PedalPalFx

Everything is built in small numbers. Each pedal, from concept through design, development and production, is handmade and tested, and every unit is set up by hand and tested by the founders before it ships¹. The maker is explicit that these are not mass-production items: only a few pedals per month reach the market².

What PedalPalFx builds

The range is a family of overdrives organized around two Marshall eras: the Plexi amps of the 60's and the JCM800 amps of the 80's. Each model uses the circuit schematic of the amp era it targets, adapted for transistors instead of tubes³⁴⁵.

The PAL959-V2, the current Plexi model, uses surface-mount technology components at Design Version 2.1 and is described by the maker as giving "the true experience that you could get of the Marshall 1959 Super Lead front panel control"⁷. The PAL987 PLEXI CARRERA takes a different route to the same era: "Based on the famous 1987X 50-Watt PLEXI circuit, where we have replaced the vacuum tubes for very unique transistors carefully selected to emulate the tube behavior," with special selected transistors set up for maximum performance¹⁰.

Luis Pena and "Pasión Por El Drive"

Luis Pena is the founder and the voice behind the product pages, which are written in the first person. On the Silverhenge Overdrive he explains his personal additions to the reissue: "Thanks to the three-way toggle switch, I also add to this reissue some of my favorite mods in our 800 series"⁶. On the PAL800-V4 GOLD he sums up the line's history: "8 years of evolution to offer the best of our 800 series in a smaller and easy to setup format!"⁹.

The Spanish slogan reflects the brand's identity: gain is the whole point. Pena describes each pedal from it's concept, design, development and production as carefully handmade and tested¹.

How the line evolved

The two original emulators, the PAL800 JCM Emulator and the PAL959 PLEXI Emulator, are both discontinued, with 363 and 143 handmade units made respectively⁵³. Their circuits did not disappear. The PAL800 GOLD Overdrive is described by the maker as "the result of all our knowledge and experience with the most famous British amps tone and also with our PAL 800 JCM Emulator and PAL 959 PLEXI Emulator pedals"⁸. The Silverhenge Overdrive is a reissue of the first model from the 800 series, the PAL800 JCM Emulator, and in its JCM setting it carries the same circuit for classic JCM800 tones⁶.

The PAL959 line continued in the V2, which keeps the Plexi mission in a limited monthly production run⁷, and the PAL987 PLEXI CARRERA carries the Plexi approach forward with the 1987X circuit¹⁰.

Where to buy

PedalPalFx pedals are sold through the maker's own site, and the Silverhenge Overdrive and The Breaker Overdrive are listed on Reverb⁶¹¹. Because only a few pedals per month are built, availability is limited rather than continuous².

The range (8)

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