Red Llama

Been using an original one of these for about 15 years now into the clean channel of a blues deluxe
and humbuckers in the guitar. Sounds nothing like the fuzzy tone in this demo. With the pedal gain
set at 3/4, you can go from clean to scream by adjusting your pick attack and guitar volume. If
playing classic rock, you can leave it on all the time. Just turn down some of the trebel at the amp,
the fuzziness goes away and you get a big fat roar.

It certainly does have character but I’m not sure I’m prepared to say it’s the ultimate .
It’s definitely a great pedal to stack . I was testing some pedals for my board build and
I accidentally left my Pete Cornish CC-1 on when I stepped on my original Red Llama
and it was one of the best sounds I’ve heard from my set up . I highly recommend the
Original Red Llama . The original delay is fantastic too and I highly recommend it also

It's just mid-way between fuzz and overdrive. There's that slightly hairy fuzz dirt but
without any associated fuzz mud. It stays tight but full of mojo at the same time ! It
pushes amps very well. It also does high-gain by itself (not in a metal sense though).
Great solo tone when pushed with a Maxon OD-808. (ili Green Rhino=)

It also cleans up exceptionally well with volume knob. Actually, pedal on/guitar volume
low usually gives me a better and glassier clean tone than pedal off/guitar volume full.
It's a great pedal !

Original Red Llama features great build and parts quality. Scarcity also contributed to
the legendary status of the pedal. BTW Red Llama MKII released in Dec 2011 inherited
a lot from the original pedal. It uses the same Motorola Hex buffers IC, a tad different
but also very good parts. In spite of its simplicity it's a really good overdrive. I hope
you'll like your new original RL.

I had an original for a while. I find the decay of the overdrive a bit harsh and granular (my BYOC clone
is the same), so I use it for distortion not clean/edge of dirt sounds.

Sure, the decay is indeed granular and hairy, it's a fuzz, not a smooth OD. I call that
mojo ! At high (live/rehearsal) volume , it gives that "amp-about-to-explode"
impression perfectly, especially when that granular decay turns into feedback on long
notes...

Its a fuzz? Thought it was just hard clipping?

It's based on Craig Anderton's "Tube Sound Fuzz". Apparently, it's not a fuzz according
to electronic purists but it has some fuzz characteristic sonically, which may explain
why Mr Anderton called it a fuzz in the first place.
Since my 1st post, I have more experience with the Red Llama 25th.

I have been using it as an end of overdrive booster, to impart a crunchy sound to

overdrives. I turn the tone knob all the way up, like the original.

I have added, a Green Rhino Mark II, to my board and pair it with the Red Llama 25th,
for a Camel Toe.

With the Fender Pro Jr IV Tweed and 1x12 cab with a Cannabis Rex, I boost it with a
Fairfiel Barbershop V2, to edge of amp break up, add the Green Rhino Mark II and Red
Llama 25th. Using guitar volume control, I can get clean, crunch and distortion, single
note and lead, using picking dynamics.

The Red Llama 25th, is one of the most used overdrives, on my board.

Not a traditional fuzz in that there are IC inverters clipping with no transistors involved.

It certainly does have character but I’m not sure I’m prepared to say it’s the ultimate .
It’s definitely a great pedal to stack . I was testing some pedals for my board build and
I accidentally left my Pete Cornish CC-1 on when I stepped on my original Red Llama
and it was one of the best sounds I’ve heard from my set up . I highly recommend the
Original Red Llama . The original delay is fantastic too and I highly recommend it also

Cornish CC-1

The advantage of using two low gain Soft Clipping Stages rather than hard diode
clipping is that they are effectively (and automatically) removed from the audio path
when the signal level drops below their transition point - ensuring a complete
“cleanup” if the guitar volume is reduced. As the signal level increases due to stronger
playing the soft clips gradually engage and start to add harmonics - more signal =
more harmonics - but the loudness continues to increase as there is no clamping of the
signal peaks. Dynamics are therefore preserved and superb musicality results.
Following on from the Soft Clipping Stages is a three band active EQ using
frequencies I have specifically tailored to suit guitars. Being active, the three tone
bands can be both cut and boosted as desired with the zero or neutral point being 12
o'clock on each control knob. I have included a second linear boost stage after the tone
circuit to compensate for any reduction in overall volume when the tones are in "cut"
mode.