Dr.No
R O A D RUNNE R O CTAVE FU ZZ WAH
F LY I N G M ACHI N A
Yep, that’s the full, official name of this
product. Nine words makes for quite a
mouthful, no? Dr. No has never been
accused of taking the safe route to
success in the pedal game, and the
Road Runner, developed in collaboration
with Dave Catching of Queens of the
Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal, and
Rancho de la Luna fame, continues this
grand tradition in a number of different
ways. For one thing, it has wings. It is
also housed in a tri-color fuzz-flocked
enclosure that has the luxurious
feel of velveteen peach fuzz
under the fingers.
Looking past its
16
TONE TALK //
outlandish texture and outward
appearance, however, the Road Runner
is basically just a badass fuzz-wah that
takes things one step beyond with a
switchable on-board octave effect.
This octave sound is of the old school
variety, inspired directly by the Tycobrahe
Octavia. The wah section has three
selectable frequency range options,
going from mellower vintage-style tones,
to progressively brighter and more
unrepentantly aggressive. And because
an unruly pedal like this requires
nothing less than complete
commitment from its user,
the fuzz and wah
sections cannot be
used independently,
and the order
cannot be flip-
flopped. This
fuzz-wah is all on,
all of the time,
it’s had way too
much to drink,
and it’s feeling
cantankerous. Watch
out. Dr. No sells the Road
Runner direct for about 398 bucks
Americano.
Second Coming: 5 Killer Fuzz-Wahs You Can Own Today