Biffy Clyro‘s Simon Neil has joined forces with his long-term guitar tech Richard ‘Churd’ Pratt to create his first ever signature guitar pedal.
The ‘BOOOOOM BLAST’ distortion pedal is said to capture the Biffy frontman’s signature sound, but will be limited to just 200 units when it ships on January 31. Fans can get their hands on the pedal from midday today (November 6) here.
In a special touch for Biffy fans, Neill will also sign each item and paint them with a stripe which references the artwork to the band’s most recent album ‘A Celebration of Endings’ – along with a thank you note.
As for the functionality of the pedal, users can expect a series of Biffy themed dials: on the left side it includes ‘Stink’ (to set the gain), the ‘Jaggy’ (to control the tone) and ‘Bang’ (to set the ‘BOOOOOM’ volume).
The pedal on the right (the ‘BLAST’) powers a blistering, out-of-control fuzz. Its settings are ‘Syrup’ (to set its gain) and ‘Stress’ (to set its hair-raising volume).
The limited edition Booooom / Blast pedal, handmade by Simon’s guitar tech Richard Pratt, available on Friday from the official Biffy Clyro online store. Simon and Richard will be guests on this week’s @thatpedalshow this Friday at midday, tune in to hear the pedal in action. pic.twitter.com/jFCwhRnGpC
— Biffy Clyro (@BiffyClyro) November 4, 2020
Neil said: “Creating this pedal has made me miss playing live even more, because I’m desperate to play shows with it. It’ll be a part of my set-up going forward and it’ll be on every recording.
“It’s the pedal that I’ve been looking for most of my life. We’ve taken our time to ensure that it’s everything it can be. It’s been a real labour of love.”
‘Churd’ added: “The aim was to capture Simon’s sound in a box, so anyone can play guitar and sound like him. It was much easier said than done! It’s one of the most transparent loud overdrive pedals on the market.
“With so many distortion pedals you get loads of fuzz and saturation, but with this the guitar still breathes. You still hear all the notes but with the extra weight and overdrive.”
The package is completed with a booklet of introductory notes from the duo, as well as a hard case box featuring the logo from ‘Churd’’s company Gone Fishing Effects, and two exclusive plectrum designs.