HotBox 130 Rev1
First Edition four-mode reactive attenuator. (8 units)
HotBox 130 Rev2
Changed some internal wiring to use a different switch configuration (10 units)
HotBox 130 Rev3 (Jan 2023)
Moved Bypass switch to other side to simplify construction. Started using brighter pro-printed labels with white ink.
HotBox 130 Rev4 (March 2023)
Front controls now fitted onto a PCB board internally which saves time and improves long-term reliability. Auto-reset fuse added to protect Fine pot from reverse connection.
HotBox 130 Rev5 (August 2023 – Current)
Auto-reset fuse no longer fitted because it seems to suck the clarity out of the Fine mode with some amps.
HotBox 60
The attenuator that started it all. Incredibly simple 10dB reduction.
HotBox 60 Studio
Same size enclosure as the HB60 original but with a line output.
HotBox 60 Pro
A larger enclosure than the original HB60 and with two levels of reduction (10dB and 16dB).
HotBox 60 MkV2
Added bypass in addition to 10dB and 16dB. Used the MkV nomenclature to keep it in line with the HB120 (which was genuinely a version 5 at this time) and because I didn’t like the vagueness of ‘pro’ and ‘studio’ names
HotBox 60i
Inductor version. Very warm sounding. Sold fairly well but the 60-series has always caused a lot of confusion amongst buyers who would buy it hoping for bedroom reduction, which it didn’t do. I was getting very overloaded trying to make three different attenuators (in each of three ohms) at this point too, so I decided to terminate production of this unit. This turned out to be a great decision overall. It freed up the time for me to work on upgrading the HB125i to the HB130, I was less stressed and customer satisfaction with the business as a whole went up because there is now a nice and clear decision between a simple and a complex unit, both of which do bedroom, both of which handle most wattages of amp.
HotBox 30
Low power attenuator, same case as HB60. Only a few ever made.
HotBox 60 4:1
Low reduction attenuator made to order. Very few made
HotBox 120 Mk1
A simple box with a lot of power resistors in. No heatsink and tended to get far too hot with certain amplifiers.
HotBox 120 Mk2
A simple box with a lot of power resistors in. Two levels of reduction (10dB and 20dB). Sold well but bypass often requested. Finding a great heatsink supplier at this point was a game-changer for me. Until now I’d only found preposterous prices and this was the first time I ever tried buying from abroad. It was exciting and scary at the time to be looking beyond UK borders but doing so really opened doors.
HotBox 120 Mk3
Rotated box and introduced a variable mode. No Bypass.
HotBox 120 MkV
Controls mirrored to improve build process. Bypass added.
HotBox 120 MkV2
Changed some values to improve tone and reliability (less power to the variable control).
HotBox 120 Mk5v2 Rev2
A short-lived change where I added a fuse holder to the rear in an attempt to protect the variable control. Nothing wrong with the idea per-se but I absolutely hated the aesthetic so reverted to Rev1 after just 10 units.
HotBox 120 Mk5v2 Rev3
Identical to Rev1 but front label printed with white ink (current design)
HB125
My first inductive (reactive) models. All the rotary switches I could find were low power and my ethos was ruggedness so I wouldn’t use them, instead I opted for a cascade of toggles. This worked really well and the sound of these units was unsurpassed IMHO. There are a few different inductors in these. The very first few came from an English company but the owner was ignorant and rarely bothered answering my emails. I finally decided not to use them anymore when he cancelled my order with just a brief explanation that he didn’t have the parts for those right now and then never answered my enquiries trying to find out when he would have supplies. Instead I found a company then based in Denmark (they’ve since moved manufacturing to Poland) who were half the price, twice the quality and super helpful. And I’ve used them ever since.
Unfortunately, the switches proved to be fairly confusing for a lot of players and I spent a lot of time answering emails about how to use them. I also had a little PCB inside which was tedious to assemble. Eventually I found a source of high-power rotaries, which prompted me to design the HB130 and eliminate that PCB.
HB125i
A slight evolution on the original where I added two inductive modes instead of just one because the original was very warm-sounding and I wanted an in-between sound. I started struggling with teh best way to apply labels and at first had a cut-out. In the end I just moved over to using a scalpel to cut holes after application. We still do that! (July 2023) but I will eventually find a better way.
Solobooster Mk1
A simple passive box with A/B outs and loops in a small folded alu box.
Solobooster Mk2
An active booster with A/B outs, stepped gain, passive EQ and a single loop in a medium folded alu box.
Solobooster Mk3
An active booster with A/B outs, stepped gain, switched active EQ and a single loop in a medium folded alu box.
Solobooster Mk4
An active booster with A/B outs, stepped gain, parametric EQ and a single loop in a medium folded alu box. Hand etched PCB as shown.
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Ninja Booster (SB5)
An active booster with A/B outs, stepped gain, stepped active EQ and a single loop in a yellow octagonal cast box. One ‘white’ prototype also exists which I still own, because I wanted it to be white originally but when the pre-painted chassis arrived it was light-grey and I wasn’t impressed at all with the look.
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Ninja Booster B (SB6)
An active booster with A/B outs, stepped gain, stepped active EQ and a single loop in a yellow rectangular cast box. One made and I never sold it. 🙂
TONE LORD (SB7)
Multi-mode clean booster. My first Kickstarter pedal and the first pedal I consider to be ‘professionally’ made. Script logo. The very first versions have no 3D printed parts and are boards are hard-soldered into the box in a way that makes the whole thing pretty much impossible to dismantle.
TONE LORD (SB7 Block Logo)
As per SB7 original but I switched to a block print logo on the label for later versions and added 3D printed anti-shorting rings to the DC power input and to the jack areas to allow easier assembly and dismantling.
TONE LORD 2 (SB8)
To be kickstartered late 2023
Trident
My second kickstarter and a special request from Bil Irving, long time friend and supporter. The very first versions of these had pretty awful audio transformers in and a CMYK print that I didn’t like. Adequate for guitar but 7 string and bass had the bottom sucked out of them.
Trident V2
I switched to using a pro printer service with white ink and also started using full-frequency range OEP audio transformers because another friend of mine had a surplus. It was night-and-day difference, a lesson learned, and I’ve never looked back. I didn’t change the name because the different versions are easily identified by the white ink print.
Quad Screamer Mk1A
Initial launch QS. Logo is monochromatic and printed in-house with quad trumpets.
Quad Screamer Mk1B (current)
No tonal or component changes. Logo is now full-colour featuring two goblinesque characters that my friend Phil Prendergast drew and I colourised. I still owe him a pedal! I really like them but it turns out they’re a bit of a love-hate thing and I get varied responses from people about them. That’s art though I guess 🙂
ADNA
Overdrive that allowed users to wire in own components. Only a few made. Very hand wired. Was frustrated that I couldn’t sell these easily and probably read far too much into that.
Wraith
Level matching unit to allow parallel blending. Only a few made. Very hand wired.
F258 Drive
Germanium overdrive loosely based on the DOD250. Lovely sound but tended to feedback at maximum gain. Lots of wiring inside and was tedious to assemble. My mate Joe bought the last one I made and loved it.
One of the interesting outcomes of this period was that I started to realise that players didn’t really give a fig about quality of parts and just wanted something easy to use. I wasn’t quite right with that observation but my anger and frustration that I couldn’t sell what I thought (somewhat arrogantly and really quite wrongly) were ‘amazing’ and ‘ground-breaking’ pedals set me on a journey to try and understand what players did want that has done me tremendous good. There’s a huge essay in here but the short story is that I eventually stopped being the stereotypical asshole designer who thinks they know best and forces stupid on everyone like an angry child and started really listening to players and observing how they work and what they are trying to do. End of the day I may run Audiostorm but it’s the players that ‘own’ the brand, and I can’t create something you love if I don’t really, deeply listen to you and work with you. It turns out that my muse isn’t some pretty Greek goddess; it’s a bunch of sweaty, slightly hungover, six, four and eight stringers bashing out riffs under glowing lights. Life eh?
Iron Tyrant Murder Wah
I had this Blues Bawls wah I loved and modded it loads until I found this super-cool deep sound. And at the time TAD in Germany were selling these cheap-but-sturdy unbranded wahs, so I took a chance and bought maybe ten or so to recreate my mods with. The result was epic, but the plain grey looked hideous so I experimented with spikes, checker plate treadles and red blood splashes of paint for a second version. Although I quite liked the outcome it was a lot of work and I still didn’t love the look. I also discovered through this process that I didn’t really enjoy all that painting and messing about with individual units and was far more into the circuits and coming up with clever assembly tricks and automation. I’m all about the robots! Bzzzrt! Bzzzrrrtp! So I sold a few, then just put the whole thing on hold and still have four left in various partial states of construction in a drawer. At some point I’ll definitely make these wah’s again, the sound is unique and to-die for, but I think most likely in a custom chassis some time in the far future because I’ll want to add loads of features and turn it into a mega-project.
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