frogbass77's Pedalboard

This compression pedal designed for bass but probably also very usable on guitar is fantastic for the price, with all the settings you need. It features both output and input settings, which is great. A ratio knob, which makes it very versatile. Classic attack and release settings. As well as a tone knob for the brightness or darkness of the sound. Most important of all, it is rather transparent and produces very low noise. My favourite compression pedal so far !

Not a very wide range but does its job and does it good. One thing I can’t understand is that this is probably the exact same circuit as the Mooer Envelope and many other Chinese made pedals but the reviews differ somehow ! Anyway, I like it for a funky vibe or with a drive for that Geezer Butler / Cliff Burton feel… Compact, solid and sturdy and even good with a bass when you can find that sweet spot.

A very good octaver, with a marvellously sounding octave down, and with the possibility of adding another interval: a fifth up (hence the name the 85 ?), another octave up or 2 octaves down ! You have a blend setting and a level setting for the classic octave down as well as a level for the other interval. The most precious setting is “focus”, which is useful for putting forward more harmonics or brightness. This pedal is very versatile and very rich in different tones. The interval can sound very natural or very synthetic but that is what I like about it… You can transform your bass in an organ with this thing ! You also have the possibility to plug an expression pedal, which I have not tried yet, in order to get a pitch shifter like effect probably.

The Mosky MM Silver is clearly a clone of the famous Timmy Overdrive. It is rather well done in terms of general quality, apart from the loose jack sockets. Like the original Timmy, this drive is transparent and is also well adapted for a bass, with two knobs for bass and treble that are rather cuts and help to adjust the sound. After noon, the drive is a bit noisy but I do like it. You can stack it, it is powerful and really nice. It is also the kind of pedal that is very sensitive to your strings attack, which I really appreciate. For guitar players still looking for a drive for their taste, it is also a good opportunity if you find a cheap one (like 20$) on the used market to test a Timmy clone before actually buying one (because it is obviously worth it).

Great sound, wonderful at keeping and even boosting your low end. But not very versatile, and, though I like my pedals simple and minimalistic, the fact that the settings for Blend and Tone are hidden inside the pedal is somehow frustrating… this is all the more disappointing than this is more a mini-preamp than a proper drive. In a band situation helps you cut through but don’t expect too much dirt in your sound…

Seems like everyone loves to hate this pedal. There is even a YouTube video claiming that the delay of the same series, which I happen to have also, is better at doing the job ! Might be a matter of taste though. It is indeed one of my favourite bass choruses. I used to have a Boss CH-1, which I loved, as a fan of new/cold wave bass sounds of the 80s, and this DigiTech is not so noisier by the way, as I read so often. But I also like the DigiTech very much as it is subtle and cold, has a kind of wannabe modern but vintage anyway vibe to it. I can’t explain, I don’t put that much Chorus into my sound, but it is almost always on with this pedal…

With a cheap pedal like this one, don’t expect too much. The choice of the frequencies is also questionable and it may be a little noisy if pushed too hard. But if you do use it well and don’t want to pay 150 bucks for an eq pedal, it does a good job!