ModTone Buzz Boy

I've tried.  I actively tried to find a "boutique" hand-crafted, American- made Fuzz Pedal that truly meets the need. Here's what I've found-
1. Most boutique pedals are made for a one use gimmick. Yes, I said gimmick. Devi Ever, Dwarfcraft, Earthquaker Devices, etc- a lot of the hip names? I could find one setting on any given pedal that was cool, but it was only good for a certain application. For example- I tried out the Earthquaker Devices " Tone Reaper"- I could get a great upper mid boosted, treble rolled off sound, Like a trumpet, and it was great for if I wanted to do a fanfare, trumpet type single note line. Which even blue moon or so, I want to do. Similarly, The Devi Ever Soda Meiser?  Smashing Pumpkins tone. Done. That's it. I never want that. You get the idea.
2. Hand Crafted is a great bit of marketing, but this isn't Whittling, nor framing. Electronics actually are better made by machine- except for the soldering, and here's the deal with that- absolutely every pedal, most amplifiers, most radios, basically everything but video games, phones, and Mp3 players, is hand soldered already. In that respect, there is no difference between your Klon and a clone.There is no artistry in putting together a PCB- only in selecting components, and quite frankly, the mass-made stuff quite often- but not always- has better components.
3. American made- I'm no longer certain that's a virtue. We're incarcerating at Chinese and Russian rates. We're top three, for pollution. Our social net is terrible, our politics are corrupt, most of our businesses are criminal- I'm struggling to find a reason, here. I've heard the "jobs" argument, but show me the booming boutique instrument, effect pedal, or "craft" item maker that employs more than 5 people. There are things to buy American, and good reasons to buy food locally ( transportation is a big one) but I really cannot think of a truly good reason to think that buying a Klon Centaur is necessarily a better thing than buying an Electro Harmonix Soul Food.

Now, certainly there are exceptions- most notably Matt, with Noisemaker Effects, is a good human being, who is bringing well made products into the marketplace, and isn't trying to rip you off. Likewise, PureSalem guitars are trying to bring something heartfelt into the marketplace- even if I can't say they're truly "American Made". But, as a rule, I think a lot of this is trying to conflate the really good indie business model- like Jon Wye with simple snobbishness,  trying to justify the rip off of paying 20 times or more of the  material costs ( seriously, the components to make a muff style Fuzz will set you back less than 10 dollars. Buying a Fuzz pedal for over 200 dollars is like a Government Contractor Pork Barrel scam ).

So, enter Modtone. I've been digging the way a lot of their stuff looks ( just look at this pedal. Look at it!) and I've been thinking that the design seems like a good middle ground between Boss and Electro Harmonix, and MXR/Dunlop. You've got the solid footswich and small footprint of MXR, with the pretty graphics and warmth of EHX, with the super-solid construction of Roland/Boss.
But, 100 bucks for a Chinese pedal, seems a bit much, to me, when Joyo and Donner, etc can do just about as good, for half or less.
That changed- from Youtube clips, and pictures, The Buzz Boy was bar none my favorite pedal of their stuff- and it got dropped. Now, it was showing up on clearance and discount sites. So, for 30 bucks, I got one.Let me just say- HELL TO THE YES!!!!- this is a great fuzz pedal, exactly the opposite from my complaints regarding the boutique stuff- I'm able to dial up everything from sustain boosted overdrive to buzzing, crunchy kill-fuzz- and it fits! I never hear a musically displeasing tone, I can use it for a variety of styles from stoner to garage, to noise, and it works. I think that's because it's not a pure Fuzz tone- more like a Distortion/ Fuzz hybrid. Furthermore, it plays extremely well with other pedals- so, I can add a mid-cut in a separate overdrive, and I get Metal-style distortion, or I can add reverb with a slight treble boost, and get garage madness, no problem.
So, while "Change my life" might be a little strong, here- it's definitely crystallized a thought for me- screw 99.9% of that trendy boutique bull- I'm sticking with the stuff I like, and I think the stuff getting downvoted is better- I think the Chinese stuff, like Joyo, Donner, Hotone, Mooer and Moen is innovative in the form factor, and competitive in the sound category. I think the mass market stuff- Boss, Digitech, and MXR kicks the butt of finicky, unreliable stuff like   Dwarfcraft and Catalinbread. I think a lot of people are falling for hype, and I'm done with it. Look, there are some boutique folks making quality stuff- you'll note I've not bad-mouthed Wampler, or Z Vex, or TC Electronics, but the price point on that stuff is still pretty high, and quite frankly, I'm not going to spend 250 bucks to get inches further towards some sound I like, when 50 bucks gets me most of the miles- I don't think there's enough utility in that. I mean, for example- My Biyang baby Boom tri-reverb doesn't sound 100% as good as the TC Electronics Hall Of Fame. But, I'd put it at 90%. So, is it worth the extra 100+ dollars? I don't think so. I could( and did) run the Biyang with another reverb, and I hit that 100% mark, and still spent less. Or, the big example- my Joyo Ultimate Overdrive might not be able to hit that dark, clear overdrive sound that the Fulltone OCD does- but it gets so close that a minor goose on the Amp's EQ gets me the rest of the way- and it cost about one quarter as much. But, I will put my Donner Yellow Fall delays up against any delay on the market, and I bet none of them will get that voice that they have- an analog, low-mid boost that sounds like a well-used tape echo, with a patina of wear- I actually prefer their sound to just about any delay ( the only exception is a vintage early 80's Memory Man) - and how can you argue that the design is great?
Likewise, the Modtone Buzz Boy. I think it looks better than anything Earthquaker has made, and it's more ear-pleasing than anything Devi Ever has made, and it's more usable than any fuzz pedal- save for the Z Vex fuzz pedals- and here's something novel- if it ever breaks- I probably could find a one-to-one replacement. Think about that, the next time you're tweaking your Tym's stompbox.

Now, it can be said- the Noisemaker Effects Plus

Ok, you may recall that I got this for my birthday, more than three weeks ago- so, why so long to talk about it is that it was a bit defective. Matt was very candid with me, and admitted to me that he never got particularly excited about the design on these, as he wasn't really operating on his wheelhouse- duplicating old designs wasn't really his bag. So, I suspect with his mind on other things, it wasn't his best work. So, he offered to have me send it, and he'd fix it, free of charge. Now, keep in mind, I didn't buy it from him- I bought this second hand at Reverb- which, by the way, has serious problems, and I wouldn't suggest going there- and he still was going to fix it. So, again, his customer service is incredible, and, I strongly suggest you patronize him, if you need a guitar effect.
But, that takes time, so I only got a chance to really try it out, today. The executive summary is that it's a great, but limited pedal. To get it out of the way, no, it doesn't sound like a MXR Distortion Plus. Quite frankly, that's impossible. The MXR Distortion wasn't just one set of circuits, nor even a consistent set of components- a 1974 will not sound like a 1978, and even two 1978's won't sound exactly the same. So, no, you cannot clone a Distortion Plus. You can get close, and get inside the range they cover, but you can't nail down that moving target. That having said, this is aimed toward a distortion plus, but definitely is voiced differently. Some things the MXR does better, others the Noisemaker does. What it does exceptionally well is a medium gain midrange distortion ( with some small fuzz characteristics) that still has great note clarity. We're talking American Hard Rock crunch distortion. It's a great sound- and the way to dial it in is not intuitive. See, the limitation is that you can't really get great high gain, nor low gain sounds- you crank both gain and volume near to all the way up, and there you go- a "Marshall' kind of gain, but with presence. You also can't get that nasally bite that is most associated with the MXR- Randy Rhoads. Add an overdrive before it, and an EQ afterwards, and maybe, but my MXR can generate that tone by itself. So, no, I wouldn't use it to replace my MXR, but I will be using it- mostly with humbuckers at high volume.
Now, Matt has discontinued the pedal- you most likely will never own one which means that my point is not to get you to buy one. My point is two fold- the first, and primary one is this- with anything creative, whether making electronics, or sculpture- you're far better off with something original- duplication is never exact. The second point is that , at their best, products are a reflection of their producers. Matt is a good guy- that shows is how he conducts business, and in the products he sells. You cannot go wrong in dealing with a good person.

Birthday stuff- the Prequel

My Birthday is coming up this week, and, true to American form, I plan on spending some dough on stuff I want and don't need. Now, this has been stymied somewhat by some circumstances beyond my control, but there still is stuff to be had. Of course I don't know what others have purchased for me, and that will be another post. For this post I'm just going to briefly mention the stymied part, then talk about the two things I ordered.
First, a week ago a business near and dear to me suffered a serious setback- Functional Utility had their main shop totalled. A hundred year old tree fell on the main production facility. Since this directly affects the income into my house, yeah, that puts a crimp in my ability to spend like a Yank. Then, worse for me individually, I had my checking account frozen. See, the Visa folks reported to my bank that my debit card may have been compromised. My bank didn't inform me, so when I used my card, as I normally would, this triggered a fraud alert- so they froze the account. I wish I could tell you "never use Bank of America" and you'd never have this problem, but I've been a banker ( it was a low point in my life) and I can tell you it could've happened at virtually any bank. Since I'm trying to help people, let me tell you what to do if it happens to you- first pull up two tabs on your web browser. On one tab look up your state's Attorney Generals office. On the other, pull up your bank info. Then, call you card services. Act dumb when you dial in, and get through their phone tree by dialling zero. you want to start low on the totem pole. you want a human, but you want a human who has little reason to protect the bank he or she is temping for. When you get them, don't go off , but be super insistent they tell you what's going on. Threaten with the info from the Attorney General's office. Make 'em think that you're dangerously crazy, but not in a criminal way- in a pain the keister way. They'll run you up the chain to a floor supervisor, right quick. The floor supervisor is there to retain your business- so they'll try to work with you. Now, you just tell them exactly what happened, and remind them- this is your money and failure to help you get at it is a violation of the SAFE act.  You might not get your debit card, but you will get access to your cash.
So, anyway, I still purchased two things, both used, both at bargain Ebay prices: I got a Stagg Tele Style guitar and a Noisemaker effects Distortion plus clone.  Now, both are in the mail, so I can't review them, but I can say why I got them. The tele copy I got partially because of the price- I could get what, by all accounts is a decent guitar for 150 bucks, at about half that. But, I wanted a Tele because a lot of guys like I like play tele type guitars ( not mentioned in that article: Guy Kyser of Thin White Rope, Black Francis of the Pixies, and Joe Strummer) but I wanted certain elements of a tele, without others. I wanted the ashtray bridge. I wanted the bright tone, and I wanted the weak neck pick up. I didn't want the weight of a real Telecaster in Ash, or worse yet ( and more authentically) Pine. I think Alder is "spanky" enough, so long as you've got a top loader. So, add to that I'm a lefty- and the field is pretty narrow, and really doesn't include a lot of Fender options. Now, I do love Rondo Music. The other serious contender based upon a price vs features comparison would be this one. But, saving about 70 bucks speaks pretty loudly to me, right about now, so the Stagg won. We'll see if I made a good choice.
The Noisemaker thing? Well, you know I'm in love with Matt's products. You know that I'm a GIANT fan of the distortion plus ( pretty much up until 1985, MXR could do very little wrong) so, when I could pick up Matt's take on a distortion plus, and get it for well under 50 bucks, and I know he's discontinued the model? Yeah I had to go for it. I'm definitely going to be pruning the effects collection, though- geez. I've got a lot.

Die, Hipster, Die!

So, it was kismet- Noisemaker effects listed on Cheaper Pedals? Yes, please! A great company, being distributed by another great group of people- that's important to me. I'm no nationalist. I don't care if it's Merkin or Chinese, or Auf Deutsch- because I like it when everybody has a decent job. But, I'm much more inclined to buy from a nice person than from either a machine or a jerk. Matt and Elliott are nice people. That's a rare thing when it's nice people, up and down the line- I can't say all the way up and down- I don't know about Matt's parts resource- could be sweatshop labour, I don't know- and I can tell you that my local USPS are a bunch of jerks, with exactly two exceptions. Still, it's more than a bit more secure than ordering from, say, Danelectro.

However, I'm sure the question would obviously be- why not just buy from Matt, directly? Because Elliott is a good person, and in a position to do good- not everyone is combing through the Reverb and Etsy lists, like I am. But, people do google search terms- and I can see 'cheaper Pedals" making it into a google search, can't you? So, Elliott can make sure than people who otherwise never would have heard of Noisemaker Effects not only can become aware, but can purchase them. It's the same reason why you book at show at a bar, instead of at a BBQ, or why you put your record out on a label instead of on your own  hand press. Yes, there's a slight loss of purity, but it's worth it for the increased visibility. There's good reasons not to, of course, but if the Bar, record label, or in this case, Pedal salesman is one of the "good guys" who can fault you?

All that having said- what did I get? The Dead Hipster. I got that one for three reasons- it's low gain, so I can use it as a boost. It's one Matt, himself, uses. If that's not enough, I also got it because it is not transparent. See, I've heard complaints about the Dead Hipster coloring the sound, and I just think- why would you get a low gain dirt pedal that doesn't color your sound? I mean, at that point, you're better off just getting a low watt Tube Amp. I know that Epiphones are showing up at pawn shops for under a hundred bucks. I think you want a dirt pedal to either really distort your signal, like a fuzz, or Metal pedal, or you want it to bring out certain frequencies. I've already established that I like mids- I literally made a low gain pedal to do exactly that- bring up the mids to ungodly levels. So, the Dead Hipster brings the "jangle"- which would be your upper mids, to lower treble range. I'm not quite ready for a treble booster, but bringing out those upper frequencies is exactly what I want in a low gain distortion- I want overdriven Tele to lipstick tube Dano tones. I know Matt likes that too- because if you listen to any of his sound clips, everything he plays has the upper mids cranked. If you are looking to boost your signal, highlighting the upper mids is like an Amp's "presence" getting cranked- it's a sure way to be heard- because upper mids are far more directional than lower mids- you're literally cutting through with the smaller wave form. But, that brings me to the main reason why I got it- low distortion, big boost. I noticed with my Donner Party that Matt makes LOUD pedals, so I knew he was my man for a boost. So, why didn't I get a Suckerpunch or a Loudmouth? I really considered both, but like I said- jangle. Why just boost when you can shade the EQ in the direction you want?
So, I got it today. That was fast. I ordered on Monday, late. It's Thursday. I plugged it in with the Epiphone and Vox first- instant Rockabilly roar. Then I went Strat into Vox. Quite a bit more reedy and wiry, I think with a little tweaking, I could get overdriven Tele bridge tones out of it. Tried it Strat into Fender- huge amounts of attack and snap, very percussive. I goosed the gain, and got into a really vicious punky tone- like Joe Strummer on 1st album Clash, so I play the intro riff to "Clash City Rockers" and was amazed at how closely it nailed the tone. This inspired about 45 minutes of New Wave riffing, everything from Cr@SS to Tom Petty, it might not have nailed all those tones, but it was close enough for cover band work. I didn't get time to do the rest of my tests - Epiphone into Fender, Strat and Epiphone into Crate, Strat and Epiphone into Sovtek, etc- but here's my statement-if you want slightly overdriven New Wave to late 50's garage rock, here you go.

I'm Excited!

Some marriages are meant to be. I think this one is. Noisemaker Effects are now on Cheaper Pedals!  I think this should open some minds via their ears. I'm not claiming to be a market analyst or anything, but I think if the Joyo crowd gets into Noisemaker, it can only mean good things. See, the folks buying joyo pedals tend to be semi-working musicians. Guys playing in "Praise" bands on sunday morning, and girls in cheesey cover bands, who practice after a day working at the local Pre-K or call center. I might have the specifics slightly off, but I know I'm right in my direction. These are the people who get snubbed by the "Boutique" makers- an OCD pedal, a Klon Centaur, or a Strymon Blue Sky is not going to be marketed towards them. They can't justify 250 bucks for a pedal, when they get paid less than 20 bucks, if at all for their music- you know? Yet, I know these people- they're professional- and sometimes they're better musicians than the Rock Star that everybody wants as an endorsee. The snob factor ends up working both ways- these "blue collar" musicians tend to call the boutique folks "cork sniffers", while the Boutique folks call them Amateurs, or "garage" musicians. But, see I've been a working musician, and better yet, a sound engineer- I've worked with all of the above, and I can say that rare is the piece of equipment that can make you a better musician. Really, the difference between a Boss DS-1 and a Zvex Machine gets lost if you're playing on a 75 watt Line 6 amp, miked to a church PA, and even if you can hear the difference, you're still talking about a minute difference, when all you're playing is a four chord campfire song, you know? But that guy might want the Zvex for chasing down a tone, when he's playing for his own amusement. This is where Noisemaker comes in- Matt's stuff can do several shades of Big Muff, only better, and can do the Devi Ever "crazy fuzz", and can do a better version of the Memory Man than the TC Electronics Flashback. Because his stuff doesn't get higher than 120, that means that our man in the choir can afford to play around for his own amusement, and might just discover his muse, apart from trying to sound like Billy Corgan, you see? So, I'm totally ready to throw rice at this marriage! Best of luck to all involved!

Noisemaker Effects Donner Party

So, after checking around, in several ways, I bought my super-high gain Fuzzbox. I went with the Donner Party from Noisemaker Effects.
Why this pedal? Because I've noticed that a lot of high gain Fuzz pedals either sound like a Big Muff with a dying battery or they sound like digital noise. I wanted something that was high gain, but emphasized the upper mids- in other words the frequencies that the electric guitar was actually made to make. See, I might like sludge metal bands, but a lot of them- even ones I like, make their guitars sound like basses, or possibly violas. Fair enough, but listen to an unprocessed electric guitar- humbuckers, P-90's, or single coils, the frequencies you hear first are in the upper midrange . As distorted and maxed out as I like the guitar, ultimately, I'm about the guitar, not the effect pedal. So, I wanted a fuzzbox that did that. The Donner Party stands out in that fashion- sure the harmonics are HUGE, and yes, this sucker is high, higher, highest gain, no one will think of Black Sabbath, here. Might I someday get something from Devi Ever, Dwarfcraft, or Earthquaker? Sure, I might, but this definitely has scratched the high gain fuzz itch, without resorting to sounds I've heard too often.
So,  the very first thing that captured me, before I even completed the purchase was the phenomenal commitment to customer service that Matt has. Seriously, this guy goes way above and beyond what you could and should expect.
But, then, I got it.Before it shipped I noticed the price- for a boutique ( i.e, "hand made") item, it's priced competitive to the mass market stuff- compare the Donner Party at 66 bucks to a Boss Hyper Fuzz (between 80 and 150) or the aforementioned Bug Muff  (70-90) .
But service and price are only worth it if the product is good. This is a good product. High quality components, with a great modern design- it both looks good, and is built well.
But the reason to get it is the sound. I could dial up everything from crunchy to glitchy in seconds of trying it out.
The thing is this- I'm not sure, because I haven't opened it up, but it acts like a kind of outrageous pre-amp. Very, very loud, with a fair amount of noise artifacts- I can't put the level up much past 9 AM on the dial without serious input frying volume boosts, so I paired it up with an attenuator (an EHX Signal Pad ) . Even then, you definitely do not need a line boost with this. With even my beloved MXR script logo Distortion +, there's some volume loss- so, again, this operates more like a pre-amp on crack, and with the extra volume control of the attentuator  - it's kind of like chaining an Amp into your amp. I can see how all the cliches about nuking the speakers, and bleeding eardrums might be possible with this thing but this isn't really a problem. I'm just trying to give you a heads up to avoid any potential problems.
The advantage of this model is the responsiveness- By adjusting my guitar's volume knob, I can go from noisy, fizzy overdrive to what-sort-of-8bit-nonsense is this? in less than 4 beats. That makes it pretty much exactly what I was looking for. Have you heard Aeges' Southern Comfort? Well, the noise they get on the bass ( I think. Could be a really down-tuned guitar)  is the floor of fuzz I was looking for- going from grainy to glitchy and back. But, don't take my word for it- listen to it. If I'm not mistaken my very pedal was used for the demo.
So, I know I've said things about boutique pedal makers, and etsy sellers, and makers of all descriptions that might seem to contradict this. I told you that I think it's complex. Noisemaker Effects and Matt are a standout. He genuinely is making something different, and his business practices are sound, and the amount of BS is kept below the minimum threshold. What I'm saying is this- yes, let your own tastes dictate, but if you want my example of someone getting it right, here it is.

Next in Line

I can't review it, yet, but I got a new War Fuzz. It's a Noise Maker. So far, I'm here to tell you that both Matt & his company are pretty damn awesome. I will be saying more, because it's the fruit of an experiment I was doing, but that will come with the review which won't be for at least a week. Probably longer.  Needless to say, though, once again, I got the scoop.
You want to know how I do it? how I am ahead of the curve, all the time? How I know what the next new thing is, whether it be getting a CD before it's on shelves, or finding the best new restaurant trend, or whatever? It's really simple, and it's no trick- I talk to people. I send countless emails, I'm on the phone, I chat with folks in line at starbucks, you name it- I keep the lines of communication open. So it's not about just buying crap, or trendwatching or whatever it is that "cool hunters" do- I consider it all as part of a larger interaction with the world- and guess what? If you talk to folks, they talk back. If you express an interest, they respond to your interest. Next thing you know, you're invited to the party, you're on the mailing list, you're allowed to cut the line, and people start to think you've got something special- because you do- an actual human connection. So, I might be right, or I might be deluded, but I think Noisemaker are gonna be the next big deal in stompboxes- the next Earthquaker devices, or the next Dwarfcraft, at least...