h_pr's Pedalboard

MXR's take on the famous fOXX Tone Machine octave fuzz sounds a bit brighter than the original, but comes in a much more pedalboard-friendly enclosure. While it doesn't have quite the same amount of low end, the fuzz tone is still full-bodied in a classic Tone Machine kind of way, and the octave can be piercing and tracks well. Now that MXR have replaced it with the larger and more expensive Sub Machine, this is an excellent pedal to look out for on the used market.

I bought this as a second looper in addition to my RC-20XL and was instantly confused because Boss had made some changes that made the use of this looper very different from its predecessor. The most obvious of these was to change the left pedal default sequence from REC->PLAY->OVERDUB to REC->OVERDUB->PLAY, but I also found that the pedal combination that would previously delete a loop now added a second loop to the first one. Deleting a loop requires a two-pedal combination that I keep forgetting or using the small buttons, neither of which is very practical in a gig situation. I also found using this looper alongside a RC-20XL near impossible as they're operated so differently.

Some key functions like reversing the loop or fading the loop out only work with saved loops; you cannot use these with loops that you create on the fly. The built-in effects are a weird choice; not that I find them unuseable, but one does wonder why they were chosen, or why they included them at all. The looper offers two tracks, but these have to be the exact same length.

On the positive side, like all Boss pedals it's built like a tank, the stereo functionality is nice, as is the double-track option, and if this is your first looper, you get a ton of functionality out of it that few other loopers offer for the same price. However, it's no fun upgrading from the RC-20XL to the RC-30 as pedal operation is different and you lose some features that you may have become used to.

Everything that the manufacturer's description says is true. It's one of the few Dyna Comp variants that still use the now discontinued CA3080 chip, and components have been optimised so that it has a lower noise floor than on the standard model. The result is indeed the same classic warm Dyna Comp sound and quieter operation. Don't buy if you want a compressor that doesn't colour your sound, but that applies to every Dyna/Ross-inspired compressor. The two internal trim pots are a welcome addition to further tailor the sound. Excellent product.

This is a compact digital delay that offers "studio" (room), "church" and "plate" reverb. It sounds good if it's mixed in subtly, but can become quite cold and metallic at long delay times or with the Mix knob approaching the full wet position. This may be exactly what you need if you are into experimental or dark ambient tones, or you may consider it a bit too digital. Still, it's one of the better digital reverbs in this price range and form factor.

This is exactly what the name says: three TC Electronic Flashback delays in one enclosure. What makes this different from three single pedals is that you can not only use them in series, but also in parallel, which opens up a whole range of new musical possibilities. It also adds new delay types that the single Flashback II doesn't have: you can choose from Tape, Tube, Space, Analog, Analog mod, Reverse, Dynamic, 2290, 2290 mod, Slap, Lofi, Ping pong and four Toneprint slots. That's a lot of delay.

It also offers tap tempo with no fewer than 11 different subdivisions, which is quite remarkable. There's Midi in and through, and you can connect an expression pedal. It's full stereo. The delay time is up to 7 seconds, and in 2290 mode, you can set it to infinite repeats, so it can also be used as a kind of micro looper. An internal dip switch allows you to activate trails. The pedal will not go into self-oscillation with any of the delay types. Unfortunately, the "Mix" knob controls only the output level of the delay, but does not affect the dry signal in any way; if you want to go full wet, your only option is to activate the Kill Dry dip switch inside the pedal.

As it's more of a delay computer than a pedal, it works entirely via presets: you need to cofigure each of the three virtual pedals with the knobs and switches and then save the settings to the respective slot. This is all fine as long as you stick to your three presets, don't mind that you don't see what settings each slot has and don't have the habit of wanting to tweak or change your settings while you are playing. If you do, changing the settings is possible for the preset that is currently selected with the toggle switch, but if you disengage the delay and then switch it on again, it goes back to the saved preset rather than your most recent setting. This may be perfectly fine for many musicians, or it may run counter to your intentions and annoy you. It annoyed me to the extent that I sold the pedal.

Something else that takes some getting used to is that while the standard signal direction for pedal boards is right to left, the signal passes through this pedal left to right in serial mode, which may also take some getting used to.

Mind you, this is not a bad pedal. It's just not the same as three single pedals. It's extremely powerful and opens up a ton of tonal options, but you are to some extent tied to your presets as the tweakability while you're playing is somewhat limited. It's important that you bear this in mind before you buy it.

This evolved out of the Vox MV50 series of small amps and seems to be an improved (and different sounding) version of the MV50AC in a much more attractive enclosure. The whole stack is actually much smaller than you'd expect and looks incredibly cute, but sounds pretty big. It's based on Korg's NuTube technology, so it's also very lightweight. There's some debate as to how it approximates a real tube sound; my take on this is that it's a fine sounding amp that sounds much more organic than any solid state or modeling amp I've owned, but obviously, it's no contender for an AC15.

As I want a bit more oomph than the 10" speaker in the cabinet gives me, I've combined this with a Vox BC112 cabinet (the same that Vox recommends for the MV50 series) with very pleasing results. With a 4Ω cabinet, it's actually very giggable at smaller venues, surprisingly more so (and better sounding) than my Katana 100 Head.

One of the best Uni-Vibes I've come across, from smooth and subtle to heavy and weird, but always organic. The Mk.2 version adds the chorus/vibrato toggle switch that was conspicuously absent on the Mk.1, and an expression pedal input to control the modulation speed. There's also an internal trim pot to fine-tune the maximum modulation depth. The Mk.2 comes in a variety of different enclosure designs and particularly the earlier, individually hand-painted builds exude a nice DIY workshop flair. However, don't be fooled into believing that this pedal is anything other than excellent. Not exactly cheap, but you get a perfect Univibe pedal for your money.