Plugin developers now days can make some really cool stuff. Users tend to have a lot of computing power to draw on and fancy algorithms are getting better at emulating real hardware seemingly everyday. There are bells and whistle abound. Most of them are worthy of their price. Kjaerhus Audio Classic Series aren’t fancy and don’t have the bells or whistles but they are workhorses that I turn to often. They sound good and are easy to use with almost no learning curve especially if you have used hardware. They are easy on the ole processor too. When in the heat of inspiration for need a compressor that just compresses well or a simple flanger that well flanges well and you don’t need all the fancy stuff these are for you. And of course they are free.
Maybe not to much mojo. Ditigal doesn’t seem to carry much but it does fell a clear need.
Price:Reasonable priced.
General Sound Description:
It main attraction is it convincing emulation of spring reverb.Think of the sound of old tube amps.
Who it’s for:
Most people that don’t have reverb on there amp and want that famous spring reverb sound.
Controls:
Reverb (knob dry/wet)
Spring, Hall, Flerb (3 way switch)
Circuit:Despite it appearance and sound it is a digital pedal.
Modibility:
Older models units could use a true bypass mod newer units already are true bypass.
Manufacturers Sales Pitch:
Divine reverb for mere mortals Down from the heavens comes the Holy Grail, a compact digital reverb guitar pedal. Priced so low thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s reverb tank any longer. The Holy Grail will make you a believer with its emulation of classic Spring reverb so faithful that even Dick Dale couldn’t tell the difference. Next, get lost in the lush spaciousness of the Hall reverb and ask yourself, “How did they fit Notre Dame into such a small package?” Finally, reach enlightenment with the haunting Flerb.
This mint tin holds my cmoy headphone amplifier. These are often refereed to a mint tin amp. So, I felt obliged to use a mint tin but leave it to me to try and fit a square peg in a round hole. It barely fits in there. I am going to rehouse it so i can use 2-9 volt batteries to up the power. It really is a good little amp. Sounds great. Despite the fact that it was made for headphones I use it in between small speakers and my ipod. It was a different build for me actually trying to avoid distortion. Weird.
Fame: This is one of the most popular boutique pedals around.
Mojo Factor:The oc44 more mojo than just about any component and calling up the classic British treble boosted rock sounds of the 60’s tally’s up some serious mojo.
Price: $229 it is a boutique pedal after all.
General Sound Description:
A quieter version of much sought after Dallas Rangemaster treble boost with bells and whistles.Think Brain May and early Clapton.
Who it’s for:
Anyone that wants that classic Rangemaster sound is willing to pay the price.
Controls:
Level (knob)
Tone (knob)
Boost (3 way switch treble mid or full range)
Circuit:A classic boost circuit utilizing a Mullard OC44 germanium transistor with a switch controlling the boost q and a tone control.
It comes with socketed input caps to make them easy for you change.
Manufacturers Sales Pitch:
The Java Boost is a germanium based TREBLE BOOSTER, it is not a clean boost. It is designed to give you classic tones from the 60’s and 70’s, and man does it ever!!! It must be used with a cranked amp that is overdriven or distorting a bit already. The more the amp and pedal are cranked, the more the creamy, beautiful, sustaining distortion there will be.
There are few Fender products with as much “indie cred” as the Fender Blender. Once thought of as an overly harsh fuzz pedal, the Blender, thanks to players like Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins and Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine, is now a coveted, and rare, vintage pedal. Original Blender pedals routinely sell on ebay for between $300-400. Like we have done with guitars & amps, we are reissuing this pedal to satisfy the demand that has surged past the supply on the vintage market. The beauty of this pedal is that it does not sound like anything else on the market. It has a totally unique voice. This is a pedal made for players who want to create instead of copy. With a bit of experimentation, a player can get countless sounds out of this pedal, some that were intended and some that were not. The Blender can be used for leads by metal players looking for an ultra-aggressive tone. This will replace other Octave/Fuzz pedals on pedalboards throughout the land.
Famous Users:
Robin Trower
Billy Corgan
Keith Shields
Famous Riff:
Smashing Pumpkins-Bullet with Butterfly Wings
My Bloody Valentine-Loveless (entire album pretty much)
sewatt.com is now open. if you wanna mod a epiphone valve junior or undertake a single ended amp build this is the place for you. or if like me were trying to read through the monster evj thread from 18watt.com you can begin again. i learned a ton just reading that thread. here to more understanding. lord know i need it.
Today propellerheadsannounced reason 4. It has a bunch of new features I am excited. Most of the added features are things I have always wanted especially an arp unit. The updated sequencer is great also. I think it looks terrific as always. Maybe my luck has changed. I am keeping my fingers crossed hoping to get chosen to beta test when it gets expanded.
High: It is legendary, historic and used by so many great artist. Yet it is still available, mass produced with lots of other fanciers models available. It obligatory status gets so minus mojo points.
Price: Affordable assuming you want a new one vintage ones can fetch some hefty prices.
General Sound Description:
Onomonopea! WAH WAH. When you here the word “wah” this is the sound most think of.
High. A true bypass mod is popular because this pedals is famous for being a tone sucker. Also a lot of mods to change the sweep range and mid range response.
When people talk about wah pedals, they’re talking about the Crybaby. This is the original—the one that created some of the most timeless sounds in rock. Relied on by Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, David Gilmour, and many other greats Features: Heavy die cast construction for years of reliability, 100K ohm Hot Potz potentiometer that allows for that quick, abrupt wah sound. Powered by the Dunlop ECB-003 AC Adapter and/or 9 volt battery.
Famous Users:
(some listed below moved on to wah or got a signature wah pedal. Other Like Hendrix are more associated with another wah pedal but still all used a regular cry baby at one time or another.)
Jimi Hendrix Eric Clapton David Gilmour Stevie Ray Vaughan Kirk Hammet Tom Morello Slash Steve Vai Buddy Guy The Edge Dave Navarro John Frusciante Lenny Kravitz Billy Gibbons Ted Nugent Buddy Guy Bo Diddley Steve Cropper Matt “Guitar” Murphy Eric Gales Vince Gill
This is the clone I built of the dan armstrong green ringer. It was not even originally a pedal but plugged direct into the guitar jack. That would explain the lack of pots. It may be the simple but it is the best octave(more of a ring modulator in reality) type effect i have heard. Not that difficult of a build especially with a pcb available at ggg. It is housed in a pvc drain cover. The idea came from amzfx and I complete forgot about it until i was milling around Home Depot. They’re cheap and pretty tough. They can be shielded with aluminium foil or copper tape. I added the grate the fits inside for a bottom which should protect the components better. I cut a cardboard circle out to fit inside the grate piece and wrapped it in foil. I have not have an interference problem with it at all. If you want to mount the jacks on the sides you’ll have to trim the top of the grate off which should not be a big deal. I painted it green originally but decided to it should look more like a ufo which I don’t think I pulled off so well. I am sure better results can be had. The problem cosmetically is that the is writing raised up on the cover which is pretty unattractive in my opinion but it can be sanded off or coated over.
I think i might wrap the whole thing in foil and add ten more leds and some antennae. Now that would be a ringer for a ufo.
