Electrosonic Amplifiers Supernova EF86

Very simple setup really, its got more features than some tube overdrives but nothing that clutters the control panel. The fat switch is the addition that is new here, and it works very simply but effective.

This is a really unique design - I can?t stress that enough - it doesn?t sound like most ?tube? pedals. If you have ever used any of dr. z?s stuff than you might be familiar with the EF86. This is the only pedal I know of that uses this tube. This pedal has a bit of that sound, but I feel has a much broader sonic reach. The tone controls are very strong, and it lets you go from the most scooped twangy country clean to ultra-thick mid boosted zz top. I was surprised at how well the cleans were with this thing. Its rare to find a box that does both well like this. You could really just call it an ?enhancer? because even set to clean and neutral EQ, it sorta will compress ever so slightly and let the notes sustain, yet not mess up the attack. The overdrive tone is very cool too. It sounds a lot fuller than a lot of boxes I?ve used. Its kinda hard to describe, but the low end has that kind of timbre that just says ?power?.

I just got this in this week. I have one of the first units. Its very rugged and seems to be built from the same stuff as other ultra-premium tube preamp pedals.

From what I can tell, ridiculously good. Emails are answered within HOURS, not days or weeks. I didn?t ask a lot of questions though - I was just happy to be getting an EF86 pedal.

I have tried probably more than most in the ultra-premium preamp pedal category. Soldano GTO and Matchless hotbox/Badcat to name a few. This is way better, and it actually is something new and different. I like the weird sci-fi knobs, full size lamps and true bypass design. It works well with all of my amps, and even accepts pedals before it really well. I could think of a hundred ways to use it. Summary: very unique and very versatile!