Tone Report Weekly 188 | Page 50

GEAR SPOTLIGHT MR. BLACK DRUNKEN MONKEY REVIEW BY NICK RAMBO STREET PRICE $179.95 What do you get when you mix an ounce of banana schnapps with an equal amount of Irish cream and coffee liqueur? The newest pedal from Portland’s very own Mr. Black, of course. ENTER THE MONKEY Legend has it that many moons ago, a certain simian with a love of the sauce began a lifelong search for the perfect pitch vibrato. Vices being what they are, one thing led to another and, well, the Drunken Monkey came to be. 50 GEAR SPOTLIGHT // Simply put: the Drunken Monkey is likely the weirdest little pedal I’ve ever played and one that absolutely lives up to its name. So if you’ve been looking for a pedal to spice up your cover band’s rendition of “Jungle Fever,” well— have I found just the thing for you. TOUCH THE MONKEY The top two controls on the Drunken Monkey are the standard fare of vibrato machines. The Depth knob goes from a slightly buzzed weeble-wobble around Mr. Black Drunken Monkey 9:00, to a tipsy stagger just past noon and all the way to a frightful, seconds-before-the- blackout stagger when fully cranked. The Speed knob makes the room spin. Faster or slower—drinker’s choice. It’s the middle knob though—marked Alc/ Vol—that decides whether or not the cops are called or an intervention is scheduled. This control adjusts the sensitivity of the envelope and goes from stone cold sober to full- on bender real quick.