So I decided to give the Revv G4 another chance...

[nexion218]

Techincally, yes. Hotter signal on the peaks for any reasonably hot passive like the QP. It means they're capable of producing more output. But in average, probably not, because EMG's waveform is pretty constant. That's why they're considered "compressed", but I think the techincal term is actually "clipped". No way my Quarter Pound feels nearly saturated/gainy as EMG's/Fishmans, you're right. And I guess you can actually see that phoenomenon on the waveforms as well. Quiet playing on EMG's is probably louder than equivalent quiet playing on the Quarter Pound. Hence, you could say, the QP has a greater dynamic range. The peaks are slightly higher, but the valleys are much lower as well.

But in the case of the X2N/Black Winter/500T, IME, I'd say they both feel and technically are hotter. Like, by a lot. Keep in mind, the magnetic structure in those is like MONSTROUS.

Also, where did you find those measurements for output for the BW? Did you measure them yourself? Not doubting you at all, but if you find them published somewhere, no way it's almost twice as hot as the "official" published measurments for the X2N (which are like 500 IIIRC). Duncan mV measurements were published some time ago, but they don't match the DiMarzio measurements AT ALL, so I guess they used different methodology to obtain those measurements.

But IME, the X2N and BW not only sounded and felt pretty close to the same in compression and gaininess, but they also recorded DI's close to the same level. The 500T a bit lower, but still higher than EMG's/Fishmans.

Here:

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/for...08433-seymour-duncan-pickup-output-experiment

I know many questipned this before, but since this is the 9nly measurement I could find and it's out here on the SD forum, I' m willing to accept it as legit.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Here:

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/foru...put-experiment

I know many questipned this before, but since this is the 9nly measurement I could find and it's out here on the SD forum, I' m willing to accept it as legit.

Oh, I don't doubt it's legit whatsoever. But what I mean to say is they didn't get readings which made sense compared to what DiMarzio has published either. If you take that as gospel, it's basically saying the Dimebucker is like 2-3 times as hot as some of DiMarzio's hottest offerings, and that's certainly not the case. So I'm sure they did something different. And if that was the case, what's to say the readings compared to EMG's aren't like that as well.

What I mean to say is they make sense if you're comparing Duncans to Duncans (and also, to some extent, because I have a hard time believeng the Full Shred Neck is THAT hot or that the Distortion is hotter than the BW when the wind is very close and the BW has like twice as much ceramic in there), but if you're comparing Duncan's reading to other companies, I don't think it works. But then again, Duncan know their products better, so my suspicion is just that: suspicion.

Then again, I'm speaking from my own experience and my findings. I'm sure different pickups react to different people's playings and viceversa. But I highly doubt it's like night and day for everytone either.

Again, like I said, if you need proof, I can record something tonight and show you how the QP records compared to the Fishmans. It's not direct evidence, obviously, because it's not 500T vs EMG's like I was stating, but it's the best I can do for now.

Also, don't read that as I'm trying to discount what you've researched or what your particular experience is either. I'm just sharing what I've found.

 

[nexion218]

Also, don't read that as I'm trying to discount what you've researched or what your particular experience is either.

Never felt like it, we're good! It's just weird. We're debating here about things that could be easily measured, yet noone cares to do it properly, not even the manufacturer. Yes, I say easily. We're able to measure things on a molecular level (done it myself while in research), so measuring a couple of volts enough times to approximate an average value shouldn't be that big of a deal as they make it out to be. They keep telling us about the DC resistance which they know is not a precise descriptor of pickup output, it might or might not correllate with it, but that's it And then we're fumling in the dark, trying to figure out things by ear, which is often misleading. Take for example the Nazgul. Nowhere near as hot as it sounds to be, it just has a very specific EQ that makes it sound like it's red hot.

But in the end, all that matter is whether or not we like the sound coming from the speakers or not. In this case, I like it with EMGs and lower tunings and hate it it with passives in standard, which is something that has never happened before.. LOL

 

[Seashore]

I'm two years late to this thread, but I just got my hands on a G4, and my impressions could not be more different from the OP. In my setup, it's a high gain monster, it can be plenty tight, and it sounds great.

I have experienced weird behavior similar to what he describes with two other amp-in-a-box pedals. They both sounded a lot better with a buffer directly in front, and they started responding more normally and sounding like they were "supposed to" when I used the buffer as an active volume cut (EQ pedal worked too, but it was noisier). I'm using pretty hot passive pickups and going into the front of an old tube amp set very clean (no grit coming from the amp). I expected I would have a similar fight on my hands with the Revv, but to my surprise it sounded great straight through. No boost or buffer, just guitar > Revv > amp.

I also saw stuff on Reddit about people having problems with it until they took it off a daisy chain and gave it isolated power.

Anyway I'm sure the OP got this resolved a long time ago, but I wanted to make a note of my impressions in case somebody comes across this thread while they're trying to figure out what to get. I think the way the pedal behaves is going to come down to the particulars of your rig. It can definitely be exactly what it's marketed as being, though. Only spent a few hours with it, but it's already one of the best distortion sounds I've gotten outside of high gain amps.

 

[misterwhizzy]

I realize this is a zombie thread, but I'm going to have to weigh in as well, because my experience with the G4 is that it's monstrous in terms of gain, especially when using the red aggression setting.

Things start to get out of control in terms of noise and feedback when the gain knob gets past 2:00, again, specifically on red aggression. I hear the blue aggression mode as boosted, tight high-gain, and I find the EQ particularly versatile. The only problem I have with it is going into the front of the amp. It sounds like a tiny little bee colony being angrily forced through a high-pass filter in the preamp. Into the effects loop, though, it's glorious.