OVERDRIVE-VOX Valve Energy Cutting Edge ...WTF !!! BIG SURPRISE METAL PEDAL!

VOX |VALVE ENERGY CUTTING EDGE 

The big deal is this is a 'tube' pedal???? About 6 years ago Korg invented a Korg NuTube 6P1 miniature triode tube. The idea being that you could get a tube amp sound on the cheap in what otherwise is a solid state piece of gear. Cool idea but all tubes that even look like a traditional tube do not sound alike.

$150.00 USD

About 99% of all amps that we love no matter what the brand use a 12AX7a tube in the preamp. The preamp is what shapes and colors the amps sound. They are like a pickup in a guitar which rule above everything about what we hear from a guitar. 

The bottom line the thing might add something to a piece of gear but it won't save it if the product relies on it. Maybe it could be the 'fairy dust' on a well designed analog OD. Listening will tell.

The layout is volume, gain, treble, mid, bass & tight control/high pass filter. It has an amp-sim mode for direct recording. The casing and build quality is excellent.

 

CONCLUSION

Big surprise. It is an impressive take on a Modern Metal sound. If someone said it was a real 5150 or Dual Rec with maybe a Tube Screamer boosting the amp it would be believable. With a high end modeler we are not surprised to be fooled on a recording that we are hearing a real amp ...but this is an analog pedal. Very impressive!!! 

The price? 😊  

 

HANDS ON

The first thing you notice from the get go is it is built like a proverbial tank and 

the look is very elegant. It looks ridiculously high end.

A guy who only played acoustic guitar could play this pedal and sound like 

he had years of experience playing on a dimed stack with 100 watts of power  

moving enough air to fly a kite LOL.  

It really could pass as a modeler. It has that all very tame in control vibe. 

It sounds like a lion but it plays like a pussy.

I tried it out on every tune I thought it would fit and a few I didn't need it to. 

Two tunes where nothing I ever tried worked it just casually walked across the 

finish line, well perhaps it was pushed because it has no grit so I used my 

nasty ol' OCD to give it a push.

I think I felt more relief than thrilled ..but WTF ..no more problem tunes. 

I can know just play and enjoy them. 😊