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| $200.00 USD |
CHEVTONE EFFECTS MESSIAH DRIVE
A very small company in the Solihull Warwickshire UK with it appears just 2 effects and both are OD's. The Messiah is the proverbial Marshall-in-a-Box.
Well the Messiah has reached the v.2 stage with a switch for more
gain. The layout is the proverbial volume, gain. treble and bass.
The usual Hammond B type casing is more than familiar still is an ideal solution as it it is big enough to fit most circuits and easy enough to read and tweak any knobs.
CONCLUSION
It has nice warmth but could use a bit any more harmonic detail.
It has a real organic charm. I quite like it.
It does bare comparing to the recent Nux Plexi Crunch I reviewed as the overall voicing is similar. I think the Nux edges it out. The price of the Nux at $50.00 USD doesn't hurt either :-)
Today's Digression
I occasionally review a pedal that blows me out of the water
And I think word of mouth from a few guys who read the review
will put the pedal deservatively on the map.
BUT it does not happen.
After reviewing easily over 600 dirt pedals
I think I can tell when a pedal that is OK but no big deal. The Messiah
is such a pedal. BIG BUT ..this pedal is getting 10 times more hits than
others. Why????
The Shoe Robert is getting modest hits. The sound of the
Shoe is different than the Messiah and not arguably better
or worse.
BIG BUT ...name me one dirt pedal that a note will sustain
as long as you do not lift your finger off that note.
I can name only one ...the Robert!
Whoah, cool post mate. I live purple pedals and want to add this to my collection. I've tried looking these guys up but can't find any info; where did you get yours from buddy?
ReplyDeleteJust Google Chevtone Effects ...Stomp Box ,Funny Little Boxes etc.
DeleteSo from what I gather you haven't actually played one of these then?...
DeleteHow can you review something you haven't played. Also the price you've advertised is way off. They're $200 and worth every penny.
DeleteMy site is based off of doing exactly what my readers do. They watch the videos and choose a pedal. I simply save them from hunting down all possible video's If I put 2 videos side by side and one sounds noticeably better it usually is 98% of the time.I have reviewed 1500 pedals and have bought over 200. I have kept 70. After doing this over several years I know what to look for. I have learnt how to listen and observe. I could explain this is detail but it would take a couple of hours. For example I have learnt to observe lows, lower mids,mids,upper mids and highs and go thru a demo observing them separately. I look for all dips and the pedals key resonant point. I can tell the difference between symmetrical and asymmetrical distortion. I can tell usually tell if the an OD uses an OpAmp, germanium, silicon or FETS as their key means for it's sound. I can recognize the sound of different clipping diodes. If I recommend a pedal ...I buy it ...if it less than I have said I say so on the HANDS ON part of my video.I occasionally get something wrong but never totally off target. I occasionally get told if I made an error. I then edit the video giving credit to the guy that gave me a heads up.I have to date 273,415 followers.Not once has some written back from my thousands and thousands of hits to complain that my recommendation made them buy a dog. Finally I got the price from a published online site. No it was not a resale.I looked for more sites and could not find another price. But I will change the price as you are suggesting if nothing else it is out of date.In most cases I can get a price direct from the maker or cross reference both a European and American price. I choose the cheapest unless they are too wide apart I look for a third. Finally the reader gets to hear what I heard and can make his own decision.This review got 10 times the average hits.
DeleteThat is unbelievably unusual for pedal brand that is not some big brand name. I expect that Chevtone will get a few orders for sure. You will note I did say I liked it in my review. I recently got a pedal from a small builder in France. It is flawed but has a funky character to the sound. In my HANDS ON I said I liked it and would certainly not sell it but I warned my readers and said I do not recommend it.
Out of interest what amp did you play it through? I found lots of harmonic content through my V30 and Dual Terror.
ReplyDeleteI really like it in low mode it gives a nice marshall type crunch with out over saturating.
My comments are all about comparison. Pedals by Lawrence Petross Designs..PedalPalFX,Tech N Tone and Revv all have exceptional detailed harmonics. In short there is zero harmonic smearing. Often referred to as being muddy. The amp has nothing to do with it! If I use a $20 Chinese OD and it has a high output thru my Plexi I will get lots of harmonics but they are coming from the amp not the pedal.The pedals I just mention sound killer even thru a cheap practice amp with an 8" speaker I rescued from someone's garbage.The pedals I use for comparison are all very expensive.One even has 12 stages of gain not just for more gain so the whole sweep of the gain knob is a sweet spot.Using vintage parts works great for Fuzz pedals and pedals OD's like the Rat and other 'hard clippers' because the goal is to use square wave like distortion to create and interesting sound and I have these too but you need state of the art FETS to imitate tube distortion if the goal is to imitate an amp in a box. My impression from other reviewers is this is meant to be a Marshal-in-a-Box and as that it falls short. On the other hand as interesting sounding dirt pedal it really quite good. My pedal board has 70 pedals that I use live.I have another 30 plus that I have up for sale as I do not keep what I do not use live. I use 23 OD's and several Fuzz pedals. I am not trying to boast I just want you and readers to know I feel I speak with some authority since my pedal knowledge is hands on real world and live.I play in power trio.If I can not deliver every night ...just bass and drums left doesn't cut it!
ReplyDeleteJust to confirm: you are comparing your high end pedals against someone else’s YouTube video? And you have never played this pedal?
DeleteIf so, these are not the conditions for an accurate test. You can’t A/B test a pedal against others you own if you don’t have the product to test.
With all your knowledge and experience, you should be well aware of how to accurately A/B test pedals.
Maybe we could take your “reviews” seriously if you actually tested the product yourself ;)
Amps really do make a difference to what you hear.
DeleteI really was just finishing to see if you have physically had this pedal in your hands or if this is a review based in YouTube videos.
Tate FX ...Yes amps do make a difference. But if one puts in the time to learn one can choose a better pedal from hearing if a pedal on a video has a lot or little to offer. If that were not true there would be no gourmet pedals. They are nearly ALL bought online. For example I reviewed your Antares pedal and found it Stellar. I also said so! For the record I use the same amp that Dave Barber uses to design his pedals. He was kind enough to give me a mod to duplicate his.
DeleteI will argue that if a great OD is compared to a mediocre OD thru a clean sound of amp a very poor amp the better pedal wind every time. The whole point of this site is to share what most guys do. They listen to a pedal on a video and judge whether they are going to order it without playing it.I save everyone the time. I also search out hundreds of small obscure builders pedals.Many I have put on the map. I know because they have told me so. I have also personally got them on Youtubers sites to be interviewed. These makers are becoming celebrities. I am not exaggerating either.Three have gone from part time builders to full time. One has know expanded to a second line of manufactured pedals.I know have several makers sending me videos of products still in the design phase for a personal review. Others send me their release dates with who they sent out pedals to so I can watch the first reviews. There are many. TC Electronics is the most notable as they are in my estimation the most unlikely lol.
I have also been asked by makers what should they make next. So far all my ideas when made became good sellers. My most recent was made as Limited Edition run of 20.The response from my review has turned it into one that will be in full production.I could go on and on. But I feel my methods have been proven credible. I do agree when judging OD's that there is no way to not be subjective. Objectively I believe there is nothing better than Origin Effects Rival Drive. I can not but be but amused by those that criticise my methods that can clearly state on the first line I write on my Post. LOL
@TATE FX If you are looking for killer Marshall style OD's still selling for half of what they are worth check out TechNTone. All hand made by Fabio Pania in London. His Turbo Nonna is unreal!!!
ReplyDeleteNo harmonic detail? Maybe this just highlights why it’s not a good idea to pass judgements based solely on YouTube videos. I bought one of the first Messiah Drive’s and it’s got plenty of harmonic detail. Whether going through a Princeton Reverb, Supro Thunderbolt, V40, or whatever else.
ReplyDeleteI have been given the impression from what is available online that the Messiah is Marshall type sound OD.
ReplyDeleteI currently own and use 14 such pedals. I have easily had 20 others over the last few years that I sold because they did not cut it. If as I suspect the Messiah is putting out a fair amount of square wave/Fuzz distortion it will have a lot of harmonic content. In fact I own pedals that do that and I bought them for how well they do it as it can be quite exciting. But when judging a so called Marshall-in-a-Box I am looking for detail in the harmonics usually a lot of even order harmonics and I am looking to not hear smearing between them. I hear smearing especially in the lows and lower mids in the Messiah. If it was a lack of recording quality I would have heard it in the upper mids the highs would be harsh. I do not hear it right across the entire range so I feel my conclusions are justified. I agree that an OD that is NOT trying to clone a real amp can sound amazing warts and all or I would not own an original ProCo Rat big box pedal. My critic is about what it is not. You will note I said I liked it in the review. Like a Rat it makes a cool sound. But NOT a Marshall sound.