Saturday, July 29, 2017

OVERDRIVE- E.W.S. Brute Drive & Little Brute Drive

 E.W.S. Brute Drive and Little Brute Drive  


$170.00 USD

The company has been making these pedals for several years. They make very few pedals mostly for Bass. Like a preamp a Mid control. and a gate. Most pedals have a B size pedal and a mini. Except for a Fuzz that predates this there is not much more. What's more nothing new in years.

Well in spite of this they have a lot of fans for these 2 pedals.

Except for the switchable boost it has the basic volume tone and bass.
The mini pedal only has a gain?

The appeal is its punchy harsh and penetrating all mids gain.
I must admit it's adolescent aggression is very appealing.

I think it is an acquired taste. Which is a polite way of saying that the money asked for this 7 year old pedal will get you a lot more now.

But hey! If you like it. I get it!


$128.00 USD




BOTTOM LINE

Tone City Golden Plexi $50.00 USD ...click on the YouTube crank up the level then go to 6:40 then listen for for a couple of minutes... then compare. 





COMPRESSORS- the best 6 on the planet .... IF....price is no object!!!

 WHY WOULD I BUY THE BEST WHEN MANY CHEAPER ACTUALLY SOUND STUNNING?  


Well... as readers know I have a massive pedal board ...51 PEDALS ??? I have A 'BIG' problem. ...Pun intend. LOL

Like all players I want the best.
The best in any category is often about 3 or 4 pedals. They are not always expensive. If you like for example a Vintage Fuzz. Then you may wish to either find a used one or if you can not you may get a clone. To my mind a good clone is just that ...made from NEW OLD STOCK which in plain English is simple parts that are decades old that are sitting collecting dust in the back corner shelf of some distributor or maker. For example I got a Sovtek Big Muff part for part clone for $85.00 USD.
I digress.
My board is much too big to get bigger. If I want MORE I must eliminate something on the board.
Not easy. LOL What if I got rid of all 4 of my compressors? WOW lots of room left on my board!!!
So on my Boss loop switcher I have saved one loop for that very important ...solution to a BIG problem ...the problem I had yet to find out what it would be. LOL
Well if I use one compressor for the whole board it would be best to have it in it's own loop I will have to have it always on. BUT!!! This would not be a problem if I did not love my 12 string FX to use 2 compressors. One in front ...and one after. I find that works best with an optic comp I have 2 to choose from. The Pigtronics is the best ...both are mini which is ideal.

So with a great compressor ideally I want a studio quality compressor in a pedal.
First they are not going to be cheap.
Secondly they are in 2 category's.
Some are designed to try and hide they are even on. Transparent.
Some are designed to deliberately add some 'SQUISH' and are not afraid to ADD A NOTICEABLE TONE to your sound

 EMPRESS COMPRESSOR 

$250.00 USD

 The Empress comp was one of the first to create a studio grade compressor
Unique to it as a stomp box is visual LED metering of both your input and output
It has a side chain ...also unusual for a pedal. The most significant and useful thing is a choice of compression ratio's ...you get a 2.1 which is light and a 4.1 which is typical ...but it has a 10.1 that is quite a heavy compression. Metal bass players love it.
In fact regardless of ratio this is a bass players 'go to' compressor
A fair number of any players who love high gain OD's or a Fuzz or two have either got one or have it on their short list.
It is very quiet, clean and transparent but it does have a sound.
I know of a few players myself that love it. Oddly they are bass
players ...but as I said in a review of it ...this a major fav with bass players.



$275.00 USD

 CARL MARTIN COMPRESSOR    LIMITER 



This is the type that is a classic MXR style comp.
Noticeably squishy although not so extreme that you
can not back some of it off. Although always a subjective thing ...it has it's own sound but a good one. All high end comps will have a few knobs but this has 4 so it is the simplest to deal with.





$300.00 USD

  KEELEY COMPRESSOR PRO  


This is a serious studio compressor it is very transparent
it is as close as you get to great compression without
the sound of the pedal or the compression being obvious.




  ORIGIN EFFECTS 

CALI 76 COMPACT DELUXE 

$380.00 USD



This comp has a pedigree it is a clone of the original
UREI/UNIVERSAL AUDIO 1176 FET compressor.
Introduced in 1966 ...many feel it to be the very best
'sounding' compressor ever made.








Simon Keats founded ORIGIN EFFECTS. He is both a guitarist and an engineer that has worked on repairing and restoring the originals.
He knows his stuff!!!

The beauty of this comp is it still sounds fairly transparent
but you can force it into a nice bit of squish.
I will not bother arguing with popular opinion
It does have 'A SOUND' but that sound is to me
dead on!!!


EFFECTRODE PC-2A COMPRESSOR

$340.00 USD


Based on the Teletronix LA-2A limiting amplifier it is a Photo-Optical compressor that uses uses sub miniature tubes, All the hardware is audiophile grade even the circuit board is silver plated. The operation is simple with just Peak Reduction and Gain. Several more detailed functions can be made internally.
It most definitely has a sound of it's own but like
the 'Cali' it simple sounds great!

It is currently David Gilmour's choice.





THORPY THE FAT GENERAL

$280.00 USD
Dan Coggins designed the Dinasaural OTC 201.
It was one of those mysterious pedals that came and went ...as did the company. They now fetch silly prices if you can find one. well good ol' Dan teamed up with the Thorpy team for it's successor.
Everything Thorpy does is over 'built' to have the best off....
But what about the comp?
Well it sounds generally near transparent. the transient response is unreal. The attack is crisp as a clean sound and there is not a trace of pumping. Add to that it makes your clean sound seem 3 dimensional. No kidding. Put a brand name top of the line guitar thru a Gourmet high end tube amp. Then turn this on for a minute. Then turn it off. My god with it off you feel like you
listening to an entry level guitar and amp.
No sh@t. This is one impressive piece of gear.


RUNNER UP

$100.00 USD

CKK  GEARS COMPRESSOR

So up pops this little ambitious company from China
with a compressor that rivals all 6. Does it?
Well I for one if I needed a compressor and did have a 
budget would jump on it. It is that good. 

If the above 6 compressors were 7 this would be on it!!!





.THE VERDICT


Well first they are all a tie for sounding absolutely
  DECISIONS DECISIONS ???   

  MAYBE I SHOULD GET THIS COMPRESSOR ???  
great!!!
No kidding a dead on tie!!!
All 5 are used by some of the best players ever to be born!!

So for me I like some squish ...but too much really ruins the attack of your note.
Like most players ...hi tech be damned if a pedal sounds great. It is!
You have noted that my FUZZ pedals even have a bit of slop here and there. One was $80 one was $85. LOL BUT they sound great.
I would like a small footprint but a comp  is too important not take a big pedal just because it is big!
I love the extra sustain of the Empress.
The Effectrode is sweet but a bit big
and I expect the tubes would fatigue in time.
The Cali 76 is the super hot one.
BUT ...I must confess the The Fat General
blew me away with it's vivid sound.
but ...???

VERDICT 
I can not imagine anyone being disappointed by any of these 6.
All are quiet some may colour your sound a bit but none of them will mess it up.
Nice....no losers. I find that refreshing!!
Of course we all kind of hate that. It is much easier when there is a clear best!!!

Friday, July 28, 2017

OVERDRIVE- HOTONE X TOMP mini....yes it can be an overdrive or whatever you want it to be

 HOTONE X TOMP mini  >>>



I have already done a review of the XTOMP...but the mini is new.
In short it is a digital pedal with a large state of the art RAM memory a high quality processor and a pro digital to analog converter. It does not have any permanent sound in it.
You must pick the 'PEDAL' you want and download it. There is a large selection of about 80 pedals. It also has the most popular amps and speaker cabinet emulations. The library includes all the most popular and famous pedals like the OCD and Tube Screamer in fact lots of Boss, MXR, & EH classics.

The thing with digital pedals even analog crazy guys like me love the things they can do very well like modulation pedals, reverbs and of course delays.
.
A digital pedal needs a high quality processor and a good digital to analog converter. The X tomp has this quality. I am open minded so of course if I get this pedal I will try the OD's and such. I can always use another chorus echo or reverb so getting one certainly guaranties some if not a lot of use for it.

They are increasing the library every month.the app and downloads are free.
You can download them from either a PC or your phone.

Ok what's the big deal about the the mini???
Well...the regular size pedal is stereo and can hold a couple of sounds.
It started life with a  $415.00 USD price tag. No one was buying. It dropped the price
to $315.00 USD and with many good reviews has done ok.
The mini is mono ...it basically holds only one sound.

BUT at ...$150.00 USD !

I think it will do really well.
You can buy it download a pedal you have been thinking of getting like the  ts808 vintage Tube Screamer... play it for awhile then if you love it ...buy the real deal. The HOTONE copy of it will be about 95% accurate or better ...so it is a really good judge.
You can always just use the very acceptable modulation reverb and delays.
Finally if the algorithms and hardware get past your judgment...you will be able to use it all.

THE MAIN ATTRACTION

Me...I want one to put in their Marshall 4x12 1960A W/ V30 speakers. All your OD's can be put thru it and you will get a "REAL" stack sound even if you have a 15 watt solid state open back practice amp to reproduce it.







AND ???

The price is right and it has the kind of quality that one gets from Strymon, Empress or Eventide. Just using it try out endless different pedals can justify it. A lot of pedals that tempt me are $200.00 USD.
Having a near perfect copy to try for a few weeks could soon pay for itself.
I do not think I want or need a Univibe type pedal...BUT lol
So as I did mentioned the 'stack' would justify it. .

Saturday, July 22, 2017

OVERDRIVE- RAMBLE FX MARVEL DRIVE 3 ...a PLEXI that works like the actual amp.


 RAMBLE FX MARVEL DRIVE 3 

$180.00 USD

Not hard to tell by it's casing this is a PLEXI.
The unique thing is the real amp had 2 inputs. One was the normal and the other was for extra high end with a volume for each.
Players would plug into both with a 'Y' chord so they could blend the 2 sounds.
So you have one control for aggressive screaming highs and another that pushes out the fat full stack with its heavy lower mids and bass.
.
As you can hear in the vid it really works well. You do not loose the fat sound with any mix of the 2 distortions that you can blend together.
The '3' in the pedals name is for v.3 so the pedal has improved over a number of years and versions.





If you like this pedal check out the    

  FIRE SHOP Custom Carpe Diem  

A popular Brazilian company at home and in Briton but not sold anywhere else.

Both have a similar approach and a similar but different sound.
Yes I expect one at least could have been influenced by the other.
With 3 versions the Marvel...RambleFX have been at it the longest.

But the idea is obvious if you know some history and are designing a pedal
even if it is addressed by using the most popular 'blend' as your fixed voice in a pedal.
In this case the extra push is supplied with a fixed boost and is switchable.
Most pedals are doing this either consciously or not.
Both pedals have great tone.
The Carpe Diem has more Balz!
listen to the last minute or 2 of the demo...it sold me.

You can check out the Carpe Diem Post.
You indeed pay a luxury for that bit extra
that it indeed has!

$280.00 USD



OVERDRIVE- NXGENERATION Visa Distortion....Superb PLEXI sound from a handmade pedal at a China Cheapie price!!!

  NXGENERATION THE VISA DISTORTION  



$89.00 USD 



Handmade by Narlin in Bangkok Taiwan. They make a complete line of pedals. This one is a classic Marshall PLEXI. Very simple with level tone and gain and a 3 way mid boost switch. The sound is thick full and sumptuous.
The highs are very harmonically detailed. In short it has a tone you would expect on a high end gourmet pedal.
All their pedals are large. I can only guess that they prefer to have a bigger circuit board for the hand made aspect of the work and installation process.
Unfortunately there is next to nothing on Narlin that owns the company.
Worse yet their isn't any dealers I can find...NONE...world wide.
I did pick up that they sell direct to stores in Australia and the east Pacific area.
They also claim to be world wide???
The price of their pedals are between about $50 to $100.00 USD
But you can get this one on EBay.



GIBSON GUITAR CORP. ...LES PAUL SL $99.00USD ..yes you read it correctly!

_______________________________________________________________


  THE LES PAUL SL  

...yes it is from Gibson ...but from their Epiphone brand
...But it is quite playable. It's made of Poplar
similar to Ash but with a nice bump in the mids and a good ol' bullet proof bolt on maple neck!
adding this GFS Hummie would be nice $25.00 USD
or get it from EY on sale right now for for $13.00 USD with Alnico V magnets.
Splurge after you buy one spend $50 or less and get a  half decent Artec made Korean PU for the bridge (they make the Fender MIM pickups and Seymour Duncans for the imports) GFS is the same thing.go there.

Why would you buy it???


                  WHY?   the guitar is only $99.00 USD  


A really good pedal can easily cost you that same $150.00 for this guitar and a good pickup...so how cool is having this guitar??? The thing has quite passable workmanship a convincing finish and real tone wood!!! add one serious pickup at the bridge and you have the worlds cheapest pro guitar!!!

I particularly am taken by the 'toy box' colours. What a laugh to pull one of these out at a gig with a hot pick up and blow away a few young players with a totally pro sound !!!


CHORUS-NUX CH3.....one of the very,very best I have ever heard....and for 4 days SUPER CHEAP!!!

NUX CH3 CHORUS.

I had one and sold it when I got the Strymon and then sold that to go back to analog modulation. Now I have barely room on my board for a mini pedal.
It is fat, full and clean. I thought it might be be digital, it is so crisp and clean. It is good ol' analog and a stellar sounding pedal. It looks like a B size pedal in the pic but it is about 20% bigger.
If that is no problem Then at this price you better get your butt moving!

There is 8 hours left on the sale!!!


it is on AliExpress at a store called The Sports Store


  $18.16 USD  



Friday, July 21, 2017

OVERDIVE- WALRUS AUDIO 385........a movie projector? are they nuts? maybe not!!!


WALRUS AUDIO 385 OVERDRIVE

  $199.00 USD  

Well someone out there decided that they could take the amp out of an old Bell and Howell late 50's
16mm movie projector and make a guitar amp out of it.Well they could and they did and it sounded great.



.
Now some how the guys at Walrus thought ... "Hell."  "Why not make a pedal with that sound."       '                                                         '      

Damned if it doesn't sound good!





Sunday, July 16, 2017

WHA- DAREDEVIL PEDALS Cocked & Fearless....70's tone contol made easy

   DAREDEVIL COCKED and FEARLESS                                                                                                                                                                                                        

$199.00 USD

Whats a Cocked Wah pedal?

In the 70's some player owned a Wah but used as a tone control to pull up the mids...they would leave
the pedal 'cocked' in one position for a boost.The C&F pedal makes it simple. It allows you to set the Wha's position easier by using a pedal,s knob rather then the treadle on a Wha.

$179.00 USD

Daredevil have added a medium gain OD to the pedal.
You can also get their older pedal the Atomic Cock which comes without the OD.


Saturday, July 15, 2017

SUMMER NAMM 2017 ....what's new

Summer Namm

Every January there is a NAMM show in Anaheim
Every July there is a NAMM show in different American Citys...this year it is Nashville

The purpose of the show is to show retailers what's new...and to take orders for products.
So...any new pedal or gutar or amp etc. will be held back until the next show.
The BIG show is the Winter show. The hottest items will be shown then as will prototypes.
Often the summer show is only taking orders for the Winter prtotypes that are now into producction.

So,,the Summer show ends today July 15.

BOSS CABLE KITS
So far the only thing of interest are the Boss Cable Kits, Not a new idea as they are very similiar
to the Lava Solder Free Kit and Plugs.
I noted Boss has larger kits. One kit has 24 plugs.I have yet to get pricing.

The assembly is the easiest of all plugs.
You merely     -  Cut the chord...
                        -  Slide the cable in
                        - Tighten down a screw
.
Zero wire stripping!!!   how cool is that!!!

FUZZ- ARC EFFECTS Crimson King Fuzz...the sound of the very first Metal band !!!!

         ARC EFFECTS CRIMSON KING FUZZ                                                                                                                                           


 $180.00 USD 

ARC have for years taken classic and rare but exciting Fuzz pedals from the past . They duplicate the voice and best features of the pedal then update and solve any problems that could not be solved with vintage technology.

This time they focused on the Burns/Baldwin Buzzaround Fuzz the prefered Fuzz of Robert Fripp of King Crimson. The band put both the beginnings of Heavy Metal and rock music virtuosity on the map.
.
They were the first. At the time the most sophistic music in rock was Hendrix and Zep.
Crimson had no mentors ...no heroes to learn their craft ...only their own imagination to make this totally new  music.

THIS WAS IN 1969.. they invented Metal and virtuosity within Rock.  This was years and years before we again heard this level of creativity and musicianship.
Bands like Yes and Genesis came to their concerts.






                     

 ...so check out the fuzz and check out the band.                                                            






The fist Crimson album change my tone...I bought the a Rams Head Big Muff
worked big time on my playing started writing in the gendre and in 71 move to London UK
This pedal is on my short list!!!



MULTI-FX- LINE 6 M5 Stompbox Modeler....a piece of crap you may wish to buy...because???

LINE 6 M5 STOMP BOX MODELER

So maybe you are new to pedals or you have

$130.00 USD

one or 2 but do not know what type of pedal would work best for you???

The M5 is a cheap digital pedal. All but the very best digital pedals can compete with analog. There are $30.00 analog pedals that can blow some of the sounds on this thing away!!!

So why should you buy one?
Because you can try out all the different kinds of pedals and then see what kind of pedals best fit your music.

You might even decide to go for gourmet pedals
that cost 4 times more then this whole box. 
BUT you are less likely to make poor choices.
.
I have bought over 30 pedals that have not worked out in less then 2 years!!!


IT DOES SOUND IMPRESSIVE ON VIDEO... but if it were food it would be a Big Mac. LOL

If you think I am simply being an elitist with too much money it is only because you don't own
one of the best gourmet pedals.
I bought 30 Chinese cheapies before I got my first gourmet pedal. No regrets. I could easily do a pro gig with any of them.
But once you have played the best...you quickly see their value and there is no going back.

IF YOU DECIDE NOT TO ...I CAN NOT BLAME YOU.... lol
IF YOU DECIDE TO GET ONE ...I DO NOT BLAME YOU! ...lol




FLANGER- A/DA PBF Flanger....the best on the planet???

 A/DA PBF FLANGER

This Flanger has come and gone 3 times since the 70's

$180.00 USD

AnalogMan makes a hand wired original and the new PBF.   At $959.00USD and with it's massive girth. OUCH!!!!
The new PBF is a little more sensible at $180.00USD
and a lot smaller.
A/DA has always been in the high end market so the quality of build is a given. So it gets down to the sound.
Quite simply it is stunning. This is no retro pedal with a lovable and quirky sound. This thing can knock out the best digital for clarity yet give you that warm analog sound.
YES this time with the new PBF ...Pedal Board Friendly is a more reasonable price and the guts of the thing are identical to the original.
I think it is back to stay.
The sound is so sumptuous you only need to hear it once and you are a convert!




                                          

So after using my current selection of Flangers/phasers and Chorus pedals I have found that I love on a clean sound the glassy sound of a great flanger and this pedal is so much noticeably better.
I also love a chorus to give the sound breadth. I find that using the chorus and flanger to gether hints at
the perfect sound but also sounds cluttered. The PBF does a chorus too but what makes it exceptional it keeps that glassy swirl of the flanger sound. It is nothing less then perfect.
It makes room for itself by  killing 2 mini pedals...my Flanger and Chorus have been Reverb-ed.

So one is on it's way.

My advice for anyone without any modulation pedals is to buy this. AND...DONE you do not really need more. If you get tempted get the MXR mini Phase 95. Others are either not better but different or
at best a tie.


Saturday, July 8, 2017

OVERDRIVE-Keeley Filiments High Gain Distortion ...every one is doing one...how does it stack up???

  KEELEY FILAMENTS HIGH GAIN DISTORTION  


$190.00 USD

This is Keeleys Metal pedal. It has 3 stages of gain and 7 ways to 
EQ or alter the voice.We have the standard control for our level and both an active bass and treble.
The presence is tied to the gain to create a tight attack. 
The bright switch  I expect is another boost of presence across a broad range  to give the whole sound a nice clarity and edge.
A 4x12 cab effect 'THUMP' resonance is built into the pedals basic voice and a control labeled body is there to pull down too much resonance from the lows it makes if you push hard on the gain. 
A boost which will punch up the attack of the note or chord the moment you strike it
Crunch should pull together the gain and and EQ to give you a tight controlled medium distortion for chord work..

In general it produces more of an eightys sound. Pushing it harder does not seem to loose that.This can be good or bad it is more of a personal choice.

The KHDK Dark Blood Distortion is very similar in their aproach to the pedals basic voicing. I find though that the KHDK has a broader range.It seems easier to pull back the sound to a simple fat honking Marshall stack but it easily become a serious modern Metal pedal when pushed. The KHDK is $230.00 USD but is worth the extra
.

I find that Keeley is only truly great and inovative with compressors,
reverb,echos and modulation pedals
I find their OD's pedestrian.
Their 2 Red Dirt pedals are good ...but they are not original designs
but really just an improved Tube Screamer.There are countless
improved Tube Screamers. lol


OVERDRIVE- J ROCKET AUDIO DESIGNS Alan Holdsworth Overdrive/Boost

   J ROCKET ALLAN HOLDSWORTH OVERDRIVE BOOST   

$260.00 USD

Not your average Marshall sound alike. Allan Holdsworth is one of the best musicians I have ever heard. Alan plays Allen. He is a total original.
It is a love it or leave it choice.
But give it a listen. Sometimes a whole new aproach to your sound will not only change your sound but catapult your playing in a totally new direction.
Allan died in April. A loss to our whole gendre. A unique player with both unsurpassed technique and originality. He had true humility as well.
I am the guy who thinks the sun shines out my ass ...so I know the real deal when I find it.

Take out a few minutes and watch the first video it has his entire history on it.


Monday, July 3, 2017

MODULATION- Seriously Pro sounding mini pedals ... small, cheap but equal to most of the best.

        THE VERY BEST MINI MODULATION PEDALS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        


A high quality mini pedal is as good as a high end digital
pedal for the ascetic quality of the sound.
I had the Strymon Mobius and..kept for a whole year...then sold it
I did not use it enough and a very good analog pedal sounds as good.
Some feel they sound even better. I would not argue the point.
You get a little noise with all analog but you get a lot of character.
Oddly enough the best sounds on the Strymon are very accurate clones of the
best analog pedals.


The best effects are delay and reverb they add to the guitars sound 
but they DO NOT CHANGE THAT SOUND.
Your dry signal...the guitar itself stays the same.

But there are times when a little bit of Phasing, Flanging or Chorus can be nice.
It does not have to go for bizarre or weird sounds and include dozens of extras to be effective.
You can know get a great mini phaser and a great mini chorus that needs no apologies for how it sounds.
I had the original MXR Phase 90...does it sound better then the Phase 95 mini I have now?
NO...a little different yes. But the 95 has a clone sound of it and it is at least  95% the same...another sound that is usable and a third sound that I like better then the Strymon!!!


 MXR Phase 95 Phaser mini 

$100.00 USD



The MXR Phase 95 is a killer pedal.
You get a Script logo 4 stage filter Phase 90 a modern Phase 90 and a 2 stage Phase 45 sound...the artifacts that spoiled the original Phase 45
have been fixed to make it very usable. 
The third sound is a modern 4 stage Phase 90 which is dead cool!
On a dirt sound ...it rules!!! 
The Phase 90 Script gives you an instant Van Halen.
It takes up little room and at $100.00 USD...you can not buy a better
 pro sounding Phaser. Different and as good ...but not better! 
You can just get more of the same or a lot of overkill that to my ears is a messy detraction to the music.



Like I said if you love a few crazy sounds (I do) get a great reverb and a delay.You can put on a sound that is totaly surreal or ethereal yet still
not have your guitars sound  compromised!


 TC ELECTRONIC Corona 

$100.00 USD

I love this pedal it has that really full sound of the Boss or the MXR but it has that super transparent and crisp highs of the best digital. You get the crisp sound but loose none of the warmth and fullness.
The B size box original Corona is on endless big name players boards. The guys that have no budge constraints 
...just a great ear for sound.
TC has manage to cram the big one into the small box with ZERO loss of quality. It also has their digital in put to download new
sounds from many of the key players that have the full size one.
This is a no brainer choice.




 IBANEZ Mini Chorus 

$120.00 USD

Ibanez have done exceptional job of cloning their old CS9 and fitting it into the mini format.
The sound has a unique dreamlike floating quality. I have always liked the CS9.
I have squeezed in a modest Mooer Flanger at the end Tier 2 to use with
the light/medium gain OD's
and have just bought the Ibanez to add to it.
So with 2 Flangers and 2 Chrous pedals I can have two different sounds going on in the same tune.

 


 NU-X RIVULET Mini  Chorus 

$72.00USD

If you have no problems that it is digital then this could be your pedal.
I have owned a Nux delay and their digital quality is as good as any pedal under $300.00 USD.
You can download by a USB cable to get new voices for it.
At the price of the Rivulet goes for ...it is well worth a listen.

But even so I feel the TC Electronic edges them all out.


WHY FLANGERS??? 

Why is it there are zero great Mini Flangers.
The best in theory should be the TC Electronic Vortex

$70.00 USD

it has great tone but a really erratic sweep to the modulation.
It is unbelievably annoying.
It was a major disappointment I thought after choosing the Corolla it would be as good.
The only alternative is a Mooer Eleclady an  EH Electric Lady clone. It isn't lol. 
Actually it sounds like a Boss especially in it's modulation..
.
Alternately the Pizza Pie shaped Modtone is not bad. Lots of  EH type highs .It it has it's own voice it is not trying to clone anything.

A truck load of evidence points to Modtone being defunct. 
On one hand if a bricks and mortar store has one it might sell for $50.00 
Online they are a $95.00 USD  as it is the one pedal out of them all
they designed where they nailed the tone.
It is really a B size pedal with the sides cut off to look like a piece of pie.This makes it much smaller. 
The crazy shape may help you squeeze it in ...or not! lol
As for the shape.. I quite like it. A bit of fun without getting
trite or too gimmicky.


 Rowin/Mooer LEF 612 Flanger 

Mooer are Kings of the re-branded pedals.

$25.00 USD

 THEY MAKE THE SAME PEDALS WITH 
20  DIFFERENT BRAND NAMES ON THEM

...some sell for more ...some less and some super
dirt cheap. They are exactly the same inside  PERIOD!!!
This week the cheapest is the Rowin.
Check the Post ....Where to buy cheap

Yes folks it really is $25.00 USD for a MOOER

...and no folks I have not made any mistake. I have had many of theses rebranded pedals apart and they not only have the same brand of parts in them but all of them no matter the differences in the metal box can be removed and put effortlessly in the others casing..
What is more (no pun intended lol) ...Mooer have finally squeezed into
bricks and motor stores and they have a few adventurous 'voiced' preamps and other gadgets that are original etc. If they wanted to they could
sue for copy write... it would be, if nothing else, symbolically good.
They haven't and they won't LOL.
No instead of enhancing their new image that makes them  the New Boss or MXR etc. it would destroy it.

Well I have had the pedal a few days. I can not fault it. All the controls have a wide sweep
So you can push it right past the usable into never, never land. The over all tone is even from highs to lows. The highs are favorable, bright but not the razor sharp crispness of the EH which it was patterned after.
In short nothing amateur about it.
This is very good and very competitive pedal. To my ears it sounds as much like Boss as it does EH.
In fact if I can not find a spot for it on my board because I stick with the Modtone I will not sell it. It is really that good. It is worth hanging onto until I can use it later.


MIGHTY SOUND M8 Flanger

$23.00 USD


The Mighty Sound Flanger is a new contender. At first glance it looks like a Mooer but it isn't. The case is different even though the layout is the same.
Designed in the U.S. and made by Cherry Music in China it is yet another EH wanna be.
A really good vid is not available. But their Analog Delay is award winning and it too sold for $23.00 USD.








.


 MODTONE MTM- FL Flanger 

A very nice original sound a little light but beautifully airy.
The overtones are rich but thinner then average but your guitar is not effected.
I feel this actually helps to give it an original tone. A tone with a bit of character.
When a pedal is like this it inspires your creativity!
One thing worth noting is the pedal is really a B size pedal with the sides
cut down to create a pie shape. Not big but definitely slightly bigger then
a standard size mini.


$95.00 USD ?







This pedal has it's own Post... check it out. There is history and some mystery? you might be able to get it for half price!!! ???

I got mine for $54.00 USD incl. shipping from a small time Mom & Pop store in Italy

OK...this thing is pro...it is no toy. It is rich and full with glassy highs.
It is up there with the best. Even if you paid the $95.00 it would be cheap considering the best alternatives.
It has it's own voice it is not trying to be anything but a good pedal ...and it is.

OCT.14/17.... I have had this pedal for some time now and I am more and more impressed with just how good it sounds.

OCT. 28/17....I have decided to spring for the A/DA PBF Flanger. It does the best Flange & chorus ...period  ...nothing beats it!!!BUT that said the MODTONE is just too killer in it's own way not to hold onto.

MALEKKO OMICRON Vibrato 

$140.00 USD

It is an analog vibrato using the MN3007 BBD chip. A discontinued chip
that many say is the best. I expect it was killed by digital.
Great sounding and dead easy to use. It has the basic vibrato stuff but it can be cranked for Stutter type FX.
It does not do all the wacky stuff a digital can do.










  TC ELECTRONIC SHAKER Mini Vibrato  

The digital all bells and whistles vibrato ...it even has a great faux Chorus and a Leslie
You can also download new sounds.


$100.00 USD

.

 NU>X MONTEREY VIBE Univibe 

The Nux digital univbe can do rotary speaker, chorus and a few abstract sounds by downloads. Different but similar 
TC Electronics.

$70.00 USD














$99.00 USD







 MALEKKO TREM 



Another little beauty.
Ok... so what's the difference between a vibrato and a tremolo?
The vib modulates the pitch and the trem the volume.
The nice thing about the  trem is that at extreme modulations on slow settings the sound does not sound out of tune where as the vib
definitely does.