).

New Look for GuitarToneOverload

I have migrated Guitar Tone Overload to a new and shiny server and I have changed quite a few things in the process both under the hood and on the surface.

Most notably, I have switched to a responsive design theme which should make this blog more readable on phones and tablets.

If you don’t like it so much (or if you like it), feel free to leave a comment.

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