TC ELECTRONIC|SKY SURFER REVERB
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| $50.00 USD |
First this is the new smaller version of the pedal that they have upgraded the 'chip' from entry level to pro due to decreases in chip prices. There are now two new generations of better ones available. Even so the chip used on rackmount studio ear on classic Rock records was not as good as what is in this pedal.
A LITTLE HISTORY
TC Electronic were the first. In 1985 they started making budget rack mount studio processors starting with delay. The first player to jump on board to use them live was David Gilmour back when no one made a Reverb in a pedal at any price. The most expensive thing in a Verb is the algorithm/program that makes the sound. The hardware and even the chip is not stupid
expensive any more. My point is that TC can simply use killer algorithms they invented decades ago so
they can make new effects sound great cheaper.
CONCLUSION
The bottom line is that you get a pro level sound cheap. Other pedals like the JHS and Fender Verbs in the hundred dollar range give more control over your sound and those controls are really useful so it it is worth the exta. But the sound in this pedal is 'there'. It certainly has my attention since I have been thinking seriously about adding a low end but pro verb along side my Boss Space Echo pedal that has a usable
Spring sound built in but I much prefer a Plate. You will note that the guy in the second video says he
uses the plate and sometimes the hall which tells me that I can trust his judgement that this is pro,
sure first rung of the ladder pro but pro all the same.
the fine print
Straight up ...I am damn impressed. I always use my delay and Verb together and on most tunes I use them to kill off any edginess and to frame my straight guitar sound. I only need one sound but it does not need drama only breadth and even
a lot of pricey Verbs are big sounds but they have no density. It is why for example out of 7 different Boss pedal delays
all that leapfrog the last one with a better spec chip do not sound as good as the first one.
Are the spring and plate algorithms of the Hall of Fame 2 (also made by TC Electronics) are the same ?
ReplyDeleteYes they are.
ReplyDeleteThe thing with digital it works much like old fashion movie film that is really a stream of photographs run faster than your eye can tell you are seeing them separately. There is information lost between one picture than the next. With digital those pictures are called samples. More samples means less dead space between you hearing them so the sound sounds fuller, clearer and more detailed. So the algorithm is the 'sound' but can be made better by getting more of it. Think of it this way. You have 2 sponges exactly the same but one is dense the other is very porous. The dense one holds more water. The newer chips are like the dense sponge. The same sound in an old chip may sound thinner than the newer chips.
I had the hall of Fame 1 and found the sound thin so when I moved up and got the Neunaber Immerse that everyone thought was better than a Strymon but cheaper. It sounded lifeless when pushed back in the mix but overwhelmed my guitar sound if I brought it up in the mix. I sold it just a year ago and got a humble JHS Series 3 Hall which is perfect. Sounds great but doesn't compete with the guitar. The Sky surfer impresses me because it sounds quite fat for a Verb. As the guy in the video mentions it has a short decay time to keep the price down which in practice 99% of the time is what I need. I run my Verb and Delay together if I want a bigger ambiance I just use the delay.
In summery the chips from 12 years ago are dense sponges and sound great. The 3 generations since are even more dense and better but the human ear isn't so we can not perceive all that improvement. Hence we get get great sounds cheap because the old chips are not wanted for other high tech things like multitasking in the latest laptop off of one new chip instead of using 4 of the old ones etc. On the other hand the 15 and 20 year old chips are sold by the handful they are so cheap but they are perfect for are garage door openers and children's toys. For pedals they are crap though they are still used in MIC mini pedals. They are actually discontinued Mooer pedals that are rebranded under 24 different names.
Thanks! Do you think it is a more powerful chip inside the HOF 2?
ReplyDeleteI don't know. I think the HOF 2 has a more current chip than one as it uses the companies standard sounds. I do think that both the Fender Hammertone Reverb and both of the JHS Series 3 Reverbs have both the right features and sounds to work with anyone's music regardless if they are big selling Star artists or a home hobbyist demanding a total Pro sound.
ReplyDelete