A nostalgically pleasant surprise
In full disclosure, I bought this out of novelty. Video games and music gear are my two favorite hobbies, so this was a no-brainer for me. I wasn’t even sure what to expect, but I figured that even if it was something I wasn’t really into, it would be a cool conversation piece to have and would look cool next to my actual Game Boy. Fortunately, it also sounds as cool as it looks. In terms of fuzz pedals, I’ve only ever really liked Big Muff variants & clones - never been into FuzzFaces or Tone Benders because they always sound too “spitty” to me. This pedal sounds like none of those. At lower gain settings it’s very warm and full, and at medium-high gain it’s got a nice crunch to it, especially stacked with an overdrive. Way more versatile than I expected. I have one critique, and I anticipated it before I even placed my order - the knobs are higher than the foot switch when pressed, so it’s only a matter of time before the knobs get stepped on. With that being said, the layout is literally built into the design, so I don’t suppose there’s much you can do as a manufacturer in that situation. Fortunately it’s easy to get a footswitch topper (Barefoot Buttons, etc.) to give the switch itself a little more height. The D-pad isn’t exactly centered on the switch on mine either, but the pedal topper will hide that anyway. All in all I’m pleased with my entire interaction - purchase, build time, shipping, and everything in between.
