Any MI Audio Knowledge, Guys?

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

I have a Crowther Hot Cake pedal that's great, but sadly unused. I'm thinking of selling it and getting myself an MI Audio Blue Boy Deluxe. Any thoughts on this (or other MI Audio pedals)?

- Keith

 

[barbarianbrute]

Re: Any MI Audio Knowledge, Guys?

if it sounds as good as the tube zone overdrive then it must be killer. as far as any other pedal i don't know. i have been very curious about the crunch box though. has anyone used one of thoes before?

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: Any MI Audio Knowledge, Guys?

My mate is the New Zealand importer.

The blue boy deluxe is along the lines of a tube screamer-type od, and is nice enough. I wouldn't rate it as better in any particular sense than a hotcake, so unless the hotcake really doesn't jive with your amp I'd suggest holding onto it. Ideally, it's best to try this stuff before you buy.

Of the MI range, I'd recommend the Boost'n'buff. I really didn't dig the crunch box, but then again I generally don't dig distortion boxes of any kind.

 

[wahwah]

Re: Any MI Audio Knowledge, Guys?

Hey Keith, a while ago I posted a clip for another forum member, benbenben, demoing the MI Audio pedals I have, which are the Blues Pro, an original Blue Boy and the Crunch Box. It also has samples of my Ulbrick 12AXE and my 70's block logo MXR Distortion +. You can find it here... http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=707451&songID=5421783

They're all my Strat into a Fender Super Champ, with the same mic (Beta57) and pre and no further processing.



Cheers...........................wahwah

 

[jony]

Re: Any MI Audio Knowledge, Guys?

The crunchbox sounds really like Van Halen's newer releases. The sharp articulate Marshall style crunch.

The differences between the Hotcake and the BBD are really large. The Hotcake is really transparent and has a fuzz like character when the gain is brought up above 2 "o" clock. The presence knob adds high mids for better cut. This is really opposite to the BBD, being a tubescreamer like pedal it has accentuated mids, less top end and is therefore less transparent and less true to the original tone of the guitar and amp combination.

Since your hotcake is not being used much, perhaps a change would be good, to see if the BBD gives you the tone you desire.

 

[barbarianbrute]

Re: Any MI Audio Knowledge, Guys?

Hey Keith, a while ago I posted a clip for another forum member, benbenben, demoing the MI Audio pedals I have, which are the Blues Pro, an original Blue Boy and the Crunch Box. It also has samples of my Ulbrick 12AXE and my 70's block logo MXR Distortion +. You can find it here... http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=707451&songID=5421783

They're all my Strat into a Fender Super Champ, with the same mic (Beta57) and pre and no further processing.



Cheers...........................wahwah

oh man wahwah, that crunch box sounds sick. i really like it a lot. very marshally indeed and i'm thinking it will sound great with my el diablo. how much drive can you get with it? can you get as much distortion as say the dsl orange or red channel? even if not, i think i'm going to buy that. do you have any more clips of the crunch box?

 

[bungalowbill]

Re: Any MI Audio Knowledge, Guys?

The crunch box really does nail the marshall 800 tone. I would go for the revised version with the internal trim pot and easier to dial in volume control.

 

[wahwah]

Re: Any MI Audio Knowledge, Guys?

oh man wahwah, that crunch box sounds sick. i really like it a lot. very marshally indeed and i'm thinking it will sound great with my el diablo. how much drive can you get with it? can you get as much distortion as say the dsl orange or red channel? even if not, i think i'm going to buy that. do you have any more clips of the crunch box?

In that clip the drive is sitting at half, so it's really only just getting started. There's also an internal trimpot for the presence voicing, so you can match it to different amps. It stays pretty tight even with the gain up, so I think it will really suit your playing. I haven't got any other clips, but I'll record another one with more gain tomorrow if I get a chance.



Cheers.........................wahwah

 

[barbarianbrute]

Re: Any MI Audio Knowledge, Guys?

great wahwah, thanks for that man. i'll look forward to hearing it... by the way, you should do reviews like that for a magazine or something. you got a great sense of tone and the cool australian accent :cool2:

 

[Iron Horse]

Re: Any MI Audio Knowledge, Guys?

Oh boy, those sounded really good. You bastards get me a GAS going on always when I read the forum (like it woudn't be that way anyway). I've got a Hughes&Kettner Edition Blue 60-R trannie amp, with a pretty nice sound, but I'd like some more push and bite, and am only interested in Marshally tones, and my amp is perhaps just a dat too dark (though with right settings, Randy Rhoads is REALLY near, when boosted with a BOSS SD-1. But I'd like some sort of boost or overdrive, either as a solo boost, or to leave it on permanently with the BOSS as a solo boost. Or I could buy Crunch Box; it seems to have gain and top end, and boost it with the BOSS. Thank God I'm having my birthday soon..

So options would be like: Boost'n'Buff, Crunch Box, Blues Pro, or Blue Boy Deluxe (those external controls seem quite nice).

E: I almost forgot: I could have use for something that can produce bitey, middy, mid gain tones at least with SD-1's help (think to AC/DC and 70's Priest (Rocka Rolla, Sad Wings... and Sin After Sin) at the very maximum)


Soo: Crunch Box would give that High gain Marshall, and that lower gain Marshall too? (the tones already mentioned) and I'd use it with my SD-1.
Then there's those Blues's, of which the Pro would have more gain, and could work pretty well for those dry 70's rock sounds. BBD on the other hand has more flexibility on the controls, but doesn't have much gain (actually I woudn't need much gain anyway). And then theres the boost, which would give more push and treble on the TB-mode.
You may choose which of them would suit me best.

 

[krall]

Re: Any MI Audio Knowledge, Guys?

I got my Crunch Box last week, and man what a great little box! It has tons of gain, much more than that clip showed (gain at 3-4 o'clock, you're into high gain territory..Like a modded, or dimed JCM 800 2210 model imo)..The internal trim pot makes a HUGE difference, I set mine for a little more low end (clockwise)..Counter clockwise, it tones down the low end..Highly recommended!

 

[Snottyboy]

Re: Any MI Audio Knowledge, Guys?

I've used a ton of ODs (not a HotCake, though), and I think the Blue Boy (I have the original issue) is possibly my favorite of any I've tried. It continues to stay on my board. I plan on picking up a BBD just to compare at some point as well. Very versitile pedals. FWIW, I also have a Tube Zone, and I like the Blue Boy better.

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Any MI Audio Knowledge, Guys?

Hey Keith, a while ago I posted a clip for another forum member, benbenben, demoing the MI Audio pedals I have, which are the Blues Pro, an original Blue Boy and the Crunch Box. It also has samples of my Ulbrick 12AXE and my 70's block logo MXR Distortion +. You can find it here... http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=707451&songID=5421783

They're all my Strat into a Fender Super Champ, with the same mic (Beta57) and pre and no further processing.



Cheers...........................wahwah

Thanks, Geoff! I remember hearing that clip a while back -- just forgot about it. The Blues Pro is a very cool-sounding pedal as well.

Again, your clips sound fantastic.

- Keith

 

[wahwah]

Re: Any MI Audio Knowledge, Guys?

I've used a ton of ODs (not a HotCake, though), and I think the Blue Boy (I have the original issue) is possibly my favorite of any I've tried. It continues to stay on my board. I plan on picking up a BBD just to compare at some point as well. Very versitile pedals. FWIW, I also have a Tube Zone, and I like the Blue Boy better.

I have very similar feelings about the Blue Boy, it's just a great all round overdrive, very versatile and works with a lot of different types of amps. When I was first introduced to the MI Audio pedals it was through a buddy of mine in a guitar shop. He showed me the Tube Zone but it wasn't quite right for me. He said "we've got another one of their pedals, but it's smaller and nobody's really tried it." We plugged in the Blue Boy and I knew instantly that I could finally retire my Ibanez TS-10 Classic, which I'd been using because it was closer to an original TS-808 than the TS-9 (I sold my original 808 in 1983 for $35...what a mistake that was!) Personally, I think the Blue Boy beats all of the Tube Screamers, the 808 included. The only thing that beats it is my Ulbrick 12AXE, but they're different beasts in many ways. They actually sound great together.



Cheers..........................wahwah

 

[wahwah]

Re: Any MI Audio Knowledge, Guys?

Thanks, Geoff! I remember hearing that clip a while back -- just forgot about it. The Blues Pro is a very cool-sounding pedal as well.

Again, your clips sound fantastic.

- Keith

You're welcome Keith. Yeah, the Blues Pro is voiced differently to the Blue Boy, it's very open, and it is a natural match for the Crunch Box as well. I know how much I benefit from hearing sound clips to get an overall impression of what pedals sound like, so it's my pleasure to provide the same here.



Cheers...............................wahwah

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Any MI Audio Knowledge, Guys?

You're welcome Keith. Yeah, the Blues Pro is voiced differently to the Blue Boy, it's very open, and it is a natural match for the Crunch Box as well. I know how much I benefit from hearing sound clips to get an overall impression of what pedals sound like, so it's my pleasure to provide the same here.



Cheers...............................wahwah

Yes, audio clips really help. And it's good to hear it through equipment we mortals can afford to use, as opposed to something like a Suhr into a Divided by 13. (Of course, your Strat isn't exactly run-of-the-mill.)

Your clips have also piqued my interest in the Fender Super Champ, as you've been reading (and writing) in my other post.

Excellent, excellent help!

- Keith

 

[wahwah]

Re: Any MI Audio Knowledge, Guys?

great wahwah, thanks for that man. i'll look forward to hearing it...

Here's the demo of the Crunch Box showing its gain range. I started out with the gain at 9 o'clock, then 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock and finally dimed. The volume is at 11 o'clock and the tone at 12 o'clock. This is into a Fender Super Champ running clean, a Beta 57 straight into a Metric Halo ULN-2 firewire interface. No EQ or compression.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=707451&songID=5840440



Cheers................................wahwah

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Any MI Audio Knowledge, Guys?

Nice compression and saturation on the high gain settings! Are you alternating between neck and bridge pups?

- Keith

 

[wahwah]

Re: Any MI Audio Knowledge, Guys?

Nice compression and saturation on the high gain settings! Are you alternating between neck and bridge pups?

- Keith

Yeah, each clip starts with the neck and then moves to the bridge so you can hear how it reacts to both.



Cheers.......................wahwah

 

[Iron Horse]

Re: Any MI Audio Knowledge, Guys?

Very nice clip, wahwah.
The gain doesn't seem to be as overkill as everybody has advertized it, although the fact that you had the tone control at 11 explains it. The tone was excellent, VERY great different Marshall sounds, from plexi to 800.

E: and I suppose you're using the Strat of yours, with buckers it must have quite much gain.