Thursday, April 30, 2009

Space and Time at your feet

Moody Sounds
Mushroom Echo

Controls/
*Optical Sensor: controls pitch & echo
*White Knob: sensitivity control
*Red Knob: controls repeat amount
*Mode Switch: switches between normal mode and optical sensor
*True Bypass *9v and 12v power option

You may be saying to yourself "Hmm, doesn't sound like much." Which is perfect for the surprise that lies in store for you. There are so many delay pedals out there right now, lots of them doing really well, and lots of them capable of doing just about anything you can imagine. The cats at Moody Sounds took both the traditional and the modern to create one hell of a analog delay that'll expand your delay needs while maintaining a classic old school feel. I see the Mushroom Echo easily becoming an all time favorite and collectors piece in years to come. In the world of analog delays there are a few things we look for, user friendliness, good tone, and versatility. The Mushroom Echo delvers this and then some. When you first look at the pedal it seems like a very simple pedal, which it is. Only this pedal has a few tricks up it's sleeve. But before I get into the tricks and sonic layers you can pull off with this pedal let's first take a look at it's tone. One thing that is clearly noticeable from this pedal when you first plug it in is it's rich and warm sound. I'm a huge fan of tape delays, (who isn't?) they trail off perfectly and sound amazing. The only thing is they're not always the suitable choice for gigging or lugging around to band practice. Who wants to carry one around, take the risk of damaging it, and go crazy looking for replacement tape? The characteristics of the Mushroom Echo's delay is very very similar a tape delay and will fit comfortably on any pedalboard. For the price you will not find a more sweet sounding analog delay pedal. To use the Mushroom Echo as a traditional delay pedal you set the mode switch to Normal (to the right). The White knob controls your delay time and Red knob controls the delay amount. You can set it anywhere from slapback delays to med/long delays, there is no infinite repeat but it will trail off long enough to create some trippy licks and cool layers. Coupled with a good overdrive or fuzz pedal sounds killer with this pedal, the delays don't get in the way of the playing and trail off behind your notes perfectly. Now the Optical mode, this is where this analog delay separates itself from the others. On the lower right side of the Mushroom Echo is the optical eye sensor, moving your foot, hand, and even shadow over it will determine the speed of the delay. The less light the sensor is exposed to the slower the delay becomes. You set the speed you want to start with by turning the White knob and go from there. Moving your foot over it like a wah wah works best for creating experimental and unpredictable delay sounds. You can get anything from crashing sounds to bomb explosions, chorus effects to pitch shifting. The one really cool sound you can get from it is the dive bomb effect. You set the Red knob to the highest echo amount, flip the White knob to the slowest setting, play a chord and bring your crashing down on the sensor. The outcome is unreal! It is also possible to control the speed of the delay with your foot by hovering above it, slowly moving it up and down creates trippy warbling tape delay effects. The possibilities are endless. If you're a big fan of classic psychedelic rock this is the pedal for you. Come open your mind and let this pedal take your sound into it's world of madness and creativity. The Moody Sound Mushroom Echo is one of the most well thought out designs to be constructed since the analog delay pedal landed on our doorstep. 

For more info on Moody Sounds you can go to www.moodysounds.se/ 
Look for more pedals from Moody Sounds to come in the near future.




Sunday, April 26, 2009

Welcome to the next level

WMD FatMan
envelope filter

Some of my favorite effects pedals have always been envelope filters, the unique shape of sounds they create is almost impossible to shy away from. It is one of the few effects that doesn't discriminate, can be used in just about every type of music, and will instantly make even the most bland guitar lick interesting. In this world we live in, this world of stompboxes, pedals, and effects, we have all seen some great envelope filters. Lots of them have become classics, collectibles, and a favorite weapon for the stage. The design of this wonderful effect has pretty much stayed intact throughout the years without much evolution to it's sound and tone. That is until now, there's a cat out there by the name of William Mathewson who's mind has taken this wonderful effect to whole new level. His design? The FatMan. The result? An extremely versatile envelope filter keeping true to the old school and capable of producing some of the new. It's times like these I'm glad I became a musician.

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 FEATURES:
 *Fat & Warm Pure Analog Circuitry
 *12 Filter Frequency Ranges
 *Tweakable Filter Feedback
 *Lowpass & Bandpass Filter Modes
 *Reverse Sweep
 *Tweakable Attack Speed
 *Internal Gain Adjustment 
 *Key Input
 *Hand Wired True Bypass
 *Violet LED
 *Top Quality Components
 *Super Hard Epoxy Powder Finish
 *Standard 9V Power Jack

My God what an amazing pedal this has turned out to be, another killer find to add to the wonderful collection of discoveries I have made this year. Released a few years back I cannot believe I missed this one, no matter because this is one of those pedals that is way ahead of it's time. If you're a fan of the wah wah pedal and classic style envelope filters this pedal will be a real treat, it takes off where you'd imagine these designs were left off. Being that the FatMan is of pure analog circuitry you might imagine it must sound warm, round, and thick, which it does. But I must tell you I have never heard a more vocal sounding envelope filter in all my days, the shape of the effects it produces are almost human like, giving your sound an entire new platform to play on. William really went to town when he sat down to create this pedal's layout, you will notice how well each control works with one another and how simple it is to adjust it to your playing style. Like most traditional envelope filters the FatMan sports the basic controls needed for knocking it's sound, but where this pedal shines is in it's not so traditional controls. A Range knob lets you click in to 12 different frequencies making this pedal friendly to just about anything you plug into it. Set it 1-4 and you're living in way down low land, perfect for playing with bass and low notes. These settings X out the mids and highs which give you deep and round tones. In the 5-8 realm you dive into the more wah wah sounding effects, great for guitar work, licks, and quick playing. From 9-12 you're in treble city, this is perfect for really standing out in the mix. These settings really give you a plucky sound, a poppy compressed effect. With the Range knob alone you have access to more sounds than you'll know what to do with, but luckily for us the fun does not stop there. The FatMan has one very special feature that will blow your mind, it blew mine. The Key Input... where to start? Before I get into this control option let me just say that the FatMan also has the traditional control knobs like Attack, Threshold, Feedback, Sweep Up/Down, etc... Once you get the hang of things with this pedal and you dial in some favorite settings you'll be able to further manipulate them with the Key Input. This option let's you trigger the envelope filter effect with another device such as a drum machine, mic, keyboard, etc... I used the Key Input with another guitar which was a ton of fun, I set the Attack and Threshold to my liking, played my guitar while my buddy played the other guitar to shape and bring the effect in & out. What other devices must sound like through this is something I am very much looking forward to. The possibilities are endless with an effect like this, become bored and it's the end of your ride. But if you're like me and don't become easily turned off, a pedal like this will bring a lifetime of sound tweaking fun. William Mathewson's talents has brought into this wacky world of sounds some very interesting creations, take a little time to find out just how.... you won't be sorry you did.

For more info on WMD effects click the logo in our links. Also look for more WMD effects to come in later posts. Demos and videos coming soon.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Deep Trip Land/Lessons in Fuzz Part 1

DEEP TRIP
Kryptone

Let the gates of hell and heaven be awakened, let it all come crashing down. Imagine what would rain down, imagine the sound. A sea of galloping, rumbling tone, shaking the earth with a growl so lovely it could only be harnessed and used in music. When I came upon Deep Trip Land I knew I was amongst my kind, my breed of human being. All the favorites of yesteryear came screaming out of this little green box and my mind was boggled beyond belief. Once again we are within reach of a sound so pure and flooded with classic rock blood that we have no choice but to play... play Rock and Roll. Tell me, does this sound like you?


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*Power Consume: 10mA
*Swiftcraft Jacks
*Alpha Potentiometers
*External Battery Drawer
*Regular 9v Negative Center DC Jack Operation
*NOS Germanium Transistors

(CONTROLS)
*Volume Knob: Controls overall output
*Mood Knob: External bias control for one of the Ge Transistors
*Fuzz Knob: Controls dirt, texture, etc... The more the better!
*Mode Toggle: Adds in a high impedance cell in front of circuit. For brilliant, defined sounds, and use with wah wah pedals.
*Voice Toggle: Filter out bass frequencies and decrease overall gain. Treble Boost/Classic Fuzz/& Extra Bass settings.

Every once and a while, as musicians, we come across a piece of equipment that really shakes our bones, speaks to our souls, and pushes us to want drive the song writing machine to the fullest. These tools become keys to the doors of our creativity and unlock the moments where our most memorable writings are born. We become overdriven with madness and unstoppable playing ability. I would imagine Hendrix when he first heard the Fuzz Face might have experienced moments like these. This is what the Deep Trip Kryptone has been able to do for me the last few months, I have been struck with an inspiration so large I can hardly contain the number of tunes that have been pouring out (I might just have to dedicate an album to it). There is a definite signature tone that comes from the Kryptone, it is one of those tones that brings a flood of killer songs, flashbacks, and sighs of tonal relief. For someone who breathes and lives music this pedal can open up an entire symphony guitar sounds, knowing how to manipulate these simple boxes is where the magic lies. Being in my early thirties I missed the birth of the fuzz, that first run of fuzz boxes that all my idols played, and with all the hype that surrounds these wonderful pedals it hasn't been easy to purchase one. Thank god for the cats at Deep Trip. The origins of the Kryptone's circuit was spawned from the classic Vox Tonebender, not a bad place to start if you ask me, and like the Tonebender the Kryptone also dishes out a wall of rich, thick harmonics, impressionable EQ balance, and unmistakable classic rock voicing's. There are also treble booster characteristics which work great with chords and licks, throw a little overdrive in front of this pedal and you have just about every stage of distortion you could ever want. It's layout of controls all work very well together and don't over do it even at their highest settings, keeping it more of a traditional fuzz as opposed to the handful of freakwild fuzz boxes that are flooding the scene right now. The Volume knob controls it's overall output which can also on it's own drive your amp into gritty overdrive and grit tones. The Mood knob is an external bias control for one of the germanium transistors, a very very cool option. Just past noon (at around 1:00) is where the Mood knob does it's heaviest howling, it is in this setting that the 60's and 70's come rolling in. Roll it back to starve it of power and roll it up for a sharper cutthroat sound, every way around this control delivers class A velvet tones. The Fuzz knob controls the level of the effect, you will notice that for a fuzz pedal even at full blast it stays clear, the highs crisp, and the mids focused. The Mode toggle switches in a high impedance cell in front of it's fuzz circuit. This adds for a glassier sound, quicker response, and makes the Kryptone wah wah friendly. The Voice toggle switches between treble booster settings, vintage rock fuzz tones, and fat'n'chunky goodness, great for matching up with different amps, guitars, and instruments. Then there's the artwork (which I can honestly call a work of art) which is unlike any other I have seen on a pedal, it gives off a psycedelic/classic rock/acid vibe. A large LED at the front of the pedal shines green and adds to the mystery of it's capabilities, not a pedal that will bore, not a pedal you will throw away and store. It runs on the standard 9v power adapter or 9v battery, a handy battery compartment makes it easy to swap out old batteries. While I'm on batteries I have to mention something else very unique about this pedal. We all know how killer old batteries can sound, they give off those fluttery, burpy fuzz tones that sound great when blasted all the way. With the Mood knob you can dial in these tones and then some. I've been using the Kryptone with a slapback analog delay, hint of compression, and wah wah pedal. Controlling the volume knob on my guitar makes it possible to move in between rhythm and leads. I tested the Kryptone through a Tele, Les Paul, Mosrite, and Hagstrom, the pedal adapted easily to all four guitars all gave out four different usable tones. A great box to drag out to the studio. I would have to label the Kryptone a genuine classic rock pedal and a fuzbox destined for timeless fame. When Ed at Deep Trip Land described the Kryptone he said it was their "most sensitive pedal in terms of picking nuances and guitar volume/tone technique." I can only imagine what else they have in store. This only the beginning my fellow pedal junkies, oh yes there will be more, and like you I myself am very curious to hear where the next pedal will take us.

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For more info on Deep Trip effects go to http://www.deeptripland.com/en/
You can also click the Deep Trip logo for direct access to the website. Look for more Deep Trip pedals on future Analog War Cry posts.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Maxon...keeping it real since way back when.

There isn't one stompbox junkie out there who has not heard of Maxon's effects pedals. What they've done for the music scene with their killer effects and builds has held tight since first they peaked their head in the early 70's. Many of you might not know it but Maxon actually started out as a guitar pickup manufacturer, soon after they dove into the world of guitar pedals and the rest is history. The well known all mighty Ibanez line has also been manufacturered under the Maxon name, including the super popular Ibanez 9 series, where the Tubescreamer was born from. Maxon has definitely paid their dues and then some, having released some rare builds which have proven hard to find in these times of pedal madness. Today Maxon continues their quest to build an intelligent line of effects pedals, and if I may say so they're doing it better than ever. The last few years has seen the comeback of some of their classics which include their Vintage Series, Reissue Series, and Nine Series. The builds are top notch, heavy heavy duty, and road worthy to the max. There are a handful of mainstream companies that have impressed me in the last few years and Maxon is most definitely one of them. Imagining one of their boxes dying out is as close to impossible as I gets, get your hands one some and feel, hear, and see for yourselves.


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AD-999 Pro Analog Delay

Delay Time: 80-900 milliseconds
In/Out: input, output, dry output
Input Impedance: 500K Ohms
Output Impedance: 10K Ohms or less
Residual Noise: -100db (IHF-A)

CONTROLS/

Delay Time Knob
Feedback Knob
Delay Level Knob
Multi-Delay mini Switches: 3/8, 4/8, 5/8
On/Off True Bypass Switch

When I first heard of this pedal I thought it had to be too good to be true, there had to be some catch or fault to this pedal. When the AD -999 Pro arrived I went ahead and put it through it's paces, flipping every switch, turning every knob, and trying every setting combo I could think of. The result? Hands down the most versatile analog delay pedal I have ever come across. Both sound and build screams quality and class, if you're looking for the last analog delay you'll ever need you've found it. What is it we look for in a good delay pedal? Is it warm tone, is it clarity? The list can go on forever, the AD-999 Pro takes care of just about every need you'll ever look for in a good sounding vintage delay pedal. Insanely warm yet clear tone, wide delay range, user friendly control layout, and some tricks you may not of come across. It's build like all of Maxon's pedals is of the highest level, I've said it before and I'll sday it again, I'd find it extremely hard to damage one of these puppies. The three traditional controls of Delay Time/Feedback/and Delay Level all respond to the most minimal of changes which make it a simple delay pedal to navigate. The heart of this pedal and the reason it's sound is so addictive is it's four custom made Maxon MC4107D bucket brigade IC's, which deliver up to 900 milliseconds of the sweet, velvety, and lush delay...absolute ear candy. We all know how much fun a killer analog delay can be, tweaking the knobs in and out to create a circus of time-warped tones. The AD-999 Pro will never bore, use different combos of it's three multi-delay switches to dial in a ton of freaky but useful delay patterns, or use it straight up for more traditional applications. Picking out chords never sounded so beautiful, yeah that's right I said "beautiful". The pedal's effect really shines through where many of today's delay pedals fail, there are so many gimmick and conjob delays boxes out there promising this that and the other thing whiole in reality they hand you more knobs and switches than you know what to do with, try dialing in a useful tone with them puppies. Don't me wrong, I am a huge fan if expeimental music, tones, and sounds, in the end if something doesn't help produce music then it only keeping me away from it. You gotta admit there are a lot of noise boxes out there at the moment, some useful, many not. You'll never have to worry about the delays getting overly noisy, like the AD-9 Pro the AD-999 Pro also sports the RMS level sensor and noise reduction circuitry. Some delays can swamp out your tone, take over, and leave your music in the dust, not a problem here kids. Another way this pedal works great in is through your effects loop, it's dynamic range can adapt to any input level leaving you with nothing but gold baby. How many of you have tried this with other delays only to come across piercing tones and unwanted distortion? Lord knows I have. The ability to have the option to use the pedal through your effects loop cuts down the umber of effects running in your chain which saves you much needed quality tone. Speaking of tone, I had taken the AD-999 Pro out to the studio to see if there were some fuzz pedals I could match it up with (I like to cut the delay really short to get a killer ghostly effect), I was super stoked to discover the delay tones blended in just where they were needed. The fuzz stays strong and upfront while the delays tailor off right behind each guitar lick, kind of like the Dead Meadow and Black Keys fuzz tones. I am happy to say that I have found a wonderful use for this pedal and it will be making some appearances on my band's records and live gigs...come to think of it I believe I will give it a permanent home on my pedalboard.
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Look out for more Maxon effects pedals in later posts. Analog War Cry will also be demoing the AD-999 Pro and many others in up-coming podcasts and videos. For more info on Maxon products click on the banner above, the Maxon logo in our links, or visit www.maxonfx.com

Klein Pickups/Bringing back the art of tone.

The musician, how he strives to find that special tone that lives within him. He sits patiently experimenting with endless combinations of settings and levels, hoping to strike gold. Some access their dream tone though skill, some with a fine ear, and others simply by chance. With all the wonderful gear available today I'd say it's almost impossible not to sound good. Some cats rely on their pedals, some their amps, and then there's that other breed of musician, the type that goes in and gets his hands dirty. These are the cats that have their sound howling at the moon, the ones you'd swear had to have sold their souls to the devil in order to sound so damn good. Under a fine light you come to see that the devil has nothing to do with it, what you do find are people like Chris Klein, and the passion that lives within that will only settle for pure, uncut tone. We're talking pickups here friends, pickups that'll have your axe singing like it's never sung before. It is important that we educate ourselves in every area of the tone spectrum, by dissecting our favorite tunes, artists, and eras we come to find the sound that fits us best. There is no better feeling than learning how to take control of our tone, and equally as good is discovering the new skills we acquire along the way, like a kid and a new toy. Well I happen to be that kid at the moment, these last few months have been my jump into the world of pickup swapping, and it's opened up an endless world of beautiful tones. When I came across Klein Pickups I had to pause and listen, my guitar was saying "We can stop here." For those of us who need more than the mass produced factory pickup this is the place to be, you'll come to discover your guitars true voice.


Model: Esquire
Output: 7.6k
Magnet Type: Alnico 3

When I first spoke with Chris about which pickups to try out I thought why not an Esquire model, I was very curious to hear his take on this timeless legend. When I saw the work put into the pickup I could tell they were built by a skilled hand, when I heard what the pickup sounded like I knew that passion and spot on research went into bringing it to life. The Klein Esquire pickup holds true all the sound of the classic pre-CBS Fender tone, imagine all the same characteristics with more richness and clarity. Coupled with a vintage Tele bridge and 3 brass saddles this pickup will deliver all the sustain, power, and size you'll ever need in a bridge pickup. It's wound with Alnico 3 Flush mount magnets and Enamel wire which stay true to early esquire specs. A hint of well balanced compression helps hold the tone in place and keeps it from becoming shrill and overpowering. Through clean settings it gives off a lucid chime and sparkle only a true to heart classic Esquire could produce. Overdrive and light distortion settings is where this pickup really sings, and my favorite were driving it through fuzz boxes. It grabs notes and releases them with ease, making guitar solos easy to manipulate into whichever shape or form fits your style best. This most certainly isn't just another bum replacement, I can bet once this puppy is swapped in it'll stay there. There's a reason why cats like Johnny Cash, Paul McCartney, and Jeff Beck used Esquires in their music, the signature tone. For those true seekers of the vintage sound this pickup is the perfect place to start and a great way to regain one of the cornerstones of rock and roll. When all is said and done, I have to say I am extremely impressed with this pickup and would stand it up to any original.




Model: Early 50's
Output: 7.7k
Magnet Type: Alnico 3

Ah yes, the early 50's, when I think early 50's I think of one thing...the Tele. All the wonderful funk, country, and blues tones we know and love so well has made it's comeback in the Klein Early 50's pickup. Think of all that a good neck pickup can do for your sound and you have the Klein Early 50's Tele model. The shape of the tone and well balanced EQ makes for a versatile collection of great sounding guitar sounds and layers. After installing the pickup my guitar's tone knob came to life, my pick attack was spot on, and overall response of my amp's EQ was muc clearer. Rolling back the volume and tone knob through a good fuzz box produced some killer sounding classic rock rhythm and solo tones, think Sabbath and Cream...all day baby. My guitar was transformed into a screaming rhythm machine, full of weight, bite and growl. Clean settings with these pickups sound fantastic, a touch of compression and you have all the spank you'll ever need. Chris really went all out when he decided to build his version of a early 50's Tele neck pickup, playing and listening to the pickup you can feel it's genuine and vintage tone, an art loved but not lost. For those of you cats sporting standard Telecasters, building your own guitars and looking for an upgrade or mod, Klein's Early 50's and Esquire pickup models make for perfect replacements. We used a standard Tele to swap the pickups into and the projection afterwards was like day and night, it ups it all, your amp's tone, the delivery of your stompboxes, anything you throw at these pickups sound great through them. I've always been a huge fan of using rhythm pickups for lead licks, there's no better way at getting a chunky lead tone than by using a good neck pickup. One of the best things about rocking a set of Klein Pickups is that they're all hand wound and built from vintage specs, like vintage pickups this gives each pickup it's own distinct sound and character. What more can I say? You can't go wrong with these badboys, the sound is right, the price is right, and your axe will love you for it.


For more info on Klein Pickups go to www.kleinpickups.com or click the logo in our links. Also stay tunes for pickup demos of the Klein Esquire and Early 50's, and our interview with Chris Klein.
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Sunday, April 5, 2009

Two beauties from Denmark


In the midst of all that is going on with the underground pedal building scene, there are a handful of cats in the mainstream circle who have kept things real fresh, and real real. There is I'm sure not one of you that has not heard of T-Rex Engineering's effects pedals, and for good reason too. What once was a small unknown company from Denmark has grown into a worldwide, heavily respected powerhouse of stompbox building madness. T-Rex's success has landed there pedals worldwide, become the favorite sellers of many shops, and have been seen on many famous pedalboards. They have recently taken on producing the all mighty Gristle pedals of Tim Jauernig and guitar player Greg Koch, which will now be known as the T-Rex Gristle Line, I can think of no better company to take on the job. T-Rex has also introduced at Winter NAMM the Tonebug series of effects, first to hit the streets will be the Tonebug Overdrive and Tonebug Reverb, but the focus of this article/review is not on the new Gristle Line or Tonebug Series, which we are all more than ready for. I am here to bring to the plate two classics in the making, the Viper vibe pedal, and the ever expansive Tremonti Phaser. So sit back and get schooled on two wondeful tone shaping tools.


THE VIPER
vibe pedal
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When it comes to vibe pedals you better make sure you're playing the right one or the crowd, your tone, and the tape will all suffer. A killer sounding vibe pedal will work wonders for your tone, it's subtle frequency floats in and around your sound like no other effect and opens up both clean and dirty tones. When I first came across the T-Rex Viper I was pleased to find all the classic voicing effects I have had the pleasure of listening to throughout Rock and Rolls history. It's three knobs and mode button deliver and endless collection of sweet and lush swirls, getting lost in it's delivery is very easy. The Depth knob controls the overall effect, the range starts way down in an almost non-existent whisper, and goes all the way up to an in your face frequency of peaks and lows, without ever overpowering or weakening your base sound. The Speed knob...well it controls the speed of the effect. It's ramp is easy to control and even more important easy to dial in. The Level knob controls the Viper's output, combined with the right set of stompboxes you can get some killer sounding gritty vibe tones. The Mode button bounces between the two classic settings of a rotating speaker effect, and signature vibrato tone, both of which we all know so well, and the perfect combo for any musical type. Finally we have the Trim dial which is located on the back of the pedal, to me this being the secret weapon of the Viper. The Trim dial lets you shape the face of the vibe effect, pull out a small flat head screwdriver and create your own signature vibe tone, it's wonderful. Like many of the vintage vibe effects we have grown to love, the Viper holds that sound that works so well with both blues and rock, but the difference here is it's ability to open up whole new worlds of musical layers. I play lots of psychedelic influenced rock music and found many many ways to layer, expand, and experiment. One thing I must point out before I forget is the Viper does not run on the standard 9 volts, instead it runs on 12 volts which keeps the effect cleaner, more pronounced, and very defined. When you plug into the Viper you will definitely hear how upfront it's bite can get. One thing is for certain, you will not find yourself becoming easily bored with this pedal, The Viper owns an ocean of useful and magical tones.



Tremonti Phaser

phase shifter
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Welcome to the next level of phase shifting, all in all...this pedal says more than the average bear. I have to be honest with you guys, I've never been much of a fan of the phase shifting effect, one side of it being how difficult it is to inject it into a song, the other side of it being how hard it is to find a good sounding pedal. Even the vintage stuff has never impressed me much, I know saying this can seem like blasphemy to some people, but hey, that's been my experience. A lot has changed though in the last few years, and with the open minds that builders carry these things have been looking good for the phase shifter. One example of this being the Tremonti Phase Shifter, if you've plugged into one you know what I'm talking about, if you haven't then you have something to look forward to. The first run in with the Tremonti pedal was in a local shop, it only took me a few minuted to decide this was a phase shifter I could live with. There was one thing that really stood out and probably the main reason this pedal won me over, I clearly heard lots of Pink Floyd out of it. Swirling, swooshing, and flying is the name of the game here folks. All of it's controls behave and respond exactly how you would imagine them to, what you hear in your head you can easily dial in. When using it with clean and overdrive tones the effect rose and fell in all the right places, playing it through distortion and metal tones would satisfy any shredder or old school rock and roll head. With stereo outs, 4/8 stage phasing, the traditional controls of Depth, Rate, and Level this covers lots of ground, throw in the mighty Bite knob and you have not only an extremely versatile pedal but a phase shifter with balls. If your thing is the vintage low-fi thing you will easily find it in this pedal, if you prefer the more modern hi-fi phase effect you will also fond it here. One thing the pedal did and did very well was blend in with other effects to help create new textures, whenever I can find a pedal that plays well with others it is most definitely a big +. I thought finding the words to explain this pedal would prove harder than it has, which is always a sign of being blown away, of discovering something new, and expanding your mind. There isn't much to be said about the Tremonti because this is one of those pedals that talks the talk and walks more than the walk. When it comes down to it it's simple, just take it from me, from someone who had been hunting for the right phase shifter for a long long time. Plug it in and let the 60's, 70's, and all the modern madness you can handle flow right through.

For more info on T-Rex Engineering you can visit their website at www.t-rex-engineering.com or click the T-Rex logo in our links.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Updates/April

Hello friends, gear freaks, pedal junkies, and amp fiends. I hope you all got a chance to tune in to our podcasts last month, hope you dug our features, and no, we're not done! That's right, we're going to be continuing the Pedal Hunt right into the month April, there are just too many damn killer pedals out there to stop now. March was a goldmine find of stompboxes for us, I have never been so lucky as to come upon so many passionate builders, these are cats who truly put their hearts into their work and think like we think. We all know how magical the right kind of pedal can be, how special a tone can be shaped with the correct tools. I have to tell you guys I honestly believe that the last few years has produced some of the sweetest tone shaping tools the music playing community has scene since the golden era. So get ready to set your ears upon another month of great sounding gear. We'll also be featuring pickups for the first time, that's right, we'll be premiering some really cool boutique pickup companies we all think you will benefit from. You know we're gonna keep it real underground and gritty too, like many of the pedal builders we come across these cats also work right from home and are usually one-man operations. We'll be holding our first giveaway this month, what we'll be dishing out and how to win it....you'll just have to wait and see. Keep subscribing, keep on posting your comments, and please keep sending us your emails with your thoughts. Enjoy!
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