MF Stupid Deal - Pigtronix Philosopher’s Tone Germanium Gold Micro

Musician's Friend is running a daily deal on the Pigtronix Philosopher’s Tone Germanium Gold Micro. It is on sale for $74, and normally retails for $134.

The Pigtronix Philosopher’s Tone Germanium Gold Micro brings back the original Pigtronix custom shop compressor/sustainer/distortion effect—in micro form. This superlative version of the award-winning and top-selling Pigtronix Philosopher’s Tone compressor takes the original pedal’s optical sustain engine and lets you mix in a layer of germanium-enhanced distortion. The unique diode arrangement found in the Germanium Gold version delivers a smooth top end and rich midrange response, tailored to match the characteristics of the optical sustainer driving it. If you felt that the original circuits in the Philosopher’s Tone were brilliant, wait 'til you hear how the Germanium distortion adds to the overall character of this compressor/sustainer pedal! The clean side of the Philosopher’s Tone remains the same; dial in your Blend and Volume to get the signal you desire. Use the Sustain knob to dial in the amount of compression you need. Higher settings on this control will provide a noiseless clean sustain previously unheard of in compression pedals, while retaining the original integrity of your tone. What makes the Germanium Gold version unique is the Grit control. More than a simple gain knob, the Grit knob found on the Philosopher’s Tone Germanium Gold Micro acts as a blend for the germanium-enhanced distortion found in this unit. You can dial in more or less grit, depending on your tastes. Your clean and overdriven tones from the Philosopher’s Tone can be blended perfectly with just the right amount of grit for your playing. This stompbox features true-bypass switching and runs on standard 9VDC power with an internal, voltage-doubling circuit providing the superior clarity and overall output of 18VDC power rails. The Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone Germanium Gold Micro packs an unprecedented amount of boutique compression and germanium distortion into a micro-sized pedal.

Fender unveils new pedals at NAMM

These, I believe, are Fender's first pedals since the unexceptional Competition Series pedals and certainly look more inspired than their predecessors.

Pugilist Distortion - MSRP: $99.99
A dual gain-stage distortion with a switch-activated bass boost.

Level Set Buffer - MSRP: $99.99
It's pretty feature-rich for a dedicated buffer pedal, if only because buffer pedals generally don't feature anything other than the buffer. Along with level and hi-frequency filter knobs, the footswitch allows you to mute the signal.

The Bends Compressor - MSRP: $129.99
Maybe it's named after the Radiohead album. Maybe it's named after decompression sickness.

Marine Layer Reverb - MSRP: 149.99
The oddest name from a set of oddly-named pedals. At its price point, it'll have heavy competition with the TC Hall of Fame, DigiTech Polara, BOSS RV6, et al.

Mirror Image Delay - MSRP: $149.99
Like the Marine Layer Reverb, this one will have a lot of competition in the $150 range.

Santa Ana Overdrive - MSRP: $199.99
Some good tone-shaping potential here with two different voices, a 3-band EQ and optional boost.

NUX unveils some Strymon-looking pedals

NUX has unveiled a line of three new pedals, and at first look, one would assume they're Strymon clones. They share an identical design and knob placement, but the similarities seem to end there. Among the new pedals is the a combination delay and reverb, and an amp simulator, either of which Strymon has. The last new pedal is a combination booster and compressor, but doesn't appear to be a clone of Strymon's own booster/compressor.

Atlantic Delay & Reverb

The Atlantic Delay & Reverb features an analog, digital and tape echo on the delay side, and a spring, hall and plate on the reverb side. A shimmer effect can be added to the plate reverb with a momentary switch. According to NUX, it's expected to be priced around $160. For more info, visit NUX.

Solid Studio IR & Power Amp Simulator

The Solid Studio IR & Power Amp Simulator features 8 cabinets, 8 microphones and 3 positions for each, and 3 tube models. For more info, visit NUX.

Masamune Booster & Kompressor

For more info, visit NUX.

EHX unveils Tone Corset Analog Compressor

Electro-Harmonix introduces the Tone Corset analog compressor, a compact OTA (Operational Transconductance Amplifier) compressor with an organic quality that works especially well with guitar.

The Tone Corset’s four-knob design provides excellent control and gives the user the ability to precisely shape their instrument’s dynamics. Compression effects ranging from subtle to extreme and all points in between are possible.

The pedal’s Sustain knob controls the amount of compression applied to the guitar signal. The Attack knob adjusts how quickly the compressor recovers. As Attack is turned clockwise the pedal’s response is slower and more initial pick attack comes thru. The Blend knobs adjusts the mix of the dry and compressed signals. By blending both the player can achieve a sound where the dry signal allows the natural pick attack to come thru while the compressed side turns up the volume as the note decays. Volume adjusts the overall output level of the effect. A Pad switch pads down the input signal to prevent undesirable distortion when the pedal is used with high output humbuckers, bass guitar, etc.

The Tone Corset features True Bypass switching to ensure maximum signal path integrity and comes with a 9 Volt battery.

-Four-knob design provides excellent control and gives the user the ability to precisely shape their instrument’s dynamics.
-The Sustain knob controls the amount of compression applied to the guitar signal.
-The Attack know adjusts how quickly the compressor recovers. As Attack is turned clockwise the pedal’s response is slower and more initial pick attack comes thru.
-The Blend knob adjusts the mix of the dry and compressed signals.
-Volume controls the overall output level.
-The Pad switch pads down the input signal to prevent undesirable distortion if the Tone Coret is used with high output humbuckers, bass guitar, etc.
-True Bypass for maximum signal path integrity.
-Comes with a 9Volt battery.

The Tone Analog will be priced at $89.50. For more information, see the official product page.

GC Daily Pick - Pigtronix Philosopher's Rock

Guitar Center has a daily deal going for the Pigtronix Philosopher's Rock, a "Compressor & Sustainer with Germanium Distortion." It's on sale for $69.95, about $66 off its usual price.

The Philosophers Rock features Pigtronix’s unique optical circuit that provides transparent compression with endless clean sustain. This all analog, state-of-the-art dynamics processor is further augmented by a harmonic germanium distortion that can be added via toggle switch for even more over-the-top tones that will instantly melt faces when engaged. Many top slide guitarists have gravitated towards the Philosopher’s Rock due to its distortion characteristics being remarkably similar to the “tube rectifier sag” of a small amp being mercilessly overloaded.

Although the Philosopher’s Rock has fewer controls than its more knobby siblings, it actually sports a 4 times wider range of compression tones on tap. This allows the Philosopher’s Rock to be used as a more subtle, clean compressor as well as a super squashy sustain machine when maxed out. The Philosopher’s Rock can be used to tame peaks in your signal as well as to create natural acoustic feedback with or without distortion. Super low noise performance allows the Philosopher’s Rock to be effective in front of a dirty amp or combined with high gain distortion and fuzz pedals for crafting your personal wall of sound.

The Treble and Blend functions from the original Philosopher’s Tone have been preset to the “sweet spot” for hassle free operation on stage or in the studio. The Philosopher’s Rock features true bypass switching and runs fine on standard 9-volt (negative tip) power but ships with an 18-volt adapter for superior headroom, clarity and overall output.

Demo of new TC Electronic pedals from Sweetwater

Retailer Sweetwater has an extensive demo video of the new TC Electronic pedals. They include the feature-rich Ditto X4 looper, the Spectra Comp bass compressor and the Bona Fide Buffer - a buffer that automatically switches to true bypass when its power source is cut.

MF Stupid Deal of the Day - Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone

Musician's Friend's Stupid Deal of the Day is the Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone Compressor. It's on sale for $99.99, about $80 less than what most places are currently selling it for.

TC Electronic introduces the HyperGravity Compressor

The HyperGravity Compressor is expected to be released in October with a minimum advertised price of $129.99.