JHS Pedals head honcho Josh Scott is no stranger to rare effects pedals. So when he says fellow collector Daniel Danger has a problem, we know it’s serious.
Indeed, Danger has literally dug through trash in order to amass what may be the largest collection of Electro-Harmonix pedals in the entire world.
Hunting high and low for the past 20 years, the stompbox connoisseur admits, “Electro-Harmonix is my heart and soul.”
Kindred spirits of the guitar pedal world, Scott and Danger first crossed paths during their collaboration with Eilon Paz, creator of the excellent Stompbox: 100 Pedals of the World’s Greatest Guitarists and Vintage & Rarities: 333 Cool, Crazy and Hard to Find Guitar Pedals.
Founded by electronics engineer and musician Mike Matthews in 1968, Electro-Harmonix’s first product was the LPB-1 Linear Power Booster.
The following year, EHX released their iconic fuzz/distortion unit, the Big Muff Pi – a best-seller to this day.
Throughout the ‘70s and early ‘80s, Matthews’ experimental, open-minded approach to pedal building yielded a plethora of unique designs.
“Mike supported really weird visions,” says Danger. “And the result is some amazingly strange stuff.”
Today, EHX’s range numbers over 150 designs, including preamps, delay, reverb, gain/distortion, dynamics, filtering, wah wahs, loopers, modulation, pitch shifting, synthesis and more.
And while the firm’s current array of pedals comprises pedalboard staples, a good number of the more “exotic” stompboxes are also available – something Danger says has long been the case.
“The fun thing about Electro-Harmonix is that the tree never ends,” he explains. “There are variations and weirdness and things that shouldn’t exist. That’s all my favorite stuff.
“They’re the weirdest pedal line.”
During this epic show and tell, viewers are treated to a dazzling display of “noise Lego."
Rarities include the rackmount Guitar Synthesizer; the “Sabbath rock in a box” Deluxe Octave Multiplexer; a signature Mogwai promo Big Muff Pi; a prototype Sovtek Electric Mistress; and Danger’s desert island stompbox, the Reverb.
Browse through the Electro-Harmonix range here.
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