A (Ugly) Hands On Review of Outlaw Effects

In a world that seems to be filled with reissues and clones of everything, we have very little in the way of genuinely new products. While Outlaw Effects may not be exactly breaking new ground, their line includes the standard overdrive, distortion, reverb, delay, and chorus type pedals but, the way they approach each one breaths a little bit of new life into something that we are all very familiar with. Outlaw Effects have also done this with keeping costs very low. I honestly don't know how they make money selling these boxes for what they do. These aren't one trick ponies. They have more features than you'd see on your standard (and larger sized) three-knob-jobs. So, when Outlaw Effects reached out with an offer to review a couple of their effects, I jumped at the chance. Because the only thing I like more than getting to the truth about the gear that we use is to play with new toys!

First Impressions

The pedals come in handsome boxes. Matte black, slick labels, and magnetic closures all seem like something you'd see on a boutique box. However, mine were shipped in a padded mailing envelope that got beat up along the way. The boxes aren't fully sealed and allowed some of the recycled material used as filling in the shipping envelope to coat the pedals. No big deal really, but the smaller knobs are directly mounted on the PCB and have small gaps between them and the case. Again, not a bad thing, you need these gaps so that you can actually turn these knobs, but they don't seem as "sealed" as their bigger brothers. Upon opening the cases, I discovered the same dust from the bag had worked it's way into the pedal. I don't think that will have any effect on the pedals performance, but lets just say that these pedals aren't impervious to the elements.

Upon Closer Inspection

These pedals are manufactured in China. No surprise there. They also seem to share the same case design as many of the other micro pedals on the market. Maybe even from the same manufacturer. I will go on record that the foam rubber pad on the bottom is not to my liking. It doesn't seem like that would facilitate a hook and loop (Velcro-type) strip very well and cleaning that pad off might become somewhat of a chore. Compared to the line of Joyo micro-pedals that come with a nice flat bottom to attach either an (included) 3M hook and loop strip or rubber pad, it would be a nice consideration. (Those Joyo Pedals run 10-20 dollars more than most of Outlaw's offerings.) Not only that, but the screws that secure the bottom plate protrude, so that if you were to remove the foam pad, you may not have a sure fit to your board. These pedals are basically meant to live on a pedal board. Their long and narrow shape do not bode well for them being a stand alone unit. Anyone with a clumsy, or over enthusiastic, foot might twist their ankle on these things. Having said that, I have not attached one of these pedals to my board yet, so we will just have to test them out and see.

Looking Forward

I've received two pedals to test drive: Dead Man's Hand and Five O'Clock Fuzz. I'm looking forward to giving them a thorough run through. The Dead Man's Hand looks to be a Tube Screamer with an extra toggle at the top. It's marked "Aces" and "eight". I'm not a betting man, but I'd wager that it has something to do with leveling out the mid hump. The Five O'clock Fuzz seems to be a pretty straight forward fuzz of the three knob variety. It's difficult to tell without playing, but I hear that it is closely related to the EHX Big Muff. If that is true, then I am going to be rather happy with this pedal. My current fuzz pedal of choice is the Big Muff Pi with tone wicker. The Big Muff sound is iconic fuzz with a little bit of tweak-ability. This could prove to be a home run since a notable downside to the Big Muff is it's size. I'll keep you updated as I clock some time with these pedals. Each one will get a detailed review and maybe some video. I'm very excited about these two.