Bluff Chill Devices are - or is - one man designing and building guitar effects pedals of a more unusual persuasion than your average boutique.
Operating from the South West of England since 2016, Bluff Chill Devices have found a niche creating lo-fi modulations, aggressive filters, unruly fuzzes and robotic twinkles paired with original art designs with a determinedly individual aesthetic, taking influences from vaporwave, hauntology and futurism.
The man behind it is a musician first and an engineer second. He takes time over the way a design sounds in much the same way a recording engineer would capture sound - experimentation, ingenuity and intuition.
"I first started building pedals when I bought a 'boutique clean boost' from eBay, only to open it up and find a tiny sliver of stripboard wrapped in insulating tape surrounded by a tangle of wires, crammed into a metal box. I knew I could do better."
All effects pedals are handcrafted in small batches or made to order in the UK. They are also dirt cheap.
"I have had my shagpile for over a week now, really love it and continue to find new sounds. Still no idea what it is or what it does - but find myself loosing hours twiddling the knobs. Top notch!!!"
"Tom was great, explained how the pedal worked, was open to requests and I couldn't be happier with the end product."
"You sent me a beautiful pedal with mismatched knobs and some serious sass! I just wanted to say thank you for your hard work and for the great pedal."
"After 15 years of playing guitar all I want to do is make it sound like a worn out VHS of Twin Peaks. Thanks to @bluffchill for allowing me to do so."