Posts Tagged Pedals
Pedal Profile: Xotic Gold AC Booster Limited Edition
Posted by Jed in Gear, Pedal Profile, Uncategorized on March 31st, 2010
BACKGROUND: Where the BB Preamp is supposed to be a cranked Marshall, the AC is supposed to be more like a cranked American amp (Fender). The Limited Edition Gold AC Booster is the same thing as the regular, just gold with only 500 in existence.
GUITARS: PRS Standard 22, 1986 Fender MIJ Tele ‘62 Reissue
AMPS: ‘97 Rivera R-55, 65 London
FIRST IMPRESSION: When Q brought it over the first thing I thought was “It’s gold!” I like the way it looks. Gold may be the new silver. It has really good-sounding low end, not too punchy and not too sloshy. It just sounds natural and you can feel it through a wood floor.
It is a very smooth-sounding pedal, very Tube Screamer-esk. It emphasizes the mid-range of the guitar tones;this characteristic is always welcomed in my book.
PROS: When you roll the bass down and turn the treble up (3 o’clock), it doesn’t sound brittle. It is still a very usable tone.
When set to a clean boost setting (volume maxed, drive at its lowest), it gives the tone more attack and a pinch more sustain than the clean tone.
CONS: Q tried the Booster through the 65 London and said the two didn’t play well together. For whatever reason, when I plugged it in through the R-55, it sounded amazing. Through the London, it was less smooth and more sterile.
FINAL THOUGHTS: This pedal is like a top quality Tube Screamer that won’t sound bad. I messed around with the EQ and couldn’t get it to sound bad. Obviously I preferred some settings over others, but for the most part this pedal was just giving me usable to amazing tones. This pedal doesn’t play favorites with its settings. If you’re sick of the Tube Screamer you bought at Guitar Center, seriously look into this pedal.
Keep Sharp,
-Jed
My friend is sick…and I’m okay with that…
Posted by Jed in Announcements on March 30th, 2010
Some of you (like me) suffer from GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). I have a friend who seems to be particularly infected. His name is Q. I call him Q for two reasons. First, that is the first letter of his name. Second, it makes me feel like James Bond when I call him that.
He is spending an irrational amount of money on gear. I like this. It means I get to try out some pretty cool (and sometimes just plain pretty) gear, tell you about it, and not have to hurt my check book…too much.
I’ll use his gear a lot for Pedal Profiles. When I list a 65 London or an Eric Johnson Strat in the Pedal Profiles…yeah…they aren’t mine. They are Q’s.
Q has supplied me with a couple new pedals to profile, so here is a hint of what is coming in future gear posts:
-Xotic Limited Edition Gold AC Booster
-Xotic BB Preamp Andy Timmons Signature
-Love Pedal Kangi
-JTK Alchemy
When Paul Cochrane finally sends me a Timmy, that will go up, too. Until then, Q’s gear will be work for some great material.
Keep Sharp,
-Jed
Pedal Profile: Durham Sex Drive (The Most Awkward Post Yet)
BACKGROUND: This pedal is made by Alan Durham of Durham Electronics. As the story goes he never intended to mass produce boutique pedals. Alan’s friend Charlie Sexton, a guitar player who played for Bob Dylan, David Bowie, and others as well as an award-winning producer, asked Alan to make him a clean boost pedal that wouldn’t alter the tone of his amp, adding a pinch of bottom end as to avoid the common “nasally” sound of many clean boosts. When demand for this pedal became too high to ignore, the Sex Drive was born (Sexton, Sex Drive get it? Of course you did; you’re smart).
AMPS: ’85 Mesa Mark III, 65 London Combo
GUITARS: Gibson Les Paul Custom Classic (It may or may not have been a Guitar Center “Exclusive”), ’86 Fender MIJ Telecaster ’62 Reissue (Candy Apple Red with binding) equipped with Texas Special Pick-Ups
FIRST IMPRESSION: The first impression was based on the name. And it was probably the same impression you have right now. I asked my friend Jeff, the owner of the pedal I borrowed, how he felt about playing a pedal called the Sex Drive in church. He chuckled and said “I’m married so I think its okay.”
They say not to judge a pedal by its enclosure but on first touch this one screams quality. Plugging it in before I did any research, I was surprised by what I heard. I thought with “Drive” in the name that it must just be a Tube Screamer clone with true bypass. I was wrong.
PROS: The true bypass, Telflon wiring, and Switch Craft jacks makes this a quality pedal from the get-go. This quality translates into tone. It doesn’t tamper with your tone, but lets you if you want to.
One very cool thing about the Sex Drive is the “Comp” switch. A built-in compression switch at the top of the pedal gives you the option of “Off,” “Soft,” and “Hard.” The built-in compression makes this pedal great for when you need to boost for a solo.
Also, it’s a good looking pedal…sexy…sort of.
CONS: The title makes for an awkward moment when my pastor starts a conversation about “All those pedal you push. What are they?” “Well, Pastor, let me show you–wait. How’s the wife?”
It would be nice to get a bit more grit and dirt from the gain knob. If the gain gave more grit it would be like having a clean and dirty boost in one pedal. Volume up and gain down and there is the clean boost. Gain up and volume down and there is the dirty boost. With the way the pedal is designed, it is strictly a clean boost with a pinch of bite when you crank the gain.
FINAL IMPRESSION: Inspired by a recent Brad Paisley concert, I plugged in my tele and played the only two country licks I knew. I’m not a country guitarist by any means, but my instincts tell me that this is a great pedal for country solos.
As a clean boost it is top notch. There is no nasal sound unless the Tone knob is cranked. The compression switch makes for one less pedal to push for a solo and gives flexibility to choose what level of compression to use.
If your interested in more check it out at http://durhamelectronics.com/sexdrive.html.
Keep sharp,
-Jed
More Cool Pedals You Should Know About
Posted by Jed in Uncategorized on August 19th, 2009
Here is another look at the cool, strange and unique pedals that are out there.
Tortuga Neptune Opto-Vibe
This pedal is a modern two channel Uni-vibe equipped with an optical sensor. That’s right: an optical sensor. It makes for some really interesting on-the-fly expressions of the Vibe. This combined with the two independent channels makes for a very flexible pedal.
Seymour Duncan Deja Vu Tap Delay
This is a tap tempo delay with some interesting features. You can switch between a digital delay, an authentic bucket brigade driven analog delay and anything in between. The tap-tempo makes for flexible on- the-fly use and the “Ratio/Time Delay” knob makes it a cinch to get dotted eighths. As shown in the video, the Deja Vu has its own effects loop so you can add on an effect to the delay signal itself while leaving your tone dry.
Molten Voltage TOGGLE
I still do not know what this pedal does. Apparently it does everything. If you know please let me know.
G-LAB Wah Wah
This is a pressure sensitive pad for you wah pedal. Instead of clicking the pedal on you just put your foot on the pedal and away you go.
3 Pedals You Should Know About (But Not Necessarily Buy Right Now)
Posted by Jed in Uncategorized on May 29th, 2009
There is nothing so intoxicating to a guitar player as effects pedals. Sometimes I’m amazed at their hypnotic hold on me. I will be looking at ProGuitarShopDemos on Youtube for a lot longer than I care to admit (if you haven’t discovered this Youtube channel then check it out).
Pedals really are fascinating little devices. They can give an arsenal of sounds that makes the electric guitar such an intriguing instrument. These pedals add to that arsenal. Some of these pedals are a little more practical than others, but I’ll let you decide that.
1. Tap-Tempo Tremolo.
Let’s face it, delay is a standard. Without a good delay pedal, it is pretty hard to call yourself a WorshipGuitarist. Some of you even have two delays on your board (and I salute you).
But you want to go beyond the standard. Tremolo is the way to go. It can give your guitar parts that dash of color to take your sound to the next level. In the past I have always been a little queasy about tremolos because it was so hard to match the tempo with the beat of the song. Not any more.
Here are a couple of tap-tempo tremolos.
Best used with delay.
2. Switch or Controller or True Bypass Loop Pedals
I’m not actually sure what these pedals are called but they are cool. These pedals are for all of you who have “too many” pedals (as if that were possible). You use all of them. In fact it is really entertaining watching you use all of them. It is sort of like a tap-dance going from your clean/delay sound to your lead sound.
That tap-dance is exactly what these pedals eliminate. You take the rest of your pedals and loop them into the controller pedal which allows you to create ‘patches’ using your trusty effects boxes. The sounds that took you four stomps to create will now only take one.
I don’t know if he realizes that the point of these things is to make your pedalboard less messy. Oh well. Here is one by Rivera.
3. Wah Probe
And now for something completely different. Just watch.
That’s cool.
Let me know what you think about these pedals in the comments and if you know of any other really great pedals tell us about those too.
-Jed