Oh thanks for the tip! I actually have an original mfz1 (found it in a dumpster about 15 years ago) and it’s amazing. I originally figured I’d sell it but as soon as I played a chord through I changed my mind, probably a good thing too since they’ve only gone up in price since then.
The problem is I’d never gig with it because it’s old, unreasonably valuable, and essentially irreplaceable so I’ve been looking for something that gets that sound for years. Even pretty close is good enough for a gigging pedal. I’ll take a look at the carcosa for sure. I’m in a similar situation with my old 90s sovtek big muff. I bought it new for something like $50 back in the day and now it’s too valuable to gig with but with that pedal the problem is I’m overwhelmed with clone options.
Also, I’ve been enjoying your recent gushing over your new pedals. I love that feeling when you find a piece of gear that really speaks to you and it’s nice to see it in others. Big mutron fan myself though I’ve never owned one.
I’m not planning to spend bucks on the Kramer, because I’m going to make it a prepared guitar. I’ll probably also make a prepared guitar out of the low-end Washburn that my ex-roommate left behind and refuses to take back, despite multiple reminders/offers to return the guitar.
By prepared, I mean stuff like this:
I checked the website of this luthier and he seems to have great models with some original design.
Price is banging but the craftship seems high as well.
They are great guitars. It helped I had bought and sold a lot of guitars in the last few years so knew exactly what I wanted. These are my only electrics and I use them all the time. They are a deal compared to gibson and fender custom shops for what you get. But those brands have resale value which I understand. But if you are at the point you really want something unique it’s a great experience.
Yeah, I’m honestly in the same camp. I always hated the blues (and still dislike most of it), but then I discovered Magic Sam and realized there is a small slice of old blues tunes that are incredible: Rollin’ Stone by Muddy Waters off of Chess Records (incredible tone and you can guess what that inspired), Slim Harpo’s King Bee off of Excello Records (crazy tremolo, super swampy), Howling Wolf’s Spoonful, and a handful of old boogie tunes like Hound Dog Taylor’s She’s Gone (he plays a Teisco guitar I believe and it sounds like a ripped speaker).
I feel the same way about country music as well. I thought I hated all of it but then I come across some song like Carl Smith’s The Way I Lose My Mind…
I went down the rabbit hole yesterday, and discovered that DOD laid off Tom Cram and the whole pedal team even though they cranked out hits. I’m not sure what that means for the future of the Carcosa, but I’m glad I grabbed one!
If the Carcosa doesn’t do it for you, he started his own company and is making boutique fuzz pedals, one of which is also inspired by that Maestro circuit.
A couple of his fuzz pedals look really interesting, but the Carcosa gets me there for cheap. I’d kind of like to buy something from him later on down the line though to support his work! True artist in my book!!!
The Sovtek Muffs also really interest me. I posted it here before but my Muff photo from my local used shop got picked up by EHX’s social media a couple of years ago.
I owned a Hoof in the past but it was not quite what I wanted. Right now I like the Pork & Pickle by Way Huge, which is two pedals in one Pork Loin and Russian Pickle. What I like about it is that it adds a clean blend to the Russian Big Muff circuit, so you can add clarity. It may not get you the sounds from your OG pedal, but it’s a cool circuit for sure that’s worth checking out and I’ve already said how much I love JT. It’s marketed for bass, but I like it on guitar as much.
I love blues and listening to good blues players. But it just doesn’t jive with me as a player.
I totally get it. I honestly didn’t know where I fit in with guitar for the longest time. I discovered that what I gravitate toward most is the percussive end of it, which is why I think funk (JBs, etc) and boogie (Magic Sam) really resonate with me. That said, I got my first electric in 1991 (still have it!) and I’m still finding my way around. I think I’ve made some great strides though lately finding my sound, which is something I was searching for forever.
I got my first guitar around the same time. Used Ibanez Les Paul copy. Long time gone. About 5 years ago I started focusing on my right hand technique and playing fingerstyle it made a big difference. Also branched out into alternate tunings and scales and that’s where I found my voice on guitar.
A guy from my neighborhood that I carpooled with when I started high school in 1989-1990 had a Les Paul and was playing in band with all these skater punks doing covers of Ministry and Fugazi tunes. Nobody at my high school had seen anything like that. It might as well have been that scene from Back to the Future where he’s playing Chuck Berry in the 1950s. Blew my f’ing mind! I knew right then I had to play guitar, but I didn’t know anything. I ended up with a Strat and had Les Paul envy for years as his guitar was so damn heavy sounding. I’ve been through a bunch of guitars over the years. The closest I ever got was a Les Paul Special with P90s (which I regret selling). I’ve never owned a traditional Les Paul though. I’m really interested in buying an old Japanese copy Les Paul lawsuit guitar to finally scratch that itch, but I’m just unsure of the right year to get. I need to sort that out eventually.
Yeah I remember reading about digitech laying off essentially the whole DOD team immediately after releasing a run of awesome pedals. I don’t understand that at all.
I’ll have a look at tom’s new company. I listened to some demos of the carcosa and it sounds great though I haven’t found one yet that sounds much like an mfz1 which I guess isn’t surprising since it’s based on the fz1s. I might grab one to try out while they’re still reasonably priced since we all know how it goes with discontinued pedals.
I’ll have a look at the pork & pickle too. I’ve had good experiences with way huge in the past. A clean blend is one thing a sovtek muff can really benefit from, especially for bass or low tuned guitar (I tend to tune to c or c# standard). I often run my muff in a parallel circuit for clean blending but it’s a bulky solution. I’ve been considering the ehx deluxe Russian offering largely for that reason.
Great picture by the way!
The Japanese ones are great, but really heavy. A friend had a navigator which was outstanding. I do like the Japanese guitars. Great value.
Not sure if this is accurate, but I read somewhere that a big company, maybe Samsung, acquired the parent for other divisions so decided to make big cuts to the divisions it wasn’t interested in. Seems like there are very few pedals left in the regular DOD lineup, which could mean those won’t last long. Too bad they didn’t just spin it off and let Tom and the team take it over.
There are a couple of MFZ-1 clones out there now, like the Chicago Stompworks Black Fudge. Have a listen to those videos and let me know what you think, as I’d like an MFZ-1 circuit as well. While I different circuit, the DOD pedal sounded better for my needs when I was looking around. It is just so versatile. It will suck if it’s discontinued, but maybe better for Tom’s new company.
His Black Spiral pedal looks pretty awesome. It seems to lack the versatility of the Carcosa, and looks like it’s mostly for single note stuff, but sounds huge. He just posted a few days ago on YouTube that he tweaked that circuit and is now doing a Rev2 version for 2022.
Some type of parent company acquisition sounds about right. It seems like an outsider decision. Hopefully it gets revived in some way or his new company takes up the reins. DOD has made so many amazing pedals over the years. I might not be able to resist the carcosa even if it isn’t a replacement for the mfz, it just sounds good and I have a bit of a fuzz problem.
I’ll check out some of the Chicago stompworks demos and I’ll be sure to give you my impressions. I suppose I could clone it myself but it’s an issue of finding the time, I’ve been pretty busy with other peoples projects lately.
Hello my fellow shredding naut cousins. I am looking for which effect (some kind of modulation, Im assuming) makes this lead guitar sound (starts immediately), oh so reminiscent of my halcyon days listening to alt-rock radio.
Thanks in advance.
I just saw this today. I’m curious to know how it sounds as, well, I love Mutron and classic 70s circuits, but analog octave is an effect I can’t really justify $400 for and that’s what the reissues go for in Japan.
If it sucks, this is the one that would probably get my money, but they aren’t even available in Japan.
https://www.foxroxelectronics.com/Octron3.html
The OG is here
Hmm sounds to me like a flanging chorus effect with flanger speed down low.
Probably recreate with these options:
Cheap: Mooer E-Lady | Flanger Pedal | GAK
Boutique (I really want this pedal myself - be interesting if anyone here has it? Thoughts/feelings on it?): https://www.andertons.co.uk/guitar-dept/guitar-pedals/flanger-pedals/thorpyfx-camoflange-flanger-pedal
The daddy:
Took a listen to the Electric Mistress: definitely it. Thank you!
Think it is, or a similar effect with separate flanger and then a chorus pedals. I love that sound aswell as I’m massive Andy summers of the police fan boy