Section for the review of Menatone Pedals..

Please State Model and Gear You Use....

-Top Boost In A Can - Best Pedal I own. PERIOD
-Red Snapper - Most transparent TS9 that I've heard.
-King of the Britians (5 knob)- Great for high gains. Can also be tweaked for more subtle OD. Very dynamic distortion Pedal.

HAVE OWNED:
Blue Collar - Great pedal, but too compressed for me.
HOWIE- Also nice, but the distortion was too wide and thunderous for my needs.

Stoney beat me to it...damn.

What he said about the TBIAC, RS and KOB are right on, though.

TBIAC

The best pedal I've ever tried for OD. It's my best pedal, too. There are 2 versions and the newest has a cut knob which is very helpful in versatility. The knobs are extremely interactive like an amp. If you turn the treble all the way down and keep the bass at 9:00 you'll get a real thick midrange. If you turn the bass and treble at 9:00, gain at 10:30, and volume to taste you'll get a very mild breakup that adds a little chime and is otherwise pretty transparent. I will mention that the pedal adds a tiny amount of compression regardless of settings, and it gives that VOx vibe to the pedal. (I'm sure it was intentional) The pedal keeps a thick and punchy lower midrange which helps with achieving a fatter tone. If you turn the treble to 10:30, bass at 10:30, gain at 10-12:00 and volume to taste you'll get a fat, barely overdriven sound with plenty of chime. If you want more midrange then turn down the treble. More round, and less fat?? Turn down the bass instead to about 8-9:00. Another personal fave setting of mine is to run the treble off-9:00, bass at 9:00-10:30, gain at 1:00, and volume to taste(as high as you can get away with). This is a very full sounding overdriven lead tone that stays smooth and keeps you heard at a gig. What's even better is to add a nice, transparent compressor like a Blackbox Oxygen or Menatone JAC set for light compression to the mix. It adds smoothness, sustain and really gives you the liquid-legato thing. It still sounds cleaner, though...not trashy like many pedals when you're using the same gain and EQ type structure. Even more variables are added to the tones when you mess with the cut knob. Smokin' pedal!

Blue Collar through Fender tube amps. Does not seem compressed to me. The best od/distortion pedal I have owned to date. At last count, I have owned 18 different such pedals.

Just thought I'd add short reviews on others I own/have owned...

WMB: very good pedal. I sold it, but now miss it for some reason. It just stood out in the mix like no other. It does Chicago blues, crunch rhythms, and fat bassman type leads. Has a roundness on the transients that I wasn't expecting. It was weird to me at first, but I miss it. I'll get another. It has tons of versatility for buckers or single coils. It's a little on the bright side for live sound cutting, but nothing harsh. KOB 5 knob: very great for the high gain Marshall/Soldano thing. Works great for power chords or leads alike. It sounds really fat for chords. There's plenty of gain on tap, too, and it doesn't mush out. Very tight sounding, to my ears. Probably the greatest pedal out there for rock rhythm AND lead. BC: Very sweet. I think of it as a KOB type with less gain, more touch response, and smoother tone. (maybe like a plexi without mods) Very dynamic and versatile. No complaints. Get one. Enough for now, I suppose.

Foxy Brown: Does a great clean boost, of course, and you can really tailor it to your OD and tonal needs. If your amp mushes out a bit a the higher drive or volume you use then you can clean it up with the presence knob. It really adds a nice top that tightens up the sound and doesn't make it harsh.

Of course, you can also use it as an OD. (very light) Works great for light blues or crunch, R&B, modern country, pop rhythms, etc. Anyone can find great uses for this pedal in their rig. It is also built with class and is true bypass. Top-notch pedal like the others!

Just forgot to mention that most Menatone OD units love high voltage. If you have higher voltages like on a Pedal Power or Juice Box you can switch to the higher voltages for better sound and/or headroom. I've heard of pickers using as high as 48V!! I've only used as high as 18V. Hope this helps.

Price Paid: US $225 at Toyz

Ease of Use: 10
This compressor is modeled after a Urei LA-2A studio compressor. It's extremely intuitive, and so easy to use. Menatones have no manuals and don't need 'em. J.A.C.=(J)Fet (A)udio (C)ompression

Sound Quality: 10
The sound is truly superb, and it should be since it's creating the studio type compression. (which is always superior to guitar pedal compressors, anyway) In a nutshell, what goes in comes out...only the level is compressed. The tone is transparent, though. This isn't like the rest in that respect. It doesn't change or add attack like other compressors. (this is good) It's also the least noisy compressor for guitar I've used. (BB Oxygen, Boss CS-2 and 3, Nanocomp, MXR, Ross, Carl Martin, Maxon, etc.)

It has 2 LEDs...one for on/off indication and one for status indication. (fades in and out depending on the amount of compression being applied) It has the usual Boss style barrel jack plug, true bypass, highest quality build and parts, and smokes other pedal compressors. If you rely on a compressor to add attack to the notes, though, (like a Boss) don't expect this one to do the trick for you and replce the Boss. I still think you should replace the Boss pedal, but that's another few paragraphs.

I did notice a very nice increase in sparkle to my tone when I ran this pedal second in line after my TU-2 tuner...it was very cool, but I think it was just interacting with the Boss' buffer. It was sweet. When I run it last in the chain it's completely transparent. So, there you go, you can have it add sparkle like no other compressor or have it transparent. You choose.

Main guitars and amps for live use are: Alamo Tonemonger super Strat, Fender Strat with SD Nashville Studio pickups, various Teles, and an Ernie Ball/Music Man EVH guitar.(purple flame maple, birdseye neck, Floyd Rose, and 2 DiMarzio Humbuckers.) These go into a Carr Slant 6V almost exclusively...sometimes a Twin, Deluxe, or Maz Jr. 2x10.

All who complained about previous compressors will find happiness with the JAC. It exhibits NONE of the problems others do and has many more strengths. The other compressor I have (Blackbox Oxygen) will remain on my pedalboard, too, because I need one compressor set for a punchy attack for country pickin' licks. I am equally happy with these 2 compressors, and they serve different purposes. While playing rock music I just turn off the Blackbox. Works great. Brian has really come through for all of us who complained about most guitar compressors...thanks, Brian.

Reliability: 10
It's a Menatone....enuf said.

Customer Support: 10
Haven't ever had any of my Menatones go bad in any way, so I haven't dealt with him there. I have spoken with him, though, and he's awesome. No worries.

Overall Rating: 10
This is a great match for any style...seriously. I've been playing pro for about 2 years. I've been playing guitar for about 7 yrs. (drums for about 5 yrs. previous...hold all jokes) Doesn't seem like much time? I'll send you some clips of my playing if that helps. (don't mean to sound like I have an ego, but years and years of playing isn't always an indication of someone's talent) I'd replace it right away if it were broken, stolen, etc. I'm not sure it could get any better than this.

King of the Britains, got it in a trade deal, a good growlin high gain overdrive. Has way more gain than I could use, but at lower drive settings has a good cranked marshall tone. Also has a tube amp feel, compresses a bit and responds to how hard you hit it. I'm using it for higher gain 70's rock tones through a Top Hat and a MAZ 18 jr 2/10 and both amps respond to it well. Very tweakable EQ. and it retains the bottom end. True bypass too. Using a Hotcake for lower gain blues tones if I use the KOB with the Hotcake I get into the Fuzz realm. (Jimi Zone).

Would you say that the TBIAC would smoke a Sparkledrive? Thx

_____________________
Post indie electronic
Meriphew
www.meriphew.com

Absolutely. Not that they sound at all alike, though. The Sparkle Drive sounds thin and compressed in comparison. (even with the clean boost blend.) The TBIAC is far more versatile, as well. FWIW.

Thanks Telepicker.

_____________________
Post indie electronic
Meriphew
www.meriphew.com

TBIAC - all that has been said about this pedal is absolutely true. Very dynamic, gritty, while at the same time very sweet. Sounds fabulous with a twin. Very matchless like.

Dirty Blonde - just got this one: I'm still getting to know the sounds that are possible with it. The knobs are very interactive and thus it is very tweakable and can produce a wide range of tones. The attack is very amp-like and the bottom end will mush out at higher gain settings just like fender amp. You can not get a tight overdrive from this pedal no matter how it is set! (maybe in conjuction with a compressor you can)

This pedal is a little more sensitive to a bright amp, meaning that if your amp is too bright, it can get a little fizzy. The TBIAC does not have this problem.

Pleasure trem 5000- very cool pedal, very vibey (not univibey), somehow very real sounding. Not to say it sounds like real amp tremolo, because it surely does not! I sold this one because I couldn't get the waveform smooth enough for me. For slightly choppy to radical effects, though, this pedal is great.

Ok I love the Red Snapper-its the most transparent od I've played. It sounds great with gain at noon for crunchy, jangly rhythm and with gain maxed for leads. Last night I did some recording and the Red Snapper was more transparent, tighter, less compressed, more open sounding then..............(drum roll please)
ANY sound I could get out of my Mesa Tremoverb. I have a Howie coming next week, I plan on picking up the TBIAC, Dirty Blonde, and Working Mans Blues as well. I'm sold. I would LOVE to hear someone who has played the JAC comp compare it to the Keeley and Analog Mike comps.

I just received my KOB a few days ago for MT.com (oh yeah, that’s where we are). I’ve bought- sold- returned a few pedals to find what this baby does. I must say, that when I first plugged it in, I was disappointed. I always run my pedal eq flat, which is not the way to go here. Very dynamic changes happen with tweaks to the knobs. I’ve found that my kicking up the treble and mid, the thing just comes to life. Many places to go in the tonal spectrum. I needed a big kick on demand- kind of a Stain or Pumpkins sound and the KOB does it. I’m also very anal about tru bypass. The KOB does it very well.

$225 is a lot to pay for a distortion pedal and with so many boutique units out there it’s a tough choice. Many of the purists will frown on the no tube effects, but the likes of the Mesa, Tone Bone and Soldano pedal are very finicky and have the inherent tube thing that adds another element of complexity to the mix. I’m a big time tube guy, but I like the predictability that a non-tube pedal brings.

I still haven’t test driven the KOB with the band, which will happen on Saturday, but I feel real good about this one. Took some playing around, but I haven’t touched the eq pots since I found my spot and I’m having a ball. Power to the quality small builders like Menatone and Keeley.

I did not understand the term "transparent OD" until I got the Red Snapper.

On my Tweed Deluxe it is one of only two pedals that sounds good (so does a rangemaster clone).

On my Princeton reverb I may like the Sparkle Drive as musch. However, the RS has more clarity.

I did not like the WMB much. Basic sound was great but there was too much bass.

quote:

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Originally posted by Telepicker:
Just forgot to mention that most Menatone OD units love high voltage. If you have higher voltages like on a Pedal Power or Juice Box you can switch to the higher voltages for better sound and/or headroom. I've heard of pickers using as high as 48V!! I've only used as high as 18V. Hope this helps.

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Not always true. A friend of mine tried a chawbox @ 18V and after a few minutes the unit said "fuck you" and it failed.

"100% tone slut"

quote:

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Originally posted by opdev:
I did not understand the term "transparent OD" until I got the Red Snapper.

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Couldn't agree more. The Red Snapper is THE most transparant OD around, much better than the vastly overhyped Klon Centaur. The great thing about the Snapper is that it can give you a clean boost as well as great OD tones and it will sound great thru ANY decent tube amp. It's basically a TS808 clone but without the mid bump and compression. It's a real TONE pedal which only serves to enhance your natural amp and guitar tone. Too bad not enough people know about the Brian Mena's pedal. Can't understand why he doesn't have a website of his own w/ soundfiles. It would sure bring Menatone pedals to people's attentions and boost sales for Brian Mena's great line of pedals...

Mike

"There's no tone like your own"

Why is the switch all the way on the side of the pedal? Cant the dude drill a straight hole in the center of a cheap aluminum box?x

I canst keeps from rockin'J