Latest pedal board incarnation...

[FAC]

Re: Latest pedal board incarnation...

The Crunch Box may still make its way back on to the board, but not until I've given the Box of Rock at least a few more gigs. It's unlikely, because I had a whole band and FOH guy accosting me after the gig saying "What was that really driven sound? It was fantastic!"

A few months ago, I went looking for a Crunchbox (primarily on the recommendation of this forum) and ended up with a Box of Rock. I did a mini shoot-out between Crunchbox, Menatone King of the Britains, and the Box of Rock, and the Box of Rock won (for me). I think it is great (but I do not own any others, so I can't really do a side-by-side with my rig--and this was my first distortion pedal since I've been back into playing...have not had one since the '80's...).

I'll be interested to see how long it lasts on your board...keep us posted!

 

[millsart]

Re: Latest pedal board incarnation...

Hmmmm, well darn, guess I'll have to give the BOR a go. I've been pretty pleased with the CB myself but its never been the end all "oh my god this soundings amazing" pedal. It does the higher gain rock stuff quite well for the money though but never really felt all that much like an amp.

BOR might need to get a second look, or I'm still curious about the plexitone pedal as well, not sure if thats quite apples to oranges or not lol


I picked up a RS Chorus recently myself and the jury is still out on that one (as with my megavibe) I do dig the CE-1 sounds, but I think I like my Arion Fat Chorus better for the leslie style stuff. Its just got more of a warble than the RS. I do like the RS but at $270 its sort of pricey for a single knob chorus pedal...



I'd shorten up those cables a bit if I were you too Geoff, you've probably got twice the length you need. I found it really does make a pretty big difference at least in my rig. I cut everything to length with a planet waves kit and probably cut out 20 feet or so of wasted length. Cleaned up the sound (thought part of it might of been the better quality cables as well........)

 

[StrangeSound]

Re: Latest pedal board incarnation...

Woah, looks terrific...give me the Zendrive and Little Green Wonder..wait, give me the whole board! I'm also a bit surprised that there's no MI stuff but gear comes and goes and if it works now awesome, why change it?

By the way wahwah...I need a wah soon and have a high gain amp and humbucker guitars, so should I go with a RMC-5 wah? Does this one sound also good with single coils? At least I got one strat

 

[wahwah]

Re: Latest pedal board incarnation...

I'd shorten up those cables a bit if I were you too Geoff, you've probably got twice the length you need. I found it really does make a pretty big difference at least in my rig. I cut everything to length with a planet waves kit and probably cut out 20 feet or so of wasted length. Cleaned up the sound (thought part of it might of been the better quality cables as well........)

You might be mistaking the power cables for audio. All that stuff looped up at the top is power cables running from the Warwick's 9v outlets to the pedals. If I shorten the George L's any more, they won't reach the pedals! The George L's are extraordinary though, even with longer runs.

Not sure about the Megavibe, eh? Well perhaps it might like a little emigration DownUnder....!


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

 

[wahwah]

Re: Latest pedal board incarnation...

Woah, looks terrific...give me the Zendrive and Little Green Wonder..wait, give me the whole board! I'm also a bit surprised that there's no MI stuff but gear comes and goes and if it works now awesome, why change it?

By the way wahwah...I need a wah soon and have a high gain amp and humbucker guitars, so should I go with a RMC-5 wah? Does this one sound also good with single coils? At least I got one strat

I'll ship the whole board out to you tomorrow morning, Adrian. If you just go and wait by the letterbox, it will be there in no time....

Yes, it sounds to me like you will be getting an RMC5 Wizard Wah. I haven't played through one, but it's a Teese wah, and the right one for your needs. Mr Teese says it will work with any pickup configuration. We trust Mr Teese.



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

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Latest pedal board incarnation...

Yeah, I have to have the dual delays because the Retro-Sonic only goes up to 600ms, mind you it's beautiful DM-2 style analog delay all the way. I have to keep the DE-7 on the board for ONE SONG (!) in Daryl Braithwaite's set that needs a 650ms delay to match a sequencer loop intro.

Unfortunately the db gig doesn't call for any phaser or vibe, but the old 70's MXR's and MojoVibe can be dropped in for any gigs that require them. The Retro-Sonic Chorus is a spectacular clone of the CE-1, so it has the same vibrato side as the original, which gives a very convincing George Harrison style Leslie effect. I've got an original CE-1 that is way too bulky and temperamental to drag around to gigs, and this Retro-Sonic nails it.

Yes, it's all running into the Super Champ for gigs, but at home I've been playing it through my Rockbender. It's a very versatile little rig.



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

what is a Rockbender?

 

[wahwah]

Re: Latest pedal board incarnation...

what is a Rockbender?

It's a custom made 100w 2x12 combo that was built for me by a local guy in 1989. It's like a Bassman on steroids, but with EL34 power. Great hybrid amp. There's some pics of it in my Well thread.



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

 

[stuey222]

Re: Latest pedal board incarnation...

Pretty neat. How's that chorus sound?

 

[wahwah]

Re: Latest pedal board incarnation...

Pretty neat. How's that chorus sound?

It's very similar to my original old CE-1, which it is designed to clone. If I had any complaint, it would be that in going for the same lush quality as the CE-1, there is a slight drop in the top end when the effect is engaged. I've been used to a DC-2 Dimension C for the past 10 years, which has all of that open top end. I've e-mailed Tim Larwill to ask if there might be an easy modification to change this, so I'm awaiting his reply. But this is a minor gripe, the overall tone is that classic, luscious late 70's chorus.



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

 

[millsart]

Re: Latest pedal board incarnation...

You might be mistaking the power cables for audio. All that stuff looped up at the top is power cables running from the Warwick's 9v outlets to the pedals. If I shorten the George L's any more, they won't reach the pedals! The George L's are extraordinary though, even with longer runs.

Not sure about the Megavibe, eh? Well perhaps it might like a little emigration DownUnder....!


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

LOL, yeah I think your right on that. Should of given you more credit eh....lol


Would be intrested to hear if a vibe pedal throbs in reverse "down under" wouldnt it :bigok:

Its definatly a good pedal and the authentic build with all the NOS parts is really impressive to behold. I've been going back and forth with it and my Mojovibe and sometimes the Ubervibe. They are all somewhat different despite being all somewhat the same overall if that makes any sense.

The Mojo is a little more of a phasey vibe overall the the Mega is a little less lush. I say lush in regards to how one thinks about various chorus pedals, not to imply its a thin sound at all because it isn't.

Maybe a different way of putting it would be the Mojo gets a little more of the underwater type vibe sound than the Mega.

Totally a subjective thing and I've been trying to get a little more experience with them under various conditions before I really make a choice or write too much up on them.

The Mega is good but I will say it wasn't a night and day thing plugging in it over the Mojo, just a little different taste.

Some of the hype for the pedal sort of makes it hard to live up to I'd say. Again, its not bad in the least but its not like it sound twice as good or something either.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Latest pedal board incarnation...

I've heard the BOR is really nice. But I'm more interested in the Retro-Sonic, I didn't realize the Chorus is modeled after the CE-1. I might need them both! The only thing that keeps me from using the DM-2 as my standard delay is the total time. I know it's tweakable, but I don't want the associated noise.

Thanks for adding to my GAS, wahwah.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Latest pedal board incarnation...

WHAT!!!

No Octron II???? I guess you should send it to me to make good use out of!

Killer looking board though...looks like you've got all the bases covered!

 

[wahwah]

Re: Latest pedal board incarnation...

LOL, yeah I think your right on that. Should of given you more credit eh....lol
Would be intrested to hear if a vibe pedal throbs in reverse "down under" wouldnt it :bigok:
Its definatly a good pedal and the authentic build with all the NOS parts is really impressive to behold. I've been going back and forth with it and my Mojovibe and sometimes the Ubervibe. They are all somewhat different despite being all somewhat the same overall if that makes any sense.
The Mojo is a little more of a phasey vibe overall the the Mega is a little less lush. I say lush in regards to how one thinks about various chorus pedals, not to imply its a thin sound at all because it isn't.
Maybe a different way of putting it would be the Mojo gets a little more of the underwater type vibe sound than the Mega.
Totally a subjective thing and I've been trying to get a little more experience with them under various conditions before I really make a choice or write too much up on them.
The Mega is good but I will say it wasn't a night and day thing plugging in it over the Mojo, just a little different taste.
Some of the hype for the pedal sort of makes it hard to live up to I'd say. Again, its not bad in the least but its not like it sound twice as good or something either.

Thanks for that info millsart. It's difficult for these pedals to live up to their reputation and hype sometimes. The one question I would have about the Mega is how it deals with overdriven and distorted sounds. I found this to be one of the weaknesses of the MojoVibe.



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

 

[wahwah]

Re: Latest pedal board incarnation...

I've heard the BOR is really nice. But I'm more interested in the Retro-Sonic, I didn't realize the Chorus is modeled after the CE-1. I might need them both! The only thing that keeps me from using the DM-2 as my standard delay is the total time. I know it's tweakable, but I don't want the associated noise.

Thanks for adding to my GAS, wahwah.

It should be noted that if the Box of Rock heard you describing it as "really nice," it would jump up and bite you! I know exactly what you meant, but it is really a wild angry dog of a pedal. It just so happens that that's what's required to do a good early Marshall impression!

The Retro-Sonic stuff is really beautiful. I e-mailed Tim Larwill about wanting a little more openness in the top end of my Chorus, and he just got back to me stating that the CE-1 he used as a reference had the top end roll-off, so that's what he went for. I think I've gotten used to using my Dimension C, so I miss that open top end. He is getting back to me with a mod removing a capacitor to open up the top. Otherwise, this pedal compares very favorably with the original CE-1, but without the input impedance mismatching, the signal clipping, the noise, and the mains power. Oh, and it's a quarter of the size!

The Analog Delay is really something. If you are used to that DM-2 sound, with the luscious atmospheric glow that it puts around everything, then you'll dig this. And if you've ever wondered what it would sound like if the DM-2 could get up around that magical 480-500 ms area, you get to find out with this pedal! Again, the emphasis is on warmth and lusciousness, so it won't do those ping..ping...ping.. types of delay, but if you're a DM-2 fan you will know all about that!

The Retro-Sonic pedals are not cheap, but I just think it's fantastic that someone is cloning some of my favorite old pedals, and making them better in some ways. If you get a chance to try them out, I would recommend it, to see if they'll work for you.

Sorry about the GAS, PFD. Well, not really, but you know what I mean!




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

 

[wahwah]

Re: Latest pedal board incarnation...

WHAT!!!

No Octron II???? I guess you should send it to me to make good use out of!

Killer looking board though...looks like you've got all the bases covered!

As much as I'd love to be using the Octron 2 for every gig, it just doesn't have a place in my main employer's set. I should speak to him about that and see what can be done!



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

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: Latest pedal board incarnation...

Do our ears build up a tolerance to what we thought was good tone, or do our tastes just change?

 

[thucydides]

Re: Latest pedal board incarnation...

The Box of Rock sounds fascinating, but I found very different prices upon googling. Any idea why an orange colored version is much more?

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Latest pedal board incarnation...

The Box of Rock sounds fascinating, but I found very different prices upon googling. Any idea why an orange colored version is much more?

The US versions of the ZVex pedals are hand painted and have a lifetime warranty. The silk screned versions are assembled overseas and have a one year warranty. (I'm pretty sure that's the difference, not made here with imported parts)

It should be noted that if the Box of Rock heard you describing it as "really nice," it would jump up and bite you! I know exactly what you meant, but it is really a wild angry dog of a pedal. It just so happens that that's what's required to do a good early Marshall impression!

The Retro-Sonic stuff is really beautiful. I e-mailed Tim Larwill about wanting a little more openness in the top end of my Chorus, and he just got back to me stating that the CE-1 he used as a reference had the top end roll-off, so that's what he went for. I think I've gotten used to using my Dimension C, so I miss that open top end. He is getting back to me with a mod removing a capacitor to open up the top. Otherwise, this pedal compares very favorably with the original CE-1, but without the input impedance mismatching, the signal clipping, the noise, and the mains power. Oh, and it's a quarter of the size!

The Analog Delay is really something. If you are used to that DM-2 sound, with the luscious atmospheric glow that it puts around everything, then you'll dig this. And if you've ever wondered what it would sound like if the DM-2 could get up around that magical 480-500 ms area, you get to find out with this pedal! Again, the emphasis is on warmth and lusciousness, so it won't do those ping..ping...ping.. types of delay, but if you're a DM-2 fan you will know all about that!

The Retro-Sonic pedals are not cheap, but I just think it's fantastic that someone is cloning some of my favorite old pedals, and making them better in some ways. If you get a chance to try them out, I would recommend it, to see if they'll work for you.

Sorry about the GAS, PFD. Well, not really, but you know what I mean!




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

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. Not "nice" as in polite, nice as in a great raw Marshall in a box sound. Man oh man those Retro-Sonics are sounding even more tempting. I have very limited chorus pedals (Small Clone is the only I use) so I can justify that maybe, but I've already got a few analog delays lying around. That sound though, it's so good...

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Latest pedal board incarnation...

Hehe...I need an Octa-Switch now bro...or do you think I should go for a Gig Rig???

Hehe what ever fits your needs man
The Gigrig is big though!

 

[wahwah]

Re: Latest pedal board incarnation...

Do our ears build up a tolerance to what we thought was good tone, or do our tastes just change?

Both are certainly possible. Sometimes I find that I can get used to a particular bunch of sounds, and then I try something else and realize that there's more to be had.



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