Early on in EffectsBay history, I started Free Shirt Wednesday. Basically, it’s a way for builders, dealers and bands to get some exposure on the web site. They would send me a shirt, I would wear the shirt and I would talk about what they do. It’s been a fun thing, and a great way to get the word out. If you’re interested in being featured on Free Shirt Wednesday, click here for more info.

To the players out there that use picks with their instruments, know how important it is to get the ‘right’ pick. Right hand picking technique is very important and one of things that you don’t want to fight is pick movement and pick hand fatigue. I’ve gone through a few phases in my time. I changed sizes, changed gauges. I use to like the Dunlop Nylon picks for the raised writing for grip. I remember scratching picks for grip, etc. I’ve gone extra smooth and tried different materials. Picks are a very personal piece of equipment to the guitarist/bassists that use them and finding that perfect match can sometimes be a quest.

Here is where Pete from Swiss Picks comes in. Pete has been working hard to create a pick that addresses these issues with guitarist, specifically focusing on the grip. His Swiss Picks have various holes though the picks with raised outer edges. He was kind enough to send me a shirt and a pack of picks to try out. They definitely work as expected. You definitely get additional grip and I noticed no slippage while giving them a test drive.

I thought it would be cool to send Pete some questions and post them on this post.

- What inspired the Swiss Pick?

I was always looking for a pick with a better grip. My pick would turn in my hand during play, which drove me nuts, so I started by experimenting with different sized holes and locations for texture. It didn’t take long to see the Swiss Cheese image, and with a few side holes added, I knew I had something unique looking. However, it wasn’t until a year later that I figured out how to get raised edges, and ‘BOOM’, it was everything I’d dreamed of.

- How long did it take you to go from idea to product?

A couple of years in that department. I’ve been teaching guitar for 17 years, and the picks look gained interest from my students and fellow musicians to want to try them, and once they did, they begged to keep it. They loved it and wanted more. It was then that I knew that the public would totally dig these.

Then after countless prototypes, I figured out where the perfect hole placement would have to be. There’s a theory to this way beyond just putting holes in a pick. I experienced my proud Dr. Frankenstein moment of “It’s Alive!”

- Did you experience many challenges during that process?

Too many to list. Y’know, I’m just a guy who plays guitar and then I’m looking into manufacturing, and the only way to make these is by injection molding. They can’t be stamped. So, then I’m having meetings with mold makers and everyone I know is pushing me to outsource this to China because it’ll be a fraction of the price. Well, that wasn’t going to happen, and then I found the right guy here in Los Angeles to make it. Then it was all about using the best Delrin/Acytyl for the best possible pick tone. You won’t get that in a Chinese made pick. I promise.

Then there’s all the other costly issues, like Patenting, Trademarking, Artwork, Promo Materials, Price Sheets, Website Design, and Business Registration… Hell, I’m getting dizzy just typing this.

On top of that, I gambled by taking a loan on my ’59 Fender Strat.

- How did, and how do, guitarists/bassists respond to your picks?

I have people that absolutely freak out over them, but then again, some of the old school guitar players keep with their standard Fender Mediums and will not try anything else. But, the people who wanted something more in a pick have been diehard supporters and continue to spread the word.

- Is there a type of musician that the Swiss Pick appeals to? And why?

This is a great question, and here’s why… Different styles create different needs. For myself, I’m into Blues, Jazz Fusion, Classic Rock, to Shred and Metal, so I needed one pick that could cover all that ground. I knew it worked for me, but being in Los Angeles gave me a variety of very worthy test pilots.

First up, was Fusion/Jazz ace Julian Coryell, who was floored by it. This guy just glides over the strings, using a sweep/economy picking style like Frank Gambale. Julian put in his Swiss Picks order right there. He was sold.

Second in line was Terry Kilgore (ex David Lee Roth) who is THE definitive rock guitarist. How many guys could follow up Van Halen, Vai, and Jason Becker. What makes Terry so unique is that he’s not a gain nut. He plays with a cleaner tone and he needs his pick to ‘sound’ great. It has to ping off the strings. Terry’s review was that “It sounds great, especially for harmonics. It’s an easy pick to adjust to, and you sure as hell ain’t gonna drop it.”

Last, I knew I needed a really different player, so I chose Josh Landau from The Shrine. Picture power of The MC5 and Black Flag, mixed with high octane classic rock riffs. Their new record ‘Primitive Blast’ will surely blow your minds. Now, Josh really digs in live, riffing like a madman, soloing like Hendrix, sweating heavily, and beating the shit out of his guitar. After his 45 minute set Josh said, “Man, the grip is like super glue”.

Ted from More Music in Santa Cruz, CA is also a guitar teacher of 25 years and said “Finally, somebody got it perfect” and refers it to all his students. That really meant alot to me.

So, I think it’ll cover most styles. Hey, do you play any Country, Hank? (Yeah, I live in Montana and my name is Hank… but I don’t play country music. I respect those musicians though.. they’re damn good.)

- Where are you located?

Swiss Picks is located in West Los Angeles.

- How do I buy?

Please check your local music store. If they do not carry the line yet, ask them to carry it, as we are open to non-corporate dealer inquires, or order direct from our website, www.swisspicks.com

- How much are they?

A bag of 6 should be no more than $3.99

- Do you offer different gauges and shapes?

At the moment we have a Regular, .80, but in the near future I will have a Thick, 1.10, and last a Thin, at .60. As the company progresses, there will be different smaller jazz style shapes available.

- How does the future look for Swiss Picks?

I think it looks great. Though some of the store owners are skeptical, as they always are when a new product is released, the guitarists and musicians have really gotten behind the pick, and I’m grateful to them all. My current dealers are amazed at how fast they’re moving off the shelves, most notably Guitar Asylum in New York.

In closing, I just want to keep the company growing and keep playing guitar as much I can. After all, that’s what it’s all about, right?

So, if you’re looking for a change in your pick department or looking to fix your slipping pick issues, definitely check out Swiss Picks!

On April 30, I announced the winner of the Pigtronix FAT Drive give away. That was a hugely successful give away with a ton of entries. It was clear, people wanted the FAT drive, which was an absolutely great sounding overdrive we demo’d a little while back. I was excited to receive an email from the winner Eric with a photo of himself with his newly won prize!

This is what Eric had to say about his Pigtronix FAT drive:

Here’s a photo of myself with the Fat Drive.  What an amazing pedal…I’m so blown away.  I’ve never had this sort of tone before.  It stays on my pedalboard!

Sounds like he’s liking that little guy. I would like to again send out a special thank you to the people at Pigtronix for this give away. If you have a moment, please check out their website, like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

Congrats Eric!

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I come across pedals all the time, but a few times I crack a smile and think of a few people that would go nuts for a pedal I just stumbled on. This time it’s the Marrs Pedals – Multiverse with the Satellite Strobe. Julian Marrs, who I showcased in the past, sent me an email letting me know about this new product he’s offering. I was happy to take a look and I know some EffectsBay readers are going to love this thing.

The Multiverse is a hybrid tremolo | boost | fuzz and strobe controller. The controls for the Multiverse are:

Blip / Normal – which assigns the speed type of the unit. Blip is incredibly fast tremolo speed which uses an irregular tremolo cycle. The normal is an even on / off tremolo cycle.
Chop / Swell – controls the wave form. Hard chops or gentle swell.
Clean / Dirty – sends the signal to the fuzz circuit
Satellite On / Off – engages the satellite strobe
Guitar / Timer – strobe is on all the time via timer, or only engages with the guitar

Additionally, you have Dirt, Depth, Volume and Speed controls for dialing it in just right.

The Satellite Strobe is a secondary unit that plugs into the Multiverse which provides a wicked strobe effect to match the tremolo speed. The Satellite Strobe has a on / off switch and LED indicator. The strobe is quite powerful (15V or less) and has a brightness level control.

Here is a very thorough demo of the Marrs Pedals Multiverse and Satellite Strobe.

For some dramatic guitar, this would be a CRAZY pedal combination to have! The Multiverse is available for $325 CAD. The Satellite Strobe is $100 CAD. For more information on Marrs Pedals, check out their web site at www.MarrsPedals.com.

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“Gently tap the wooden side pieces,” the manual says, “of your new moogerfooger to wake it up after the long journey to its new home.“  Like you’re waking a sleeping puppy you just brought home for the first time.  Rather, it’s more like waking a sleeping giant.  No, that’s not it…it’s like waking a massive, fire-breathing, candy-crapping dragon that won’t leave you alone.  That’s right, fire…its ability will scorch your mind and potentially your speakers if you’re not careful. (The warning’s in the manual…about the speakers.)  And candy…ear candy, lots of it, with the lushest chorus and flange I’ve heard in a long time.  And these are good things, because you can’t put it away or put it to bed, and fortunately, you don’t have to clean up after it.  You just keep toying with it, figuring out how you can wreak havoc with it next.  It’s the newest in the lineup of Moogerfoogers and a blast to play with.  How much fun you have or how much trouble you get into with the Moog MF-108M Cluster Flux is just a matter of time.

(Note:  Whoever named this pedal should’ve gotten a bonus.)

Anyhow, it does sound amazing.  Plugging in a bass and listening to the classic chorus and flanging functions, as well as some fine vibrato, gives you what you’d expect;   fat, beautiful, analog loveliness.  Stereo capable too.  The only rub is that it does so much more, at $599.00 list, (Bass EFX sells it cheaper,) you’ll want to utilize much more than just the chorus or flange.  But that’s where the fun comes in.

The Cluster Flux is set up with two basic functions:  (1)   A dual range “Bucket Brigade Device” Delay line to toggle between Chorus and Flange, set the length of Delay for each, (.6 msec to 10 msec for Flange and 5 msec to 50 msec for Chorus,) and Feedback.  Boosting the Feedback in both Chorus and Flange modes will give each effect a slightly more shimmery edge.  (2)  A multi-waveform Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO) with six waveforms available:  Sine, Triangle, Square, Sawtooth, Ramp, and Random Stepped (my favorite.)  The LFO contains “Rate” and “Amount” for the frequency and overall amount of the modulation.  There are additional, more basic, controls for “Drive” (gain), “Output Level”, and “Mix”.   Rounding out the panel are switches for “Bypass” and “LFO Tap Tempo”.  The tap tempo is really cool for on-the-fly speed adjustment without muting the sound.  Just tap the switch three times at the desired rate and it will adjust the rate on the third tap.  If you goof up, you can keep tapping the switch and it’ll set a tempo based on the average of your tap speeds.

Twiddling the knobs and switches on the MF-108M is great fun, especially because the Cluster Flux Feedback control can drive the delay line into self-oscillation, without any audio signal present.  Moog gives us a word of warning here to be careful with your ears and your speakers as the self-oscillating signal can be much stronger than normal signal levels.  Here, I actually introduced a signal from my bass and was able to unplug it, put it on the stand, and geek out for a bit. This makes for creating everything from siren-like sounds to laser blasts to rather musical arpeggiating in the random wave mode.  It can be unwieldy, but you expect this and learn to control it.  All this can be rather difficult to accomplish live, especially with a bass on your shoulders, so the MF-108M’s Feedback, Time, LFO Rate, LFO Amount, and Mix are all voltage controllable.  This means you can use expression pedals along with 1/4″ TRS cables, a MIDI-to-CV converter, or any other voltage control to change the parameters of the Cluster Flux.  This also means that you can use other Moogerfoogers to control the Cluster Flux or each other, for that matter.  Larger pedal board?  Hell yeah!

And for those of you doing double duty with a Key Bass, Bass Synth, or Keyboard parts, the MF-108M is MIDI capable via the MIDI channel.  The settings for front and rear panels as well as Clock Divisions for rhythmic variations are all set with MIDI Control Change (CC) Messages that you program with whatever MIDI controller you’re using.

Lastly, you have a nice degree of control over the output configuration for recording, live sound, or routing through different backline amps.  An array of six internal dip switches lets you optimize the output for “Right Output”, “Mix”, “Wet” and “Dry” signals, and whether you want the signal in or out of phase.

The Moog  MF-108M is a brilliant analog chorus, flanger, and vibrato pedal.   Arguably, the best.  In that controlled environment, it’s a beautiful creature that you’ll be comfortable with.  That, however, is the stepping off point and this review fundamentally addresses its full potential.  You really need to spend time, (and therefore the ducats,) to grasp what it will do for you in your creative process.  It’s endless.  And at its price point, you’ll want to let the dragon off the leash for full performance and effect.  In King Lear, Shakespeare warned, “Come not between the dragon and his wrath.”   Well, the wrath of the Moog MF-108M Cluster Flux needs to be embraced then turned loose.   Just watch your speakers.

Buy a Moog Product and receive a free Bass EFX t-shirt, free shipping in the U.S., and a free set of DR nickel strings (.45-.105) I’ll work out the shirt size with you after your order is placed.  Offer ends May 31, 2012.

About the author:

“I created BassEfx.com because the bass community clearly needed a place that would consolidate all the best effects pedals in one place.  BassEfx.com  gives bass players – and only bass players – a resource that showcases what’s available, offers the best advice and gets you the right effect.  My background: I co-founded Bass Northwest, the world’s largest bass-only retail operation, and ran it for 15 years, (1994-2009.)  In 30 years as a bass player, I’ve seen, heard, and played just about every amplifier, bass, cabinet and effect pedal imaginable.”

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Today’s pedal line is from Ryan Harris. If you have a pedal line (doesn’t have to be in a board) for your rig, please email me a photo, bio, description of pedals and routing to pedallineeffectsbaycom. Every Friday I’ll showcase a pedal line submission. Make sure you include any links to your band or music page.

I’m Ryan Harris from Olathe, KS.  I’m an avid reader of effectsbay.com and want to thank you for providing this wonderful forum for all of us to nerd out over gear.  I don’t have a band or music to promote, I’m merely a hobbyist who has played guitar for 18 years, and takes tone seriously.  My goal is to have a versatile setup with many sonic options in order to play the wide breadth of music that I enjoy.

Guitars and Amps:

My main guitar is a Paul Reed Smith Custom 24, with most of my auxiliary guitars being functional tributes to the guitarists who have influenced my playing: a John Mayer Signature Fender Stratocaster, a PRS Tim Mahoney SE (311) and a first run Fender Jagstang (Kurt Cobain).

My main amp is a Diamond Phantom which is a boutique style, 3-channel, high-gain tube amp, similar to a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier.  It’s outfitted with 4 EL-34 Winged-C Power Tubes, and I dropped a high end 12AT7 pre-amp tube into Channel 1 to make shimmering clean tone.  Diamond Amplification is a great company, always willing to talk shop, and address any questions or concerns.

Pedalboard:

The board itself is homemade creation measuring 44″ x 22″, made from 3/8″ MDF and reinforced and accented with various hardwoods.  It was all sprayed glossy black and the top was covered with 2″ strips of industrial strength Velcro.  It also has a 4.5″ rise.  It has 3 handles and even though it’s as heavy as some amps, it’s sturdy and 100% mobile.

Power Supplies and Cables:

As much as I’m going for tone and versatility with my pedals, aesthetics and organization of my board were also paramount.  Accordingly, I mounted two Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2‘s on the bottom of my board, then drilled through to feed each pedal power.  That way, the entire board instantly comes to life just by plugging in two power cables.  The pedals are all wired and custom cut with George L .155 cable and nickel jacks. Most of the wiring is routed underneath the board as well, to show minimum cables to the eye.

Loop-Master:

My board is controlled by two Loop-Master switchers which afford me the luxury of having each pedal always on, within a foot-switch controlled independent loop making them all “true bypass.”  The effect only enters the loop when its turned on by the foot-switch which allows the guitar’s signal to go straight through to the amp without deterioration.  Moreover, I can bypass a switcher and “stage” an effects combination on one unit, while playing another effects combination on the other.  Finally, they allow me to cut down on “tap-dancing” but still have my pedals nearby (as opposed to in a rack) to make ongoing knob tweaks.

I added some simple black labels indicating which pedal goes to which loop for convenience. The quality of the Loop-Masters are amazing, but it took me 17 weeks to receive my last order, which borders on absurd for any company.

Pedals: (In order of appearance in the signal path)

Phantom Controller:  The foot-switch for my amp as mentioned above.

Boss TU-2 Tuner:  Simple, reliable, had it forever, no reason to change brands.  It’s routed into the Tuner input of Loop-Master 1, which also serves as my rig’s kill switch.

Morley Bad Horsie Wah: This is simple praise, but I love that the user does not have to depress the pedal and click it “on”.  You press it down and it engages automatically.  I wish more companies designed wah’s that work this way.  I love the sweep range and responsiveness as well.  I’ve owned various Dunlop’s and even had a 1973 King Vox Wah, but this one continues to maintain its presence on the board.

Boss GE-7 Equalizer:  It’s great for a lead boost or subtle tweaks to my frequency depending on the guitar used.

Boss CS-3 Compression / Sustainer: This is an older model from 1987 and offers incredibly smooth sustain for solos, or adjustable snappy attack and punch when needed.

Boss MD-2 Mega Distortion: Try as I might, I can’t get rid of this pedal.  It’s versatility, fuzzy sound, and rich low end have fought off an old Russian-made Big Muff, a ZVex Fuzz Factory, and every other Boss distortion pedal to earn this spot on my board.

Boss Blues Driver BD-2 Overdrive (with Robert Keeley mod): The pedal as a stand-alone was a bit weak, but the gain modification brings it to life. You can get a lot of great tones out of this pedal.

Pearl OC-7 Octaver: People are sometimes surprised to learn that Pearl (known for its drums), dabbled with guitar pedals in the 1980′s.  This pedal beat out the 1985 Boss OC-2 Octave pedal that I had on my board for a decade because of how smooth it is and how accurately it adds an octave to each of the notes being played.  It’s especially awesome for distorted single note riffs.

Electro-Harmonix Small Clone Chorus: I grew up listening to a lot of Nirvana so in my mind, a chorus should sound deep and watery.  I would never say this is the best chorus pedal in the world, it’s just a personal preference.

MXR M-117R Flanger:  This sounds great clean or pushing through hi-gain signal swirls.  I’d love the Hartman or the A/DA instead, but this one provides the most bang for ones buck as I don’t use a Flanger enough to justify spending $250.

MXR Phase 90 (Script Logo) Phaser:  This is the warmest, richest (non-vintage) phaser on the market.  I love that a pedal with one knob can enhance one’s sound so much.

MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay: I picked up this pedal mostly because of the high praise I kept seeing on Effects Bay–  all of the positive comments people said were true.

Digitech Whammy: Obviously, this gets engaged to do the Muse / Rage high octave stuff that it’s primarily known for, but the pleasant surprise was the versatility of its other effects, particularly the deep and shallow “de-tune” functions that sound almost like a rotosphere.  I end up using the de-tune effect to add dimension to single note riffs more than anything else.

Electro-Harmonix Q-Tron+ Envelope Filter:  This is my favorite pedal on the board.  Obviously the MU-Tron III is the holy grail, but the warm vowel sounds of this coupled with its responsiveness to my playing style just makes it a pleasure to use and keeps me loyal to the brand.

Fulltone Supa-Trem Tremelo:  This pedal is a blast to tinker with.  The basic function of tremolo is volume modulation, but this pedal expands those possibilities in many creative ways.

Boss DD-3 Digital Delay:  I love the Strymon Timeline and the T-Rex Reptile more, but this pedal is compact, a workhorse, and has never let me down.  It’s simple, precise, and the warmest (digital) delay I’ve ever experienced.

Boss RV-3 Reverb/Delay: This bad-boy has been discontinued by Boss, but it has 11 modes of reverb and delay making it great for sonic experimentation.  It does the simple reverb thing like the RV-5, or wacky harmonizing spaced out type effects.

Thank you for taking the time to read about my setup.  I’d love to hear feedback or answer questions.  Cheers and thanks again for maintaining this site.

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I had a chance to send a few questions to Dave Ulbrick of ULBRICK about the past, present and the future. For those of you not familiar with ULBICK, Dave has been building amps and pedals since 1975 in Australia. He officially made it a business in 1990 with Ulbrick Music Services where he put together a nice line of pedals, as well as the Ulbrick amps and cabinets.

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about the Ulbrick 20th Anniversary 12AXE Overdrive which celebrates the 20th year mark for his 12AXE Overdrive, which features a laser engraved enclosure.

Be sure to check out ULBRICK’s Facebook page to stay up to date with what’s going on over there. They are currently redesigning their web page, so keep an eye for that as well!

- How did Ulbrick begin?
In about 1974 I started designing and making pedals as none were readily available in Australia. The first two pedals were the Megalodon Super Solo and JB Boost.

- Where is Ulbrick located?
Wheelers Hill in Melbourne, Australia.

- Is Ulbrick a large shop or smaller boutique shop?
I am a smaller boutique shop.

- Has Ulbrick always been involved with amps and pedals? Or did it start off primarily with amps?
Pedals came first in 1974 and amps were made sporadically from 1978.

- I see after Ulbrick began, there was a range of pedals. What pedals were being developed?
The range of pedals now are:
Wobble Tremolo, JB Plus Super Booster, Megalodon Super Solo and Tourer, Middleman Germanium Mid Boost, Germanium Face, 12AXE Overdrive, Pro Octave, Flat Boost, Phataxe Overdrive and the new 20th Anniversary 12AXE pedal.

- What separates Ulbrick from the competition?
I think the long list of high profile players using my pedals around the world for decades helps cement my products in the music and recording biz.

- What is the story on the Ulbrick 20th Anniversary 12AXE Overdrive?
After designing the 12AXE over 20 years ago, I decided to release a laser engraved 20th Anniversary model as a collectors piece.

- Is the 12AXE Overdrive 20th Anniversary is available now? And how long will it be available for?
The 12AXE Overdrive 20th Anniversary is available now until sold out.

- How much does the 12AXE Overdrive 20th Anniversary cost?
The handmade 20th 12AXE retails for $399.00AU

- How will people be able to purchase a 12AXE Overdrive?
Our ULBRICK facebook page, Guitars & Things, Eastgate Music, Deluxe Guitars VIC, Rock Inn WA or Prymaxe Vintage in the USA.

- How does the future look for Ulbrick?
Excellent.

- Anything on the planning table for pedals after the 20th Anniversary 12AXE Overdrive is released?
A couple of exciting new products about to be released for the world market. Also, the 12AXE Tourer coming later this year.

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One thing I love to watch is factory tours. I wish more builders would post factory tours. I think they’re very interesting to see. It gives a sense of the faces behind what makes the products. The first time I saw a Electro-Harmonix tour-like video, I realized I had a misconception of their business. I pictured a very huge and sterile factory cranking out pedals. But after seeing the tour, it felt like a ‘real’ business that I would see down the road from where I live. A business with passion and dedication to crank out some quality products. This video which was posted yesterday, definitely reinforces that same thought.

Here is the factory tour posted by PremiereGuitar

Let me know if you found the box of Fruit Loops.

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I’ve posted this deal in the past. This deal is for the BBE Soul Vibe. A great sounding classic uni-vibe/phase pedal. If you’re looking to get a little psychedelic with the guitar, this might be a great purchase for you.

The BBE Soul Vibe lists for $189, but is usually available for $130. Right now on Amazon, it’s on sale for a great price of $80.77 and is available with FREE super saver shipping! That’s $49.23 off the going rate.. not bad at all! Now, as with most Amazon sales, the price is only available with the amount of stock. Meaning, when the quantity available hits 1 or 2, the price usually jumps up. But the time of this posting, the price is $80.77.

The BBE Soul Vibe is an analog pedal with Speed and Intensity controls. LED indicates the rate of the sweep. The switch is a true bypass switch.

Here is the official video by BBETV:

Again, the BBE Soul Vibe is on sale for only $80.77 at Amazon.com!

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Today I’m going to talk about the Custom 77 King for a Day Booster. Custom 77 is a great company making some great products out of France and worth a serious look. We demo’d their Push Me Pull Me Overdrive a little while back and was quite impressed with this pedal. The King for a Day fell in the same category.

Here is a perfect example of taking something good, simple and tasty and making it better with practical controls.  Basically, at it’s core, it’s a treble booster. When I think of treble boosters I think of that classic ‘stinky’ sounds from the Dallas Rangemaster and Beano Boosts, etc. Treble boosters are a booster that push the high end to overdrive the amp and boost your signal. The treble booster first emerged in the days of pre-overdrives, and have their own cool character and charm. Most treble boosters have a simple gain knob and possible tone capacitor selection switch of some sort.

The down side of treble boosters for me has always been the control of the tone. I tend to want to dial in or out the high end, etc. Often you get what you get, which can be cool in it’s own way, but it can also be frustrating. This is where the Custom 77 King for a Day Booster really shines. There are 3 controls – Level, Hi-Cut and Voice. These are all potentiometer controlled, so you can really set it just the way you want it! Additionally there are buffer and ground lift slide toggles at the back of the pedal. For the demo below, the buffer was set to the ‘on’ position.

For this demo I again enlisted the help of my good friend, Jimmy Rolle. He is playing his Gibson Gold Top Les Paul with P90 pickups into a Germino Lead 55 (plexi style amp) through a Marshall 4×12 cabinet. There is nothing between the guitar and amp besides the Custom 77 King for a Day Booster.

You can listen to the high quality MP3 clip via SoundCloud

The Custom 77 King for a Day Booster is available at Custom 77′s website and is listed at 88EUR – which translates roughly to $114 in USD. That is a great pedal for $114! Be sure to also check out Custom 77′s website for their other pedals, as well as they guitars. They’re making some great stuff. You can also learn more about them by liking their Facebook page and following them on Twitter.

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Today is a sad day for sure. Adam Yauch aka MCA of the Beastie Boys passed away today after a long battle with cancer.

Beastie Boys had such a major impact for me. I was only a sophomore or junior in high school. We’re talking pre-guitar and in early stages of truly being moved by music in general. A great time to hear things that blow your mind and put a hop in your step. It was about energy and excitement. Licensed to Ill came out and I remember listening to that album solid for days and days. I can remember waiting for the bus after school playing hacky sack with my bros and we’d be singing Paul Revere. Good times.

By the time I graduated high school, I was into guitar and post-punk/post-modern stuff, so the Beastie Boys faded a little until 1992, when I picked up Check Your Head. That album blew my mind. I was really digging the fact that they were playing their instruments again and laid down a harder groove. I absolutely loved that album, and it was cool to be connecting with them again. Throughout the years afterwards, I would still keep my ears open for new stuff. Unfortunately, I never linked up with them seriously again though, but never ever lost my appreciation for their talent.

It was sad to hear about the passing of MCA today, definitely a little piece of my musical self died as well. R.I.P Adam!

If you have some cool Beastie Boy memories/stories, please comment below!

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