gilmourish | 9 years ago

Review of the Skreddy Pedals Rust Rod

Signal chain:
Guitar - Fender CIJ Stratocaster, with D Allen Voodoo 69 neck and middle pickups and Seymour Duncan SSL5 bridge pickup
Amp - Reeves Custom 50, Laney LT212 cabinet with Celestion V30 speakers
Mic - Shure SM57

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Skreddy Pedals
http://skreddypedals.com

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Big Muffs seem to come in all shapes and sizes these days but is it really possible to offer something new and exciting? The Rust Rod from Skreddy Pedals is one of the latest additions in the family and naturally, I had to check it out. Here’s my review.

My relationship with the Big Muff goes way back to the early 90s. At that point, you were laughed at if you entered a guitar store and asked for one. Then, suddenly, the grunge thing happened and everyone wanted one. This also coincided with the reissues from Mike Matthews and Sovtek. My first Big Muff was a green bubble font Sovtek and I’ve been in love ever since.

Marc Ahlfs knows his Big Muffs and I’m always excited when he comes up with something new. He seems to have an ear for not only a good tone but what it is that makes up a really good tone. To me, that has always been the idea I have in my head. A good tone is the combination of the pedal, guitar and amp but also the person playing, the recording and atmosphere of a venue (if it is a live recording). Skreddy pedals always seem to capture that feel and experience.

The Rust Rod is based on the mid 70s ram’s head Big Muffs. While these are known for their bright top and super scooped mid range, some of the models had a darker tone, with less scoop and more of those fuzz harmonics. The Rust Rod is no doubt a ram’s head but there’s also a bit of that early Sovtek flavour.

The first thing you notice is that the Rust Rod is loud. And I mean really loud! The volume control responds well so there’s no problem turning it down but past noon it turns into something you don’t want to meet in a dark alley…

The Rust Rod is fairly bright but the powerful tone control has a wide sweep from very dark to very bright. It doesn’t get ice picky though, thanks to the retained mid range. Still, you probably want the tone slightly lower than usual.

Read the full review here
http://www.gilmourish.com/?p=7064