VIDEO: Flickinger Tone Boxes Cranky Atom overdrive pedal demo

Each Cranky Atom is built and painted by Richard Flickinger in Raleigh, NC
Each Cranky Atom is built and painted by Richard Flickinger in Raleigh, NC

Here at MusicRadar we're suckers for a brightly-coloured stompbox with a cool paint job. Happily, the Flickinger Tone Boxes Cranky Atom sounds as good as it looks.

Hand-built and painted by Richard Flickinger in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Cranky Atom is a Tweed-style overdrive that simulates the sound of an overdriven dual triode or, in simple terms, a 15-watt Tweed amp pushed to breaking point.

The pedal's drive control goes from a slightly pushed boost - 'Halcyon' - to classic rich overdrive - 'Caustic' - and beyond into 'Bedlam'. In practical terms this allows you to go from rich and rootsy to near-fuzz levels of meltdown.

Hear it in action in our video demo and visit Flickinger Tone Boxes for the full specifications and dealer information.

Chris Vinnicombe worked with us here on the MusicRadar team from the site's initial launch way back in 2007, and also contributed to Guitarist magazine as Features Editor until 2014, as well as Total Guitar magazine, amongst others. These days he can be found at Gibson Guitars, where he is editor-in-chief.