Lovepedal has released a new line of mini-pedals.  These are a range of diminutive little die-cast aluminium stomp boxes that should be possible to squeeze into even the most crowded pedalboard.

First up is the AMP 50.  It’s a compact version of Lovepedal’s Church Of Tone series but its been modified for cleaner tonnes at the lower gain levels and dirtier at higher levels.  In this way it can function as a clean or dirty boost as well as an overdrive or even a fuzz-box depending on guitar, amp and settings.  The AMP 50 can be bought online from Lovepedal’s site for $129.

Next in line is the ECHO Baby.  Lovepedal say that it’s a warm, studio-quality delay with up to 760ms delay time.  The pedal features a ‘Dynamic Modulation Mode’, activated by holding the bypass down for two seconds.  What this means is that the rate and depth are automatically adjusted as you adjust delay time – as you decrease the delay time, modulation speed and depth are slightly increased.  When you exit Modulation Mode, the settings are saved for next time.  ECHO Baby costs $219.

The, wonderfully named, Pickle Vibe is the Lovepedal stop for Uni-Vibe vibe. Lovepedal claim the same big, lush vibes of the Uni-Vibe without this being a ‘copy’. As well as the big, single knob (that it shares with its siblings), the Pickle Vibe has an internal trim pot to set intensity level in a set-it-and-forget-it sort of manner.  Obviously enough, that big chicken-head handles speed.  Get Pickled for $139.

Lovepedal has also considered the practical as well as the fun.  To that end, they’ve produced a Line Driver Mini Buffer to help prevent signal loss that may result from long cable runs or bundles of effect units in your signal line.  Not so groovy as a purple Pickle Vibe but certainly useful, the Line Driver Mini Buffer can be yours for $129.

More info and videos of the pedals in action over at Lovepedal.

Although there seems to be some argument over whether Gibson’s first ever electric guitar, the E-150 shipped in October or November of 1935, since this is November, I’m going to hang my hat on that month (purely for the lazy purposes of including it in this article).

Heavily influenced by Rickenbacker’s ‘Frying Pan’ which was released in 1932, the E-150 was at least somewhat guitar-shaped.  Riding on the Hawaiian wave, the E-150 had a cast-aluminium body and ebony fingerboard (although that pictured is unusual with a rosewood board) with white fret ‘markers’ (i.e. essentially just flush lines where the frets would be – there are no frets on these guitars).

Two bakelite knobs handled controls for the Charlie Christian-style pickup.

In the following year, the same instrument, but with a wooden body, was released as the EH-150 (EH is Electric Hawaiian).  The EH had a more traditional Gibson look but this has the honour of being the first Gibson electric.

A couple of notable anniversaries for October.

The Big Two of guitar makers both have something worth celebrating this month:

• Although officially announced in April (and included on the cover of Fender’s April price list), full-scale production of the Fender Stratocaster really only began in October 1954.  Initial production – from April until October – was really quite slow, consisting mainly of marketing models.  These were used to demonstrate the radically new instrument to dealers and players (and at that summer’s NAMM).  Only after the dealers had gotten sufficiently used to the new instrument was production ramped up and the first orders fulfilled.
• In October of 1902, Orville Gibson and some investors formed the Gibson Mandolin Guitar Company.  Although Orville didn’t hang about too long, leaving in 1903, he received an income from them until his death in 1918.  I wonder what he’d have made of the Les Paul.