You know what they say about the grass always being greener on the other side of the fence...
I'd known about the Strymon Flint for quite a while and the demos are great, but these things are expensive. The BOSS FRV-1 and TR-2 on my board were also perfectly usable for my reverb and tremolo needs, but the curiosity persisted. And then I got a chance to demo a Flint this summer and was completely blown away. Cue the G.A.S... These things just don't show up used at a price much lower than new, until my friend's shop got one in a couple weeks ago. After a bit of wheeling and dealing I was out the door for around $200. When you consider that I scored my FRV-1 for $70 before the market on them took off, I can probably break even or come out slightly ahead when I flip my previous pedals. Enough of that though, I'm sure everyone is much more curious about how they sound in comparison...
The FRV-1 models an early 60s Fender tube reverb tank, as does the 60s mode on the Flint. Honestly they sound really similar; the Flint is more tweakable and has maybe a bit more depth to the sound, but there isn't a huge difference by any means. But the Flint doens't stop there, it also has 70s (plate) and 80s (Lexicon PCM maybe?) modes. The 70s mode does a cool VH1 tone, but I really like the 80s mode. I don't see myself using it much with my Jubilees, but it sounds unreal in the loop of my Jet City 22H.
On the tremolo front, the differences are night and day. The TR-2 is flexible and will do a ton of generic tremolo sounds, but it doesn't really sound like the trem in any amp. The Flint OTOH nails both the Vox / Marshall Bluesbreaker and Blackface Fender tremolo tones. I've never played a Brownface with Harmonic trem, but that's cool too; almost like a subtle Univibe tone. I used to have a Demeter Tremulator and expected to love the '65 photo setting, but it has a really sharp slope that I ended up not caring for. Instead I love the '63 tube mode; think the tremolo guitar on Oasis - The Masterplan. While A/Bing the Flint & TR-2 I also noticed that the Flint has far superior dynamic response, in comparison the TR-2 seems to be fronted with an always-on compressor.
In conclusion I'd recommend the Flint to anyone looking for a great reverb / tremolo combo. There are definitely more tweak-able reverbs out there as well as several great trem pedals, but this is definitely the best 2-in-1 I've come across. To anyone else who's happy with their current pedals, I'd advise you to never plug one in. This pedal sounded so great that once I heard it, I HAD to have one.
I'd known about the Strymon Flint for quite a while and the demos are great, but these things are expensive. The BOSS FRV-1 and TR-2 on my board were also perfectly usable for my reverb and tremolo needs, but the curiosity persisted. And then I got a chance to demo a Flint this summer and was completely blown away. Cue the G.A.S... These things just don't show up used at a price much lower than new, until my friend's shop got one in a couple weeks ago. After a bit of wheeling and dealing I was out the door for around $200. When you consider that I scored my FRV-1 for $70 before the market on them took off, I can probably break even or come out slightly ahead when I flip my previous pedals. Enough of that though, I'm sure everyone is much more curious about how they sound in comparison...
The FRV-1 models an early 60s Fender tube reverb tank, as does the 60s mode on the Flint. Honestly they sound really similar; the Flint is more tweakable and has maybe a bit more depth to the sound, but there isn't a huge difference by any means. But the Flint doens't stop there, it also has 70s (plate) and 80s (Lexicon PCM maybe?) modes. The 70s mode does a cool VH1 tone, but I really like the 80s mode. I don't see myself using it much with my Jubilees, but it sounds unreal in the loop of my Jet City 22H.
On the tremolo front, the differences are night and day. The TR-2 is flexible and will do a ton of generic tremolo sounds, but it doesn't really sound like the trem in any amp. The Flint OTOH nails both the Vox / Marshall Bluesbreaker and Blackface Fender tremolo tones. I've never played a Brownface with Harmonic trem, but that's cool too; almost like a subtle Univibe tone. I used to have a Demeter Tremulator and expected to love the '65 photo setting, but it has a really sharp slope that I ended up not caring for. Instead I love the '63 tube mode; think the tremolo guitar on Oasis - The Masterplan. While A/Bing the Flint & TR-2 I also noticed that the Flint has far superior dynamic response, in comparison the TR-2 seems to be fronted with an always-on compressor.
In conclusion I'd recommend the Flint to anyone looking for a great reverb / tremolo combo. There are definitely more tweak-able reverbs out there as well as several great trem pedals, but this is definitely the best 2-in-1 I've come across. To anyone else who's happy with their current pedals, I'd advise you to never plug one in. This pedal sounded so great that once I heard it, I HAD to have one.
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