MOEN DEEP BLUE Distortion
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| $45.00 USD |
This is an updated post from Nov. 2023 as I got hold of better and more accurate history of the Deep Blue pedals.
This pedal is the 2nd generation of the pedal with the added Mid boost. The 1st came out in 2005 and uses FETS. (check out the 2nd video) I think the 2nd generation may not? The 3rd generation mini I am confident does not.The layout is Volume, Tone and Gain with a toggle to kick in a Mid boost.
MOEN are the MXR of China. When they started it was to offer the Chinese player a pro sounding pedal they could afford. At the time in China you got a pricey American pedal or some very nasty junk. When the West discovered Chinese pedals they had only one reputation, cheap crap. MOEN stuff was good stuff hand made and great parts but it was about 25% more money. In otherwards if MIC pedals were 'ALL' crap why pay $40 when the others were $30? perhaps we were too hasty.
CONCLUSION __
So MOEN were serious makers. They wanted to not just clone a Boss they wanted to make an even better pedal. Their pedals have always had some character. I have the Version 2 Metal a Thrash sound with a Dual/Rec vibe. Also the Dragons Roar was meant to be a Laney back when they used the PLEXI schematic but with different transformers and a few bits and pieces. Both of these pedals are killer. The Deep Blue does definitely have a Boss Blues Driver vibe but is just different enough to have the Moen stamp.
Nice review. Good information. 👍
ReplyDeleteI’ve always appreciated Moens quality. What convinces you that this is a BD-2 clone though? Would you be willing to post some gut shots? Wonder if they’re using smd components. Either way I’ve wondered what some of the Moen pedals were based on and am really intrigued with this.
ReplyDeleteWhat’s the phoenix or red distortion supposed to be?
i think it is a BD-2 because the original big pedal was as mentioned on several reviews going back to 2015. As for current builds I took my Moen Dragon Roar apart and it has two smd boards though some of the parts are quite large. The OpAmp is in a socket average size but extra thick and the brand/model number has been painted over. It certainly doesn't sound like a Blues breaker. I have had a few and use a recent Browne Carbon and have another wired from NOS parts I retired. To my ear it sounds more like the Keeley than the Boss. The Keeley is smoother and more mellow sounding. I am not a big fan of the Blues Driver I think its great for what it was designed for. I have played one at a shop but preferred the Boss SD-1.
ReplyDeleteYea a blues driver and blues breaker sounding nothing alike. I’ll have to check this out finally even though I have a bd2 with Keeley mod. I’d forgotten about the big blue one… I wonder if there’s a trace or gutshots on diy forums. For all the Boss ods I think the OD-3 is the best. It has elements of all the Boss Ods. Everyone’s set up is different though.
ReplyDeleteI’m curious what the real difference between the Keeley mod and new AT pedal are too.
I saw you did a post on the High Peak. I’d always thought it was a Pinnacle clone because of the name but the Orange sound has me intrigued. Still curious what the Red Devil is as well.