eyeseeofficial

A quick fix for short amp miking. Holds up nice, but is made of cheap plastic; I opened it fresh out of the box to find it was already scratched from shipping. lol

Back in the day, Harmony H-162s cost only about $68 [October 10, 2021 annotation: That's just a price I saw on Reverb when I first wrote this review] and used models aren't selling for much more. Yet, the build quality of this guitar is incredible for the price. The H-162 continually impresses me as an instrument, not only for its tone, but its durability. Despite some warping and major cracks over the years in mine, it plays fine and still sounds incredible. The steel-reinforced neck really held it together. The sound itself is unique to my ears. Once, during a trip to Guitar Center, I tested out different acoustics that I could take on the road in place of the H-162, so that I could preserve it. Only one came close; none could truly rival the Harmony's tone. Part of that may lie in the H-162's distinct body shape, which I have not yet seen in modern guitars.

I'm fascinated by its tonal diversity. It's hard to beat 12 amp voices (ranging from Fender cleans to "2000s Metal") and 12 built-in effects; it saves tone chasers a lot of time and money. It seems to take pedals well, too. Regarding live use, don't be concerned about its low wattage. This amp gets LOUD. Miking it should help when in larger venues. Its small size also makes for a very portable unit. If you don't mind lacking a mid control, this amp is a Swiss army knife. For $99.99, it's an excellent value.

The Big Muff has been around since 1969 and I can see why. Its distortion is truly unique: a thick and creamy buzzsaw that has the capacity to make your instrument sound heavy. This one in particular is cheaper than the original! Contrary to its advertising, the Nano Big Muff Pi does not have the same tone as its larger predecessor. In YouTube comments on video reviews of the Nano, people have stated that they had emailed Electro-Harmonix about the claim and were told that the Nano actually has a bit more prominent high end frequencies (this is a result of the smaller circuit, which reduces capacitance). To me, this is part of the Nano's appeal; it balances out the mid-scoop that is characteristic of the NYC Big Muff. The fact that the Big Muff walks the line between distortion and fuzz also gives it versatility. When I play the opening riff to Radiohead's "Airbag," its buzzy tone works as a good substitute for the studio recording's Marshall Shredmaster, which is discontinued. For Guster enthusiasts, the Nano also reminds me of the distortion present in the opening riff of "Demons." A fair warning, however: the Big Muff is a powerful pedal. Depending on what pedals you use in conjunction with the Nano, the Nano will overpower those effects that come before it in a signal chain. This comes in handy if you only want a little bit of those pedals to bubble beneath the surface of the Big Muff, but keep the distortion's strength in mind.

As a digital multi-delay that is $110 cheaper than the Line 6 DL4, this pedal is incredible. Not only does it offer 11 different delays and a looper, but it can emulate non-delay pedals as well. On the EHX forums, gvelasco has discovered how, with some tweaking, the modulated delay can be made to sound like a traditional chorus and the octave delay can emulate a POG. That's not even where his discoveries stop! Its emulation of the veteran Deluxe Memory Man may serve as a suitable substitute for the larger real one, saving space on one's pedalboard. Guster enthusiasts may also find the reverb delay to work very well for the opening of "Dear Valentine," as I have. Just be careful when tweaking the delay time with high feedback dialed in. If you turn the former knob too much under this circumstance, you risk getting an ear-piercing drone of loud delays/reverb/crystal shimmer. If this happens, turn down the pedal's volume and turn your amp off ASAP before turning the pedal off, in case the tails switch is on (the tails switch keeps the delay going even after turning off). After these devices are turned off, turn down the feedback knob to minimum to cut the drone short.

Despite the volume drop that is endemic to this unit, the Mod Factory is a life saver. All of the classics (and some new favorites) in one box. Don't get me started on the Envelope Ring Mod! It's sad that it's discontinued. The MKII got rid of the envelope-based effects! EDIT: June 26, 2021 - Several months ago, I did a rough measure of the dB and it turns out that the volume actually remains consistent. The issue is with the signal-to-noise ratio.

Who needs FabFilter Pro-Q when you have unlimited EQ bands FOR FREE? Incredible!

I have one from the '80s and still works fine (granted, it was safe inside a guitar case for about twenty years).