Hi guys--glad we could all jump in and discuss LARGE gear-ations! Tinus--I have no experience with the Zvex stuff--talk to Brownthingy--that's his forte. The Barber stuff is really neat--not grainy, VERY smooth and quite possibly the one of the most "musical" overdrive boxes out there. I have an older model "Burn Unit" and a new "Direct Drive". The direct is less compressed and more open sounding, but is also a good bit "brighter" than the burn unit. The BU knocked me on my arse the first time I played it--somewhat dark, but very musical with almost infinite sustain and excellent chime--I honestly think I play "better" when I use that one. I don't think you could go "wrong" either way. Sorry, no news on the tone pump.

As far as a true "Boost" goes you may want to talk to my buddy Nick Greer. Nick builds an excellent boost pedal called a "Sonic Boom"--VERY CLASS A and LARGE sounding. Possibly an improvement to any amplifier. I've even used one on a dang Line 6 amp just goofing around (the Matchless sound) and it was unbelieveable!! Nick is a great guy and you can deal with him direct and he'll do custom work the way YOU want it to be, without having to sell your car:-).

OK--Brownthingy--How many dang BUDDA'S U got??? Your neighbors must HATE you as much as mine do me :-)!! Burn you in effigy every evening--poor guy. "He wont's turn daun dem dam buddas!!!" hahhahahahahahahahahahaha...!!!

I am the WILLIEBUDDA!!!

Hey there,

can't tell u guys how glad I am with your replies. I don't know about the USA, but over here about 98% of the musicians and musicstorekeepers I ever talk to probably think "zVex" is a hideous skin disease or a new partydrug. Not to mention their thoughts on Super Hard-on...

I did some homework on the zVex-stuff in the meantime and there are so many rave reviews on them on the www. I'm especially interested in the Super Duper, it seems a very versatile tool and I believe it combines well with the poweramp-switching I do with the DualStage 30. I now use the 6L6's for clean w/breakup and the EL84's for overdrive, but following brownthingies' (and Laroscoo's) lead this pedal should enable controlled overdrive on both channels. U gotta love that perspective!! The dealer I mentioned has a limited sparkle version so let's hope it's not ten zillion €'s.

I think I'm gonna put my vibe-plans on hold and invest in a nice booster first, 'cause it might improve my overall sound more and I'm more of a booster than a viber (Beatles/Stones, Hippies/Bikers, Boosters/Vibers... You gotta take a stand ). The Sonic Boom is new to me and seems interesting as well. Too bad I can't try one out so easily, as opposed to the others I mentioned earlier. I'll try and find some time this Saturday and keep U posted.

"He wont's turn daun dem dam buddas!!!" Hahaha, sounds like a Dutch soundengineer to me!! I once had a gig and we were an hour late 'cause of the traffic. So we went in, we all set up our stuff in maybe 5 minutes and I just hit this chord to check if everything was up and running. The local soundguy introduced himself with "If you're gonna play this loud you better pack up again." So I did. When I'd cased up the guitars and started disconnecting the amp it downed on him something was seriously wrong, and he asked our singer what was going on. He gave a well-you're-the-boss reply which made the guy sweat like a bull. In the end he apologised, we introduced ourselves properly, I bought him a beer and we got on with it. Of course I played the gig much louder as my initial volume but it wasn't too loud at all.

Budda's the word guys, many thanks again,


-Martijn-

Hey Tinus,
Pretty funny about the Zvex stuff. If it doesn't say "Peavey" or "Mesa Boogie" around here, you may as well be speaking Swahili. Give Nick a ring or email--I feel like he'd do a money back deal if you didn't like it, very concerned with the client's happiness--heck, tell him WILL sent ya--he knows me and has built a Black Fuzz Custom pedal that HONKS!! It's the same one advertised on his site and here at Musictoys (the green 2 button one--that's mine--we named it "Kermie")
On a more ridiculous note--I just landed a Kendrick amp called the "Rig"--it's a 4 input head that's about 35 watts. I'm considering using it and my Twinmaster TOGETHER when I play live (each thru a 4x12 cab). Death, doom, and destruction!!! Good luck on your tonequest, Tinus! Keep us posted and, of course, "TURN DAUN DEM DAM BUDDAS!!!!"

I am the WILLIEBUDDA!!!

Dumble, Marshall Plexi, heaven.
Budda nails those beautiful tones and more.
If you are into Metal in a big way it may not be you thing because it will not satisfy modern sounds but it has classic overdrive perfection.
It surprises me that Budda has not taken over the pro scene, still there are many great botique builders out there so the competition is furious.

check out my site Guitar From The Green goo for my gear and music.

Hi there,

Well, I said earlier I’d let y’all know where my quest for tone would lead, and I am glad to announce the purchase of a Banzai New Rising Sun 2 booster. I compared it with a Zvex Super Hard-on, the Xotic AC/RC-boosters and the Fulltone and to me the Banzai was the obvious winner. WillieBudda, I did consider the Nick Greer boost(s) but I was very happy with what I tried so I just went ahead. My Blue Tube 903 Tube Enhancer and DOD 280 compressor are now looking for a better home as we speak.

I finally am able now to get a really convincing tone for solo’s out of the EL84-side of the Budda. Previously I soldiered on with different distortion/compressor pedals to kick in for solo’s but I never got one that actually enhanced the Budda instead of blurring things up. This one is beautifully clear yet never thin, the DualStage just loves it. Having two switchable boosts instead of one is cool ‘cause I can set accurate solotones for both the 6L6 and the EL84-side, or kick’em both for meltdown in true Jay Mascis style .

Apart from the twin variable boosts and the buffer preamp (which I keep on all the time) I am also pleased with the series/parallel switch which enables me to bypass all my other FX with a flick of a switch. Since I don’t use FX on 70% of the songs I play that’s a great extra. My stagetuner still gets signal in this mode so what more could you ask for.

Sorry to go a bit off-topic for the Budda AMP-review page, but this pedal enhances the performance of my amp in such a great way that I truly recommend it to all you Buddists out there.

Later,

-Martijn-

P.S. We’ve finished our 5-track demo and the band-website will be online in a week or two, so my Budda-clips are coming up…. I’ll post the url in this topic in due time.

Looking forward to hearing your music!

craig

check out my site Guitar From The Green goo for my gear and music.