Archive for category Pedal Profile
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
Pedal Profile: Xotic BB Preamp MB
Posted by Jed in Gear, Pedal Profile on February 19th, 2010
BACKGROUND: Xotic is owned by PCI, a company based in in Los Angeles, California, that specializes in exporting high end music gear to Japan. Xotic was founded to make high-end basses in 1996. In ’99 Xotic started producing effects for both guitars and basses.
The first BB Preamp was a main staple for Xotic and based on Marshall Plexi tones. Later, Xotic teamed up with Andy Timmons to create the Andy Timmons Signature BB Preamp which is a little warmer and more compressed than the original. The BB Preamp MB came out in December as the first offering from the new Xotic Custom Shop.
GUITARS: Gibson Les Paul Custom Classic, 1986 Fender ’62 Tele Reissue with Texas Special Pickups.
AMPS: 65 London 2×12 Combo
FIRST IMPRESSION: Hmmm…silver. Always good.
The MB seems cleaner and clearer than the original BB Preamp and less compressed. I still haven’t compared it to the original, and it’s been a while since I have played the Andy Timmons signature, so we will see how I feel once I play those.
PROS: This pedal has a great Marshall Plexi sound to it. It still has a very transparent sound yet includes the Marshall attitude. It has a distinct Lincoln Brewster quality to it. So if you love Brewster but can’t stand Line 6, check this pedal out.
The EQ control on this pedal is a breath of fresh air. While most pedals just have a tone control, the BB Preamp gives the user control of treble and bass separately. The MB takes it one step further with the much needed Mid control and boost. The mid-boost makes for some great clear attack to help the guitar cut through the mix with out sounding frail and brittle.
This pedal plays well with Tube Screamers. I used a TS9DX set to the TS9 with the clean boost setting (Drive at 0, Level at max). It was great for solos, a little bit of volume increase, a little bit of gain increase and hardly no change in tone.
CONS: The LED is red. Not blue, not green…red. Can a pedal be considered boutique if the LED is the same color as the LED in the Boss Metal Zone? Some how this is effecting the sound. It probably would sound more “Dumble” if the light was blue. That said, it would probably sound less Brewster.
I really am having a hard time finding more “cons” on this pedal. It is a Marshall-sounding pedal with a rarely seen mid boost control. How can you mess that up?
FINAL THOUGHTS: This pedal really does have a Brewster feel, which is great for someone like me who can never get modeling gear to sound good.
Every guitar I plugged through it sounded great and kept it’s unique character. It was articulate, clear, Brewster-like and gave me a mid control that I’ve never had on a pedal. I love this pedal. It’s not going to replace the Zendrive, but Zendrive is going to have to share some room on the pedal board.
Keep Sharp,
Jed
Pedal Profile: Malekko Ekko 616
Posted by Jed in Gear, Pedal Profile on February 16th, 2010
BACKGROUND: Malekko is a company built on the idea that making mistakes is learning faster. This young five-year-old company, started by two musician friends, has a track record of tirelessly creating prototypes until they finally come up with a special pedal.
The Malekko Ekko 616 is the result of that signature determination that has become the DNA of Malekko. It was designed to be the brightest analog delay on the market with a modulation that can go from smooth and subtle choruses to full-on Lesly sounds. It should be noted that there are two types of 616s out there: original and modified. Due to a bad batch of components, the first 616s had a lingering repeats problem. If you turned the pedal off during a delay, the pedal would finish the remaining repeats when you turned it back on. If you have or end up with one of these pedals, Malekko has offered to fix it for free. For this profile I lucked out, thanks once again to my friend Q, and had the opportunity to play both.
GUITARS: Gibson Les Paul Custom Classic Silverburst, Fender Eric Johnson Signature Strat, 1986 Fender MIJ ’62 Reissue Tele with Texas Special Pickups.
AMPS: 65 London 2×12 Combo
FIRST IMPRESSION: It’s not silver. This is never a good sign. However, the red looks like it was taken from a really fast sports car, say a Ferrari 458 Italia. This usually is a good sign.
The repeats are clear and rich and with the Strat, can get some very cool Joshua Tree sounds.
At this point the modulation seems out of control. It takes a while, but I finally get a setting that is usable but for the most part, I just keep it turned off.
PROS: Much richer and less sterile than a digital delay. So many digital delays sound tiny with every repeat computer perfect. This delay has great highs without being brittle and the bucket brigades make for a just- less-than-perfect repeats which gives the 616 so much character.
The true bypass/buffered knob is a really cool option to have on a pedal and I wish more pedals had it. On the modified pedal the buffered is a little brighter than the true bypass.
CONS: The Regen knob is a case of controlled chaos. If the knob is at eleven o’clock or higher the repeats keep going and keep getting louder.
The true bypass mode is supposed to have a darker sounding delay then the buffered mode. On the original 616, it seems like it doesn’t just make the tone darker but alters the tone of the guitar itself. It feels like there is actually a decibel level decrease.
FINAL THOUGHTS: The oscillation and modulating effects make for some great Mute Math sounds. Not the most useful when playing “Inside Out,” but cool if you like the random wacky sounds pedals can make.
Rich and clear are the best words to describe this pedal. It is a great delay if you use a none tap-tempo digital delay and are looking for something with a richer tone that doesn’t sound muddy. In fact, even if you’re not looking for a richer, warmer delay, I would still recommend the 616.
Keep sharp,
-Jed
Pedal Profile: Tanabe Dumkudo
Posted by Jed in Gear, Pedal Profile on January 29th, 2010
BACKGROUND: This pedal is handbuilt in Japan by Toshihiko Tanabe. The flagship pedal is the Zenkudo meant for humbucker style guitars. The spawn of this pedal is the Dumkudo, a higher gain version of the Zenkudo, meant for single-coil bolt-on style guitars. Some of us make a big deal about blue LED lights in pedals. If it is blue it must sound better (color and tone are inexplicably linked). With the Dumkudo, not only do you get a blue LED, but you also get a little switch on the side that can change this light from blue to red and then to green. Yes. Green. That’s amazing.
Better yet, these color changes are not just aesthetic, rather they signify changes in tones and modes.
Red: This is a Marshall-like tone. It is the most punchy out of the three modes.
Blue: This is more of a Dumble tone, softer sounding then the Red mode and has a Zendrive flavor.
Green: This mode is supposed to be more of a Dumble/Tanabe tone. The most noticeable difference is that it has a much higher output than the other two modes.
GUITARS: Gibson Les Paul Silverburst, Fender Eric Johnson Signature Strat, ’86 Fender Telecaster ’62 Reissue
AMPS: ’85 Mesa Boogie Mark III, ’97 Rivera R-55, 65 London Combo
FIRST IMPRESSION: When my friend Q said he was looking into this pedal, I had to admit that I had no idea what it was. When I first looked at Tanabe’s website, the first thing I noticed was his return policy. When that’s is before the actual product itself that tells me that Tanabe is pursuing this “hobby” with an eccentric zeal. When I first saw it, it was surprisingly light and very pretty with its black case and mother-of-pear-like top, definitely a solid pedal with solid tone.
PROS: This pedal sounds amazing, which is probably the most important feature of a pedal. In fact, it sounds better the more I play it. It sounds as much like a real amp as any pedal I have ever heard. There seems to be more low end than the Zendrive yet it never feels muddy or murky, always clear even with a Les Paul.
While every mode sounds great, the Red Marshall mode is my favorite through the Mesa and the 65, and the Blue mode sounds great through the Rivera. All of the guitars sound great through this cool customer.
CONS: This is a short list. This pedal has a surprising lack of sustain at full saturation. I’m a little hesitant to say this is a short-coming. The green mode has such a high output that it is almost unusable if you are switching between the pedal and the clean channel on your amp unless you use a clean boost when the Dumkudo is turned off. This does make for an extra box to stomp on when switching channels. It should be said that the higher the pedal’s volume is turned up the better sounding it gets.
FINAL THOUGHTS: No matter how I turned the knobs or what amp or guitar I used, this pedal sounded amp-like, articulate, and just plain good. And it looks pretty. This pedal is a great core tone for any worship, church-oriented pedal board.
Keep Sharp,
-Jed