XSSIVE
OCDologist
i got my Rhino a few days ago so it's still the honeymoon but i must say, i'm quite impressed. to start i'm a big fan of screamer variations so i figured i would have a good shot at liking this. the thing that i knew going in that could put it a step above all the other screamers and variations of screamers out there modded and stock is that little 100Hz knob. man does that kick ass.
step on a normal screamer and you get some bottom end cut, which can be good (real good for boosting already high gain amps to tighten them up) but in other cases you want that fatter bottom and it's gone with a typical screamer. the usual fix is a cap swap that alters the low end but also screws with the mids and ends up being a bit mushy or muddy and it's never 100% perfect for every situation. you're stuck with the cap values that worked for the designers amp and guitar setup and his ears. of course the other option is an OD with separate bass and treble knobs but let's not get into that, we're talking about this in a lineage of pedals that for ages had just a tone knob and perhaps a toggle that swaps out the already mentioned bass altering cap. the 100Hz knob lets you tailor the bottom end to fit your needs perfectly from really cut off if you want to massively fat if wanted and anything between. i have OD pedals with bass and treble knobs and for some reason i like the Rhino's setup of tone and 100Hz better than that.
the midrange (since that's a typical topic of screamer discussion and everyone is going to want to compare this to a screamer...thus why i am in my review to make things easier) is still screamer like but smoother and not quite as abrupt or aggressive a mid spike. it certainly cuts well and has a pleasant midrange but isn't hard on the ears or making you reach for the mid knob on the amp to turn it down or anything like that.
when used in almost a distortion pedal form with its drive cranked up through a clean channel it works quite well for some heavy blues or classic rock stuff. i had a lot of fun messing with it like that and i usually hate cranked overdrive pedals into clean amps. i like to get my gain sounds more from the amp with an OD used more mildly on a clean amp for just a little push or breakup and not using it all out with the drive on 10. it works even better boosting my already broken up JMP. with the JMP cranked for some good hard rock tones and the Rhino pushing it it easily gets into 80s metal territory. 100Hz knob yet again stealing the show in both cases letting me bring or take the chunk exactly how i wanted to.
which brings us to me using it as i normally do being more of a higher gain 80s metal or modern hard rock/metal style player with it boosting an already cranked modern high gain amp (in this case both my peavey 3120 and 5150 which i run in stereo) again that 100Hz knob really makes it extra tweakable which no other OD pedal with just a single tone knob i've had could do of course. you can get the low end crazy tight and cut or to a more typical screamer style tightness in the lows with some knob tweaking or you can add the bottom end back in and have a boosted extra saturated high gain amp with a fat bottom end that still remains tighter than if you just cranked the amp without the Rhino there. everyone with a 5150 or Dual Recto (i used to own one) knows what i mean. they can be a bit woofy and flabby on the bottom without a boost but when you boost them you may lose too much of the chunk. so instead of going right for the bass or resonance knob on the amp you have a 3rd option to tailor the low end in the 100Hz knob of the Rhino.
i'm quite impressed with the pedal and if you like screamer variations and want one that's a bit smoother and with more tonal options than any of the others this may be the key. i tried it in all methods i ever need to use an OD, into clean, into crunchy and into high gain and it worked well in all cases. i know i'm beating a dead horse here but it's all about that 100Hz knob.
i've owned tons of screamer variations both boutique and big brand along with modded screamers by lots of the big names in pedal modding. i've also built and modded a ton of them on my own i'm quite proud of. that said this little 100Hz knob alone makes this one a step above the rest in tailoring the exact tone you want from an OD without going to a pedal with a separate bass and treble knob setup. with some of the modded pedals they would be great, nice and chunky for pushing a clean amp and perhaps just a touch too fat pushing a crunchy JMP style amp. however try and use it with a high gain amp and it's flabby bottom city with a big woofy bottom due to the over compensation in cap values the modder or pedal builder chose to use while trying to add back the bottom the screamer is notorious for losing. i've never found a perfect OD in the screamer family that did all 3 types of OD well (clean amp, crunchy amp, high gain amp) and it was always more about the bottom than the mids some people get hooked on when it comes to screamers. the rhino seems to fix that problem with one simple knob.
as for the curve knob since i know i'll be asked about it. i'll be honest i'm still trying to put into words how it changes the tone. way huge says it tailors the "corner frequencies" and i guess that makes sense when you hear it in person but explaining what a corner frequency is in words seems a bit hard to do. this is more of a thing you have to hear for yourself as you sweep the knob or perhaps you'll hear in a good quality clip when PGS or similar does their video review. unfortunately i can't do any good quality clips and trying to explain in words won't do it much good. explaining low end is one thing we can all understand flabby or tight etc but at least to me it's easier to hear the "corner frequency" change rather than write down what it is.
in summary, 100Hz knob on a screamer style pedal....hell yeah! :headbang: i mentioned it so much since it really sets the pedal apart from all the other green overdrives out there while not going to the other OD pedal style of using separate bass and treble knobs.
-Mike
step on a normal screamer and you get some bottom end cut, which can be good (real good for boosting already high gain amps to tighten them up) but in other cases you want that fatter bottom and it's gone with a typical screamer. the usual fix is a cap swap that alters the low end but also screws with the mids and ends up being a bit mushy or muddy and it's never 100% perfect for every situation. you're stuck with the cap values that worked for the designers amp and guitar setup and his ears. of course the other option is an OD with separate bass and treble knobs but let's not get into that, we're talking about this in a lineage of pedals that for ages had just a tone knob and perhaps a toggle that swaps out the already mentioned bass altering cap. the 100Hz knob lets you tailor the bottom end to fit your needs perfectly from really cut off if you want to massively fat if wanted and anything between. i have OD pedals with bass and treble knobs and for some reason i like the Rhino's setup of tone and 100Hz better than that.
the midrange (since that's a typical topic of screamer discussion and everyone is going to want to compare this to a screamer...thus why i am in my review to make things easier) is still screamer like but smoother and not quite as abrupt or aggressive a mid spike. it certainly cuts well and has a pleasant midrange but isn't hard on the ears or making you reach for the mid knob on the amp to turn it down or anything like that.
when used in almost a distortion pedal form with its drive cranked up through a clean channel it works quite well for some heavy blues or classic rock stuff. i had a lot of fun messing with it like that and i usually hate cranked overdrive pedals into clean amps. i like to get my gain sounds more from the amp with an OD used more mildly on a clean amp for just a little push or breakup and not using it all out with the drive on 10. it works even better boosting my already broken up JMP. with the JMP cranked for some good hard rock tones and the Rhino pushing it it easily gets into 80s metal territory. 100Hz knob yet again stealing the show in both cases letting me bring or take the chunk exactly how i wanted to.
which brings us to me using it as i normally do being more of a higher gain 80s metal or modern hard rock/metal style player with it boosting an already cranked modern high gain amp (in this case both my peavey 3120 and 5150 which i run in stereo) again that 100Hz knob really makes it extra tweakable which no other OD pedal with just a single tone knob i've had could do of course. you can get the low end crazy tight and cut or to a more typical screamer style tightness in the lows with some knob tweaking or you can add the bottom end back in and have a boosted extra saturated high gain amp with a fat bottom end that still remains tighter than if you just cranked the amp without the Rhino there. everyone with a 5150 or Dual Recto (i used to own one) knows what i mean. they can be a bit woofy and flabby on the bottom without a boost but when you boost them you may lose too much of the chunk. so instead of going right for the bass or resonance knob on the amp you have a 3rd option to tailor the low end in the 100Hz knob of the Rhino.
i'm quite impressed with the pedal and if you like screamer variations and want one that's a bit smoother and with more tonal options than any of the others this may be the key. i tried it in all methods i ever need to use an OD, into clean, into crunchy and into high gain and it worked well in all cases. i know i'm beating a dead horse here but it's all about that 100Hz knob.
i've owned tons of screamer variations both boutique and big brand along with modded screamers by lots of the big names in pedal modding. i've also built and modded a ton of them on my own i'm quite proud of. that said this little 100Hz knob alone makes this one a step above the rest in tailoring the exact tone you want from an OD without going to a pedal with a separate bass and treble knob setup. with some of the modded pedals they would be great, nice and chunky for pushing a clean amp and perhaps just a touch too fat pushing a crunchy JMP style amp. however try and use it with a high gain amp and it's flabby bottom city with a big woofy bottom due to the over compensation in cap values the modder or pedal builder chose to use while trying to add back the bottom the screamer is notorious for losing. i've never found a perfect OD in the screamer family that did all 3 types of OD well (clean amp, crunchy amp, high gain amp) and it was always more about the bottom than the mids some people get hooked on when it comes to screamers. the rhino seems to fix that problem with one simple knob.
as for the curve knob since i know i'll be asked about it. i'll be honest i'm still trying to put into words how it changes the tone. way huge says it tailors the "corner frequencies" and i guess that makes sense when you hear it in person but explaining what a corner frequency is in words seems a bit hard to do. this is more of a thing you have to hear for yourself as you sweep the knob or perhaps you'll hear in a good quality clip when PGS or similar does their video review. unfortunately i can't do any good quality clips and trying to explain in words won't do it much good. explaining low end is one thing we can all understand flabby or tight etc but at least to me it's easier to hear the "corner frequency" change rather than write down what it is.
in summary, 100Hz knob on a screamer style pedal....hell yeah! :headbang: i mentioned it so much since it really sets the pedal apart from all the other green overdrives out there while not going to the other OD pedal style of using separate bass and treble knobs.
-Mike
