Supercool Pedals - Smoking in the Boys Room (Summer School Electronics Collab)

Supercool Pedals – Smoking in the Boys Room

Summer School Electronics Collaboration

Smoking in the Boys Room is a loud, lovingly detailed love letter to the 1990s—the decade of flannel, busted speakers, and distortion pedals that never quite behaved. Built in collaboration between Supercool Pedals and Summer School Electronics, this dual-effect pedal pairs a buzzsaw distortion with a watery chorus, reimagining two classic circuits that defined alternative, grunge, and shoegaze tones.

At its core, the distortion side takes inspiration from the legendary DS-1 that shaped countless records. This isn’t a clone—it’s a ground-up rethink. A redesigned, mid-rich tone stack makes it far more usable across different amps and guitars, while the modified output buffer ensures it hits your amp hard without getting harsh or brittle. Run it lightly to push an edge-of-breakup amp into snarling overdrive, or dime it for thick, grainy distortion that instantly recalls the attitude of bands like Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and other 90s mainstays who embraced raw texture over polish.

The chorus side delivers classic, liquid modulation, but with a smart twist. Instead of a traditional depth control, the modulation knob lets you precisely dial in warble and pitch variation—from barely-there movement that adds width and shimmer, to full-on seasick modulation that feels straight out of a worn VHS demo tape. It’s equally at home doing subtle thickening or drowning everything in swirling, detuned chaos.

One of the standout features is the order toggle, letting you flip the signal path on the fly. Run distortion into chorus for smoother, more controlled modulation, or chorus into distortion for a smeared, unstable texture that feels unapologetically 90s. Combined, the two effects nail the gritty, chorus-soaked grunge tones that defined an era—no flannel required, but strongly encouraged.

Visually, Smoking in the Boys Room leans hard into nostalgia, with era-appropriate artwork, a full-color manual, printed fabric bags, and generous box candy. Each unit is hand-built across borders by two independent builders, reinforcing the DIY spirit that inspired the pedal in the first place.

• Effects: Distortion + Chorus (dual circuit)
• Distortion Type: Buzzsaw-style distortion inspired by a classic orange distortion pedal
• Tone Circuit: Fully redesigned, mid-rich tone stack for improved usability
• Chorus Type: Watery modulation with adjustable rate and warble/pitch variation
• Order Switching: External toggle to swap effect order (Distortion → Chorus or Chorus → Distortion)
• Bypass: True mechanical bypass on both circuits
• Buffering: Modified output buffer on distortion circuit
• Power: 9V DC, standard center-negative input
• Builders: Hand-built by Summer School Electronics (Syracuse, NY) and Supercool Pedals (Peterborough, ON)
• Extras: Full-color manual, printed fabric bags, and box candy
• Design: Nostalgic, 90s-inspired artwork and presentation

Smoking in the Boys Room isn’t just a pedal—it’s a time machine back to the sounds that made distortion dangerous and chorus emotional again.