Radial Engineering is top quality audio equipment outfit based in in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company first began back in 1991 as the Canadian distributor for Jensen Audio Transformers and Mogami cable.  The next year, they reformed as JP Cabletek Electronics, and they started using the Radial name for their house brand cables.  Later, in 1996, the Radial brand launched the JDI direct box, and today, there are more than 50 different products marketed under the Radial, Forest Audio, and Tonebone brand names.  In 2006, the company officially became Radial Engineering.  They have a huge staff of more than 50 employees and work out of a 25,000 square-foot facility, giving them the ability to manufacture many different great products.

Under the Radial brand, the company offers their J-class products.  This line of boxes, splitters, and re-ampers are some of the best in the world.  Then there’s the Pro series, which is designed to balance performance with price.  The HotShot series, on the other hand, is innovative and built to last for years. (more...)

If you are someone who is looking to get the most out of your overdrive pedal, then you will want to consider using the Maxon TOD-9 True Tube Overdrive pedal.  This is because it is designed with the best military specification subminiature tube at its core.  Because this technology was once considered outdated when submarines stopped being used so widely at the end of the Second World War, there is a large quantity of this product that is ready for use.  The manufacturers of the Maxon TOD-9 True Tube Overdrive realized the potential that the subminiature tubes had on the sound quality of a pedal and they decided to use these tubes as a base component of the sound that was produced by their product.

The Maxon TOD-9 True Tube Overdrive has harnessed the power of these subminiature vacuum tubes to create a truly unique pedal that combines solid distortion with the tube stage.  The benefit of this is that the pedal works in a way that completely enhances the player’s performance, creating a balance that is truly interactive with the guitar and the artist.  If you utilize this pedal to the maximum then you will be able to increase your performance and this will work to make your music even better.  The dials are simply laid out and can be used by anyone with a basic understanding of how they operate. (more...)

Maxon has made a number of great overdrive pedals in their Vintage Overdrive Pro Pedal series, and the VOP-9 is yet another one of them.  This overdrive pedal combines both overdrive and clean boost into one device.  It uses a dual pot to mix the saturated and clean tones together to make a less compressed and more transparent sound.  It also features true bypass switching so you can let your signal shine through if you want.

The VOP-9 is actually an upgraded version of the OD820, a pedal that Maxon introduced in the 90s but that was largely overlooked.  However, at the time, few saw the benefits and power of the pedal, and it was mostly ignored as simply being an overpriced version of the OD808.  However, the VOP-9 is more than just a renamed OD820.  While the pedal does run the entire circuit at 18 volts, just like the OD820, it now comes in one of Maxon’s nearly indestructible 9-series chassis.  The pedal is also capable of operating at 9 volts by activating an internal DIP switch.  The VOP-9 also makes use of the same op-amp that allowed the OD820 to operate so quietly, and the negative feedback loop clipping diode is the same as well.  The Maxon VOP-9 Vintage Overdrive Pro Pedal costs
$200.

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Looking for a great blues overdrive pedal?  Then check out the MI Audio Blues Pro Overdrive.  This low-medium gain overdrive provides great sounds for everything from a light blues to great classic rock tones.  The booster is very clean and transparent when you’ve got the gain down, but it certainly lights up when you add in more and more gain.  Then you’ve got the tone control, which gives you everything from a nice, tight sound to a mellow, smooth overdrive.  There’s no odd muffled tomes or any tinny sounds when you crank it to the extreme, either.  The Fuzz switch then gives you the option to move the Audio Blues Pro to Fuzz mode, a mode that focuses on tones from the 1960s. (more...)

Looking for an incredibly responsive overdrive with a sweet warm tone?  Need this overdrive to be versatile enough to pair with any amp or guitar?  If so, then you need a Fairfield Circuitry Barbershop Overdrive Pedal.  This pedal keeps it's signature vintage sound with added gain, and it is super responsive.  The pedal will responds to the nuances of your pick attack, and it breaks up naturally, like a tube amp.  If you ease back on your picking, the pedal can be more transparent and just add some fatness so that the natural tone of the guitar will really come through.

The overdrive features a Sag knob to mimic tube rectifier sag.  By simulating Sag on an amp, the knob opens up many overdrive possibilities.  If you want spongey tones, just roll the Sag knob back a bit.  The more it’s turned, the tighter and more compressed your sound will become.  This pedal is all about subtlety and can really add variety and unique tonal shapes to your sound.  The entire pedal is made from a thick, unfinished metal case that is incredibly durable.  It’s powered by a 9 volt dc.  With this great amount of variety, you may think the Fairfield Circuitry Barbershop Overdrive Pedal will cost a lot, but it’s only $160. (more...)

Big John is a pedal company located in Ghent, Belgium.  They’re known for creating some very unique and interesting pedals.  Their naming scheme is also certainly unique—you won’t forget the name of any of the Big John pedals!  Their pedals have been used in diverse outfits such as Nine Inch Nails, Beck, Macy Gray, and Paul McCartney.

The man behind the Big John pedals is bassplayer Jan Detremerie.  He graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels with a master degree, and while he primarily is a bassplayer, he also loves trying out different pedals and creating new sounds.

Big John has created a number of different pedals, each of which has something to offer.  There’s the Big John Granny Puker, for example.  This overdrive pedal lets you switch between overdrive, octave down, or a mixture of the two.  This gives players a huge range of options, especially since you can control the blending of the sounds to make your own unique tone.

Another Big John product is the uniquely named Big John Harry Balls Effects Pedal.  This fuzz pedal has a rich fuzz tone and a transistor boost that you can use with or without the fuzz.  It offers both clean boost and scratchy boost.  If you want some really nasty fuzz, this is the pedal for you.

The third and final pedal offered by Big John is called the Obama Wah.  It’s a distortion pedal that provides a lot of gain and tone, but it also has a switchable fixed wah mode that can create some very interesting textures. (more...)