I bought a Brown Rabbit last year after reading the glowing reviews, and noting that they mentioned the Rat.

I went from a Turbo Rat, to a Regular Rat, and then to the old school white background (small box) Rat.

Never got super into the Brown Rabbit despite the super awesome graphics. It does not have quite the same feel as the Rat. Mind you, that is not a sin or anything, but the crucial thing is that the different sound of the BR did not sound "better" to my ears.

After reading all these reviews I think I will give it another spin.

My feeling is that the Brown Rabbit doesn't really replace the Rat; it offers you another Rat-type distortion with more options (and yes, those cool graphics).
Case in point: I still like an old, original TS-808.
Not because the Pedalworx Tejas or the Addrock Ol' Yeller or the Retrosonic Eight-O-Eight doesn't do it better, but because the old one sounds like it sounds and the newer takes on that pedal sound like they do and there really isn't an objective better or worse. It's all subjective.
I brought a slew of booteek 808-type pedals to my friend Popa Chubby's rehearsal space and he still preferred his TS9's to all of them.
I prefer the newer versions myself, but to each his own.

Hey, I'd get the BR just for that middle setting alone!

Let us know how the BR works for you Jag.

Hey Trammel (aka Rollo Timbre, aka transplanted CA native now lost in a cornfield in Illinois)... thx for the great reviews buddy, gave me a good laugh!

Now we head deep into the Ozarks where the venerable Swain will put the pedals
into a BBQ pit ... no, I meant thru the paces.
Let's see what he thinks.

Here it is, folks: Aaron's terrible tourbox tale, not worth the paper it's printed on (If you print it out, that is. Which, seriously, seems like a waste of printer paper).

To set the scene, the tourbox (herein referred to as "the badass suitcase") arrived about one week after i had closed on my first house. My wife and i are going thru some fixer-upper weeks before anything goes in, so my house is still completely empty. For one week my home decor consisted of One Pint Glass, One Fold-out Chair, One Roll of Toilet Paper, and One BadAss Suitcase.
In all seriousness, if Justin could come across a stockpile of old suitcases, he should make a tourbox package just like this one for sale. So much mojo packed into the package here, the presentation, the art/paintjob, the tones. I'm flip-flopping over which one pedal i want most, but if the Badass Suitcase was for sale, i would most likely just splurge on that instead.

So, guitars for this were a Nash Esquire and a Epi LP (modded with BurstBuckers). Amps were a silverface Champ and a Dr Z Maz 18. Some other pedals thrown in the mix were a COT 50, a Deep Blue Delay, a Pro Analog Power Driver, and a Phase 90.

#9 Boost: Coolest, most eye-catching, bite-size, little tone box i've ever seen. Should be on any respectable goth's board. Seriously is my favorite pedal ever as far as artistic, graphic, appearance. It's Fun!!! Tonewise, added a bit of enjoyable punch and fat to my Esquire, better match with the Maz then the Champ, which doesn't have the speaker or headroom to handle preamp boost like that. I also use a Box of Rock boost mainly, but that's always at the end of my chain, where i ran the #9 at the beginning everytime. So not a head-to-head comparison exactly. I stacked into the Rabbit, and Maharishi, in tandem and seperately, and the #9 performed well with all combos (also into the COT). If you get into the cork-sniffing mentality, it's a 9/10 in my boost book for tone, where i have found a 10/10, but this one could easily be on my board at anytime. Especially based on appearance. Cheers to the Art Dept.!!

Brown Rabbit: Having little in-depth experience with Rat's and clones, i was pleasantly surprised to find how un-fizzy this little fuzzy bunny was, and how much amp like bottom was available. As stated previously, left toggle is plain jane, middle is loud, raw and open, right is compressed and saturated. I know alot of users so far love the middle, but it was the one i used the least. I have a lot of low/mid gainers, and while the Bunny did that well, Distortion with a D is what i expected from this guy. And it did deliver in that regard. Singing gain without fizzy or boomy accents. The Filter knob was not too extreme, voiced to my liking. I used the left toggle for the lower gains, then the right to lose some hearing. Stacked well with everything. I've been needing a distortion to replace some of the od's for a while, the Bunny is in the running. Very cool!!

Maharishi: Is it a ring mod, an octave, a filter, or just a dedicated decimator of doldrums? No clue here, but the fun in this one is definitely discovering new paths. The Maharishi definitely worked better for me with my Epiphone over the Esquire, even when boosting the Esquire with the #9. Esquire, and presumably other single coil guitars, had best results with the tone knob rolled off, but there was some cool shades there also higher on the dial. This pedal changed on me every day. Same pedal settings, different guitar produced extremely different tones to my ear. I spent a lot of time tweaking, trying extreme settings, exploring the guitar/bass toggle. There was a lot to love in the madness of this pedal, not least being the extremely cool fuzz/octave tone that could be had when set correctly and the Rabbit in front of it. My one problem was that after a week of use i still feel like i couldn't get the volume knob to do what i wanted it to do, whether stacking or alone. Seemed much of the time it would be quieter then i needed when comboed with the Rabbit, but louder then i needed when used alone and striking the strings hard. The Maharishi could fit right into my "recording tool" pedal role. Live use would take a bit more experimenting on my part.

Digilog: This one is a tough one for me. First off, the art again, amazing. The Feedback switch in theory, stellar, in practice, fair. I currently use a Deep Blue Delay and an E-H DMM, and this one doesn't quite have the mojo. The DBD has the really cool "tape-like" trails and does the feedback echo at extremely controllable volumes. The Digilog's repeats are closer to the straight up analog of the DMM, with much less hiss/noise around the notes, but with a little less presence, regardless of settings. I think i actually like the Digilog more then my two for short settings, can't explain why. But when i clicked the switch over to 300 i was really enjoying things. The feedback feature would be extremely useful to me, but it's a thin line where to set it. Too low, and the feedback is next to invisible, to high and it's instant amp destroying volume overload feedback (which definitely puts it in the DMM camp for me). 2:30 - 3:00 on the dial is where it stayed, because i was using the feedback feature quite a bit. The other big positive for me was stacking the DBD with the Digilog. I know this isn't going to be a common use on this forum, but i love dual delays, and the DMM doesn't play nice with any others, so it was great to have a second delay to get some spaced-out patterns in. The Digilog's lack of click or noise at the end of it's time knob was a big positive here, since the DBD really can't hang at the end of it's time. The two meshed seamlessly, and that was almost enough to have me purchase one. Still in deliberation...... Tonewise this one is closer to the Retro-sonic in my opinion, which i think most people say is the DM-2 camp. i might be wrong.

Hope some of that made sense!!
Big round of applause to Paul and Justin, for the whole experience. Easily the most unique, individual tourbox i've done (this is my fourth) and coming from my mouth, Individual trumps Practical every time. From a Freak, thanks for the ticket to the Freakshow.

cheers, thanks

aaron

Hey!

Just a head's up, I got the box the other day. And I haven't even opened it yet. But, tomorrow I'm off, and have the whole day to work with them. Yee-Haw!

Full report to come................

Okay, I sent the box on to JoelByron yesterday. And I will give a full report soon. I plan on posting my thoughts, no later than Friday. But, hopefully I'll get to do it tonight.

What a blast!


Hint: I like 'em!

Happy Digilog owner here ! I've owned a '82 AD-9, Analogman DD-6, Retro-man Dual delay. The delay is very warm, similar to the original Boss delay. The feedback feature works great for a signature delay ending. Cool pedal, bulit like a tank...and 300-600 ms delay !

Just got the tourbox! I'll post reviews after the weekend and send it off. Who's next?

Man, can you say "World Tour"? It looks like this thing may just be the Keef Richards of Tourboxes!

"Fra-GEE-LE, it must be Italian!"

Luckliy, everything inside is packed extremely well! It was in great shape, when I opened it.


Okay, here we go!

Since so much has been written so far, I thought that this time I'd try reading the other reviews before I wrote mine. And I must say, most of the points others have made, are spot-on. You guys are so good at this stuff. Anybody wondering about these pedals, could make a smart, informed choice, just by reading the first post in this thread! Good job, guys.

So, let's see if I can add anything useful:

9

So, this was the first one I tried. And it did exactly what you would expect it to do. Even more importantly, it does what you would probably want it to do!
It definately thickened up a Strat's tones. And on a Tele, I think it would be DaTicket for fat, meaty tone. The Mids were thicker, and warmer. Not necessarliy angrier, if that makes sense. More of a warm, yet still very articulate, fullness. A little Bass and Treble cut. But again, just about the right amount.
With Humbuckers, it was perfect for pushing your overdriven slide tones front and center.
Seemed to work better as a Boost with 6L6 amps. With EL-84 amps, it worked well to get focused, more liquid lead tones. Especially when stacked with another OD pedal.

Overall, it just works. Puts you "right in the pocket" as far as a band mix. Plus, the cool "Eyeball" LED was just too much! And the size of this thing, makes it possible to fit into even the tiniest of set-ups! Heck, you could probably mount this thing in a guitar. Or, a keychain loop, so you're always ready to rock! LOL

MAHARISHI

This was fun! I had a blast, easily dialing up some "Semi-Jimi" tones. Easily is key, too. Lots of variations in this pedal, but still easy to access them. Seemed like a wealth of 60's and 70's tones, just at your fingertips. Prett cool!

BROWN RABBIT

This one didn't really remind me of a RAT. Oh yeah, similar tonal family, I guess. But, it definately has it's own thing going.

Compressed, Boogie-Like lead tones were easily attainable. And there were quite a few great varieties of them. The 3 position switch really seemed to affect the response of the guitar/pedal/amp combination. That's one of the cooler aspects of this pedal, for me. It allowed me to "fine tune" the basic tones of the pedal, to fit different mixes and different textures. Pretty nice, and definately a good pedal to check out.

DIGILOG

Well, I loved this one!

I have been looking for a newer (i.e. more reliable)/smaller Echo, to replace my Chandler SDE. Up to now, I had thought the Retro-Sonic would be the ticket. But this FSFX Digilog is in the mix now.
It's got a beautiful voice to it. I love the Highs. Sweet and full, very musical. Where I remember the R-S having so much warmth, the Digilog has the sweet Highs.
And that second footswitch is a great idea! Perfect for giving you a way to emphasize a certain phrase, or passage. A "Musical Exclamation Point" to be sure. And done in a way, that is easy for a guy like me. I mean heck, my main amp only has 2 knobs! Not too much knob-twiddling needed. Just set up, and go!

Very sweet. Looks like there may be a "Digital Echo Steel Cage Deathmatch" in the works!


I just want to thank everyone involved in making this box happen. And to thank you all for including me. I've been in on 3 or 4 of these Tourboxes, so far. And I must say, it is a huge help for guys like me, who don't have any "Boutique" shops in their area. Without these Tourboxes, I'd probably NEVER get to try so many top quality, unique pedals.

Bump.

Okay everybody, here are my reviews of the Freakshow effects.

My first impression of the pedals is that the artwork was really, really cool. Both of my parents were artists and I have a deep appreciation for unique visual art.

Brown Rabbit: Like Swain, this didn't really remind me of a Rat very much. It is less aggressive and fuzzy. Very smooth overdrive. It reminded me of my Keeley TS-9 actually except with a little less mids and more of a scooped sound. I used it in a couple of different ways. It replaced my tubescreamer on my pedalboard one night. I experimented with the different clipping options and found that at the higher gain sttings I liked the first position the most for my purposes. The middle position was the grittiest of the three options and the LED option had the most saturation and compression. I also used the middle position as a clean boost one night. It worked okay and had some cool compression at the beginning of the note but was far from transparent. This pedal grew on me as I used it. I think it would be a great choice for a medium to higher gain overdrive.


Maharishi: I thought this pedal sounded terrible when I first tried it. It really took some tweaking for me to get a good sound. I found that combining it with an overdrive, boost, or a comp helped dramatically. I got some really sweet Octavia tones in combination with the Brown Rabbit.

"9" boost: This one didn't really do much for me. I was excited because it is so small. I have found that I like a boost to give me more clarity when I turn it on. This doesn't, it adds lower mids. Don't get me wrong, it's musical but just not my thang. However the artwork was my favorite.


Digilog: This was my favorite of the bunch. Great sounding delays. Warm but with clarity and definition. I really like the Feedback feature too. It only works on certain settings but when you get it set right it is fantastic for dub or psychedelia. If it had a tap tempo I would buy it immediately.

One thing that really annoyed me is that the batteries knock around inside the cases of the pedals. They aren't secured with any foam or anything. It's not a big deal to do it yourself but it should be addressed on any production pedals.

These tourboxes are great. We get to try out cool stuff for very low admission and compare to our own gear. Hopefully the pedal makers get some good feedback as well. Cheers!!

I got them today Joel. Thanks! I'll try to play them this week. Maybe I'll gig with them

hey guys...

just a side note:

I have seen alot of people saying the maharishi sounds crappy or something to that extent....

You MUST use the 'Rishi WITH another pedal such as the brown rabbit or any O.D. box for that matter to get the octavia tones from it. Using it alone will get you the sitar sound, but thats it. It really shines in conjunction with a O.D. pedal played in "solo-land" above the 12th fret.

Enjoy!!
-justin-

I kinda said something like that in my review, but when I used it combined with the Brown Rabbit and the Digilog gave me some of the most inspiring lead tones I've ever heard. I don't think it's a "plug and play" pedal. You gotta admit, it's a quirky sound! It has to be experimented with to realize its' potential.

Headed to strat-o-mac tomorrow; will post reviews soon!

Woooooooooooo!



Got it today, and I have a hot date thursday night at the studio- I'm psyched to hear what the 9, BR & M sound like at full tilt.


As a side note, I played last night and a friend of mine brought his 62 (?) SG with a P-90. That thing sounded great through a Bruno Cowtipper 45. I've never really heard what a P-90 could do before, at least not through that amp and it was really, really nice. Used with a Mosferatu, he was getting some great, snarly tones. I think the Cowtipper is going on my wishlist!

Bump....

quote:

Originally posted by waveydb:
Bump....

Wavy!


PM me your address- I'll try to get it out this Thursday

Hey all...I'm new.
I was referred here by Justin from Freakshow FX to see if I could get onto the list to receive the tourbox...
Would it be possible? How do I do it(info and such)?
I would REALLY dig being on the list...
EDIT
I also have a real DM-2 so I could give a good comparison review
I am an active member on HCFX

um,...I seem to have been passed over on the list ...but I added late so...no big ...I put a request in for the Headshot tourbox...but if Justin is not anxious to get 'em back...I still wouldn't mind...I'll go after univoxer or when ever...Thanx