It's coming and I am pumped!

quote:

Originally posted by Ry-guy:
It's coming and I am pumped!

Thanks for your thoughts on the pedals Aaron.

Warm is definitely the tone description I think of when it comes to the Retro-Sonic Chorus
(and the orig. CE-1). About as far from "metallic" as you can get.

I just got the pedals yesterday....trying at home and then trying them gig level on the weekend......hopefully the freakshow box comes tomorrow!!

Still playing with them for a day but here's what I've come up with so far...
Am Tele into Hot Rod Dlx....I love the simple look of these pedals, they are solidly built(which is great for the road), true bypass, and just plain cool.

Phaser
It must be said that I'm not a huge user of modulation effects, and I've never actually owned a phaser(just never found a use for them in the music I play)....that said, the level knob definitely helped for me in a live situation(could be used for a slight cleanish boost as well maybe?).....I could get some crazy wacked out sounds or just go for some light phase when ringing out some rhythmic chords(which is how I found myself using it). I could forsee using this in a studio situation coming up with wacky melody lines but all in all, wasn't my thing.
Chorus/Vibrato
I had alot of fun with this pedal. The only chorus pedal I ever owned was the Boss Super Chorus and this thing obviously blows it out of the water. I definitely heard myself transformed back into the 80's from The Police to Guns and Roses etc...It's very.....Warm(how non musical descriptions don't really help )....I didn't get to use it stereo though cuz I don't have two amps.....yet. The Vibrato side was soooo much fun....going from the Eels 'My Beloved Monster' to almost a leslie/rotary type sound. It actually fit in nice with some acoustic folk songs. I can forsee buying this pedal just to bring some different sounds to the table when I write songs as well.

Compressor
This was compared to a Barber Tone Press. The Retro-sonic had more output, and even more squash on tap I think. Although I'm gonna stick with my Tone Press for it's versatility with it's clean blend, I have to say that there was something more musical in the retro comp. I don't know if it's 'bloom' or if it's just maybe coloring of the sound but I kept wanting to turn the retro on instead of the tone press! It just sounded sweeter, more enhanced I guess. They were both pretty dang close though. Maybe I'll have to add this one to my arsenal as well....
Analog Delay
This is the one I've been drooling over. I'm a huge user of digital delays, and modulation delays, so another delay added to the family sounded like such a good idea. Never used a Dm-2 before.... Firstly, I found that it was very easy to get this thing to go crazy on you and start feeding back into infinite repeats. I kept the tone knob at 9 oclock cuz it just sounded good to me there. I used it for slight slapback sounds for indie melodic hooks....think bloc party etc. Honestly, I couldn't use the short/long function because I use the long for ambient swells and couldn't see myself changing the rate every time. I thought this was gonna be the pedal I would love but once again, I wouldn't consider it a mainstay on my pedal board. The tone of the delay itself obviously killed my digital delays. Also I am a huge tap tempo user, we do many different songs at my church, and although the drummer is playing to a click, there's just no way I could keep this thing in time unless in slight slapbacks.

I must say at this point that if I had the money, I would definitely buy all these pedals in a heartbeat(and LOTS of others ) but as cash is limited....so are my choices...

Finally,
Overdrive
This one surprised me. Funny....I just sold my Keeley TS-9, bought a blues pro, and A Direct drive, and own a keeley Sparkledrive in my search for overdrives that stay in the mix. Long story short, the BP and DD are going!!!! Although their cool peds, I can't get them to stay in the mix with a rocking two guitar band. First off, this OD had some boost which is always usable for amp overdrive or solo situations. It had more gain on tap than my sparkledrive(no clean), had more bass than my sparkledrive(with bass turned up, even with clean blended in on the SD!!!), and still stayed in the mix quite well. It also stacked well with the other pedals. It wasn't as smooth as the Sparkledrive, it was a little more raw or open sounding to my ears and I just liked the sound of it a hell of alot better. Hello Overdrive...you just found a new place on my board!!!!

This is my first ever tourbox and I really want to thank you guys sooooo much for allowing me to be a part of it. Trying to describe sound and tone in words is like.....well, its not possible dammit!!!

Who's next?

I have the chorus, and it's just fantastic!! Really full and smooth sounding. Was looking at the Phaser, and the overdrive.

Chris

Hey Guys,

Thought I'd touch base and see where the tourbox is at right now? Still having some fun with them I hope!

Cheers,
Tim

Tim, it's in route back to me.

I'll send you an email.

Any other testers before these are officially retired?