Rotator: The Pedal Party

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Welcome to the beginning of the end. This episode we take a stroll down memory lane and talk about some of our favorite Rotator: The Pedal Party moments with a special guest appearance from our good friend The *****.  We talk guitars, amps, pedals and finally reveal our own pedalboards! Thanks for everything. This community has been amazing, and we couldn't have done it without you. See you all soon...

It's our holiday special! What gear did you always hope to find under the tree?

Sometimes you get in the mood for delay pedals, and you just have to get your hands on one. We did just that for this week's episode. We get down and dirty with the Strymon DIG. It's got two separate delay engines, and it's pink! The illusive DMB Stellar Drive makes an appearance as well. 

Are you ready to wobble? I never thought I'd want a delay or reverb pedal that had built-in wiggle, but the Caverns V2 actually does it on both—and incredibly well, I might add. Come on now!

What has three knobs, two switches, and a ton of tone? Listen to this week's episode to find out. We can't tell what kind of pedal it is, but we know it sounds good. 

This pedal is so serious about tone that it can KILL YOU. One knob, one switch, and only one emoji needed m/

Charlie Paolo makes some pretty gnarly, doomy, boomy, zoomy pedals. This week, we got to try out the Obsidian Fuzz and Bloodstone Overdrive. So much straightforward rawk! Outro music by https://www.bensound.com because I can’t find our OG track! Whoops!

Tone snobs often treat “Tubescreamer” like a bad word, but should that always be the case? This week, we take a look at one high-end TS style pedal and compare it to a budget-friendly version. While they both have their shares of benefits, there is a clear winner in the end…  Also, we tried a few tweaks to the editing process, so let us know what you think of the new sound quality at rotator.party@gmail.com.  Gear used: 2013 Gibson SG ’61 Reissue 1995 Fender Stratocaster Hughes & Kettner Dual EL84 Statesman Shure SM57 Audix i5

GUESS WHO’S BACK. It’s us, the ‘Taterheads, and we have what you’ve been waiting for this whole time: a review of the high-end, special-made, blah blah blah we have an old, beat-up Rocktron Rampage, which totally lives up to its name. Summer is over, folks. Winter has come!   Gear used: 2013 Gibson SG ’61 Reissue 1995 Fender Stratocaster Hughes & Kettner Dual EL84 Statesman Shure SM57 Audix i5

Geraniums, germaniums, great flowery fuzz. What is the Twin Bender? Essentially, two iconic fuzz circuits in one unit accompanied with major modern upgrades that fix some of the finicky issues with putting old-school fuzz pedals on the boards of today. Tim is a great guy making some great stuff, so enjoy us being obnoxious! Gear used:  1995 Fender Stratocaster 2013 Gibson SG ’61 Reissue Fender Precision Bass Marshall JCM800 Shure SM57

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we were not able to record a pedal demo this week. Instead, as our little baby podcast turns 21 episodes old, we were forced to turn our eyes within, remembering all the great pieces of gear that, for whatever reason (probably rent and bills), we had to let loose. Grab a tissue and get ready to mourn alongside us during this week’s memorial service for the pieces that have gone before. Godspeed.  Gear used:  None. Only gear lost…..   

This is another episode we recorded a little over a month ago and completely forgot about, which is a shame, especially since you can find these on reverb.com for about $40! With three different drive modes, we put this in the budget-friendly/multi-purpose category. And while it doesn't necessarily nail any of the territories exactly as advertised, all three voicings and useful and pretty fun to play with. Gear used: 1995 Fender Stratocaster 2013 Gibson SG '61 Reissue Fender Jazz Bass Vox AC30 Shure SM57

On this very special (read: late) episode of Rotator, you get to meet Chance’s girlfriend Mikala, who since taping this episode has been upgraded to fiancee. Celebrate good times, c’mon. As for the pedal, the Blue Box is, well, a blue box. And that’s exactly what it sounds like. Blue and boxy! Is it a fuzz? Is it an octave? Is it a space machine? Hard to tell, but we did our best.  Gear used:  1995 Fender Stratocaster 2013 Gibson SG ’61 Reissue Fender Jazz Bass Vox AC30 Shure SM57  

An overdrive pedal modeled after…….. a projector?! Genius. Not to get too cliche here, but this might be the single most #musical overdrive we have demoed. Allergy attacks/weather alerts couldn’t stop us from bringing you the purest tones we could get out of an impressively useful dirt box. Enjoy.  Gear used:  2003 Fender American Telecaster 2009 Gibson Les Paul Traditional Fender Precision Bass Stulce Amp head Marshall 2x12 cabinet Sennheiser MD421 Sennheiser e906   

We finally did it; we broke the 1-hour threshold, even after some major edits. We just had so much fun, we never wanted the episode to end, ya know? In all seriousness, this pedal is fun, functional, but probably not family friendly. m/ Also, Chance forgets more riffs than he remembers.  Gear used:  2003 Fender American Telecaster 2009 Gibson Les Paul Traditional Kauer Arcturus Bass Stulce Amp head Marshall 2x12 cabinet Sennheiser MD421 Sennheiser e906  LPD 87  

Congrats to John Pepe on winning the Old Blood Noise Endeavors Haunt Fuzz from last week’s episode!! The stereo setup didn’t work, the cabinet was rattling, and Sister Kelly gone and locked herself out of the church office. But gosh dime it, we still finished the episode. And we’re happy we did because we may have finally given in and accepted the idea of a “transparent overdrive.” Trust me, that took some work.  Gear used:  Fender Blacktop Telecaster 1995 Fender Stratocaster Special 1964 Fender Bandmaster Fender P Bass Marshall 2x12 cabinet Sennheiser MD421 Emerson Em-Drive Transparent Overdrive Strymon Dig Digital Delay

GIVEAWAY! If you want a chance to win the pedal we use in this episode, go like our Instagram account @rotatorparty and tag a friend who loves pedals in the picture we post for this episode! The winner will be randomly selected this Saturday (May 12). Special thanks to The Jared for donating this pedal. Knobs and switches and split-splat-patty-whack giva-dogga-fuzz. There are far more sounds in this pedal than we could discover in one sitting, but we did our best to capture this thing’s array of juicy flavor.  Gear used: 2009 Gibson Les Paul Traditional 1995 Fender Stratocaster Special 1964 Fender Bandmaster Marshall 2x12 cabinet Sennheiser MD421 Old Blood Noise Endeavors Haunt Fuzz A little delay from the Strymon Dig Digital Delay Visit www.rotator.party for more or subscribe in iTunes.

It took us a while to find the sweet spot, but once we did, we were hooked on this budget-friendly overdrive. If you want an affordable drive that can essentially turn a Blues Jr. into a 70s Marshall Superbass, getcha a Bad Monkey. And did we mention it cleans up well? Besides all our tomfoolery, if it’s good enough for the great Phil X, who are we to argue?  Gear used: 2009 Gibson Les Paul Traditional 2000s Gretsch 6122 Country Gentleman Stulce low-watt, EL84 head Marshall 2x12 cabinet Fender Blues Jr. III Sennheiser MD421 Sennheiser e906 Digitech Bad Monkey Tube Overdrive T.C. Electronics Hall of Fame Reverb

For our lucky number 13th episode, we present you with the Bogner Burnley, the most m/ distortion pedal ever made. With a Neve transformer, fancy LED flashing, and the world’s first fat switch that actually works, this thing sent us both on a journey of obnoxious transcendence through shred forrest. It's a long one, but we aren't apologizing. Bonus points: count how many times Chance says "juice" or "juicy" to discover the hidden codex.  Gear used:  2009 Gibson Les Paul Traditional 1995 Fender Stratocaster Special Stulce low-watt, EL84 head Marshall 2x12 cabinet Fender Blues Jr. III Sennheiser MD421 Sennheiser e906 Bogner Burnley Distortion Strymon Dig Delay

Wacky chorus + stereo reverb = this one’s got some noises in it, and we love how crazy it got. Enjoy our first ever two-amp, stereo recording and all the boyoyoyoyoyoing this Julia has to offer. And on the bass???? Slap on this chorus and some reverb, and get ready to make the Transformers 6 soundtrack. Gear used:  2000s Gretsch 6122 Country Gentleman 1995 Fender Stratocaster Special Stulce low-watt, EL84 head Marshall 2x12 cabinet Fender Blues Jr. III Sennheiser MD421 Sennheiser e906 Walrus Audio Julia Chorus T.C. Electronics Hall of Fame Reverb

Ever wondered what a DS-1 would sound like if it oscillated? Here ya go. The Jared loaned us this Keeley-modded Boss pedal, and... well, we did our best to figure it out. They can't all be gems, we suppose.  Gear used: Fender Strat Plus Gibson SG '61 Reissue Fender Precision Bass Fender Blues Jr. Shure SM57

Our lust for ProCo distortion products has brought us to this fateful moment: a shootout between two pedals with identical guts to celebrate making it to our 10th episode (a truly miraculous feat). The absolute best portion of this episode has to be sleepy Chance waking up in the morning to finish the bass demo in the new recording space after we got distracted the night of the recording by a neighbor's guitar battle challenge. But more on that later...   Gear used: 1995 Fender Stratocaster 2013 Gibson SG '61 Reissue 1998 Fender Vibrolux Reverb   Shure SM57 2010s Fender Jazz Bass Noble Bass DI

I wouldn’t kick this dirt box out of bed for eating crackers. In fact, my biggest frustration with it is that I went so long without one. This late 80s ProCo Rat II has that LM308N chip in it that everyone loves so much, and that love is completely warranted. You can thank me later for cutting out most of the weirdly existential stuff about musical safety blankets. Trust me.  Gear used: 2009 Gibson Les Paul Traditional 1992 American Telecaster Marshall Bluesbreaker  Shure SM57

Oops. This one got away from us when it comes to length, but when the pedal is Dip Switch Heaven (or Hell, possibly), you’re just going to go long with all the juicy, splattery options. Listen on to hear maybe the most sensitive pedal we’ve demoed yet.  Also Chance stutters a lot on this one, so get ready for the re-re-re-re-REMIX. Gear used: Gibson Les Paul Traditional Fender American Telecaster Fender American Jazz Bass Marshall Bluesbreaker Shure SM57

A friend of a friend procured (a word Chance botched in this episode) a 1990s JHF2 Dallas Arbiter Reissue Fuzz Face. If you think the title of this pedal is big, check out the inclosure of this thing. It's footprint is massive, but its tone is as well, so we're totally down with it. Listen in and find out why this thing is a classic. And just for fun, we threw a Walrus Audio Luminary Octave Generator into the mix, which really put this thing over the top, as demonstrated on the bass by our first ever special guest, John McCall.  Gear used: 1992 Fender Telecaster 2009 Gibson Les Paul Traditional 1998 Fender Vibrolux Reverb Shure SM57

Two fuzzes? Yes, two fuzzes. In our first double pedal party, we got our hands on two great Walrus Audio fuzz pedals: the Jupiter v2 and the Contraband. They’re nasty in all the right ways, so enjoy some yummy filth.    Gear used: 1991 Fender Strat Plus 2013 Gibson SG ’61 Reissue Fender Blues Jr. Sure SM57

This one sounds good, y'all. The Klon Clone (is "Klone" still a thing?) world is pretty vast and varied, but this little dude does one thing: it takes care of business. A small enclosure, classy aesthetic, straightforward design, great price... the list of perks goes on and on. If you want a good comparison of this pedal and an original Klon Centaur, check out our very first episode for reference. I don't think you will be disappointed with the Archer's ability to keep up.    Gear used:  2009 Gibson Les Paul Traditional 1994 Fender Stratocaster Special 1964 Fender Bandmaster Marshall 2x12 Cabinet Shure SM57  

So many knobs, such a long name, so little time to demo... This week, we run through a Keeley Monterey Rotary Fuzz Vibe and find a few surprises in the controls. Buckle up for some sloppy Hendrix riffs and plenty of electrical noise as we try to find out if this thing can really do all these things well or if it's guilty of overreaching like so many other multi effects.  Gear used: 2009 Gibson Les Paul Traditional 1992 Fender Telecaster 2000 Vox AC30/6 TBX

What does an overdrive pedal with three volume knobs and no tone control sound like? Fun. It sounds like fun. We played Sabbath riffs on the bass, laughed uncontrollably at low end, and possibly caught a blackface Fender on fire. And if that isn't worth listening to, I don't know what is.    Gear used:  1964 Fender Bandmaster 2009 Gibson Les Paul Traditional 1994 Fender Telecaster Special 201? Fender Jazz Bass

This week, we get to revisit a pedal that Cogan used to have on his board. Even though this box was familiar to us, after putting the pedal through a wide array of settings, we found a few pleasant surprises. And this thing has a Distortion mode, so I mean yeah, things got obnoxious. Also worth mentioning: Chance gets well acquainted with a tuner pedal. Eventually.  

For our very first episode, our friend Josh graciously loaned us a beautiful Klon Centaur Silver (with centaur graphic). We were elated to actually see one in real life and get to put it through its paces! Does this legendary, sought-after pedal live up to the hype? Will we find our rhythm of how to talk to each other with mics in our faces?