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

Feat. Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul R8

Lollar Pickups returns to the channel — this time with the High Wind Imperial PAF Humbuckers, the hotter sibling of the legendary Low Wind. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Lollar High Wind Imperial PAF Humbuckers take center stage — installed in the 2002 Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul R8 Historic, freshly wired with the Emerson Custom x Edge of Breakup Les Paul Prewired Kit and two Emerson Custom Treble Bleeds, into the Benson Amps Monarch 2x12" via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander. Origin Effects Revival Drive Compact, R2R Electric Rangemaster, and Effectrode Tube Vibe all feature.

Grab a set: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-humbucker-pickups/lollar-imperial-humbucker Get the EoB x Emerson Custom Les Paul Kit: https://emersoncustom.com/products/eob-les-paul-prewired-kit-premier-pro?sca_ref=6282128.5O9h8BhMpG Treble Bleed Mod: https://emersoncustom.com/products/2017-treble-bleed-circuit-volume-mod?sca_ref=6282128.5O9h8BhMpG

The Lollar Low Wind Imperial is one of the most well-known boutique PAF humbuckers on the market — open, airy, dynamic, with a bloom and clarity that rewards touch sensitivity. The High Wind Imperial keeps the same fundamental voicing — drawn from the long-revered qualities of the original 1950s PAF — but adds winding to both the neck and bridge, pushing the output higher while staying within the vintage PAF specification range.

What this means in practice: the High Wind pushes your amp into overdrive territory at lower volume settings. The same amp that sounds clean with a Low Wind Imperial will sound fuller and more pushed with the High Wind at the same volume knob position. Clean tones have more body and girth. Cranked tones arrive earlier and with more authority. The overdrive interaction with the Revival Drive Compact is more saturated, and the R2R Electric Rangemaster stacking — explored from 11:03 — has an even broader range of cleanup tones available because there's more signal level to roll back into.

The R8 Historic platform is particularly well-suited to High Wind Imperials. The hide glue neck joint, long tenon, and solid mahogany construction are already voiced for warmth and sustain — the High Wind's added output gives the guitar's natural resonance more input signal to push the amp with, resulting in a more consistently singing, harmonically rich character even at modest volume settings.

Grab an Emerson Custom Les Paul Kit: https://emersoncustom.com/products/les-paul-prewired-kit?sca_ref=6282128.5O9h8BhMpG Emerson Custom Strat Blender Kit: https://emersoncustom.com/products/s5b-blender-5-way-strat-prewired-kit?sca_ref=6282128.5O9h8BhMpG

🎸 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 12

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

Greer Amps Thunderbolt30 Gen2 Tube Amplifier | Feat. Frank Brothers Ultra Light

Greer Amps returns to the channel — this time with the Thunderbolt30 Gen2, their best selling amp head. And Expresso FX makes its channel debut alongside it. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Greer Amps Thunderbolt30 Gen2 takes center stage — featuring the Frank Brothers Ultralight Semi-Hollow with Lollar El Rayo Humbuckers (neck and bridge), Lollar Firebird middle (blender knob with Emerson Custom Treble Bleeds), into the Benson Amps 2x12" cabinet with Celestion G12H 30W speakers via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander. The Expresso FX Dual Ge/Si Fuzz and Germanium Boost Mini join from 13:06 onward.

Thanks to Coast Sonic for sending the Thunderbolt30 Gen2: https://coastsonic.com/search?q=greer+amps Follow Coast Sonic: https://www.instagram.com/coastsonic/ Follow Greer Amps: https://www.instagram.com/greeramps

Nick Greer builds in Athens, Georgia. The Thunderbolt30 is Greer Amps' best-selling head — 30 watts blending AC-type, JTM-type, and Matchless-type circuits into one coherent voice. Two EL34 power tubes, cathode biased, Class A. Two 12AX7 preamp tubes. 5AR4 rectifier. Custom Mercury Magnetics output transformer (8 and 16 ohm). Hand-wired throughout.

Two genuinely distinct inputs. Input 1: higher gain, snap and bite (02:54). Input 2: softer midrange, less gain, more polite tonal range (18:57). Three knobs: Volume, Tone, Master. Volume controls gain, Master controls output level. Both cranked delivers the full 30 Class A watts. Volume up with Master lower gives maximum headroom and a clean pedal platform. Gen2 brings a new logo and small circuit refinements from Nick.

Expresso FX is Sof, building by hand in the UK — every transistor hand-selected and auditioned, zero compromise on components.

The Dual Ge/Si Fuzz (Charcoal) is a Fuzz Face-style circuit with Q1 switchable between a Newmarket NKT271 germanium and a Mullard OC202 silicon transistor, with a Mullard AC188 in Q3. The NKT271 is the same transistor family found in the earliest original Fuzz Faces. The OC202 delivers a temperature-stable, grittier alternative at the flick of a switch.

The Germanium Boost Mini (Gold) is a compact Rangemaster-style boost with a Philips OC141 — NPN, negative ground, daisy-chain friendly. Creamy and well-balanced. NOS Mullard Tropical Fish and Philips caps. Genuine Hammond enclosure.

Grab an Emerson Custom Treble Bleed: https://emersoncustom.com/products/2017-treble-bleed-circuit-volume-mod?sca_ref=6282128.5O9h8BhMpG Emerson Custom Les Paul Kit: https://emersoncustom.com/products/les-paul-prewired-kit?sca_ref=6282128.5O9h8BhMpG Emerson Custom Strat Blender Kit: https://emersoncustom.com/products/s5b-blender-5-way-strat-prewired-kit?sca_ref=6282128.5O9h8BhMpG

🔊 Greer Amps Thunderbolt30 Gen2: https://www.greeramps.com/products/thunderbolt30-gen2 🎛️ Expresso FX: https://expressofx.com 🎸 Frank Brothers Guitar Company: https://www.frankbrothersguitars.com 🎸 Lollar 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 | Ableton Live 12

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

Which R2R Electric Fuzz to Get? Ge Distorter NKT, Ge Distorter, Si Distorter TFK & Si Distorter

Very excited to welcome R2R Electric back to the channel, this time with a look across Chris Vincent's Distorter Fuzz line - - the Ge Distorter NKT (50s/60s Newmarket NKT27U Transistor Fuzz Face), - the Ge Distorter (blend of Germanium Schaller and Fuzz Face), - the Si Distorter TFK (50s/60s Telefunken Silicon Transistors), and - and the Si Distorter (blend of Silicon Schaller and Fuzz Face). Go follow R2R Electric on Instagram and join the R2R Electric email list for new drops of custom made pedals crafted from NOS vintage parts. https://www.instagram.com/djlavalamp/ https://www.r2relectric.com I thought it would be massively fun to compare the Distorter models from Ge to Ge NKT, Si to Si TFK, Ge to Si, Ge NKT to Ge TFK, and so on... I compared them across full fuzz gain with the guitar volume maxed and the bridge pickup roaring, but also with the volume knob cleaning up with the fuzzes to show the introcacies of how they react to your guitar's controls. I picked up a bufferless switcher from The Gig Rig (Dan from That Pedal Show) so I can seamlessly switch between the different transistor sets. Today I am featuring my Custom Shop Fender Stratocaster Journeyman '60 with Curtis Novak Pickups Strat-V Neck and Middle / Strat-TB Cojones bridge (this is a brand new Curtis Novak Protoype Strat Bridge pickup 🤫), wired up with an Emerson Custom 5-Way Strat Blender Wiring Kit and Treble Bleed, into the Benson Monarch and a 2x12" cabinet with 4 mics on it, into a Universal Audio x4 and Ableton Live.

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

Civil Math | Mask Audio Electronics

Delighted to welcome Mask Audio Electronics to the channel with their Civil Math Fuzz! The Civil Math will cover all your russian big muff / civil war big muff needs and then some, with an expanded feature set expertly tuned by Alex of MAE. An added Boost pushes the already plentiful gain even harder, and a switch to control what MAE calls "Blowout" takes "caving in" to a new level... your amp is not ready for this. 🤣

Grab one here: https://maskaudioelectronics.com/products/civil-math

Today I am featuring the Civil Math with my @Kauerguitars Gripen, loaded with @WolfetonePickups Humbuckers, @EmersonCustomUSA Pots, and Emerson Treble Bleed into my @BensonAmps Monarch with 2x12" @CelestionUK G12H speakers, into an array of 4 mics ( @royerlabs R10, Royer R121, @sennheiser E906, @LautenAudio LS-208) into a @UniversalAudio Apollo x4 and @Ableton Live 12.

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

R2R Electric & Waterslide Time-O-Lite Fuzz / Fuzz Face Shootout! / GeFace Deluxe & Ge Distorter NKT

R2R Electric returns with something genuinely one of a kind — a Waterslide Guitars collaboration, a three-way fuzz face shootout, and the most unique pedal enclosure I've ever seen. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the R2R Electric x Waterslide Guitars Time-O-Lite Fuzz takes center stage — alongside the R2R Electric GeFace Deluxe (AC107 Ge) and the R2R Electric Ge Distorter NKT (NKT72U/NKT278) — featuring the Fender Custom Shop 1960 Journeyman Relic Stratocaster with Curtis Novak Strat-V High Wind (Neck + Middle) and Curtis Novak Strat-TB (Bridge), Emerson Custom S5B Blender 5-Way Wiring Kit and Treble Bleed, into the Benson Amps Monarch 2x12" via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander. The Gig Rig bufferless switcher handles seamless pedal switching between the three fuzzes throughout.

Follow R2R Electric: https://www.instagram.com/djlavalamp/ R2R Electric mailing list: https://www.r2relectric.com Follow Waterslide Guitars: https://www.instagram.com/waterslideguitars/ Waterslide Guitars: http://www.waterslideguitars.com

Grab an Emerson Custom Treble Bleed: https://emersoncustom.com/products/2017-treble-bleed-circuit-volume-mod?sca_ref=6282128.5O9h8BhMpG

Emerson Custom Strat 5-Way Blender Kit: https://emersoncustom.com/products/s5b-blender-5-way-strat-prewired-kit?sca_ref=6282128.5O9h8BhMpG

The Time-O-Lite is a collaboration between R2R Electric (Chris Vincent, @djlavalamp) and Waterslide Guitars — a run of 25 units built into genuine vintage darkroom photographic light timer enclosures, the kind used in film developing labs in the 1950s and 1960s. The enclosures are original hardware, sourced and converted into guitar pedals filled with NOS 1950s and 1960s OC44 or AC107 germanium transistors (this video features the OC44 variant). Steampunk aesthetics that are genuinely vintage, not manufactured to look vintage. Each of the 25 units is unique.

The shootout format puts three distinct NOS germanium transistor voicings directly against each other using The Gig Rig's bufferless switching — essential for fuzz face circuits, which are extremely sensitive to any buffered signal preceding them. Three different transistor families, three distinct characters:

Time-O-Lite (OC44 in this video, or the AC107 variant that I will eventually own as well 😉): The OC44 is the transistor used in the original 1966 Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face — full, warm, musical. The AC107 is the transistor Chris Vincent uses in the R2RGeMaster — sweeter top end, slightly more complex harmonic character. Both are NOS 1950s/60s stock.

GeFace Deluxe (AC107): Chris's standard GeFace Deluxe build — AC107 transistors in his faithful Fuzz Face circuit with NOS passive components throughout. Period-correct paper-in-oil and mylar caps, Allen-Bradley and Piher carbon comp resistors, vintage CTS potentiometers.

Ge Distorter NKT (NKT72U/NKT278): Newmarket NKT transistors — the transistor family used in many of the earliest British Fuzz Faces and Tone Benders. The NKT72U and NKT278 have a grittier, more aggressive character than the OC44 or AC107 — more snarl in the upper midrange, less rounded bloom.

The rapid fire comparison section at 14:26 puts all three side by side on identical settings for the most direct transistor character comparison on the channel.

🎛️ R2R Electric: https://www.r2relectric.com 🎸 Curtis Novak Pickups: https://www.curtisnovak.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 12

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

Analog Noir Moon Lion Germanium Fuzz & Boost

Analog Noir returns to the channel — this time with the Moon Lion, a dual pedal combining a Square Face-spec Fuzz Face and a Rangemaster Treble Booster in one box. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Analog Noir Moon Lion takes center stage — featuring the Fender Custom Shop 1960 Journeyman Relic Stratocaster with Curtis Novak Strat-V High Wind (Neck + Middle) and Curtis Novak Strat-TB (Bridge) and Emerson Custom Wiring and Treble Bleed, into the Benson Amps Monarch 2x12" via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander with the Echo Fix EF-X3 Chorus Echo.

Get a Moon Lion: https://www.analognoirelectric.com/shop/p/dual-rangemaster-fuzz-face All Analog Noir pedals: https://www.analognoirelectric.com/shop

Also on the channel: the Analog Noir MKI Tone Bender.

The concept of the Moon Lion is simple and powerful: the Fuzz Face and the Rangemaster Treble Booster are the two most important germanium circuits in British guitar history. The Fuzz Face came first — Jimi Hendrix's defining dirt circuit. The Rangemaster shaped Clapton's woman tone on the Beano record, Tony Iommi's thick early Sabbath crunch, and Brian May's entire guitar voice. Putting them in one box with independent footswitches means you don't have to choose which one goes first in the chain — you can run Fuzz Face alone, Rangemaster alone, or stack the Fuzz Face into the Rangemaster together.

The Fuzz Face side is built to Cesar Diaz's Square Face specification. Cesar Diaz was Stevie Ray Vaughan's amp tech — known as "The Amp Doctor" — and worked with Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, and Neil Young. SRV's original round Fuzz Faces were unreliable, so Diaz built him modified versions in rectangular enclosures with true bypass switching and circuit modifications that became known as the Square Face. Analog Noir's version is loaded with Mullard GET113 and CV7355 mil spec germanium transistors. Vintage TRW polypropylene film capacitors. Vintage carbon composition resistors. Full point-to-point hand-wired construction. Bias knob for dialing in the sweet spot or inducing gated and spitting textures (explored from 04:25).

The Rangemaster side is a faithful reproduction of the 1965 Dallas Arbiter Rangemaster Treble Booster with a three-position EQ switch — High (the original Rangemaster setting), Mid (boosting mid frequencies into the amp), Low (extending the boost into the low end for a fuller range push). Explored from 13:51 through 18:20. The sweet spot of Rangemaster into a pushed amp at the edge of breakup is exactly what this demo is about.

Both sides stacked from 19:20 — Fuzz Face into Rangemaster — with volume knob cleanup explored from 20:24.

🎛️ Analog Noir Effects: https://www.analognoirelectric.com 🎸 Curtis Novak Pickups: https://www.curtisnovak.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 12

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

Emerson Custom Les Paul Prewired Kit & Treble Bleeds — The Best Guitar Mod for your Gibson Les Paul

The Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul R8 Historic returns — this time with the Emerson Custom x Edge of Breakup Les Paul Prewired Kit installed. Here's what a wiring upgrade actually sounds like on a Les Paul. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the 2002 Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul R8 Historic returns with its stock Gibson Burstbucker pickups now paired with the Emerson Custom x Edge of Breakup Les Paul Prewired Kit and two Emerson Custom Treble Bleed mods, into the Benson Amps Monarch via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander. Origin Effects Revival Drive Compact, R2R Electric Si Distorter TFK, and Effectrode Tube Vibe feature in the second half.

Get the Emerson Custom x Edge of Breakup Les Paul Prewired Kit: https://emersoncustom.com/products/eob-les-paul-prewired-kit-premier-pro?sca_ref=6282128.5O9h8BhMpG Treble Bleed Mod: https://emersoncustom.com/products/2017-treble-bleed-circuit-volume-mod?sca_ref=6282128.5O9h8BhMpG All Emerson Prewired Kits: https://emersoncustom.com/collections/prewired-kits

Emerson Custom wiring is in nearly every guitar on this channel — the exceptions are vintage instruments I don't modify. The quality of components matters enormously and the difference is audible: CTS pots built to Emerson's exact specifications and tolerances, paper-in-oil capacitors, and '50s wiring spec throughout.

'50s wiring vs. modern wiring on a Les Paul is a meaningful tonal distinction. Modern wiring connects the tone capacitor to the wiper of the volume pot — as you turn down the volume, more high frequency content bleeds to ground, causing the tone to darken as volume decreases. '50s wiring connects the tone capacitor directly to the output lug, keeping the high frequency content stable across the volume sweep and producing a more open, resonant character even at lower volume settings. The interaction between the two volume controls and two tone controls in middle pickup position also behaves differently — the tone controls no longer load each other, giving cleaner, more independent control.

The Emerson Custom Treble Bleed adds a further layer: a frequency-specific network on each volume pot that maintains high-frequency content as volume is rolled back. On a Les Paul with two volume controls, I've installed one on each pot — so both the neck and bridge volume knobs have independent Treble Bleed circuits. The volume knob cleanup explored from 06:18 and 10:32 is the direct result of that combination.

This is a direct comparison to the stock Gibson wiring covered in the first R8 Historic video — same guitar, same pickups, same amp chain. The improvement in volume knob response is the story.

🎛️ Emerson Custom: https://emersoncustom.com 🎸 Gibson Custom Shop: https://www.gibson.com/en-US/Custom-Shop 🔊 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 12

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

Lauren Audio B100 Fuzz

Lauren Audio returns to the channel with the B100 Fuzz — a germanium fuzz derived from the preamp card inside a Neve recording console. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Lauren Audio B100 Fuzz takes center stage — featuring the Prisma Guitars Mattsonia with Lollar Standard Wind Imperial PAF Humbuckers and Emerson Custom Treble Bleed and Wiring Kit, into the Benson Amps Monarch via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander with the Echo Fix EF-X3 Chorus Echo.

Also on the channel: the Lauren Audio Aerocomet (UREI 1176 preamp).

The story behind James's approach at Lauren Audio is consistent across all his designs: find a piece of pro audio studio gear that imparts a specific coloration and character, understand why it sounds the way it does, and build a guitar pedal that delivers that quality — then push it further than the original hardware ever could. The B100 is based on the Neve B100 preamp card found in the 1053 console channel strip, the predecessor to the now-legendary 1073. When researching the B100 module, James found that the circuit topology was similar to a two-transistor fuzz. Starting from that discovery, he carried over unique circuit elements from the original Neve design that aren't typically found in fuzz pedals — creating a circuit that has the width, compression, and warmth of a vintage fuzz with the cut and focus of something more modern.

This batch uses 2N404A germanium transistors — auditioned and matched per build. Carbon film 1/2 watt resistors paired with polypropylene film caps for classic tone and fast, responsive feel. A high-grade bipolar MUSE capacitor is the only electrolytic in the audio path. Internal bias trimpot for dialing in the sweet spot or compensating for temperature effects.

Three controls: Input (affects low end — lower Input tightens and brightens, higher Input thickens and warms), Gain (affects mids and highs), Output (makeup gain stage). This three-way interaction functions as a pseudo-EQ — no dedicated tone knob is needed because the Input and Gain controls reshape the frequency character of the fuzz as they're adjusted. Explored thoroughly across the demo: warm fuzz at unity (02:21), reduced Input for brighter character (03:57), Output cranked for amp-slamming (05:17), all the way to all knobs maxed (11:44).

🎛️ Lauren Audio B100: https://www.lauren.audio/products/b100-fuzz 🎸 Prisma Guitars: https://www.prismaguitars.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 12

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

Kingtone Blues Power V2 with Humbuckers

KingTone Guitar returns to the channel with the Blues Power V2 — Jesse Davey's most versatile overdrive in a completely new form factor. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the KingTone Guitar Blues Power V2 takes center stage — featuring the Wide Sky Guitars Tawa with Curtis Novak Humbuckers and Emerson Custom Treble Bleeds, into the Benson Amps Monarch 2x12" via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander with the Echo Fix EF-X3 Chorus Echo. The KingTone Vibe 1968 joins from 06:00.

The Blues Power is KingTone's take on the transparent, always-on overdrive — an amp breakup pedal designed to add drive and character without changing the fundamental voice of your guitar and amp. The V2 arrives in a completely new CNC aluminum enclosure with laser engraving, protected knobs accessible from the top or side panel, silent switching, and an RGB LED. 9V to 18V DC operation (higher voltage increases headroom and dynamics).

Controls: Volume, Drive, Bass, Treble. The Drive has wide range — from clean boost to warm, glassy overdrive throughout its sweep. Bass and Treble are carefully tuned for responsive, musical EQ that doesn't fight the amp.

Three EQ voicing modes via a front-panel toggle — the key creative variable in this demo: Warm (round, full, compressed character — the most amp-like of the three, explored from 01:15), Glass (brighter, more open, emphasis on upper-mid definition — explored from 03:07), Edge (adds bite and edge to the drive character — explored from 04:27). These modes shape the frequency content going into the overdrive circuit, not after it.

Two side-panel dipswitches: Cranked (pushes the second drive stage for richer, more saturated amp-like textures at higher gain settings) and KingTone Switch (fattens the tone and adds edge bite for a unique massive voice — active from 08:01 in the demo). Hand-wired and assembled in the USA.

🎛️ KingTone Guitar Blues Power V2: https://www.kingtoneguitar.com 🎸 Wide Sky Guitars: https://www.wideskyguitars.com 🎸 Curtis Novak Pickups: https://www.curtisnovak.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 12

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

KGR Harmony Kurofune Fuzz

KGR Harmony returns to the channel — this time with the Kurofune Fuzz, their Ram's Head-inspired fuzz in a cast iron nambu-tekki enclosure. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the KGR Harmony Kurofune Fuzz takes center stage — featuring the Prisma Guitars Sunset with Lollar Novel Foil Neck and Lollar Low Wind Imperial PAF Humbucker Bridge, Emerson Custom wiring and Treble Bleed, into the Benson Amps Monarch 2x12" via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander.

Get Emerson Custom Treble Bleeds and Wiring Kits:
Treble Bleed: https://emersoncustom.com/products/2017-treble-bleed-circuit-volume-mod?sca_ref=6282128.5O9h8BhMpG
Potentiometers: https://emersoncustom.com/products/cts-potentiometers?sca_ref=6282128.5O9h8BhMpG
Les Paul Pre-Wired Kit: https://emersoncustom.com/products/les-paul-prewired-kit?sca_ref=6282128.5O9h8BhMpG
Strat Blender Kit: https://emersoncustom.com/products/s5b-blender-5-way-strat-prewired-kit?sca_ref=6282128.5O9h8BhMpG

KGR Harmony is Keijiro Fukushima, an electronic engineering graduate of Tokyo Denki University who spent over a decade researching how enclosure materials affect guitar tone before founding KGR in 2019. The brand is based in Iwate Prefecture, Japan — the same region where the nambu-tekki (南部鉄器) iron casting tradition has been practiced since the Edo period. KGR builds in partnership with Oitomi Ironworks, a cast iron forge established in 1848. Each enclosure is cast one at a time using a traditional sand mold process — Fukushima makes the molds himself, and because of this, no two enclosures are identical in surface texture.

The Kurofune — "Black Ship," referencing the black-hulled American warships that arrived in Japan in 1853 — is KGR's Ram's Head-era Big Muff-inspired fuzz. Clear, tight low end and a crunchy, full midrange that makes use of the resonant properties of the heavy cast iron housing. Three controls: Volume, Fuzz, Tone. The Tone sweep covers the range from bass-heavy dark fuzz to bright and emphasized. The enclosure weighs approximately 670g — roughly three times a standard aluminum pedal. Not true bypass.

The Prisma Guitars Sunset in this build is a two-pickup, Telecaster-outline guitar with a Les Paul-style 3-way toggle switch — a custom configuration from Nick Pourfard's shop in San Francisco. Alder body, maple C neck, reclaimed Brazilian Walnut fingerboard from the Coney Island Boardwalk, 25.5" scale, 6105 nickel frets, bone nut, nitrocellulose lacquer finish. Loaded with a Lollar Novel Foil in the neck and a Lollar Low Wind Imperial PAF-voiced humbucker in the bridge — a single coil / humbucker combination that gives the Kurofune's Ram's Head character genuinely different input material across the two pickup positions.

🎛️ KGR Harmony: https://kgrharmonyusa.com/products/kurofune-fuzz
🎸 Prisma Guitars: https://www.prismaguitars.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 12

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

Curtis Novak Pickups Strat-TB Bridge & Strat-V High Wind Pickup Set — Fender Stratocaster Upgrade

Curtis Novak Pickups returns to the channel — this time with an unconventional Stratocaster pickup configuration that I think might be the answer to the bridge pickup problem. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Curtis Novak Strat-V High Wind Neck and Middle pickups pair with the Curtis Novak Strat-TB Telecaster-style bridge pickup — all installed in the Fender Custom Shop 1960 Journeyman Relic Stratocaster with Emerson Custom S5B Blender 5-Way wiring, into the Benson Amps Monarch via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander. Origin Effects Revival Drive Compact, R2R Electric Rangemaster OC44, and Effectrode Tube Vibe feature in the second half.

Get the Curtis Novak Strat-TB bridge: https://www.curtisnovak.com/shop/strat-tb/
Get the Curtis Novak Strat-V High Wind: https://www.curtisnovak.com/shop/strat-v/

The Strat-V High Wind pickups in the neck and middle positions are Curtis Novak's vintage-specification Stratocaster single coil — voiced for the warm, chimey, bloom-heavy character of a classic '60s Strat. High wind for extra warmth and output. The middle is reverse-wound/reverse-polarity for hum cancellation in the middle/neck and middle/bridge positions.

The bridge position is where this configuration becomes genuinely interesting. The Strat-TB is a Telecaster-style bridge pickup installed in a Stratocaster bridge position. The Telecaster bridge pickup's tonal character is fundamentally different from a Stratocaster bridge pickup: thicker, more midrange-forward, substantially less of the brittle, glassy top end that makes Strat bridge pickups difficult to use at higher amp volumes. The coil geometry and magnets of a Tele bridge pickup produce a tone that works with humbuckers and single coils alike without requiring significant tonal compensation from the amp. The bridge/middle position (05:01, 10:47) is where this becomes most compelling — the Strat-V Middle's vintage chimey character with the Strat-TB's thickness underneath is a combination a standard Strat 5-way can't produce.

The Emerson Custom Blender wiring also allows blending the neck and bridge pickups together (explored from 13:21), giving a parallel Tele-style neck+bridge combined voice — another tone unavailable on standard Strat wiring.

🎸 Curtis Novak Pickups: https://www.curtisnovak.com
🎛️ Emerson Custom: https://emersoncustom.com
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers

Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations.

🎸 Fender Custom Shop '60 Journeyman Relic Strat | Curtis Novak Strat-V High Wind (Neck + Middle) + Strat-TB (Bridge) | Emerson Custom S5B Blender Wiring
🎛️ Origin Effects Revival Drive Compact | R2R Electric Rangemaster OC44 | Effectrode Tube Vibe
🔊 Benson Amps Monarch | Boss Waza TAE

Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R10 & R121 | Sennheiser E906 | Ableton Live 12

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

Analog Noir Effects MKI Fuzz

Analog Noir Effects makes its channel debut — and this MKI Tone Bender paired with the Giordano / Sunbear combination is one for the ages. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Analog Noir Effects MKI Fuzz takes center stage — featuring the Giordano Guitars 59 Single Cut with Sunbear Pickups 59 SB-PAF Humbuckers, into the Benson Amps Monarch with the Echo Fix EF-X3 Chorus Echo.

Get one: https://www.analognoirelectric.com/shop/p/mk1-tone-bender-1 Follow: https://www.instagram.com/analognoirfx/

Analog Noir Effects builds faithful, component-accurate reproductions of the most important vintage fuzz and boost circuits using NOS and period-correct components on eyelet board construction — the same construction method used in the original 1960s pedals. The MKI Tone Bender is their take on the 1965 Sola Sound original: a three-transistor circuit using a curated selection of mil spec Mullard CV and New Market NKT germanium transistors, hand-selected and tested for gain and leakage characteristics. NOS components throughout. PNP transistors — requires isolated power supply when using the DC jack. Internal battery snap included.

The Tone Bender MKI predates the Fuzz Face and is a fundamentally different circuit despite superficial similarities. Where the Fuzz Face uses two transistors, the MKI uses three — the extra transistor stage produces a different attack, sustain character, and gating behavior. The MKI is the fuzz of the early British Invasion: nasty, spitting, cutting, with a blooming sustain that doesn't decay cleanly. It is not interactive with the guitar volume knob in the way a Fuzz Face or silicon circuit is — the MKI has its own personality that rewards working with the Attack control and amplifier relationship rather than fighting them.

Two controls: Level and Attack (the original MKI called the gain control "Attack" — it functions as a bias control, explored extensively across this demo from 03:42 through 12:30). Lower bias settings produce smooth, sustained fuzz with more compression. Higher bias settings open up the gate and add aggression and grit. The interaction with the Sunbear PAF humbuckers — higher output than single coils — is explored across both bridge and neck throughout.

Note: the MKI circuit does not clean up like a Fuzz Face — the volume knob behavior (explored from 13:00) produces quirky, unique results rather than glassy cleanup. That is the circuit doing what it was designed to do.

🎛️ Analog Noir Effects: https://www.analognoirelectric.com 🎸 Giordano Guitars: https://www.instagram.com/giordanoguitars/ 🎸 Sunbear Pickups: https://www.sunbearpickups.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 12

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

Emerson Custom Blender 5-Way Strat Prewired Kit — Best Guitar Mod for Your Stratocaster

The Fender Custom Shop '60 Journeyman Strat returns — this time with the Emerson Custom Blender 5-Way Prewired Kit installed. Here's what a wiring upgrade actually sounds like. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Fender Custom Shop 1960 Journeyman Relic Stratocaster returns with its stock Texas Special pickups now paired with the Emerson Custom S5B Blender 5-Way Strat Prewired Kit, into the Benson Amps Monarch via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander. Origin Effects Revival Drive Compact, R2R Electric Si Distorter TFK, and Effectrode Tube Vibe feature in the second half.

Get the Emerson Custom Strat 5-Way Blender Kit here: https://emersoncustom.com/products/s5b-blender-5-way-strat-prewired-kit?sca_ref=6282128.5O9h8BhMpG
Treble Bleed Mod: https://emersoncustom.com/products/2017-treble-bleed-circuit-volume-mod?sca_ref=6282128.5O9h8BhMpG
All Emerson Prewired Kits: https://emersoncustom.com/collections/prewired-kits

Emerson Custom wiring is in nearly every guitar on this channel — the exceptions are vintage instruments I don't modify. The quality of components matters enormously: CTS pots built to Emerson's exact specifications and tolerances, paper-in-oil capacitors, and a Treble Bleed mod on the volume pot that maintains high-frequency content as you roll back the volume knob. Stock Strat wiring bleeds treble as the volume decreases — the Treble Bleed keeps the tone present and articulate throughout the entire volume sweep, which is explored extensively from 07:19 onward.

What the S5B Blender Kit adds beyond a standard upgrade: the secondary tone knob becomes a Blender — a continuous knob that blends the neck pickup into the bridge, bridge into neck, neck into bridge/middle, or bridge into neck/middle combinations depending on where the 5-way selector is positioned. A knob rather than a switch means every point between the extremes is accessible — subtle blends, partial blends, and the extreme positions are all dialed in continuously. The global tone knob governs all pickups. The result is a Strat with significantly more pickup voice combinations than a standard 5-way, with no visible modification to the pickguard or controls.

This is a direct comparison to the stock Journeyman wiring covered in the previous video — same guitar, same pickups, same amp chain. The improvement in volume knob response alone is immediately apparent.

🎛️ Emerson Custom: https://emersoncustom.com
🎸 Fender Custom Shop: https://shop.fender.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 12

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

Sunbear Pickups 59 SB-PAF Humbuckers

Sunbear Pickups makes its channel debut — and the guitar housing them is just as special. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Sunbear Pickups 59 SB-PAF Humbuckers take center stage — installed in the Giordano Guitars 59 Single Cut, picked up at LA Vintage Gear during NAMM 2024, into the Benson Amps Monarch via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander. Origin Effects Revival Drive Compact, R2R Electric Rangemaster OC44, and Effectrode Tube Vibe also feature.

🎸 Sunbear Pickups: https://www.sunbearpickups.com/humbucker-pickups/humbucker-set-2
Follow: https://www.instagram.com/sunbear_pickups/

Sunbear Pickups is Stuart Robson, working in Knebworth, England. Stu has quietly built a reputation in serious pickup circles as one of the best PAF winders currently working — Guitar Player Magazine compared a set directly against vintage 1959 PAFs and came away impressed. The 59 SB-PAF is his take on the middle-output PAF character of that year.

Bridge (Alnico IV, +/- 8.3K): A rough-cast Alnico IV magnet for extra high end grit and strident punch, alongside a very even low-mid output to round things out. Wonderfully balanced mix of power and dynamics — heavy-handed rock riffs or subtle textures, it handles both. The rough-cast magnet is a period-correct detail that adds sweetness to the high-frequency character.

Neck (Alnico III, +/- 7.3K): Throaty and vocal with the Alnico III magnet keeping any muddiness completely at bay. A small coil offset adds clear low end richness and a creamy midrange character. Unpotted — true to the original PAF construction, which contributes to the harmonic openness and bloom.

The Giordano Guitars 59 Single Cut is the Giordano family's Les Paul-inspired build from Italy — the same luthiers behind Sean's Strat-style S-Model but applied to a carved-top single cut platform. Honduras Mahogany body and neck. Book-matched Eastern Maple top. Hide glue construction throughout. Madagascar Rosewood fretboard. 6/6 nylon nut. Celluloid Nitrate inlays. Dunlop 6105 frets. Paper-In-Oil caps, Switchcraft jack and switch. Kluson tuners. Faber bridge and tailpiece. Unplasticized nitrocellulose lacquer aged finish. The Sunbear 59 SB-PAF set is fitted as standard in this build — the guitar and pickup combination was designed to work together.

🎸 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 12

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

Fish Circuits Lunatique Fuzz

Fish Circuits returns to the channel — this time with the Lunatique, one of my NAMM 2024 highlights. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Fish Circuits Lunatique Fuzz takes center stage — featuring the Wide Sky Guitars Tawa with Curtis Novak Humbuckers and Emerson Custom Pots and Treble Bleeds, into the Benson Amps Monarch via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander.

Also on the channel: the Fish Circuits Model One Overdrive.

🎛️ Fish Circuits Lunatique: https://fishcircuits.com/products/lunatique-fuzz

The Lunatique is a gated fuzz with a genuinely unusual architecture: two distinct fuzz circuits with a Chaos knob that blends between them continuously, plus a low-pass filter simultaneously operating on the same control. Noon is the warmest, tamest point. From there the knob does very different things in each direction.

Counterclockwise from noon the Lunatique moves toward a classic gated fuzz character — bright, biting, Tone Bender-like texture with increasing top end presence as you go further left. Less octave content, the fuzz is less likely to gate, and the frequency response opens up into snappy, cutting territory. This is the territory explored from 07:55 onward.

Clockwise from noon the Chaos knob introduces ring modulation and octave-up content that builds progressively as you turn right. As more octave and ring modulation enters the signal, it hits the fuzz circuit with less amplitude — which activates the gate more readily. Simultaneously the low-pass filter cuts high frequencies progressively, mellowing the top end while the octave and ring modulation take over the mid and upper-mid presence. By full clockwise, chords become something else entirely — ring-modulated, octave-saturated, mid-heavy fuzz mayhem. Explored from 03:31 (Chaos at 1pm, octave blending in) through 04:33 (Chaos pushed toward maximum) and back into cranked octave fuzz territory at 12:04.

Four controls: Chaos (the main character control), Level (with substantial output — more than enough to push an amp hard), Body toggle (full bass spectrum vs. rolled-off low-end for tighter mixes), Fuzz toggle (lower gain vs. higher gain — upper position removes the gate entirely and introduces feedback and squealing depending on rig). 9V DC center negative.

🎸 Wide Sky Guitars: https://www.wideskyguitars.com 🎸 Curtis Novak Pickups: https://www.curtisnovak.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 12

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

Josh Williams Guitars Mockingbird

Josh Williams Guitars makes its channel debut with the Mockingbird semi-hollow in Pelham Blue — an instrument that absolutely delivers. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Josh Williams Guitars Mockingbird takes center stage — loaded with Tone Specific Bloombucker PAF Humbuckers and a stop tail, into the Benson Amps Monarch 2x12" via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander. Origin Effects Revival Drive Compact, R2R Electric Rangemaster OC44, Effectrode Tube Vibe, and Echo Fix EF-X3 Chorus Echo also feature.

Josh Williams builds in Vista, Southern California — a small dedicated team, every guitar a custom order built individually to the player's specifications. Josh trained at the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery and apprenticed under Latvian master luthier Yuris Zeltins at The Blue Guitar in San Diego, and that foundation shows in the level of finish work and construction detail his instruments are known for. Players including Ariel Posen, Joey Landreth, and Josh Smith have made Josh Williams guitars part of their working rigs.

The Mockingbird is Josh's refined take on the classic 1960s ES-style semi-hollow: pressed maple top, back, and sides around a carefully selected centerblock — the pressed maple construction adding openness, shimmer, and a sweeter upper-mid response compared to solid maple, while maintaining the warmth and bloom of a great semi-hollow. Every centerblock is individually weighed and chosen to keep the instrument lively and balanced. 16" lower bout. Mahogany neck. Rosewood fingerboard with MOP split parallelogram inlays. 24.75" scale. Bone nut. Kluson tuners with pearl buttons. Cream binding throughout. 2 Volume / 2 Tone / 3-way Toggle. Stop tail on this build.

The Tone Specific Bloombucker is a PAF-voiced humbucker built around the specific quality found in original 1950s Patent Applied For humbuckers that most boutique winders struggle to replicate: the "bloom." Vintage PAFs had a particular way of sustaining and opening up after the initial attack — notes swell rather than decay linearly, giving chords a three-dimensional quality immediately recognizable in recordings from that era. Warm but not muddy, dynamic but not harsh.

🎸 Josh Williams Guitars: https://joshwilliamsguitars.com 🎸 Tone Specific Bloombuckers: https://www.tonespecific.com/products/bloombucker-p-a-f-humbuckers 🔊 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 12

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

Reeves Electro Facet IZ Fuzz

Reeves Electro returns to the channel with a second entry in the Daughterboard Series — the Facet IZ, Izzy's take on the Fuzz Face. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Reeves Electro Facet IZ Fuzz takes center stage — featuring the Kauer Guitars Gripen with Wolfetone Kauerbuckers, into the Benson Amps Monarch, with the Caroline Guitar Company Arigato Phaser joining from 09:48.

Get on the Reeves Electro mailing list — these sell out extremely quickly: https://reeveselectro.co.uk

The Daughterboard Series is built entirely by Izzy Reeves — Markus' daughter — in their garden workshop in Northamptonshire, UK. Izzy handles the design, powder coating, drilling, screen printing using super glossy old school enamel ink, and assembly of every build. The Facet IZ is the second Daughterboard release, following the Darlington Flyer. The name is Izzy's own — IZ.

The Facet IZ is based on the Fuzz Face circuit. In Markus' own words: "Izzy basically told me what she wanted to hear, and like any good Dad I did as I was asked." The transistors are a pair of Micro Electronics C1016Y yellow dot silicon transistors — the higher gain grade of the red dot MEC1016 used in the Reeves RedDotSound. Yellow dot: more gain, greasier midrange, more ballsy and fierce character.

This is an important distinction from the typical silicon Fuzz Face character. Where a conventional silicon Fuzz Face has a snappy, sparkly top end and glassy volume knob cleanup, the Facet IZ trades some of that glassy cleanup for significantly more fuzz fatness, midrange grit, and aggression. The guitar volume knob still responds — dynamics are preserved as you turn down — but the cleanup character is thicker and less crystalline than a standard silicon Fuzz Face. The Tone control is the key addition: a Tone knob on a Fuzz Face is rare, and it's exactly what's needed to work with darker amps and darker guitars. Explored from bright (05:20) to dark (06:59) across the full range in this demo.

Three controls: Fuzz, Volume, Tone. Boss-style 9V DC center negative. Optional Plexiglass bottom panel available to view the internals.

🎛️ Reeves Electro Facet IZ: https://reeveselectro.co.uk
🎸 Kauer Guitars Gripen: https://www.kauerguitars.com/instruments/gripen
🔊 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

Bilt Guitars DK Ultra Series — Relevator & S.S. Zaftig Models

BilT Guitars makes its channel debut with something genuinely special — the DK Ultra Series, built from 300-year-old wood pulled from the walls of their own building. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode both DK Ultra models take center stage — the Relevator and the S.S. Zaftig — each loaded with Lollar La Prima Mini-Humbuckers, into the Benson Amps Monarch 2x12" via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander. Origin Effects, R2R Electric, and Effectrode also feature.

Purchase a DK Ultra: https://biltguitars.com/dk-ultra/
Follow BilT: https://www.instagram.com/biltguitars

BilT Guitars is built by hand in Des Moines, Iowa — no CNC machines, every guitar made one at a time. Tim Thelen and his team have been building custom electric guitars by hand since 2009, with a design philosophy informed by deep experience in guitar repair and restoration. The DK Ultra is a limited series — 12 Relevators and 12 S.S. Zaftigs — and the material is the story: the bodies are carved from reclaimed old growth pine taken from the structural support beams of the BilT Guitars headquarters building itself. This is 300-year-old wood that has been part of a single structure for generations, now chambered and hollowed for acoustic resonance and light weight, finished in BilT's lo-gloss "Worcestershire" nitrocellulose stain.

Old growth pine is a fundamentally different material from modern plantation pine. Trees that grew over 200+ years develop a tight, dense grain structure — more resin content, harder wood, significantly different resonant properties than fast-grown modern lumber. The chambered and hollowed construction takes that acoustically lively material and opens it further, giving the DK Ultra guitars a voice that is lighter and more resonant than their solid counterparts. It is also a piece of BilT history — the building that housed the shop where these guitars were developed.

The Lollar La Prima was originally developed as a miniaturized version of the El Rayo humbucker — and while it shares the El Rayo's touch sensitivity and responsiveness, the tonal character is distinctly its own. Sweet chiming highs, scooped mids, tight low end. Neck 3.3K / Bridge 3.8K. No typical humbucker compression — the La Prima responds to subtle changes in picking technique and guitar volume in the way a well-voiced single coil does, while still canceling hum. In chambered old growth pine bodies, the La Prima's articulate open character has unusual space to develop.

The Relevator is BilT's offset design inspired by the never-produced Fender Marauder. The S.S. Zaftig is a semi-solid offset drawing from Jazzmaster and Jaguar lineage. Both use roasted maple necks with rosewood fingerboards, 25.5" scale, Mastery hardware.

🎸 BilT Guitars: https://biltguitars.com/dk-ultra/
🎸 Lollar La Prima: 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

Prisma Guitars Mattsonia

Prisma Guitars returns to the channel — this time with the Mattsonia, one of the most visually and tonally distinctive guitars I've had in my hands. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Prisma Guitars Mattsonia takes center stage — Lollar Imperial PAF Humbuckers, Emerson Custom 500K pots, and Paper/Oil cap, into the Benson Amps Monarch 2x12" with Celestion G12H speakers, with the Origin Effects Revival Drive Compact, R2R Electric Rangemaster OC44 Germanium, Effectrode Tube Vibe, Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander, and Echo Fix EF-X3 Chorus Echo.

In-stock models: https://www.prismaguitars.com/collections/ready-to-ship
Custom shop orders: https://www.prismaguitars.com/products/custom-guitar
Follow Prisma: https://www.instagram.com/prismaguitars

Prisma Guitars is the work of luthier Nicholas Pourfard and his team, building in California. Every instrument is one-of-a-kind with a serial number — no production runs, no duplicates. Prisma's signature design element is reclaimed skateboard hard rock maple used as a top material, with each top being a unique 1/1 original skateboard deck. The result is visually unlike anything else in guitar lutherie — compressed, dyed, graphic hard rock maple laminated over the body, with the skateboard's colors and graphics visible under the finish. This Mattsonia has a Sherwood Green body with flake nitrocellulose lacquer, cream pickguard, and a skateboard maple top that produces an almost psychedelic color layering against the green.

Nicholas Pourfard's material choices are equally considered on the acoustic side. Spanish Cedar body — tonally similar to mahogany but lighter and more open in the midrange, the same wood used in classical guitar construction for its resonance. Brazilian Walnut fingerboard reclaimed from the Coney Island Boardwalk — dense, stable, with its own tonal contribution and a genuinely remarkable origin story. Mahogany neck (C 87-97 profile). 25.5" scale. 1 5/8" bone nut. 6105 nickel frets. Aged clay fret markers. TonePros wraparound bridge. Unpolished nickel hardware. Staggered vintage inline tuners. Emerson Custom 500K pots with a .022 paper/oil cap — the wiring that lets the Lollar Imperials breathe.

The Lollar Imperial PAF Humbuckers are Lollar's take on the original 1950s Patent Applied For pickup — drawing from the long-revered qualities of the originals while improving frequency balance and giving a slight output boost to the bridge. The combination of Imperials, Emerson Custom 500K pots, and a P/O cap in an all-nitro, Spanish Cedar/mahogany/Brazilian Walnut build is exactly the kind of wiring and tonal foundation this demo explores thoroughly across clean, pushed, and cranked amp tones.

🎸 Prisma Guitars: https://www.prismaguitars.com
🎸 Lollar Imperial PAF: 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

Seeker Electric Effects MKI Tone Bender Fuzz (Lineage Series)

Seeker Electric Effects returns to the channel with a second Lineage Series fuzz — this time it's the MKI. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.

In this episode the Seeker Electric Effects Lineage Series MKI Fuzz takes center stage — featuring the Wide Sky Guitars P125C Cutaway with Curtis Novak P90s and Emerson Custom Treble Bleeds, into the Benson Amps Monarch 2x12" via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander.

Get a Seeker MKI: https://www.seekerelectriceffects.com/product-page/mk1 Follow Seeker: https://www.instagram.com/seekerelectriceffects/

Watch the first Seeker Lineage Series demo — the Face (Fuzz Face): [LINK]

The Tone Bender MKI is the original British fuzz — the 1965 Sola Sound circuit that predates the Fuzz Face derivations and uses three germanium transistors rather than two, producing the distinctive nasty spitting buzz, cutting midrange, ripping attack, and blooming sizzling sustain that made it the fuzz of choice for the early British Invasion tone. Jimmy Page's earliest Yardbirds recordings. Jeff Beck. Tony Iommi before the Marshall. The MKI circuit is the ancestor of everything.

Mike at Seeker describes the Lineage Series MKI as "a culmination of many years of learning and refining this circuit." This build comes in the "Sola" tuning — straight-ahead MKI style, using the component values most commonly found in vintage units to recreate the classic 1960s character without modification. NOS NKT OC77 and Texas Instruments 2G301 germanium transistors — period-correct choices that land the attack and decay exactly where a vintage MKI should. NOS capacitors. Carbon film resistors. Built on a custom eyelet/PCB hybrid board following the original point-to-point layout closely.

Two external controls: Level and Attack. That's it — the same minimal control set as the vintage originals. The Level pushed past unity is explored from 09:05 onward, using the output to push the Monarch's input stage rather than adding gain in the fuzz circuit itself. The Attack sweep is explored across the full range from 06:16, and the interaction between Attack level and guitar volume knob is a significant part of this demo — P90s and an MKI have a specific reactive relationship that makes the cleanup sweep unusually expressive.

Lineage Series custom folded metal enclosures. True bypass. LED indicator. Center negative 9V or battery.

🎛️ Seeker Electric Effects: https://www.seekerelectriceffects.com/product-page/mk1

🎸 Wide Sky Guitars: https://www.wideskyguitars.com

🎸 Curtis Novak Pickups: https://www.curtisnovak.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 Breakupinfo@edgeofbreakup.studio

Edge of Breakup
info@edgeofbreakup.studio