STOMP BOX STEALS: December 2025

Thursday, December 4, 2025

MODELER- LINE 6 Helix Stadium Floor XL_NEW_ & in the stores ...Buy? Yes, or No?

LINE 6
H E L I X S T A D I U M

LINE 6 have been doing this for decades. If not the first they were first to make anything usable.

I will not go further with all their commendable history. The BIG BUT is they are selling this for the big money head to head with King of modelers Fractal Effects Axe FX-3 that has years of bringing out state of the art sounds for it.

Perhaps worse still the Neural DSP Quad Cortex that is technically not a modeler but a Profiler but

it does the same job cheaper then either. The most popular on the planet with up and coming pros

is the Neural DSP. The reason is simple. It is user friendly, small, and reliable. Unlike the Fractal it sells thru stores. That means repairs or a replacement can be found in cities all over the damn planet.
Since anyone can without much learning curve make their own sounds you are not relying on the company nor some super nerd that will prove on a scope he has the best sound. Ears are the judge of that. So getting the most usable sounds from those that use it and even hundreds for free are a given. But as stated the damn thing is in comparison to others is much easier to use.

CONCLUSION __
The very good news is that there are very skilled technicians from numerous brands and todays high tech cheaper parts have made it possible to get 100% convincing sounds dead cheap. Sounds so good that if you can live with only a handful of amps you can get that for as little as $100 or spend up to $650 and get all of the best of the best and more than you would ever use live.

Add to that Fractal just brought out the DP4. Fractal have had years to nail every classic amp so well they invite you to put the unit beside the real amps and compare for yourself. They also give you the classic pedals etc. They are all in it. You can just plug and play knowing no matter the gig the most anyone can boast is they do more. However you can do ALL that is needed with sounds that if you don't like them than blame the amp companies because its their sounds you don't like, lol.

OD/RINGMODULATOR- GINEAN Modulator Ringmod- not a clone but a forgery of a DOD

Ginean

$30.00 USD

Modulator

RINGMOD

So right from the get go we have more than a clone. Ginean, Mosky,

and DemonFX are all the same company and are owned by Moogoo. Moogoo also make forgeries. I own their Fulltone OCD. Yes it is labeled Fulltone. It has zero words printed on it to suggest otherwise.

The company pulled it when the lawyers came in, but it was available again just months later 😇. So with Ginean they duplicate the DOD

part for part including the casing. They however do their own

labelling, paint and graphics.

In over simplified terms a Ringmolulator is a circuit that takes a tremolo/sine wave that is moving and scrambles the harmonics to a total discord. You can tune that note to a small degree to sound in tune to what you are playing to keep the sound a bit musical. A tiny amount blended in with the hardclipper OD makes this pedal unsettlingly & nasty but usable.

CONCLUSION __

Well it can be great fun on a solo. The OpAmp
OD is the second cousin of a Rat/Boss DS-1 so

it has a very fat usable high gain OD sound.

As for the DOD, since you asked, it is on sale for... $135.00 USA. (regularly $150) WTF!!!

Wednesday, December 3, 2025

NEED to KNOW___PAST PRESENT & FUTURE ...what's going on with gear now, & WHY!!!

YESTERDAY, TODAY & TOMORROW
Rick Beato and Ola Englund nail down how we got here and why.
They make it all useful by tying it to specific gear.
Rick does his usual, of keeping the talk on topic, dead focused &
making the info usable. He does all that yet makes it invisible so

it never feels like we are being spoon fed academics. This chat

ties many things you know but files them into priorities that

can make decisions for us much easier.

Tuesday, December 2, 2025

ROY ORBISON LIVE

ROY ORBISON

Monday, December 1, 2025

_THE UPDATER_DECEMBER 2025_NEW GEAR NEWS_UPDATED 24/7

THE UPDATER
DECEMBER 2025

Separate those pedals that are a steal from those that are stealing
from you at any price.

IF IT IS WORTH KNOWING IT WILL BE HERE FIRST!

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MY MONTHLY RANT
The Black Friday deals sucked as usual! No blowouts! As for Oct. all we got were a couple of new Tube Screamers. I am sure we all needed another one of those!!!

NOVEMBERS BEST
Listen up guys! November was great. We got a couple of great new Tube
Screamers.
The TWA Source Code OD designed by the original guy himself , Susumu
Tamura and the Warm Audio Tube Squealer. All 3 Screamers in one
compact box!!! The 808, TS9 and TS10!!!

WHATS WITH XMAS ?
I ordered an Xmas gift early in case of problems with inventory or overly busy transportation etc. screwing it up. It had a long way to come but arrived in a day and half. That tells me no one bought just a couple of days ago over Thanksgiving when things were cheap and should be arriving now. Everyone is broke and I mean everyone. It is not just a figure of speech.