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Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26 Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26

Reeves Electro Darlington Flyer Fuzz | Strat Tones!

A debut that matters — Reeves Electro on the channel for the first time, with the pedal that started the Daughterboard Series. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Reeves Electro Darlington Flyer takes center stage — featuring the Giordano Guitars '60s S-Model, into the Benson Amps Monarch. The Effectrode Tube Vibe joins for the second half of the demo.

Reeves Electro is the work of Markus Reeves in Northamptonshire, UK — a builder best known for stunning point-to-point handwired designs with equally stunning enclosures. The Daughterboard Series is a new chapter: PCB-based builds designed, built, painted, drilled, and screen-printed entirely by Markus' daughter Izzy in their garden workshop. The Darlington Flyer is the first Daughterboard Series release, and Izzy is nailing it. Get on the Reeves Electro mailing list — these sell out extremely quickly: https://reeveselectro.co.uk

The Darlington Flyer is a single-transistor fuzz with two switchable transistor voices occupying the same circuit at different times — two very different tonal characters from a minimal control set.

The Darlington Flyer mode uses a 1979 Motorola MPSA013 Darlington transistor. A Darlington pair is an arrangement of two transistors in a single package wired in series — the output of the first transistor drives the input of the second, yielding extremely high current gain from a single circuit position. The sonic result is smooth, compressed, high-sustain fuzz — the MPSA013 tracks notes with a polished, violin-like quality at high fuzz settings and a singing lead voice as it cleans up.

The Bipolar Junction (BJT) mode uses a late-1980s Philips Silverface BC546 transistor — a standard single bipolar junction transistor that is fundamentally different in character. More open, grittier, slightly gated at the low end of the volume sweep, with less compression than the Darlington. Where the MPSA013 smooths and sustains, the BC546 bites and spits.

Two toggles complete the control set. The transistor selector (Darlington Flyer / Bipolar Junction) is on the right. The Fat Controller / Narrow Gauge EQ switch is on the left — Fat Controller is full range and bold, Narrow Gauge (Skinny) is a leaner, more forward voicing with reduced low end. Fuzz gain is fixed at the optimal level — Volume is the only knob. The optional Plexiglass bottom panel lets you see the beautiful internals.

🎛️ Reeves Electro Darlington Flyer: https://reeveselectro.co.uk/products/the-darlington-flyer-switchable-transistor-fuzz
🎸 Giordano Guitars: https://www.instagram.com/_giordanoguitars_/
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers

Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations.

🎸 Giordano Guitars '60s S-Model
🎛️ Reeves Electro Darlington Flyer | MPSA013 Darlington + BC546 BJT | Fat Controller / Narrow Gauge | Fixed Fuzz | Daughterboard Series
🎛️ Also: Effectrode Tube Vibe
🔊 Benson Amps Monarch

Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R10 & R121 | Sennheiser E906 | Ableton Live 11

Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26 Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26

Echo Fix EF-P2 Spring Reverb

Real springs in a pedalboard enclosure, and the most glassy silicon fuzz cleanup I've ever heard. Two channel debuts on the same day. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Echo Fix EF-P2 Spring Reverb and R2R Electric Si Distorter TFK take center stage together — featuring the Giordano Guitars '60s S-Model, into the Benson Amps Monarch and Benson 2x12" via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander. Also debuting today: the Echo Fix EF-X3 Tape Echo, used here only as a preamp — the delay, reverb, and chorus are bypassed to keep the sonic focus on the EF-P2.

The Echo Fix EF-P2 is a genuine three-spring reverb tank in a pedalboard-format enclosure — not a digital simulation, not a bucket-brigade approximation. Real springs. The three-spring tank is visible through a clear acrylic window with a blue LED glow that intensifies as the Spring Drive is pushed harder. A VU meter shows exactly how hard the signal is hitting the springs — keep it at 0 for clean reverb, push past 0 for spring breakup and harmonic distortion in the wet signal. The Bass and Treble controls boost or cut from flat at noon — effective and wide-ranging, enough to take the EF-P2 from bright and splashy surf territory to deep, dark, washy ambience. A Kill Dry footswitch removes the direct signal entirely for wet-only use on a studio aux send or parallel FX loop. Hidden function: hold the bypass switch to engage tremolo on the reverb. Internally boosted voltage for studio-grade headroom. 9VDC 200mA.

The R2R Electric Si Distorter TFK is a special limited edition of Chris Vincent's (@djlavalamp) silicon fuzz built around NOS Telefunken transistors — not the standard 1972 Siemens BC109B silicon transistors used in the regular Si Distorter. The circuit is Chris's blend of the 1970s silicon Fuzz Face and the 1970s Schaller Distorter — two circuits similar in topology but with meaningfully different tonal characters that he has merged into a unique voice that sounds like both and neither. Silicon transistors are temperature-stable — no warm-up ritual, no bias drift between the studio and a cold stage — while still achieving the glassy, harmonically rich cleanup that defines the best silicon fuzz. Roll back the guitar volume for crystal clean tones; push it up for full-range fuzz. The TFK Telefunken transistors give this version a slightly different upper-midrange character compared to the BC109B standard version.

Note: as with all R2R vintage fuzz builds, the Si Distorter TFK works best placed first in the signal chain before any buffered pedals.

Get on the R2R Electric mailing list: https://www.r2relectric.com/how-to-order
Follow Chris: https://www.instagram.com/djlavalamp/

🎛️ Echo Fix EF-P2 Spring Reverb: https://echofix.com/products/echo-fix-ef-p2-spring-reverb-pedal
🎸 Giordano Guitars: https://www.instagram.com/_giordanoguitars_/
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers

Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations.

Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R10 & R121 | Sennheiser E906 | Ableton Live 11

Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26 Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26

Origin Effects Halcyon Gold

Origin Effects has finally taken on the Klon — and done it with the full Adaptive Circuitry treatment the Green Halcyon brought to the Tube Screamer. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Origin Effects Halcyon Gold Overdrive takes center stage — featuring the Frank Brothers Arcade Thinline with Lollar The Bird Humbuckers (humbucker-sized Firebirds), into the Benson Amps Monarch and Benson Tall Bird via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander, with the Horrothia Effects Berkeley Uni-Vibe and Meris LVX in the demo.

Also on the channel: Origin Effects Halcyon Green and DCX Boost.

The Klon Centaur's defining characteristic is its parallel clean blend — wet and dry signals combined, which is why it sounds both driving and transparent at the same time. Its limitation is that the mid hump and clipping characteristics are locked in at whatever the Gain control is set to. Roll back the guitar volume to clean up and the mid hump stays exactly where it was — you get a quieter, cleaner version of the same EQ shape, not an actually different tone.

Origin's Adaptive Circuitry fixes this. The Adapt switch has three positions: 0 is standard Klon behavior, no adaptation. Position II is maximum adaptation — as you roll back your guitar volume, the mid hump gradually fades and the frequency response flattens toward the transparent boost tones the Centaur is famous for at low gain settings. Position I is intermediate. The Adaptive behavior is more noticeable the higher the Drive is set — which means you can run the Gold with more drive than you'd normally use on a Klon, then roll back the guitar to access the clean, transparent boost character without touching the pedal.

The Voice switch adds two distinct characters. KLN is the classic Klon — resonant, focused mid peak, vintage diode clipping. MOD is broader mid hump, softer clipping, more compressed and rounded — particularly well suited to single coil pickups and higher gain tones. The Dry knob makes the parallel clean blend adjustable — the original Centaur had a fixed clean blend ratio; turning Dry down emphasizes the wet drive signal, turning it up adds body and definition.

Six controls total: Level, Drive, Tone, Dry, Adapt (0/I/II), Voice (KLN/MOD). Built in the UK.

🎛️ Origin Effects Halcyon Gold: https://origineffects.com/product/halcyon-gold/
🎸 Frank Brothers Guitar Company: https://www.frankbrothersguitars.com
🎸 Lollar The Bird: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-pickups
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers

Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations.

Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R121 & R10 | Sennheiser E906 | Ableton Live 11

Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26 Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26

Horrothia Effects Triage Germanium Pre-Amp

The Horrothia Triage Ge returns — this time with humbuckers and a semi-hollow body to show the other side of what this germanium preamp can do. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Horrothia Effects Triage Germanium Pre-Amp takes a second run with the Frank Brothers Ultralight Semi-Hollow loaded with Lollar El Rayo Humbuckers and Lollar Firebird on a Blender Pot, into the Benson Amps Monarch. The Horrothia Berkeley Uni-Vibe and Meris LVX join throughout the demo.

Watch the first Triage Ge demo with the Novo Serus P2 and Lollar Gold Foils here: [LINK TO FIRST DEMO]

Also on the channel: Horrothia Teeth Overdrive and Horrothia Berkeley Uni-Vibe.

The single coil pairing from the first video confirmed what germanium diode clipping does when it's working with inherently bright, articulate pickups — the Ge filter control adds sizzle and fuzz texture without robbing the Gold Foils of their natural shimmer. This demo is the other side of that picture: what happens with the warmer, fuller, higher-output Lollar El Rayo humbucker into the Triage Ge, particularly in the semi-hollow Frank Brothers Ultralight which has its own acoustic resonance and harmonic complexity underneath the pickups.

In Tom Oakes' own words:

"The Germanium Triage is a slightly re-voiced standard Triage, with a sweepable filter on the output. The filter sends the high frequency content — swept range 50Hz to 15kHz — to a pair of NOS 1N3470 germanium diodes which act as a high frequency compression control. This adds some sizzle to the pedal but without taking away the volume which is often the case with germanium fuzz or overdrive pedals. With the control all the way one way, all frequencies above 50Hz — the whole guitar — are sent through the diodes (imagine fuzzzzz). The other way, the diodes receive only the very highest harmonics — essentially it behaves as a standard Triage. Every Germanium Triage uses hand-selected diodes and ships in a hammertone finish."

The rest of the circuit: high impedance JFET front end with output control trimmer. Completely discrete transistor op-amp secondary gain stage. HF Balance control. Mid hump/peak switch. Relay bypass. Zinc milspec footswitch. Hand-built one by one in Falmouth, South West UK.

The Lollar Firebird on the Blender Pot adds a third voice throughout this demo — blending single coil clarity and mid-forward bark into the El Rayo humbucker signal. The combination of all three pickups cleaned up through the Triage Ge at 12:46 with the Berkeley Uni-Vibe and Meris LVX is the highlight.

🎛️ Horrothia Effects: https://www.horrothia.com
🎸 Frank Brothers Ultralight: https://www.frankbrothersguitars.com
🎸 Lollar El Rayo & Firebird: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-pickups
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers

Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations.

🎸 Frank Brothers Ultralight Semi-Hollow | Lollar El Rayo Humbuckers + Lollar Firebird (Blender Pot)
🎛️ Horrothia Effects Triage Ge | NOS 1N3470 Germanium Diodes | Sweepable Filter | JFET + Discrete Op-Amp
🎛️ Also: Horrothia Berkeley Uni-Vibe | Meris LVX
🔊 Benson Amps Monarch

Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R10 & R121 | Sennheiser E906 | Ableton Live 11

Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26 Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26

Cunningham Amps Octave Fuzz

Cunningham Amps is back on the channel — this time with Tim's latest release, an absolutely perfectly tuned NOS octave fuzz. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Cunningham Amps Octave Fuzz takes center stage — through the Benson Amps Monarch and Benson 2x12" cabinet with the Benson Tall Bird for reverb. The KingTone Vibe 1968 and Meris LVX join later in the demo.

Tim Cunningham has been building fuzz pedals in Auckland, New Zealand for years — each one hand-built, individually voiced, and signed with a numbered certificate of authenticity. The Octave Fuzz is Tim's hand-wired interpretation of the Foxx Tone Machine — the 1971 circuit that combined a Big Muff-adjacent fuzz with an upper octave generator, and that became one of the most sought-after octave fuzz circuits of the vintage era. The Foxx Tone Machine format descended from the Roger Mayer Octavia, the pedal responsible for the upper-octave lead tones on Hendrix's Purple Haze and Third Stone from the Sun. Tim's build uses a hybrid Germanium/Silicon circuit with four transistors and four diodes, voiced specifically for this build.

Two modes: Fuzz (standard, full-range analog fuzz without the octave) and Octave Fuzz (the upper octave summoned with full fuzz underneath). The octave effect is most pronounced at the bridge pickup on single notes in the upper register of the neck — the demo explores where and how to use it musically rather than just as a novelty.

Five controls give this Cunningham build significant tonal flexibility for an octave fuzz. Sustain dials the fuzz intensity. Volume sets output. Tone and Mids shape the overall frequency character of the fuzz — an EQ capability rarely found on octave circuits of this type. The Octave Hi-Cut switch is the unique addition: three positions, each applying a different level of treble attenuation to the octave signal, allowing the upper harmonic to be dialed to sit anywhere from piercing to mellowed into the fuzz body.

Beautifully built. Signed and numbered certificate of authenticity. Custom carry bag included. Handmade in New Zealand.

🎛️ Cunningham Amps: https://www.cunninghamamps.co.nz
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers

Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations.

Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R10 & R121 | Sennheiser E906 | Ableton Live 11

Still need the guitar and pickups for this one when you have them.

Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26 Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26

Kingtone MiniFuzz v2 — Jesse Davey

KingTone Guitar returns to the channel — this time with the most versatile fuzz Jesse Davey has ever built. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the KingTone Guitar MiniFuzz V2 takes center stage — featuring the Frank Brothers Arcade Thinline with Lollar The Bird pickups (humbucker-sized Firebirds), into the Benson Amps Monarch and Benson Tall Bird via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander and Benson 2x12" cabinet. The KingTone Vibe 1968 joins for the second half of the demo.

The V2 is the convergence of both previous MiniFuzz models into one pedal. The V1 required choosing between silicon or germanium at the time of purchase — the V2 puts both on the front panel via a Type toggle switch. BC183 silicon transistors (matched with the MP10b — KingTone's preferred silicon pairing, tonally identical to their germanium version but temperature-tolerant for hot stages) and hand-selected germanium transistors, switchable mid-performance.

Three-way mode toggle: Fat (full frequency range to the fuzz — classic, warm, low-end rich character), Vintage (simulates aged capacitor degradation — more mid-focused, cutting, closer to a Fuzz Face character), Zonk (mid-range focused gritty tone, especially effective at low bias settings for gated, aggressive textures). Six side-panel dipswitches expand the palette further in a Chase Bliss-style layout: Buffer On/Off (for long cable runs and complex rigs without tone loss), Tone 1 and Tone 2 (four combinations of smoother/silkier tone voicing vs. bright and gritty), Fatness/Classic (extended low-end lift), Vintage/Boost (output level boost to slam amp inputs harder). All accessible without opening the pedal.

The Bias knob is the most player-practical feature. Germanium transistors change character with temperature — what sounds great in a warm studio can behave differently on a cold stage. The MiniFuzz V2's LED indicator shows when the bias is set correctly for the current ambient temperature, eliminating the need to open the pedal and measure internal voltages before every show. Under-biasing gives gated, spitty, starved textures. Over-biasing gives smooth, thick, violin-sustain fuzz. The LED is the reference point between them.

Hand-wired. Battery simulator for DC power supplies. True bypass. 9V center negative.

🎛️ KingTone Guitar MiniFuzz V2: https://www.kingtoneguitar.com
🎸 Frank Brothers Arcade Thinline: https://www.frankbrothersguitars.com
🎸 Lollar The Bird: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-pickups
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers

Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations.

Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R121 & R10 | Sennheiser E906 | Ableton Live 11

Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26 Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26

Horrothia Effects Triage Germanium Pre-Amplifier

Horrothia Effects returns to the channel with a genuinely new idea in overdrive — the Triage Germanium Pre-Amp. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Horrothia Effects Triage Germanium Pre-Amp takes center stage — featuring the Novo Guitars Serus P2 with Lollar Gold Foils and Emerson Custom Treble Bleed, into the Benson Amps Monarch and Benson Tall Bird via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander. The Horrothia Berkeley Uni-Vibe and Meris LVX also feature later in the demo.

In Tom Oakes' own words, from Horrothia Effects in Falmouth, UK:

The result is a sweepable germanium clipping control that goes from subtle top-end sizzle to full-range fuzz character — an approach that lets you dial in exactly how much of your frequency spectrum gets the germanium treatment without committing to a fixed fuzz voicing. Every Germanium Triage uses hand-selected diodes and ships in a hammertone finish.

Controls explored in this demo: Ge Diodes filter knob (new to this variant), Gain, Output, Tone, Mids switch, HF Balance.

The Novo Guitars Serus P2 is the work of Dennis Fano — the builder behind the original Novo and Fano guitar lines. The P2 body is chambered swamp ash with an eastern curly maple top and German carve, 24.75" scale, chunky C neck (.880"), quartersawn tempered maple neck, rosewood fingerboard with compound 9.5"-14" radius and MOTO hollow block inlays. This unit has been loaded with Lollar Gold Foils and wired with an Emerson Custom Treble Bleed.

🎛️ Horrothia Effects: https://www.horrothia.com
🎸 Novo Guitars: https://www.novoguitars.com
🎸 Lollar Gold Foil: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-pickups
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers

Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations.

Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R10 & R121 | Sennheiser E906 | Ableton Live 11

Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26 Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26

Frank Brothers Signature

The dedicated debut demo of my Frank Brothers Signature — the most resonant and versatile Frank Brothers guitar I've played. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Frank Brothers Arcade Signature takes center stage — loaded with a Lollar '50s Wind P90 in the neck and Lollar Low Wind Imperial in the bridge, fitted with a MojoAxe Trap Wrap compensated wraptail bridge and Emerson Custom Treble Bleed, into the Benson Amps Monarch and Benson 2x12" cabinet. The pedalboard features the R2R Electric Pre-Amp, Caroline Guitar Co. Arigato Phaser, Spruce Effects Tone Bender, Meris Polymoon, Origin Effects Deluxe61, and Mythos Wildwood Vipera.

Frank Brothers Guitar Company was built on the Signature Model — their original design, predating the Arcade and Ultralight. The Signature's defining construction feature is inverse chambering: a partially hollowed solid mahogany core with a bookmatched bigleaf curly maple top and back press-laminated over it. There is no f-hole. The chambering is internal — the treble side is semi-hollow, the bass side solid — giving the guitar a voice that blends semi-hollow resonance and acoustic projection with solid-body sustain and attack. At around 7.5 lbs, it's noticeably lighter than the Arcade and sounds meaningfully different: richer, more balanced EQ, with a natural acoustic complexity in the note that no fully solid guitar can produce. The double-bound body with seamlessly bound heel is the most premium presentation in the Frank Brothers lineup.

This specific build pairs two Lollar pickups from different families in the same guitar — the '50s Wind P90 (Alnico 2, lower output, brighter and more chime-forward, from the Sean Costello '53 Goldtop spec) in the neck, and the Low Wind Imperial humbucker (Alnico 2 neck / Alnico 5 bridge, 6.1K-7.4K, the semi-hollow voicing) in the bridge. The middle position blends them in parallel — a genuinely unique tonal combination not available with any matched P90 or matched humbucker set.

The MojoAxe Trap Wrap is a compensated wraptail bridge — a thoughtful upgrade over a standard wraparound tailpiece that adds individual saddle compensation for accurate intonation per string, while retaining the wraptail's distinctive warmth, sustain, and string feel. The Emerson Custom Treble Bleed on the volume pot preserves high-end detail through the entire volume sweep — essential for fuzz and overdrive cleanup.

🎸 Frank Brothers Guitar Company: https://www.frankbrothersguitars.com
🎸 Lollar Pickups: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-pickups
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers

Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations.

Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R10 & R121 | Sennheiser E906 | Ableton Live 11

Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26 Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26

J. Rockett Audio Designs HRM V2

Massive gain texture, Dumble DNA, two years of firsthand research into the real thing. The J. Rockett HRM V2 is exactly what it claims to be. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the J. Rockett Audio Designs Hot Rubber Monkey V2 takes center stage — featuring the Frank Brothers Ultralight Semi-Hollow with Lollar El Rayo Humbuckers and Lollar Firebird on a Blender Pot, into the Benson Amps Vincent 2x12" via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander, with the Effectrode Tube Vibe and Meris LVX.

The Hot Rubber Monkey circuit is J. Rockett's recreation of the Alexander Dumble ODS amp with the HRM (Hot Rubber Monkey) EQ modification — a second tonestack placed post-gain that allows players to shape the overdriven EQ independently of the clean tone. The HRM mod is what gives the Dumble its specific vocal, low-mid-centric character: that throaty, forward midrange presence that sits in exactly the frequency range where a guitar lives in a mix.

For the V2, J. Rockett spent approximately two years living with an actual Dumble amplifier with the HRM EQ mod installed — an experience that led to the complete replacement of the V1's EQ section and the sourcing of carefully selected NOS components. The result is an even more authentic version of a circuit that was already the most convincing D-style pedal they'd built.

Four controls. Level and Gain are highly interactive — they're essentially the same knob played against each other, much like a real amp's volume and master volume. Midrange shapes the important guitar midrange frequencies, controlling the thick low-mid girth. Top End shapes the high frequencies and the amount of bite in contrast to those low mids — not a standard treble knob, but a silvery bell-like presence control. The combination of Midrange and Top End dialed against each other is the entire tonal vocabulary of the HRM sound.

Even at lower gain settings the HRM V2 blooms and feedbacks like the real amp. True bypass. 9V. NOS parts throughout.

🎛️ J. Rockett Audio Designs HRM V2: https://jrockettaudiodesigns.com
🎸 Frank Brothers Ultralight: https://www.frankbrothersguitars.com
🎸 Lollar El Rayo & Firebird: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-pickups
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers

Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations.

Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R10 & R121 | Ableton Live 11

Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26 Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26

LPD Seventy4 Deluxe

No one makes gain pedals like LPD Pedals. The Seventy4 Deluxe is the definitive proof of that. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the LPD Pedals Seventy4 Deluxe takes center stage — featuring a new Frank Brothers Arcade build in all-Korina with Seymour Duncan Antiquity Humbuckers and a stunning aged nitro finish, into the Benson Amps Vincent and 2x12" cabinet. The board also includes the R2R Electric Vintage Wah and Pre-Amp, Greer Amps Lightspeed, Effectrode Tube Vibe, and Strymon Volante.

LPD Pedals is Lawrence Petross Design out of Arizona — one of the very few boutique builders who have made the Marshall-in-a-box category genuinely interesting. The Seventy4 name comes from 1974, the year that produced two defining Marshall platforms: the late metal-face Plexi and the newly introduced JMP, the first master volume Marshall. Both are in the Seventy4's tonal DNA.

The Deluxe is the two-channel evolution of the original single-channel Seventy4. Two footswitches: bypass, and channel switch. The channels cannot be stacked — LPD designed the pedal for deliberate, intentional switching between two dialed-in voices rather than cumulative gain stacking. Set them up and switch musically.

Red channel: the original Seventy4 circuit — immediacy, intensity, and the golden-era British full-stack character. Mid-boost voice in the toggle. Green channel: a new, complementary circuit designed specifically to work alongside the Red. It adds low-mid girth to the sonic profile — darker overall, edge-of-breakup territory, the rhythm side. More gain and high-mid presence via the Green voice toggle.

Both channels share a global four-band EQ: Bass, Mids, Treble, and Presence. This is the feature that separates the Seventy4 Deluxe from most amp-in-a-box pedals — with active EQ across the full frequency range, you can dial in the pedal to suit literally any amp or guitar combination. Each channel also has its own independent Gain and Level.

The Frank Brothers Arcade in this demo is an all-Korina build — both body and neck — with a wicked aged nitro finish with checking across the body, neck, and headstock. Seymour Duncan Antiquity Humbuckers installed. Korina is the wood Gibson used in the late '50s Flying V and Explorer — tonally similar to mahogany but lighter, with a slightly more open, airy midrange.

🎛️ LPD Pedals Seventy4 Deluxe: https://www.lpdpedals.com/audiodevices/p/seventy4dlx
🎸 Frank Brothers Guitar Company: https://www.frankbrothersguitars.com
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers

Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations.

Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R10 & R121 | Sennheiser E906 | Ableton Live 11

Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26 Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26

R2R Electric MKI Pro Fuzz

Two legendary fuzz circuits from the dawn of British rock, both inside one hand-wired NOS germanium box. The R2R Electric MKI Pro is over the moon. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the R2R Electric MKI Professional Tone Bender / Zonk Machine takes center stage — featuring the Frank Brothers Ultralight with Lollar Low Wind Imperial Humbuckers, into the Benson Amps Vincent, with the R2R Electric Vintage Wah, Effectrode Tube Vibe, and Strymon Volante later in the demo. A Strat demo is coming separately.

Chris Vincent (@djlavalamp) describes the MKI Pro as his pedalboard-friendly evolution of the MKI Fuzz — the same 100% vintage and NOS hand-wired point-to-point eyelet board construction as all R2R builds, now in a compact enclosure with an LED indicator, true bypass switching with pulldown resistors to eliminate pops, and the defining new feature: a toggle switch between Tone Bender MKI mode and Zonk Machine mode.

The Tone Bender MKI and Zonk Machine are two circuits from 1965 that are close relatives but distinctly different characters. The MKI is Sola Sound's original three-transistor design — the fuzz that Jimmy Page used before the MKII existed, fat and sustaining and full. The Zonk Machine is John Hornby Skewes' version of a similar circuit — more angular, more texturally quirky, a slightly more aggressive and gnarly character. In one pedal, both voices are footswitch-accessible and directly comparable in the same rig.

Components: hand-matched set of Philips/Mullard OC75, Texas Instruments 2G308/303 germanium transistors. Vintage CTS or Stackpole 500K and 50K potentiometers. 1960s Aerovox mouldseal and paper-in-oil input capacitors. NOS ERO KT1801 or STC paper-in-oil .1uf capacitors. Every component tested, measured, and matched individually. Every R2R build is unique in parts used but verified for tonal consistency before it leaves.

Controls: Attack (gain) and Volume. Two knobs. The interaction between Attack, Volume, and your guitar's volume knob is the entire tonal palette.

Get on the R2R Electric mailing list: https://www.r2relectric.com/how-to-order
Follow Chris: https://www.instagram.com/djlavalamp/

🎸 Frank Brothers Ultralight: https://www.frankbrothersguitars.com
🎸 Lollar Low Wind Imperial: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-pickups
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers

Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations.

Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R10 & R121 | Sennheiser E906 | Ableton Live 11

Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26 Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26

Browne Amplification Gritador Overdrive

Dave Brown's favorite overdrive, finally made exactly the way he wants it to sound. The best overdrive I have played in a long time. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Browne Amplification Gritador takes center stage — featuring the Giordano Guitars '60s S-Model, into the Benson Amps Vincent and Benson Tall Bird via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander, with the R2R Electric Vintage Wah and Effectrode Tube Vibe added later in the demo.

We won't pretend the Tube Screamer hasn't been cloned a thousand times. It has. The question with every new iteration is what the builder actually changed and whether those changes are improvements or just marketing. Browne Amplification's answer is specific and surgical — three targeted modifications to an otherwise faithful recreation of the TS circuit.

First: the midrange. The classic TS mid hump is preserved but refined — more nuanced, the nasal frequency that plagues lesser Screamer-style circuits dialed out. The bump is there, it's just better shaped. Second: the clipping. The stock TS uses symmetrical clipping diodes — Browne has made it slightly asymmetrical, which introduces a more complex, less compressed harmonic signature on the drive. Third: the low end. Fuller and more present than stock, while remaining tight and punchy — the low-end rolloff that makes Tube Screamers feel thin in some rigs has been corrected.

Three knobs: Volume, Drive, Tone. Soft switching with adjustable startup state. Glossy Bullfrog Belly Green finish. 9V, 40mA. The name, for those curious: Gritador means "screamer" in Portuguese.

This is the third Browne Amplification pedal on the channel after the Carbon and the Atom — the third distinct circuit from the same Kansas City builder, and possibly the most universally useful of the three.

🎛️ Browne Amplification Gritador: https://browneamps.com/the-gritador
🎸 Giordano Guitars: https://www.instagram.com/_giordanoguitars_/
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers

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Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R121 & R10 | Sennheiser E906 | Ableton Live 11

Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26 Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26

R2R Electric Pre-Amp & Vintage Wah

The R2R Electric Pre-Amp and Vintage Wah together — two pieces from the same builder that were made to complement each other. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the R2R Electric Pre-Amp and Vintage Wah take center stage as a double feature — alongside freshly installed Lollar The Bird Pickups in the Frank Brothers Arcade Thinline, into the Benson Amps Vincent 2x12", with the Greer Amps Lightspeed, LPD Seventy4 Deluxe, Effectrode Tube Vibe, and Strymon Volante all in the mix.

The R2R Electric Pre-Amp is Chris Vincent's (@djlavalamp) input coloring and signal enrichment tool — built with NOS components throughout, designed to add harmonic content and three-dimensional presence to whatever follows it in the chain. Previously featured on the channel with the Frank Brothers Ultralight.

The R2R Electric Vintage Wah is a faithful recreation of the original Clyde McCoy circuit — the wah that defined the sound of Hendrix, Page, and Clapton before anyone knew what a wah actually was. Component list: Halo inductor. Vintage CTS and Centralab potentiometers. NOS 1960s Siemens BC109C silicon transistors. NOS Mullard .22uf Tropical Fish capacitors. Philips 4.7uf capacitor. NOS 1984 JAN paper-in-oil .01uf capacitors. 1962-64 Philips, Piher, and carbon comp resistors. Each unit is unique in the specific components used — the combination varies unit to unit — but every unit is tone-tested for consistency before leaving the shop. The expression controller uses a separate NOS 1970s Centralab potentiometer connected via TRS cable, and with the toggle in the up position becomes a standard expression-controlled wah. In the down position the unit operates as a fixed cocked-wah filter — which is explored in detail from 16:29 onward as a treble booster substitute.

Important note: built to original vintage specs, this wah does not work well with germanium Fuzz Face pedals placed after it in the chain. Silicon fuzz after or germanium fuzz before is the correct order.

The Lollar The Bird Pickups are a full humbucker-sized enclosure housing Lollar's Firebird-voiced mini humbucker circuit — not a traditional PAF humbucker architecture. Neck 6.1K, Bridge 7.4K. Brighter, snappier, and more percussive than a standard Imperial or Low Wind Imperial, with a tight low end and a no-hole cover for the classic Firebird aesthetic. Genuinely sounds like a cross between a hot Jazzmaster and a PAF — its own voice entirely.

Get on the R2R Electric mailing list: https://www.r2relectric.com/how-to-order
Follow Chris: https://www.instagram.com/djlavalamp/

🎸 Lollar The Bird Pickups: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-pickups
🎸 Frank Brothers Guitar Company: https://www.frankbrothersguitars.com
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers

Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations.

Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R121 & R10 | Sennheiser E906 | Ableton Live 11

Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26 Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26

Benson Amps Stonk Box Fuzz

You've heard a new fuzz is coming from Benson Amps. The rumors are true — this is the Stonk Box. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Benson Amps Stonk Box takes center stage — Benson's Automatic Thermal Bias technology applied to the MKI Tone Bender circuit — featuring the Frank Brothers Arcade Thinline with Righteous Sound RAF Humbuckers, into the Benson Earhart Reverb Combo via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander, with the JAM Pedals Ripply Fall and Meris LVX later in the demo.

The backstory matters here. The Tone Bender MKI itself is a modified version of the very first fuzz ever — the Maestro FZ-1, the pedal responsible for the Keith Richards Satisfaction riff and Mick Ronson's Spiders from Mars-era Bowie tone. Chris Benson developed the Stonk Box after David Torn lent him a collection of original vintage fuzzes to compare and contrast. The discovery: no two MKI variants sounded exactly alike. Every original is different — component drift, transistor variance, temperature sensitivity. Germanium transistors change character as they warm up and as the room temperature changes. The Stonk Box's Automatic Thermal Bias circuit solves this permanently.

Plug the Stonk Box into power and wait. The LED will change color as the circuit warms up — 2-3 minutes on average. Once stable, the thermal bias circuit automatically adjusts internal voltages in response to ambient temperature, keeping the germanium transistors at their optimal bias point regardless of conditions. What you dial in at soundcheck is what you get at the end of a three-set gig.

Four controls expand the original MKI's minimal feature set. Filter controls Q1 gain and bias — the primary character knob. Trim is a pre-gain control that sets how hard the signal hits the transistors — cranked to maximum replicates the MKI out of the box. Tone is a low-pass filter that shapes the top-end frequency response. Volume is output level. The interaction between Filter and Trim is where the Stonk Box's tonal range lives — from articulate, almost overdriven fuzz to full sputtering MKI chaos.

Buffer and pedal-order friendly. 9VDC only. No pickup simulation.

🎛️ Benson Amps Stonk Box: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitarpedals/stonkbox
🎸 Frank Brothers Guitar Company: https://www.frankbrothersguitars.com
🎸 Righteous Sound Pickups: https://www.righteoussoundpickups.com
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers

Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations.

Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R-121 & R10 | Sennheiser E906 | Ableton Live 11

Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26 Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26

O.C.E. Pedals Wrench Fuzz | Humbucker Tones

The Wrench Fuzz with humbuckers — and a very different pairing than the first demo. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the O.C.E. Pedals Wrench Fuzz returns for a second look — this time featuring the Frank Brothers Ultralight with Lollar Low Wind Imperial Humbuckers, into the Benson Amps Monarch and Benson 2x12" cabinet via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander. Watch the first Wrench Fuzz demo with the Giordano single coils here: [LINK TO PREVIOUS DEMO]

The Wrench is Chris Evans' (@o.c.e.pedals, Burbank CA) Fuzz Face-topology silicon fuzz built around 2N2222A transistors with an internal bias trimpot set at 4.5V by default. Two knobs: Volume and Fuzz. The defining characteristic is the guitar volume cleanup — from full-range silicon destruction at guitar volume 10 down to glassy, wiry, harmonically rich lead tones as you roll back.

What the Lollar Low Wind Imperials bring to this circuit that the single coils don't: a wider low-midrange foundation that makes the Wrench feel bigger and more sustaining at full fuzz. The humbuckers' higher output pushes the fuzz input harder, which on a silicon Fuzz Face-style circuit means the transistors saturate earlier and more completely. The result is a slightly more compressed, thicker version of the Wrench's character compared to the single coil demo. The Tone knob becomes more critical here — with full humbucker output the top end can get congested, and rolling it back finds the sweet spot fast.

The cleanup behavior differs meaningfully from the single coil demo too. The Lollar Low Wind's Alnico 2 neck and Alnico 5 bridge have different cleanup curves — the neck in particular rolls off very musically, while the bridge stays tighter through the sweep. Middle position gives a blended character that's explored in the cleanup sections.

🎛️ O.C.E. Pedals: https://ocepedals.com
🎸 Frank Brothers Ultralight: https://www.frankbrothersguitars.com
🎸 Lollar Low Wind Imperial: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-pickups
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers

Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations.

Recording: Royer R121 & R10 + SM57

Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26 Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26

Boss Katana Artist 100-Watt Guitar Amp Head & 2x12" Cab

The Boss Katana Artist MkII Head debut on the channel — and an immediate answer to a question I've had for a long time about how well this amp takes boutique pedals. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Boss Katana Artist 100W MkII Head and 2x12" cabinet take center stage — featuring the Black Bobbin JM by Iconic Guitars with exclusive Lollar Black Bobbin Jazzmaster pickups, alongside a pedalboard covering the Meris LVX (in the Katana's effects loop), Browne Amplification Carbon, KingTone Vibe 1968, and Dominion Electric Fuzz.

The Katana Artist MkII Head is Boss's flagship modeled amp head built on their Tube Logic design approach — five amp characters (Clean, Crunch, Lead, Brown, Acoustic) each with a Variation switch for a total of ten core tones. 100 watts of Class-AB analog power, scalable to 50W or 0.5W via Power Control. Three-band global EQ, three-way Contour switch, five simultaneous onboard effects with over 60 Boss effects accessible via Tone Studio, and eight storable Tone Setting memories. The series/parallel effects loop is what this demo specifically tests — how boutique, finicky vintage fuzz, modulation, and delay behave through a platform outside the Boss ecosystem. The answer: extremely well.

The Black Bobbin JM is the work of Shelby Pollard (Black Bobbin) and Iconic Guitars — a vintage-spec Jazzmaster build with Mastery M1 hardware, quarter-sawn maple neck, rosewood fretboard at 7.25" radius, 1 11/16" nut width, bone nut, Jescar medium frets, 280K vintage-inspired pots, and an NOS K40Y-9 PIO capacitor. The exclusive Black Bobbin Lollar pickups are the result of Shelby asking Lollar one specific question: what would your Jazzmaster pickups sound like after 50 years of aging? The answer was Alnico 2 magnets instead of Alnico 5 — lower output, natural degaussing character — combined with staggered pole pieces and traditional Jazzmaster string spacing. The Jazzmaster rhythm circuit is also explored in this demo.

🔊 Boss Katana Artist MkII Head: https://www.boss.info/global/products/katana-artist_mkii_head/
🎸 Black Bobbin: https://blackbobbin.com
🎸 Lollar Black Bobbin Pickups: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-pickups

Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations.

Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R10 & R121 | Sennheiser E906

Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26 Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26

Lollar Pickups Mini Humbuckers

The P90 rout is more versatile than most people realize — and this demo proves it. The Lollar Mini Humbuckers in the Frank Brothers Arcade Goldtop, through the Benson Monarch cranked with the R2R Electric Rangemaster. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Lollar Mini Humbucker Pickups take center stage — installed in the Frank Brothers Arcade Goldtop via P90 soapbar conversion rings, into the Benson Amps Monarch and Benson 2x12" cabinet via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander with the Benson Tall Bird for reverb, and the R2R Electric Rangemaster treble booster in the second half.

The P90 hunt on this guitar has covered the Fralin Stock P90, Fralin Hum-Cancelling P90, Righteous Sound Monte P90, Lollar '50s Wind, Standard Wind, and High Wind P90s. This episode takes a deliberate detour into a different pickup format entirely. Lollar's own soapbar conversion rings allow their Mini-Humbucker, La Prima, Firebird, and MiniBroiler pickups to drop directly into any standard P90 soapbar rout — no routing required. The P90 rout turns out to be one of the most versatile formats available, and the Mini Humbucker is one of its best applications.

The Lollar Mini Humbucker's internal architecture is what makes it distinctive. Steel cores rather than alnico rod magnets — this gives the pickup higher inductance, more bass, more output, and a smoother attack than an alnico-core mini humbucker. When you push the amp, the steel core produces more of a grind and sustain character than alnico. The result sits tonally between a full-size humbucker and a P90 — tighter, brighter, and more defined than a full humbucker, with more warmth and sustain than a true single coil. Hum-cancelling by design.

DC resistance: Neck 6.6K / Middle 6.7K / Bridge 7.2K. Recommended pots: 500K. The middle position on this guitar — Mini Humbucker neck and bridge blended in parallel — is a genuinely new sound for the Arcade Goldtop, not available with any P90 configuration.

The R2R Electric Rangemaster enters at 17:03 — pushing the Mini Humbuckers' already tight transient attack into the Monarch's preamp for the treble-boosted British lead tone these pickups are extremely well-suited for.

Coming up on the channel: Lollar La Prima Mini Humbuckers, Lollar Gold Foil Soapbars, and Lollar Firebird.

🎸 Lollar Mini Humbucker: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-pickups
🎸 Frank Brothers Guitar Company: https://www.frankbrothersguitars.com
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers

Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations.

Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R10 & R121 | Sennheiser E906

Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26 Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26

Benson Earhart Reverb Combo

The debut of my new Benson Amps Earhart Reverb Combo — cranked, top boost on, tone maxed, absolutely crushing. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Benson Amps Earhart Reverb Combo takes center stage for its channel debut — featuring the Frank Brothers Arcade Thinline with Righteous Sound RAF A4 & A2 Humbuckers, alongside a compact pedalboard covering the Dominion Electric Fuzz, KingTone Vibe 1968, Browne Amplification Carbon, and Meris LVX.

The Earhart is Benson's interpretation of the top boost style of amplifier — not a clone, but a deeply considered evolution. Chris Benson took the tone stack from the original 1960s top boost design, modified it, and integrated it into the Monarch platform, carrying over the Monarch's touch sensitivity and harmonic characteristics into an EL84 Class A circuit. The result is a Benson amp that chimes in a way the Monarch doesn't — the top boost switch adds shimmer and three-dimensional clarity above the midrange, while Normal mode makes the Earhart behave like a well-balanced Monarch. The midrange is very slightly scooped but not as heavily scooped as the original top boost amps — a sweetness that lives in between. The Reverb Combo adds Tall Bird-style tube-driven spring reverb in a completely transparent fashion.

15 watts. 2 x JJ EL84 power tubes. 2 x JJ 12AX7 preamp tubes. 1 x JJ 12DW7 reverb driver. 5AR4 rectifier (default). Mercury Magnetics transformers. Jupiter capacitors. Carbon comp resistors. Point-to-point construction on terminal strips — no PCB, eyelet, or turret board. DC filaments for low noise. 13–18 watts depending on rectifier. This combo is 39 lbs of pure Class A.

Controls are beautifully minimal: Volume, Tone (tilt between bass and treble), and the Normal/Top Boost switch. Volume and Tone in combination control the frequency tilt of the entire amp — many sounds from two knobs.

The Righteous Sound RAF (Righteousness Applied For) Humbuckers — Alnico 4 neck, Alnico 2 bridge — are the vintage-accurate PAF replica set built for this guitar. Period-correct 42AWG plain enamel wire, USA-made butyrate bobbins and pole screws, custom nickel PAF-clone covers.

🔊 Benson Amps Earhart Reverb Combo: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers
🎸 Frank Brothers Guitar Company: https://www.frankbrothersguitars.com
🎸 Righteous Sound Pickups: https://www.righteoussoundpickups.com

Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations.

Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R10 & R121 | Sennheiser E906

Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26 Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26

Walrus Audio Fundamental Series — Fuzz & Delay

Walrus Audio has no business making pedals this good for under $100. The Fundamental Series Fuzz and Delay debut on the channel today — and they're remarkable. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Walrus Audio Fundamental Series Fuzz and Fundamental Series Delay take center stage together — featuring the Frank Brothers Arcade Thinline with Righteous Sound RAF Humbuckers (A4 neck / A2 bridge), into the Benson Amps Monarch, Benson Tall Bird, and Benson 2x12" cabinet via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander.

The Fundamental Series is Walrus Audio's challenge to themselves: design eight pedals with professional-grade tonal integrity using the simplest possible control set. Three sliders and a three-way toggle per pedal. Everything essential, nothing superfluous. Designed and assembled in Oklahoma City.

The Fundamental Fuzz is a three-mode aggressive fuzz. Gain, Tone, and Volume sliders — Tone cuts highs when dialed left, cuts lows when dialed right. The three-way toggle covers the character range: Classic is screaming fuzz with an iconic mid scoop, compressed and crunchy — the vintage silicon fuzz character. Mid+ flattens the tone stage with a mid boost, giving a compressed, full, punchy snarl — more PAF-voiced guitar-like. Gate lowers the bias voltage to create gated, spitty, starved fuzz — the dying-battery chaos Jack White built a career on. All three explored in this demo, stacked with the delay and individually.

The Fundamental Delay is three algorithms via slide switch. Digital: clean, transparent repeats with rhythmic definition. Analog: filtered and slightly distorted repeats designed to replicate bucket brigade delay character — warm, slightly wobbly, tape-adjacent. Reverse: reversed trails for building melody or pushing feedback into overload. Tap tempo by holding the bypass switch until the LED flashes. Buffered bypass with trails mode on by default.

The Righteous Sound RAF (Righteousness Applied For) Humbuckers are vintage-accurate PAF replicas — 49.2mm PAF-spec butyrate bobbins, USA-made pole screws and slugs, period-correct 42AWG plain enamel wire, vintage single braid wiring, custom fabricated nickel PAF-clone covers with no copper undercoat. This specific set: Alnico 4 in the neck, Alnico 2 in the bridge — the Derek Trucks-inspired configuration. Neck DC 7.2–7.5K / Bridge DC 7.6–7.8K. The A4 neck brings clarity and articulation; the A2 bridge brings warmth, bloom, and open harmonic complexity.

🎛️ Walrus Audio Fundamental Fuzz: https://www.walrusaudio.com/products/fundamental-series-fuzz
🎛️ Walrus Audio Fundamental Delay: https://www.walrusaudio.com/products/fundamental-series-delay
🎸 Righteous Sound Pickups: https://www.righteoussoundpickups.com
🎸 Frank Brothers Guitar Company: https://www.frankbrothersguitars.com
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers

Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations.

🎸 Frank Brothers Arcade Thinline | Righteous Sound RAF Humbuckers (A4 Neck / A2 Bridge)
🎛️ Walrus Audio Fundamental Fuzz (Classic / Mid+ / Gate) + Fundamental Delay (Digital / Analog / Reverse)
🔊 Benson Amps Monarch | Benson Tall Bird | Boss Waza TAE | Benson 2x12"

Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R10 & R121 | Sennheiser E906 | Ableton Live

Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26 Edge of Breakup . 7/26/26

Fralin Hum-Canceling P90 Pickups

All the P90 tone. None of the hum. The Fralin Hum-Cancelling P90 is the solution that actually works. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Lindy Fralin Hum-Cancelling P90 Soapbar Pickups take center stage in the Frank Brothers Arcade Goldtop, into the Benson Amps Monarch across three gain levels, followed by an extended pedalboard section covering the R2R Electric Supa MKII Fuzz, Origin Effects M-EQ Driver, Cornerstone Gladio SC, Meris LVX, and Walrus Audio M1 Vibrato/Vibe.

Other Fralin P90 demos on the channel:
Fralin Stock P90s: https://youtu.be/tR2uTQPap6Q
Fralin Pure PAF Humbuckers: https://youtu.be/lPHmESPyyxs

The P90 hum problem is real and well-documented. In a live or recording environment, single-coil hum is manageable. In a high-gain context into a pushed amp, it becomes a practical obstacle — and most "solutions" make the tone worse than the hum. Stacked coil designs cancel hum by placing two coils one on top of the other, which Fralin believes leads to a lifeless, dull tone that lacks character. Lindy's approach is different: a side-by-side dual-coil design that achieves hum cancellation without stacking, attaining a more accurate P90 tone that actually sounds like a P90.

The result is a vintage-voiced P90 tone with a slightly thicker midrange and rounder highs — the snarly midrange bark and top-end push of a real P90, with over 20dB of noise reduction. Dual-coil hum-cancelling design. Stock output for balanced response and versatility. Standard 50mm pole spacing for bridge and neck positions. Thick low end, round top end, and punchy midrange presence. Adjustable pole pieces for string-to-string volume balance.

This is the Stock output version — same wind spec as the Fralin Stock P90, applied to the hum-cancelling architecture. For a maple-top mahogany Arcade Goldtop into a Benson Monarch, the character comparison against the Stock P90s in the same guitar is the listening exercise this demo enables.

🎸 Fralin Hum-Cancelling P90: https://www.fralinpickups.com/product/p90-hum-cancelling/
🎸 Frank Brothers Arcade: https://www.frankbrothersguitars.com
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers

Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations.

Recording: UA Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R-121 & R10 | Sennheiser E906 | Ableton Live 11

Edge of Breakupinfo@edgeofbreakup.studio

Edge of Breakup
info@edgeofbreakup.studio