PedalworX Texas Two Step Review

This is a review of a prototype of the PedalworX Texas Two Step. Again, please note that this review is based on a PROTOTYPE, and not a production unit. George Blekas & PedalworX may have made some functional changes in the production pedals. DonneR sent me a pic of some of the production boxes yesterday, and the cases are different than the one I tested.

Test Environment: Over the past few weeks I’ve used a prototype TTS with several different Les Pauls (with real PAF’s, Lindy Fralin’s or BusrtBuckers), a ES-355 (real PAF’s), a Flying V (Dirty Fingers) and a ’62 Strat RI. I’ve used the pedal both at home and at several gigs. For amps I’ve tried it with a ’ 66 Vibrolux Reverb, a ’ 65 Super Reverb, a ’ 68 Twin Reverb, a ’ 94 Mesa Boogie Blue Angel, the clean channel of a '01 Two Rock Emerald Pro, and the clean channel of a '96 Dumble ODS.

Internals: The TTS is housed in a red 3 5/8” x 4 5/8” Hammond case. I can’t tell if the case is aluminum or steel. PedalworX appears to use high quality switches, pots, jacks and electrical components. All of the components are hand wired, and some of the internal components are mounted on a 1/16" thick, double sided fiberglass board. The input and output jacks, pots, 9-volt power jack, and the two footswitches are case-mounted . The PCB board is mounted on the case with two nylon stand-offs. A foam pad isolates it from the case. A 9–volt battery connector is available, with ample room for installing a battery. The pedal is true bypass. For the most part, I found the internal construction to be good. The wires leading to the switches were neatly bound together with a cable tie. One of the capacitors was touching the foam pad, which concerned me. Most of the soldered joints appeared to be well done, but a few had a grainy, dull gray color characteristic of a cold solder joint. The pedal worked correctly with either a 9-volt battery or a PedalPower II power supply.

Sound: The TTS has a very open, airy sound. It doesn’t sound harsh, nasal or mechanical like many overdrive pedals do. The pedal has a bit of grit to it, but it is very smooth sounding. With a Strat you get a nice note bloom, and a great deal of harmonic complexity. With my various Gibsons, the sound was also smooth, with a lot of singing sustain. Although this pedal is voiced differently, I would say that it’s closest sonic competitor is the MJM Blues Devil. The switch that changes the circuit so the TTS has more of a mid hump and less distortion is useful, but doesn’t have a dramatic effect on the overall sound. The combination of the mid hump and the decrease in distortion drop did help the guitars with humbuckers cut through the mix a little better, but again the effect wasn’t dramatic. The TTS played nicely with all of the amps I tried it with the exception of the Dumble ODS. At gig-level volumes the Dumble’s clean channel totally obscured the TTS. There was any distinct delineation between the pedal and the amp. I especially liked how it sounded with the 3 Fender amps, especially with a touch of reverb added. It had a nice, warm bluesy sound that I really liked. As gain is increased the tonal transparency remains intact, and doesn’t get muddy. Single note lines sing sweetly with nice sustain, and individual note definition is retained very well when playing chords. At the highest gain settings chordal note definition is better with the bridge pickup than the neck pickup on any of the guitars I used. Backing off the guitar’s volume control doesn’t cause the TTS to clean up as well as a pedal like the FD2 or the Baby Blue. The TTS was very compatible with several other OD pedals (TS-808, FD2, Baby Blue, Maxon 820, Pedalman 818, Landgraff, Menatone Howie, MJM Blues Devil), a Soul Bender, a Distortion Pro, Maxon CP101 and Ross compressors, and a Choralflange chorus. It also worked perfectly with the Vox wah pedal George sent, and a borrowed Teese RMC3.

I tried two modded TS9’s that George sent along with the TTS after playing with the TTS for about a week. The TTS had a nice fat saturated drive sound that had a lot of dynamics and bite. In comparison, the TS9’s were nasal sounding and anemic.

Ergonomics: The TTS is laid out in a manner similar to an Ibanez Tube Screamer. There are knobs for drive, tone and volume in a triangular formation. The “labels” are painted on the knobs with white paint. The paint easily chips off, and it is unlikely that the “labels” would survive very long. The knobs have a embedded white indicator strip, but there is no corresponding demarcation on the case to assist you in dialing in a setting. This should be addressed by adding dial markers for the controls. When I first looked at the pedal I thought the two foot-switches were too close together, but this turned out not to be a problem. The two switches are of different types, and I found this a bit disconcerting at first, but I quickly got used to it. The two LED’s are visible under indoors playing conditions. However, they were not visible outdoors and I could not tell if a switch was engaged or not in moderate to bright sunlight. The LED’s on my Stampede SOV-1 and on the footswitch for my Two Rock Emerald Pro and the only one’s I’ve seen that address the outdoors visibility problem. The LED’s on both devices are extremely bright, and are plainly visible in very bright sunlight. PedalworX should consider changing the LED’s used on the TTS. The input and output jacks were side mounted, and it was easy to add the TTS to my pedalboard. Because of the relatively small size of the case it didn’t take up too much pedal board real estate.

Comments: I liked this pedal a lot - I think George Blekas did a really good job with the design. I found a few negatives, and a great number of positives. If PedalworX corrects a few of the ergonomic issues I mentioned, and makes sure the quality control standards are maintained this pedal will be highly competitive with OD pedals produced by other boutique manufacturers. I’m not sure of the pricing, but if it’s reasonable PedalworX should sell a lot of these – it’s a winner. When they’re in production I plan to purchase one.

TEXAS TWO STEP

I tried the prototype of this pedal in August of 02'(thanks Donner!) and it didn't do a lot for me. The tone control wasn't very active and it just sounded like another modded TS. I finally got a finished one a few weeks ago in a trade and I thought it was a lot better, but it had so much bass that I had to turn the tone up around 3:00 and the highs started to get a bit piercing(and I like a big bottom end). I read that the newer models sounded more open and even had better sustain, so I contacted George and asked if he could take care of this for me. I've dealt with George before on a few different things and anybody who has talked to him will agree that 1-he's a full-fledged tone freak who LOVES to talk pedals and 2-he is one heck of a nice guy who goes the extra mile to make someone happy! I got the pedal back over the weekend and played it quite a bit(thanks George). I am in awe! This thing has the right amount of bass and high end that sounds so full and detailed. I was using it on the light compression setting(left) and getting some mean sounding Allman Bros. tones with my strat and Rivera Quiana. I wasn't really looking for a TS sound because I have a MM Tube Dancer, but I tried the TS setting(right) just for kicks and I couldn't believe how rich and alive it sounded. Before I sent it back to George I thought this setting sounded kind of dull, but now it is going to be my med. OD tone for southern rock type stuff. I know this review sounds kind of "glowing" and isn't very technical(sorry), but I've been through A LOT of OD's and I can't say any of them have blown me away like the TTS. I will spend some more time tweaking and finding out what this thing is capable of but I haven't heard a bad sound out of it yet! For anyone who is looking for a Texas tone or southern rock tone, I don't think you can beat this pedal.

The toggle is great. I like the left (med. compression) setting. After playing this pedal for a couple of months, I can really hear the compression in the Full-drive II and Barber DD. And the bass response!!!! Using the neck position on my strat, I can get a great Keith Richards feel. My only complaint is that I tend to hit the knobs with my big 13's.

My only complaint is that I tend to hit the knobs with my big 13's.[/QUOTE]

I hear you there, Rollo, the TTS is a little small for my clodhoppers too.

i wanna hear about the neo-drive. anyone got any comments. seems like a cool pedal...is it like the rust driver...where the more you turn the knob, the louder it gets, making it almost un-useable at full grind?

pete, its not like the rust driver. maybe do a neo-drive search. that might help you.the neo is full gain. guitar vol controls the distortion. www.pedalworx.com

so the more you turn the knob, the more dist. you get? i know it cleans up with the guitar knob....

Pete, the Knob on neodrive is Volume. distortion is full on all the time.