April 1999

MINI SERIES

By Chris Gill

Stompbox manufacturers have used just about every trick in the book to make their products stand out from the plethora of pedals on the market. Some give their effects paint jobs that look like Bart Simpson barfed on them, others name their pedals after the musical trend of the month (remember the Achy-Breaky Fuzz? Didn't think so) and a few come in horrific shapes that make eighties metal band logos look tasteful in comparison. But while the extremely small size of Guyatone's Micro Effects Series pedals seems like a marketing gimmick at first glance, it's actually a practical development whose time is long overdue.

Tiny enough to fit into a shirt pocket, the Guyatone pedals are some of the smallest stompboxes ever made. Despite their size, they're packed with many of the same useful features found on bigger boxes, like LED on/off indicators, AC adapter jacks and rugged construction. If your onstage space is limited but you like to use a lot of effects, these pedals offer generous sonic flexibility while giving you plenty of room to do your silly stage moves. There's even enough room left over for your lead singer's enormous ego.

The MD-2 Micro Digital Delay ($129.95) includes three control knobs (delay time, effect level and feedback) and a delay mode switch on the tiny amount of real estate on its front panel. Mode A provides continuously variable delay times from 30 ms to 200 ms, while mode B is continuously variable from 120 to 800 milliseconds. The sound quality of the delay effect is surprisingly clean, with all the crispness and definition you would expect from a good digital delay, although a small amount of noise is perceptible at longer delay settings when the feedback control is cranked up. But for a budget digital delay, the MD-2 provides outstanding performance that working gigmeisters will appreciate.

Guyatone offers two flavors of distortion in their Micro Effects Series: The HD-2 Harmonic Distortion ($79.95) and (perhaps in tribute to the legendary Link Wray tune with the same name) the TZ-2 Fuzz ($89.95). Both have your basic level and gain controls, which let you dial in the amount of distortion you desire. The HD-2's tone is smooth and buttery, with a punchy midrange that's ideal for sustaining leads. The TZ-2 is much rowdier in comparison, providing a static, buzzy raunch that sounds brutal and demonic with a tuned-down guitar. Even though there are no tone controls, both pedals provide a range of sonic delights, from gritty overdrive to full-on, balls-to-the-wall metal overkill.

The MC-3 Micro Chorus ($99.95) produces classic, fat chorus tones similar to some of the most popular chorus pedals. The rate control covers wide territory, from subtle, flange-like washes to jittery tremolo-like warbles, and with the depth control you can make the tone as thick as Puff Daddy's wallet or as thin as Vanilla Ice's credibility. Like the HD-2 and TZ-2, the MC-3 is a basic, no-frills effect that's like Texas barbecue - all meat, and none of that fancy extra stuff to get in the way of what you really want.

While the MD-2, HD-2, TZ-2, and MC-3 are the sober, hard-working characters of the batch, the WR-2 Wah Rocker ($89.95) comes across like the wacky, bohemian brother who ran away to art school. An extremely expressive envelope follower, the Wah Rocker puts out some of the juiciest zippy funk tones known to mankind. The sounds this pedal makes are as nasty as an El Paso porno queen on Quaaludes and Rohypnol, and twice as heavy. Threshold and decay controls let you dial in any flavor of funk, from a Chinese water-torture drip to a full-on gusher. If cheesy tones make your whammy wobble, this is the Limburger you've lusted after.

THE BOTTOM LINE
Looks like Dr. Ruth was right - size doesn't matter. If you want John Holmes sounds but your budget and pedalboard space is of Tom Thumb proportions, Guyatone's Micro Series will solve your problems faster than a bottle of Viagra and a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon.