What's better than one Tube Screamer? Three Tube Screamers...

 All the Screamers in One Box

Warm Audio have been steadily building a reputation for creating incredibly faithful recreations of classic circuits — usually with a twist or two that modern players will appreciate. The Tube Squealer is their take on the Tube Screamer legacy, but instead of copying just one of the many famous versions, they’ve decided to include all the greatest hits in one pedal.

On the front panel, you’ll find a small toggle switch that lets you move between the TS808, TS9, and TS10 variants.

TS808 Mode gives you the open, slightly less compressed tone of the original late-’70s Screamer. It’s smooth, warm, and dynamic — perfect for players like to maintain all of the feel whilst getting some Screamer goodness.

TS9 Mode adds that classic mid-push and extra compression that so many guitarists associate with the definitive ‘80s overdrive sound. It’s punchy and focused — ideal for solos or tightening up heavy rhythms.

TS10 Mode, the softest of the three, gives a gentler, more transparent character that works beautifully for blues or edge-of-breakup tones - there is a reason this version is favoured by SRV (and John Mayer).

Each version has its own unique voice, and switching between them feels like swapping entire pedals on your board.

Extra Features That Make Sense

Warm Audio didn’t stop at the circuit voicing — they’ve added a handful of clever, practical upgrades that make this one of the most flexible Tube Screamer-style pedals on the market.

Right up top, you’ll notice another toggle switch marked Buffer / True Bypass. Some players swear by the sound of a good buffer at the start of their signal chain, while others need that versatility as not to anger the impedance-fussy fuzz in the chain. With this switch, you get to decide what works best for your rig — a small touch that makes a big difference.

Then there’s that fourth knob. Most drive pedals stick to the classic trio of Drive, Tone, and Level, but Warm Audio have added a Clean Blend control. This one’s a game-changer. It lets you mix your clean signal back in with the overdriven tone, which not only restores clarity but also enhances pick attack and articulation. If you’ve ever wished your Tube Screamer gave you a little more sparkle or a touch more definition, this control is your new best friend.

There’s also a Single Coil / Humbucker switch, which subtly shifts the EQ profile to better suit your guitar. In Single Coil mode, you get the traditional Screamer midrange. In Humbucker mode, the mid-push moves slightly higher in the frequency spectrum — think of it as leaning a little closer to a Blues Driver or Klon-style EQ. It’s a thoughtful tweak that actually works in practice, not just on paper.

And then there’s the feature hidden round the back — a Voltage Boost switch. When engaged, it bumps the internal voltage from 9V up to 18V, giving you more headroom and preserving your dynamics even when the gain is cranked. Best of all, it still runs off a standard 9V input, so there’s no need for a special power supply.

Warm Audio Means Business

Warm Audio could have easily stopped at making a single, well-built TS-style pedal and called it a day. But the Tube Squealer feels like a product designed by people who really understand guitar players. It’s versatile enough to cover everything from vintage blues tones to modern high-gain tightening duties, and all the little usability touches — like the buffer toggle and clean blend — make it more practical than the originals it’s based on.

Yes, it’s technically above the “budget” line, coming in at just over the £100 mark. But considering it gives you three Tube Screamers in one plus a clean blend, selectable buffering, EQ tailoring for pickups, and internal voltage doubling — it’s actually excellent value.

The original Ibanez TS808 costs more than this on its own, and it only does one thing. The Tube Squealer does them all, and then some.

Final Thoughts

At its heart, the Tube Squealer is still a Tube Screamer — and that’s a good thing. It’s got the familiar warmth, compression, and mid-push that made the circuit famous, but with modern flexibility that lets you tailor it perfectly to your guitar, your amp, and your playing style.

If you’ve ever agonised over whether you’re a TS808, TS9, or TS10 person… now you don’t have to choose. Warm Audio have bundled them all together, sprinkled in a few smart upgrades, and wrapped it up in a tank-tough enclosure.

It might not be the cheapest overdrive on the shelf, but for what it offers, the Tube Squealer is arguably one of the best value Screamers you can buy right now.

If you'd like one of your very own, consider using my affiliate link: https://thmn.to/thoprod/627945?offid=1&affid=2735

 Digitech Hot Head – Reunited with an Old Flame

I’ve been on a bit of a Digitech kick lately — probably triggered by the renewed attention Josh Scott gave the Bad Monkey a few years back. That video seemed to single-handedly pull the old Digitech drives out of obscurity, and it reminded me just how much fun those pedals were.

A couple of weeks ago, I revisited the Screamin’ Blues — a pedal that’s often described as a BD-2 with a two-band EQ. Well, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it a lot. It nails those classic Blues Driver tones and then goes even further, reaching into territory that even the Boss can’t quite manage. More than that though, it stirred up something even more powerful than great tone: nostalgia.

Back in my formative guitar years, I bought three of these Digitech pedals — the Bad Monkey, Screamin’ Blues, and one more mysterious third pedal. Over time, I convinced myself I’d outgrown them. They got shelved, forgotten and one got traded away in the endless cycle of gear acquisition. But after finishing the Screamin’ Blues demo, I realised how wrong I’d been to underestimate them. I jumped straight onto eBay to see if I could reunite the trio. A few bids later, the orange box — the Hot Head — was on its way to me.

There’s a little twist to that story, but we’ll come back to that later.

Orange Means Distortion

The Hot Head is Digitech’s orange overdrive, and let’s be honest — when we see an orange drive pedal, our minds immediately jump to one thing: the Boss DS-1. Much like green being the official colour of a mid-hump overdrive - It’s the benchmark, the reference point, the orange distortion pedal. Whether the Hot Head is based directly on the DS-1 circuit or not, I can’t say for sure, but it definitely shares some DNA. And, like the Screamin’ Blues compared to the BD-2, it also fixes a few of the shortcomings.

The DS-1 has been the first “real” pedal for countless players. It’s cheap, it’s everywhere, and when you stomp on it for the first time, it makes a very noticeable difference to your tone. But by today’s standards, it’s not exactly a refined circuit. The tone control, in particular, is famously limited — turn it one way, and you get mush; turn it the other, and it’s fizzy bees in a tin can. There’s a narrow sweet spot in the middle, and that’s about it.

The Hot Head solves that problem neatly with a two-band EQ. The bass control gives you proper tonal flexibility — roll it back for a nasal, almost megaphone-like drive tone, or crank it up for thick, fuzzy bottom-end saturation. The treble control acts more like a global tone knob, but even when rolled right back, it doesn’t get overly dull or woolly. It’s a massive improvement over the single, uninspiring DS-1 tone control.

Gain for Days

The gain range on the Hot Head is excellent — from a gritty, pushed-clean edge all the way to a full, raging distortion. To be fair, the DS-1 can do this too, and it often gets unfairly dismissed as a one-trick pony. There’s actually a lot of subtlety hiding in that circuit if you take the time to explore it.

Now, I’ll be honest — when I was shooting the demo for this one, I wasn’t quite feeling it at first. I’ve never been a huge distortion guy. I tend to prefer more natural, amp-like overdrive tones. That compressed mid-range of most distortion sounds don’t quite hit the same as they did when I was a spotty teenager, plugged into a practice amp alone in my room. Hey, I call that some personal growth 😂

But when I listened back to the recording… I started to get it. There’s something really satisfying about the tone of this pedal. It’s aggressive without being brittle, and it has a lively, responsive feel that keeps it fun to play. I genuinely think the Hot Head might be one of those hidden classics forgotten to the sands of time.

A Strange Twist of Fate

Right, so about that little behind-the-scenes story I mentioned earlier.

When I first started my channel, I actually had a Hot Head. It was one of the pedals I used to keep the weekly demos flowing, but back then, Digitech pedals were completely out of favour and worth next to nothing. I ended up trading it away to fund something new — which seemed like a great idea at the time.

That old Hot Head had a distinctive little chip in the paint, just above the controls on the top-left corner. Small, barely noticeable, but quite unique in its own way.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, when I jumped on eBay to find the cheapest Hot Head I could. I threw in a few bids without thinking too much about it, and one of them won. After the listing ended, I took a closer look at the photos… and there it was. That exact same chip, in the exact same place.

Surely not?

When it arrived, I pulled it out of the box and inspected it. Now, I can’t say with absolute certainty that it’s the same pedal — but it looks identical. I’m pretty convinced I’ve been reunited with my original Hot Head after all these years. A proper full-circle moment.

Now, of course, I’m on the lookout for the rest of the series. I have no real logical reason to for this, but who doesn't like a collection, eh?

Final Thoughts

I’m not going to tell you the Hot Head is a forgotten masterpiece that deserves a place alongside a Klon or a King of Tone. But it is a solid, versatile drive pedal and a very worthy alternative to the DS-1 for anyone chasing those classic distortion tones.

If I had to rank the Digitech drives I’ve covered so far, it would probably go:

Screamin’ Blues > Bad Monkey > Hot Head.

That’s not to say the Hot Head is bad — not at all. The other two just edge it for me personally. But who knows? Maybe you’ll plug one in and find your own bit of 2000s magic inside that bright orange box.

Lekato Space Studio Reverb – Budget Ambience With Big Ambitions

 Lekato Space Studio Reverb

When I first started playing guitar, reverb was something you had to be very intentional about. Dedicated reverb pedals were complex bits of tech, and because of that, they were expensive. For most players, you simply used whatever reverb was built into your amp — job done.

Then came the likes of Mooer, who brought reverb (and other effects) to the masses at a much more accessible price point. Those early budget reverbs were functional, but they were basic — think of them more as a polite nod to ambience rather than the swirling, immersive soundscapes we know today. Then Strymon showed up and changed the game entirely for portable effects. Their lush, expansive, and textural reverbs turned the effect from background decoration into a defining part of your tone.

In more recent years, we’ve seen some of the budget pedal brands step up to that challenge, aiming to capture that same lush, “studio in a box” sound for a fraction of the price. We recently looked at the rather impressive Gokko Divine Shimmer Verb, and now we have another contender: the Lekato Space Studio Reverb. From what I understand, it shares quite a few similarities with the M-Vave Mini Universe... I'm not making any claims here, but let's just say certain Chinese companies have been known to 'share' their circuits in the past. Say no more.

Rather than dissect every single mode individually, it’s easier to split the Space Studio into two distinct categories: the everyday reverbs and the special effects reverbs.

Everyday Reverbs

The first group is made up of the usual suspects — Room, Hall, Plate, and Spring. These are your bread-and-butter reverb types, and they actually offer more flexibility than you might expect. Each one has a much longer available decay time than the typical “amp reverb,” meaning you can easily go from subtle space to cinematic wash just by tweaking the decay and mix controls.

The one misstep here, though, is the Spring. Despite the label, it doesn’t really behave like a true spring reverb. There’s no splash, no drip, none of that vintage tank character you might expect. It’s not bad-sounding at all — it’s just misnamed. Think of it more as a smooth room reverb with a bit of midrange colour rather than a surf-ready spring.

Special Reverbs

Then we come to the weird and wonderful side of the pedal. This is where things get interesting. Of course, it includes a Shimmer mode — it wouldn’t be a modern reverb pedal without one — but it also adds some more adventurous flavours like Cloud (which I can only assume is inspired by the Strymon Cloud algorithm) and, right at the end of the dial, the absolute wild card: Lo-Fi.

That Lo-Fi mode might be one of the most unusual reverbs I’ve ever heard. It transforms your sound into something reminiscent of a dying 8-bit console — glitchy, crunchy, and full of nostalgic chaos. I’m definitely not the target audience for that kind of sound, but I can easily see experimental players and ambient noise artists falling in love with it.

The Shimmer, by contrast, is genuinely impressive for a pedal at this price point. It’s surprisingly easy to dial in a tone that blends tastefully with your playing rather than sitting awkwardly on top of it — a rare feat for cheaper shimmer verbs.

Parameter Controls

Much like the Caline Mariana Reverb, the Lekato Space Studio features three parameter knobs that change their function depending on which mode you’re in.

For most modes, you get High Pass, Low Pass, and Drift controls. The Drift control adds a subtle modulation to the tail of the reverb, giving it a slight tape-like wobble. Used sparingly, it adds a lovely sense of movement and character. Crank it too high, and things start to get a little seasick — but hey, maybe that’s your vibe.

In Shimmer mode, the parameters change to control the mix of the octave effect and the pitch. This is absolutely essential for getting the shimmer effect to sit correctly in your mix — it lets you balance how present the upper octave is and how high it’s pitched.

For Lo-Fi, things get even more interesting. The parameters control the amount of white noise in the effect and the sample rate. That gives you real creative power to shape the chaos. I can see more experimental players actually using these controls to “play” the pedal almost like an extension of your instrument, riding the controls for expressive, glitchy textures.

Final Thoughts

I really appreciate what Lekato are going for here. No, it’s not the most polished or refined reverb pedal on the market — but that’s not the point. The Space Studio offers an ambitious range of sounds that stretch far beyond the typical “budget reverb” box. Most of its modes are not just usable, but genuinely fun and inspiring to play with.

If you just want a straightforward, subtle reverb for adding a touch of ambience, you might find better options elsewhere — something like the Mosky Spring or Sonicake Levitate Spring would probably get you closer to a traditional sound. But buying this pedal just for its basic reverbs would be missing the point entirely.

This is a pedal designed for getting lost in soundscapes. Crank the decay, turn up the mix, and let it saturate your tone until you’re swimming in ambience. For players who want a taste of those lush, Strymon-style reverbs without the premium price tag, the Lekato Space Studio Reverb is a seriously tempting little box.

I misunderstood the Tone City Model M...

 Tone City Model M V1 – Rediscovering a Forgotten Gem

Around five or so years ago, the Tone City Golden Plexi was making waves. It started popping up on budget boards everywhere, gaining a reputation as the “must-have” mini pedal of the moment. Naturally, I had to try one. To be honest, though, I walked away a little underwhelmed. It wasn’t bad, but the gain knob seemed to start off too dirty and just got dirtier from there, without much room for subtlety. Add in a touch of background noise, and the whole thing just didn’t click for me. It found its way onto the “to sell” pile pretty quickly.

Fast-forward a few years, and I spotted that Tone City had updated the formula with the Model M. This new version promised dual gain controls and even included a built-in boost. That sounded like exactly what the Golden Plexi had been missing, so I snapped one up on the used market at a decent price. When it arrived, I plugged it in for a quick test drive… and felt the same shrug I’d experienced with the Golden Plexi. So, into the cupboard it went, gathering dust among the forgotten toys.

Then came a late “spring clean” in September. I unearthed the Model M, plugged it back in, and — well — I must have been having a bad day the first time, because this time the pedal absolutely sang. What came out of my amp was the gritty, dynamic, amp-like drive tone I’d been chasing all those years ago. There was this beautiful fuzzy edge, a responsiveness to my playing, and suddenly it clicked. I was wrong about this pedal, plain and simple.

The Gain Section – Crunch vs High Gain

One of the most interesting features of the Model M is the dual gain setup. Instead of one generic gain control, you get two: Crunch and High Gain. A little toggle switch decides which mode you’re in, and the corresponding knob becomes active.

In Crunch mode, you can roll the gain almost all the way back, giving you that slightly pushed-clean tone with just a hint of grit. Dial it up, and you’ll find classic British-style crunch that works beautifully for blues, classic rock, and anything that needs an “amp just starting to sweat” vibe.

Flick over to High Gain mode, and things get rowdy. This setting picks up roughly where Crunch leaves off, delivering a more saturated, aggressive tone. It’s not modern metal levels of gain, but it’s got that modded JCM800-at-full-tilt energy. Think classic hard rock, early heavy metal, and fat, roaring leads.

If there’s a small downside, it’s that the mode switch is a toggle rather than a footswitch. You can’t switch between Crunch and High Gain mid-song without bending down. That said, the pedal has a trick up its sleeve that makes up for it.

The Built-In Boost

The second footswitch on the Model M engages the Boost mode. This is a simple one-knob affair that always runs before the drive section. It’s not designed to give you an independent clean boost or EQ tweak; its job is singular — push the amp circuit harder.

The boost itself is pretty transparent, but as you turn it up, it slams into the drive section with more intensity, essentially giving you a “second channel.” It’s like going from crunchy rhythm to searing lead at the tap of a switch. For all intents and purposes, the pedal becomes a two-channel Plexi-in-a-box.

Would it be more versatile if you could choose to run the boost after the drive, adding volume instead of gain? Probably. But honestly, that’s not the spirit of this pedal. The Model M is all about unapologetically British, amp-style drive, and the boost being pre-gain plays into that beautifully. It’s Nigel Tufnel territory — when you need that extra push over the cliff, the boost takes you straight to eleven.

Tone and Noise

If there’s one part of the pedal that doesn’t quite keep up, it’s the tone control. At the lowest setting, things can get a bit woolly before it starts to clear up. From there, though, it does a solid job, never getting too piercing at the top end and keeping things smooth.

The other slight nit-pick is noise. Push the gain hard, and you’ll notice a bit of background hiss — which, to be fair, is par for the course with mid-heavy British-voiced drives. According to Tone City’s website, the Model M V2 addresses some of these issues, which makes me think this V1 review might just be the first chapter in a two-part story.

A story of redemption

The Tone City Model M V1 is a great example of a pedal that deserves a second chance. On first impression, it might not blow you away, but give it time and it can reveal itself as a dynamic, amp-like drive with real character. Between the dual gain modes and the built-in boost, it offers plenty of flexibility for players looking for that classic British roar without the volume of a half-stack.

Sure, it’s not perfect — the toggle switch instead of a footswitch limits on-the-fly versatility, and the tone knob could be a little more refined. But overall, this is a pedal that captures the magic of cranked British amps in a compact, affordable format.

If the V1 was this good once I gave it another shot, I can only imagine how much further Tone City took it with the V2. Maybe that’s a story for another day.

The V1 doesn't exist anymore, but the V2 is available and for sale here (affiliate link):
https://thmn.to/thoprod/540179?offid=1&affid=2735