OohLaLa Pedals
would make a great overdrive when needed.
Switching the mode will get you oscillating
fuzz like the Soda-Meiser, but ultimately more
static and destructive. Be warned that you’ll
get a lot of background noise between notes,
which can either be cool or a bit annoying.
This effect does work well for some synth-like
discordant leads. I found that backing off
my volume pedal helped dissipate some of
the noise. Some players may prefer to use a
noise gate with the Torn’s Peaker, so as not
to let all that noise get out of hand. Some
may just let it ride.
Buy if… you want a pedal to pull double
duties: both fuzz and overdrive.
Skip if… you are looking for a richer fuzz, then
buy the Soda-Meiser.
Rating...
3. 5
The mids sound great as well, but there
is a roll off on the high frequencies. This
caused a loss of clarity in my overall tone at
lower volumes, but once I got the chance to
turn the amp up loud, the highs returned.
Turning the knob all the way clockwise
gives you a scrambled sound, and total fuzz
chaos. The boost pedal acts as an oscillator and is noisy but can provide some great
fuzzed-out leads, comparable to an octave
fuzz. Flipping the chaos mode switch, only
the high notes survive—and forget about
chords, they just break up in the sonic cruelty. Also, it is fair to note that when the
boost switch is activated there is a loss in
volume. The manual says adjust accordingly.
In a live situation this may be a bit cumbersome for many players, so I would advise
using a boost, compressor, or EQ pedal to
bring the volume back up. The Soda-Meiser
has the Big Muff sound, with harmonics and
subtle nuances that remind me of the early
Rat pedals. Fans of big, fuzzed-out stoner
rock sound will love the Soda-Meiser.
design, the bass response isn’t very smooth;
low chords tend to break up, but the mid-range provides the clarity missing in the
Soda-Meiser. It provides the same amount
of features, minus the chaos switch—so you
get Volume and Texture knobs, a Bypass
switch and Mode switch, plus two huge
LEDs to let you know when the circuits are
active. The Texture knob actually acts more
as a fuzz shaper than a Tone knob. Extreme
right offers smooth harmonic textures, while
the extreme left offers a fuzzed-out crunchy
sound. The middle is fairly standard fuzz
that’s still a bit on the crunchy side.
Street: $225
oohlalamanufacturing.com
The Final Mojo
OohLaLa is manufacturing some very imaginative effects boxes, with some not-so-standard
features. These pedals took a lot of experimenting, but after some tweaking I was able
to find some useful and inspiring tones. Stoner
Rock, Doom, Drone & Noise guitarists unite—
these stomp boxes will inspire you to create
some unique guitar tones. If you’re looking for
pedals that are “off the beaten path” you will
want to check out this line of effects.
I found myself liking the crunch of this pedal
with the Texture knob once again at 2 o’clock
and the volume adjusted accordingly to room
volume. I was able to get a good vintage
crunch with plenty of note definition. I usually
premierguitar.com
run my clean a little dirty, and this pedal
ONTHEWeb
Head online to hear sound clips
of the pedals in action at
Buy if… just buy it! Best fuzz pedal I have
ever heard for guitar and bass!
Skip if… you don’t like fuzz.
Rating...
5.0
Street: $225
oohlalamanufacturing.com
Torn’s Peaker
The Torn’s Peaker, another great play on
words, is also a fuzz pedal, which is grittier
overall compared to the Soda-Meiser. By
