To the depths with Tortuga Effects’ Neptune
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Washington-state’s Tortuga Effects has been in the pedal game for a few years now with a good selection of offerings ranging from its Sasquatch fuzz to the Standard Issue Phaser. Today, WTDP? is going to look at the company’s answer to the classic Univibe pedal – its Neptune Opto-Vibe stomp. The controls to the Neptune may look a little confusing to idle eyes as the names keep with the God of the Ocean motif – such as Slosh, Depth, Dive and Surface. Tortuga’s goal with the Neptune was to stay true to the classic vibe tone with out sucking out all the midrange.
Portland, Oregon pedal start-up Spaceman Effects is now shipping its initial offering – the Rumblefuzz stomp. The outfit calls the Rumblefuzz the ‘warmest, fattest, bassiest fuzz on the planet.’ The three knob controls allow the user to dial in a wide range from light vintage grain to earth-shaking sonic mayhem. The toggle switch adds in a NOS germanium diode, for a slightly more vintage tone. The pedal works great with guitars, basses and synths. Spaceman says it will put out as much low-end as your amp and speakers can handle! The stomp – limited to 50 – runs $199. An even more limited, higher-gain version – limited to just the first five – is available for $219. 
The crew over at Monster Effects has a new, smaller version of the Swamp Thang tremolo pedal shipping to retailers. The Swamp Thang is designed to replicate the Fender brown face tremolo in a convenient package. This tremolo pedal features an all analog design, full sized pots, a Switchcraft power jack, over-voltage protection, true bypass and the ability to be used with either a 9v positive center pin, 9v negative center pin power adapter or a battery. Sound clips of the pedal are available at Monster’s website. The hand-wired Swamp Thang retails for $199.95.
Pedalmakers BSM will unveil their RPA Major stomp at MusikMesse in Frankfurt next week. This hot-rodded version of its RPA boasts pure gain and a hard, aggressive Ritchie Blackmoresque lead sound with all classical amps with master volume. BSM says the RPA Major represents the high gain sound of Blackmore’s mid-to-late 1970s live sound, adapted and tweaked to match the modern taste of today’s world. An EQ control gives players the ability to dial in the best possible punch with any pickup configuration. The RPA Major booster is true bypass and can be powered by battery or with the external power supply AC jack. The pedal will retail for around $400.
Attendance was thin at the recent Houston Pedalfest held at What’s That Dude Play? world headquarters. The tone event, which offered players the chance to test drive over 75 boutique stompboxes, was still a good time for those that showed. Long-time friend to WTDP? Wally Farkas made the trek to the fest and even gave the WTDP? faithful a small taste of his upcoming solo CD ‘Past Due’. Eric from Deviltone was also in attendance and even left us a Jezebel fuzz to sample. It will be the subject of a new YMMV pedal review in the coming weeks. Thanks again to Brad and the Tone Factor crew for making the fest a reality! A few pics follow…
The fine folks at Empress Effects have been quietly cooking up a new slant on its sweet sounding tremolo pedal – a DAW plug-in version! Empress touts the new plug in as everything the Empress Tremolo stomp is… and more! Check it out 
Swedish bass stomp specialists EBS will drop curtain on the EBS MetalDrive distortion pedal at MusikMesse in Frankfurt next week. Based on a customized EBS MultiDrive pedal made for John Moyer of Disturbed, the pedal is created to satisfy those who look for the heaviest distorted bass sounds available. EBS adds that the stomp sounds equally as sweet with a standard six-string! The true bypass pedal works in Standard, Flat and Tubeism mode with controls for Distortion and Output. Pricing is forthcoming. The EBS MetalDrive is expected to be available in September.
Corby over at OceanEFX chimed in recently to give a bit of an update on the company’s awaited vibe stomp and to show off a potential new look for its logo. He said that the waiting list for the Ocean Vibe should kick off here in the near future. Customers will be available to choose color, knob style, and LED color. There will be a black Pearl Drive-style label in the center of the pedal face as well. He added separately that OceanEFX will be discontinuing the Comp Box and Rockin’ Horse stomps. If either are on your wish lists, you should act fast! Lastly, the potential new company logo is left. Pretty sharp.
Brian Wampler has launched a new venture in the Do-It-Yourself pedal market – Tone Clone Pedals. According to Brian, the ailing economy moved him to explore the needs of all markets associated with the pedal industry. He added the products the new company will supply will be its take on some of the most sought after classics in the industry. Along with standard classics, Tone Clone will be supplying suggested modifications and tricks to make them sound up to date and competitive with all of the modern variations of these great circuits. The company will also offer preloaded boards, pre-built pedals and many services in between. More details after the jump!
The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo is a one-of-a-kind event attracting top flight country music stars as well as the nation’s best cowboys for an evening of competition and concert that knows no rival. The shows have gotten easier on the ears as well since moving from the venerable, cavernous Astrodome to the modern digs of Reliant Stadium. Last night, the rodeo hosted Australia’s own Keith Urban. In the name of full disclosure, I’ve never been a huge country music fan, but I can appreciate good musicians… and Urban can play. Not only that, he’s got an assortment of gear strewn across the stage that’d make the pickiest gearhound foam at the mouth!
The crew at Mad Professor have chosen the name Sweet Honey for their new overdrive pedal that will be released into the world this summer. A prototype of the stomp was a big hit at the Winter NAMM convention in January. It also will be in Frankfurt with the boys at Musikmesse next month. The pedal is very dynamic and incredibly touch sensitive. The company has begun taking orders for the first production run. In other MP news, the company also is close to revealing its very first combo amplifier. The working title for the new amp is the Mad Professor Old School 21. The prototype will be on display at the Frankfurt show.
The pedalsmiths at Jetter Gear are now shipping their new ‘flying saucer’ vibe stomp. The two knob pedal boasts a true four-stage classic light driven circuit with each stage electrically matched. The small-enclosure pedal also features high input impedance so as to not load down your guitar signal, unity gain output (read: no volume control) and a custom voicing circuit that the company says provides a sweet, liquid tone. The true bypass stomp operates on any high quality 9V power supply and will also work with a 9V battery. Cost info on the new vibe is coming soon.
Pennsylvania-based Frantone Electronics, makers of such pedals as the Peach Fuzz, Cream Puff and The Sweet, will be closing its doors at the end of the month. Fran posted on the company’s MySpace page that ‘many circumstances’ beyond her control made it necessary to shut the business down. By 1 April, Frantone – which began in 1994 – will cease manufacturing of its entire effects line. Remaining stock will be sold via its website. Fran said, “I wish to thank all of you who have supported me and my work for the past 15 years, and believe me I know that without all of you I could not have made this fantastic line of effects of which I have been so proud to have born. ”
Ohio-based pedalsmiths Earthquaker Devices recently released a new drive stomp dubbed White Light promising a vintage style, hard-clipping overdrive that plays well with others. Earthquaker is the brain-child of Akron’s Jaime Stillman and has produced some pretty sweet pedals in the past, including the popular Hoof Fuzz and Disaster Transport Delay. The White Light is the second overdrive on Earthquaker’s current pedal roster… the first being the Crimson Drive, an overdrive unit built around germanium transistors and diodes. The White Light is designed to more resemble the DOD 250 or MXR Distortion+ with increased control over the voicing of the tone.
The 2009 Houston Pedalfest is ready to roll and slated for 21 March. The fest is being sponsored by ToneFactor.com and What’s That Dude Play? So what is a pedalfest? Well, it’s a gathering of stomp junkies and a whole pile of effects pedals. Each fest has several unique amp stations where you’re free to test drive any pedal that attracts your interests. If you like it, you can probably buy it! Recent fests have had pedals from boutique shops like Skreddy, Subdecay, Landgraff, Way Huge, Analog.Man, Mojo Hand, NOC3 and many, many more. The fest will be held at WTDP? world headquarters in northwest Houston. Shoot me an