Guyatone PS-102

Controls:Output and Distortion
As mentioned already hardly rocket science.
This unit is described as "Guyatone PS-102 zoom distorion box" (not to be confused with the Zoom company).

I use this through a modified Gretsch G5222 5watt tube amp with my Ibanez Ag75 hollowbody (2 hums). Sound is bang on and resembles that of a good a fuzz pedal rather than a distortion(never been a fan of most distortion pedals). You can really dial in very subtle amounts to give an accurate sounding break up of the natural kind. On the flip side you can get that real raspy fuzz tone when pushed on a bit. This is a superb unit and I really get a lot of use from it. Think fuzz face(I prefer the zoom box) as opposed to distortion and you're more in the ball park. Love this pedal quite unique.

Very sturdy metal case and all wires,pots and components are safe inside. Its done a fair bit of travelling and gigging and never failed although I did some mods to it by fitting a 3pdt switch for true bypass and rewiring the LED so it now indicates on/off as opposed to its original use which was to just indicate power.

never dealt with them.

Quality unit and there is nothing I don't like about it other than the LED issue. Even pre true bypass it was fine I only did that as I was fitting the 3pdt for the LED not for the bypass. Best bit is my next door neighbour (about 15yrs ago) had found this pedal and gave it to me as they didn't play guitar anyway so it was no use to them so it cost me nothing. Saw one go on Ebay for around 100GBP no long ago and I believe in good working condition it is a good buy as it does from a great height something I'll leave you to decide on most pedals of this type.

very easy to use, one knob for level, one fo distortion amount. No tone control. This pedal is named also "zoom box". The effects of this serie had a name with "box" added. Look at the vintage "locobox" website, you'll fin a picture.

It's a quite large range distortion. first quarter of dist knob, you've got a warm little crunch, second quarter it becomes stronger and with a les Paul, it's a good strong overdrive. After, it comes like a super boosted fuzzy overdrive. It sounds like a fuzz face, without this erratic sound.
What you have to know is tha the sound is always warm and never too agressive, the sound of your guitar and pickups is always respected, and most of all, the sound reacts very well with the way of playing with nuances. A very good point. No noise, the level adjustment is ok, and it's suitable to give some boost to an amp. It gives a really warmy color, even with clear sounds (level high and no distortion). I think it's better for a Les Paul than a strat, because it gives a real roaming fuzzy sound, but it seriously makes any old strat sound like a spicy hot one! guaranteed. It sounds a bit like the Buddy Guy sweet tea album.
This pedal was handmade in the japanese "loco box" factory, with coron, memphis and other great trademarks.

30 years old and no doubt it's strong. light red metal box.

no opinion

fantastic for blues and blues rock music good disto for pop rock and the vintage sounding is not really suitable for Metal or things like that.One default yet, the led is only telling you if the power supply or battery is correct. So you never know if the effect is engaged or not.
To compare with the TS9, it's warmer and it gives more punch, but the texture is different, with less definition and without this burning forest effect of the TS9. The dist level is far higher, but it's not more versatile because the sound and texture are unique. This pedal has a sound one sound but a great one.
I bought it "for fun", to check if the previous review was right, because I felt it was a good deal. It really was. Get one, it will enhance your style and music personnality.

Two dials: Level and Distrortion. hardly rocketscience.

It's a distortion - a rather mild distortion when compared to modern-day hellraisers. With my Les Paul the dirtortion was quite heavy but still sounding more extreme overdrive than distortion. Soundwise this is nothing spectacular. Nothing you couldn't do with another distortion unit when using your ears and clever EQing. Saying that, I love its sound - it retains the playing nuances brilliantly and its appeal lies in the way the pedal reacts to the input signal. Lowering the volume on the pickup the distortion remains but the sound goes from angry-wasps to a more Pete Townsend-ish/The Who style. It's heavy yet somehow silky and very detailed.
Also interesting that there's almost no change in sound on the distortion poti for the first half - but then suddenly the volume knob gets very powerful.
Results are great with any amp but the real magic happens when placed in front of an AC30. It's the sound I'd call 'Rebel Rock' - bands like U2, The Alarm, Simple Minds, The Sound, Chameleons, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Clash, The Church, etc .... you'd get the idea. Listen to U2's 'Under A Blood Red Sky' live album/video; Cry/Electric Co or the solo in Sunday Bloody Sunday - the Guyatone in full effect.
Also the distortion on tracks off the 1981 album 'October'. Songs like 'Rejoice' or 'Whith A Shout (Jerusalem)' have that Guyatone sound.

Only 7/10 for it's very limited sound spectrum - but what it does it does better than any other pedal.

This pedal is about 25 years old and long out of production ... and still working strong.
This has the standing power of Boss and Ibanex pedals. 100% reliable.

Never needed to contact Guyatone.

First things first: It's a Guyatone pedal NOT a Zoom. This series by Guyatone was called "Zoom .... Box" - to my knowledge they produced Flangers, Chorus, Wah Filters, Compressors, etc - and this Distortion. So we're talking Guyatone.
It's a bit of a rare find and no-one would probably bother looking for this pedal if a certain Dave Evans (aka U2's The Edge) wouldn't have used it for the short period between 1981's 'October' album/tour until the end of the 1983 'War' tour.

If you can get it cheap it's well worth it if you are into the sound of the aforementioned bands. If not - don't bother. This box is very one-dimensional, the polar opposite of a versatile pedal. What it does, it delivers perfectly though.
The only thing I don't like is that the LED is constantly "ON" - hence being a battery life indicator rather than the much more useful "on/off" indicator. But a simple solderjob can change this.
Alternatives are the Vox 'Distortion 1901' (technically 100% identical!). Then there's an extremely limited edition boutique pedal called Z2 by Psionic - a direct clone, with a dedicated U2 styled enclosure. But try a Boss SD1, DS1 or DF2.
Use your ears and the Tone poti. It takes patience but it's possible.