Couch Electronics Baker's Dozen - 1st Anniversary Edition

*METALLICA BLUE 1ST ANNIVERSARY EDITION*

The guitar pedals of yesteryear looked much different than the pedals of today, leading me to wonder, "What would these pedals look like if they were designed today?". I don't mean to undermine the classic, simple, rectangular-shaped enclosure boxes, but what if... What if those pedals from the '60s, '70s, '80s, and '90s were redesigned today? So, I took the shape of a '90s icon, the famed Blues Breaker, and embarked on a design journey. A journey to create something that, while maintaining an unmistakable tie to its roots, boasts its own modern identity. And also, a journey to make it smaller. Those old black pedals are huge... I appreciate the bulkiness for its charm, but they aren't really pedalboard friendly.

This led to a lot of brainstorming, more than a few design iterations, and, thankfully, not too many failed prototype enclosures. The end result is a pedal measuring 70mm in width, 100mm in length (105mm including the jacks), and just a little over 40mm in height, including the knobs. Speaking of knobs, they have also been designed from scratch, crafted from a solid piece of aluminium.

Okay, okay, but how does it sound? It is an overdrive pedal, so we're not reinventing the wheel here. It's based on a classic clean op-amp boost with some modifications and added features. This pedal ranges from a clean boost to medium-gain overdrive, maintains a fairly flat EQ response, includes a tone control to tame high frequencies, and a master volume to help it scream quietly and whisper loudly. Does it sound like garbage? To some guitar players probably yes. Does it sound like the best guitar pedal you have ever tried? To some guitar players probably yes. Why add another overdrive to the already saturated market? Because I love guitar pedals. I'm passionate about guitar gear and find joy in the little nuances, subtle differences, and the various shades of color, shape, size, and tone. I appreciate pedals made by big companies as well as those handmade in small batches by creative individuals around the world.

Oh, and also, this pedal requires a 9V center-negative power supply. There's absolutely no space within it for a 9V battery.

• Low gain overdrive

• True bypass relay circuit with optical switching

• Internal power-up state switch

  Sets the pedal to be ON or OFF when the power is applied

  Default state: OFF

• Power requirements: 9V DC center negative

• Current draw: <30mA

• Dimensions, including knobs (WxLxH):

  70mm x 105mm x 40mm

  2.75” x 4.13” x 1.58”