Since 2015 NEW PEDALS EVERY DAY! Over 3400 REVIEWS!
I use other reviewers vids & then critique from them __ If a pedal appears killer I buy one __ I try it out & update the Post__ If the pedal is SH@T I literally say so!__ I publish the street price a no brainer but few do. __ I save you time finding the best pedals & you get a second opinion. __OVER A MILLION VISTORS__
NO ONE OWNS ME___ I MAKE ZERO $ FROM THIS
The hot choice for those that do not mind a 'Gourmet Pedal' providing the pedal is indeed got the true guts and vibe of the original has been the ARC Big Green with an added mid boost.
The new kid Ananashead does a similar box. It too has the mid thing but it gives you a lot more control over the sound. Ananashead has a very impressive reputation with purist because of the many authentic clones Ananashead has done with other Fuzz boxes like the famous Univox Super Fuzz.
So which pedal does it best???
Keep in mind that the original's varied quite a lot. Some parts other then 'key components 'would be swapped out with a different part from another brand as availability was erratic in Russia. Small changes in tone over production runs was common. So when designing a clone one must hear and inspect several units and try and
find the right compromise.
You should know that the key components the kt3102tm transistors and the kd521a diodes and a few a few capacitors are still available. Substituting some parts is up to the designer.
The addition of the mids makes the biggest difference. It also gives the pedal a lot more versatility.
Why not start at the beginning.
Lets check out one original V7 Tall Font and see what it sounds like.
So folks which is the best Fuzz... and why??? let us all know what you think
I like them both and whats more both Aaron (ARC) and Pedro (Ananashead) are dedicated guys who
take pride in their pedals and strive for excellence in their work. We are talking about two 'one man' companies ...these guys are hardly the 40,000 pedal a year medium size JHS type companies. Numbers for the big guys are even bigger ...so big I could not get them. LOL and I tried all my tricks. LOL
There are many Sovtek Big Muff clones that are sold by other company's. Nearly all are modified. So what is so different with Ananashead?
Ananashead have a long history of making dead accurate clones of many classic Fuzz pedals. Ananashead have the experience and therefore the advantage of getting the original sound right.
The Ananashead Super Fuzz clone of the Univox Super Fuzz is one of the most accurate reproductions I have ever heard. It never falls short to be one of the most viewed posts every week ....where as other posts come then go.
.
(see the Univox Super-Fuzz Post.)
My personal fav. See it on my board.
Ananashead Super Fuzz
It is of course a fine balancing act to add improvements that enhance the pedal but not destroy the magic.
I find Ananashead have indeed kept a balance on the tight rope to success.
The added pot to increase the mids and the heavier tight low end makes this Sovtek pedal fatter and more versatile!
This was the classic Fuzz that put serious dirt on the map.The MK1 was a higher gain with 3 geranium transistors.
It was based off of the first ever made commercially available fuzz. The Maestro Fuzz Tone. It came about when a repair guy in London's west end was asked if he could give a customer with a Fuzz Tone more sustain.
After doing over dozens of the Fuzz Tones it was obvious to just make his own.
It was replaced with the MK II which was deep and bassy with a very high out put.
.
The MK III pulled back the gain and added the first ever tone control to a Fuzz.
$150.00 USD
Between the EQ and the lower gain a good impression of both v.1 and v.2 could be made plus many original tones.
All 3 have their followers.
The Hunger bender is a religiously made clone of the MK III . Hand wired in the point to point style of the original.
Every original part from new old stock was used. The wire is the same right down to
cutting each piece to the exact length that went from part to part on the original.
I have had mine for quite awhile. I love this pedal!!!!
Mine was from a special LTD ED. order of bright red ones.
There is a lot more info in the post
FUZZ- SBS
check it out!!!
The purpose here is to give you a taste of the classic boxes that changed the sound of Rock forever.
Mod Tone has been all over the map. They started out in 2007 as a little guy Gourmet pedal maker. Teamed up later with a Chinese maker Bellcat ( a product manufacturer..that makes dependable glossy well built junk for the Mom & Pop small stores)
That did not go well so they went independent again.
I have found it hard to get all the info ...in fact I even suspect they may have gone bust!
There original product was in the standard B size box.
They then added the larger 'Piece of Pizza' box.
Most recently the Mini 'pie' box models took center stage. I get the buzz ...that the quality of sound of their pedals could range from crap to crowning.
I believe getting a great Flanger sound is either tough or
the buyers would rather have a Chorus or Phaser...as there are so few choices ...at least so few in the serious mini category.
This is a little gem. It has it's own sound though it reminds me of the EH Electric Mistress as it has those incredible cutting highs ...but unfortunately the renown EH drop outs too. LOL.
The goofy looking box is a good quality aluminum alloy. I confess... I quite like it.
If I had the room I would keep the re branded Rowin/Mooer I have on order and add this and have 2 Flangers.
So considering the typical ModTone pedal is in the $30.00 USD to $50.00 USD range.
and this is getting priced at as much as $125.00 USD on E bay & Amazon I have to wonder what's going on????
Musician's Friend ...a reasonably serious on-line store has it listed but also discontinued?
It is looking like the biz itself is DISCONTINUED.
Well no matter what the price of the seller...when the shipping is added the price ends up being just shy of $125.00 USD
If you live where a bricks and store sells them you might find one still left in stock for $50.00 USD
PIGTRONIX PHILOSOPHERS TONE & PHILOSOPHERS TONE MICRO COMPRESSOR
$185.00 USD
Pigtronix are one of the earliest of the Gourmet companies formed at the beginning of the century.
The compressor was the result of wanting something better then the MXR Dyna Comp and all the other compressors that were nothing more then the same pedal with the odd modification of the basic schematic. They were in fact all OTCA or (Operational trans Conductant Amplifier) designs.
They settled on making a small Optic :Photo resistor compressor. On the good side there is no pop to deal with on the down side the effect comes
$120.00 USD
in slightly slower and the highs get robbed.. On the plus side they sound more natural and you can get a long sustain out of them. The design added back the highs with with a booster and a blend control to let some of the original signal to come through. They became an instant cool pedal to get. Once the media and hype died they did a very nice stream of steady sales by word of mouth. Their owners on the whole have been very loyal. they seldom come up for sale. The whole phenomena has had a rebirth with the new micro.They mange to keep the original circuit in tacked and still fit it in the mini pedal size. Many company's finally make high quality mini pedals like Xotic, MXR, Ibanez and Wampler. Because many pro's want smaller portable pedal boards we are entering a new stage of mini pedals.
The start of the serious mini pedal!
The demand for pedals of the size and quality of this pedal is enormous. The waiting list is 2 and a half months.
The extra knob on the full size pedal is labeled 'GRIT' it is actually a medium gain OD tucked in the corner of the box, Nothing special in my opinion.
I think someone thought with a couple of extra parts attached to the circuit
already in it they could offer a 'free extra'.
In the current climate it comes off as a free bicycle stand wielded on to
the door of your new Cadillac.
There are some who liked it. As for me it just cheapens an otherwise stellar pedal.
At any rate it was logical step to move it from the Micro made some room to keep the original
compressor design in tact.
If your wants or needs require a Mini Compressor it should not be overlooked.
So the difference in your tone with the pedal on or off is about as mimimal as it gets.
It is as if you are playing the same pedals and by some magic they all sustain about 3 times longer.
Impressive ...Big Time!!!
Definitely my fav. ...Paul Gibert and Adrian Belew have used one for years.
Still if I was recommending a compressor to cover all the basses I would go for the Xotic SP.
I also have and love it on my Fuzz pedals.
They are simply more versatile and at the moment the hottest seller of all the mini comps.
But for my prized distortion/OD's the 'Pig' is King!
It's time to share your booty with all of us!!!
Please list what you have on it.
READERS BOARDS
Mike has sent us his board. he paid $21.00 ea. for the Ammoon and $28.00 for the Rowin.
The switcher in the center of the board is for his amp. He plans on putting another switch on it to bring in his time delay effects.
Notice the nice clean layout of the cables. Those pancake connectors are the best. The cable is well shielded and yet the cords are reasonably priced. Hosa have a half decent collection to choose from.
In this case Mike made his own.
If the Donner pedal looks familiar it is because it is made by Caline. In fact Donner have been selling this for quite awhile ...where as the Caline version was just released.
So basically he has Caline and Joyo pedals. Both those company's make quality stuff. Some of the Joyo pedals have German and Japanese parts. Mike has done well!!! The tuner is made by Mooer.
Tobbe Eek has sent us his board & he has put together some serious pedals on it.
So starting with the Mosky Clean Buffer he then goes onto a TC Polytune 2, Philosophers Tone Micro, Ibanez Tube Screamer Mini, Digitech Freqout, Cry Baby mini, Tone City Bad Horse, JHS Muffuletta, Caline Orange Burst, Two Note Le Clean, Nux Loop core then out to his amp.
In his FX loop is the Joyo Wooden Sound, Strymon Mobius and Timeline & Digitech Polara.
The AMT GR4 loop switcher is controlling the Mobius, Timeline, Tube Screamer and Freqout.
He has plans for further updates. I know how that is. LOL
He could change his mine on what he has in mine... so we will just hang in. I am sure we will get to see his board again next time he has made some changes!!
Yes folks you will not find these pedals anywhere else. You are the first to even see them! PERIOD!!!
These pedals as yet have no shipping date. They have never been shown at any trade shows.
I got them in a somewhat devious way from a very big International Wholesaler. I convince him of a very large purchase I would be making ...but I was only interested in NEW product. LOL
Sometimes it works...sometimes it does not work. LOL
I fully expect these will not be in the distributers hands until August.
...a Looper, Pitch Shifter, Vintage Distortion, Modulation pedal, Acoustic guitar simulator and a Noise gate. I have no more info then what's written on the the pedals.
THE DISTRIBUTOR
The people involved have no information. They have no need of it. To them it is no more important then to have info on then TV sets ...radio's or the latest vacuum cleaners.
It is just product.
Model numbers are important and Pics help identify the boxes of...etc.
They only advanced info of these products to help the schedulers with lining up planes, boats, trucks and trains.
I thought you might enjoy the scoop!
In Pedal Land this is a big deal for Retailers and small pedal makers.
These people do not want to get stuck with the wrong product nor do they want to make the wrong product because musicians are very savvy.
TV makers are not too worried most of their clientele because they neither care or understand or want to know about the very latest TV. So where these pedals are meant to be secret with good reason. This concern is of little or no importance to all the middlemen that get it to market.
So those that get these advanced pics...are not those that can tell me what I am looking at.
The short story it is just another of SBS being at the head of the curve...the leader!!!
and to give you the bragging rights on what's new FIRST when you get with your buddies over a beer to talk gear!!!
.
For years I played an original Cry Baby Wah basically a first edition that I ...yes ...bought new lol
This was years before any pedal had a jack for a 9v adapter.
I became very adapt at using it. In a short I mostly used it as a tone control booster. I could turn it on find the basic sweet spot and by leaving my foot on it pull out the sweet spot on every note by moving the pedal just a hair width forward or back on the fly!!!
Once Wah pedals became associated with Disco the rock world almost instantly abandon them! In fact it was then that Jim Dunlop bought the rights to them for a song. Smart guy!!
So it was not cool to use a Wah. So I sold mine.
I still do not think my music fits that Wah as a rhythm maker type sound.
BUT... I sold my volume pedal and I miss it the odd time when I am too loud.
I have for some time been looking for a cheap smashed up Cry Baby to remove the guts and build it into a small case to use as a fixed wah. I have been toying with the idea of using a wah for a bit of the before mentioned tone control thing on a solo. I would most certainly want one of the new Mini ones because of space.
(about 5 1/2" x 2 1/2")
The Caline products are well made I have never had a problem with them. Last but not least a Cry Baby sound is bullet proof. Yes they cloned it very close ...perhaps with a tiny bit less high end. But they have nailed the sound of it going thru the sweep!!
The travel of the sweep is another thing. The Crybaby has a short travel. From starting full back on the sweep to the pedal resting flat is quite short.
For example on a Morley it is very long.
I like millions of others think the short sweep Crybaby has got it nailed
. I have just received mine. I played the real deal for years. The longer plate to rest my foot feels a bit awkward but that may pass in a few days, The sweep seems a bit longer too. To be honest at the price I was expecting a hard plastic casing. The pedal has a metal casing and the same textured finish of the Crybaby. So ...I have no complaints with it's build or appearance.
If you want to use it as a volume pedal you must move a very tiny switch near the input jack. you can set it up so when you pull the treadle back it goes off or you can set it for your choice of the lowest volume. It is early days but I did not find the enough of a smooth transition from very quite to full on. It may however work great as a swell pedal for making faux violin effects.
I must confess though after an hour I had some feel of it and got some nice sounds out of it. I tried it as a cocked or fix Wha. It gets full marks for this.
But that could be an illusion because I am simply not
comfortable with feel of it yet.
Caline checks all the boxes.
It even checks off the CHEAP one. LOL
If you are a serious Wah guy you may want to give this a pass.
If you are interested but not sure you will still have a volume pedal if it does not work out.
If later you move up to better one.You can still keep this as a volume pedal. So a well made unit with a good sound. Definitely Pro. I expect with practice I will soon get my old technique back. The travel ...if longer is not by much.
COMPARE THE 2 SOUNDS
Unfortunately the Caline video is very amateur but it will do.
There are a lot of loud reflections off the walls and the mic is typical
of a cheap one without any low end.The low end may be more critical
as it gives the pedal an illusion that it is not full sounding when it is.
The Cry Baby is reasonably recorded. The player is experienced with
playing a wah.
Compare- Caline start vid at 410
Compare- Cry Baby vid at 47
NANO WAHS ACHILLES HEEL
Do we have a problem???
Many can not get the feel of such a small pedal.
They may have a point.
It is intuitive to place your foot more or less on the center of these small pedals.
Bad idea. To work a treadle you are moving your foot from its pivot point. In short
you foot and leg move up and down from your ankle.
To do this your toes will stick far past the top of the pedal. This takes some getting used to.
Not such a big deal.
BUT!!! The point of the pedal being small is board space...So I found that my toe wanted to smack into pedals in front of it.
I recommend trying any nano wah brand you can get your hands foot on before you buy this or any other brand.
Listen to Shane play live ...start at 7:14 and you will have a great idea of how all around and pro the Caline sounds.
I just got one... good first impressions...I need to try it a few more days. my technique is a bit sloppy since I have not used a Wah since 1969. lol
UPDATE MAY10/18
I quite enjoyed the Hot Spice But recently decided to step it up a notch or two.
I bought an AMT JAPANESE GIRL WH-1 It too is a small pedal in fact smaller. It however pivots in a sweet spot that even though the foot print is small it is intuitive to find. With the 'Spice" I was always trying to get my foot in the right spot.
It is built like a tank . It has a perfect Crybaby sound plus 2 other sounds. It is optic like a Morley so you will never need to replace a nfg pot.
It sells for $125.00 USD but if you buy direct from a Reverb Russian online store expect $100.00 USD or less right to your door.
Even the colour is COOL!
...and since you asked
The Best is the Xotic you can adjust it to basically copy any of the hundred Jim Dunlop artist series or better still adjust to your tone and technique requirements. Xotic pedals are ALWAYS well made & priced reasonably for what you get!!!
$236.00 USD
NOT CHEAP AT ALL BUT YOU ARE NOT PAYING FOR GIMMICKS
YOU GET TONE BIG TIME! AND MORE IMPORTANT YOU CAN TWEAK IT FOR "YOUR" SOUND IT IS BUILT LIKE A TANK BECAUSE PUMPING ON ANY TREADLE BASED PEDAL CAN KILL
Well we have a company here famous for cheap pedals.It is equally famous for it's rock bottom
$49.00 USD
quality. Their plastic cheapie pedals were the cheapest you could buy in a store. Of course the same money on-line could get you a decent sounding and reasonably made product straight from China!!!
They recently bought TC Electronics. The discontinued product has been repackaged in a very, very nice metal case. But most of it still sounds like the crap it is.
So why is this pedal here?
HOW DOES A REAL 12Ax7 TUBE DISTORTION sound to you at
less then 50 bucks !!!!
NO!
It is not a typo. lol
But what does it sound like.
Well actually if it wasn't tube we would all take one big step back.
But because it's a real tube sound it can hardly be ignored. It needs a good listen.
It may be pretty ratty sounding but it does have a funky cool to it. LOL
Unfortunately I noticed it is run off of a good ol' 9v adapter.
Tubes need a lot of power to overdrive. This tube is just adding a little tone.
The whole thing is really not much more then cheap solid state OD
with a light bulb. LOL
It is very ratty as I said and it has very little sustain.
It does however give a nice authenticity to a classic blues thing.
And as the man says... the EQ is not bad and it even has a gate,
If you are thinking of putting it on your board....ouch !!! the thing is aptly named ...it is a Monster size pedal!!! lol
...Not cheap ...but hardly pricey!!!... and either live or in the studio... more money will not buy a better sound !!
LOUD ENOUGH for medium size club gig ...you can drown out an unmiked drummer with power to spare.
If the guitarist is using a sensible 100 watts or less you can drown him out too. LOL
Not a producer in the world would do more then tweak your sound !!!
DARKGLASS ELECTRONICS MICRO TUBES B7K
This quite simply is a Bass preamp/Direct box.
No matter what hot poop and overdrive etc. you have
$350.00 USD
the odds that is your sound on record ...will be inclusive to a method which is called the N.Y. Sound this takes in account EQ and Compression too.
The results are a very clean chunky low end and lower mid range..a hint of upper mids and defined high end..not too bright not too mellow. Sometimes a little ...trace of dirt or growl is added.
This is all done by tracking the bass players sound on one track and a direct box right off of the bass on a second track. When all is done..the engineer, the producer and indeed the the whole band will pick the sound on the direct track.
Not the track with your sound. Why? Because the NY sound sits in the mix perfectly ...it has the clarity to never get buried even by the kick drum and it is majorly punchy. It has BALZ!!!!
It works best when most of the playing is lower then the 5th fret.
...and the second track with a mic on your current rig???
SCRAPPED !!!
So this Pedal creates this perfect sound in spades. It allows lots of easy tweaking to tailor it to the taste and exact instrument of the player. Any...I said any Fender wanna-be will sound great after going thru this pedal. So if you are playing a Squier entry level Fender P or J. Use your "get Myself a Real Bass"
savings and buy this pedal.
So to complete the picture...you need the ultimate compressor.
Empress make the cheapest studio grade comp.
This the real deal...a studio grade comp.
A studio may give you 'different' but not better.
Not quieter nor with a better sound!!
This has been the first choice of thousands of Bass players for the last few years.
So yes..with 6 knobs and 2 switches it will take a bit of time to zero in on 'YOUR" sound.
The company has a good manual...but best of all an excellent Video.. with lots of hands on
knobs and switches to get you rocking...and to make the right choices for the style you play in.
besides.. you only have to get that sound right...ONCE!!!
THIS IS A STUDIO COMPRESSOR IT WORKS ON EVERYTHING FROM A GUITAR TO AN ENTIRE BAND.
So do not be concerned that they choose a guitar for the operational demo ...it works as well on ANYTHING!!!
To play live we will need an amp. Not a Bass guitar amp...the pre and comp takes care of the tone. We just need lots of clean power. What could be more fitting then to use a Studio amp as well.
ART SLA-2
Strapped into mono we get 560 watts RMS. To those that do not understand RMS it basically the average loudness level you will hear in the real world. Or in this case the loudness of over 4 Marshall stacks. That is F.-ing loud. We really need about 250watts but with headroom ...headroom ...headroom. so we have 320 watts of headroom... excellent!!!
Last but not least we will need a cabinet. The average 15" cab...even used is good. Empty even better.
Because we want a world class tried and true 15" Speaker.
Any Major high end brand claiming their cab is hot poop uses this same speaker...wether it is a European, Brit or American brand!
the....
EMINENCE BN 400x Green Label Neodymium 15"
$200.00 USD
There are technically better speakers but this one just sounds good. If this speaker was a Bass guitar it would be a classic P bass.
Guessing that a used cabinet can be found for about $200.00 USD
OUR nice little state of the art Bass rig will be about...$1150.00.00 USD
Add to that this rig does not take up much space.It will fit in the trunk of an average car,
Even the cabinet is reasonable light. The amp is about 5 pounds.
I easily put both amp & cab in the hatch of a Fiat 500 ...the Fiat is about as small as you can get. LOL
You could take the whole rig up a notch if you bought what critics call The 'ROLLS ROYCE OF EQ's ' Oddly enough another Empress product.
$250.00 USD
EMPRESS ParaEq
This is quite simply a 3 band studio grade parametric EQ
It has zero competition as a pedal. You could get a rack mount studio EQ as good but probably starting at double the price!!!
Recommended ...but not a 'MUST HAVE'.
I have not included it in the total price.
CODA
At the price/performance level this rig is awesome.
It is quite simply a NO-BRAINER choice for a Bass rig!
What's more every piece of it is supported word wide. Getting service in Brit/Canada/USA/ Australia. Japan and Australia is a given. New bands do not play very much anywhere else even if indeed they actually do gigs in ...all these places. If you have to carry limited gear. The amp is just one unit high and the pre and comp are just pedals. That peachy keen combo you had in mind to get may not be serviceable everywhere..and it is too big of a lump to take with you.
Most of the best brands use the same speaker that I just recommended so being able to rent one of these cabs will give you your sound.Every city and town on the planet has at least one of these cabs.
So what's to think about...start planning on this rig now. You can buy the pre or comp first etc.
what other rig can you buy in pieces and improve your sound a bit at a time???
An amazing product that has thrilled every owner of the now famous Scorpion Distortion.
No longer when your good friend wants to try your Scorpion do you have to forbid him from touching it.
You can now have the thrill of watching your friends face fondle your prize pedal to adjust it for a test run.
Gone is that horrible stress and that racing heart when you cringe at the possibility of
finger prints on your most prized possession.
OK GUYS ....YES THIS IS JUST A GAG! Alek K is not even in the loop.
I DID THIS ALL ON MY OWN!!!
In fact these guys are just too modest for their own good.
In fact they will be very embarrassed by this. LOL
What's worse is that their friends will torment them for months with it.
HEY...for you guys that are unaware of their OD's read the all 3 reviews I have already done.
The Red Scorpion sits side by side with my Friedman BE-OD....
This way my guitar friends can compare them...
I LOVE IT ....IT IS LIKE BETTING ON A FIXED HORSE RACE
I BET ON THE SCORPION BEING THE WINNER
AND AD ANOTHER PIC OF AN ASTONISHED FACE TO MY COLLECTION!!! LOL
CODA
A little levity never hurts. If you are over my way drop in and try the pedal.
You don't have to wear any gloves either...ha ha ha ...
BUT IF YOU TOUCH MY PEDAL WITHOUT THEM I'LL BREAK YOUR FINGERS !!!!
It really is a very good high gain pedal. One would assume this by the Kirk Hammett/Metallica
association that a metal sound is a given.
Is it the best??? Well some think so.
Different players have small but different demands. Some players want a lot of control for a music that is played a break neck speed and a tone that by nature works better with the old chugging along styles that started with Sabbath when it more about the weight of the sound then a defined click of the pick on every note.
Metallica were about pop as much as metal.
Control means thinning out the sound to keep it tight. So with the pop element this pedal has been held tight on the reigns. I feel all of these pedals have picked a compromise between tight or fat.
For fat nothing beats the Goosesonque Kult. For tight there are dozens ...all with some compromise.
I think the Dark blood has hit the middle zone dead on.
The size is a nice feature but Metal players unlike other high gain users are not too worried about turning off the pedal and switching to something with a lower gain. They may use some lighter sounds but having a lot of space saved for a Klon and a Timmy is not an issue. In short a large metal pedal will always have a home.
The sweet spot for selling gourmet pedals is $200.00 USD ...I think the high end of that is about $225.00 USD. The low is about $175.00 USD So at $230.00 USD it should do OK.
In this price range there are a lot more 'Brown Sound' pedals then serious Metal jobbies.
So it is nice at this price to have some decent choices.
The Metallica thing may be as good as it is bad...many players consider them a sell out pop band. Others see them as the elder statesmen of Metal...and still others see their music as dated and perhaps the pedal itself has a dated sound. The pedal is quite good and no one cared that Les Paul played pop jazz...they bought the guitar anyway and pioneered the sound of Metal with it. So in short it is worth a listen.
I got to admit it...the more I listen to it the more I like it!!!
I have been working my pedals into a lot of new tunes I have written. I am also doing a lot of practising on my own and with the band. I am getting a good grasp on what works for me and what does not. My music has a lot early Metal thinking in my writing, For the most part I use and prefer Marshall voiced pedals of which I have several. I have tried a few Metal pedals and they were primarily designed for a totally commited modern style Metal player who plays with both the gain to the point of self feedback and the level pushed well past unity. In fact the majority of metal pedals do not respond well unless run on the edge. I run my set up with everything on unity gain and bring a pedal in for just a minute at a time in a song then off to another pedal. In short I can not use a pedal with a hair trigger nor can I deal with the noise floor and feedback by backing off the guitar volume. I need a quite well behaved pedal. This is the only one I've found. It covers everything from an overdriven Plexi. to a modern high gain pedal that borders on fuzz. Best of all it gives you that wall of sound without bordering on squealing feedback Using it with a . So I ordered one. Oddly enough there are are very few dealers. Sam Ash are the only well known name. Sweetwater does not have them. The bricks and motor stores do not have them even Anderton's and the other bigger Brit stores do not have them. They are made in Prague in the Czech Republic so I guess I should not be completely surprised. Using it with the Hotone X TOMP mini with the Marshal 1960a cab patch should make a massive sound. Something I get now only from my Sovtek Muff pedal.I look forward to my new toy! OK I HAVE MY PEDAL!!!
The first thing you notice is the finish is quite good. The pedal is solid and well made. The knobs have a firm smooth feel. I love the chicken head knobs with their funky old style look. They are the eadsiest of all knobs to see your settings at a distance.
So how does it sound. Well to nbe fair it sound just like the demo. I know I went on and on about most of the popular Meatal pedals in the past were made for and primarily sold to guys tha only play metal.This is not what I wanted. But in spite of that i was expecting a pedal which needed at least some pull back on the reins. To me this allows the pedal to pickup a little feedback from my amp.
Alas be careful what you wish for! This pedal is in complete control. Newcomers will love it. You will not have to learn the many tricks needed to contain it. I am sure it will work ourt well how I intend to use it.
There is one thing though that I was pleasantly very surprised with. Nearly all Metal pedals no matter how well they work usually have a very abrasive tone. Many border very,very close to a Fuzz.
But this pedal has a very rich tone yet still stays aggressive.
The tone won me over. If it were not for the great rich tone i might well have soon sold it.
SO? If you are looking for a classic sounding Metal pedal with great tone that is as easy to control as an average mid gain OD ...this is it. If you are looking for a tear your face off sound that frightens small children then NO!
Regular readers know I make a point of avoiding 2 OD's from the same manufacturer
Why? Because all company's have a way of imprinting a sonic character to all their pedals
Give me 3 different pedals...lets just say Flangers...and if one is EH or Wampler etc. I can nail down the company by ear.
Readers know I am trying to find the best low gain transparent OD on the planet. I have just recently bought the Greer Burning Goat.... Nice...but after only a couple of weeks I can hear the warts and blemishes in it. Do not get me wrong if you push it a bit it sounds amazing. But I am looking for a sound that is just a teeny bit more then clean ...more of a boost sound ...but a boost does not ADD harmonics. A low gain drive does.
I consider the #1 high gain OD that still maintains a tube amp character with zero artificial beep up to be the Red Scorpion.
I have one. I consider it the best OD on the planet!
(Yes ... I said the best!!!!)
So I honestly avoided listening to the Sunbeam.
BIG, BIG, BIG, BIG MISTAKE!!!
I will order one and come back to this review with my hands on review ...BUT my first impression is it is so much better then the others then anything said to describe it would look like the highest heap of Bull sh@t you ever read!!
ENOUGH SAID...
Listen to it when it is backed off...it sounds like a mildly cranked Dumble Amplifier I am talking about a $6000.00 USD SOUND!!!
THIS ONE IS GOING ON MY BOARD!!!
I JUST ORDERED IT!
Listen to the sound on the vid start at 215. All those wonderful low settings that support detailed chord work. Nothing fake sounding like the Tube Screamer and beyond JUNK!!! that has frustrated me for years!!! ....from my experience any position on Alek K pedals is a sweet spot!! nothing has endless sweet spots ...so is it design or the military spec parts? probably both.
HEY! the little hotshot has my blue Strat!!!
I think you get my point!!!
MY TURN
My turn indeed!!!
I just got my pedal.
As soon as I had it in my hand I stood there amazed. The finish!
The look of any Alek K is stunning. They make all your other pedals look cheap.
This does not come across on-line. The Sun Beam just looks like a cheerful yellow
but that yellow is actually gold. Gold but yellow at the same time, Yes..I know many associate gold with the colour yellow. But this pedal is actually both!
Once on my board I spent about 20 minutes twisting knobs trying to find 'that sound '
I did not find it. Close but not there.
BUT...every different sound I tried was usable. BIG TIME!!!
So what do I mean by this???
Well I like dirt pedals and I use a lot of them ...all kinds ...many makes of pedals and I love them all for that one special thing they do.
But you did take note . ONE ...one great but perfect sound is fine by me.
But this pedal can take you from near dead clean up to a very healthy medium gain distortion.
This is typical of an Alex K...every spot on it's gain is the sweet spot!!!
NOW HERE IS THE BIG DEAL!!!!
This pedal can make every note in a full 6 note chord ring out transparently clean with a nice defined attack the moment your pick touches the string ...and it keeps that nice articulate attack even if you push hard on the gain.
Let me tell you how many other makes of OD's pedals can do that. .....ZERO!!!
Without exception the others always muddy up. The crisp snap of your pick disappears.
This drives me nuts on the E and A strings!!!!
I often use them in an acoustic guitar sort of way putting in a small bass lines running around and between the cords that I may strum or play small arpeggios etc.
The other cool thing is...and I hate to say it ....because you have heard it said about every OD on the planet ...and we both know most of the time it's bull.
This thing really sounds like a damn tube amp. All light gain OD's I have ever heard sound fake.
I will not argue...fake 'Can' sound good.
BUT better????
Hello!!! I ask you. BETTER???
The good and bad news is that every knob changes the sound just by small increments of it. So you can go around in circles. But you will find 'that sound'
CODA
So after having this pedal for a couple of weeks I decided to do something I was putting off forever.
I had been using my amp with a permanent light crunch sound. With one or more of my OD's always on it worked quite well. I decided to get the best possible clean sound I could get. It took me 3 evenings and one rehearsal but I succeeded big time!
Now with light settings on my Sun Beam they were not competing with anther distortion. Wow!!!
What a difference. The pedal went from good to amazing!!!!
Well after tweaking all my OD's they all worked better. Of course the Sun Beam benefited the most.
Those who read between the lines I think may have concluded that this pedal is a good step up to a yet undiscovered 'King in Waiting' and they would be right. But now I feel one day we will see an alternative to this pedal ...but not an improvement. In fact what we may see is someone using the schematic to this and giving it a tweak here and there ...just like everyone has done with the Tube Screamer.
BUT ...to those with an ear ...such tweaks take away as much as they add to the overall sound.
it is a matter of 'If it's not broke don't fix it!!!
So what we have here with the Sun Beam is a "Best on the Planet low gain OD.'
Great dirt boxes from all over the globe is fast becoming the norm. It is great to finally have some real choice. This time it is from Turkey.
Only a year ago I would hear a half dozen OD's and only one or two would stand out.
Very quickly they would become the 'must have' of the day.
That little switch on the side of this pedal gives you the equivalent of 3 entirely different sounds and quite probably 3 different players who play 3 different styles of music. These 3 players will only ever use one of them because the the 3 sounds are all outstanding but cover 3 styles of playing.
If of course you were in a cover band or wedding band playing a wide range of diverse music this would be a godsend. Zero compromise on sound no matter what the challenge.
I hate to admit it but this is easily in the category of several pedals I have recommended in the last couple of months.
I think this pedal is going to kick a few American makers butts. They will have to get back to the drawing boards. The only US soldier still standing is Friedman with their BE-OD.I know I will not be dumping mine soon.
If you bought any one of my 4 best dirt boxes in the last few months do not be dismayed... this is NOT better just different. But as I said ...IT IS GREAT TO FINALLY HAVE SOME CHOICE!!!
$250.00 USD
Brett Kingman seems to think this is 'IT' for once I actually disagree. Sound is everything. If this were judged as 3 different boxes it would still get 10 out of 10 ...BUT I think I could find 3 actually different OD'S that would get 11.
It could not bump any pedals I have on my board ...BUT if my board were bigger I think it would be coming home.
The new kid Ananashead does a similar box. It too has the mid thing but it gives you a lot more control over the sound. Ananashead has a very impressive reputation with purist because of the many authentic clones Ananashead has done with other Fuzz boxes like the famous Univox Super Fuzz.
