cjwise_17's Reviews

Versatile, very easy to use, solid and consistent.

The strum feature is really cool for those of us who can’t tune by ear. It displays how all your strings are tuned relative to one another simultaneously. If you’re flat or sharp somewhere, the strum feature finds it for you immediately without having to go one by one.

It has more features than I use, but they’re easy to access should I ever need to.

Best EQ in the game

HANDS DOWN the best EQ and tone carving tool I’ve ever used. There’s a small learning curve going from a graphic EQ to a parametric, but once you figure it out, you’ll never go back to a graphic EQ.

For those unfamiliar with the EQFH, here’s the background: EQFH stands for “EQ FROM HELL”. It was designed and modeled after the rackmount Furman PQ3 used by Dimebag Darrell during the Cowboys From Hell and Vulgar Display of Power era.

The EQFH is my secret weapon. The folks at Master Effects have created an absolute MASTERPIECE with this pedal. I’ve been slowly upgrading all my gear over the last two years (new guitar, new head, new cab, new board, etc), and this was the final piece.

It’s been so inspiring and fun to play. My days of tone chasing are over. This thing has brought the tones I’ve always heard inside my head to life.

I’ve had it for about a year, and I haven’t changed a single thing on my rig since I got it. I broke through a five year learning plateau, and my chops continue to improve everyday now.

This thing is NEVER leaving my board.

SOLID

SOLID. Great dynamics. Every piece of EVH gear I’ve ever bought have exceeded expectations, this cab is no exception.

Flame Throwing Monster

I now understand why EVH amplifiers are used by so many of my favorite players. I’ve had it for about a week now and I’m still playing around with the EQ a little, but I am EXTREMELY impressed.

Background: I played an Orange Micro Dark for many years, and I loved it, but I always had to run an overdrive on the front just to open it up a little bit.

Some years back, I bought a 6505 MH, but Musician’s Friend ended up sending me a demo model that was in disrepair and wouldn’t make it right. I gave up trying to mess with it and I went back to the Orange.

I have been wanting the EVH for several years though, and I knew it would be good, but I didn’t know how good. I’ve never really had a true (functional) high gain amp before, so when I first got the EVH up and running, I just assumed that I would need that overdrive on the front.

That is NOT the case. This thing has so much gain on tap that running an OD was over saturating the preamp. Sounded awful. I turned off the OD… BOOM! THERE IT WAS. The tone I’ve been wanting forever is finally at my fingertips!

Don’t let its smaller size fool you, this sucker gets LOUD, and it’s absolutely amazing.

Works Perfectly

Perfect solution. Does exactly what it’s supposed to. Solid MXR quality construction, and consistent.

A True King

Since I started playing over 15 years ago, I've owned four guitars:

1. 2006 Schecter C-1+ (my 1st; and most prized possession)
2. 2009 Dean Razorback V-255
3. 2002 Fender Stratocaster MIM
4. This one.

I've played countless others over the years as well; including some Les Paul's & PRS's in the $5K-$6K range. That being said, I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that this Jackson is BY FAR the finest guitar I have ever owned, and ever played.

The craftsmanship on this thing is second to none. So solid, the perfect weight, and every little detail; from the tailpiece up to the tuners are just perfection.

The features are exactly what I wanted. I'm a rhythm player, so having 22 frets is just right. To piggyback on that, I did NOT want or need a tremolo; they're a giant pain in the neck. I was so excited to see a high quality King V with an anchored tailpiece. So cool, and kinda unique for the King V.

Plus, for anyone who doesn't know, this is actually a James Hetfield guitar; in a way. James recorded most of Master Of Puppets on a King V very similar to this one. However, James had to modify a few things on his; like the position of the tailpiece and the location of the toggle switch. Jackson apparently was paying attention to those mods though, because this guitar is configured exactly like James's after the modifications he made. James is my favorite player of all time, but I don't care for any of his signature ESP's; just not my style.

This Jackson checked literally every box. I couldn't be happier. I’d give this guitar 10 stars if I could.

The Last Reverb Pedal You’ll Ever Need

I’m not gonna waste everyone’s time with a lengthy description. Just do yourself a favor and add this to your pedalboard. It covers every type of reverb you could possibly want, and does them all WELL. The long/short toggle switch gives you even more flexibility. Get the HOF. It’s all you need. It’s awesome, and it has permanently replaced my MXR M300!

Absolutely perfect for what they are: Marshall quality ten inch speaker cabs.

I would like to start this by letting everyone know that I’m the one who submitted this piece of gear; so I figured I should probably write the first review. I am also going to take this opportunity to clear up any confusion on what was submitted here. PLEASE NOTE: these speakers were not sold individually or even as a pair. The only way to get these cabs was to purchase the Marshall MF15CFXMS package; which obviously included the cabinets; and (unfortunately) the dinky solid-state MG15CFX head. Therefore if this gear submission appears incorrect or misleading, my apologies.

Now that all that’s out of the way, here’s my ACTUAL review: As we all know, 10” speakers are usually discussed in hush tones (no pun intended lol). Upon upgrading the factory speakers, I discovered that these cabs may be small, but their quality can’t be overstated. Staying true to Marshall’s legacy of top quality products that can handle anything you throw at them (both metaphorically and literally in some cases lol) these cabs can definitely handle the road if needs be. They’re solid as hell, versatile, portable, and yet very mighty. And although it’s just a fake wrap, the carbon fiber look is ALWAYS cool. Period.

Preferred Settings + Usage:

AMAZING

Works so seamlessly! I use this to switch between my JC-22 for cleans and my 6505 MH for dirty tones. So awesome. It allows you to phase both amps simultaneously as well; so effing cool. Love it.

Pretty sweet!

The TS9 and the DS-1 in one pedal with expanded range?! Hell yeah, I’ll take eight! Very good pedal. The only thing that’s a little tough is that it takes manual adjustments depending on what you’re looking for. Tough to adjust in a live environment. But very awesome tones!!!

Clean Tone Perfection. Period.

I play bedroom metal. The best clean tones from my favorite records came from the 120 watt big brother of this bad boy. Why would I settle for anything less? I got my Radial BigShot ABY switcher in place for just such an occasion: Roland JC-22 for clean, Peavey 6505 MH for dirty. And tons of goodies in between...OMG my setup is so sweeeeet.

Clean Tone Perfection. Period.

I play bedroom metal. The best clean tones from my favorite records came from the 120 watt big brother of this bad boy. Why would I settle for anything less? I got my Radial BigShot ABY switcher in place for just such an occasion: Roland JC-22 for clean, Peavey 6505 MH for dirty. And tons of goodies in between...OMG my setup is so sweeeeet.

Just buy it.

EQ’s are probably the most overlooked effect for guitarists. That being said, this one is awesome. Good upgrade from the 7-band I’ve been using for the last twelve years.

The Legend is Real

EDIT: After a couple months, I now truly understand why it’s so much better to have a high gain amp and a little green beast boosting the front as opposed to relying on a dirt pedal through a clean channel. I LOVE this pedal.

Just got this little green monster. Haven’t had a chance to really dig into it yet, but I plugged it in and found a setting I loved within 30 seconds! To be fair; I had a vague idea going into it where I wanted to dial in, but I was so impressed with how much it tightens up my tone. I can’t wait to do a deep dive on this thing! Anyone who knows anything about the history of music equipment knows the importance of the Tube Screamer. That being said, why would anyone settle for anything less than the one that set the standard in the first place? Pick one of these up and discover for yourself why this pedal is a must have for everyone who plays electric guitar!

Affordable and Professional Face Melting Mayhem

UPDATE

As time has gone on, I’ve grown very disappointed with this amp. First off, the FX loop doesn’t work worth a damn. I’ve tried two different reverbs, a delay, and my 10-band EQ; and it doesn’t play nice with any of them. It’s almost like it overloads or something. I’m not an electrician, so I wouldn’t have the slightest idea where to start.

Second, the sound quality has diminished. It’s muddy, and I can’t seem to get my high end mids to make any sort of impact. Even though I run a Maxon OD-9 on the front; level 75%, drive 10%, and tone at 1 o’clock, it doesn’t seem to make much difference. I’ve tried every EQ setting I can think of on both channels: I’ve tried pushed mids, scooped, presence and resonance adjusted accordingly, and I just can’t get a good, sharp tone. I’m sure this is nothing more than a tube issue; I just can’t afford to replace them right now.

Furthermore, Musician’s Friend kinda screwed me on this because I found out they actually sent me a demo model, still charged me full price, and didn’t do anything about it. I’m assuming that some of my problems are related to this.

I’m hoping I can find someone who can help me with this sometime soon. Because of these issues, I can’t do better than 3 stars. I’ll update this again after I’ve had a chance to get it looked at by a professional.

I can’t say enough about this little 20W beast. I never believed it was possible to achieve truly professional tones on a bedroom setup until now. I’m thrilled that I have finally joined the 6505 club! Peavey somehow figured out a way to pack all the features (and a few more) of the 120w 6505 into a small package that can be utilized at lower volumes without sacrificing any tone quality, and has an affordable price tag. The bright switch creates clean tones that are way better than most people give it credit for; and the crunch voicing is seriously cool too. The lead channel is hotter than napalm when the gain is dialed in at 50%; but it is pure Armageddon when it’s dimed. This thing is the real deal and is very much a true 6505. I love the onboard attenuator; it really makes this thing amazing for home players like myself. It really pushes the EL84’s to the sweet spot. This thing truly is a fire breathing beast from hell!

This Thing is So Cool

If you view the rest of my board, you can see that I have two amp heads and two speaker cabinets: First, I have the Marshall MG15CFXMS 15w solid-state head, which came with two 10” speaker cabinets. The Marshall head has two speaker outputs; which obviously were specifically designed to pair with the cabinets. I also upgraded the factory speakers to 30w Celestions rated at 16 ohms each. I loved the clean tones on the Marshall, but I was less than satisfied with the overdrive settings, so I got the Orange Micro Dark for my crunch tones. As I’m sure you’re all aware, the Micro Dark is a single channel, 20w, hybrid valve amp with a single output. Overcoming the single output was my first challenge because I wanted to run both cabinets. I was able to use the Radial CabLink to safely split the output and run it through both cabs; and it worked flawlessly.

Here is the reason why I bought the Radial Headbone SS: Prior to buying it, I was only able to use one of the heads at a time, so I was using the Orange almost exclusively because I play the crunch tones more often. Here’s the issue: Since the Orange is only a single channel amp, doesn’t have the ability to seemlessly switch between a clean and crunch setting. If I want a clean tone, I currently have two options: I can either A) walk over and manually adjust each knob on the Orange and then manually adjust my pedals, or B) completely power everything off, unplug the Orange, and connect the Marshall. Obviously, neither of these options are practical.

The Headbone SS allows me to actively switch back and forth between the Orange and the Marshall. This way, I can get the tube driven overdrive from the Orange, and still get the chorusy cleans from the Marshall with the click of the pedal; and the Radial CabLink still lets me run both cabinets with whichever head I select while playing. Pretty sweet little device. Really opens up a new world of possibilities. And of course; like all other Radial products, the Headbone SS is built like a tank. Once again, love my bone!

Amazing Solution for Combining Speakers

Originally, I had bought the Marshall MG15CFXMS with the head and two 10" speaker cabinets. I upgraded the factory speakers with Celestions, but I was still not satisfied with the tone from the solid-state Marshall. I am just a bedroom jammer, so I wanted something small and portable, but still something that wouldn't disappoint on tone. So I got ahold of an Orange Micro Dark. This thing is small in size, but HUGE in tone, and the buffered effects loop is the icing on the cake. Fantastic little amp. BUT HERE'S THE RUB: Only a single speaker output. I'm not an amp technician of any kind, so I had no desire to go in and start splicing wires and daisy-chaining stuff on the chance that I did something wrong. I did NOT want to fry my newly acquired amp, or the speakers. A good six months worth of research led me to the Radial CabLink. This little indestructible box creates a safe parallel or series connection (depending on your setup) to run multiple cabinets from a single output. My Orange is now powering both cabinets, and it is nothing short of pure crazy gain-filled awesomeness. Can't say enough about this. As is the case with all of Radial's products, this thing is built like a tank, and is more than roadworthy. Love my Bone!

This thing is SO COOL

If you view the rest of my board, you can see that I have two amp heads and two speaker cabinets: First, I have the Marshall MG15CFXMS 15w solid-state head, which came with two 10” speaker cabinets. The Marshall head has two speaker outputs; which obviously were specifically designed to pair with the cabinets. I also upgraded the factory speakers to 30w Celestions rated at 16 ohms each. I loved the clean tones on the Marshall, but I was less than satisfied with the overdrive settings, so I got the Orange Micro Dark for my crunch tones. As I’m sure you’re all aware, the Micro Dark is a single channel, 20w, hybrid valve amp with a single output. Overcoming the single output was my first challenge because I wanted to run both cabinets. I was able to use the Radial CabLink to safely split the output and run it through both cabs; and it worked flawlessly.

Here is the reason why I bought the Radial Headbone SS: Prior to buying it, I was only able to use one of the heads at a time, so I was using the Orange almost exclusively because I play the crunch tones more often. Here’s the issue: Since the Orange is only a single channel amp, doesn’t have the ability to seemlessly switch between a clean and crunch setting. If I want a clean tone, I currently have two options: I can either A) walk over and manually adjust each knob on the Orange and then manually adjust my pedals, or B) completely power everything off, unplug the Orange, and connect the Marshall. Obviously, neither of these options are practical.

The Headbone SS allows me to actively switch back and forth between the Orange and the Marshall. This way, I can get the tube driven overdrive from the Orange, and still get the chorusy cleans from the Marshall with the click of the pedal; and the Radial CabLink still lets me run both cabinets with whichever head I select while playing. Pretty sweet little device. Really opens up a new world of possibilities. And of course; like all other Radial products, the Headbone SS is built like a tank. Once again, love my bone!

Extremely Handy

Got this probably at least six years ago just because I didn't feel like paying for a tuner pedal. I use this in conjunction with the TC Electronic Polytune app on my iPad and it works great. I downloaded the full Amplitube app later on, and got the Mesa Boogie add-on, and it's pretty cool. I'm actually able to connect my guitar to my Beats Pill+ with this thing and use it as a small, portable amp.

Still learning about Delay

I want to preface this by saying I really don't know a whole lot about delay pedals. I know basically what they do, and I know they are an essential part of anyone's pedalboard, but I've never had one to play with. The Carbon Copy continually pops up in almost every top 10 list, and I've seen so many of my favorite musicians rant and rave about this pedal, so it seemed like a no-brainer. I already know how awesome the MXR Reverb pedal is, and I thought the Carbon Copy would be a good compliment to my existing setup. I'm still learning how to use it, but so far, I've already found at least one setting that I really like. It really fattens up the tone when I'm doing chugging riffs. So far, I'm very impressed. (Don't judge me on this LOL) As I'm typing this, I'm reading an article about the best ways to use this pedal, and the effect that it can have on a rock/metal tone. I'm just now reading about something called "slapback delay", and the dial settings to achieve it. Oddly enough, the settings I've stumbled upon by accident and have been using thus far are not that far off from the recommended settings. I can't wait to get home and try this out again!