KHDK’s David Karon launches Tone For Change charity pedal initiative with Skateistan fuzz
New stompbox boasts enclosure built from skateboards
David Karon is best known for his work with Kirk Hammett on KHDK Electronics, but the MI industry vet has now turned his hand to a new charity guitar pedal initiative, Tone For Change.
For their first project, Karon and his wife Pavla have partnered with Skateistan - a nonprofit that teaches and empowers children in Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa through skateboarding - and launched a limited-edition fuzz pedal.
The Skateistan fuzz pedal features a one-of-a-kind enclosure made from skateboards used by students in Skateistan’s schools - which is where 100% of profits from the sale of the pedal will go.
Inspired by skateboarding subculture and promising grunge and stoner tones, the pedal features an “alternative use of distortion” with a MOSFET stage to add warmth, controlled by four controls: sustain, tone, body and volume.
Of course, its most notable feature is the onboard skateboard wheel, which adjusts the pedal’s sustain. Gnarly, dude.
The Tone For Change Skateistan pedal is available now for $299/£247 from Reverb.
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Mike has been Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com since 2019, and an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict for far longer. He has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and 15 years' experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. His writing also appears in the The Cambridge Companion to the Electric Guitar. In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock as Maebe.
