This week on Guitar Gear Gems, we look at the upcoming Randy Rhoads’s signature Distortion + and two new Audiofab pedals, the Chonky Boi and Elektra Amanto.
MXR Randy Rhoads
The new MXR Randy Rhoads Signature Distortion+ has now been confirmed for release on 20 August. His sister, Kathy Rhoads D’Argenzio, confirmed the pedal on her Instagram account.
Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne’s late lead guitarist, Randy Rhoads, used the Distortion + on his famous ‘chip pan’ pedalboard. Ozzy named the massive pedalboard as it was so noisy, and it had eight switches and nine control knobs.
Polka Dot
It comes in Randy’s black-and-white polka dot finish, and MXR hasn’t revealed much about this signature model’s specifics yet.
We will update you once it is officially released.
Audiofab
Audiofab has announced two new guitar pedals to their lineup: the Chonky Boi distortion and Elektra Amanto flanger. These pedals are meticulously engineered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, to capture the essence of vintage tone while offering modern features and unparalleled performance.
Chonky Boi Distortion Pedal
The Chonky Boi is a distortion powerhouse designed to satisfy the cravings of tone-obsessed guitarists. This op-amp-based pedal delivers a wide spectrum of distortion flavours, from subtle overdrive that gently caresses your amp to earth-shaking distortion.
Bring the Chonk!
The Chonky Boi’s intuitive controls – Chonk (gain), Heft (output level), Purr (high-end cut), and Scratch (three-position switch offering different types of clipping germanium diodes, silicon diodes or LED) – grant players unprecedented command over their sound, enabling them to sculpt tones with surgical precision.
Elektra Amanto Flanger Pedal
Transport yourself to the golden age of psychedelic rock with the Elektra Amanto flanger pedal. Inspired by the legendary “V2” Electric Mistress, this pedal delivers the quintessential ’70s BBD flanger sound with modern enhancements.
From subtle swirling effects to intense jet plane-like sweeps, the Elektra Amanto offers a vast modulation palette.
Modern Updates
The Elektra Amanto boasts true bypass switching, ultra-low noise, and a wide sweep range, ensuring pristine signal integrity and exceptional performance.
Powered by a standard 9-volt power supply, the Elektra Amanto is both accessible and versatile, catering to various playing styles. Its intuitive controls, including Rate, Range, Color, and the Matrix/Flange switch, give guitarists unparalleled flexibility to craft their desired flanger effect.
Therefore, this take on the old EHX Electric Mistress model is more pedalboard-friendly and far easier to power. I own an original Electric Mistress. I love it, but it is massive, noisy (not true bypass) and unwieldy. This modern take could be the solution for more compact pedal setups.
The Audiofab Chonky Boi distortion pedal costs $CA 179, and the Elektra Amanto flanger pedal costs $CA 279.
