TONE REPORT

F E B R U A R Y 2 7 T H , 2 0 1 5 W E E K L Y

P L A Y ‘ T I L Y O U R F I N G E R S B L E E D
TABLE OF CONTENTS ISSUE 64 FEBRUARY 27TH

10 TONE TALK
5​ GAME-CHANGING
FOUNDATIONS FOR STACKING
18 TONE TALK
GUITARO OBSESSO: 6 PIECES OF
DEVO’S RARE GUITAR COLLECTION
26 TONE TALK
THE GREATEST GEAR 10
YOU’LL EVER OWN
(AND HOW TO PROTECT IT)
34 TONE TALK
THE MOST INFLUENTIAL
PEDAL BUILDER YOU’VE
NEVER HEARD OF 18 26 34

42 WAMPLER
PLEXI-DRIVE DELUXE
44 ELECTRO-HARMONIX 
DELUX ELECTRIC
MISTRESS XO
48 VFE 42
MERMAN
50 KEELEY ELECTRONICS
SON OF FUZZ HEAD

44 48 50

4 ToneReport.com
 FEEDBACK

N
ormally at Tone Report, we do the writing and you do the reading.
However, we get so many comments that we’ve decided to turn the tables:
you write, we read. We offer you a chance to sound off; a chance to submit
feedback, praise, criticism or anything else. How are we doing? How can
we improve? What did you think of a particular article? Please submit all letters to
info@tonereport.com.

What happend to the tone report ios app? Yes, there will be a new IOS APP available but we want
Why is issue 62 not appearing in the Newsstand to make sure that there are is no “ghosts in the machine”
app in iOS. with the new platform before we release the new app.

-Tristan Rothwell.
Hi there,
Love the magazine. Best guitar mag around today by a long
shot For some reason, I’m unable to download issue 62. My
iOS app says that my latest issue is still 61. Help appreciated,
as I’m experiencing serious withdrawal.
So, until the new app is ready to launch, you
can view the magazine on any device by simply
clicking magazine.tonereport.com
The link will ask you to subscribe and if you do,
Tone Report Weekly will arrive every Friday into
your inbox.

-Regards, Clint Free pedal Friday winners

Will I receive an email notification if I win or must
Tone Reporters,
I check the Tone Report each Friday ? If the latter,
So glad you moved to a pdf version of your
how can I review prior issues to see if I am a lucky winner?
magazine!!!  I gave up on the old app long ago
and often found myself frustrated with poor Thanks- Adam
connection and reloading the magazine.  I think
Nice to hear from you, Adam.
I›ve been waiting for this since your mag first came
We publish the winners name on the FREE PEDAL
out! Also, the surf style article was great and hope
FRIDAY Winner announcement page in the REVIEW
there will be more like it. No component is an island,
SECTION of each week’s TRW.
so I appreciate the dialogue of how pieces come
together to create a sound. That page has a clickable link directly back
to TRW headquarters.
- Jeremy
If you see you name as the winner, click that link to
Thanks for writing in. We have had
contact us with your address and we will send you your
a slew of emails on this very subject.
prize.
As of Issue 62, TRW made a change to a new
So, ultimately, TRW does not contact the winners, the
platform to publish the weekly magazine.
winner’s contact TRW.
This new platform is responsive to whatever
device you are viewing TRW on. Thanks for reading Tone Report Weekly
and GOOD LUCK!

6 FEEDBACK // Letters to the Editor

The DigiTech TRIO Band Creator pedal listens to what you play and
automagically generates bass and drum parts that match your chord
progressions and rhythmic feel. Simply connect your guitar to TRIO,
press the footswitch to teach TRIO the chords and rhythm, then press the
footswitch again to immediately begin rocking with your own Power TRIO. © 2015 HARMAN. All Rights Reserved.
 S
ome of the most common
tone questions we get
here at the Pro Guitar
Shop/Tone Report Weekly
headquarters are in regards to
gain stacking, which, for the
uninitiated, means using two or
more dirt pedals at once. The
reason we get so many questions
about stacking is that it’s truly
something of a dark art. There
is little rhyme or reason to why

10 TONE TALK // 5 Game-Changing Foundations for Stacking

certain pedals sound good together
while others do not, so making an
informed prediction about which
ones will stack well together is
next to impossible without having
a keen ear and some first-hand
experience with the effects in
question. Experimentation is the only
way to sort it all out, which makes
things difficult for those that do
most of their pedal shopping online.
Searching YouTube and the various
guitar forums can be helpful, as can
contacting pedal professionals like
ourselves for advice, but the best
way to do it is to just get a big pile
of drive pedals together and start
plugging things into other things until
you happen upon two pedals whose
characteristics are complementary.
There are worse ways to spend
one’s time, of course, but for those
without the resources or spare hours
in the day to engage in these kinds
of sonic adventures, it can be nice to
at least have in mind a dependable
tonal base for stacking. With that in
mind, I have compiled a list of some
of our favorite overdrive pedals for
stacking. These pedals have proven
themselves over and over again to
be very friendly with a wide selection
of other dirt boxes, and any of them
can serve as an excellent foundation
on which to build a fortress of gain.
J. ROCKETT ARCHER:
A Klon-style overdrive is an excellent
platform for stacking. This is due
in large part to transparency and
headroom—the hallmarks of this
legendary circuit, allowing it to
function in a very amp-like fashion.
Few players can afford to own an
actual Klon Centaur, however, but
with all of the excellent “klones” on
the market, this should be an issue
for no one. Perhaps the finest of
the klones that I have sampled is
the Archer, from J. Rockett Audio
Designs. This company knows a thing
or two about the Centaur circuit
because, when Bill Finnegan released
the Klon KTR, he enlisted J. Rockett
to handle the manufacturing of the
pedal’s first run. That being said,
though, the Archer is more like the
original silver Centaur than the KTR,
which was a slightly different design.
In fact, in a blind test, no mortal
guitarist that we have encountered
would be able to tell the Archer
and an O.G. Centaur apart with any
consistency (trust us, we’ve tried
it). The Archer has all the rich boost
and smooth gain capabilities of its
predecessor, and it stacks at least
as well. The circuit’s high internal
headroom and un-hyped tone allow
it to work well with more obviously
colored, mid-heavy dirt pedals, like
Tube Screamer variants and British-
voiced distortion boxes. It can also
add girth and punch to the vicious
sting of some old-school fuzz pedals.
In short, the Archer is as ideal a
“blank canvas” overdrive as one is
likely to find, and thus, a natural for
stacking.
 WAY HUGE SAUCY BOX:
The Saucy Box is a highly versatile
overdrive that blends Klon-like
transparent boosting and signal buffering
capabilities with an equally compelling
voice that is all its own. This higher
gain, more compressed drive voicing
becomes stronger as the pedal’s gain
knob rolls past the halfway point, which,
interestingly, is right about where the
Centaur’s magic starts to crap out.
Internally, the pedal’s circuitry discretely
splits the clean signal and the dirty,
optimally blending them back into one
at the output.  This lends the Saucy
Box a sparkling, open sound and a
flexible personality that make it a great
12 TONE TALK // 5 Game-Changing Foundations for Stacking
choice for the player looking for an
all-around overdrive to build a castle
of tone atop. It’s superb with many
Screamer-style overdrives and classically-
voiced distortion pedals like the MXR
Distortion+, and it’s great for adding grit
and punch to a thick, wooly sounding fuzz
pedal.
XOTIC RC BOOSTER:
The RC Booster is still one of the
cleanest, most useful boost/overdrive
pedals I’ve ever used. It truly seems to
add nothing of its own character to the
tone, just giving you more of what your
amp is already providing. It has 20dB
of clean boost, and is very low gain, so
its main strength is adding extra girth,
punch, and sweet, musical compression,
while otherwise staying out of your
way. Its other strength is its powerful
two-band active equalization circuitry,
which is perfect for adding a bit of extra
sparkle to a somewhat dull guitar tone,
or alternately, fattening up a single-
coil bridge pickup (my favorite use for
this pedal). The RC Booster’s neutral
character lends to its predisposition for
stacking. It works best with more colorful
complimentary dirty tones, from fuzz and
distortion, to amp-in-a-box pedals, to
traditionally flavored overdrives. As with
any pedal, placement matters, and in my
experience, the RC Booster’s preferred
placement is usually after other dirt
boxes.
CATALINBREAD
DIRTY LITTLE SECRET SERIES:
The DLS series is one of the most
popular of the amp-in-a-box pedals, and
for good reason, as it really does give
one the impression that Catalinbread
has stuffed a Marshall stack into a 4.5-
inch by 2.5-inch box. It is likely that this
amp-like response is also what makes
it such a natural for gain stacking; fuzz
and drive pedals placed in front of it tend
to react with the DLS in much the same
way as they would when placed in front
of an actual Marshall. In particular, the
DLS MKIII’s dual independent circuits
(internally switchable) mimic two classic
ToneReport.com 13
 Marshall amps, the widely renowned complementary towards Klon clones and
Super Lead, and the beefier sounding, other, more transparent overdrives. 
and somewhat underappreciated, Super Any of these pedals can serve as an
Bass. This functionality, along with its excellent starting point for a gain-
three-band EQ, gives the player a lot of stacking adventure, as they all are quite
options when using this pedal for stacking. versatile and have proven track records
The DLS series can also can operate at 18 of stacking success. Experimentation
volts for extra headroom, which can be is crucial though, as all preconceived
really handy when putting a higher gain notions will likely fly out the window
distortion or fuzz in front of it.  when you start piling gain stages atop
one another. Remember to experiment
WAMPLER CLARKSDALE
with the order as well, as two pedals that
DELTA OVERDRIVE:
don’t sound good one way may sound
Tube Screamer-based circuits can often
holy when the order is swapped. Also,
work beautifully in stacking scenarios,
tone is entirely subjective, so two pedals
especially when paired with pedals that
that sound fabulous together to your ears
have a flatter frequency response, or a
may sound like absolute barf to someone
scooped quality to them, like a Big Muff.
else. Have fun, and get to stackin’.
The Screamer’s mid-heavy honk can act
like the yin to the Muff’s scooped-out
yang, melding into a new, multi-hued
tone that isn’t achievable any other
way. One of our favorite TS-derived
pedals for this purpose is the Wampler
Clarksdale, which starts with the classic
Tube Screamer voicing, improving upon it
by engineering all the fizzy high end out,
adding a powerful three-band EQ, and
throwing in a Lift/Smooth toggle switch
for selecting from a pair of clipping
options. The Clarksdale’s gain control
is useful throughout its range, and its
EQ can generate everything from a flat,
natural sounding drive, to traditional TS
honk, to singing, cocked-wah lead tones
with the mid control cranked. This pedal
is an ass-kicker when stacked with Muff-
derived circuits, or just about any bass-
heavy fuzz, and it also tends to be very

14 TONE TALK // 5 Game-Changing Foundations for Stacking

MADE IN USA

U D IO DESIG
TA NS
ET
J . ROCK
N
o band on Earth has influenced
and informed such a wide variety
of music genres and media as
Devo. The band’s influence is
evident in electronic music, punk, hardcore,
new wave, industrial, metal, grunge,
alternative, EDM, dubstep and any other
genre or sub-genre one can rattle off. Indeed
the music video medium as we know it would
have either come about way later, or simply
not been of any consequence had it not
been for Akron’s anti-retrograde assassins.
Long before it was cool to play kooky guitars,
student models and pawnshop prizes, Devo
wielded electric axes that were as unique and
striking as their musical and visual concepts.
Perhaps their choice of instrument at times
had as much to do with looks as it did with
sounds, but hey, if the spud fits wear it…
Let’s peel away the gates of steel and take a
peek-a-boo at a few classic mutato musical
instruments right now.
GIBSON L6-S CUSTOM
This is the guitar that is visually and sonically
synonymous with early Devo. The design,
like the band, forsakes convention and
defiantly disregards the confines of traditional
elegance in favor of futuristic functionality and
utilitarian operation.
The set-neck and one-piece maple body
18 TONE TALK // Guitaro Obsesso: 6 Pieces of Devo’s Rare Guitar Collection
are both wide and flat, freeing up plenty of
forearm space for Bob Mothersbaugh (Bob 1)
and Bob Casale (Bob 2) to administer furiously
precise downstrokes. The sealed ceramic
“super humbuckers” and space-age circuitry
are courtesy of pickup-legend Bill Lawrence
(who also designed those swappable pickups
for the acrylic Ampeg Dan Armstrong guitar
back in the ‘60s). With a six-way rotary
selector switch, Bob 1 and Bob 2 were able to
dial-in series and parallel pickup combinations,
both in and out of phase, or go full-on
humbucker grunt with a flick-of-the-switch. If
you listen to Hardcore-era Devo and the first
two albums, you can hear the distinct sounds
of one of Gibson’s most underrated guitars.
Oh, and the L6-S is black and yellow, just like
those iconic protective yellow suits.
LA BAYE 2X4
Anyone that has seen Devo live will know that
the set has reached its climax when Bob 1
whips out “the stick” and spastically shreds all
the strings off of his super-rare La Baye 2x4 in
a fit of malfunctioning robot riffage. The solo
for “Mr. DNA” is anything but common stock
and calls for an axe as jarring as the tune.
The elusive and coveted La Baye 2x4 was
first manufactured in 1967. This minimalist
design was the brainchild of a Green Bay,
WI guitarist by the name of Dan Helland
and no doubt influenced Ned Steinberger’s
ToneReport.com 19
 futuristic headless composite guitars
that reared up a few years later.
Essentially, the La Baye 2x4 is a plank
of wood with a slim neck bolted
on, four thumb-wheel tone and
volume adjusters on the top, and a
Bigsby-style vibrato unit that is highly
expressive. With only 45 or so ever
made, one should be prepared to
pay a couple grand or more for the
real deal. The good news is, those of
us Devo-obsessos on a spudget can
get a killer reissue from Eastwood
Guitars to arm ourselves for future
duty.
IBANEZ SPUD CUSTOM
Legend has it that in 1979, Devo
was touring Japan and Ibanez
approached Bob 1 for an artist
endorsement. He perused their
catalog and nothing popped out
at him, so he whipped out a magic
marker and drew over a LP-style
guitar. His instructions for Ibanez
were to make a potato-shaped guitar,
paint it brown and put every kind of
available electronics into it.
Lo and behold, the legendary “Spud”
guitar turned up months later—
only it was blue instead of brown
and resembled a cloud more than
a potato. It arrived just in time for
Devo’s commercial breakthrough
album Freedom of Choice, and one
can hear the distinct active pickups of
the “Spud” cut through the speakers
on the iconic opening riff for “Girl U
Want.” Though Bob sold his beloved
20 TONE TALK // Guitaro Obsesso: 6 Pieces of Devo’s Rare Guitar Collection
blue Ibanez in the purgatorial, Devo-
less mid-‘80s, a few years ago he
bought it back from a friend-of-a-
friend, who happened to be pro
skater Jason Jessee. The man and his
Spud are now inseparable. It must
be mentioned that Bob 1’s vision of
a hideously realistic potato guitar has
now come to full fruition in the form
of his newish Devo Spudcaster. It was
custom made for him by Chopper
Guitars and is likely to be the least
desirable signature guitar ever
produced.
G&L SC-2
Of all the guitars in this feature,
the G&L SC-2 is the one I have
personal experience with. The SC-2
is all about lightweight, playability,
tuning stability and the powerful
springy brilliance of the Magnetic
Field Design (MFD) pickups. To me,
this is Leo Fender’s sleeper guitar
design. The SC-2 has DNA from the
Mustang, Jaguar, Stratocaster and
Telecaster, while retaining its own
vibe, feel and sound all together.
It is quite simply a stripped down,
effortless player and a pure surfy
Rock n’ Roll machine.
From Devo’s New Traditionalists
album onward, Bob 1 can be seen
playing both stoptail and tremolo-
equipped versions and I imagine
that he favored the SC-2 for all the
reasons I listed above—and also his
affinity for Fender Musicmasters.
Oh, and G&L reissued the SC-2 a few
 GIBSON L6-S CUSTOM Hagstrom PB-24-G

Ibanez Talman TC420 (shown center)

Ibanez Spud Custom


years back and they are still made in Fullerton
California, dipped in tasty vintage-style
finishes that make you want to pick them up
and lick them like ice cream bars. Tasty.
IBANEZ TALMAN TC420
Similar to the G&L SC-2, the Ibanez Talman
TC420 is a supremely attractive, playable, and
toneful sleeper guitar, with a cult following
of those in-the-know. The late Bob Casale’s
main axe toward the end of his adventurous
life was a slightly customized, green-bodied
Talman TC420 with a red pickguard and a
beautifully flamed maple neck and fretboard.
HAGSTROM PB-24-G
Known as Devo’s “technician,” Bob 2’s role
in the band was to hold it all together and
perform a variety of foundational (yet highly
skilled) musical tasks, using a variety of guitars
22 TONE TALK // Guitaro Obsesso: 6 Pieces of Devo’s Rare Guitar Collection
and synthesizers. Going way back to 1973
(when Devo made their first appearance at
Kent State University) Bob Casale rocked
a Hagstrom PB-24-G Futurama. He would
later on lend this vinyl-covered axe to Mark
Mothersbaugh. who would “modify” it
with Duct Tape and an Electro-Harmonix
Frequency Analyzer when a Tele wasn’t
available.
Bob Casale and his band of Spudbrothers
bonded in the wake of the horrific Kent State
Shootings that ended the lives of several
innocent human beings and the hippy dream
altogether. As literally a band of brothers,
they decided to do something about it and
subsequently changed the way we perceive
music, media, performance and technology.
This feature is dedicated to a true visionary
who fearlessly traversed decades while
simultaneously avoiding and inadvertently
creating trends. His brothers continue to
teach us that the beginning is the end. This is
the truth about Devolution. The message is as
hardcore and relevant as ever.
 2 Levels No Velcro Curved Deck

Lifetime Warranty
Patents Applied For Quick.Tight.Better.
The New Holeyboard MKII
Seafoam Green
26 TONE TALK // The Greatest Gear You Will Ever Own
I
’m pretty sure that when
Paul Westerberg wrote the
Replacements gem “Left
of the Dial,” he was talking
about the FM frequency dial.
The lower range of the FM
dial was home to the early
independent and college radio
stations. Those stations and
the artists they fostered had a
profound impact on my guitar
playing, but today we’re going
to talk about staying to the left
(so to speak) of the other dial—
the volume dial.
What’s the most important
element to you guitar tone? It’s
not your guitar, it’s not your
amp, and it’s not pedals. It’s
not something you can buy in
a store. And contrary to what
some would say, it’s not your
fingers. It’s your ears. Without
them, you wouldn’t have heard
the music that inspired you
to pick up a guitar in the first
place. And if you don’t protect
them, over time, you’re going
to lose the ability to play, hear,
and discover new music and
sounds (not to mention a lot
of more mundane, but critical
everyday tasks).
What is it that destroys your
hearing? As the Grinch once
said, it’s “noise, noise, noise!”
Amps are loud, concerts are
loud, and there are multiple
types of hearing loss. Today,
we will be looking at noise
induced hearing loss,
because it’s the type
of hearing loss to which
musicians are most
commonly susceptible.
While it’s hard to categorize
music as noise (the complete
works of the Black-Eyed
Peas notwithstanding),
your ears can’t tell the
difference between
a jackhammer and
a Marshall stack.
Hearing protection is worthy
of the same amount of care
and thought that you put into
building your guitar rig. Over
the next few paragraphs we
will look at how playing
guitar, practicing, playing
with your band and other
everyday exposures can
damage your hearing and
the protections you can
employ.
MEASURING SOUND
AND NOISE
Chances are, if you’re reading
this fine publication, you are
at least familiar with the term
decibel (or dB). A decibel is
a means of measuring sound,
and the decibel scale is
ToneReport.com 27
 logarithmic. So unlike Nigel Tufnel’s
amps, with regard to decibels, going
from 10 to 11 is more than just “one
louder,” it’s a doubling of volume. In
other words, a sound that is measured
at 11dB is twice as loud as a sound
measured at 10dB.
Back in March 2014, I wrote an article
on how to get cranked amp tones at
ear-friendly volumes. In the article,
I discussed topics such as master
volume, output attenuation, and even
master voltage circuits as a means for
getting great tones at lower volumes.
If you are just playing guitar alone at
home, I strongly recommend exploring
these options. But sometimes, you can’t
avoid cranking it up. When playing
a gig or even practicing with a full band,
you will usually need to
pump up the volume.
So just how loud are we talking?
To give an example of just how loud
a guitar and amp can be, let’s look at
my “little” Vox AC15 loaded with an
Eminence Red Fang. At 9 o’clock on
the volume knob (about one-quarter
to one-third of the way up), the amp
is putting out 117dB (measured at
two feet from the speaker). Standing
on the other side of the room, it’s
not shockingly loud. But to put it in
perspective, a power saw is roughly
113dB and a lawn mower is 108dB.
According to www.dangerousdedibels.
org, the human ear can be exposed to
sounds at 115dB for only 30 seconds
prior to sustaining damage. In other
28 TONE TALK // The Greatest Gear You Will Ever Own
words, you can pretty much play
the intro of a song before risking
permanent hearing damage.
Now take that Vox (cranked a little
higher), add an Orange Dual Terror,
a huge bass amp, an iron fisted
drummer, and a vocal PA and
cram them into a 20x30 room
(which is pretty big for a practice
space) and watch the volume level
climb. Boom! You’re now at continuous
levels that are never considered safe
for human ears. Not even for thirty
seconds. And we’re surprised when
our ears are ringing after band
practice.
Rock ‘n’ roll was meant to be loud,
fast, and out of control. You can only
turn down so low, and even if you could
turn down. the electrically amplified
instruments and voices, you’re still
dealing with the acoustic volume
of a drum set.
For practicing at home alone, you can
and should turn down. I’ve found that
playing quietly has many benefits:
1) It protects my hearing and my
ears don’t fatigue as quickly.
2) It pleases my wife and kids.
3) It forces me to focus even more
on touch and dynamics.
4) It justifies a big pedalboard and
a shelf full of dirt pedals that help
me get a wide variety of cranked
up tones at low volume.
 further from your ears. They also aren’t
as comfortable. But they offer greater
attenuation, ranging from 14.5-24.6dB.
They attenuate high frequencies
more heavily than low frequencies.
That said, they still provide a natural,
even frequency response. They are
also easily washable—nice if you ever
happen to drop one on a filthy, beer
soaked floor, not that I’ve ever done
such a thing.
PLUG IN? PLUGS IN!
I’ve also used the soft, semi-disposable
For practicing with the band or foam ear plugs, but I find that they
especially for playing and attending block too much sound (especially high
gigs, you are going to need ear plugs. frequencies). My suggestion is to think
I’ve used a wide range of ear plugs about how much volume you want to
over the years, everything from the attenuate, and choose your plugs from
cheap, squishy foam ones, to nicer there. No matter what, take steps to
reusable ones. protect your hearing. If you suspect you
are already suffering from hearing loss,
My current favorites are called Dubs
make an appointment with an ear, nose,
and I’ve been using them for about
and throat (ENT) doctor. They will be
two months. I like the Dubs because
able to provide a basic hearing test or
they are comfortable, affordable ($25),
refer you to an audiologist.
and inconspicuous. Dubs attenuate
roughly 12dB, and to my ears maintain
a very natural frequency response.
|They are the only ear plugs I’ve found
that I can leave in while singing in
my band. About that inconspicuous
thing, on more than one occasion, I’ve
overheard people laughing and talking
about the guy wearing earplugs at a
rock concert. No worries, I’ll have the
last laugh when those same jerks suffer
hearing loss.

Prior to Dubs, I was very fond of the

Hearos High Fidelity plugs. They are
bigger than the Dubs, and protrude
ToneReport.com 29
 UD IO DESIG
T A NS
ET
J . ROCK
D
an Armstrong was one
of the music instrument
industry’s true originals.
Most players only know him
for the iconic, clear Plexiglas-bodied
guitars he designed for Ampeg in the
late ‘60s, played by Keith Richards,
Joe Perry, Greg Ginn, and others,
but the man was a fearless innovator
who pioneered a number of ingenious
guitar, pickup, amp, and effects designs
over the course of his four decades
in the industry. Amongst his greatest
achievements—at least in the eyes of
effects enthusiasts—is the line of guitar
effects he designed for Musitronics,
AKA Mu-Tron, in the 1970s. Musitronics
was experiencing significant success
with its original designs, but not
34 TONE TALK // The Most Influential Pedal Builder You’ve Never Heard Of
making a great deal of money, as
the Mu-Tron line was rather complex
and expensive to manufacture. Dan
Armstrong’s small, economical, and
cleverly named effects devices plugged
right into the instrument jack (or amp,
with some simple wiring modifications),
and were deemed to be the perfect
solution to the company’s financial
woes. Unfortunately Musitronics went
under not too long after beginning
manufacturing of Armstrong’s designs,
and as such, the manufacturing rights
to these designs changed hands a
number of times over the years, likely
limiting their popularity. However, these
tiny boxes have nonetheless developed
a strong following in the guitar effects
community due to their unique
appearance and functionality, as well as
their cool tones. Let’s take a moment
and examine some of effects designs of
Dan Armstrong.  and vicious squash of some modern
ORANGE SQUEEZER:
Perhaps Armstrong’s most well known
and beloved effect, the Orange
Squeezer is a compressor that has
appeared on countless records by Dire
Straits, Steely Dan, and others, with
Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits being an
especially enthusiastic proponent of
this tiny orange box. The Squeezer has
but one control, a switch to turn the
effect on or off, but its simplicity and
warm, musical compression are the keys
to its success. Its pre-set compression
characteristics are fairly modest
(which seems like a wise choice for an
effect with no parameter controls),
so it doesn’t offer the endless sustain
compressors. The Orange Squeezer
has a relatively subtle attack and
smooth, blooming sustain, and unlike
a lot of similar effects, it’s relatively
quiet. Because it’s fairly well known
and pretty awesome, the Squeezer’s
circuit has been cloned by a handful of
modern effect builders in a much more
convenient pedal form. 
BLUE CLIPPER:
This pedal is another one that is well
known in the effects nerd community,
and its circuit is reportedly quite
similar to the MXR Distortion Plus,
ToneReport.com 35
 with Armstrong himself stating that
the Distortion Plus was MXR’s attempt
at making a version of his effect. This
may or may not be true, but there are
notable similarities between the pedals,
both in circuit design and tone. That
being said, the Clipper’s full, somewhat
dark sounding distortion qualities are
quite distinct. Like the Squeezer, its
only control is an on/off switch, but its
permanent setting is a good one, and
its fat, snarling grind sustains beautifully
and responds quite well to the guitar’s
volume knob. Mark Mothersbaugh of
Devo used to famously affix the Clipper
directly to his guitar with tape.
GREEN RINGER:
This miniature green box combined a
low-gain fuzz tone with a cool octave-
up, sounding not unlike an Octavia
with single notes, but attaining a
36 TONE TALK // The Most Influential Pedal Builder You’ve Never Heard Of
more ring modulator-like sound when
given more than one note at a time.
According to Armstrong, the Green
Ringer was an improved version of the
Ampeg Scrambler, which a co-worker
had given him when he was working
for Ampeg. He liked the effect, but felt
he could improve upon it and make its
octave component a bit more stable
and predictable. After tweaking and
experimenting with the circuit, The
Green Ringer was put into production,
becoming the first effect in Armstrong’s
guitar effects line. Its rather bright,
cutting tone works best with neck
pickups, like many other octave-fuzz
effects, and it pairs beautifully with
other Armstrong units, especially the
Clipper and the Squeezer. For DIY’ers,
BYOC even offers a kit that combines
the Ringer and the Squeezer into one
convenient pedal.
RED RANGER:​
Inspired by the Electro-Harmonix
LPB-1, Dan Armstrong’s Red Ranger
was designed to give the guitar
output a boost going into
the amplifier, in order to
enhance weak, low-output
pickups, or to just give the
amp’s front end a push into
overdrive. Armstrong took
great pains to improve upon the
LPB-1 concept, and in doing so,
made his Red Ranger both quieter
than its competition, as well as more
versatile. The Red Ranger featured
three modes, selectable via a small
toggle switch, which was the unit’s PURPLE PEAKER:
only control. The “Full” mode was a
This effect was inspired by Armstrong’s
13dB clean boost of the guitar’s full
early experimentation with graphic
frequency spectrum, while the “Treble”
and parametric equalization. In his
mode added another 12dB of treble
experiments he noticed that, in many
boost on top of that. “Bass” mode
cases, boosts in specific frequency
punched up the low end by a total of
ranges tended to enhance the sound
22dB, all without attenuating any treble
of an electric guitar, adding power and
or midrange frequencies. Robin Trower
clarity. The original Peaker had three
famously used the Red Ranger in Treble
modes, with the “HI” mode offering a
mode, typically towards the beginning
12dB boost between 4000 and 5000 Hz
of his signal chain, prior to his wah and
for more presence and bite, while its
fuzz pedals.
“HI + LO” mode added an additional
7dB of boost around 200 to 400 Hz
to add punch. The third mode, “OFF,”
was not quite all the way off, as it still
added a slight overall bump in output,
but without affecting specific frequency
ranges. The tiny toggle to switch
between these modes was the Peaker’s
only control.

YELLOW HUMPER:

This one has the funniest name of all of

Dan Armstrong’s effects, but regardless
of that, it was originally designed as
the bass version of the Purple Peaker,
offering a little extra “hump” in the

ToneReport.com 37
 frequencies that tend to make the
bass guitar sound nicer. Thus, its peak
frequencies were around 100 Hz for
the “LO” setting, giving the bass player “Perhaps the best
7dB of extra bottom and thump, and
2000 Hz in the “LO + HI” setting, giving way for today’s
an additional 10dB of presence and
definition on top of the extra low-end guitarist to get a
beef. As with the Peaker, the Yellow
Humper still offered a bit of flat boost taste of these effects
and general signal enhancement when
in the “OFF” position. is via the DIY pedal
Dan Armstrong’s unique effects designs
have been reissued by a handful of
community, who
companies over the years, as the
manufacturing rights have changed
have decoded most
hands more than a few times, but
typically these reissues have been both
of the circuits and
overpriced and underwhelming. Vintage
units are still available, but they often
made schematics
go for upwards of 200 dollars, and the
jack plug design is less than practical
available online.”
for most players. Perhaps the best
way for today’s guitarist to get a taste
of these effects is via the DIY pedal
community, who have decoded most
of the circuits and made schematics
available online in various places. The
circuits have also been cloned by a
handful of boutique companies, who
typically add some handy controls and
put them in standard, modern pedal
enclosures, which makes these fine
effects much easier to use and enjoy.

38 TONE TALK // The Most Influential Pedal Builder You’ve Never Heard Of
 WAMPLER
PLEXI-DRIVE DELUXE
REVIEW BY FLETCHER STEWART
STREET PRICE $239.97
UNION JACK
STACK-IN-A-BOX
OVERHAUL
The original Plexi-Drive
pedal from Wampler has
been around in one form or
another for many years now.
It is somewhat of a JTM 45-
ish boutique classic in the
same way the Z. Vex Box of
Rock or the Lovepedal COT
is. I used to have all three
at one time and while each
had its specific strength, I
ended up selling them when
I switched from playing a
Fender Vibro-King to—
you guessed it—a vintage
Marshall JMP stack. Well,
here we are in 2015 and
obsessive breadboarder
40 GEAR REVIEW // Wampler Plexi-Drive Deluxe
Brian Wampler has fine-
tuned and expanded what
was already a killer vintage
Plexi pedal. Enter: The
Plexi-Drive Deluxe.
The new feature set
provides a fully-inclusive
and adaptive tone
palette. There isn’t a rig
on earth that this beast
can’t sink into. Single
coils, humbuckers, clean
amps, dirty amps, solid-
state amps, DAWs, desks,
speaker-sims; you name
it and the Plexi-Drive Deluxe
will accommodate it with
pure, amp-like kerrang. The
new active tone stack allows
for finite frequency boosting
or shaving and the onboard
bright and bass controls
act as overall presence and
resonance shifts. Les Pauls
are lifted from the mud
with thud intact. Strats are
relieved of high spikes and
endowed with extra thump;
all the while, touch-sensitive
emissions of woody brilliant
overtones burst in the air.
HOT ROCKIN’
MONARCH OF
THE PEDALBOARD
Although I am not into
Tube Screamer-type circuits
most of the time, it can’t
be denied that the creamy
mid-boost and bottom end-
attenuation they dole out
flatters the slightly scooped-
mid and loose-low nature of
the JTM beast. Leaving no
stone unturned,
WHAT WE LIKE CONCERNS
Mr. Wampler did us
The fabled Marshall-in-a- For those that are
a solid and built the
Box is a popular pursuit concerned about the
complementary overdrive
amongst boutique builders redundancy of running a
right into the pedal in the
and there are quite a few pedal like this into an actual
form of a single-knob, foot-
options out there, but Brian Marshall, just think about all
switchable pre gain boost.
Wampler has been refining those gigs where the sound
This enables one to enjoy
and adding to this circuit for guy bullied you into turning
the extra bass thump on
some time now. This new your favorite non-master
bridge position rhythm
Plexi-Drive Deluxe sounds amp below the rock line.
rocking and then quickly
the vintage British business Ditch the expensive bulky
switch to the neck pickup
and has everything needed tone-altering attenuator
and hit the pre gain for
to make lesser distortions and get equipped with
smooth-yet-cutting leads,
and overdrives walk the the new guv.
without the flab. Of course,
plank. Add to this top
all the Rio Grande Mud is
shelf components, rugged
there if you want it and I
construction and those
would love to stick a bass
lovely soft-clicking true
into this thing for some
bypass switches that are
Lemmy-style Overkill action.
all the rage nowadays and
The amount of gain on we have ourselves a balls-
tap can be dialed in for out rock ‘n’ roll machine.
everything from Led Need more headroom? Plug
Zeppelin, Bon Scott- the PDD into your favorite
era AC/DC, early Judas power supply’s 18-volt
Priest, ZZ Top, Ramones output and blow the
or anything else that calls roof off.
for the sound of a cranked-
to-the-hilt vintage Marshall.
What’s not to love?

ToneReport.com 41
Grit your teeth and hold on!
The new DOD Boneshaker is a straight-pipe hard-tail run down a dirty, fuzzy, road. Its supercharged three-band
parametric EQ drives the gain to add frequency-specific distortion so you get more bowel-churning lows,
more bare-knuckle mids, and more responsive highs. The Boneshaker was designed by Black Arts Toneworks
specifically for down-tuned, extended-range guitars, baritone and bass - anything heavy, loud, and low.
Stacked, solo, into dirty or clean channel, the Boneshaker will shake you to your core. © 2014 HARMAN. All Rights Reserved.
 ELECTRO-
HARMONIX
DELUXE ELECTRIC
MISTRESS XO
REVIEW BY JAMIE WOLFERT
STREET PRICE $153.25
Y’all like that swooshy
sound? Me too. Flanging
is a truly classic effect,
originally created in the
recording studios of old by
running two tape machines
playing the same recording
in perfect sync, and then
gently placing one’s finger
on the “flange” of one
of the tape reels to slow
its progress, altering the
synchronization to get that
delightful jet plane swoosh.
By the mid-70’s engineers
had figured out how to
package this sound in a
pedal-sized box with the use
of solid-state IC technology.
It’s debatable who produced
the very first of these
flanger pedals, but the
44 GEAR REVIEW // Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Electric Mistress XO
Electro-Harmonix Electric
Mistress was certainly
one of the first, making an
appearance around 1976,
and it is also one of the
most beloved of EHX’s
original circuit designs. The
‘78 Deluxe Electric Mistress
was an improvement
on the ‘76 model, with
better noise, output, and
power specs, and it has
been a cornerstone of the
company’s effect pedal
lineup ever since. The
familiar big silver box has
been in dire need of an
update for some time,
however, and it is finally
getting one in 2015 with the
new Deluxe Electric Mistress
XO.  by a 24-volt power supply,
The most obvious change
in the updated Deluxe
Electric Mistress XO is the
smaller enclosure. This most
welcome improvement has
been a long time coming, as
the classic version’s rather
large, awkward housing
made it a right pain-in-
the-ass to tote around in
this age of tightly-packed
pedalboards. With all the
other compact flanger
options on the market,
it’s a wonder EHX didn’t
do this sooner. The other
major improvement is
industry standard nine-
volt 200-milliamp power
(wall-wart included). The
old version was powered
which made it inconvenient
to integrate into many
pedalboard setups. Further
welcome enhancements
include true bypass switching
and a red status LED.
Everything else remains
the same, with controls for
Color, Range, and Rate, a
mini-toggle for engaging the
Filter Matrix, a single mono
input, and a pair of output
jacks;  one for flanged out,
and one for dry out.  esque vibrato tones became
I’m happy to report that,
as far as my ears and fingers
can ascertain, the singular
analog flanging of the original
Deluxe Electric Mistress
has been preserved in the
new XO version. I was not
able to do a side-by-side
comparison between old
and new models, but I found
the tone of the XO to be
true to my experience with
the original version. I was
not at all disappointed. With
the wide range of intricately
tweakable flangers on the
market today, I can see some
players yearning for greater
control than the Mistress
XO provides, but it’s hard
to find fault with the pedal’s
tone and overall ease of
use. As a longtime Andy
WHAT WE LIKE
Summers guy, plugging
The classic Deluxe Electric
into this pedal practically
Mistress circuit has finally
forced me to play Police
been re-housed in a compact
tunes, and after grabbing a
package suitable for the
handful of suspended and
modern era of packed
add nine chords, I found that
pedalboards, true bypass,
all of those lush, swooshy,
and industry standard power.
slow flange and chorus-
Excellent analog tones, easy
like sounds were easy to
to use, and the Filter Matrix
conjure up. Digging into
is still totally awesome.
the faster range of the rate
control, convincingly Leslie- CONCERNS 
Guitarists accustomed to
available. One of the coolest the limitless tweakability of
things one can do with the many modern flanger designs
Deluxe Electric Mistress, may find the relatively basic
though, is to engage the Filter controls of Mistress XO
Matrix switch, halting the somewhat limiting.
flanging motion to make the
pedal function as a static tone
filter. All sorts of beguiling
hues are available here, and
depending on where the
Color and Range knobs are
set, one can get strange
hollowed-out tones, metallic
resonances, and a sound that
is not unlike chimes. Stack
some fuzz, drive, or distortion
with the Mistress XO, and
things start to get really out
of hand. I’ve always liked it in
paired with a big, burly fuzz
tone in front, but the options
for creative tone sculpting are
practically endless. 
ToneReport.com 45
 FREE PEDAL FRIDAY

WI NNER
Congratulations
Bernard Blackburn
NEW ZEALAND

CONTACT:
info@tonereport.com to collect your prize,
OVERDRIVE PREAMP 250
by: DOD

CLICK HERE FOR A CHANCE TO WIN MORE GEAR

 VFE
MERMAN
REVIEW BY PHILLIP DODGE
STREET PRICE $199

Long ago, a mythical beast
(or maybe just an overdrive
pedal) known as the Klon
Centaur roamed the land.
Sadly, it went extinct. Using
stands of DNA (or possibly
just tracing a circuit) groups
of scientists (or, pedal makers)
brought it back to life as a
“klone.” These klones broke
free from their enclosures
and began procreating in the
wild. Suddenly, it seemed
like a new klone was entering
the market every week.
Eventually, the klone became
as commonplace as the
lowly Tube Screamer clone.
But just like the sea of Tube
Screamers, some klones are
48 GEAR REVIEW // VFE Merman
better than others. Enter VFE
and the Merman.
First, let’s cover some
background on VFE and
their rather unique online-
based custom shop. Based
in Puyallup, Washington,
VFE is the brainchild of Peter
Rutter. Not content to be
just another “cloner” or even
just another boutique effects
company, Peter is doing really
unique things and squeezing
every sound and nuance
possible out of his ever
increasing line of effects. The
only place Peter is “cutting
costs” is in housing all of his
pedals in the same box, all
drilled for three standard
controls and three miniature
trim pots. But this ends up
being a win-win for everyone
(more on this later). All VFE
pedals also feature USA-made
PCBs and VFE’s relay-based
TrueSoft Bypass.
The above are all very cool,
but the most innovative thing
about VFE is their online
custom shop. The custom
shop allows you to customize
any of the VFE pedals and
even a few licensed circuits
from RunOffGroove and
BYOC. You can customize
single, double, and even triple
effect pedals with your choice
of knob type, LED color,
case color, and even upload
custom graphics. VFE has
plans to add more licensed
pedals from DIY and boutique
builders in 2015.
I figured with the opportunity
to review the Merman, I might
as well take advantage of
all the custom shop had to
offer. I even set out to design
my own custom graphics. I
created my design, uploaded
it, and saw how it would look
on the completed pedal.
The upload process was
straightforward and really
quite easy. However, my
design skills are lacking and
my graphics didn’t look nearly
as cool as the stock graphics,
so in the end, I went with
those. I was still able to select
the color of the case, the
color of the graphic, and the
style and color of the knobs. I
chose a very cool gold sparkle
case, black graphic, and black
Klon-style knobs.
The pedal arrived looking
even cooler than I imagined.
And while looks matter, it’s
sound that I’m after. And
that’s where the options for
six controls come into play.
The Merman takes the classic
Klon circuit but makes all I was able to dial it in to sound
of the parameters available great with every guitar and
for tweaking. Rather than amp combination I tried. It
the dual-gang drive pot was equally happy with a Tele
that covers both the dirty running into my AC15HW,
and clean signal, there are a PRS S2 Starla running into
separate controls for each in the new PRS Archon 25, or
the Merman, and you also get a Reverend Pete Anderson
additional controls for Comp running into a ‘65 Vibro
and Bottom. As a result, you Champ (and every possible
get a plethora of sounds that combination of these). It even
aren’t available in the original sounded great with bass!
Klon. For classic Klon tones,
set the Comp up all of the way,
WHAT WE LIKE
the Bottom at noon, and the
With the range of controls in
Warm and Drive at the same
the Merman, it is to overdrive
positions. At these settings,
what the Fuzz Factory is
the Merman might be the best
to fuzz (without the wild
klone I’ve heard yet.
unpredictability) and as such
But the real fun comes when is a game changer.
you start to experiment with
all six controls. I really enjoyed
CONCERNS
setting the Warm and Drive
With great power comes
controls at opposite settings,
great responsibility. The six
say Warm at 9 o’clock and
controls on the Merman can
Drive at 3 o’clock. The Bottom
also enable you to dial in
control is amazing—adding
some less desirable tones. If
the clean low end can clarify
you aren’t an experimenter,
even the most extreme drive
you might want to stick to an
settings and bring out the
overdrive with less options.
definition of your playing. Also
interesting: the way Comp
changes the attack and feel of
the drive tone, running from
an open sound to extremely
compressed.
ToneReport.com 49
TONE REPORT TONE REPORT TONE REPORT TONE REPORT
D E C E M B E R 5 T H , 2 0 1 4 W E E K L Y D E C E M B E R 5 T H , 2 0 1 4 W E E K L Y D E C E M B E R 1 9 T H , 2 0 1 4 W E E K L Y J A N U A R Y 1 6 T H , 2 0 1 5 W E E K L Y

P L A Y ‘ T I L Y O U R F I N G E R S B L E E D P L A Y ‘ T I L Y O U R F I N G E R S B L E E D P L A Y ‘ T I L Y O U R F I N G E R S B L E E D P L A Y ‘ T I L Y O U R F I N G E R S B L E E D

NEED MORE
TONE REPORT ?
TONE REPORT TONE REPORT TONE REPORT TONE REPORT
N O V E M B E R 7 T H , 2 0 1 4 W E E K L Y N O V E M B E R 1 4 T H , 2 0 1 4 W E E K L Y N O V E M B E R 2 8 T H , 2 0 1 4 W E E K L Y J A N U A R Y 2 3 R D , 2 0 1 5 W E E K L Y

P L A Y ‘ T I L Y O U
CLICK HERE
R F I N G E R S B L E E D P L A Y ‘ T I L Y O U R F I N G E R S B L E E D P L A Y ‘ T I L Y O U R F I N G E R S B L E E D P L A Y ‘ T I L Y O U R F I N G E R S B L E E D

FOR BACK
ISSUES.
 KEELEY
ELECTRONICS
SON OF
FUZZ HEAD
REVIEW BY IAN GARRETT
STREET PRICE $199

What is the Son of Fuzz
Head? Like its father, the
Fuzz Head, the Son of
Fuzz Head is a cross
between an overdrive
and a fuzz. It pairs a
tube-simulating JFET
(no, not short for Jango
Fett) booster stage with
a germanium transistor-
based fuzz circuit. For
added fuzziness, you can
switch in an additional
silicon diode clipping
circuit. With artwork by
Calvin Schenkel (known for
his work with Frank Zappa)
the Son of Fuzz Head
certainly sets itself apart
from the pack. Luckily, the
tone coming out of this
little box is as attention
getting as the design on
the outside.
I tested the Son of Fuzz
Head with a PRS S2 Mira
Semi-Hollow, a Reverend
Pete Anderson RT,
a Fender Tele into a PRS
Archon 25, a Vox AC15HW,
and a Fender ’68 Custom
Princeton Reverb. The
Son of Fuzz Head
performed admirably
with any and all possible
combinations of guitars
and amps. It sounds a little
cliché, but the Son of Fuzz
Head combines the cut of
a good Tube Screamer-
style circuit with the edgy
attack and smooth decay
of a good Fuzz Face. It’s
kind of a “best of both
worlds” pedal.
As mentioned previously,
the toggle switch allows
you to remove the clipping
diodes from the circuit.
To the left, the diodes
are active, to the right,
they are removed from
the circuit. The sound
with the diodes engaged
is a full-on fuzz tone that
straddles the line between
Tone Bender and Muff

52 GEAR REVIEW // Keeley Electronics Son of Fuzz Head

tones. It’s compressed
with a cool, nasal (in a
good way) midrange. With
the gain up all the way, the
sound becomes gated and
takes on a synth-like tone.
At these extreme settings,
the Son of Fuzz Head
can even do some pretty
convincing “octave-up”
sounds when you play on
the neck pickup.
With the diodes removed
from the circuit, the Son
of Fuzz Head becomes
more of a hybrid between
fuzz and overdrive. You’ll
also notice that with the
diodes bypassed, there is
significantly more output
volume on tap. This means
you can dial in a lower
gain, barely fuzzy boost,
and then pummel the front
end of your amp. The end
result is a mix between
gritty fuzz and real tube
overdrive—always an
inspiring combination.
The Son of Fuzz Head
doesn’t clean up or
brighten up like a Fuzz
Face, but it certainly
“lightens up” when
you roll off the guitar
volume. This allows
for a wide range of
WHAT WE LIKE
textures and the ability
The wide-ranging tone
to allow full chords to
control paired with
ring out while playing
the selectable diode
rhythm and quickly kick
clipping makes for a
up the thickness and
pretty versatile beast.
compression for big,
A single box that runs
singing lead tones.
from overdrive to pretty
Unlike the original Fuzz extreme fuzz tones is
Head, the Son of Fuzz a winner in my book.
Head has a tone control on
CONCERNS
the outside of the pedal,
The graphics are really
and it’s quite a well-voiced
cool, but the lack of labels
tone control. It can go
for the controls is a little
from extremely dark and
disconcerting. You get
wooly to the left of the
the hang of which is which
dial to bright and piercing
eventually, but I prefer
when rolled to the right.
the foolproof method of
My favorite tones fell with
labels. In case you were
the tone control between
wondering, the controls
11 and 2 o’clock. It’s within
are Fuzz, Tone, and
this range that you can dial
Volume (left to right).
the Son of Fuzz Head in to
suit just about any guitar
and amp combination.
Of course, pairing some
of the more extreme
tone settings with equally
extreme fuzz levels can
push the Son of Fuzz Head
into pretty wild territory.
It never devolves into
self-oscillation, but there
are some pretty fun and
unnatural textures
to be had.
ToneReport.com 53
 TONE REPORT
EDITORIAL
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Luke Currano, Rebecca Dirks, Phillip Dodge,
David A. Evans, Sarah FitzGerald, Ian Garrett,
Brett Kingman, Nicholas Kula, Nick Rambo, Sam Hill
Eric Tischler, Fletcher Stewart, Jamie Wolfert

ART & DESIGN

ART DIRECTOR Richard E. Jones
GRAPHIC DESIGNER Adam Borden

VIDEO
LEAD VIDEOGRAPHER Andy Martin
VIDEOGRAPHER Mike Hermans

SALES / MARKETING
MEDIA DIRECTOR Tom Keithly
tom@tonereport.com

CONTACT
SALES 503-747-3239
Gen. Inquiries info@tonereport.com
15717 SW 74th St. Suite 400
Tigard, OR 97224

TONE REPORT WEEKLY

CEO Aaron Miller

ONLINE CHANNELS
TONEREPORT.COM Main Website
Youtube ProGuitarShopDemos

Copyright ©2015. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in

whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.
Tone Report Weekly has no association with the monthly
publication ToneQuest Report.