Now Broadcasting from Radio Havana

I would like to introduce the latest comrade in the Merlin guitar family: The Radio Havana. This pedal is the damaged transistor-radio sound of the Bolshevik pirate broadcast, heard after midnight behind the boxes where the Russians lurk. It’s lo-fi hi-pass in its most imperfect form. It’s also the latest addition to my FX line-up and just the thing I’ve been looking for for years: a filtered and noisy high-passed sound that accentuates really odd frequencies, making it seem like everything is being played through a can. It’s black noise and it’s right up our alley. I would call it quality dissonance; the distortion, although washed out, produces very clear responsive tones, not really a grind fuzz. I haven’t tested it yet, but I bet it would sound great on vocals too. It’s hand-made in the US, where I bought it last week. More specifically, it’s made by Heavy Electronics in Minneapolis, my new favourite pedal manufacturers. I’m slowly buying their entire lineup.

Prepare yourself for an attack from Radio Havana. This should be fun.