OVERDRIVE- buy my favourite pedal and you may actually save someone's life...NOT A JOKE!!!

THIS IS WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO!!!

GO TO THE POST

PedalpalFX PAL 800 JCM EMULATOR 2/18/17
286 others already have!!!
It is a medium gain OD that is the closest I have ever heard anyone clone the exact sound of the actual amp. It is dead awesome!!! It is not my most used pedal nor a pedal I love to shred on.
BUT IT IS MY FAVORITE pedal. Every time I use it it blows my mind. I feel like I could turn around and see the actual amp where mine sits.

So if you check out the vids etc. and if you agree that the pedal appears to sound real just like I know it is ...then put yourself out and buy it,

WHY???
The pedals are beautifully made by Luis Pina in Venezuela.
If you have followed the news the President of the country has made himself a dictator and the US and others have put heavy sanctions on the country. This will hurt the people and their jobs big time.
The new dictator has screwed the economy so bad that their currency has over 2 years become all but useless.
The once prosperous economy has now had thousands of businesses go bankrupt so millions are out of work.
EVEN WORSE
The schools are closed.
The police force has not been paid in over a year. Most of the cops just worked for free. BUT they are also now so poor they can not even pay bus fare to get to work.
SO...hundreds are out of work!!!
Lowlifes invade the neighbourhoods and will kill anyone just to grab their wallet
with a few coins in it.

Luis is the only one in his extended family with an income!!!

He makes an amazing pedal cheap!!!

It is a win-win situation if you buy a pedal.

GOOGLE Pedal PalFX
...then click on  contact and write a note saying you want a pedal ...tell him that Paul Ewing from Stomp Box Steals sent you.

PLEASE DO THIS.
Luis would never ask for help.
This is the real deal not some scam or BS.
What do I get out of this...I get to sleep at night!!!That's what!

Keep in mind this guy is a player too ...he is 'ONE OF US' 
 Do the right thing.

METAL DISTORTION- 3 Blind Mice?

  ALL 3 MAKERS ALL MAKE THE SAME METAL PEDAL?  

I do not think that KHDK, KEELEY & WAMPLER new that the others had come to the conclusion that what many players wanted was an average price, average size Metal pedal designed with the sole purpose of tailoring it to meet all the requirements of Modern Style Metal! Yes they were 'Blind' to each other.

Each one put the focus of priorities in a different order but the end result is they are more the same then different. 

I do not think which you choose will make you the looser.

PRICEs
...KHDK        $230.00 USD
...WAMPLER  $200.00 USD
...KEELEY      $190.00 USD

Maybe not the best Demo's but the fairest as they are all done with the same guy.. the same setup.

  what's the difference? 

Well we could compare features but all 3 cover basically the same thing only perhaps with a different approach. All 3 let you tighten the sound ...all 3 give you that low end spluge ...all 3 give the cutting highs and sustain for shredding.

I think we end up with 3 philosophies and 3 tones.

KHDK Dark blood

I feel they are all about an easier control over the  very uncontrollable outcomes when you are dealing with high gain, In spite of that the pedal has a very rich sound ...very organic. 

Traditional high gain players would love the sound. A warm inner core inside a buzz saw outer one.
It is an effective illusion that the pedal sounds even more aggressive then the others on a video.
It isn't. lol

WAMPLER Dracarys

As always their pedals are about the middle ground. Enough high gain to 'just' push it over the edge if you want. A sound that is tight and focused, clear ...even slick.

As always this is a Brian Wampler pedal that unsurprisingly punches no mater what. This is a very 'safe' choice. It is everything it should be and nothing it shouldn't.

KEELEY Filament

Always a high tech slant on all Keeley products. Deconstruct the Metal sound and surgically remove even the tiniest wart. It even has one more knob and 2 more switches. lol
It is the most open sound of the 3 which on one hand makes for a very "big' sound. But that big sound is very airy not dark and dense like a trad metal sound. I just get the feeling it was a matter of checking all the boxes then saying. If nothing is broken or technically wrong then the sound must be right.The damn thing works because it has personality more by dumb luck then intent. I doubt this sound was in someone's head before they started although Joyo have new amp that sounds like this. With Wampler it is always an exact perceived sound that they chase until they get it. Once your ear gets tuned to the Keeley you could never mistake it for anything but a the Filament. I think it is one of Keeley's best pedals!!!

CONCLUSION
As I mentioned before there are no wrong choices.

I think if you were a really serious Metal player you could easily bypass them all.
You would more likely get one of the oversize pedals that have always catered to a near totally out of control sound. Something that will take your 'stack' to beyond music to a near blood sport.

May I recommend the beyond awesome ...King Of Overkill!!!
The hugest Metal sound ..EVER!!!
The ...GOOSONIQUEWORX KULT !!!  :-)

I think these  3 new pedals are aimed at the modern players that use a combo amp. Players that could quite easily mix modern Metal with one of many Indie Alt styles.
Alternatively they will even sell well with the weekend warrior cover bands that may spend the bulk of the gig going for their Tube Screamer.

CODA
I bought the KHDK.  I think in hindsight that the Wampler is more my thing since I could push it into some acoustic feedback from my amp much easier. I would sell it but for the fact that it is quite adequate and I feel it definitely has the richest tone.
Tone is definitely not a feature of Metal pedals unless you take the stance that a chain saw can have a good tone. lol
Bottom line! The more I play my KHDK the more I like it.

OVERDRIVE- M.I. AUDIO Crunch Box ....a Plexi wall of sound...maybe even cheap?

  M.I. AUDIO CRUNCH BOX        

$140 .00 USD

I have been toying with getting this pedal for a loooooong time.
It has been around for years and there are 3 Chinese clones of it.
But none have it's crucial gain. It is in essence a Marshall Plexi on steroids.
A massive wall of sound with a lot of sustain. In fact the gain at 11 o'clock is more then any pedal I own on full.
Power chords are it's forte...it is all about a huge mid range boost. Oddly it has an effective attack for so much gain. You can slam down a few successive quarter note power chords and all are well defined.
A lot of Indie Alt players quite literally strum their guitars with high gain OD's and fuzz boxes. This
is ideal for that style of playing too. This is very impressive because it has a very bottom heavy sound.

As I said it is ancient. lol
In fact there is a also a new Deluxe one.

The JHS Angry Charlie is based off the v.1 Crunch Box.
The 'Charlie' has been modified to the point it sounds like a JTM 45.
 I have one so I know this is not duplication. Both are very good.


  OK...to the point.
 'Old' means successful.
  Successful means there are lots of used ones.

REVERB $85.00 USD used

CHECK OUT the vids...

   

 

The case is painted deep vibrant red ....a stunning colour. It is built in a standard type 2 size Hammond style case I suspect it is a high quality Gainta box made in Taiwan. They are just slightly smaller then an MXR Phase 90 type case. The white knobs are also slightly smaller to match it. The overall effect is both flash and elegant at the same time. It definitely says "go ahead ..play me!"

I got a used one for $60.00 USD on Kijiji. Except for a few light scuffs on the base of it (now covered with velcro) it is like new. Switching between the two I can hear some similarities with the 'Charlie'.

I found a great sweet spot ...I run the tone and gain at 2 o'clock and the volume at 'unity gain'

It has lovely raspy low end with nice penetrating highs and bags of sustain.

At full pop I would go for a different pedal ...perhaps the Angry Charlie which has a bit of a scoop and and a wonderful sprawling low end 

.......but used...go for it!!!

IF this kind of sound is really your thing and money is an issue then the NUX  Brownie at $50 or less is a given. 

Read the POST!!! OVERDRIVE- NUX Brownie

Another great choice is the CMAT MODS BROWNIE

At $135.00 it is hard to beat. The sound is very similar but the tone is noticeable rich and laden with harmonics. The sound is very natural and sounds uncontained and real. This pedal is hard for me to resist but with 55 pedals on my  'live' board I have to draw the line LOL

SYNTH- Electro Harmonix Synth 9 ....the real deal ...a great variety of useful sounds

  Electro Harmonix SYNTH 9                                                            

$225.00 USD

I have always been blown away with Synths since the ELP Tarkus LP.

A Mini Moog and a piano are as different as an Martin and a Les Paul playing through a dimed Marshall. 

A keyboard player approaches both the Piano and a Synth differently

Take any guitar Synth and play a few hot guitars riffs thru it. I guarantee it will sound like Sh@t.

To get the best from a Synth you have to put your ordinary guitar playing aside.

For a quick example of how get started. Try playing single note riffs. Keep your fingers from giving any movement to the strings. Definitely no bends or trills. In short play like a robot, an automaton ...stilted and wooden. Yes you will have to loosen up a bit later but right away it will sound very keyboard like.

There have been many types of Synths over the years but nothing beats an analog synth.

The sound is totally unique. It does not try to be anything but the unique instrument it is.

EH make the SYNTH 9 that have the sounds taken from the best of the best 60's, 70's & 80's Synths. 

When the first great poly Synths came out in the 80's followed by computer based sequencers the world of music changed drastically and over night! Guitarist were starting to end of their reign of the Kings of Rock. In fact guitar sales tanked. A well kept secret...Ibanez started talking about closing its doors because they were loosing money ...I only know this because I worked for one of their distributors demonstrating pedals at trade Shows.

As for me I thought. Hell these things are so new why not get into myself.
It was not long before I was teaching Keyboard players how to program analog synths and how to work sequencers. Especially PC based software sequencers.

So my point is I think this is the best Synth out there. If I don't know who does. LOL

Simple...it triggers just great from any ordinary electric guitar ...no special pickups
or equipment needed. The best stuff on it are the monophonic bass line type sounds and the big pads.

There are lots of Bricks & Mortar Music Shops out there that sell EH...so go check one out.

I want one but I intended to wait until I built a new board the same size but to be both lighter but very compact so as to accommodate about 60 pedals instead of 50 that are jammed in so they are not as convenient to use.
A new board takes 2 to 3 weeks to build and 2 more weeks to place and wire up the pedals and then trouble shoot.
It is a big job.
BUT...a good deal on a used one with a $60.00 saving was hard to pass up.

So I will be back with a 'HANDS ON' review when I get it.

AMPLIFIERS & GAIN - a need to know of what makes an amp clean or distorted ?

AMPLIFIERS & GAIN...a need to know Post DUMBED DOWN to GAIN FOR IDIOTS!

NOW YOU ARE OVER BEING INSULTED
LETS GET STARTED :-)

OK ..OK ...I will keep it simple

THIS IS JUST NEED TO KNOW STUFF

GAIN STAGES

preamp /power amp /transformers /speaker

Cheer up it took me days to figure out what was going on with the all tech info of over bloated bull!!!

PREAMP

The pre is the part of your amp you plug into with all those lovely knobs that do stuff.
The MASTER VOLUME is NOT  part of it..

The MASTER only turns the power amp up & down

The preamp is the first stage that can cause distortion,.

Saturation=Dirt   a clean sound is pictorially this /\ the point means clean..turn it all the way up and it looks like this  / \ with it's head chopped off because it banged its head because the amp ran out of HEAD ROOM ...in short it ran out of power it needs to get any louder.

No headroom means distortion. So the more you crank the more you chop off the top the dirtier the sound.

The treble goes first then the lows. The mids get fat because nothing else is left

The end of headroom means simply the end of GAIN or how loud the pre can get since what ever signal is left is at full ...you get compression. 

COMPRESSION

Think about it...when your amp is clean ...you strum a chord and it fads away. If every bit of your signal is as loud as it can go the loudest part of the guitar's signal gets squished down in volume and what remains is now just as loud but not squished. In short the sustain is not longer then how long your chord rings out clean ...it just means the ringing out part is forced into getting as loud as the squished bits that got turned down because they ran out of juice. So Compression means all the guitar signal even the half that is naturally fading away is at the same level
Or think of it this way the guitar signal goes in volume from 0 to20 and..if the amp is on 10 the the whole input is halted at 10.  So anything over 10 ...like 20 is turned down to 10. This means no part of the signal can be lower then 10 or higher then 10.
It sounds Ok because the soft notes have a whisper type of sound and the louder notes have a shouting type of sound...although every note is the same loudness...your brain hears a whisper as a whisper a shout as a shout.So the overall sound seems 3 dimensional when volume wise it is as flat as a pancake.

If you do not get this ... read it again. Because what happens next  (thank God) is similar

POWER AMPLIFIER SECTION & FEEDBACK NETWORKS

We will ignore all the bull with this. Oversimplified epistol...when the amp starts moving the signal some signal  gets bottle necked by the speaker and the signal feeds back. This feedback distorts the sound. Amps like Fender and Vox try to reduce it. Amps like Marshall do not. LOL

The method to fix it is called Negative Feedback.  A cuircut is designed into the amp that looks at when that bottle neck is about to happen  and turns the input down so just the right amount of input can get across the bridge from the amp to the speaker. 

The speaker is just too crude a tech to not cause this feedback. The feedback between the the amp and speaker is called DAMPENING

It is no brainer to see less feedback at any point means clarity...and as you know clarity means lots of HEADROOM.

SO WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN

Well for a guitarist you choose how much BAD is GOOD
You could have an amp that lets some feedback happen but not overdue it.

For a Bass player... he wants the best Negative Feedback control and then he wants sh@t loads of power so no bass frequencies are sucked up.
Plus if 500 watts is necessary to be heard over the highs and mids...then 1000watts means he has lots of head room because the input from the pre need only push for half the power...hence lots of headroom.

TRANSFORMERS the power boosters.

So transformers are your friend and your enemy. If they are under powered they 
SAG (or run out of headroom/power) when you hit a chord hard
They tend to recover quickly so if you hit softer they clean up.The right amount of this loss of power can sound cool.
Another side effect that only happens with power tubes is that  the power amp and speaker cause a 'pumping' action that you do not hear but feel when you hit a chord hard. This 'feels' good to the player..the player gets the emotional sensation of power. The player feels he is setting off a cannon ball from a cannon with every strike of a power chord. It gives the player an incredible confidence...this feeling makes it easier to play his best It is the MAIN reason players prefer tube amps..

KA-BOOM!!! love that pumping!!!!

SO THAT's IT...

PEDALS & AMPs ...teamwork!
Pedals are designed to feature some or all these elements. Like the SUPRO DRIVE it even has a tiny underpowered transformer for more authentic sag sound. .Different transistor have different distortion characteristics. Germanium are warm but a bit mushy... a lot of low end spludge.
Silicon clip off the top so clean it turns into a square wave...in short A FUZZ wave. Real tubes have a rounded top ...not square or flattened off ...this keeps the distortion smooth warm even creamy. The FET transistors have a square wave BUT the corners are rounded  off so they can fake being a tube better then all others.
Pedals do like headroom in an amp. They are designed to give you (in most cases in the last few years) the perfect distortion .Creating your own on top of it is not good especially if you have a lot of pedals. Too many variables muddy the sound.
 Even the best made clean tube amp makes even order harmonic distortion. In short think of the whole sound producing an octave higher sound blended with the basic sound. Naturally this is going to fatten up the sound. So tubes in spite of their deficiencies sound best. To do this even one power tube can make a big difference. A couple of amps are now designed with a nano power tube put between the pre and transistor power amp which fakes out the ear and the pumping feel of playing a tube amp.

A hundred watt power amp can be really small and weigh in at 2 pounds, Expect more companies to do this. Especially as it is a lot easier to get headroom for pedals and still keep a real tube sound.
They can be made cheaply as well. Expect a box you can throw in your gig bag with 3 way EQ and a master volume with 50 watts of power for about $300.00 USD in the near future. Even using stereo will soon be quite feasible with these better cheaper amps.
 There will be small open back cabs with neodymium speaker magnets with a single 10" or 12" speaker.  The cabs could be made in a high tech plastic or aluminum and be only the diameter of the speaker and perhaps 10 inches deep. The whole thing could weigh in at 8 pounds or less.



    SO UNDERSTANDING THIS GETS RID OF ALL   THE BULL ...HYPE 
                            ...and   VOODOO Science                                  

What is really cool is that most of the guys designing the original tube amps were often amateurs.
They learnt as kids to make a radio in the 30's thru to the 50's and did a lot of trial and error. Even the few engineers that got into it would cheat to keep the costs of making it down.
NO COMPANY WANTED DISTORTION ON PURPOSE. So creative players took what they got.
They played acoustic guitar parts thru these amps. This did not sound good so they learn to change how and what they played and in the end they use the deficits as assets.
Hence electric guitar Rock sound was born.
Now really high quality parts are used deliberately to create a GOOD-BAD design. LOL
We pay thousands for what to an audiophile listening to near totally distortion free amps is total garbage. LOL

GUITAR- SOMNIUM GUITARS ....admit it ...fascinating!!!!

 SONIUM TRANSFORMER SERIES GUITARS 

Ok you may even have contempt for these guitars.
But if you get one you may be surprised. You may be the first to own an early valuable guitar.
Alternatively you may be stuck with a dog!
BUT ...BUT ...BUT  keep it 30 years and I guarantee you will have a rare collectors item worth some very serious money. The damn things will become cooler then cool itself. LOL

The first video  explains everything in exquisite detail. ENJOY !!!

Check out the second video too. Worth your time!

STUPID PIECE OF CRAP????

IN 1950 A GUY JUST LIKE YOU WAS LOOKING AT A DIFFERENT STUPID LOOKING PIECE OF CRAP AND THINKING EXACTLY LIKE YOU!

                            THINK ABOUT IT???

THIS WAS WHAT WAS COOL IN 1950
Not a guitar that looked like it was assembled with wood from a lumber yard.
"Who in their right mind." they thought "Will ever buy that Fender piece of junk?"

FUZZ- ELECTRO HARMONIX Green Russian Big Muff .....a NEW RE-ISSUE but does it cut it ????

 ELECTRO-HARMONIX GREEN RUSSIAN BIG MUFF 

$80.00 USD

WOW!

They claim it is a re-issue. In short the real deal. They are perhaps rich enough to have some of the key original parts remanufactured if the raw materials are available, But my guess is that the bulk of the parts are new substitutions.
The box is a standard EH mini. It is about the size of a standard type 2 box used on many MXR pedals.
EH have made some great pedals over the years. They have had a few dogs as well.

I am very sceptical about what we will hear???

Is it the same as the original?

The original is more open with a slightly bigger sound. The new one is slightly tighter and perhaps just bit punchier.
I would love to see it compared with a guitar.

All considered and not least of all the price all but the purists should be happy.

The Analog Fox Big Green past the test and is only $5.00 more to your doorstep.
But the EH is much better than I expected.

CONCLUSION
Well it is a toss up. You get the authentic Analog Fox Big Green for it's accuracy.
 Or you get the EH for all the advantages of service and track record for reliability and resale.

Price is a non starter.
Sound is so close as to drive you nuts with deciding. LOL

REVERB- TC ELECTRONIC HOF mini....an awesome sounding very cheap reverb for an 'always on' sound

   TC ELECTRONIC H.O.F mini REVERB                                                                                     

$99.00 USD

If you caught anything in the wind thousands of players either think the full size Hall of Fame or the EH Holy Grail is the cat's butt when it comes to a reverb. Neither are even close to the Neunaber or a Time Line or any other big bucks reverb.

So what's my point?

If like me you gig and need an excellent always on reverb this is it!
You can still keep it if you get a high end reverb.
I find I can use my Neunaber for a dramatic sounding chorus or mid 8 in a tune but  when I switch back to the verse the tune sounds just weird going back to a dead dry sound.

Keep in mind it only holds one sound. this is not a bad thing because the whole 'chip'is holding that one sound ...this is why it sounds so good. You have one sound but you get to choose it.
The cool thing about the HOF is tone print. You can download dozens of choices . Some are even those used by the proberial Star Players. Finding the very best 'always on' reverb sound becomes a given.
Most players are going to head for a good Spring reverb sound. They are classic, they sound good and are useable. A Hall type reverb for example has hundreds of reflections. Now compare that to a Spring with it's two. I would bump that up to a Plate reverb with Four. It is similar to the Spring but is much,much fatter. The basic Plate for the HOF is full ...with only minor side effects. Gourmet vanilla!  You do not loose all of that in your face balz of a dry tone and yet you still get the luxury of a rich ambience. A total win-win sound.

4 DEMO'S THAT TELL THE WHOLE STORY

The first shows off the the very high quality of the pedal by showing you two extremely different sounds. One basic type of sound and one over the top ambient reverb.

     The 2nd shows you a very nice 'always on' type ...safe and familiar Spring sound.

    The 3rd shows you my choice in a fat sounding yet plain vanilla Plate.

 The 4th is a custom plate. A bigger sound then you may need but it gets the point across that a 'Plate' can be big but not 'busy' sounding.
Personally I would get into the Sound Prints customizing page and smooth out one of the Plates by killing a bit of resonance and fade the tail. There is just a bit too much going on for me

LAST WORD.

OK...as for me I am using my amp's digital spring reverb. It is near invisible which is how I like it. 

BUT...I am very impressed with the obvious trouble that TC has gone through to make algorithms that interfere as little as possible with a guitars sound even when they are mixed a bit high.

Room is always an issue. for obvious and not so obvious reasons. A pedal board of 3 feet by 2 feet is my limit. I plan to make a new much lighter board BUT...it will not be a bigger footprint.

I digress....will I buy one????

I just did!!! I will squeeze it onto my board somewhere.  lol

So it comes with a very nice 'hall' sound. It seems to work so I will live with it for awhile
before I check out the downloading new sounds thing.

UPDATE
The Hall of Fame is the patch it comes with. The algorithms comes from TC's Pro products that were on countless recordings going back to the 80's.
Great choice as it seems bullet proof. I am still using it and feel no need to change it.

.

GUITARS- what do you want in a guitar?

 THE 3 THINGS I DEMAND FROM A GUITAR!!!

-a guitar that plays and sounds great!

-a guitar that looks amazing!

- a guitar that is dirt cheap!

PICK 2  lol

OVERDRIVE-BJF Design BEAR FOOT Model 'G' ...bored with the same-old? How about the sound of a Gibson amp????

BJF DESIGN BEAR FOOT Model 'G'    

Bearfoot have been around for a long time under the B.Y.O.C. banner selling clone kits.
Clone kits that you solder together yourself.
They now sell their own designs as Bearfoot.
Recently they struck a deal with DonnerBox in St. Louis Missouri. They can now have the Bearfoot product made cheap enough to sell for $149.00 USD. I see  no evidence that this is ready. At present the Model 'G' is not in their production line up anyway. It is listed on their Bearfoot site as a handmade product for $222.00 USD. They also started to make a Model G + ...there are not any vids for the G+. The first shipments just went out.

NOTE: go to the new Post ...BJF designs BEARFOOT Model H. 
I have since made sense of this multi layered company. 

I find the graphics & paint jobs
on the Bearfoot pedals
dead ugly...
The yellow and brown however falls into the
"It's so ugly it's cool." category.
LOL LOL

Supro and others have found a lot of players are looking for that 'Amp in a Box' that is not another
Marshall or a Fender amp.
I for one love my Marshall's. But as a song writer I love something different to give my tunes some freshness. In short a few other amp sounds are welcome to join my arsenal but not to replace it.

In spite of calling it a Gibson combo sound it really sounds more like many of the 50's Valco amps. Gibson amps sound very boxy where the Valco sound more open. No big deal either sound good.
Thanks to Scott Hager of Axe & You Shall Receive for giving me the heads up about this.
The guy is a gold mind on amps and pedals.

Readers will know I have been trying to find an OD that has just a bit of crunch past a clean sound.
The closest is the Vertex Steel String Clean Drive. It is a very accurate clone of the Dumble SSS single channel amp This amp is a composite design based on a few 50's & 60's Fender amps.
Fender have reissued the 65 Deluxe and if you team it with the Vertex the whole Dumble clean sound thing is nailed.
It still sounds fine with any clean sounding tube amp. It turns out when not pushed into crunch you get a mind boggling clean sound. Pushed it distorts but to me that distortion is a bit thin.
I keep it for my always on clean sound. So it stays. It replaces my boost.

THE MODEL G
The Model'G'.has what I would describe as clean tone crunch with balz big time.
The vids tell it all!!!

Unfortunately I have found that the break up on pedals with OD's that try to stay dead clean can get annoyingly ratty, thin and sparse and uneven.So far I have bought (then sold) about a half dozen pedals that have tried to get this right. No one has nailed it.
But I keep on trying. LOL

I will take another chance and buy this one.

.

... from 10.23 to 11.08 you get the fatest clean sound 

I have ever heard out of an OD  

8/12/2017

I am currently waiting for Prymaxe an on-line store to give

me the heads up on a new shipment of pedals.

Currently their Ad gives a cheap sale price of $159.000 USD instead of the regular $222.00 USD price but a note plastered over it says out of stock.

So what the new price will be is not a given.

Today I found a site that is out of stock too. They sell the G+ they say it has more sustain etc.

and they say it is the 'new' replacement.

So if any pedals show up I expect they will all be a G+ with the price at full pop!

I further expect the price was to blow out the G in favour of only the G+ being made.

2 weeks later   8/28/2017

So I just got the much hoped for E 

It appears I was right about the pedal being the new G+ model but wrong about the price...

I will not be paying $222.00 USD but I will get the sale price of  $159.00 USD.  

I should probably have the pedal next week.

A month later... LOL

Do to a few cock ups the pedal did not get sent...good ol' Steve at Prymaxe got me some action and it is on it's way....

Two thumbs up for Steve...

I will be talking more about Steve when the pedal arrives.

10/9/2017
still no pedal.  LOL
So...will I get the green one ...or the brown and yellow one???
the suspense continues.......

10/15/2017
still no pedal
What the F_ _k!!! lol

10/17/2017
it was shipped...today
NO!!!
Don't ask!!!  LOL

Let's see now .......I put my name on the "letcha know when we have more" list in August...waited 2 weeks...got the heads up...ordered pedal .............mmmm and now it is mid October...and they just shipped it.

________________________________________________________________________________

VERY SCARY! 

OCT 31/17 ....delivery day                           

So it all started in AUGUST AND IN JUST 4 HOURS IT WILL BE NOVEMBER !!!

Well the saga continues. 

I as such imported the pedal. Some companies know that is a customer wants to get the best deal then then they ship by using the mail without doing more then putting both the customer's address and their address with what I imagine is the value as their costs. The Post Office in the importing nation can not afford to check the hundreds of small plain wrapper parcels coming thru the mail and duties and taxes are waived.  In the real world 90% of these packages have a $2.00 pair of knitting needle being sent to Granny. The cost of labour alone on a Postal Employee is much more then that. Companies like ...Analog Man simply warn the buyer that there will be no insurance or tracking etc. ...I have never had a problem with either delays or non delivery with this.

So ... Pymaxe not only filled out the value but they put the value as the regular price ...not the Sale price. I got hit with another $35.00 USD. Ouch !

To be fair I am sure some PC with a current price list just shot this figure out to some poor bastard trying hard to get orders out ASAP.

ONE SMALL CONSOLATION... I am sure that many customers think the deliberate home made look of the Bear Foot artwork is great. I am not one of them!!! I pay the big bucks so even the basic MXR simple look at least looks pro. Up until getting the pedal even the site was showing the product as a drab green metallic used by 999 out of 100 of every Tube Screamer knock off pedal made. There were a few pics kicking around online of it being in a blotchy yellow and brown case, Now this I do like... a case of something being so ugly that it's cool!!! LOL  Yes I got that one.

The first thing one notes when picking up the pedal is it's substantial weight. This is very reassuring. Then one gives the knobs a spin to find them smooth but firm.In short you know you have a quality product with a quality build,

Even with the standard Prymaxe shipping I would expect that most of the parcels get thru as the Pedal Inquisition only can get a few per day. They can not slow down the mail. I imagine they are too busy  with some high fashion parcels and Japanese camera's not to bother with too many pedals.

Keep in mind ...SHIPPING IS FREE,
It is hardly obvious that by shopping around that most pedals sell for a FIXED PRICE ...so 2 thumbs up to Steve and Prymaxe for this witty way of beating the system.
I already have an A/DA PBF Flanger coming from them.

I will be back by the weekend for the hands on update.

UPDATE

OK...The pedal really does sound great. It has a rich and very distinct tone.

you can transfer a tune that you wouls

d usually see as being for an acoustic without any downside.

This was my first attraction of the pedal and it does not disappoint !!!

This pedal is definitely a keeper right from the get go!!!

GUITAR- if it sounded like a 57 Les Paul but looked like a cross between a Dano and a Tele & was $500.00 USD would you buy it?

  GIBSON LES PAL vs. RITZ MONGREL 

Some of you know all about this and some of you might just be curious enough to check it out.

I have been working for 2 and half years finding out why an LP sounds like an LP.

It is not voodoo. Another guitar that does not look like it

  COULD  SOUND THE SAME!

It gets down to strategic amounts of wood put in the right amount in the right place and the pickups.

Some other things matter but not to the same degree. They too should and can be addressed.
The big expense is all cosmetic. Stuff that looks cool but does not create that magic tone.

So Google  GIBSON LES PAUL vs.RITZ MONGREL

I think you will enjoy the story.
Paul

....as for those that have checked it out there are current updates
...... finding the right manufacturer is back on track!

OVERDRIVE- MOOER MICRO PREAMP.... 10 plus OD's that may be a game changer????

   MOOER MICRO PREAMP  

This is Mooer's all out attempt at becoming a serious player in the pedal market. They have found their way into the bricks and mortar stores and want to get rid of their 

'BAD BOY' & 'CLONE/THIEF image.

These pedals are designed to recreate the sound of every popular guitar amp out there including both the 'classics' and the Gourmet favs.
They can be used as an OD or put thru the faux speaker sim to go direct out to a live sound system a recording set up or home PC.

At $99.00 USD you might wonder how well they can pull it off. Well the first few I heard sounded  unconvincing as copy's of the amps they are meant to be ...but perhaps at least a reasonable sounding OD for the money.

The Day Tripper Vox...cool look but the sound was not!

They have 10 in the picture but more are on there way.


______________________________________________________________

  MOOER MICROPREAMP US CLASSIC DELUXE  

So how did they do with this one that has just been released.
Well not bad ...not bad at all.
The really cool thing is that it sounds very much like a Fender 65 Deluxe and secondly doing a Marshall that at least sounds usable is not to hard. There are dozens that squeak by. But Fender?
Very few sound even close...most are just crap!!!
This time Mooer got it right ...very right. If they continue with this quality at this price point the
Big Boys are going to have to up their game!!!


Brett Kingman steps in to give us a good look.
He is my preferred demonstrater. He actually does a systematic hands on with the knobs and switches.
The sound quality is always good but we are spared the BS post production meant to con us.

OVERDRIVE-J L Pedals Mosfet Overdrive ...a simple OD that simply just sounds great!!!

  J.L. PEDALS  MOSFET OVERDRIVE  

$235.00 USD

Not a lot to say. A small company in Brazil with a few pedals This is their medium gain dirt-box.
A simple set up with level, gain and tone. A switch that in low gives you that heavy low end Plexi sound. Switch to high it has a bump in the upper mids and rolls off a few lows.
So whats the big deal?
Simple ...it really does sound good. Great dynamics so when you pick lighter it cleans up. It is very full rich and warm? So if you love a great sounding simple to use OD it is well worth checking out.