" Ah Gee Mr. Wilson, can I keep the pedal..."

I received my order from Wilson Effects this week. There had been a bit of a delay as Kevin was without power and things were a bit chaotic in and about his one man shop. I was really looking forward to getting the effects and putting them on my shop's bench and pedal board.

In this post, I'll concentrate on the two effects pictured above: the Wilson Overdrive and the Wilson Rippah Wah. These are the basic and the most common "go to" pedals for many guitarists. As a result there are many to choose from.

I spoke with Kevin Wilson this week. He is a very direct, no B.S. fellow. He told me he is a guitar player and like many of us discovered small shop pedals and spent the rent trying them out in our ongoing search for the "tone." Kevin started to take his favorites apart to see what makes them tick. After much trial and error, R and D and parts sourcing Kevin built his line of effects.

Here's Kevin's Blurb from the Wilson Effects Website:

The Wilson Effects Overdrive is modeled after the vintage

overdrives of the past. With a warm tube sound, a slightly

deeper range and just a little more overdrive than you standard tube screamer. From the subtle sounds of laid back blues to the ripping sounds of modern rock this pedal is sure to please the pickiest of the tone hunters.
Simple to use and small and compact it's hard to believe such heavenly tones can come out of this little green box. Just 4.7 inches long by 3.7 inches wide by 1.18 inches high(plus rubber feet) it is sure to save some room on your pedal board. With input and output jacks on the back of the pedal eliminating the need for 90 degree plugs therefore saving even more room.
Built with the coveted JRC4558 this pedal is sure to pump out some major tone. Did I mention that the overdrive is also true bypass and won't suck your tone when it is off.
The overdrive comes with a 1 year parts and labor warranty on all manufacturers parts.

In my examination of the unit I found tidy construction and solid finishing in and out. The jacks, pots and switch are good quality and not plastic. The unit is solid and strong and will withstand the rigors of the lead-footed gigging player.

The sound is warm, even and accentuates the harmonics we have come to associate with overdrives of merit past and present. This unit is quiet and co-existed with all the pedals I used it with. The closest point of reference that comes to mind is the TS 808 only The Wilson is more powerful and expansive. This pedal loved the P90s on my LP it also loved my Strat and the Duncan humbuckers on my Jackson Soloist.

All in all a simple to use solidly hand crafted OD at a price point that makes ownership a no-brainer.

The Rippah Wah shares all of the construction keynotes as the OD as well as the social characteristics. It get along well with all the pedals I threw at it and performed equally well with the three pickup types I fed it. Right out of the box with no knob tweaking, it had the tastiest sweep of any wah I've played. We're going steady right now. Here's Kevin's blurb:

The Rippah Wah is also a vintage style wah. With deep lows and a very musical sweep this pedal gives new meaning to smooth. Originally meant to be played with a guitar equipped with single coil pickups we have made modifications so that even guitarists who prefer humbuckers can enjoy the sounds of this pedal. With an adjustable trimmer inside the pedal it can be set up to play with either style pickup configuration. The unique thing about this pedal is that if you leave it in the toe down position it seems to be in a bypassed state. No harsh treble just a smooth musical sweep that rivals the sounds of any vintage wah. The Rippah Wah also comes with the standard output buffer with volume control so you can use it in front of fuzz and tweek it to give you just the right amount of boost for those sweet cut through the mix solos. Every pedal also comes standard with;

Heavy duty metal enclosure
True Bypass switching
Replica Halo Inductor
Italian style tapered pot
Factory installed output buffer with volume control
Switchcraft enclosed jacks
Adjustable trimmer for pickup tuning
1 year warranty on parts and labor
Boss style 2.1mm power jack or 9v battery powered
Easy adjustable rocker tensioning
And nothing but the highest quality parts and craftsmanship available today.

Did I say that this pedal is quiet? No irritating noise from this unit and the knobs are intuitive so tweaking is simple. Again, the price point rocks, this is exceptional design and quality USA construction at a modest ticket. As Dennis aka The Menance might have whined were he a guitar player, "...gee Mr. Wilson can I keep the pedal..."

To order or for more info email at: info@guitarskauai.com

Aloha nui,

Tyler J. Barnes aka T.Dogg
Koloa, Kauai, Hawaii