Benson The Amp by Milkman Sound
A landmark collaboration makes its channel debut — Benson The Amp by Milkman Sound, putting Chris Benson's signature preamp into a grab-and-go pedal amp format. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
Benson The Amp by Milkman Sound pairs with the BilT Guitars S.S. Zaftig DK Ultra — Lollar La Prima Mini-Humbuckers, Emerson Custom Treble Bleed — into a Benson 1x12" cabinet with a Scumback H75-PVC speaker. The Benson Stonk Box and Effectrode Tube Vibe both feature.
In Tim Marcus's own words:
"This collaboration between Milkman Sound and Benson Amps has been years in the making. We are so excited to present Benson The Amp which places the signature preamp from Chris' Chimera and Monarch amplifier models into a grab and go format.
Similar to other models of The Amp, Benson The Amp can both drive a speaker cabinet and route instrument signals to a variety of direct outputs including a balanced XLR output with switchable cab sim and the powerful internal headphone amplifier.
Besides the Benson designed tube preamp, the cab sim has also been voiced by Chris Benson to sound nearly identical to his ceramic speakers. We added a Room control to simulate early reflections that you would get when playing a guitar amplifier in a room. Stunning clean tones, saturated edge of breakup tones and all out tube amp overdrive can all be attained inside the box with simple adjustments of the top panel controls or by turning on the internal boost."
Wattage: 50W at 16 ohm, 100W at 8 ohm, 200W at 4 ohm. Two footswitches: Reverb (on/off) and Boost (internal 24dB boost for extra midrange and drive). Dimensions: 8.5" W x 3" H x 6.5" D, weighing just 2.5 lbs.
The demo covers exceptional ground: clean tones across all three La Prima positions from 00:47, EQ extremes from 04:31 through 06:58 (scooped, bass-forward, and mid-forward voicings), reverb and room simulation settings from 08:05 through 09:07, and progressive gain increases through fully cranked from 10:21 to 13:18.
The Benson Stonk Box enters from 17:27 slamming the cranked Benson Amp, with the internal Boost channel engaged from 23:37 (Stonk Box bypassed) for the 24dB internal boost circuit's own character. The Effectrode Tube Vibe joins from 27:32, with volume knob cleanup explored at 28:22 and the Tube Vibe's own boost cranked to slam the amp even further from 29:37. The demo closes with the Stonk Box, Tube Vibe, and boosted Benson The Amp all stacked together from 32:53.
The BilT Guitars S.S. Zaftig DK Ultra's chambered old-growth pine body and Lollar La Prima Mini-Humbuckers give Benson The Amp's touch-responsive preamp exactly the kind of open, articulate input it thrives on.
🔊 Milkman Sound: https://milkmansound.com 🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers 🎸 BilT Guitars: https://biltguitars.com 🎸 Lollar Pickups: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-pickups
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🎸 BilT DK Ultra S.S. Zaftig | 300-Year-Old Reclaimed Pine | Chambered | Lollar La Prima Mini-HB | Emerson Custom Treble Bleed 🎛️ Benson Amps Stonk Box | Effectrode Tube Vibe 🔊 Benson The Amp by Milkman Sound | Chimera/Monarch Preamp | Cab Sim | Room Control | XLR Out | Internal 24dB Boost | Benson 1x12" | Scumback H75-PVC
Ultimate Tweed Amp Tones | Reeves Electro Leo
The Reeves Electro Leo Tweed Overdrive returns for another deep dive — this time paired with the Wide Sky Guitars P125C and the Milkman Sound Creamer 20W into a Fane Ascension A60. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
The Reeves Electro Leo Tweed Overdrive pairs with the Wide Sky Guitars P125C Cutaway — Curtis Novak P90s, Emerson Custom pots, caps, and treble bleeds — into the Milkman Sound Creamer 20W pushing a Fane Ascension A60 speaker. The Effectrode Tube Vibe joins from 09:05.
The Reeves Electro Leo is a Tweed-voiced overdrive with boost — a 1979 blue-face Motorola 2N3904 silicon transistor paired with Hughes 5008 germanium diodes for a smooth, natural breakup character. Bufferless design, so it behaves like a Fuzz Face in terms of guitar volume cleanup and prefers sitting first in the chain. Three internal voicing references — 5W Champ, 12W Deluxe, or 40W Twin — give it a wide range of tonal territory from high-headroom clean tones to gnarly, saturated overdrive.
Explored slamming a dirty amp with Leo volume cranked from 00:26, cranking the pedal's own gain with volume at noon from 03:30, and with the Milkman Creamer set to a cleaner voice from 04:25. The amp's own volume is progressively lowered from 07:07 to open up headroom for the Leo's Boost section, activated at 08:05 — pushing the Leo into fuzz territory at the kick of the footswitch.
The Milkman Sound Creamer 20W, hand-built by Tim Marcus in San Francisco, delivers cathode-biased 6V6 breakup with a genuinely standout tremolo circuit — harmonically rich, deep, with a wide useful speed range, explored from 11:43. The Fane Ascension A60 Alnico speaker gives the rig a particularly touch-responsive, three-dimensional clean and edge-of-breakup character that the Curtis Novak P90s translate directly into the Leo's dynamic range.
🎛️ Reeves Electro Leo: https://reeveselectro.co.uk 🎸 Wide Sky Guitars: https://www.wideskyguitars.com 🎸 Curtis Novak Pickups: https://www.curtisnovak.com 🔊 Milkman Sound: https://milkmansound.com
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🎸 Wide Sky Guitars P125C | Curtis Novak P90s | Emerson Custom Pots + Caps + Treble Bleeds 🎛️ Reeves Electro Leo Tweed Overdrive | 1979 Motorola 2N3904 Si + Hughes 5008 Ge Diodes | Bufferless | 3 Voicings + Boost | Effectrode Tube Vibe 🔊 Milkman Sound Creamer 20W | Cathode Biased 6V6/6L6 | Fane Ascension A60 Alnico | Tremolo + Reverb
Kauer Guitars Korona | Wolfetone Kauerbucker Humbuckers | Guitar Demo
The Kauer Guitars Korona gets a classic humbucker treatment — Wolfetone KauerBucker pickups, exclusive to Kauer, running into the R2R Electric Preamp Super Deluxe and Cunningham Amps Custom 35. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
The Kauer Guitars Korona — Wolfetone KauerBucker Humbuckers — runs into the Cunningham Amps Custom 35 2x12" with Scumback H75-PVC speakers, with the R2R Electric Preamp Super Deluxe and Effectrode Tube Vibe both featuring.
The Wolfetone KauerBucker is Wolfe Macleod's pickup made exclusively for Kauer Guitars — based on the Wolfetone Legend but re-imagined with a slightly hotter bridge and slightly underwound neck. Fully-charged Alnico II magnets give it vintage-at-heart PAF character with just enough punch, especially noticeable in the bridge. Bridge ~8.7-8.9K, Neck ~7.5-7.8K. Explored across neck, middle, and bridge clean tones from 00:52 through 02:51, and the Tweed channel stacked into Plexi from 04:11.
The R2R Electric Preamp Super Deluxe — Chris Vincent's recreation of the rare 1950s Höfner Preamp circuit with NOS germanium AC107 transistors — enters from 07:40 in a dedicated treble booster-tones section, returning later at 11:17 into the cranked Plexi channel and again at 15:10 for a low gain Plexi channel pass. The Effectrode Tube Vibe pairs with the volume knob cleanup from 10:14, showing the KauerBucker's response through both amp channels and the pedal chain.
Volume knob cleanup from 06:39 shows the natural dynamic range the KauerBuckers bring to the Korona's offset body before any drive enters the signal.
What's your dream guitar + pickup + fuzz + amp combo? Drop it in the comments.
🎸 Kauer Guitars: https://www.kauerguitars.com 🎸 Wolfetone: https://www.wolfetone.com 🎛️ R2R Electric: https://www.r2relectric.com 🔊 Cunningham Amps: https://www.cunninghamamps.co.nz
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🎸 Kauer Guitars Korona | Wolfetone KauerBucker Humbuckers (Bridge ~8.7-8.9K / Neck ~7.5-7.8K) 🎛️ R2R Electric Preamp Super Deluxe | NOS AC107 Ge | Höfner Preamp Circuit | Effectrode Tube Vibe 🔊 Cunningham Amps Custom 35 2x12" | Scumback H75-PVC | Tweed + Plexi Channels
Fralin Hum-Canceling Jazzmaster Pickups
A deep dive into the Fralin Hum-Canceling Jazzmaster Pickups — noise-free, full-character JM tone installed in a Black Bobbin Jazzmaster with Mastery hardware and Emerson Custom electronics. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
The Fralin Hum-Canceling Jazzmaster Pickups — installed in the Black Bobbin Jazzmaster with Mastery Trem and Bridge, Emerson Custom pots, caps, and treble bleeds — pair with the Milkman Sound One Watt Plus into a Jupiter 12-LA 12" Alnico speaker. The Reeves Electro BHS-A Fuzz and Effectrode Tube Vibe both feature.
Fralin's Hum-Canceling Jazzmaster set addresses the one longstanding compromise of the vintage Jazzmaster single coil — its susceptibility to hum — without sacrificing the sparkle, snap, and warmth that makes a great offset so compelling. Explored across clean tones from 00:39 through all three positions, and the Rhythm Circuit's distinct character from 05:38. The amp's Bass and Treble EQ is pushed to extremes from 06:54 (most scooped) through 08:19 (most mid-heavy), showing how the Fralin set responds across a genuinely wide tonal window before any drive enters the chain.
The Milkman Sound One Watt Plus, hand-built by Tim Marcus in San Francisco, pairs two 6V6 tubes running in parallel for 10 watts of clean power and 18 watts of harmonically rich overdriven power, with onboard power scaling that drops it to 1 watt for bedroom-volume grind with no change in tone. True Class A, single-ended design — the parallel 6V6 configuration gives a very dynamic, touch-sensitive playing experience rich in even-order harmonics. Hand-wired on a turret board with Mercury Magnetics transformers and Jupiter capacitors. The Jupiter 12-LA Alnico speaker adds a woody, less transparent upper-midrange character that breaks up progressively as the amp is pushed — explored from clean through cranked from 09:29 through 17:51, with the Effectrode Tube Vibe joining from 18:22.
The Reeves Electro BHS-A is the stripped-down, single-knob flagship of the BlackHatSound series — a pair of carefully selected ME4003 silicon transistors from the 1970s, tuned for a balance between saturation and rich harmonic content, based roughly on the Tone Bender MKI circuit. One knob, one fuzz — but capable of amp-buckling volume with a genuinely spectacular guitar volume cleanup response. Explored from 21:11, progressively pushing the amp harder with fuzz volume from 22:55, and with the Tube Vibe stacked in from 26:35.
🎸 Fralin Pickups: https://www.fralinpickups.com 🔊 Milkman Sound: https://milkmansound.com 🎛️ Reeves Electro: https://reeveselectro.co.uk
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🎸 Black Bobbin Jazzmaster | Fralin Hum-Canceling Jazzmaster Pickups | Mastery Trem + Bridge | Emerson Custom Pots + Caps + Treble Bleeds 🎛️ Reeves Electro BHS-A Fuzz | NOS ME4003 Si (1970s) | Tone Bender MKI-Derived | One Knob | Effectrode Tube Vibe 🔊 Milkman Sound One Watt Plus | Dual 6V6 Parallel | Class A | 10W (18W OD) | Power Scaling to 1W | Jupiter 12-LA Alnico
Milkman Sound Creamer 20W | Guitar Amp Demo
The Milkman Sound Creamer 20W gets a deep dive — Tim Marcus's boutique refinement of the vintage small-format tube amp, paired with a Fane Ascension A60 Alnico speaker. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
The Milkman Sound Creamer 20W — with a Fane Ascension A60 1x12" Alnico speaker — pairs with the Wide Sky Guitars P125C Cutaway with Curtis Novak P90 pickups, Emerson Custom pots, caps, and treble bleeds. The Reeves Electro Leo Tweed Overdrive and Effectrode Tube Vibe both feature.
Tim Marcus hand-builds Milkman Sound amplifiers in San Francisco. The Creamer is his refined alternative to the vintage small-format tube amp — cathode biased, delivering about 20 watts into 8 ohms with a stock pair of 6V6 tubes for sweet breakup, with a rear-panel switch allowing 6L6 tubes to be substituted with no rebias required, for more low end, subtler mids, and additional headroom. An internal bias adjustment allows fine-tuning for vintage tube variance. Hand-wired on a turret board with cloth-covered wire — no shortcuts anywhere in the build.
The tremolo circuit is a genuine standout — harmonically rich, deep, with a useful range of speed that goes well beyond a typical amp tremolo. Explored extensively from 05:45 through 09:11, and revisited at higher gain settings from 14:17.
The Fane Ascension A60 Alnico speaker pairs with the Creamer's cathode-biased breakup character to deliver the touch-responsive cleans and blooming overdrive the demo showcases across clean tones from 00:52, through increasing amp volume and gain settings from 09:11 through 17:55, with extensive volume knob cleanup explored throughout.
The Reeves Electro Leo is a Tweed-voiced overdrive with boost — a 1979 blue-face Motorola 2N3904 silicon transistor paired with Hughes 5008 germanium diodes for a smooth, natural breakup character. Bufferless design, so it works like a Fuzz Face in terms of guitar volume interaction and preferring to sit first in the chain. Three internal voicing options reference the gain structure of a 5W Champ, 12W Deluxe, or 40W Twin. Slamming the cranked Creamer from 19:47, with the amp's own volume progressively lowered for more headroom to push the Leo's drive and boost sections harder from 23:41 and 26:23. The Effectrode Tube Vibe joins from 28:24 for a final Uni-Vibe pass with volume knob cleanup.
Which part of the Creamer's tone surprised you the most? Drop a comment.
🔊 Milkman Sound: https://milkmansound.com 🎸 Wide Sky Guitars: https://www.wideskyguitars.com 🎸 Curtis Novak Pickups: https://www.curtisnovak.com 🎛️ Reeves Electro: https://reeveselectro.co.uk
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🎸 Wide Sky Guitars P125C | Curtis Novak P90s | Emerson Custom Pots + Caps + Treble Bleeds 🎛️ Reeves Electro Leo Tweed Overdrive | 1979 Motorola 2N3904 Si + Hughes 5008 Ge Diodes | Bufferless | 3 Voicings | Effectrode Tube Vibe 🔊 Milkman Sound Creamer 20W | Cathode Biased 6V6/6L6 | Fane Ascension A60 Alnico 1x12" | Tremolo + Reverb
Kauer Guitars Korona | Lollar Pickups Melody Maker 90 & J St. Tele Bridge | Guitar Demo
The Kauer Guitars Korona gets a genuinely unusual pickup pairing — Lollar Melody Maker 90 in the neck and J St. Telecaster bridge — for a fusion of P90 punch and Tele snap. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
The Kauer Guitars Korona — Lollar Melody Maker 90 (neck) and J St. Tele Bridge — runs through the R2R Electric Preamp Super Deluxe and Effectrode Tube Vibe into the Cunningham Amps Custom 35 2x12" with Scumback H75-PVC speakers.
The Korona is Kauer's California classic reimagined — Doug Kauer's take on offset design built with a universal pickguard routing that accommodates near-limitless pickup options from Lollar, Wolfetone, and TV Jones. Swamp Ash or Thermo Pine body, Roasted Maple neck, bound Wenge fretboard, 25.5" scale, 22 medium/jumbo frets, 12" radius. Twang, jazz, full rock and roll — the Korona is built to do all of it.
The pairing on this build is genuinely distinctive: the Lollar Melody Maker 90 in the neck brings raw, open P90 punch and harmonic bloom, while the J St. Telecaster bridge pickup adds that unmistakable Tele snap and twang in the bridge position. Two fundamentally different single coil voicings in one guitar, giving a tonal range that neither a straight P90 guitar nor a straight Tele could offer on its own. Explored across Tweed clean tones from 00:32 through all three positions, then into high gain Tweed from 03:55 and the Plexi channel from 06:53.
The R2R Electric Preamp Super Deluxe — Chris Vincent's recreation of the rare 1950s Höfner Preamp circuit with NOS germanium AC107 transistors — enters from 09:02 in Low Gain mode on the Plexi channel, with the Effectrode Tube Vibe layered in from 09:36. Medium Gain mode on the Tweed channel follows from 10:43, and the demo closes with both Tweed and Plexi channels running in parallel from 12:27, fully cranked from 13:19.
Would you rather have a P90 in the neck or a Tele bridge in your main guitar? Drop your answer in the comments.
🎸 Kauer Guitars: https://www.kauerguitars.com 🎸 Lollar Pickups: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-pickups 🎛️ R2R Electric: https://www.r2relectric.com 🔊 Cunningham Amps: https://www.cunninghamamps.co.nz
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🎸 Kauer Guitars Korona | Lollar Melody Maker 90 (Neck) + Lollar J St. Tele Bridge 🎛️ R2R Electric Preamp Super Deluxe | NOS AC107 Ge | Höfner Preamp Circuit | Effectrode Tube Vibe 🔊 Cunningham Amps Custom 35 2x12" | Scumback H75-PVC | Tweed + Plexi Channels
Get that Jimi Hendrix germanium fuzz face tone! | R2R Electric Ge Distorter Deluxe
R2R Electric returns with the Ge Distorter Deluxe — Chris Vincent's hand-wired vintage AC107 germanium Fuzz Face-style circuit, now with an external bias control. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
The R2R Electric Ge Distorter Deluxe pairs with the Tone Ranger Guitars Desert Star — 1 Meg pots, Lollar Regal Wide Range Humbuckers — into the Greer Amps Mini Chief with the Greer Smallblock 1x12" loaded with a Scumback S75-PVC speaker. Effectrode Tube Vibe joins from 07:16.
The Ge Distorter Deluxe is built from original vintage AC107 germanium transistors and period-correct components from the 1950s and '60s, hand-wired point-to-point by Chris Vincent in Los Angeles. It captures the raw, sagging sweetness of the earliest Fuzz Face circuits, with the same external bias control found on the Si Distorter Deluxe — letting you dial in voltage and tone feel in real time rather than relying on a fixed internal trim.
The Bias knob's sweep is explored extensively from 02:23 through 05:14 — hotter bias opening the fuzz into fuller, warmer sustain, colder bias tightening and gating it into a more percussive, spitting character. This is directly compared against a variety of amp brightness settings from 01:40, and against a cleaned-up guitar volume knob from 04:34 through 05:14, showing the classic germanium Fuzz Face glassy cleanup that AC107 transistors are known for.
Fuzz volume cranked to slam the Greer Mini Chief for more gain and compression from 03:59, with the Effectrode Tube Vibe joining from 07:16. The demo continues into a fully cranked amp from 09:11, with the volume knob cleanup and Tube Vibe combination revisited at higher gain from 11:06.
The Tone Ranger Guitars Desert Star's Lollar Regal Wide Range Humbuckers — Fender's original Seth Lover-designed Wide Range voicing — give the Ge Distorter Deluxe a fuller, rounder foundation with plenty of single-coil-like clarity, keeping the germanium fuzz articulate rather than muddy across the demo's full dynamic range.
Also watch: R2R Electric Si Distorter Deluxe, same rig.
🎛️ R2R Electric: https://www.r2relectric.com
🎸 Tone Ranger Guitars: https://www.tonerangerguitars.com
🎸 Lollar Pickups: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-pickups
🔊 Greer Amps: https://www.greeramps.com
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🎸 Tone Ranger Guitars Desert Star | Lollar Regal Wide Range Humbuckers | 1 Meg Pots
🎛️ R2R Electric Ge Distorter Deluxe | Vintage AC107 Germanium Transistors | External Bias Control | Effectrode Tube Vibe
🔊 Greer Amps Mini Chief | 3W | Class A | Greer Smallblock 1x12" | Scumback S75-PVC
Get that Jimi Hendrix silicon fuzz face tone! | R2R Electric Si Distorter Deluxe
R2R Electric returns with the Si Distorter Deluxe — Chris Vincent's hand-wired Fuzz Face-style circuit built entirely from 1950s-60s NOS silicon components, now with an external bias control. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
The R2R Electric Si Distorter Deluxe pairs with the Tone Ranger Guitars Desert Star — 1 Meg pots, Treble Bleeds, Lollar Regal Wide Range Humbuckers — into the Greer Amps Mini Chief with the Greer Smallblock 1x12" loaded with a Scumback S75-PVC (8 ohm, 65W). Effectrode Tube Vibe joins from 08:54.
Get a Si Distorter Deluxe: https://reverb.com/shop/r2relectric
Join the R2R Electric email list: https://www.r2relectric.com/
The Si Distorter Deluxe revives the raw, articulate character of a vintage silicon Fuzz Face circuit, built entirely from genuine NOS silicon transistors and resistors true to 1960s spec, hand-wired point-to-point by Chris Vincent in Los Angeles. The key modern refinement is the external bias control — letting you dial in sag, texture, and clarity in real time rather than relying on a fixed internal trim. Voiced for warmth, grit, and clarity across the full dynamic range.
The Bias knob is explored extensively from 03:12 through 05:38 — hotter bias settings opening the fuzz into fuller sustain, colder settings tightening and gating the circuit for a more percussive character. Volume knob cleanup at 04:20 shows the classic silicon Fuzz Face glassy response, and the interaction between Bias and a cleaned-up volume knob from 05:38 reveals just how much tonal range this single external control adds over a fixed-bias original.
Fuzz volume cranked to slam the Greer Mini Chief from 07:01, with the Effectrode Tube Vibe joining from 08:54. The amp's own gain is pushed up from 09:33 with the fuzz held at unity, and the Bias/volume knob interaction is revisited at higher amp gain from 10:30 through 11:18.
The Tone Ranger Guitars Desert Star's Lollar Regal Wide Range Humbuckers — Fender's original Seth Lover-designed Wide Range voicing — give the Si Distorter Deluxe a fuller, rounder foundation with plenty of single-coil-like clarity to keep the fuzz articulate rather than muddy.
🎛️ R2R Electric: https://www.r2relectric.com
🎸 Tone Ranger Guitars: https://www.tonerangerguitars.com
🎸 Lollar Pickups: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-pickups
🔊 Greer Amps: https://www.greeramps.com
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🎸 Tone Ranger Guitars Desert Star | Lollar Regal Wide Range Humbuckers | 1 Meg Pots | Dual Treble Bleeds
🎛️ R2R Electric Si Distorter Deluxe | NOS Silicon Transistors | External Bias Control | Effectrode Tube Vibe
🔊 Greer Amps Mini Chief | 3W | Class A | Greer Smallblock 1x12" | Scumback S75-PVC 8-Ohm 65W
Giordano Guitars Tributo Goldtop | Sunbear '56 SB-90 Pickups
Giordano Guitars returns with the Tribute Goldtop — a modern classic loaded with Sunbear '56 SB-90 P90s, running into the Cunningham Amps Dual Range Fuzz. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
The Giordano Guitars Tribute Goldtop — Sunbear Pickups '56 SB-90 P90s — runs into the Cunningham Amps Custom 35 2x12" with Scumback H75-PVC speakers, across Tweed and Plexi channels. The Cunningham Amps Dual Range Fuzz (NOS Telefunken BC108 Silicon) and Effectrode Tube Vibe both feature.
The Sunbear '56 SB-90 is Stuart Robson's distillation of everything he loves about the P90 design — AWG42 plain enamel wire, low-carbon pole screws and keeper bar, and traditionally made rough-cast Alnico magnets in each pickup. Bridge Alnico IV (~8.2K), Neck Alnico III (~7.4K). Pure, clear, and forthright with all the midrange girth and harmonic complexity that made the P90 the birth of classic set-neck solid body tone. Explored across neck (00:29), middle (02:45), and bridge (04:04) at cleaner Tweed settings, then through medium and higher Tweed gain from 05:35 through 08:00, with volume knob cleanup from 09:11.
The Cunningham Amps Dual Range Fuzz is Tim Cunningham's hand-crafted take on his own MK 1.6 Fuzz circuit — taken a step further with an additional boosted fuzz mode that can be fine-tuned for extra gain and volume. This build is loaded with NOS Telefunken BC108 silicon transistors, hand-selected and tested per build. Attack dials up the fuzz character; Level sets overall output, ranging from soft breakup to full sonic destruction. The Boost controls interact with Attack and Level to open up an extremely diverse tonal palette — from boosted cleans to searing fuzzed-out mayhem. Explored from 20:12, with the Boost engaged from 25:30.
The Plexi channel gets its own extensive treatment from 11:22 onward — medium gain, volume knob cleanup, middle position cleanup, and higher gain with the Effectrode Tube Vibe layered in from 16:09 through full guitar volume at 18:21.
🎸 Giordano Guitars: https://www.instagram.com/giordanoguitars/ 🎸 Sunbear Pickups: https://www.sunbearpickups.com 🎛️ Cunningham Amps: https://www.cunninghamamps.co.nz
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🎸 Giordano Guitars Tribute Goldtop | Sunbear '56 SB-90 P90s (AIV Bridge ~8.2K / AIII Neck ~7.4K) 🎛️ Cunningham Amps Dual Range Fuzz | NOS Telefunken BC108 Silicon | MK 1.6 Circuit + Boost Mode | Attack / Level / Boost | Effectrode Tube Vibe 🔊 Cunningham Amps Custom 35 2x12" | Scumback H75-PVC | Tweed + Plexi Channels
R2R Electric MK-1Z Fuzz | The secret to Jimmy Page & Keith Richards guitar tone!
The R2R Electric MK-1Z Fuzz gets a dedicated deep dive — Chris Vincent's genre-blending merger of the Tone Bender MKI and the Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
The R2R Electric MK-1Z Fuzz pairs with the Giordano Guitars Veloce (Serial #001) — Sunbear '62 SB-PAT# Humbuckers, Emerson Custom Treble Bleed — into the Cunningham Amps Custom 35 2x12" with Scumback H75-PVC speakers, across both Tweed and Plexi channels. Effectrode Tube Vibe joins from 08:09.
The MK-1Z is a genuinely original circuit concept from Chris Vincent — not a straight recreation of any single vintage pedal, but a deliberate merging of two distinct fuzz lineages. The Tone Bender MKI brings its snarling aggression and gated quality, the earliest British fuzz character that predates the Fuzz Face circuit entirely. The Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone — the first fuzz pedal ever commercially produced, famously used on the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" — brings its own sharp, cutting, more silicon-adjacent edge into the mix. The result sits somewhere between both worlds: feral and aggressive like a Tone Bender, but with an edge and cut distinct to the FZ-1 lineage.
The Sunbear '62 SB-PAT# Humbuckers in the Giordano Veloce — short-length Alnico V magnets referencing the brief Gibson transitional era between the PAF and Patent Number decal — bring a bright, spanky character reminiscent of the best vintage SG pickups. Bridge 7.7K / Neck 6.8K. The Emerson Custom Treble Bleed keeps that clarity intact through the volume knob sweep, giving the MK-1Z's saturated sustain and chewy midrange plenty of room to develop without turning to mud.
Explored across a genuine range of amp settings: cleaner Tweed channel tones from 00:34, higher gain Tweed from 06:04, and higher gain Plexi channel from 07:01 — showing how the MK-1Z's character shifts as the amp itself contributes more gain and compression.
🎛️ R2R Electric: https://www.r2relectric.com 🎸 Giordano Guitars: https://www.instagram.com/giordanoguitars/ 🎸 Sunbear Pickups: https://www.sunbearpickups.com 🔊 Cunningham Amps: https://www.cunninghamamps.co.nz
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🎸 Giordano Guitars Veloce (#001) | All-Mahogany | Sunbear '62 SB-PAT# (AV Bridge 7.7K / AV Neck 6.8K) | Emerson Custom Treble Bleed 🎛️ R2R Electric MK-1Z Fuzz | Tone Bender MKI + Maestro FZ-1 Hybrid Circuit | NOS Ge | Effectrode Tube Vibe 🔊 Cunningham Amps Custom 35 2x12" | Scumback H75-PVC
Vintage 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb + Semi-Hollow Tones! | Fuzz Face, Tubescreamer & Scumback Swap
The vintage 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb returns — this time paired with the Josh Williams Guitars Mockingbird and its Tone Specific Bloombuckers. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
The Josh Williams Guitars Mockingbird — Tone Specific Bloombucker Humbuckers — pairs with a vintage 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb with a Scumback S75-PVC speaker upgrade (8 ohm, 65W) while keeping the Vibrato Channel 1 bright cap intact. The JAM Pedals Black Fuzz Phrase LTD (OC44) and Greer Amps Southland Overdrive both feature, with Effectrode Tube Vibe.
The 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb needs no introduction — one of the most recorded and revered tube amps in history, its blackface circuit defining the clean-to-breakup sweet spot that shaped decades of recorded guitar tone. This unit has had a thoughtful speaker upgrade to a Scumback S75-PVC while keeping the bright cap intact on Vibrato Channel 1, preserving the vintage-accurate sparkle and breakup character while gaining the Scumback's more even response and higher power handling.
The Josh Williams Guitars Mockingbird's pressed maple semi-hollow construction and Tone Specific Bloombucker PAF-voiced humbuckers give the Deluxe Reverb a genuinely different starting point than a solid body or single coil guitar would — explored across clean tones from 02:14, through the amp pushed to 6 from 03:10, and fully cranked at 10 from 04:32.
The Greer Amps Southland Harmonic Overdrive is built on the Lightspeed Organic Overdrive platform but pushed further — more gain, dual-stage clipping using different diode types at each stage, a focused midrange without the typical overdrive hump, and extended presence to help cut through a mix. Explored slamming the amp from 06:38, with the amp's own volume backed off for more headroom.
The JAM Pedals Black Fuzz Phrase LTD is built around an ultra-rare stash of NOS OC44 Philips black glass germanium transistors manufactured in 1969, individually tested and matched by ear — a genuine collector's piece from a run of roughly 100 units. Explored from 08:01, with volume knob cleanup from 08:46 showing the Bloombuckers' PAF-style bloom and dynamic response through the Fuzz Face-style circuit.
🎸 Josh Williams Guitars: https://joshwilliamsguitars.com 🎸 Tone Specific: https://www.tonespecific.com 🎛️ JAM Pedals: https://www.jampedals.com 🎛️ Greer Amps: https://www.greeramps.com
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🎸 Josh Williams Guitars Mockingbird | Tone Specific Bloombuckers | Pressed Maple Semi-Hollow 🎛️ JAM Pedals Black Fuzz Phrase LTD (NOS OC44, 1969) | Greer Amps Southland Harmonic Overdrive | Effectrode Tube Vibe 🔊 Vintage 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb | Scumback S75-PVC 8-Ohm 65W | Bright Cap Intact
I Helped Design This Guitar! | Losch Guitars feat. Built-In R2R Electric Treble Booster!
A very special guitar makes its channel debut — a co-designed collaboration with Chicago/Highland Park luthier Gabby Losch of Losch Guitars, born from a chance meeting at Fretboard Summit 2024 and debuting at Fretboard Summit 2025. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
This Losch Guitars co-design — semi-hollow, no f-holes, Mastery Bridge and Tremolo, Emerson Custom pots, caps, and Treble Bleeds, Sunbear Humbuckers with a Sunbear Sunbird (Firebird) middle pickup on a blender knob, and a built-in R2R Electric germanium Treble Booster with discreet switch placement — runs into the Cunningham Amps Custom 35 2x12" with Scumback H75-PVC speakers. The R2R Electric Ge Distorter Deluxe and Effectrode Tube Vibe both feature.
Gabby Losch builds by hand in Chicago/Highland Park, Illinois — known for incredible craftsmanship, unique designs, and inspiring tones that blend modern innovation with classic guitar tradition. After meeting at Fretboard Summit 2024, ideas traded over Instagram and text turned into this co-designed instrument, debuting a year later at Fretboard Summit 2025.
The build itself is packed with thoughtful detail: semi-hollow construction without f-holes for a cleaner look and different acoustic character than a traditional f-hole design. Mastery Bridge and Tremolo for tuning stability and intonation accuracy. Emerson Custom pots, caps, and Treble Bleeds throughout — explored in the volume knob cleanup from 08:27.
The pickup configuration is genuinely unusual: Sunbear Humbuckers in neck and bridge, with a Sunbear Sunbird — Sunbear's Firebird-voiced pickup — wired to a blender knob in the middle position, giving single-coil-esque tonal shading blended in on top of the humbucker voicing. Explored from 10:29, with the blend and volume knob interaction from 11:29.
The built-in R2R Electric germanium Treble Booster — with a discreet switch placement built directly into the guitar — gets extensive coverage from 12:44 through 22:36, including direct volume knob cleanup, tone knob interaction, gain reduction, and stacking with the Effectrode Tube Vibe from 20:14.
The R2R Electric Ge Distorter Deluxe closes out the demo from 23:59 — Chris Vincent's take on the same circuit as his Ge Distorter NKT, now with an added external Q2 Bias control and loaded with a set of Philips/Mullard AC107 black glass germanium transistors. Level, Attack, and the external Bias knob for dialing in the exact sweet spot of the Q2 transistor stage. Stacked with the guitar's built-in Treble Booster from 26:59 for a genuinely unique combination only possible with this specific instrument.
🎸 Losch Guitars: https://www.loschguitars.com
🎛️ R2R Electric: https://www.r2relectric.com
🎸 Sunbear Pickups: https://www.sunbearpickups.com
🔊 Cunningham Amps: https://www.cunninghamamps.co.nz
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🎸 Losch Guitars Co-Design | Semi-Hollow (No F-Holes) | Mastery Bridge + Tremolo | Sunbear Humbuckers + Sunbear Sunbird Middle (Blender) | Built-In R2R Electric Treble Booster | Emerson Custom Wiring + Treble Bleeds
🎛️ R2R Electric Ge Distorter Deluxe | Philips/Mullard AC107 Black Glass Ge | External Q2 Bias | Level / Attack / Bias | Effectrode Tube Vibe
🔊 Cunningham Amps Custom 35 2x12" | Scumback H75-PVC
Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Ohma Ribbon | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R121 & R10 | Ableton Live
The Best Mod for Your Jazzmaster! | Lollar Pickups Regal Wide Range Humbuckers for Jazzmaster
Lollar Pickups returns to the channel with the Regal Wide Range Humbucker Set for Jazzmaster — a specific format that opens up Fender's original Wide Range voicing to Jazzmaster-style offsets. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
The Lollar Regal Wide Range Humbucker Set is installed in the Black Bobbin Chicago Phantone, into the Benson Amps Vincent 2x12" with Scumback H75-PVC speakers via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander. The Hello Sailor Effects Abbey Road Fuzz, Reeves Electro ZO Professional Fuzz, and Effectrode Tube Vibe all feature.
The Lollar Regal is Jason Lollar's take on Seth Lover's original Wide Range humbucker — fuller and rounder than a standard PAF while retaining more single-coil-like clarity and articulation than a typical humbucker. Built here in Jazzmaster format for the Black Bobbin Phantone, giving the offset platform a genuinely different tonal option than the P90 or standard humbucker configurations covered in previous Phantone demos on the channel. Explored across clean tones from 01:48, with the Effectrode Tube Vibe adding low-gain modulation from 05:41.
The Hello Sailor Effects Abbey Road Fuzz gets its own section from 06:40 — Joe's heavily modified Fuzz Face circuit built specifically to work as well with humbuckers as single coils, tested directly against the Wide Range set's fuller output. Explored into the Benson Vincent's cranked Clean Channel from 09:45, with the Tube Vibe stacking in from 13:41.
The Reeves Electro ZO Professional Fuzz — Markus Reeves' Zonk Machine MKII homage with NOS TO98 Sprague 2N2926 Green Dot silicon transistors — takes over as the Vinny Dirt Channel gets progressively pushed harder into the already-cranked Clean Channel from 15:58, with the Tube Vibe layered on top from 18:14 and the highest gain settings explored from 19:32 through 20:57.
🎸 Lollar Pickups: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-humbucker-pickups 🎸 Black Bobbin Chicago: https://blackbobbin.com 🎛️ Hello Sailor Effects: https://hellosailoreffects.com 🎛️ Reeves Electro: https://reeveselectro.co.uk 🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers
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🎸 Black Bobbin Chicago Phantone | Lollar Regal Wide Range Humbucker Set (Jazzmaster Format) 🎛️ Hello Sailor Effects Abbey Road Fuzz | Reeves Electro ZO Professional (NOS Sprague 2N2926 Green Dot Si) | Effectrode Tube Vibe 🔊 Benson Amps Vincent 2x12" | Scumback H75-PVC | Boss Waza TAE
Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Sennheiser E906 | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R121 & R10 | Ableton Live 12 with Push 3
The Best Zonk Machine Fuzz!! | Electric Machine Pro | R2R Electric
The R2R Electric Electric Machine gets a deep dive — Zonk Machine circuitry made famous by Jeff Beck, Mick Ronson, Marc Bolan, and early Jimmy Page, tested across clean and pushed amp settings. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
The R2R Electric Electric Machine pairs with the Tone Ranger Guitars Desert Star — Lollar Regal Wide Range Humbuckers — into the Greer Amps Mini Chief at multiple gain stages. The Effectrode Tube Vibe joins from 16:44.
Get R2R Electric pedals on Reverb: https://linktw.in/bcndhr Join the R2R Electric email list: https://linktw.in/YIdkBQ
The Hornby Skewes Zonk Machine is one of the rarest and most sought-after British fuzz circuits of the 1960s — a close relative of the Tone Bender MKI, but with a distinct input capacitor value that rolls off low end before the fuzz stage, producing a more angular, midrange-forward, characteristically gnarly tone. The Electric Machine is Chris Vincent's take on the circuit, built in his Professional format with Texas Instruments, OC75, and OC44 transistors — the same NOS set found in the full-size wedge version — and Mustard caps throughout.
Two controls: Attack and Level. This demo runs the full range across a clean-ish amp first — bridge pickup at unity fuzz volume from 01:28, neck from 02:40, and extensive volume knob cleanup from 03:50 showing off the glassy, controllable cleanup that separates a well-built Zonk Machine from a muddier fuzz circuit. Pushing fuzz volume above unity slams the clean-ish amp from 05:25, with increasing compression as the level climbs from 06:53.
The amp is cranked from 10:45 with fuzz volume brought back to unity, and the Attack knob's sweep is explored in depth from 11:33 — lower Attack settings producing a more compressed, gated character, returning to max Attack at 13:56 for the fullest, most open fuzz tone available. Bridge pickup cleanup into the cranked amp from 15:23 shows how the Electric Machine's volume knob response holds up even when the amp itself is contributing significant gain.
The Tone Ranger Guitars Desert Star's Lollar Regal Wide Range Humbuckers — Fender's original Seth Lover-designed Wide Range voicing — give the Electric Machine a fuller, rounder foundation than a standard PAF, with enough single-coil-like clarity to keep the Zonk Machine's midrange character articulate rather than muddy.
🎛️ R2R Electric: https://www.r2relectric.com 🎸 Tone Ranger Guitars: https://www.tonerangerguitars.com 🎸 Lollar Pickups: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-pickups 🔊 Greer Amps: https://www.greeramps.com
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🎸 Tone Ranger Guitars Desert Star | Lollar Regal Wide Range Humbuckers 🎛️ R2R Electric Electric Machine | NOS TI + OC75 + OC44 | Mustard Caps | Zonk Machine Topology | Attack + Level | Effectrode Tube Vibe 🔊 Greer Amps Mini Chief | 3W | Class A
Vintage 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb + Custom Shop Strat | Fuzz Face, Overdrive & Greenback Swap
Vintage 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb tone — one of the most iconic tube amps ever made — paired with a Custom Shop Stratocaster and two very different flavors of drive. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
The Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster — Righteous Sound Opal Road Set, Emerson Custom 5-Way Blender Prewired Kit with Treble Bleed — runs into a vintage 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb with a Scumback S75-PVC speaker upgrade (8 ohm, 65W) while keeping the Vibrato Channel 1 bright cap intact. The JAM Pedals Black Fuzz Phrase LTD (OC44) and Greer Amps Southland Overdrive both feature.
The 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb needs no introduction — one of the most recorded and revered tube amps in history, its blackface circuit defining the clean-to-breakup sweet spot that shaped decades of recorded guitar tone. This unit has had a thoughtful speaker upgrade to a Scumback S75-PVC while keeping the bright cap intact on Vibrato Channel 1, preserving the vintage-accurate sparkle and breakup character while gaining the Scumback's more even response and higher power handling.
The Righteous Sound Opal Road Set — a hybrid combining Opal-voiced neck and middle pickups with either High Road or Opal-spec bridge — gives this Strat a range spanning '50s and '60s vintage character. The Emerson Custom 5-Way Blender wiring adds continuous blend combinations across all five positions on top of the standard switching.
The JAM Pedals Black Fuzz Phrase LTD is built around an ultra-rare stash of NOS OC44 Philips black glass transistors manufactured in 1969, individually tested and matched by ear — a genuine collector's piece from a run of roughly 100 units, delivering authentic Fuzz Face-style magic with exceptionally low leakage and quiet operation.
The Greer Amps Southland Harmonic Overdrive is built on the Lightspeed Organic Overdrive platform but pushed further — more gain, dual-stage clipping using different diode types at each stage, a focused midrange without the typical overdrive hump, and extended presence to help cut through a mix. Touch sensitive and highly responsive to pick attack, it pushes the Deluxe Reverb into soulful, dynamic sustain without sacrificing clarity.
🎸 Righteous Sound Pickups: https://www.righteoussoundpickups.com 🎛️ JAM Pedals: https://www.jampedals.com 🎛️ Greer Amps: https://www.greeramps.com
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🎸 Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster | Righteous Sound Opal Road Set | Emerson Custom 5-Way Blender + Treble Bleed 🎛️ JAM Pedals Black Fuzz Phrase LTD (NOS OC44, 1969) | Greer Amps Southland Harmonic Overdrive 🔊 Vintage 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb | Scumback S75-PVC 8-Ohm 65W | Bright Cap Intact
The Best Stratocaster Upgrade! | Lollar Special Blonde Stratocaster Pickup Set
Lollar Pickups returns to the channel with the Special Blonde Stratocaster Pickup Set — Blonde neck and middle paired with the hotter Special bridge. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
The Lollar Special Blonde Stratocaster Pickup Set is installed in the Giordano Guitars '60s S-Model, into the Benson Amps Vincent 2x12" with Scumback H75-PVC speakers. The Keeley-modded Ibanez TS9 Tubescreamer and Effectrode Tube Vibe join for the second half.
Check out the Lollar Special Blonde Pickup Set: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-stratocaster-pickups/strat-blonde
The Special Blonde is a considered hybrid within Lollar's Stratocaster lineup — the Blonde neck and middle deliver the vintage-voiced clarity and chime that Lollar's Blonde series is known for, while the bridge swaps in the hotter-output Special Stratocaster pickup rather than a matching Blonde bridge. The result addresses a common Strat complaint directly: a vintage-voiced bridge pickup can sound thin and brittle when pushed, while the Special bridge brings more body and output to that position without sacrificing the neck and middle's classic character. Explored across clean-ish tones from 00:47, showing the balance between the three positions.
The Benson Vincent Clean Channel cranked with added treble from 04:40 pushes the Special bridge into its own natural breakup territory before any pedal enters the chain. The Keeley-modded Ibanez TS9 — Robert Keeley's famous modification opening up the tone-coloring caps and op-amp circuit for greater headroom — joins from 06:49, with volume knob cleanup explored from 08:27 and the Effectrode Tube Vibe stacking in from 09:32.
🎸 Lollar Pickups: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-stratocaster-pickups/strat-blonde 🎸 Giordano Guitars: https://www.instagram.com/giordanoguitars/ 🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers
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🎸 Giordano Guitars '60s S-Model | Lollar Special Blonde Set (Blonde Neck + Middle / Special Bridge) 🎛️ Ibanez TS9 Tubescreamer (Keeley Mod) | Effectrode Tube Vibe 🔊 Benson Amps Vincent 2x12" | Scumback H75-PVC
Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Ohma Ribbon | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R10 & R121 | Ableton Live
Fix Your Les Paul Tone!!! | R2R Electric Preamp Super Deluxe
R2R Electric returns to the channel with a deeper dive into the Preamp Super Deluxe — Chris Vincent's take on the rare 1950s Höfner Preamp circuit, this time on the Les Paul. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
The R2R Electric Preamp Super Deluxe pairs with the Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul R8 Historic — Ron Ellis '50s LRP PAF Humbuckers, Emerson Custom x Edge of Breakup Prewired Kit. Effectrode Tube Vibe features from 15:15.
Get the EoB x Emerson Custom Les Paul Kit: https://emersoncustom.com/collections/prewired-kits/products/eob-les-paul-prewired-kit-premier-pro Join the R2R Electric email list: https://www.r2relectric.com/
The Preamp Super Deluxe is Chris Vincent's recreation of the rare 1950s Höfner Preamp circuit — a genuinely obscure vintage reference, built with NOS germanium AC107 transistors. Two gain modes, an adjustable EQ emphasis control, and a Gain knob that lets you balance drive coming from the pedal against drive coming from the amp itself.
The EQ emphasis control is the star of this demo — explored in depth from 02:21 through 06:38, sweeping from boosting the highest frequencies through the midrange down to a full-range boost with the lowest frequencies emphasized. This single control fundamentally changes what the pedal does to a humbucker — Ron Ellis' '50s LRP set, a replica of the exact PAFs found in Duane Allman's 1957 Goldtop, gets noticeably brighter and more cutting with the EQ emphasis pushed toward treble, and thicker and more amp-like with it pulled toward bass.
High Gain Mode is explored from the introduction through 09:30, with volume knob cleanup at 07:35 showing how the pedal interacts with the guitar's own dynamics. Low Gain Mode gets its own dedicated section from 11:24 through 15:15, offering a more subtle, touch-sensitive drive character. The Effectrode Tube Vibe adds modulation to the cleaned-up tone from 15:15, and the demo closes with both the amp and the Preamp Super Deluxe fully cranked from 19:36.
What kind of amp would you run this pedal into? With what guitar? Drop your thoughts in the comments.
🎛️ R2R Electric Preamp Super Deluxe: https://www.r2relectric.com 🎸 Ron Ellis Pickups: https://www.ronellispickups.com
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🎸 2002 Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul R8 Historic | Ron Ellis '50s LRP Set (Duane Allman '57 Goldtop Spec) | Emerson Custom EoB LP Kit
🎛️ R2R Electric Preamp Super Deluxe | NOS AC107 Ge | Höfner Preamp Circuit | 2 Gain Modes | Adjustable EQ Emphasis | Effectrode Tube Vibe
Fix Your Jazzmaster tone! | Lollar '63 Jazzmaster Pickups
Lollar Pickups returns to the channel with the '63 Jazzmaster set — a period-correct vintage voicing installed in the Black Bobbin Chicago Phantone, now wired with Emerson Custom's brand new 1 Meg Premier Pro Pots. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
The Lollar '63 Jazzmaster Pickups are the focus this episode, installed in the Black Bobbin Chicago Phantone and wired with Emerson Custom 1 Meg Premier Pro Pots and Treble Bleed, into the Benson Amps Vincent 2x12" with Scumback H75-PVC speakers. The Hello Sailor Effects Abbey Road Fuzz and Effectrode Tube Vibe join for the second half.
Check out Lollar '63 Jazzmaster Pickups: https://www.lollarguitars.com/63-jazzmaster Emerson Premier Pro Pots: https://emersoncustom.com/products/emerson-premier-pro-potentiometers?sca_ref=6282128.5O9h8BhMpG Black Bobbin Phantone: https://blackbobbin.com/collections/black-bobbin-phantone
The Lollar '63 Jazzmaster is Jason Lollar's vintage-correct recreation of the original Fender Jazzmaster single coil — wide flat coils, Alnico 5 magnets, and the specific coil geometry that gives Jazzmaster pickups their characteristic warmth and bloom compared to a Stratocaster or Telecaster single coil. Explored across lower gain tones from 01:21, showing off the natural clarity and dynamic response before any drive enters the chain.
The Emerson Custom 1 Meg Premier Pro Pots are the correct resistance value for Jazzmaster and Jaguar circuits — 1 Meg keeps the full frequency response of the pickup intact, where the 250K or 500K pots used in most other guitar wiring bleed off high-frequency content. Three years in development, fiberglass substrate, proprietary 20% audio taper designed to feel consistent in both volume and tone positions. Combined with the Emerson Treble Bleed, the volume knob cleanup explored at length from 04:56 is exceptionally responsive — full-range and musical no matter where the volume sits. The Effectrode Tube Vibe adds low-gain modulation textures to that same cleaned-up tone from 06:45.
Also featured: the Hello Sailor Effects Abbey Road Fuzz from 08:22 — Joe's heavily modified Fuzz Face built in Gosport, UK, specifically to work as well with humbuckers as it does with single coils. Fuzz cleanup versus full blast compared directly from 09:49, with the Tube Vibe stacking in from 13:04. The Benson Vincent's Dirt Channel (Vinny Gain) closes the demo from 14:27, with the Tube Vibe's Boost function pushing it further from 15:26.
🎸 Lollar Pickups: https://www.lollarguitars.com/63-jazzmaster 🎛️ Emerson Custom: https://emersoncustom.com 🎸 Black Bobbin Chicago: https://blackbobbin.com 🎛️ Hello Sailor Effects: https://hellosailoreffects.com 🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers
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🎸 Black Bobbin Chicago Phantone | Lollar '63 Jazzmaster Pickups | Emerson Custom 1 Meg Premier Pro Pots + Treble Bleed 🎛️ Hello Sailor Effects Abbey Road Fuzz | Effectrode Tube Vibe 🔊 Benson Amps Vincent 2x12" | Scumback H75-PVC
Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Ohma Ribbon | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R10 & R121 | Ableton Live
Expresso FX MKI.V Mini Fuzz | Tone Bender MK1.5 Greatness in a Small Package!
Expresso FX returns to the channel with the MK1.V Mini Fuzz — Sof's compact take on the dual-transistor Tone Bender variant that sits between a Fuzz Face and a full MKI. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
The Expresso FX MK1.V Mini Fuzz pairs with the Black Bobbin Chicago Phantone — Lollar x Black Bobbin Jazzmaster Pickups, Emerson Custom Pots and Treble Bleed — into the Cunningham Amps Custom 35 2x12" with Scumback H75-PVC speakers and Echo Fix EF-X3 Tape Echo.
Reach out to Sof on Instagram DM for current inventory: https://www.instagram.com/expressofx/ Learn about the MK1.V Mini Fuzz: https://expressofx.com/product/fuzz-bender-mk-i-v-mini-grey-hammertone/
The MK1.V sits between a Fuzz Face and a full three-transistor Tone Bender MKI in character — thicker and wilder than a straightforward Fuzz Face, but less aggressive than the full MKI. This Mini format packs the same circuit into a smaller footprint. Transistors: two NOS Mullard OC75 and one NOS Mullard OC76 germanium, spanning new old stock from the '50s, '60s, and '70s. As with the standard-format MK1.V, the volume knob cleanup is the defining characteristic — glassy, articulate, and highly responsive, explored extensively from 02:55 across both bridge and neck pickup positions.
The Lollar x Black Bobbin Jazzmaster Pickup Set — a collaborative pickup voiced specifically for the Phantone platform — gets a genuine workout here against the MK1.V's dual-transistor character, with the Echo Fix EF-X3's analog tape echo adding depth from 03:56 and increasing further at 08:27.
🎛️ Expresso FX MK1.V Mini Fuzz: https://expressofx.com/product/fuzz-bender-mk-i-v-mini-grey-hammertone/ 🎸 Black Bobbin Chicago: https://blackbobbin.com 🎸 Lollar Pickups: https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-pickups 🔊 Cunningham Amps: https://www.cunninghamamps.co.nz
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🎸 Black Bobbin Chicago Phantone | Lollar x Black Bobbin Jazzmaster Pickups | Emerson Custom Pots + Treble Bleed 🎛️ Expresso FX MK1.V Mini Fuzz | NOS Mullard OC75 x2 + OC76 | Dual-Transistor Tone Bender Variant | Echo Fix EF-X3 🔊 Cunningham Amps Custom 35 2x12" | Scumback H75-PVC
Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Ohma Ribbon | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R121 & R10 | Ableton Live 12
The best vintage fuzz pedal?! | Jam Pedals Black Fuzz Phrase LTD
JAM Pedals returns to the channel with the Fuzz Phrase Black OC44 Limited Edition — a run of roughly 100 units, and a genuine collector's piece. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
The JAM Pedals Fuzz Phrase Black OC44 LTD pairs with the Gronlund Guitars SC18 — TV Jones TV Classic Filter'Trons — into the Greer Amps Mini Chief and Greer Smallblock 1x12" with a pre-broken-in Scumback S75-PVC speaker. The Effectrode Tube Vibe features throughout.
In JAM Pedals' own words:
"Built entirely by hand in Athens, Greece, the Black Fuzz Phrase LTD is a love letter to the raw, expressive fuzz tones of the late '60s. At its core lies an ultra-rare stash of NOS OC44 Philips black glass transistors, manufactured in 1969 and individually tested and matched by ear. These legendary components are prized for their exceptionally low leakage, musical gain, and quiet operation — ideal for crafting a fuzz circuit that's both aggressive and articulate.
Each unit is point-to-point hand-wired on a turret board and wrapped in luxurious suede, staying true to our tradition of uncompromising craftsmanship. Vintage-spec carbon-comp resistors and tropical fish capacitors throughout the signal path. Thanks to the remarkable stability of the OC44s, the internal bias is factory-set to 4.5V — no tweaking needed, just plug in and go.
From wooly chords to singing leads, the Black Fuzz Phrase LTD delivers rich harmonics, smooth sustain, and that unmistakable vintage rasp."
Hand-wired, point-to-point construction. Individually ear-matched NOS OC44 black glass transistors, manufactured in 1969. Vintage-spec components throughout. True bypass switching. Positive ground circuit — requires an isolated power supply.
This demo runs the fuzz across a full range of amp gain settings and fuzz volume levels — low gain amp with fuzz at unity from 00:13, medium gain amp from 05:26, and pushed harder with the fuzz volume itself from 08:43 through fully maxed at 10:54. The guitar volume knob cleanup — the real test of any Fuzz Face-lineage circuit — is explored extensively from 03:04 and again at 11:21 with higher amp gain, showing how the OC44's exceptionally low leakage translates to a genuinely glassy, controllable cleanup sweep.
🎛️ JAM Pedals Fuzz Phrase Black OC44 LTD: https://www.jampedals.com 🎸 Gronlund Guitars: https://www.gronlundguitars.com 🔊 Greer Amps: https://www.greeramps.com
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🎸 Gronlund Guitars SC18 | TV Jones TV Classic Filter'Trons 🎛️ JAM Pedals Fuzz Phrase Black OC44 LTD | NOS OC44 Philips Black Glass (1969) | Point-to-Point Turret Board | Suede Wrap | Positive Ground | ~100 Units | Effectrode Tube Vibe 🔊 Greer Amps Mini Chief | 3W | Class A | Greer Smallblock 1x12" | Scumback S75-PVC (Pre-Broken-In)
Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Ohma Ribbon | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R10 & R121 | Ableton Live 12