Top Finds of 2010 / Jam Pedals Tube Dreamer 72

One pedal all us players can agree is a must on our pedaboards is the OD. As simple as these pedals are they can be used to achieve an enormous palette of tones, for just about any style of music. Overdrivers get along with anything from the cleanest of signals to the dirtiest and muddiest. Since the beginning of the stompbox revolution players have been hunting down, experimenting with, and hoarding many different breeds of overdrive boxes - All in the name of taking their sounds to the next level. It is the OD that is responsible for many of the signature tones of yesterday and today, and the favorite of many'a stompbox builder. Google overdrive and you will be sure to come across an endless sea of boutique, mainstream, and one-off creations. But of all these creations there is one circuit that is copied and tweaked far more than the rest.... the mighty TS808. If you've ever had a chance to run a proper old school Tube Screamer through it's paces you know just how and why these pedals are so special. Only problem with many of the modern designs is they come off more as distortion boxes than actual overdrives. A proper TS style pedal is subtle and pushes out a signal that works with your tone instead of  against it (which is where many builders miss). Well, here is a company that hasn't steered me wrong yet, and with this here design has been able to take the mighty 808 to rockin' new levels. I promise you one thing - you won't have to worry or be confused about what is or isn't an overdrive here. 

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Tube Dreamer 72

Vintage Overdrive

* Controls: Level, Tone, Gain

* High quality components

* True Bypass Switching

* Power: 9V battery or standard 9VDC adapter

* Uses only 6mA of power when On

* Custom artwork available

* Point-to-Point version available

* Bass version available

* Lifetime warranty

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The Jam Pedals Tube Dreamer 72 is a spot-on true to heart classic sounding overdrive pedal with some characteristics of it's own - and a look to die for. This baby was designed specifically for achieving that cranked tube amp tone at both high and low volumes. You won't have to worry about this pedal taking your tone hostage or coloring anything you stack it up on top of (thanks to a special secret chip). These pedals are hand built in Greece with the finest parts and components, and added upon each one is a bit of artistic flavor. The Tube Dreamer 72 sports true bypass switching for the ultimate in tone preservation, and like all Jam's pedals carries a lifetime warranty. A LIFETIME WARRENTY!!! But it's gets better? There isn't only one version of this pedal available, no siry Bob. Besides the 72 version which we will be looking at here, Jam also offers a 58 version based around the famous JRC4558 chip, an 88 which stacks the other two version together and adds a high gain switch, and last there is a + (plus) version which is a heavier version of the 72. Each one of these pedals can be built point-to-point and come with an array of different custom art works. And so the bass playing cats don't jealous - there are also bass versions of the Tube Dreamer ready at the helm. Pretty nice huh? Now for some tones.

Running the Tube Dreamer 72 through all of my amps was indeed an absolute dream. This was also true of my guitars, through every type of pickup, and with many other pedals. It sounded best with my tube amps of course but I was surprised to hear how well it sounded with a few solid states as well. When you got a pedal of this caliber in your signal path things are just bound to come out sounding awesome no matter what you plug it into. I began using the TD72 through a few different low watt amps, from 5-22 watters. I started with some super mellow pedal settings to see what kind of use I could get as a booster. With it's level at unity, it's gain at about 5-7%, and it's tone at noon - the TD72 let the amp's characteristics shine through beautifully. My root tone's nice'n'warm signal was converted into a more powerful version of itself, which let me dial in many more tones on the fly. I noticed that by turning up the TD72's level I could get plenty of punch and grit from tubes. Then with the pedal's gain rolled up even further things would only get sweeter and much much smoother. Something else you'll find quite nice about this pedal is it's tone control. With most overdrive pedals you get decent gain controls and even plenty output on some occasions - but when it comes to their tone controls they come off a bit too weak and unresponsive. What ends up happening is the builder either has to choose one sweet spot amongst the sweep spectrum. With the TD72 I was able to both maintain my amp's key tones and also help them into new grounds. Cranking the tone low I was able to hear a huge difference in the amp's tone, a difference that was usable and created a sweet and warm overall feel. The TD72 was able to kick out lots of sweet spots within every one of it's controls, giving all my amps new territory to walk upon. Another amp that worked quite well was a Fender 22 watt Deluxe Reverb. Completely dry with no verb and it's tone controls at noon, the Deluxe Verb was able to dish out some of the smoothest and meanest dirt sounds when combined with the Tube Dreamer. Being such a simple amp, all you really need to do is roll everything to noon and you're home free. Highlighting the Deluxe Reverb's capabilities was really something that brought upon some impress classic rock and blues guitar tones. An overall great match. From here I began exploring with higher gain amplifiers - first with some clean character amps, then with the big crunchy bad boys. My modified 4x10 Hot Rod Deville was a great place to start. Having a ton of clean headroom to play with really came in handy for dialing tons of different dirt tones at all levels. I was able to go from an inkling of grit to the smoothest grittiest growls. Alone it is damn near impossible to get an overdriven tone from my Deville - thanks to it's four 100 watt 10" speakers (I did do this on purpose though). With the pedal in the mix I had any dirty tone I wanted. I noticed that the louder I'd get, the more my picking attack was accented. This brought upon some very tasty sounds, harmonics, and wildness. As I'd push the 72's gain control higher, the grit would become dirtier yet the output would stay the same. And it sounded great at low volumes! With the gain at around 15% the pedal began tossing out these really nice mildly crunchy blues tones that brought my amp to life and had it singing like a little devil. Then there was converting the Deville into a true machine of dirt of growl - a very easy task when setting this pedal just right. Last came a Super Lead, one of my favorite amps of all time. Here the TD72 once again did things that sounding awesome. Taking the Suepr Lead's tone and accenting it, really brought to the amp to life in ways I thought were not possible. I found myself able to dial the pedal in in many different settings, leave it be, to have access to tons of tones on the fly. Working my guitar's tone and volume controls came in handy here, which made for some great tone shaping on stage. Semi-clean tones I was able to take to rich'n'thick overdrives, leaving me with a wider collection of overall dirt tones. At higher gain levels the TD72 was able to convert the Super Lead into an absolute beast! The sustain that came to be was very nice to play with and gave me new textures to play with. By the end of my demo with this pedal I had plugged in a handful of different single coil guitars, semi-hollow and solid humbucker guitars, and an array of others. Same went for amplifiers, from the lowest gain to the meanest. The TD72 got along beautifully with every piece of gear I through at it and gave back a killer results. We've had a chance to put a handful of Jam Pedals through their paces and are yet to be disappointed, and doubt we ever will. If you suffer from the same tone seeking sickness that I suffer from go out and grab yourself one of these Tube Dreamer versions, you're amps and guitars will thank you for it.

If you need more info on these hand made Greek masterpieces go to www.jampedals.com or go to our direct links. We will continue bringing you guys more and more of these magical pedals as they come and keep giving you the best possible insight. Stay tunes for more from Jam Pedals. Pictured above is another version of the Tube Dreamer, the TD88. Just another of the cool and crazy creations from our friends at Jam Pedals.

Top Finds of 2010 / Ddyna Music: Bass 10

Righty-O here we go. We all have our own tastes, opinions, favorites, and go-to's when it comes to gear. Whether it be an amp or pedal, guitar or set of pickups. This is what makes gear so special and what gives us all our own unique tonal voices. To me there is no such thing as better than - what might sound good to me or work for me may not work for another, and vice versa. This next collection of articles and reviews are our own personal favorites - pieces of gear that stood out to us in one way or another. There is not one piece of gear featured on this site that isn't special to us, which is exactly why I started this site - to share with ya'll my insight and experiences. I thought there'd be no better way to start this Top Finds than by hitting you with the long awaited Bass 10 from my good buddy Dan Simon of Ddyna Music. I can remember when I first became acquainted with Dan (some 2 years ago or so) and him running down his idea of what would become the Bass 10. I must admit that even way back then I was quite curious and eager to see the pedal come to fruition. Now that this pedal is in rotation amongst the world of us stompbox junkies, I will say it has surpassed every one of my expectations. The world of effects pedals is one that does not touch or work for every player. But for those that do choose to use these little metal boxes of magic and wonder, I say it does not get much better than this.... the Bass 10.

BASS 10

Comp/EQ/Overdrive

Specs:

• Switching: True Bypass (TPDT)
• Input Impedance; 300k (min)
• Output Impedance: 4K (max at 5Hz)
• Input/Output Jacks: Neutrik 1/4" Phone
• Current Consumption: (Operating) 60mA (max) - (Standby) 54mA @ 18DVC
• Power: 12VDC AC Adapter (Supplied)
• Voltage Range: 12.0VDC-18.0VDC 
• Connector: 2.1mm x 5.5mm - Tip Positive
• Dimensions: 4.87(W) x 3.72(D) x 2.25(H)
• Weight: 0.92 lbs
• 100% Analog Signal
• Built with Top Notch Components in the USA

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Many of you guitar slinging readers of mine may and see the word bass and instantly be turned off. But for those of you who have done your fair share of pedal experimenting - you know that bass pedals can sometimes do more than just the trick of working with basses. The Bass 10 certainly proved worthy of providing for more than just the bass guitar. In my guitar ventures this pedal did more than I thought possible, this goes for many other instruments as well - stringed and not. It is the array of versatile controls that linger on the Bass 10's face that make it capable of taking your tone up on high and just about anywhere you want it to go. The controls themselves are very intelligently laid out and work with one another beautifully. The top row of controls sporting the white markers work as four Bandpass Filters - there for precise dialing in & out of the selected frequencies. The bottom row of controls is split into two channels/sections - The controls sporting the blue markers are a top notch great sounding compressor, and the ones with the red markers are your overdriver. Last you will find two footswitches - one for engaging the compressor and the other for kicking in the overdrive. Together all of these controls come together to create one of the most powerful and versatile pedal I have ever come across. The Bass 10 is a 100% analog circuit, sporting true bypass switching, and can run off of anywhere from 12 to 18 volts. 


My first run-through of this magical pedal began with a Jazz Bass and Ampeg amplifier. I found this a great pair for hearing exactly what this pedal was capable of. I started by rolling the amp in straight up the middle, this giving me a neutral sweet sounding overall tone. The bass I played both with my fingers and pick. One giving me a warmer softer sound, and the other pumping out plenty of thump'n'boom. I dug into the bass, slapped the strings a bit, played soft jazz and R&B runs, and simple roots rock bass lines. I did this to get an exact feel of what the Bass 10 would do for me. Once my ear got adjusted to the clean amp tone I went ahead and set the pedal's compressor. First I set the ratio to my liking, then the sustain, and last I worked in the compression's volume. Before using the pedal's EQ section to shape and mold my tone, I first played around with it to see how easily I could match the amp's root tone. This in fact ended up being as easy as pie. Engaged, the Bass 10 gave my tone more clarity and control. I was able to hear the strings much clearer, the touch of my fingers, and the walking of the notes. Playing softly the pedal's compression created this pillowy sound that sounded spec-tac-ular. The notes would jump out at me as if alive and breathing. I was able to maintain the tone's character while at the same time fine tuning each corner and peak of the overall sound. This is where a killer sounding compressor can do you proper, and what no other effect will do. Once set to the Jazz Bass' liking and kicked in, I found no reason to turn this pedal off. I found the compression channel very easy to use and very friendly to my attack. Here I began playing with the overdrive section and tuning in the EQ section to a bigger feel. I set the drive first to about 10'o'clock, started with the depth control back near it's lowest setting, and last dialed in the overdrive volume. The EQ's bass I rolled well past noon, the low mids at about 9'o'clock, high mids between 1 and 2'o'clock, and the treble at noon. In this setting the pedal provided me with more of a boost than an actual overdrive sound. It was the depth control's position that made this possible. Rolling the depth clockwise converts the overdrive signal into a more of a square wave tone other than a round sound. This control alone makes the overdrive channel on this pedal very very versatile. Oh, and before I forget to mention - The overdrive section cannot be engaged unless the compression channel is in action. This keeps the overdrive signal in check, and with the EQ stack blended in the possibilities are damn near endless. Getting a dirtier bass tone from here was very simple. Just roll in a bit more drive and depth and you are home-free. With the depth right around noon, drive just passed 9'o'clock, and OD volume to my liking - I was able to get a nice balance of my root bass tone and th pedal's dirty/compressed signal. I found this tone this tone worked great for jumping the dynamics in tunes and making things in general just sound much bigger. Here is where I discovered the range and possibilities of the Bass 10's depth knob. By rolling th depth closer to 2-3'o'clock and rolling in a little more OD volume, I was able to take the same drive setting into even more of a grittier tone. With the EQ section things only got better. I was able to shape the overdrive signal into anything I wanted - a big fat dirt sound, or a thin bass cutting punching machine. Even fuzz tones were no problem wit this pedal. Before experimenting with other instruments I also did plug in a Danelectro bass and a active pickup ESP bass. With both of these basses ( as well as the Jazz Bass) I was able to shape them way beyond their character tones. Giving the Dano bass more aggression and softening the EMG's signal were no problem. This proved one thing - Dan did his homework, making this a pedal fit for many types of bass guitars. Next came my guitars. I ran the exact same tests with a semi-hollow body, Strat, Tele, and Junior. The pedal's compression proved to work much better than some of the guitar comp boxes I have come across, and the overdrive section did this really cool tight'n'gritty thing that blended really well with other guitar tracks ( both clean and dirty). One of my favorite though was playing this baby through a lap or pedal steel. Hands down one of the best tools for this type of instrument I have ever heard. In the end this pedal worked beautifully for both vintage and modern tones. As a tool for the bas guitar I could not recommend anything else. For those of you who dig multi-functional pedals this pedal is a dream. I myself am a huge fan of finding pedals that work just as good in the studio as they do on the stage. The Bass 10 is of this breed of stompbox. This of course is only a graze of the Bass 10's capabilities... the rest is for you to discover.

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Find more information on Ddyna Music stompboxes at www.ddynamusic.com or click the direct link in our sidebar. Also make sure to search our other Ddyna Music reviews and articles. We will be featuring much more from Dan Simon's world to come in the very near future. Stay tuned and get ready for more Top Finds!!!

Two Stunning Sequels

T-REX MUDHONEY II

Controls (Both Channels)

• Level: Controls overall output
• Gain: Sets grit/crunch/distortion amount
• Tone: Controls high-end roll-off
• Normal/Boost Switch: Switch from moderate to high gain
• Bypass Footswitch: True bypass switching

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The release of this little doozy was one that for me made absolute sense. Like the original this new pedal also works perfectly for all types of rock - from alternative, punk, and hard rock, to blues, country, and classic rock. And also like the first Mudhoney this puppy is also an awesome tool for stacking up with other dirt boxes and overdriven amps. Only with this Mudhoney T-Rex has added a second identical channel for even more tonal range on the fly. Finding suitable amps, guitars, and pickups to match this pedal up with was a piece-of-cake. I was literally able to just plug in and go without any problems,  thanks to the pedal's responsive and versatile controls. I plugged this pedal into everything from Strat's and Les Paul's, to Tele's and semi-hollow guitars, and never found I wasn't able to dial in stunning tones. 


I'll start with my 15 watt head and neck bucker Tele, which I later used with the Mudhoney II on a small gig and ended up being the perfect little tone machine for knocking out all of my overdrive and distortion textures. Later I would discover this would also be quite an impressive setup for studio and recording sessions. With the amount of range that this pedal's gain and tone controls have to offer, it made it possible to dial in everything I needed. Then add in the pedal's boost function and a little meddling of your guitar's controls - and you got yourself a whole new range of tons to play with! Having the ability to set one of the pedal's channels to a light boosted grit, and the other channel to a hotter drive - really made this one of the most useful dirt pedals. Using the pedal to slam into the tubes I was able to get these traditional punchy clean/dirty AC15 tones with lots of highs and smooth mids. Then once engaging the pedal's second hotter channel I was able to push into more distorted and aggressive rock tones. All without loosing the amp's characteristics and maintaining my root tone feel. I was also easily able to control how and when the tone broke up by the dynamics of my picking and strumming. A light touch would provide a sparkling clean tone with gritty undertones, and digging in would take the amp into a howling growl. With ease I was also able to get back to the amp's clean tone by rolling back on the guitar's volume, all without any coloration or drop in tone. Next I experimented with one channel as a clean booster and the other cranked full blast. Here the pedal created an authentic rich'n'smooth golden rhythms and ruff'n'rugged leads. Most awesome was how each pick would respond. In the Tele's bridge pickup the overdrive signal was able to slice and cut with great definition and spank. Ringing out chords never sounded so beautiful! I got great note separation yet still had plenty of attitude to punch out massive sounding chord work. With the neck humbucking picking it was more of the same. I got all of the same note separation and aggression, only with even more smoothness and low bottom thump. I thought to myself "Here I am not even ankle deep into this pedal and it's already pushing out tons of awesome tones." This was something that the first Mudhoney pedals had, and why so many players love them so. Another amp/guitar combo that works nicely with this pedal was my 4x10 Deville and P90 equipped Junior copy. Here also tried the clean booster channel/fully cranked lead channel thing and it was marvelous! The throaty P90 tone cut through like a deadly samurai sword. It was obviously going to be no problem getting this pedal to adapt to whatever pickup you played it through. I was could take the sparkling Fender clean tone into just about any dirt tone I wanted. Through this amp I also got hear what the Mudhoney II sounded like through super loud levels. If you guys have ever played the Hot Rod amps you know how knarly they can get. And with mine sporting four 100watt ten inch speakers, a revamped tone circuits, and a few other tweaks - it gives it enough clean headroom to spare and makes it the perfect amp for running dirt pedals through. With the amp cranked loud enough and the Mudhoney set just right, I was also able to convert it into a Marshall-like demon. The four 10's sounded like a wall of rock god heaven. This amp is also another piece of gear I use a lot for gigs, and with the Mudhoney II it was really nice. On stage the pedal was able to give me the perfect blend of clean to distortion, and able to provide me with those blaring screeching lead tones. Using this pedal live also gave me the opportunity to stack it up with some other pedals... hehehehe. Just for kicks in the middle of a riffing good break down I decided to stomp on the Mudhoney, while already playing through a blaring smooth fuzz tone. The Mudhoney took the fuzz pedal's grimey sound and twisted it into a mothership of psychedelic harmonics and overtones. Then there was pushing this pedal though an already overdriven signal, which was probably one of my ways to use this pedal. Through both pedal overdrive and amp overdrive the Mudhoney II came through with flying colors. After playing around with the Mudhoney II for a couple days I would safely describe it as a pedal capable of a huge range of dirty tones, a pedal that plays well with other stompboxes, and a pedal that thrives when matched up with tube amps.... and just a kickass pedal PERIOD!

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T-REX ROOM-MATE

Controls

• Mix: Mixes the dry and the wet signal. Set at 12 you can hear the guitar go through
• Decay: Determines the length of the spring, that is emulated
• Hicut: Cuts the high notes on the tail of the reverb. Giving the tail a smooth sound
• Level: Controls the output volume
• Gain: Controls the level on the input signal. With this knob you can turn down the input signal, if it is too power full. The green light on top of the pedal will go red, if the input signal is too high and makes the pedal distort

Reverb Types

• Spring: Sounds like an old vintage Fender amp with the typical spring based reverb
• Room: Typical room reverb. Like a clinic in a small room
• Hall: Sounds like a big concert hall
• LFO: Reverb with chorus

(Pedal gives stereo output through the left and right output jack plugs)

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I could very easily describe this pedal in one sentence simply by writing - The end-all be-all reverb pedal for the masses. But I won't stop here. First let me say I honest to God thought there was no way T-Rex could improve on the Room-Mate... boy was I wrong. I myself never owned a first version Room-Mate but nontheless I am quite familiar with the pedal. The first Room-Mate is a pedal that many cats that I know use in their studios and gigging pedalboards. For this reason I must admit that when I first heard there was going to be a new Room-Mate hitting the streets, I got giddy with excitement. Never did I think it would end up being as amazing as it is. Features I won't go into, if you want to read up on the new Room-Mate's features look above or click here. It is all about how this pedal works with you and your tone, and how versatile of a reverb box it is. 


I'll start with some honest to goodness classic spring reverb tones. For this I plugged into my Super Lead and Telecaster. The big booming sound of the 100 watt Marshall in fact ended up being the perfect canvas for the new Room-Mate's awesome tones. To achieve a vintage voiced spring verb sound was indeed very very easy. I simply set the mode switch to spring, dialed in it's controls to my liking, and that was that. Right there swimming out from my amp was a lush sparkling classic reverb tone that had my guitar sounding pretty damn hip. I had the perfect blend of British attitude and classic American verb, which made for one very cool tone. I slowly went from a clean tone to pushing the amp into a light grit. With the pedal's decay and mix controls I could dial-in just the right amount of effect and feel. It was nice having the ability to have a big decayed reverb only mixed in lightly. This created this strange reverb that sat intensely behind the amp's root tone. Lots and lots of fun. When I first demo'd this pedal I had done it through a Twin Reverb (the king of all reverb amps if you ask me). This would later lead to comparing both of the reverb types. A/B-ing the amp and pedal's reverb tones I must say was quite tuff, and I will have to honest here - I did choose the pedal more times than I did the amp. Later when getting deeper into this pedal I knew exactly why this was - It is the Room-Mate's tone quality. Even at low almost undetectable rverb settings the pedal gives your root tone a little bit of sweetness. This is one of those pedals that holds all of the mojo that makes a great vintage tone great, yet takes this tone into higher grounds. This let me pull surfy psychedelic 60's verb tones and light fluffy whispers, with plenty of warm and definition. All literally a breeze for this pedal. With the pedal's wide range of controls I could pull a bunch of variations on each reverb tone I dialed in. This automatically makes this a killer gigging reverb. Anyone without a on-board reverb would do themselves proper by snatching up one of these pedal's.  Then there was using this pedal as a studio tool (which is where the fun really began). Not everyone can afford expensive rackmount reverb tools or has room for big bulky reverb tank units. This pedal is a perfect alternative to all of this. I'm the type of cat that when recording uses the best tool for the job. Not always what might work best for one application work for another. Sometimes I like to use something flashy, sometimes I use a plug-in, and sometimes I use pedals. With the new Room-Mate I was able to get all types of uses out of it. One of my favorite was using it's room reverb effect in recording sessions and live gigs. With drums and vocals this especially worked best. I was able to give my drum tracks a big, sweet, forgiving room sound that added size and muscle to the overall sound. I recorded these hi-hat/kick/snare tracks with a stereo overhead and mic in the kick, that in the end sounded pretty damn impressive (thanks to my micing techniques and skills, hehehehe). Later when adding the Room-Mate's room reverb things got even sweeter. I was able to hear and feel all of the room's characteristics and sweet acoustics. This possible with both hall and room settings. Adding the pedal's hall reverb also sounded great with fuzz pedals and high gain distortions. I myself really enjoy using an exaggerated hall verb with fuzz for adding spooky and psychedelic layers to tunes. It's a great way to create background noise and make your fuzz notes trail on forever. Then last came the super cool super hip LFO reverb mode. Oh mama! I've heard and played many different takes on this type of reverb before, and thought either they were too much or just not interesting at all. With this pedal it is not like so. The LFO mode really takes your tone and turns it into something wild and special. I was able to get these beautifully aquatic-like reverb/chorus hybrids, then take her all the way up to trippy warbling madness. Again, having the amount of control that that this pedal offers made it a cinch to get tons of different variations. From one end of the reverb spectrum to the other - I was able to cover just about every sound you could imagine. This is one of those pedals that really needs no help in speaking for itself - a pedal that will for sure become a collector's in years to come. 

Xotic Effects Custom Shop

To me Xotic Effects has always been one of the few companies that has never needed an introduction. If ever there were a collection of pedals that speak for themselves it is the Xotic Effects line. Xotic's Tremendous Trio (BB Preamp, RC Booster, and AC Booster) are some of the world's most used and celebrated stompboxes available today. Pros, producers, and everyday players alike have taken to the awesome power that these three pedals own. Just about every player I know personally and otherwise sports one of the Tremendous Trio pedals in their rigs or setups. The reason for this is their tube-like feel, transparency, and wide range of dirt tones. I honestly thought there was no way to improve on these pedals. Then late last year Xotic announces the new addition of their Xotic Effects USA Custom Shop. The turnout has been an entirely new collection of superbly built, immaculate sounding stompboxes. The first of these Custom Shop champions? The BBP-MB.

BBP-MB

BB Preamp w/Mid Boost

• Capable of +30dB clean boost
• Adjustable ±15dB two-band EQ
• Mid Boost provides up to +12dB mid/treb boost
• Utilizes pre-gain stage / From clean to overdriven
• True bypass circuit
• 9VDC power adapter or 9V battery
• Laser-etched face plate
• Hand buffed raw aluminum enclosure

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Absolutely no frills and no hype here. All 100% pure tasty tone. This is the simplest and most precise way to define this pedal. For those of you who have had the honor of rocking out to the BB-Preamp, just imagine that same pedal's abilities, plus the use of a 12dB mid boost. Having the option of kicking in a great sounding mid boost makes this pedal an entirely new beast. I found the same amount of control in the BBP-MB that I experienced in the original BB-Preamp, and was able to harness the same awesome tones. On board the Custom Shop BBP-MB you will find Gain, Volume, Treble, Bass, and Mid-Boost controls. The pedal's awesome design and true bypass circuit provide a top-notch untampered signal. The BBP-MB works great with all types of pickups and amplifier tones, and also gets along beautifully with other pedals.

Whenever demoing a pedal of this caliber it's almost damn near impossible to get bad sounding guitar tone. I started playing around with the BBP-MB through my modified Deville and 60's Strat build. I set the amp up clean, with lots of bass and treble, mids and presence at noon, and a hint of reverb. The root tone came through boomy and with lots of twinkle. I then set the pedal's output to match the amp's, ran the eq stack at noon, gain at around 15%, and mid-boost control rolled back all the way. I engaged the pedal and right away everything became bigger, rounder, and I was able to get a mellow natural sounding light grit. The single coil Strat sound really blossomed and rung out clearly through this pedal. With a little harder pick attack I was able to get more grit and more dynamics, something I always love about a pedal. Chords really sounded awesome through this setting. Each note was balanced, defined, and smooth. Even when I rang out complex chord structures I was able to hear each note and string perfectly. The sign of a great build. I slowly started adding in the mid boost control to see what kind of difference i would get from the original BB-Preamp. With the mid-range control I was able to dial in a much stronger and punchier tone. This control worked great for taking my amp into new frontiers. With the mid-range at about 20%, I could now dig in and really get a thick/medium overdrive tone. The amp kicked out more oohmf and flavor. Making everything overall sound that much better. Next I switched to some humbuckers and ran the Custom Shop BBP-MB with more output and more mids. The pedal's massive amount of output was able to oush my amp's tubes into some of the sweetest sounding grit tones I'd ever heard. Just like the standard BB-Preamp, the sound was smooth, organic, thick, and full of dynamics, harmonics, and response. At medium to high gain settings the pedal was able to deliver great hot-rodded Marshall tones. The mid-range control really helped to push out all the huge crunch and attitude I needed. Next I took the gain control to full blast, balanced out the eq to match my amp's, and dished out a healthy amount of volume. My Deville's clean signal was transformed into an entirely different beast. I am of the type of player that relies ask on pedals for his dirt tones, which if you go about the same way know it can be a tuff task to pull off. This custom shop version of the BB-Preamp is the perfect pedal for adding another channel to any clean amp. The pedal maintains all of your amp's natural character, while able to give everything more life.

After running the pedal through some clean tones I figured it would be a good idea to see what it sounded like through an already overdriven signal. I then plugged the BBP-MB into a slightly dirty Super Lead, and played it with a Les Paul. The amp on it's own was already pushing a quite handsome guitar tone. I started with the set straight up the middle, with just a little bit of gain and mids, and level matched to the amp's. It definitely made a huge difference! It took the amp's already awesome sounding tone and turned into an even better one. The sound reminded me that of a Jimmy Page rhythm tone. A tone that could easily be used for chord work as well as lead runs. The response of the pedal's grit is what really jumped out at me. It took all of the natural smooth grit and grime, and added another layer of complex harmonics and feel. I could strike down on chords and feel the sound exploding all around me. The higher I would go up the neck the more intense the dirt became. When I'd roll back on my guitar's volume control I would also get these pristine, super clear, semi-clean tones. By rolling down some of the tone I was able to take the sound from bright to beautifully dark. It was really something how well this pedal responded to my guitar's controls. Having treb, bass, and mids eq stack also provided me with dialing in some of my favorite classic rock tones. By taking the mids up, lows to about 75%, and treb to 15%. I was able to do the woman tone thing quite nicely. With my guitar's tone knob I was able to make the tone more dramatic and make the tone actually cry. Also by pushing the Super Lead's tubes into a higher crunch tone, then blending in the pedal's overdrive. I was able to get some sweet fuzzy/overdrive sounds. It was really magic how well the pedal compressed and broke up the amp's tone. Before I called it quits I also pushed the BBP-MB through a low watt amp. I plugged in my AC15 style amp and let it fly. The cool thing about my 15 watter is that you can also take it down to 7 watts, which makes for some interesting guitar sounds. I powered down to the 7 watts, cranked that little head a far as it would go, then stacked the pedal right on top of it. Pure rock and roll vibes flew all over the room, creating different toneal colors that exploded with every swing of my pick. The really awesome thing was that I was able to get such an intense rock tone at such a low volume. 7 watts isn't all that little, if you really wanted you could actually gig with 7 watts. It's what happens to a tone at this volume that sounds so cool. The better the pedal, the better the overall sound. At 15 watts is was more of the same only with more punch and versatility. In the end, the Custom Shop BBP-MB was able to provide me with some great recording levels, loud rockin' tones, semi-clean gritty tones, and smooth rhythm heaven. The pedal worked great through both clean and dirty signals, and it was able to provide me with the same quality of tone found in the first BB-Preamp, and able to take me even further. This is definitely not just another of the same pedal with a different paint job on the box. The BBP-MB is an entirely new beast. In no way in hell could you ever go wrong with this pedal. PERIOD!

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For more info on Xotic Effects go to www.xotic.us or click the direct link on our sidebar. We have lots more awesome features from this Xotic Effects so make sure to check in soon. We will be looking deeper into the Custom Shop stuff and rest of the Xotic line. Rock on!!!!

Straight no Chaser

Boy do I love the city of Austin, Texas. For us music playing freakazoids there is no better one-stop town when it comes shows, bands, gigs, music festivals, and gear in general. As far as passion for true to-the-heart music loving, Austin definitely sits way up on the list. So when I discovered Chris Luton's Austin Retro amp & effects shop, I knew I was in for something good. It seems like more and more cats the last year or so have been gearing towards more traditional orientated gadgets, which to me is a good thing. Don't get me wrong, I love a new thing just as much as the next guy. It's just sometimes you need something that will hand it to you right there and then. This was exactly what Austin Retro's gear delivers, and just the thing needed to add a life to any signal. Some of the best memories I have I owe to the city of Austin. Now I can add a bit of Retro to it and make it that much better.

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Austin Retro

Overdrive

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Ah yes, the spectacular trio of Tone, Drive, and Level. This is a layout of controls that has been found on some of the best pedals of all time. Austin Retro adds to this killer collection of pedals with their Austin Retro Overdrive. It is no mystery what the Tone/Drive/Level knob configuration does. What makes this pedal such a winner in my book is it's ability to knock out spot-on TS-808 tones and then some. Holding the AR Overdrive in your hand you can feel the hand built, one-man shop, boutique quality. It is these pedals that always end up being winners in the music scene.

I pulled out the Tele, the Les Paul, and the Junior for this demo. I had one thing on my mind and that was rocking and rolling in as many tones/voices as possible. Along with these fantasmic guitars I also broke out a healthy trio of 2 tube amps, and a solid state Fender Eighty Five (a sleeper that a good buddy of mine turned me on to). Up to bat first was my Junior copy and AC15 based amplifier. I set the amp up slightly gritty, almost clean with just a touch of hair behind my playing. It is through these signals that a good overdrive pedals always flourishes. I pushed the signal further into a more of a subtle growl by rolling the pedal's level just passed unity gain, drive at 9'o'clock, and tone slightly warmer than my amp's. I was very impressed at how the pedal responded to my playing and pick attack. The sound was that of the amp itself being pushed and naturally driven, very nice for you cats that play clean tones and rely on pedals for your dirt. I turned up the pedal's level and drive controls a bit more and heard things get even richer and sappier. The aggression in the P90 pickup really adapted well to the Overdrive's tube-like saturation. Even when cranking the drive to the max I was still able to get usable spot-on saturation. Before swapping amp's I dialed the 15 watt amp into a medium overdrive and used the pedal to get to snarling lead tones. Boy how I love using the combination of an amp's dirt and pedal's grit to get mean sounding distortion tones. Another thing I really dug was how well the guitar's volume responded to the pedal's grit, therefore giving me an array of awesome tones to choose from on the fly. Next I set up the Les Paul and Deville amp. With the Deville I mostly always just set clean tones from it either using pedals to achieve my dirt tones or switching into another amp. I dialed in my favorite big booming clean tone, added a hint of reverb to the signal, and snapped the pedal on. Straight up at noon the Overdrive was able to create a great sounding rhythm tone. The humbuckers created this touch sensitive sound that bloomed and shrank the pedal's dirt with the touch of my hand. The harder I hit the strings, the more the pedal gave up. The lighter I played, the less snarl I received from the speakers. IN medium dirt setting the Overdrive dished out these amazing sounding blues and classic rock tones. The response of the pedal made it so that I didn't even have to roll down the guitar's volume to get a mellower sound. But when I did roll off either the guitar's volume or tone the results were stunning! In higher settings I was able to get some killer sounding overdrive/distortion tones. The pedal created the perfect amount of compression and broke up the signal in just the right places. With a touch of delay thrown in I got one of the most epic sounding lead tones I have ever heard. The sustain and break-up held on just long enough to not let the notes clash and conflict with one another. Very very nice stuff. With most pedals once you push them past noon things begin to get so muddy that it makes using the tone darn right impossible. This is not an issue when you have an intelligently build/designed pedal like this. Last I was able to turn a solid state amp into a howling, screaming, tube-like dream machine. Most cats give solid state amps a bad rap, but not me. If something sounds good, or more importantly feels right, it's ok in my book. One thing we can all agree on is the ability a solid state amp has for creating a greatly defined clean tone. Throw in the right dirt pedal and you're in heaven. This was exactly this type of experience with the Austin Retro Overdrive and Fender Eighty-Five. With the neck bucker and single coil equipped Tele on hand I was able to get some wonderful sounding tones in all pf the pedal's settings, from the lowest to the highest grit, and warmest to brightest. In low dirt settings the pedal's subtle grit blended with the amp's super clean nature to create an extremely defined overdrive sound. Every little accent, harmonic, and touch could be felt and heard. With the Tele bridge single coil pickup I was able to get these killer sounding blues and country rock dirt tones. I was able to get spank, clarity, size, and able to cut through any mix. With the neck bucker everything grew, became warmer, and richer. It was nice to have a dirt pedal that didn't play favorites. Lots of dirt pedals have a sweet spot, sometimes two if you're lucky. But the best overdrive pedals, pedals like these, have sweet spots from 0 to 10. I see this pedal easily becoming a go-to, collector, and rare find in days to come. There is a vibe about this pedal's sound that is all it's own, grab one and see for yourself. This is hands down one of the coolest, best sounding dirt boxes Analog War Cry has come across in a long time. I am hungry to see more pedals from these guys. One cool thing you can look forward to is Austin Retro is also on the move to bring us a couple amps, which I can only imagine by the sound of this pedal will sound spectacular. Keep your eye out for these cats, I've got a feeling it's on baby!

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For more info on Austin Retro go to www.austinretrosound.com We will work our best to bring you more from these guys asap.