“Getting a Germanium Boy into Brian May’s hands pronto is a top priority”: Dirty Boy’s pedals are loved by the likes of John Frusciante and Neal Schon – is the Queen guitarist next?

If you're the type that peruses the internet late at night in search of boutique pedals to add to your board, you’ve probably come across Dirty Boy Pedals, which first cropped up in the early 2000s.

But if you’re new to the brand – which was formed by Alex Saraceno, father of American rock guitarist, Blues Saraceno – that’s even better, as Dirty Boy’s CEO, Madrid-born Danny Gomez, has big plans.

“I reached out to Alex for a simple five-minute meeting at NAMM to discuss the Dirty Boy name in 2017,” Gomez says. “I wanted to license the name and image. The concept was to create an homage to the renowned Dirty Boy amp, powered by my proprietary Tube Amp Emulation [T.A.E.] tech, and we made it happen.”

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Gomez describes himself as a “fervent Blues Saraceno aficionado,” but ’80s shred wasn’t his only link to the guitar community, as he also has a history with Queen’s Brian May. “I had the privilege of collaborating with Brian May on the We Will Rock You show,” he says. “Brian holds a special place in my journey as a mentor.

“Our connection began in 2003,” he adds. “Since then, we’ve maintained a close relationship, and I’ve had the honor of becoming one of the first artists under his Brian May Guitars brand. In 2022, we released a book, Brian May’s Red Special, detailing how he built his iconic Red Special guitar with his father.”

All of this means that Gomez understands tone, which is perfect as Dirty Boy has long been known for unique, high-quality effects. John Frusciante and Neal Schon have used them, favoring the brand’s Germanium Boy Fuzz.

As for what’s new, in addition to rolling the Germanium Boy back out, Gomez is resurrecting the Buzzy Boy, a favorite of Blues Saraceno. Speaking of Blues, Dirty Boy is digging into bespoke guitars by rolling out made-to-order reproductions of Saraceno’s iconic green and watermelon plaid signature Yamaha RGZ820R.

Dirty Boy PREAMP with Blues Saraceno - YouTube

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Gomez’s goals are lofty, considering how competitive today’s gear market is, but with the blessing of the Saraceno family, Dirty Boy’s new era might have a shot. Plus, he has one last trick up his sleeve.

“Getting a Germanium Boy into Brian May’s hands pronto is a top priority,” he says. “Treble boosters like the Germanium Boy are his go-to for coaxing those legendary tones out of the Red Special. And with his history of using my previous designs, like the original T.A.E. and the ’64 version – both amps based on his beloved Vox AC30 – I’m confident the Germanium Boy will find its place among Brian’s arsenal of sonic tools.”

• Find out more at Dirty Boy.
• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.