Gear in Review: Menatone Blue Collar

I'll admit, I'm currently getting rather impatient as I wait for the Maxon and DOD pedals to sell. I've got my eye on a new pedal (which I won't share at this point as I'll talk about it if and when I get it...) and to afford it, I need to unload those pedals. I'll still net a small profit, but occasionally I need to get something for myself, you know? :)

At any rate, in the midst of my boredom, I'll share another pedal review. And this one is my go-to dirt, which makes it a worthwhile review. I don't think this pedal will ever...EVER leave my board.

Menatone Blue Collar

Brian Mena has something of a cult following among a lot of circles. He doesn't make many pedals, but he's fairly famous for preferring point-to-point soldering over PCB wiring (though he occasionally does PCB) and still managing to fit his circuits in reasonably-sized enclosures.

I first fell in love with Menatone listening to reviews of the King of the Britains pedal. Something about British growl got to me and I kept looking into Menatone, trying to figure out what I wanted. Some amazing pedals, but the one that many were talking about was the Blue Collar. Having recently gotten my main guitar, a Fender Standard Stratocaster in the limited black paisley finish, I was drawn to the reviews that emphasized how well the Blue Collar was highly paired with a single coil guitar like a Strat. I saw some reviews (like here and here), and knew it was really what I was looking for. Capable of getting mid-gain-ey but not over the top, fairly clean if needed, but definitely gritty, it was perfect, at least on paper.

I found a good deal (I think I bought it for $120) and jumped on it.

The day it arrived, I had about an hour to use it, and I plugged in just the Blue Collar to my amp, so I could see how it sounded without any other coloration. In a word, I was impressed. This pedal sounded great!

I don't think it's limited just to single coil guitars, as it could fatten up any sound, but having a presence knob and the ability to add some sparkle by increasing the tone, it really is quite compatible with a Strat. In hardly any time at all, it became my go-to, kicking off the Behringer Vintage Tube Monster (reviewed earlier) and beating away any other dirt pedals I came across, until I found a Klon clone pedal that runs in to the Blue collar to add extra dirt, but the Blue Collar is my always-on pedal. It is my tone.

I highly recommend anything from Brian Mena in the Menatone line. I've seen a lot of praise over the Red Snapper, and that might be a neat pedal to pair with the Blue Collar (a la the Fish Factory custom pedal). You should look into their pedals if you're looking for your tone.