Mikey's End-of-Year Budget Pedal Bonanza!

[MrShake]

Whoa.



Ok, so this one... almost a cheat. I was told it was purchased for $60, and she ordered and picked it out herself.

We were watching a video and she liked this one so much and noticed I did too, she figured it would be a good choice. She was right.

It goes fully wet, which it always a win for me. The shimmer is STRONG, I'm still finding a "present but not dominant" setting, but it's luscious, it's mostly a 2-trick pony: big deep long wet 'verbs, and ones with loads of shimmer on them. Never really delved down that rabbit-hole (pun not intended, but it stands), so this thing is just an instant "let's turn things ambient" pedal. And I love it.

Plus, I've always loved Alice In Wonderland, AND my wife and I have been tending to a family of wild rabbits in the yard for three generations. This thing's a perfect fit.

Total ambient bliss in a reverb pedal, I just wish it had a tone control. But it's $60+, so if you need luscious reverb with a shimmer knob, ask yourself what your budget is. But this totally brings it.

[MrShake]

OK... I think this is the last one. Unless I spend a gift card on a pedal before next Saturday.



I'd wanted one of these for about a decade. Since my French Toast died. Don't know why I never bit on one. At $32, I couldn't resist.

It arrived, I opened it, plugged it in, it worked like it should have, and I immediately tore it open and got to modding. Flipped the polarity of the known electrolytics, swapped the position of two of the non-polarized caps.

Fire-breathing monster. I dunno if it's a circuitry ripoff of a Foxx Tone Machine or a FT Ultimate Octave or even how the UO varies from the FTM. I'd really love to know. But regardless, this thing is SUPER nasty. I'm sick as a dog today, but interested to see how the "fixed" version of this compares to an off-the-rack Musiclily or Horse Fuzz at the appropriate settings.

Ready to make some teeth-cracking sheets of noise wrapped in a heavy ribbon of reverb.

If you can solder -- and this one was simple but a FIGHT for my ham fists -- it's worth it, 100%, if you or someone you know can mod it for cheap/free

Especially when it's 25% off.

[MrShake]

So, I lined three pedals up, and tried some combinations as long as my informed system could handle leaning over.

Joyo Voodoo Octave (modded) -> Musiclily Fuzz -> Horse Fuzz

So, I set the volume and tone on each to noon, fuzz maxed. Notes and adjustment below:




Musiclily is the Joyo with an Octave on/off switch, essentially the closest to the actual user interface of a Foxx, right? The Musiclily and Joyo sound pretty similar, and switching back and forth the modes on each get the same result. Weirdly, even though I modded the Joyo, the Musiclily is a little "fuller". It's not just the hair more output, but there's a SLIGHT thickness there above the Joyo. Parts tolerance, years of manufacture, pot sweep, I don't know -- but, I would be surprised to find these WEREN'T the same circuit.

The Horse is the same sounds as the Joyo, with no octave overtone and a Mid Boost switch instead of an Octave switch. So if you're a player who likes the Foxx or Joyo with no octave, here's the version for you, with a mid-boost switch. The weirdness with this one is that the volume was crazy low in comparison. I had it hooked up to one of those battery clips, though, but I doubt that was a factor. I had to max the volume on the Horse to match the 12 o'clock output of the modded Joyo.

So, they're different options. Modded Joyo is the most versatile with 4 Fuzzes in 1, the Musiclily is barely the beefiest and maybe that's just tone knob adjustment or parts tolerance. But if I understand the original FTM's switch being an Octave On/Off, this is the most faithful clone (as far as options) with it's 2-in-1 setup like an ice cream parlor in Vermont -- always scooped, (octave) highs optional.

And the Horse? The Horse is kinda basic. It's lacking any kick. Kinda low output, too... but the sounds it offers are right there with the Joyo if you turn up the volume knob and remember it's just $20. Been keeping it in my gig bag as a Hail Mary. Something kinda Muffy, something kinda honky, both solid sounds.

I still want to know if the Kmise and the Horse are the same thing, but I've thrown enough bucks at low-end Foxx Tone Machine variants lately. Send one if you're just gonna throw it away anyway, I'll research. For journalism.