The Queens of the Stone Age pedal (Funny Little Boxes Skeleton Key)

Get it here: bit.ly/FLTSkeletonKey
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Mics used on amp in this video:
AEA KU5A Ribbon Mic: imp.i114863.net/XxJEYg
Lewitt MTP440 at Thomann: bit.ly/MTP440DM
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Cab: barefacedaudio.com/
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[@AlbertoMuti]

Finally, the ONE review of this pedal I'd been waiting for!

[@AnthonyEvans-wl5ts]

A comment from the maker: If you have a clean boost pedal you can place before it it will give it just that bit of extra oomph going into the skeleton key. You don't want anything with a complex EQ or anything cos that will mess with the tone from the SK. Something like the TC electronic spark mini is ideal

[@ShaharSagi1]

Any chance more of these will be released?

[@AnthonyEvans-wl5ts]

@@ShaharSagi1 I don't know. I'd say so. Sign up to his newsletter. If he's selling out of them no doubt he'll be making more. I think he's a one man show so these things take time.

[@LetsPlayAll]

Great video mate, stoked you enjoyed the pedal 😊🤘

[@LivingroomGearDemos]

🤙

[@ben.sundin]

YES! I remember emailing you about this a few months ago, and I'm so pleased you managed to showcase this.THANK YOU!

[@wesst.422]

I feel like a shocking amount of heavy guitar tones don't have that much gain to them, Black Sabbath is one that immediately comes to mind! It's not about how much gain you have, its about how you use it. I hardly ever push my drive knob on my overdrive passed 12 o'clock but with a boost you can turn that slight breakup into thick fuzzy textures.

[@Mudd1429]

There's a video of TVL reacting to Reverb's Potent Pairings of QOTSA tones, he consistently said that their interpretations were good but had too much gain. So, it would seem that FLB knows their tones are lower gain.

[@joaquinlavin5877]

same goes for Deftones, they have some really clean but heavy tones

[@chrisjw5]

@@Mudd1429 Troy's stinkface in that video was awesome.

[@loopydemos]

I had similar feelings when demoing this! I talked to Andrew from FLB and IIRC, it's not based on anything. He just tried to get the voicing close so it sounds mostly right with a bridge humbucker and a C-standard tuned guitar. I also like to coax out a little more gain from it with a boost in front. An EP-style boost works really well because it has a slight bass boost which seems to pair well with the Skeleton Key. But as you know, most QOTSA guitar tones are less gainy than you might think.

[@johncope9933]

Always love hearing The Sky is Fallin in a Queens gear video. I really like the growl and punch this pedal packs. And it definitely has the perfect amount of cocked wah sound in there. Definitely want to get this pedal at one of my next pay checks 👍🤟🔥

[@baabaabaa-yp2jh]

Its close!! Great pedal, pairs up nicely!!

[@zwoelf160]

I think it sounds really good. great demo. thx

[@bl4ckph4ntomm]

I'm a simple man, I see LRGD video related to QotSA, I click it

[@kellymckenzie4865]

Same

[@AtimusXanth]

No one knows why, but yeah, me too

[@tylertass9983]

Yes

[@jean-francoisboisvenu7505]

Please stop using “l’m a simple man shtick “. It’s not original, it’s cliché, and it adds nothing.

[@bl4ckph4ntomm]

@@jean-francoisboisvenu7505 Maybe you are right, but as long as this comment helps Eirik with youtube algorithms, I think it is worth it. Have a good day mate!

[@allyourbasearebelongtous2191]

You know... I bet it would work really well with a Boss OD-3. Didn't know this thing existed. Gonna have to get one.

[@nodismattoleari7272]

I was waiting that ❤

[@delivrance3961]

Great job!!!

[@martijnschilders1726]

great review and explanation. i do agree on your opinion. cause i also think those songs should be played with a good amount of gain.

[@coreycann6751]

Nice dunable! I have a USA custom cyclops. Amazing instrument

[@KoaCharvel]

Sounds good to me. Love QOTSA.

[@vityagreen120]

silvertone twin twelve pedal good booster for this tone 🤌

[@R1GAMBLER]

I need this.

[@chrisjw5]

Great review. I bought one of the first release and it's there. While I do wish it had a little more gain, run a Q-Zone in front for stuff like Song for the Dead, the higher signal pushes it nicely. My NotaKlon also works well, it has that slight mid-hump.

[@JaredPitcher]

Love this pedal! $100 for a pedal handmade in the UK with Boneface's original artwork is pretty amazing. Plus the sounds are awesome! Even though it's promoted as QotSA tones in a box, it's a really versatile overdrive/distortion in it's own right. *Funny that you say it doesn't like the SD-1 much, that's how I've been using it since I got it.

[@wesmitchem825]

It actually sounds really close to a lot of there sounds for once I might have to get something claiming it can pull off the tone really good mid forward overdrive I had a chance to buy the same ampeg amp he uses but in a two twelve and higher watt configuration for a really good price but I ended up buying a twin reverb for way more and wish I would have gotten the ampeg

[@therealjamesmarchant]

I have one of these and push it with a mid boost EQ (color box) to get lead tones.

[@erik99q]

Argentina loves qotsa and Living Room GD ❤🇦🇷

[@taxationistheft2.0]

Dude you nailed it

[@AnthonyEvans-wl5ts]

I only have a strat and was asking what to do to achieve the sound. He said this: ...if you like the strat then you could always upgrade the humbucker in the bridge to something meatier. Something like a dimarzio super distortion or the Seymour Duncan invader. The bare knuckle nailbomb is superb but expensive

[@senfglas555]

lol sounded great through my phone speaker, but now on headphones i feel it's lacking something... hmm. what is it tho.... maybe pushing the mids??? great video as always man 🤤

[@pstx2816]

I wonder how it sounds paired with Stone Deaf PDF-2 overdrive. I bet that's pair right there.

[@doomerius1300]

This sounds better, imo. Pdf2 is noisy af

[@krzysztofswiderski3705]

@@doomerius1300SD before pandemic had a problem with consistency. My first PDF-2 was noisy and had a power trouble. I send it back and they sent me a new one and it works great for 4 years now.

[@doomerius1300]

@@krzysztofswiderski3705 really?? I got it from Thomann like a year ago. do you think I could contact sd with this issue?

[@yashinisuki]

@@krzysztofswiderski3705my PDF-1X is also noisy but I didn’t know that they were actually exchanging them. I got mine during the pandemic so that makes sense.

[@AnthonyEvans-wl5ts]

@livingroomgear what type of humbucker and position do you think is best?

[@sleejay8910]

this pedal is like the campbell’s soup equivalent to josh’s michelin-star live tone haha. looks fun though

[@dustinrieseberg8707]

Zvex SHO works really really well into the skeleton key. I've also found that using the skeleton key with sub 12 o'clock on the gain and then hitting it harder with the SHO works best. It's much more percussive this way for rhythm strumming. I engage the SIB echodrive after the Skeleton key for leads.

[@dustinrieseberg8707]

I should also state that this above is what i do for humbuckers and filtertrons.

[@SeeMick1]

I know the QOTSA tone is cleaner than people think, but I kept thinking it was lacking some saturation, almost like it wants the amp to be a bit dirtier before it hits it

[@MrBeardsley]

No idea what’s going on under the hood but to my ear it sounds like an Ampeg B-25 crossed with a Peavey Decade. It’s got some of the former’s thick, punchy midrange and the latter’s wiry, snarling grit.

[@LivingroomGearDemos]

Why a B-25?

[@benjaminferrari2647]

I think it def like a amp in a box pedal cause of the gain I’ve never own an amped amp so idk how gainy they can get but it sounds like it’s reminiscent of that and then you add the sd 1 and eq going into it

[@benjaminferrari2647]

*ampeg

[@jcreature11]

Majority of Josh homme tone comes from a natural distortion from turning up a tube amp until it naturally distorts.

[@Frenchmelodymaker]

Not a big fan of it, I think it lacks a little gain and compression but you made it sound a lot better than any other demo of it

[@MrBeardsley]

I think that actually works in its favor, it makes for a good core drive tone that plays pretty well with other dirt pedals.

[@Frenchmelodymaker]

@@MrBeardsley well it didn’t played well with the sd-1 😅

[@kunaikai]

I think for the QOTSA tone you really don’t want a high gain sound. I agree it doesn’t work at least with the first OD but it’s got a great base sound and I really loved the second OD pedal with the skeleton key

[@1552.fred0]

That Dunable guitar is quite a sight.

[@LivingroomGearDemos]

It's a nice one!

[@donewithmodernlife]

I have the same color Cyclops; they are excellent guitars. I put a set of SD Saturday Night Specials in mine & it nails QOTSA tones.

[@michael_staples757]

How does this compare to the Catalinbread sft and pdf-2? Thanks

[@LivingroomGearDemos]

It's been a long time since I've tried the Catalinbread SFT, but I'll try to get my hands on one and compare. PDF-2 is more of a boost that you run into the SFT or the Skeleton Key

[@pattames541]

What fuzz is that ?

[@bernarddoherty2303]

Oh you know you're demoing this one

[@henriquecosta4812]

I really liked it when you turned on the brown pedal (the third one). Does anyone know what it's called?

[@LivingroomGearDemos]

Fjord Fuzz FENRIS

[@henriquecosta4812]

@@LivingroomGearDemos thank you!

[@chronic_johnson_a.r.a.b]

I've heard QOTSA members saying that a lot of their stuff is lower gain than you'd probably think (makes sense for basically anything after Lullabies). So I'm guessing they just play aggressively.

[@Shmoobee.]

What fuzz pedal was that on the end? It sounded GNARLY when you kicked that one on + the skeleton key.

[@PhilipMonsos]

I think this would shine once you put a graphic EQ in front of it instead of a fuzz or overdrive. Boosting 800 and 400 hz. If I remember correctly that's basically how they did it for SftD, an EQ boosting the front end of an Ampeg.

[@NightmareNate]

does anyone know the song at 2:18 ? i've got to learn it!

[@XxCorvette1xX]

Paper Machete

[@NightmareNate]

@@XxCorvette1xXthanks! i went through most of their discography last night thinking it was an older song haha

[@nolanmason6607]

What's the fuzz pedal being used?

[@LivingroomGearDemos]

Fjord Fuzz FENRIS

[@richarddwjensen]

Anyone know what amp he is playing into? I swear I watched the video twice and didn't catch it!

[@LivingroomGearDemos]

I forgot to say. Deluxe Reverb

[@jonlohrenz5446]

What’s the fuzz on the right?

[@LivingroomGearDemos]

Fjord Fuzz FENRIS

[@MR1JUNO]

Can you show your C tuning please. Thanks

[@LivingroomGearDemos]

It's just C standard

[@leokaliman9765]

what amp are you using in this demo?

[@LivingroomGearDemos]

fender deluxe reverb

[@idiotdunce]

I ordered Skeleton Key just before your video on HX stomp QOTSA tones. Glad you did HX stomp patch which I bought. I really like and use both in different situations. I did tube screamer clone to boost gain on Skelton key. Get helix/Hx stomp/ kemper patch and/or pedal you’ll be happy.

[@LivingroomGearDemos]

Thanks for supporting and buying the patch! And glad you like it! Thanks man

[@akrmfk]

Cant help it, need to press like once u played 'no one knows'

[@RishPanjeetJr]

This or the Catalinbread SFT??

[@Wildzy1st]

The SFT (+Parametric EQ) is much more versatile when it comes to stacking with other ODs and Boosts in my opinion dir getting different QOTSA Tones. For standalone use I'd recommend the skeleton key, its great on it's own.

[@yannamengual2777]

Yes !

[@LivingroomGearDemos]

Haven't tried the SFT in many years. I'll try to get my hands on one and compare!

[@taxationistheft2.0]

Good pedal. Let's play all KZbin channel uses it

[@LetsPlayAll]

😁

[@slayerBO2EPC]

The pedal seems pretty decent but I think you needed to put a teeny bit of gain on it😂

[@-cobainism-]

you sound great! however, it kinda just sounds like a slightly overdriven amp to me

[@grunger.]

Hello, did you have the overdrive set before or after the pedal? Regards

[@mattbiffamusicsupervisionshizz]

I found it was too loud with not enough gain so I sold it, but having seen this maybe I need to give it another chance! X

[@LivingroomGearDemos]

I almost think it should've had more volume? Did you really find it too loud?

[@mattbiffamusicsupervisionshizz]

@@LivingroomGearDemos I did, but then I normally have a house full of people complaining about volume, so I feel like I could be realty wrong about that. I might buy another one, frankly!! Xx

[@Wildzy1st]

​@@LivingroomGearDemos Same Here, feel like it's too quiet. Received mine 3 Months ago, didn't work out as good as PDF-1X and Catalinbread SFT and DOD Gunslinger or EHX Germanium Muff do. Didn't enjoy the way the Skeleton Key takes other ODs and boosts Like my Hudson Broadcast.

[@discardiac]

Please do Resistor Head’s Pee Pee pedal!

[@LivingroomGearDemos]

Another Peavey Decade pedal?

[@castrucciocastracani0]

It's a great pedal, but I think that any rat clone can get you close to that tone

[@LivingroomGearDemos]

I doubt a rat could do this. Love rats though

[@Bilsuburbians]

At this state, you surely fit in as a third guitarist for QOTSA. Have you ever talked to one of the members about that?

[@LivingroomGearDemos]

Haha they already have 3, so I would be the 4th... The fat guy from Norway playing guitar in Qotsa - what would be something.

[@xxczerxx]

I kinda get it, but I would always caution players about REALLY replicating other guitarist's tones, you really are better off getting something in the ballpark and shifting around to find your own thing

[@AtimusXanth]

And now they're completely sold out... lol

[@LetsPlayAll]

haha no, it's defo still available ;-)

[@AtimusXanth]

@LetsPlayAll at the time of writing this, it was literally sold out everywhere...

[@LetsPlayAll]

@@AtimusXanth yea it’s only available direct, was a blip with the website but can be ordered again now 😊🤘

[@jetairliner9660]

Stop looking so norwegian. Best regards/ Sweden.