Tourbox for the Fretboard members _ Bad Penny FX. The tourbox is now live.

AntonHunter

Where's the tourbox up to now then? It's like waiting for Christmas this ;-)

Cookiemonster

We are into the 5th person. So far there have been some cool videos and photos from everyone. Check Goliath Studios YouTube !!

I bought a couple as well.  Fantastic pedals. Hoping they do a delay !

AntonHunter

Oh nice, I'll have a look on YouTube then!

Fuengi

Just landed this afternoon at Chez Fuengi, had a quick look / play with a couple. Nice Christmas surprise! 

Cookiemonster

Fuengi said:

Just landed this afternoon at Chez Fuengi, had a quick look / play with a couple. Nice Christmas surprise! 

Enjoy mate. Let us know which ones you like, and what you think of them.

Fuengi

I waved these a fond farewell yesterday morning having had a little bit of time to play around over Christmas. A big thanks to @Cookiemonster for organising, and to Mark & Felix at Bad Penny FX for putting a great box together, their utility and design ethos is evident in both the packaging and the pedals themselves.

I predominantly used the pedals through my Blackstar Studio 10 EL84 with a Neo Creamback installed. Fender Strat mostly, occasionally a Gretsch G5420 with some fun feedback results. Had a little play through my Honeyboy 5w but that does not need any more pushing to be fair.

General thoughts on the pedals as a whole before I go into each pedal individually;

The look and feel are striking, I like the hardwood sides and Victorian styling. I’m undecided on the size of the larger pedals. What I like is the setting out of the controls in such a way that the switching is so accessible, it encourages manipulation (I hate micro knobs and switches). This is not something that I’m used to on fuzz pedals as often they are set-and-forget jobs – find your useful sound and leave it there.

However, if you’re going to twiddle you need a variety of tones that are noticeably varied, and good enough to want to use. This, for me, is where these BP FX pedals truly excel.

I found the tone was really exceptional across the range with excellent harmonic character. All of the switching was well thought out and useful, and they were incredibly quiet in operation. I can see them being really useful recording tools for studios due to the quiet operation and variety of sound they can produce. The range of the Master Volume on these pedals is perfect in my view.

Cons – Size. They are larger than my Boss DD200. The Littlebox is a great size.   

Thoughts on each pedal:

Fuzz Controller

Quickly found usable and inspiring sounds. Gain at 2 o clock with Treble switch down sounds fantastic. Lots of harmonics and note clarity. Grumble and fuzz, has that distinctive silicone characteristic.

Lots of versatility with the Starve & Diode switching. Very good indeed.

Littlebox

Singling leads, more akin to a Muff with lots of really lovely vocal sustain. Starve Control seems to change the character of the fuzz and provides some good tonal variety. Bass Cut provides a really good fun AM radio / torn speaker character which is highly touch sensitive. Lovely with the Strat, very addictive indeed and fun creating some different loops with this.

Lovely size enclosure and very good value for money. Tempting.  

Smoothflow

Two stage gain and boost with various switches. I tried this through both my amps, it didn’t really float my boat if I’m honest. Maybe adds a touch of clarity through the tweed but nothing I found particularly inspiring.

Widow

Really like this pedal. I’d say it is an American style overdrive / distortion which reminds me a lot of the Thopry Warthog. Drive and Bite are similar to the Gain and Calibre on Thorpy’s unit. Tons of harmonics, sounds great everywhere and has that raw, yet velvety decay and I think we have all always wanted and “Evil Switch” on a pedal!

If I was after and American voiced overdrive / distortion I would definitely like to A/B this with the Warthog as they are the best two I have heard.  

Wireless

Hands down my favourite. Literally cannot get a bad sound of this thing. Encourages trying different setting and finding different tones, really, really great germanium fuzz pedal with a killer tone. Superbly touch sensitive and just an absolute blast to play.

This works well with the Fuzz dialled right back to zero, adding just a little sparkling fizz. Tone adds volume as well as tone. Master volume has a really good useable range. Bass and Gate bring interesting differences to the tone control and are interactive.

With the Tone cranked full the volume drops and there is some sort of frequency reduction, close to what the Littlebox does with the Bass Cut, although not quite as dramatic. I’ll almost certainly buy one of these, it does so many things so well.

Conclusions.

Terrific to see another UK pedal builder making such a great product. I think that the price point is really good, I expected them to be more expensive when i did a littleonline research. Top marks all round chaps!

Badpennyfx

Fuengi said:

I waved these a fond farewell yesterday morning having had a little bit of time to play around over Christmas. A big thanks to @Cookiemonster for organising, and to Mark & Felix at Bad Penny FX for putting a great box together, their utility and design ethos is evident in both the packaging and the pedals themselves.

I predominantly used the pedals through my Blackstar Studio 10 EL84 with a Neo Creamback installed. Fender Strat mostly, occasionally a Gretsch G5420 with some fun feedback results. Had a little play through my Honeyboy 5w but that does not need any more pushing to be fair.

General thoughts on the pedals as a whole before I go into each pedal individually;

The look and feel are striking, I like the hardwood sides and Victorian styling. I’m undecided on the size of the larger pedals. What I like is the setting out of the controls in such a way that the switching is so accessible, it encourages manipulation (I hate micro knobs and switches). This is not something that I’m used to on fuzz pedals as often they are set-and-forget jobs – find your useful sound and leave it there.

However, if you’re going to twiddle you need a variety of tones that are noticeably varied, and good enough to want to use. This, for me, is where these BP FX pedals truly excel.

I found the tone was really exceptional across the range with excellent harmonic character. All of the switching was well thought out and useful, and they were incredibly quiet in operation. I can see them being really useful recording tools for studios due to the quiet operation and variety of sound they can produce. The range of the Master Volume on these pedals is perfect in my view.

Cons – Size. They are larger than my Boss DD200. The Littlebox is a great size.   

Thoughts on each pedal:

Fuzz Controller

Quickly found usable and inspiring sounds. Gain at 2 o clock with Treble switch down sounds fantastic. Lots of harmonics and note clarity. Grumble and fuzz, has that distinctive silicone characteristic.

Lots of versatility with the Starve & Diode switching. Very good indeed.

Littlebox

Singling leads, more akin to a Muff with lots of really lovely vocal sustain. Starve Control seems to change the character of the fuzz and provides some good tonal variety. Bass Cut provides a really good fun AM radio / torn speaker character which is highly touch sensitive. Lovely with the Strat, very addictive indeed and fun creating some different loops with this.

Lovely size enclosure and very good value for money. Tempting.  

Smoothflow

Two stage gain and boost with various switches. I tried this through both my amps, it didn’t really float my boat if I’m honest. Maybe adds a touch of clarity through the tweed but nothing I found particularly inspiring.

Widow

Really like this pedal. I’d say it is an American style overdrive / distortion which reminds me a lot of the Thopry Warthog. Drive and Bite are similar to the Gain and Calibre on Thorpy’s unit. Tons of harmonics, sounds great everywhere and has that raw, yet velvety decay and I think we have all always wanted and “Evil Switch” on a pedal!

If I was after and American voiced overdrive / distortion I would definitely like to A/B this with the Warthog as they are the best two I have heard.  

Wireless

Hands down my favourite. Literally cannot get a bad sound of this thing. Encourages trying different setting and finding different tones, really, really great germanium fuzz pedal with a killer tone. Superbly touch sensitive and just an absolute blast to play.

This works well with the Fuzz dialled right back to zero, adding just a little sparkling fizz. Tone adds volume as well as tone. Master volume has a really good useable range. Bass and Gate bring interesting differences to the tone control and are interactive.

With the Tone cranked full the volume drops and there is some sort of frequency reduction, close to what the Littlebox does with the Bass Cut, although not quite as dramatic. I’ll almost certainly buy one of these, it does so many things so well.

Conclusions.

Terrific to see another UK pedal builder making such a great product. I think that the price point is really good, I expected them to be more expensive when i did a littleonline research. Top marks all round chaps!

Absolutely killer feedback. So happy that you enjoyed our units, Fuengi. Give us a shout if you want to chat

Cookiemonster

Badpennyfx said:

Fuengi said:

I waved these a fond farewell yesterday morning having had a little bit of time to play around over Christmas. A big thanks to @Cookiemonster for organising, and to Mark & Felix at Bad Penny FX for putting a great box together, their utility and design ethos is evident in both the packaging and the pedals themselves.

I predominantly used the pedals through my Blackstar Studio 10 EL84 with a Neo Creamback installed. Fender Strat mostly, occasionally a Gretsch G5420 with some fun feedback results. Had a little play through my Honeyboy 5w but that does not need any more pushing to be fair.

General thoughts on the pedals as a whole before I go into each pedal individually;

The look and feel are striking, I like the hardwood sides and Victorian styling. I’m undecided on the size of the larger pedals. What I like is the setting out of the controls in such a way that the switching is so accessible, it encourages manipulation (I hate micro knobs and switches). This is not something that I’m used to on fuzz pedals as often they are set-and-forget jobs – find your useful sound and leave it there.

However, if you’re going to twiddle you need a variety of tones that are noticeably varied, and good enough to want to use. This, for me, is where these BP FX pedals truly excel.

I found the tone was really exceptional across the range with excellent harmonic character. All of the switching was well thought out and useful, and they were incredibly quiet in operation. I can see them being really useful recording tools for studios due to the quiet operation and variety of sound they can produce. The range of the Master Volume on these pedals is perfect in my view.

Cons – Size. They are larger than my Boss DD200. The Littlebox is a great size.   

Thoughts on each pedal:

Fuzz Controller

Quickly found usable and inspiring sounds. Gain at 2 o clock with Treble switch down sounds fantastic. Lots of harmonics and note clarity. Grumble and fuzz, has that distinctive silicone characteristic.

Lots of versatility with the Starve & Diode switching. Very good indeed.

Littlebox

Singling leads, more akin to a Muff with lots of really lovely vocal sustain. Starve Control seems to change the character of the fuzz and provides some good tonal variety. Bass Cut provides a really good fun AM radio / torn speaker character which is highly touch sensitive. Lovely with the Strat, very addictive indeed and fun creating some different loops with this.

Lovely size enclosure and very good value for money. Tempting.  

Smoothflow

Two stage gain and boost with various switches. I tried this through both my amps, it didn’t really float my boat if I’m honest. Maybe adds a touch of clarity through the tweed but nothing I found particularly inspiring.

Widow

Really like this pedal. I’d say it is an American style overdrive / distortion which reminds me a lot of the Thopry Warthog. Drive and Bite are similar to the Gain and Calibre on Thorpy’s unit. Tons of harmonics, sounds great everywhere and has that raw, yet velvety decay and I think we have all always wanted and “Evil Switch” on a pedal!

If I was after and American voiced overdrive / distortion I would definitely like to A/B this with the Warthog as they are the best two I have heard.  

Wireless

Hands down my favourite. Literally cannot get a bad sound of this thing. Encourages trying different setting and finding different tones, really, really great germanium fuzz pedal with a killer tone. Superbly touch sensitive and just an absolute blast to play.

This works well with the Fuzz dialled right back to zero, adding just a little sparkling fizz. Tone adds volume as well as tone. Master volume has a really good useable range. Bass and Gate bring interesting differences to the tone control and are interactive.

With the Tone cranked full the volume drops and there is some sort of frequency reduction, close to what the Littlebox does with the Bass Cut, although not quite as dramatic. I’ll almost certainly buy one of these, it does so many things so well.

Conclusions.

Terrific to see another UK pedal builder making such a great product. I think that the price point is really good, I expected them to be more expensive when i did a littleonline research. Top marks all round chaps!

Absolutely killer feedback. So happy that you enjoyed our units, Fuengi. Give us a shout if you want to chat

Awesome review. 

I wish I had gotten the wireless myself, and interesting feedback about the Warthog Being similar to the Widow as I was thinking of getting the Warthog.

Fuengi

Badpennyfx said:

Fuengi said:

I waved these a fond farewell yesterday morning having had a little bit of time to play around over Christmas. A big thanks to @Cookiemonster for organising, and to Mark & Felix at Bad Penny FX for putting a great box together, their utility and design ethos is evident in both the packaging and the pedals themselves.

I predominantly used the pedals through my Blackstar Studio 10 EL84 with a Neo Creamback installed. Fender Strat mostly, occasionally a Gretsch G5420 with some fun feedback results. Had a little play through my Honeyboy 5w but that does not need any more pushing to be fair.

General thoughts on the pedals as a whole before I go into each pedal individually;

The look and feel are striking, I like the hardwood sides and Victorian styling. I’m undecided on the size of the larger pedals. What I like is the setting out of the controls in such a way that the switching is so accessible, it encourages manipulation (I hate micro knobs and switches). This is not something that I’m used to on fuzz pedals as often they are set-and-forget jobs – find your useful sound and leave it there.

However, if you’re going to twiddle you need a variety of tones that are noticeably varied, and good enough to want to use. This, for me, is where these BP FX pedals truly excel.

I found the tone was really exceptional across the range with excellent harmonic character. All of the switching was well thought out and useful, and they were incredibly quiet in operation. I can see them being really useful recording tools for studios due to the quiet operation and variety of sound they can produce. The range of the Master Volume on these pedals is perfect in my view.

Cons – Size. They are larger than my Boss DD200. The Littlebox is a great size.   

Thoughts on each pedal:

Fuzz Controller

Quickly found usable and inspiring sounds. Gain at 2 o clock with Treble switch down sounds fantastic. Lots of harmonics and note clarity. Grumble and fuzz, has that distinctive silicone characteristic.

Lots of versatility with the Starve & Diode switching. Very good indeed.

Littlebox

Singling leads, more akin to a Muff with lots of really lovely vocal sustain. Starve Control seems to change the character of the fuzz and provides some good tonal variety. Bass Cut provides a really good fun AM radio / torn speaker character which is highly touch sensitive. Lovely with the Strat, very addictive indeed and fun creating some different loops with this.

Lovely size enclosure and very good value for money. Tempting.  

Smoothflow

Two stage gain and boost with various switches. I tried this through both my amps, it didn’t really float my boat if I’m honest. Maybe adds a touch of clarity through the tweed but nothing I found particularly inspiring.

Widow

Really like this pedal. I’d say it is an American style overdrive / distortion which reminds me a lot of the Thopry Warthog. Drive and Bite are similar to the Gain and Calibre on Thorpy’s unit. Tons of harmonics, sounds great everywhere and has that raw, yet velvety decay and I think we have all always wanted and “Evil Switch” on a pedal!

If I was after and American voiced overdrive / distortion I would definitely like to A/B this with the Warthog as they are the best two I have heard.  

Wireless

Hands down my favourite. Literally cannot get a bad sound of this thing. Encourages trying different setting and finding different tones, really, really great germanium fuzz pedal with a killer tone. Superbly touch sensitive and just an absolute blast to play.

This works well with the Fuzz dialled right back to zero, adding just a little sparkling fizz. Tone adds volume as well as tone. Master volume has a really good useable range. Bass and Gate bring interesting differences to the tone control and are interactive.

With the Tone cranked full the volume drops and there is some sort of frequency reduction, close to what the Littlebox does with the Bass Cut, although not quite as dramatic. I’ll almost certainly buy one of these, it does so many things so well.

Conclusions.

Terrific to see another UK pedal builder making such a great product. I think that the price point is really good, I expected them to be more expensive when i did a littleonline research. Top marks all round chaps!

Absolutely killer feedback. So happy that you enjoyed our units, Fuengi. Give us a shout if you want to chat

Have just ordered a Wireless with your very generous offer code. 

grappagreen

The excitement is starting to build.. looking forward to getting my hands on these..

Badpennyfx

Hi everyone. Felix and I just wanted to give a big thanks to you all for taking part in our first Tourbox. Hope you are all safe and, for all those still awaiting our units are eagerly anticipating their arrival. As always if you guys want to chat about anything, drop us a message on here or at badpennyfx@yahoo.com

All the best

Mark & Felix

AntonHunter

Can't wait for my turn!!

alalalkasar

The box arrived today.
I've not had a chance to plug anything in yet but full marks for presentation. As soon as the kids are in bed I'll be walking them up with some fuzzzzzzzzz

grappagreen

I'm glad it arrived safely @alalalkasar ;
 
Enjoy!

Cookiemonster

alalalkasar said:

The box arrived today.
I've not had a chance to plug anything in yet but full marks for presentation. As soon as the kids are in bed I'll be walking them up with some fuzzzzzzzzz

Fantastic, thanks for posting that you got them ok.

I still get nervous the postie will get them to people in one peice.

Looking forward to hearing what you think to them. The Wireless seems to be the most popular so far

alalalkasar

I'm have a bit of a love-in with the littlebox at the moment, jaguar in to vox pathfinder 15r via the bellow.... I've been pulling some really scuzzy overdrives out of it, woolly but still with enough clarity for me. It seems to like driving modulation as well, really bringing the sea machine clone to life accentuating the weird ringing swirls it produces at higher settings. I'm going back now to noodle some more.

Cookiemonster

alalalkasar said:

I'm have a bit of a love-in with the littlebox at the moment, jaguar in to vox pathfinder 15r via the bellow.... I've been pulling some really scuzzy overdrives out of it, woolly but still with enough clarity for me. It seems to like driving modulation as well, really bringing the sea machine clone to life accentuating the weird ringing swirls it produces at higher settings. I'm going back now to noodle some more.

Nice board, I have always wanted one of those delays. 

Little box is a great pedal, good size as well. 

Happy your enjoying them, I will send the address for the next person soon.

alalalkasar

Ok guys, I've had a good fiddle with the pedals and had a lot of fun.
First of all the presentation of everything is amazing. It all looks very original and on the subject of originality the controls of sone of these pedals are quite original. They are all dirt boxes and no one is reinventing the wheel but the interaction between the toggle switches and the dials can take you to some beautiful sounds. 
It's probably worth mentioning at this point that I enjoy what would probably be described as lo-fi sound, lots of scrappy breakup and weird sustain. So with that in mind my favourite are........

1. The littlebox.
Pretty minimal control on this one. I got some super fat, wooly tones and some really nice dirty jangle from this one depending on where the bass cut switch was. With the single coils on my Jag and some gentleI playing with my fingers I could get it in to overdrive territory. Really enjoyed this little guy.

2. The fuzz controller.
There a lot going on here, plenty to fiddle with but lots of great tones. I'm a big fan of silicon fuzz and with the help of the starve and diode switches I found great tones for single notes and great ragged riffs. There's lots of classic fuzz tones in there as well.

3. The wireless.
Again loads going on, lots of interaction between the controls and lots of smooth sounds. Flicking switches is one of my favourite things to do with a pedal. Instant changes that lead you to new ways of approaching your playing.

4. The widow.
If I played heavier music I'd be in heaven. Spent a good few hours knocking out quite, loud, louder riffs. Lots of fun looping a dirty riff then stomping on the fuzz side for a solo.
In the late 90s early 00s I was in a post rock kind of band and this pedal would have been a perfect fit.

5. The smoothflow.
Really I'm the wrong guy for this one. I can see a use for boosts but I don't have that need. Perhaps if it's had a chance to try it in a band scenario of at higher volume but there's some kind of virus going around so......

In conclusion really good work. A few people have mentioned the size but for me (especially when it comes to fuzz) there room for oversized pedals. My two remaining fuzzes are a big box silicon fuzz face and a huge MK3 tonebender  and like these guys they might not fit on board but there's plenty of room on the floor. Perhaps you could offer two sizes and keep everyone happy?

Anyway enough of me ranting. Everything is boxed up and will be on its way to the next recipient. Thanks everyone involved for sorting this out.

TTBZ

I'm really interested to try the Widow, sounds like it will be right up my street for heavy riffs. Hopefully rehearsals will be back on by the time it's my turn! 

alalalkasar

@theflyisback the box is on its way to you. Should be with you in a day or two.