DESIGN NOTES
Back on the pedal dive podcast
I was invited back on Hello Sailor Joe's Pedal Dive podcast on Monday, second time round. The first time I was on it was one of the earliest episodes they'd done, so going back over the conversation afterwards was a decent marker for where Hamilton Effects has got to in the last year or so.
Eighteen months isn't very long really, but I did turn up with a much more refined range than I had last time. Here are a few of the things we spoke about.
The boring bit
The hardest, most time consuming and honestly the most boring part of this whole thing is making the same pedal, exactly the same, over and over again. The creative bit is the bit I love. Breadboard, one out, one in, one out, one in, and then that moment where you swap a transistor for a different one and the pedal suddenly does the thing you'd been chasing for a fortnight. Great. And then the job becomes doing that again. And again.
This is a big part of why the Faded range exists. I had an Embers I was happy with and a Twin I was happy with, and rather than sit there building the same two boards forever I set myself a challenge, which was basically how stripped back can I make each of these and have them still be good? So the range runs in pairs now. Core Embers and Faded Embers, Core Twin and Faded Twin. Same voice broadly, but very different amounts of control on offer.
Backing my ears
Joe and I ended up on capacitors for a while, which is the sort of tangent that verges on being a bit too engineering-y for me. What I'd say is I'm not an electrical engineer, I back my ears. Breadboard, swap one out, put one in, listen, keep whichever one sounds right. That's how the Embers got its voice. I was after a low gain, rolled back, textured fuzz rather than a wall of it, so I went through a load of transistors, listening but also measuring hFE and working out which pairs got me what I wanted.
Joe made a good point that goes with this, actually. Once someone tells you what they don't like about a component you start hearing it. He'd had a conversation with another builder about tropical fish caps in Rangemasters, and then went and recorded the same Rangemaster over and over with different caps in it, and afterwards he could hear the thing he'd previously been deaf to.
Why are they so loud?
Someone in the chat noticed that both my pedals and Joe's are loud. Unity at about nine o'clock on the Embers, rather than the usual fuzz face routine of cranking the volume just to break even.
Some of that is that I design through my HX Stomp rig, which is also the rig you'll have played my pedals through if you've found me at a show. Usually I set a modeller up with the master volume on the amp model itself all the way up and then never think about it again, and then you plug the same pedal into a Hot Rod Deluxe and the jump is way more obvious than you expected. I'd like to think it's some clever output processing in the Stomp, recreating the amp itself hitting it’s ceiling and not having any more headroom (which in reality would be crazy loud), but I don’t really know.
Mostly though it's deliberate. I'd much rather have more in the tank and turn it down than have it full whack and be sat there going, I just can't. It helps things blend, too. If you're going into an amp with loads of headroom, everything you put in front of the pedal is clipping the pedal and doing precisely nothing to the amp, which is chilling out over there waiting to clip. Level is what pulls it all together.
It was never really a boost
Which is also why I dropped Boost from the Twin's name this year. Calling it a boost puts people off and it isn't really one, it's a gainstaging pedal. Two very simple circuits, series or parallel, gain control on one and a bias on the other, and depending how you set them against each other you're anywhere from clean boost to overdrive to a two transistor fuzz.
Thanks to Joe and Martin for having me back. If you want to keep an eye on any of the above it'll turn up at hamiltoneffects.com and on the YouTube channel, which is coming off its summer break.
Content #1 - 24/8/26
This is the first one of these, so I thought I'd do a bit of an explanation. I want to get into a habit of putting stuff out regularly, and this is the easiest thing I can enjoy making: film a normal day, edit it together, play a single take of some guitar over the top instead of talking over it. Nothing planned or glamorous, but hopefully a chilled watch. Today was nursery drop off, walking Shep, breakfast with that pedal show, teaching a piano lesson then a guitar lesson, repairing a well loved and very well used Twin Boost for a local customer, some admin, cutting nut slots in a bone nut, a drum lesson (learning not teaching!), then getting interviewed on the Pedal Dive podcast by Hallo Sailor Joe. Guitar tone throughout by Hamilton Effects. More of these whenever there's a day worth filming (and often when there's not)
The realities of running a small guitar pedal company (18 months in)
I nearly made this as an apology - “sorry for the lack of content”, “sorry I haven't posted much lately”, that sort of thing, but I stopped and thought, who would I be apologising to?! So here's just an honest look at what a week running Hamilton Effects actually looks like right now, 18 months in.
Friday is pedal day (in theory)
For the last year and a half, Friday has been the day I set aside for pedal work, but it had been a while since a Friday was actually free for that! This one started with tidying the mess in the lounge while I waited for a customer to drop off his guitar, then straight into a list that had been building up for a while.
On the bench for the day: two Faded Embers to finish, a stock take ahead of the Brighton Guitar Show, and a rewire on an American Pro II Telecaster. That one has a customer swapping their push push switch for an S1 switch, upgrading the volume pot to a CTS pot, and having the control plate rotated so the layout runs tone, then pickup toggle, instead of the usual order - classic Tele stuff.
There was also an pedal mod to get to - I stopped doing mods on older pedals about a year ago, but someone played one at another job, liked it, and asked if I would build them one, so that’s on the list too.
Most of what I do is not building pedals
A big part of my week is guitar setups, repairs, and mods, alongside a genuinely interesting side project at the moment. A local musician has a tone in his head that he has not quite been able to reach, and we have been working through amps, (which ultimately will end up with some sort of a Quad Cortex capture), and a Stomp setup to try and get him there. He wants the same sound at home as he gets gigging, captured from his three amp rig. It has been a fun problem to help solve, and it is exactly the kind of work that does not show up on the Hamilton Effects shop page but takes up a good chunk of my time.
New pedal designs, projects sitting on the back burner, all the things I keep saying I want to get to, mostly have not happened yet. Not because they are not important to me, but because this is how the business runs at the moment.
Where the time actually goes
The honest answer is teaching - when I started Hamilton Effects, teaching was what let me start it at all, because it is regular income. I began with four full days a week through a teaching agency, working in schools during the day and then private lessons at students' houses in the evenings.
Over the past year and a half that balance has been shifting. More of my time now is pivoting to my own private teaching schedule rather than agency work, partly because it is closer to home, and partly because I keep more of what I earn when I am not giving a cut to someone else's admin. I have also picked up some different kinds of teaching, including leading a school worship band, which has been good fun.
A typical week currently looks something like this. Monday started with piano lessons at a school, then a buffer of a couple of hours for admin, emails, and increasingly, speculative enquiries asking if I can quote for a piece of guitar work. Then a second school, a couple of after school lessons, and in the evening a guitar dropped off for a setup and a fret polish.
Tuesday is a full school day followed by more of that buffer time, which this week went on restringing and conditioning a fretboard, then a late lesson at a student's house. Wednesday is my long teaching day, stacked back to back. Thursday is similar, with the buffer time going on finishing off a Squier Strat setup. Then Friday, pedal day!
As I head into the summer holidays, that changes - term time teaching drops away for a while, which means more hours for the things that have been waiting.
Redressing the balance
If you are readinng that weekly schedule and thinking this sounds like a video about a pedal company that is actually about a full time music teacher, you are not wrong. Teaching pays the bills. It is term time only, 39 weeks of the year, which is exactly why the summer holidays matter so much for pedal work. Pedals alone, at this point, would not cover the mortgage.
That is the reality of where Hamilton Effects is right now. Guitar servicing and the more regular work builds the foundation, and the pedals are what I am building on top of it. Redressing the balance means finding the line between doing enough paid, reliable work to support the family, and protecting enough time for the creative work that does not guarantee an income, at least not immediately. Designing pedals, making content, and other passion projects all fall into that second category.
Not everything in that second category is pedals either. The other week I recorded and will be mixing a couple of pieces for string quartet and piano that a friend had written, which was a nice change of pace and exactly the kind of thing I mean by creative work that will not pay much but is worth doing anyway.
The bit I am least confident with
If I am honest about where my process could improve, there is a real gap between designing a pedal and actually manufacturing it, and that gap is where I am weakest.
I love the design side. Finding tones, conceptualising ideas, prototyping, A B testing, the graphic design work that goes with a new pedal, all of that I genuinely enjoy. Design for manufacture is the part I am least confident with, and it consistently takes me the longest. Even now, I end up spending more time than I should troubleshooting the same design problems over and over.
Part of that is because, aside from the Faded range, my circuits are not simple. Embers is not just a fuzz. There is a pickup simulator in there, an underdrive control with its own bypass, a clean low end blend, an output buffer, and a treble cut. Faded Embers is a much simpler underdriven fuzz design, closer to where Embers started. The Twin has its own complexity too, with switching between series and parallel, plus a treble cut and attenuation. Those are the areas that consistently need the most work.
So I am starting to think about finding someone to help with that side specifically. Taking my current designs as they are and doing the design for manufacture work to make the build process quicker and more efficient. Ideally someone from the audio world, or at least willing to put up with someone who has fairly particular and occasionally complicated ideas about routing and switching. If that sounds like you, or you know someone who might enjoy it, I would love to hear from you.
The workshop problem
One practical thing I would like to sort out is space. I work from home, and my dining table doubles as the workshop. The top comes off and all my soldering and pedal building equipment lives underneath it. It works, for now, but a proper workshop would make a real difference, mostly to how easily I can keep track of what stock I actually have. Without a dedicated space, everything gets put away after each session and pulled back out again next time, which makes it surprisingly easy to lose track of inventory. This week that meant running out of power jack sockets partway through finishing a Faded Embers.
Why I am sticking with it
Despite all of that, I like the variety. I enjoy the guitar setups, the repairs, the mods, the teaching, the pedal building, all of it, even if the pedal market right now is a saturated one. I enjoy the creativity and the community around building pedals, and that is reason enough to keep going.
Thanks for reading, and if you watched the video too, thanks for sticking with it. It was not the usual pedal demo or design breakdown, more just an honest look at what 18 months into Hamilton Effects actually looks like week to week.
If you want to keep up with new pedals, stock, and whatever comes out of the extra time this summer should bring, head over to hamiltoneffects.com. That is where you can browse the pedals, read more design notes, and get in touch. I will also be at the Brighton Guitar Show on the 18th of July, so come and say hello if you are around.
Embers vs Faded Embers
Do you prefer pedals with lots of options, lots of tweakability? Or do you prefer smaller boxes with fewer things?
That's the question behind this video. I wanted to play Embers and Faded Embers side by side and actually compare them properly, rather than just talking about the differences on paper.
The two pedals
Embers is the full version. It's got Gain, Volume, a Body control that blends in clean low end, a Treble Cut, and a Bias control, plus a second footswitch that brings in the fuller, classic fuzz voice of whatever you've dialled in. It's also got a built in pickup simulator, so it can sit anywhere on a pedalboard without losing its feel.
Faded Embers is the stripped back version. Same identity, fewer controls. Just Gain and Volume, plus a Bias toggle with two positions, one more open and stable, the other more compressed and characterful.
So when would you reach for the pedal with more to dial in, and when would the simpler one make more sense?
The guitar
I used my Telecaster for this one, a parts caster build that started life as a Harley Benton. Basswood body, maple neck, rosewood board as far as I remember. I painted it blue when I first got it, then oversprayed it black once it picked up a few dings, so there's still a bit of that two colour thing going on if you look closely.
I've swapped out most of the hardware over the years. Ben Fletcher pickups, his dynosonic in the neck and a staggered pole piece, hotter pickup in the bridge to balance things out, plus brass saddles, a bone nut and new tuners. Upgraded the electronics too. I'm really happy with it, though I do think one day I'll swap the body for something a bit more Fender-y. Playing Pete's lovely Golden Era Guitars Telecaster recently definitely planted that idea.
I used to play my Gretsch as my main guitar, but after lockdown, doing more electric playing and singing together at church, I found the Tele sat out of the way of my vocals a lot better. The Gretsch lived in a similar space to my voice and felt a bit muddier in that context, whereas the Tele is more scooped.
Starting with Faded Embers
I went into Faded Embers first, since it doesn't have a pickup simulator. Like most vintage style fuzzes, it wants to go first in the chain. Volume and gain up, bias toggle over to the left.
One thing worth knowing, as you move into the more starved, compressed bias setting, the output volume drops a bit. So on that gated, biasy side it actually makes more sense to run the volume higher. On the more open bias setting, it sits nicely with the volume somewhere more moderate, which leaves you room to push it as a boost if you want.
This is the kind of fuzz I can't help but throw riffs at. And winding the gain back, I really like it as that slightly broken, affected, usable tone. Feels like that's very much the trend at the moment, sounds that sit right on the edge of falling apart, and I'm into that.
Then trying to match it on Embers
Next I tried to land on a similar sound using Embers. I left Treble Cut and Body off for now, set the bias low towards the more starved end, and put the gain around the middle.
Embers has a wider bias range than Faded Embers, and even with similar settings, the gain runs hotter overall. The circuit is genuinely different inside, so the comparison only goes so far. Gain at the same knob position on each pedal won't give you the same result, it's just a different circuit. Embers also has that pickup simulator built in along with Body and Treble Cut, so there's a lot more shaping available.
With Body all the way down you lose some low end, but bringing it back in restores some of that clean, unfuzzed low end underneath, which is a nice option to have.
Flicking to the other bias setting and pushing gain up gets into more classic fuzz territory. With gain maxed, that's where the second footswitch comes in, bringing in the fuller silicon fuzz voice on top. The advantage with Embers is that wherever you land your high gain sound, you can always bring the gain knob back down afterwards and get a low gain tone using the same basic settings.
Textures and how interactive it is
Bringing the gain down on Embers gets you into a textured, blown out preamp sound, like running straight into an old analog desk. On the other bias setting, that same low gain sound works really nicely pushed into more gain, almost gating up an overdrive sound. It keeps the identity of the overdrive but adds that gated character on top. Some really nice low, preampy textures hiding in there.
Pushing the bias all the way up smooths out a lot of that spitty character, which opens up a different use, more like a textured boost by bringing in extra low end through Body.
Honestly, Embers is a very interactive pedal. Change the bias or gain and you'll often want to go back and adjust Body and Treble Cut too. With gain and bias both low, you get a lot of that filtered, woofy low end coming through, so it's really about balancing gain against bias rather than setting them separately. Want that really low bias sound? You'll need to push gain up to compensate. Want more low end in there? The bias usually needs to sit a bit higher. Everything talks to everything else.
If I'm honest, sitting most things around 12 o'clock is probably my favourite spot on Embers.
So which one
If I just wanted a fuzz effect, quick and simple, I'd reach for Faded Embers. Flick the switch and you've got three things to kneel down and adjust, and that's it.
If I had the pedalboard space and wanted access to a wider range of tones, from that low gain fuzz feel through to preampy, edge of breakup territory, I'd go for Embers.
Thanks for reading and watching. If you liked the video, please like and subscribe, I just passed 100 subscribers, which I'm really pleased about, but there are still loads of people watching who aren't subscribed yet, so it genuinely helps.
And if you liked the sound of either pedal, head over to the shop, I've got some in stock at the moment.
Faded Twin vs Core Twin: what’s the difference?
The Twin was the first pedal I released as Hamilton Effects, originally designed on paternity leave with my twins. This latest version has been redesigned into two versions: the simpler Faded Twin and the more flexible Core Twin.
Both are based around the same idea: two transistor boost stages that can be used separately, stacked in series, or blended in parallel.
The Faded Twin keeps the main sound and feel, but strips the controls back. The gain and bias are fixed internally, and the routing is simplified to parallel or boost one into boost two. It’s smaller, more immediate, and has the worn-in Faded finish that will age more like an old guitar.
The Core Twin gives you more control. You can adjust gain and bias, choose the routing direction, use the two sides in parallel, cut presence, and attenuate the output. That means you can set one side clean and the other more compressed, gated or fuzzy, or stack them in either order for very different responses.
In parallel mode, the Twin can keep clarity while adding thickness and texture. In series mode, one side pushes the other, giving anything from clean boost to compressed drive, fuzzy saturation or spluttery bias sounds.
Faded Twin gives you the core idea in a simpler format. Core Twin gives you the full version with more control over feel, gain, compression and routing.
Fixing a Rattle in My Gibson J-45 + My Current Acoustic Pedalboard Setup
My Gibson J-45 has been my main working guitar for years - I bought it in 2019 when I was playing a lot of acoustic guitar at church and needed something that sounded good through in-ears.
It has an LR Baggs Anthem pickup system installed, which blends an undersaddle pickup with an internal microphone. For the kind of playing I was doing (acoustic guitar straight into a PA, hearing it through in-ear monitors) that setup made a lot of sense. It gives you more of the sound of the guitar than a straight piezo sound, but keeps things controllable on stage.
Recently I noticed a bit of a popping sound when I moved the guitar around. It sounded like it was coming from inside the guitar, and because the Anthem system has a microphone mounted under the bridge area, I wondered if something around the pickup or wiring had come loose.
So I took the strings off, had a look inside, gave the guitar a clean, restrung it, and then ran through the acoustic pedalboard setup I’ve been using recently.
Finding the rattle
The first job was simply to check whether anything felt loose. The pickup itself seemed secure, and nothing obvious was moving around near the bridge. But I could hear something shifting inside the body, which made me think it was more likely to be loose wiring than a problem with the actual pickup.
After looking inside with a torch, the issue seemed to be a cable running towards the battery pack. It looked like it had either moved out of place or got caught in a way that allowed it to knock against the body when the guitar moved. Once that cable was tucked back properly, the rattle disappeared.
A nice simple fix in the end, no major repair needed, just a bit of careful checking inside the body.
Quick clean and fingerboard care
With the strings already off, it made sense to give the guitar a basic clean. I wiped the body down with a cloth that was just slightly damp just enough to lift off the usual marks and grime.
You can always tell a guitar that’s been used by a singer. The top of the body tends to collect a few marks from actually being played and sung over. Slightly disgusting, but also a sign of an instrument in use!
For the fingerboard and bridge, I used Monty’s Instrument Food. The J-45 has a rosewood board and bridge, so I like to give both a bit of attention whenever the strings are off.
I also like getting a tiny amount into the nut slots, just to help keep things moving smoothly.
The guitar is starting to show some fairly serious fret wear, especially around the third and fourth frets, pretty much where you’d expect on an acoustic that’s had a lot of use. At some point it’ll probably need a refret, but for now it’s alright.
Restringing the J-45
For strings, I’m currently using phosphor bronze 12–53s.
I have considered going down to 11s, mainly because I’ve been playing electric guitar more often with 11s tuned down to D standard. Going back and forth between that and an acoustic with 12s is definitely noticeable. But for now, I’ve stuck with 12s. They still feel right on this guitar, and the J-45 scale length handles them well.
When restringing, I do a little bend at the ball end before putting the string through the bridge. It helps the string sit in place before the bridge pin goes in. Once it’s under tension, the pin is really just there to stop anything embarrassing happening. At the tuner end, I usually leave about three fingers’ worth of slack, feed the string through, pull it back, bend it over, and wind up from there.
I don’t use a string winder most of the time. I know it’s slower, but I like feeling the tension come up as I tune the guitar. If I were doing loads of guitars a day in a shop, I’d probably feel differently, but for my own instruments and repair work, I quite like the control of doing it by hand.
Once everything was tuned up and clipped, the guitar was looking a lot better.
The LR Baggs Anthem setup
On the guitar itself, I tend to run the LR Baggs Anthem with the microphone dialled fully in and the volume all the way up.
The Anthem system is useful because even with the mic blend turned up, it still retains the low-end solidity of the undersaddle pickup - the system keeps the low frequencies from the piezo, which helps avoid stage rumble through the microphone.
My current acoustic pedalboard setup
After the setup, I ran through the acoustic rig I’ve been using recently.
It’s not wildly complicated, but I do use pedals with acoustic guitar in a similar way to electric guitar: not necessarily to make it sound extreme, but to keep things inspiring and give me a few different textures.
The basic idea is:
clean acoustic tone from the J-45
some compression/boost for lead parts
dotted eighth delay with filtering
occasional mid-push or preamp from overdrive-style pedals
big reverb/pad sounds for transitions and atmosphere
Hamilton Effects Embers used more like an acoustic preamp is my go-to at the moment
HX Stomp: compression, delay and tone shaping
In the HX Stomp, I’m using a compressor that is really more of a lead boost than a heavy compressor. It gives the acoustic a bit more level and presence when I need something to lift.
I’ve also got a dotted eighth delay set up using the Simple Delay, with high and low cuts to keep it sitting in the right place. There’s also a Tube Screamer-style model involved, not really for obvious overdrive, but more as tone shaping on the delay path only.
I’m also using the Studio Tube Preamp model to add a bit of polish to the acoustic sound. Not a dramatic effect, but enough to make the direct sound feel a little more finished.
Overdrive pedals with acoustic guitar
At the front end of the board, I had a Tube Screamer and a Blues Driver-style pedal on there, partly because I’d also been using the same rig with my Casino. With acoustic guitar, I’m not really using overdrive as “overdrive”. It’s more about tone shaping. A Blues Driver-style pedal can give a bit of a mid push, which can help the acoustic poke through. It’s not necessarily something I’d leave on all the time, but it can be useful as a different colour.
This is also where the Hamilton Effects Embers comes in.
Using Embers as an acoustic preamp
Embers is obviously a fuzz-based pedal, but one of the things I like about it is that it can work more like a preamp or tone-shaping stage when the gain is kept under control.
On acoustic, I wouldn’t use it as a full fuzz sound. That’s not really what I’m after. But with the bias set higher and the gain in a more controlled range, it can scoop out some of the low mids and shape the acoustic in a really useful way. It feels like it’s doing something around that perhaps boxy 200Hz area, helping the guitar sit better without making it sound thin.
As the gain comes up, it starts to bring in a bit more midrange and compression under the fingers. It feels more responsive and slightly more pushed, but still usable as an acoustic preamp rather than an obvious effect.
That’s the thing I’m enjoying about it: it gives the acoustic a different feel, not just a different EQ curve.
Big reverb and pad sounds
The other big part of this rig is reverb. I’ve been using a Boss RV-500 for large hall reverbs and pad-like sounds. One of the really useful things is the hold function. You can hit the hold button at different points in the reverb tail, which gives you different kinds of pad textures.
If you press it straight after a strum, you get a bigger, more immediate pad. If you wait slightly longer into the tail, you get something softer and less defined.
That has become a big part of how I’m using acoustic guitar live. It helps with transitions between songs, especially in more atmospheric sets where you don’t necessarily want silence between sections.
I also have a duplicate patch with a bit more low-pass filtering, in case the reverb is getting too bright or splashy.
Final thoughts
This ended up being a bit of a mixed job: part repair, part restring, part rig rundown.
The actual issue with the J-45 was thankfully simple, a loose cable inside the body rather than a problem with the pickup itself. After a clean, some fingerboard care and a fresh set of strings, it was back to feeling like a proper working guitar again.
The acoustic rig is still evolving, but I’m enjoying using pedals with acoustic in a way that feels musical rather than excessive. Compression, filtered delay, big reverbs, and subtle preamp-style drive can make an acoustic guitar feel much more inspiring without taking away what the guitar naturally does.
And Embers has been a pleasant surprise in that setup. Not as a fuzz, but as a tone-shaping preamp that can tighten the low mids, add a bit of feel, and help the acoustic sit in a more interesting place.
If you use pedals with acoustic guitar, I’d be interested to know what your go-to sounds are - subtle tone shaping, big ambient reverbs, delay, drive, or something else entirely.
Pedalboard Runthrough - May 2026
After four new pedal releases in the space of a few weeks, I thought it would be interesting to do something slightly different and run through the pedalboard I’m actually using at the moment.
Firstly, thank you to everyone who’s picked up one of the new Core or Faded pedals, the updated versions of Embers and Twin. Seeing people connect with these in real-world setups is really cool.
This board is constantly changing. I think a lot of guitar players are probably the same, pedalboards get rebuilt, rearranged, simplified, expanded, then simplified again. Mine especially shifts around because a lot of my playing happens either in church environments where you end up needing to cover a huge range of sounds while still keeping things musical and practical, or in recording sessions, or in tiny venues which I have to get the train to, or are acoustic rigs!
At the moment, this setup is designed around an in-ear rig where I was playing lead guitar in a full band. Everything runs through the HX Stomp, which is also how I record most of the sounds you hear on the YouTube channel.
For this setup I’m using my Casino, now fitted with a set of Mojo Pickups. This was the first time I’d played it live with these pickups and I came away really pleased with how they sat in the mix. They still feel open and dynamic, but with a bit more depth and clarity than the stock setup.
Signal Chain Overview
The chain currently looks something like this:
Hotone Soul Press 2
Hamilton Effects Embers
Tube Screamer
Hamilton Effects Faded Twin
Boss Blues Driver
J Rockett SOS buffer
HX Stomp
Boss DD-500
Boss RV-500
The DD-500 and RV-500 are both running in the HX Stomp’s stereo effects loop.
From there, everything runs direct to FOH.
Soul Press 2
I’m using the Soul Press 2 mainly in volume/wah mode. I didn’t actually use the wah much, but I really like having the volume control underfoot.
Embers as a Texture Drive
The Embers on this board isn’t being used as a huge fuzz sound most of the time. Instead, it’s functioning more like a textural gain stage that adds character, harmonic texture and grit when stacked with other drives.
Because Embers has the built-in pickup simulator, it works perfectly happily after buffered pedals, which makes it much easier to integrate into whatever rig.
Current settings were roughly:
Cut: around 2 o’clock
Body: around 2:30
Bias and Gain: around midday
Volume: fairly high
I wasn’t using the full fuzz mode much live, but when stacked into the Twin and Blues Driver it creates a really expressive, slightly ragged edge that still stays dynamic.
Faded Twin + Blues Driver
The core of this board’s gain sound is actually the combination of the Faded Twin and a Blues Driver. The Blues Driver has basically been “always on” for most of my guitar-playing life. There’s just something about the feel and slight grit it adds that feels like home to me at this point.
The Faded Twin is running in parallel mode with both controls around noon. That setup gives a really dynamic push into the amp model without collapsing everything into compression. With just the Twin engaged, the sound stays clean but fuller and more responsive. Add the Blues Driver and things become richer and slightly more aggressive without losing articulation.
That’s the kind of gain structure I naturally gravitate towards - dynamic, touch-sensitive and stackable.
J Rockett SOS Buffer
I don’t need another buffer on this board because there are already buffered pedals earlier in the chain, but the SOS stays is because of the top-end presence control. I have that set fairly high and it adds just enough clarity and upper harmonic detail to help everything feel more immediate without becoming harsh.
HX Stomp Setup
The HX Stomp is handling amps, utility effects and routing.
Most of the time I’d normally run dual amps hard-panned stereo, but at the moment I’m using a more mono-focused amp setup while still keeping stereo delays and reverbs through the external loop. The base amp sound here is essentially an AC30-style patch.
Within the HX Stomp I’m also using:
Poly Capo octave-up for lead parts
Optical tremolo synced via MIDI tap tempo
Retro Reel for tape-style movement and texture
Harmonic tremolo for subtle motion
DD-500 Delays
The DD-500 is handling all of the delay sounds on the board. One of my go-to sounds is a stereo dotted eighth setup where the left and right sides are intentionally slightly different - different modulation, different repeat feel, slightly different movement.
I think this comes from the same instinct that makes me enjoy dual-amp setups. I like subtle variation between left and right rather than perfectly mirrored stereo.
Other delay sounds include:
Vintage digital-style dotted eighth delays
Warm analogue-style quarter/eighth combinations
Reverse and oscillating ambient textures
Longer rhythmic delays for atmospheric sections
The DD-500 still feels incredibly flexible for this kind of thing, especially when building stereo patches that stay musical rather than overly polished.
RV-500 Reverbs
The RV-500 is handling all the ambient and reverb sounds. My current favourite setup is actually fairly unconventional - a reverse-style reverb running into a dark plate reverb. The reverse reverb gives space without producing massive obvious tails, so it almost behaves more like a gated ambience than a traditional wash. Then the darker plate behind it fills things out without becoming distracting.
Reverb Hold & Ambient Playing
One thing that’s becoming a much bigger part of how I play is reverb hold and freeze-style textures. I use them a lot at home, but increasingly I’m bringing those ambient elements into live playing as well. Not in a huge cinematic way, more as a way of adding movement, tension and atmosphere underneath normal guitar parts.
How two gain stages interact
The Twin is a dual gain-stage pedal built around interaction. There are two independent boost/drive stages, and the point is how they shape each other when you combine them.
Each side can be used on its own, stacked in either direction, or run in parallel.
Two stages, three ways to use them
Series (1 → 2 or 2 → 1)
You can choose which stage hits the other first. That changes both feel and tone:
1 into 2
A cleaner, higher-headroom boost going into the bias stage. Engaging the second stage lowers the “rails” and introduces clipping, compression, and fuzz-like textures.2 into 1
Set up a spluttery, gated sound first using the bias control, then use the second stage to add level, smooth the edges, or bring back some body.
In series, the first stage sets the gain structure. The second stage shapes the final output, volume, clipping, and overall character.
Parallel
Both stages run alongside each other and are blended together.
This is where it opens up:
Keep clarity and dynamics from the cleaner stage
Blend in texture, compression, or grit from the bias stage
Works well for lead tones where you want presence without losing definition
You can treat one side as your core tone and use the other as a layer.
The two stages
Boost 1 = Gain
A more traditional gain control. Works as:
Clean lift
Low-gain drive
Second stage into an already driven amp or pedal
Boost 2 = Bias
Instead of gain, this stage uses a bias control:
Bias up → cleaner, more open
Bias down → reduced transistor voltage → clipped, gated, spluttery, compressed sounds
This is where most of the character comes from.
Using them together
Individually, each side can be subtle, a lift or a bit of drive.
Combined, they start to do something more interesting:
Series gives you saturation, compression, and harmonic density
Parallel gives you contrast, clarity alongside grit
A practical example:
Set a dynamic, slightly driven tone in series that stays clean when you play lightly and compresses as you dig in
Or run parallel with a driven tone on one side and just enough bias texture blended in on the other
Controls for shaping
Attenuate switch
Both sides are boosts by nature. The attenuator pulls the overall level down so you can use the pedal more as a tone shaper rather than a high-headroom boost.
Treble / presence cut
A simple top-end roll-off to tame brightness and round out the sound when needed.
Feel
The Twin is less about max gain and more about response:
Light playing stays open and clear
Digging in brings compression and drive
The interaction between stages changes how it reacts under your hands
HFX Core
Purchasing a Core pedal (Twin or Embers) includes 12 months of HFX Core:
10% off all Hamilton Effects pedals
Early access to new releases
Design notes and occasional artefacts (sketches, sounds, ideas)
Optional involvement in future designs
The Twin is available now at hamiltoneffects.com.
Core Embers Now Available
The Embers low gain fuzz preamp is now available.
Core Embers is the first release in the Core line of Hamilton Effects pedals. It’s a fuzz designed around clarity.
I’ve always loved that sound when you roll your guitar volume down on a fuzz - the top-end sparkle you get and all those in-between settings where it becomes crunchy and dynamic but still keeps that added boost, sustain and clarity that fuzz can bring - that was the original idea.
After building the original version and releasing it just over a year ago, I spent time playing it and found a few ways I wanted to improve it. That’s how we got to where we are now.
Pickup Simulator
Core Embers features a built-in pickup simulator, so the vintage-style fuzz circuit that follows can go anywhere on your pedalboard. Traditional fuzz circuits are often fussy and want to “see” the impedance of your guitar pickups first in line. With the pickup simulator built in, Embers doesn’t need that.
Gain Control / Underdrive
Core Embers has Volume and Gain controls, as found on Faded Embers. The Gain control adjusts the input level going into the fuzz circuit. As you wind it back, it behaves in a similar way to rolling down your guitar volume. There’s also a secondary footswitch on Core Embers which bypasses that control and gives you the full fuzz gain instantly.
Bias Control - Clarity to Gate
Core Embers has a variable Bias control, so with the Bias turned up, the transistors receive the voltage they want to stay clean, clear, and open sounding, but ss you dial it back, more texture comes in. Turned all the way down, you’re starving the transistors and it moves into that velcro-style gated sound.
Body Control - Clean Low-End Blend
One of the most unique parts of Embers is how it interacts with your tone. The Body control takes your clean input signal and filters it so only the low-end content remains. That can then be blended back in with the fuzz signal. The result is retained low-end clarity without the harshness you’d often get from blending a full clean signal with fuzz. It works especially well on bass guitar, and also works really nicely on acoustic guitar.
Cut Control - Treble Taming
The Treble Cut control helps tame harsh top-end frequencies. This is especially useful into certain amps, particularly higher-headroom designs, though it depends on your setup and taste - the more you dial it in, the more treble and presence are reduced.
HFX Core
When you buy a Hamilton Effects Core pedal, you can register it for HFX Core.
HFX Core lasts for a year and includes a few different things:
Discounts on future Core pedal purchases
Early access to new releases
Input into future ideas and designs
Occasional direct updates and creative extras
It gives me a way to stay connected with the people who support Hamilton Effects, and a place to share ideas with people I know will care about them.
When you get your Core pedal, head to the website, find HFX Core, and register it.
Small Batch Build
As with all Hamilton Effects pedals, these are made in small batches, and I only have a few available.
A couple of weeks in
It’s been a couple of weeks since the release of the Faded Embers then the Faded Twin.
Releasing something new always comes with a bit of exposure. After spending a long time designing, troubleshooting, refining, making and tweaking, then it leaves the bench and becomes something people can use. I find that shift is pretty uncomfortable, even when I’m really happy with where they’ve landed.
I imagine most people reading this, being musicians and creatives, will recognise that feeling in some form. Making something and putting it out there always carries a question of whether it will actually resonate.
Why the Faded pedals
The Faded pedals started as a practical exercise really.
I wanted to see what the minimum version of these ideas could be without losing the parts that actually matter. Smaller enclosures, fewer controls, simpler builds, and a price that makes them easier to pick up without needing to overthink it. There’s also a reality to it in that selling more pedals at a lower price might be more viable than making a small number of expensive ones, so I wanted to explore that properly really.
With the Embers, that still centres around a low-gain, bias-y fuzz circuit that can move up into full fuzz, but most of what I find I actually use sits in that lower range or stacked with overdrives. With the Twin, it’s still two gain stages that can run in series or parallel, just reduced to the essentials which make it such a versatile, dynamic gain-staging pedal.
Where I’m coming from
I’m not particularly interested in the component side of things beyond what’s necessary to get the result - NOS never really interested me, nor did fancy laid out wiring (other than the fact it’s cool to look at).
I’ve always liked good guitar tones and what I’m doing is just trying to get closer to the kinds of sounds I actually enjoy hearing and using, to make pedals that hold up in that context, and which feel like something I (and those musicians I look up to) would want to play.
Why Hamilton Effects
Hamilton Effects started during a time where I needed something to get stuck into. It gave me something practical to work on and something that felt like it was moving somewhere. It’s still that, but now it’s a bit simpler - I want to keep making things that are worth using, and I want it to grow enough that I can spend more time doing it and push further in my creativity.
A small note
There are still a few of the Faded pedals available and if they go I’ll restock them.
Thanks everyone,
James
Hamilton Effects
Faded Twin
The Twin is a dual gain stage drive pedal.
It’s built around two boost circuits, with the option to run them in series or in parallel.
The Faded Twin
I designed the original Twin Boost when I was on paternity leave with my twins. Since then I’ve spent a lot of time refining the components and evolving the idea.
The Faded Twin is a more accessible version of that. It’s simpler to dial in, with:
Two knobs, a volume for each of the two internal boost circuits
One toggle, switching between series and parallel
Series
In series, Boost 1 runs into Boost 2. Boost 1 controls how much gain you’re feeding into the circuit, and Boost 2 controls the overall level and how much it starts to break up.
As you push Boost 1, you’re effectively driving Boost 2 harder. That’s where it starts to take on more saturation and compression.
The Two Boosts
The two circuits are voiced slightly differently. Boost 1 is first in the signal chain. It’s cleaner, and mostly stays clean unless you’re hitting it with really hot pickups. It’s also quite loud.
Boost 2 sits second and has more of a bias driven, gritty character.
Because of that, when Boost 1 is pushed into Boost 2, it can start to break up in a way that’s closer to a fuzz response. Vintage two transistor fuzzes often shape their character around that second stage, and you can get some of that same gated or spitty edge here if you push it.
Parallel
With the toggle the other way, the two boosts run in parallel. This lets you keep the clarity, top end, and attack from Boost 1, while blending in the grit, compression, and character from Boost 2.
That works well for rhythm parts where you want something that cuts through but still has a bit of weight behind it.
It’s also useful running into another gain stage, something more compressed, where you want to keep the clean attack but still bring in some texture.
In Use
The Twin works well as a lift for a solo sound, either staying fairly clean or bringing in some of that bias driven texture.
It also works well pushing into another overdrive or into an already driven amp. You can treat it like an extra gain stage, but with a bit more control over how that gain feels.
Faded Finish
Like the Embers, this comes in the Faded finish.
A burst of spray from the lower edge that fades upward, designed to wear over time and pick up its own character with use.
Faded Embers
Faded Embers
The Embers has always been a fuzz designed to be clear. Something that works really nicely at low gain, and sits closer to a preamp than a traditional fuzz when you want it to.
The original version had an underdrive toggle, which gave you that rolled-back clean-up feel on a footswitch. But over the last few months, as I’ve been reworking everything, that idea has been refined into something simpler.
This is the Faded Embers.
A simpler approach
Faded Embers strips things back to what actually matters.
There are just three controls: Volume, Gain, and Bias.
The gain sweep runs from clean, glassy, almost preamp-like sounds, all the way through to a full fuzz. It covers a wide range, but in a more direct way.
How it behaves
One of the things I’ve always liked about the Embers is how it stacks.
Running it before overdrives works really well. You can set your main drive sound, then bring in a bit of that bias-driven texture on top. Keeping the gain lower means it doesn’t oversaturate, but you still get the character of the fuzz.
It also works well on its own for adding texture to clean tones.
If you’ve got a clean amp sound that feels a bit too clean or sterile, setting the gain low on Embers adds a bit of grit and movement without taking over.
Bias
The bias control is a big part of that.
It shifts the feel of the circuit, introducing more texture and slightly unusual behaviour without needing to push the gain too far.
It’s a different way of getting character into the sound.
The Faded finish
The Faded Embers is finished with the Faded finish.
There’s a burst of spray at the bottom that fades away as it goes up, and it’s designed to age over time. The more you play it, the more your own imprint shows on it, in the same way a guitar with a nitro finish wears in.
Availability
The first batch of Faded Embers is available now.
It’s a small run, and once those are gone the shop moves to pre-order. After that there’ll be a short gap before they’re available again.
New pedals, same HFX
I’ve been running Hamilton Effects for just over a year now. I launched at the beginning of 2025 with the Twin Boost and the Embers Fuzz, and over that year I’ve been building pedals, doing custom projects, teaching guitar, and doing guitar tech work alongside it.
Coming into the new year, I’ve spent some time reflecting on where I actually want Hamilton Effects to sit. Not just how the pedals sound, but what they are at their core.
What people are actually buying
One of the things that’s become clearer to me is that when someone buys a pedal from a small builder, they’re not just buying tone or aesthetics.
They’re choosing to trust a person. They’re investing in a small company, in the decisions behind the circuit, and in the taste of the person who made it.
That’s made me rethink what the Embers and the Twin Boost should be.
Up to this point I’ve been working towards a kind of “do-it-all” version of each pedal. Something that can cover everything and work for everyone. And while I’m really pleased with what I’ve made, living with them over time has made it obvious that they could be better.
So about a year in, it feels like the right time to pull everything apart and rethink it properly.
Pulling things apart
Over the last few months I’ve been quietly taking the circuits apart, reworking them, and thinking more clearly about what I actually want each pedal to do. Not just in terms of sound, but in terms of how they behave and how people interact with them. The goal was that each pedal should be the best version of itself. This led to:
Core
The Core pedals are the full expression of what I think each circuit should be.
They have more control, more flexibility, and more room to explore. You can shape them, spend time with them, and find your own sounds within them. They use higher quality components, and I’ve worked closely with a designer to make sure they look as considered as they sound.
Alongside that, there’s also HFX Core, which is a way of saying thank you to the people who invest most in Hamilton Effects. It’s also a space for me to explore ideas that sit slightly outside of pedals.
Faded
Alongside Core, there’s Faded.
These are simpler, more accessible versions of the same ideas. More immediate, more utilitarian, and quicker to dial in.
Where Core invites you to explore, Faded is about getting to a sound quickly. They focus on the central identity of each circuit, with everything else stripped back.
They’re also finished in a way that will age over time, more like a guitar with a nitro finish. Not dramatically, but enough that each pedal develops its own visual character as it’s used.
The plan
The plan is to take the first versions of these pedals to the Noise Maker Market at the end of March, as the first place people can see and hear them.
After that, I’ll be releasing them in small batches over the following weeks.
Drives in Parallel vs Drives in Series
Drives in Parallel vs Drives in Series
This video compared drives in series with drives in parallel, using two Hamilton Effects pedals built from the same underlying idea.
The setup used the Twin Boost, the first pedal I designed for Hamilton Effects, alongside the Twin Parallel, which explores the same gain stages arranged differently. Both pedals use two boost circuits, but the way those stages interact changes the character of the sound quite significantly.
Everything was recorded through a stereo reverb setup, hard-panned left and right, and then into an HX Stomp for direct recording.
Why I made this video
I made this video for two main reasons.
Firstly, I had begun overhauling several Hamilton Effects designs, and during March I was clearing the last few pedals from the previous batch. By that point the Embers had already sold out, leaving just one Twin Boost and a couple of Twin Parallels remaining.
Secondly, I wanted to demonstrate what these pedals actually do. The name Boost can sound quite utilitarian, and it can give the impression that the pedal is simply there to make the signal louder. In practice these circuits are much more about gain staging and how different gain structures interact with each other.
In that sense they function more like tools for exploring signal behaviour than traditional boost pedals.
The Twin Boost
The Twin Boost contains two independent gain stages.
One side functions primarily as a clean boost, with enough output to push an amplifier into overdrive. Any distortion heard in that configuration is coming from the amplifier being driven harder.
The other side includes a bias control, which alters the transistor bias point. This introduces more unusual textures, including slightly gated and compressed sounds that can resemble certain fuzz behaviours, but within a relatively low gain circuit.
Stacking these two stages together is where the pedal becomes more interesting.
Drives in series
When gain stages run in series, one feeds directly into the next.
The first stage shapes and clips the signal, and the second stage receives that already-processed waveform. Rather than simply increasing volume, this usually results in greater saturation, because the signal is effectively being clipped more than once.
This is the same principle that applies when stacking typical overdrive pedals on a pedalboard.
The Twin Boost follows this approach. Its two stages can also be reversed in order, allowing different interactions between the gain stages.
Drives in parallel
The Twin Parallel explores the alternative approach.
Instead of feeding one stage into the other, both circuits run in parallel and are blended together with a mix control. This means each signal path keeps its own character.
One side can remain relatively clean and fast in its response, while the other contributes additional drive or texture. Blending the two allows the sound to retain clarity and attack, while still introducing more harmonic complexity.
This can be particularly useful for rhythmic playing where definition and articulation are important.
Closing thoughts
The comparison highlights two different philosophies of gain design.
Series stacking increases saturation by pushing one stage into another.
Parallel blending allows two different gain characters to exist simultaneously and be mixed together.
Both approaches start with the same building blocks, but the structure of the circuit changes the result.
A working day: Jazzmaster setup + new pedal work
March sale: 30% off remaining Hamilton Effects pedals (once they’re gone, they’re gone)
I’m turning 30 at the end of March, so I’m clearing the last of my current stock 30% off throughout March. What’s left is genuinely the final handful from the latest batch build:
Once these are gone, they’re gone, and I won’t be making any more of these exact versions.
A working day: Jazzmaster setup + new pedal work
Today was a mix of guitar tech work and Hamilton Effects pedal building, with a bit of playing and testing in between.
I had a Jazzmaster in for a setup and scratchplate swap, moving from 9s to 10s, plus a general clean-up and dial-in.
Jazzmasters are more involved than they look because so much of the wiring and hardware is mounted to the scratchplate — switches, pots, rhythm circuit controls, the lot — so it’s the kind of job where it pays to do it properly: clean work, careful reassembly, and a full check over afterwards.
After the swap and setup, I checked action, bridge height, tuning stability and pickup positions, and made sure it played comfortably and held tune. The output on this one is hot in a good way, and once it was set up, it absolutely came alive.
If you’re local to Crawley / West Sussex and you’ve got a guitar that needs a setup, restring, hardware install, wiring work, or general TLC, drop me a message, I love doing this stuff, and it makes a huge difference to how a guitar feels.
Pedal enclosure prep + a small early reveal
After the Jazzmaster, I drilled a new enclosure (planned out on Stompbox Layouts) and started testing a new finish idea for an upcoming range.
I also showed a pedal I’ve been working on for a while: an updated Embers in a smaller format — the goal has been refining the lower-gain, cleaner, tone-shaping side of Embers so it can work like a warm, characterful preamp as well as a vintage fuzz when you push it.
Last call: the remaining pedals are 30% off in March
If you’ve been thinking about grabbing one of my pedals, this is the moment. There are only:
2x Twin Parallel
1x Twin Boost
1x Embers
…left, and once they’re gone, they’re gone.
Twin Boost: two independently switchable boosts for flexible gain staging (clean side + bias-driven side).
Twin Parallel: blends those two voices in parallel so you can keep clarity while adding gritty, bias-driven texture, plus controls to tame volume and top-end if you need it.
Embers: vintage-inspired fuzz with a switchable input level and a wide bias range.
Thanks for watching — more soon.
Mojo p90’s in my Epiphone Casino
This guitar was a wedding gift from Emily.
She got an Epiphone Casino and modded it before giving it to me — Bigsby, bone nut, upgraded tuners. It wasn’t an off-the-shelf thing; it had already been thought about. By the time all that was done, though, the budget ran out before getting to the pickups, so I received it with the stock ones still in it.
They were dark, muddy, and very high output. Everything felt pushed forward and compressed. That’s probably fine for some people, but it isn’t how I tend to play. My reference points are more Telecaster and Gretsch - clarity, space, a bit of resistance under the fingers.
Over time, that mismatch meant I didn’t pick the Casino up as much as I should have. Which felt slightly strange, given where the guitar came from.
I spent a while thinking about custom pickups, talking to a few people, going round in circles. Eventually I spoke to Marc at Mojo Pickups, and that conversation cut through things quite quickly. No overthinking, no chasing something unusual, just his Classic P90 dogear set, done properly.
While I was at it, I made a couple of visual changes. I went for black plastic dogears to shift the look slightly, and added a bound black scratchplate. I’d previously gone for the no-guard look, but this felt more settled, more intentional.
The difference once the pickups were in was, of course, immediate.
The guitar now sounds open and clear. It responds to how you play rather than flattening everything out - you can sit back and it stays calm, or lean in and it gives you more back. It works just as well for lead lines as it does for sitting on open chords. Mostly, though, it just feels easy now. There’s no sense of fighting it, compensating or just trying to get it to work. I find myself picking it up absent-mindedly and playing longer than I meant to.
The pickup swap didn’t turn the Casino into a different guitar, it just removed the last thing that was getting in the way, which, in hindsight, was all it ever needed.
Tone controls on a fuzz
A lot of people find fuzz hard to use in a rig, especially live with a band. When you add that much distortion and clipping, everything evens out. Things that normally poke through the mix get flattened. Fuzz can end up quite woolly and full, or really harsh and cutting depending on the amp.
I took the back off the Embers to access the internal bass cut switch and started experimenting. Gain almost all the way up, bias around three o’clock, volume down into a high headroom amp. Even with the input level pulled back, there was still that fizz sitting on top. Sometimes that sizzle is useful, sometimes it isn’t. I wanted the option.
Bias changes a lot of the character. Sweeping it changes the feel as much as the sound. As it comes down things get louder and fatter, and eventually loud and woolly. Any tone control has to work alongside that.
The internal switch on Embers changes the input capacitor. It’s subtle, but switching it tighter does change how the fuzz behaves, especially as you roll things back.
From there I tried a few post-fuzz tone controls. The first one was very extreme. It blanketed the top end, but it also killed volume and didn’t feel that nice. It did a job, but I didn’t love it.
The next option worked differently, but the taper wasn’t helpful and it felt like some mids were disappearing. Changing guitars made that clearer.
The third approach was simpler. A subtle low-pass using a variable resistor and capacitor. Increasing the pot value helped. This one started to feel usable. It took the edge off without smothering everything.
Thinking about it more, I realised the tone control couldn’t really be treated on its own. Working outside the circuit meant loading and impedance weren’t behaving the same way they would inside the pedal.
That led me back to low end. Embers already has a switch that changes how much bass hits the fuzz, but more bass also keeps things fuzzier as you reduce gain. I started experimenting with a filtered clean blend. The split happens before the fuzz, the clean path is high-passed, and it’s summed back in after the fuzz.
From there it goes into a buffer, a makeup gain stage, and the tone control lives as part of that stage. You can tame the high end, bring back some clean weight if you want it, and keep things usable when you underdrive it. It also makes it work on bass without needing external parallel routing.
It’s still a work in progress. Values will need changing once it’s properly inside the circuit. But it feels like the right direction.