What's That Dude Play? » Mojo Hand

Mojo Hand releases pedal duo

Blake — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:40:18 +0000

Mojo Hand Fx has a pair of new pedals out for the New Year – the Nebula IV analog phaser and the Recoil delay. The Nebula IV offers four stages of swirly, analog goodness that boasts the standard Rate control of other classic four stage phasers as well as a Depth control and a Level knob. No need to worry about a volume drop or boost. The Recoil Delay features 550ms of analog-voiced digital delay. Along with traditional controls for Mix, Repeat, and Delay Time, the Recoil also features a full range Tone knob that easily covers everything from clean and clear to warm and dark. Both true bypass pedals have a retail/street price of $159.95. Check them out!

POTY 2011: Mojo Hand Rook

Blake — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:48:30 +0000

A rare bird where fidelity and affordability meet

In the three years we’ve been handing out our year-end awards, 2011 posed the toughest decision yet… for both Pedal of the Year and Builder of the Year. On the pedal side, we saw a ton of new stomps released, and several with formidable buzz surrounding them – the Strymon Timeline, Eventide’s Space, tc electronics Flashback delay and so on. As a pleasant surprise, most all of them delivered on the hype. So why in the end, after such a solid year of tech-driven, knob-ladened and toneful modulation monsters did we opt to give the POTY award to an overdrive?! While the Mojo Hand Rook did have its share of positive internet swell, it was really the off-line comments we’d received about the pedal that really put it over the hump.

Several pro players who tried the versatile dirt box raved about it… and not just once – over and over again. One former Metal Blade recording artist and certifiable pedal junkie called the Rook ‘the best overdrive’ he’s ever heard… into a Marshall, into a Fender, into anything! And we heard that type of comment from at least half a dozen others. It seems Mojo Hand pulled off something with the Rook that not many folks had accomplished before – the creation of an affordable, tweakable, everyman’s overdrive that straddles the delicate balance of coloration and transparency in a way that makes every setting on the pedal sound stellar. The key word there is affordable. There are other overdrives that can give you close to what the Rook gives you, but usually at twice to three-times the price.

The Rook gives a player a Baxandall tone stack that helps with the tweakability… allowing it to be dialed into a dark or bright rig with ease. The three-way toggle gives a trio of voicing options – the up position offers classic overdrive grit, down adds extra gain nearing distortion levels, the middle removes diodes for a louder, cleaner sound that is ideal for use as a boost. We had the opportunity to put the pedal through its paces at the Nashville Amp Expo last August… and we were taken by both its overall range and tasty harmonics when uncaged.

Congratulations to the crew at Mojo Hand for coming up with an affordable solution for those looking for the boutique overdrive palette without emptying their wallet.

Word on the Rook from around the ‘net…

“The Rook covers a lot of ground. I was pleasantly surprised that even though it is ‘yet another OD’, it turned out to be really fun to play through and versatile as well. I’ve played it through my Silvertones, Gibson GA15RVT, Fender Twin, Marshall-style builds, and the Rook has something to bring out in all of them.”

“The Rook is a Low to Medium Overdrive, which doesent sound that exciting at first with a quadrillion overdrive pedals around, but damn it sounds fu**ing killer and stacks like a big boy into other dirt pedals while staying super quiet!”

“It’s just a great sounding and very versatile drive pedal. Baxandall tone stack, plus a three-position gain switch means you can get a pretty wide range of sounds out of it. And all of that for around $160…”

Check out some demos of the Rook in flight!

Mojo Hand Rook overdrive takes flight

Blake — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:45:18 +0000

Fresh off the introduction of its new Colossus fuzz, the crew at Mojo Hand have a new overdrive coming very soon – the Rook! The Rook is designed to be a very organic, earthy overdrive equipped for a wide range of tones via its three-way voicing toggle which delivers everything from subtle tube cooking to meaner tones and classic overdrive harmonics. The Rook also has opted out of the classic single knob tone control in favor of the Baxandall stack. Separate Treble and Bass controls (labeled incorrectly on the prototype, left) give the user more flexibility in tone shaping and overall drive sonics. The Rook comes from the same designer as the Mojo Hand Colossus fuzz. Preorders are being taken via the Contact e-mail on the Mojo Hand website. The pedal should be available in about two weeks and cost $149.

DIGF 2011: The dirt on Mojo Hand’s Colossus

Blake — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:15:24 +0000

Brad at Mojo Hand has teased a little information on his company’s next pedal. Dubbed the Colossus, it’s a Russian/Civil War Muff hybrid sporting four knob controls – Volume, Tone, Gain and Mids. The stomp will also be equipped with a three-way mini toggle for selection of different voicings. The first shipment should be ready in about three weeks and it will be available in four different colors – Silver, Gold, Copper, White. It was built for Mojo Hand by Jason Carr, who pedal geeks might remember from Kaden Effects. While the Colossus packs a massive sound, it is also said to work well for lower to mid-gain tones. Stay tuned!

Letting the Harvey off its leash

Blake — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 12:52:45 +0000

Tour boxes are great. It gives players a chance to sample gear that they might ordinarily not get to sample and the manufacturers get feedback on their products directly from their target audience. Earlier this year, we were a stop on the Mojo Hand Harvey DC tour. The Harvey DC is a dual channel distortion unit capable of everything from neutral low gain tones to full-on distortion. With boxes like this, the Goosoniqueworx Seventheaven and others, smaller builders are running with the two-in-one trend aiming to give users more bang for their precious pedalboard real estate. Does the Harvey deliver, or is it two sides of the same old coin?

The Harvey comes in the official issue little white pedal box with a sticker affixed sporting the Mojo Hand logo and pedal name. Inside the box, at least for the tour, was just the pedal itself. The Harvey has individual Volume and Tone knob controls to balance the two channels. A foot switch on the right turns the unit on and off, while the foot switch on the left switches between channels. The Overdrive channel is designed to maintain clarity for rhythm parts, and provide full frequency range reproduction without a mid hump. The Distortion channel is optimized for rhythm and lead by maintaining clarity. Both channels are optimized for minimum compression. The channels do share the Gain control – a compromise due to limited space. The channels operate independent of one another and are not stackable.

To the Strat first, bridge pick-up, we whip up a little descending rock riff. On the clip, you will hear the OD side first and the Tone knob will start full left and roll full right. Then you’ll hear the Distortion side with the Tone knob following the same path. With the Volume knob at 10 o’clock and both the OD and Distortion Gain at 2 o’clock…. heeeeeeere’s Harvey! First clean, then effected!

You can hear the two distinct voices of the Harvey. The OD is a gritty, but warm crunch while the Distortion is a thicker wall of dirt with a bit of boost. Both sides of the Harvey offer good drive qualities with nice articulation. Shifting to the neck pick-up, we dial it back a bit. With the Volume at 1 o’clock, both the Gain controls at around 10 o’clock and the Tone knobs at 3 o’clock, here’s both sides of the Harvey. Clean, then OD… then distortion.

The OD adds the right amount of sizzle to the bluesy progression, while the distortion side gets a bit boxy on the neck pick-up. You can dial that out by adjusting the tone to taste. Switching to the Les Paul, we let the Harvey breathe. With the Volume at 10 o’clock, the Tone controls at noon and the Gain knobs pegged, here’s one Mojo Hand pedal to another – the Harvey feeding a riff from The Mule! First clean… then the overdrive channel… then the distortion channel.

The Mojo Hand Harvey DC stomp is one cool, dual dirt-dealing tool! With one side favoring organic enhancement of your natural amp tone while the other pushes an articulate distorted tone great for chunky rhythm work. The ability to jump between the two sides via a single footswitch gives you an extra weapon in your rock arsenal without sacrificing the extra pedal board space. Priced at less than $200, the Harvey could have you making your own tonal luck on two unique fronts for the price at or below most single channel boutique dirt boxes. That’s our opinion anyway… your mileage may vary!

PLEASE NOTE: All YMMV Review clips are played through a Fender ’65 Princeton Reverb RI using Lava Clear Connect cables. No reverb or other effects were added to the clips. Guitars used in this review include a 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom and a 1998 Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster.

Mojo Hand spreading a little juju

Blake — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 22:34:55 +0000

The fine folks at Mojo Hand are offering up a limited edition boost/dirt pedal similar to the first channel of their Copperhead stomp, but with one foot switch and a toggle for more dirt. Dubbed the Juju Boost, there will only be 25 of these pedals made. The Juju Boost sports two knobs – level and gain. Each pedal is a different color combination with no two being exactly alike. Every one comes hand signed, serialed and documented… and with its own hand-made ‘mojo pouch’. If you’re interested in more details or perhaps placing an order for the Juju Boost, contact Brad at Tone Factor here. The Juju Boost carries a price tag of $149.

Mojo Hand has Harvey on deck

Blake — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:00:19 +0000

The fine folks at Mojo Hand are set to unleash the bi-polar Harvey distortion pedal on to the masses this month. The Harvey is described as a two-channel distortion/overdrive with a distortion channel capable of ‘taking paint off!’ An initial batch of Harveys is expected at Tone Factor as early as this week. Brad is offering the first few at a discount rate for Tone Factor forumites. The regular price of the unit will be $199. Mojo Hand has a couple of other new pedals in the offing, including the Ramp Unit speed controller and Gyro pitch shifting vibrato. Stay tuned!

Get spacey with Mojo Hand’s Nebula phaser

Blake — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:44:05 +0000

Mojo Hand’s Nebula Phaser is a rather unassuming pedal. It comes in a plain white box, and wrapped with a little bubble wrap. Underneath the wrap is a small enclosure splashed with a cool purpley-black sparkle paint job that bursts greens and reds in the light. There are no instructions with the two-stage Nebula, and why should there be? It is single knob stomp. The more you turn it to the right, the faster the modulation rate gets. Below the knob and above the sturdy foot switch is the Nebula name in a cosmic cursive script. WTDP? got a chance recently to put the Nebula through its paces to see if it was more than meets the eye.

Who says effects need to be complicated to be good? Hmm? No really, who says that?! Not the folks at Mojo Hand. The Nebula phaser is a sweet little stomp based on the old MXR Phase 45 pedal. Like the 45, the Nebula is a subtle, gentle effect that isn’t a tone vampire like some boutique phasers. One old online review of the 45 I read recently said it best – ‘One knob. Turn it. If it doesn’t sound good, it isn’t on.’ The same can be said for the Nebula.

When I first plugged in the Nebula, I was struck by its smoothness. As I noodled around a bit, it struck me. This thing screams for Pink Floyd! I started working on what little Floyd I know… mostly from Dark Side, and the Nebula held up its end of the bargain. I opted out of Floyd for the clips, instead going with a simple pattern to better showcase the range of the stomp and compare its effects on both humbuckers and single coil pick-ups. With the Les Paul, we’ll take the Nebula around the clock. Starting from clean, we’ll go to 9 o’clock, then noon, over to 3 o’clock and ending pegged all the way right. Take a listen…

The Nebula gives off a sweeping yet subtle vibe. The lack of depth control isn’t as big an issue as one would guess. The Mojo Hand team did a great job dialing in the sweet spot offering a nice phasey wow and flutter as you increase the rate. Even at the higher rates, the Nebula never gets harsh or choppy. It stays warm and true to the effect. Swapping out the LP for the Strat, we’ll run the same exercise with the neck pickup.

Obviously a much different, more chimey coloration off the neck pick-up of the Strat, but the Nebula maintains its subtle wave. The effect appears even more ‘laid back’ with the single coils than the humbuckers.

The Mojo Hand Nebula is a curiosity among the army of boutique stomps equipped with toggles, switches and internal pots. This one knob phaser is no head-scratcher, it’s built like a tank and sounds good no matter where you dial it in. That’s our take anyway… your mileage may vary.

Special thanks to Brad at ToneFactor.com for the loaner Nebula.

PLEASE NOTE: All YMMV Review clips are played through a Reverend Hellhound 40/60 combo amp with 1×12 extension cab. No reverb or other effects were added to the clips. Guitars used in this review include a 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom and a 1998 Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster.

The Five: Mojo Hand’s Brad Fee

Blake — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:38:40 +0000

Brad Fee lives in the best of both worlds. As founder of Mojo Hand, he gets to guide the design and construction of some pretty sweet boutique effects pedals. As the man behind internet retailer Tone Factor, he gets to supply guitarists with boutique stomps from around the globe all while keeping first hand tabs on the competition. WTDP? met Brad at the recent Austin Pedalfest where he and his Tone Factor crew supplied many of the pedals that were sampled. We hooked up with him again at the Arlington Guitar Show and asked if he’d be willing to take a pass at our five little questions. See his answers after the jump!

WTDP?: When and why did you start making effects pedals?
Brad: My first “attempt” at pedal assembly was a Craig Anderton Tube Sound Fuzz kit that I bought from Paia around 2000 or so. I immediately butchered it. I ended up requesting help from a fellow that I knew through the internet named Joe Delisi. That was the beginning of a great friendship and a lasting partnership. Joe has worked with me from day one (at Tone Factor) and is now one of the main builders for Mojo Hand, doing assembly on the Huckleberry, Mule and Copperhead. I’ve had so much help from people in the effects community. I can’t take much credit. Some of the best builders in the business are responsible for what’s under the hood of the Mojo Hand effects. I’m just lucky enough to count them amoung my friends.

WTDP?: At what point did you realize ‘Hey, I might be able to make a little money doing this.’?
Brad: My story and approach are probably very different than a lot of pedal builders out there. I sort of stumbled my way into manufacturing from my involvement in the retail side of the business. I never went through the “pedal building as a hobby” phase like most guys. Mojo Hand started out as the Tone Factor Custom Shop, before eventually splitting into it’s own company. It was basically a promotional thing that took on a life of it’s own. I was shocked the fist time another dealer contacted me about carrying some of my pedals. That’s the first time that I realized that we may really be on to something.

WTDP?: Is there a stomp out there you wish you had made?
Brad: I’d have to go with a classic and say the Big Muff. It’s such a ubiquitous sound, and a huge part of several records that I love.

WTDP?: What’s on your workbench right now?
Brad: We have a killer new Flanger scheduled to come out next month called the 770. It’s had great response from testers and I’m really looking forward to the release.

WTDP?: You’’ve got free reign to assemble your dream trio. If you’re on guitar, who’s playing bass and drums (alive or dead)?
Brad: I’m going to go with a couple of classics again and say Geezer Butler on bass and John Bonham on drums. If these guys could find a new guitar player they’d be doing alright.

Rock on, Brad!