jonathanwrites's Reviews

Saves you from dancing.

Allowing for quick tone switches without hitting 5 different pedals, I wonder how I ever played guitar without one.

Live, it's great. Recording, I haven't figured out yet.

This is not just a guitar pedal, it's a vocal processor. And a right good one at that. You can use the guitar to control the pitch, but you can plug any instrument in and it tracks just fine. I eventually discovered that you can use 2 mics, one input through the XLR, and one into the instrument jack, so that you can actually sing the notes you want to be vocoder-ized... vocoded? Vocodered? Anyway, thats where I've had the most success with it for recording. But the sound is quite... underwhelming. I am sure this could be aided by doubling and some EQ, but I haven't had the time to experiment with that yet.

Love at first listen.

I went into Guitar Center that day to pick up a guitar. It arrived broken. So I sat down and played with some gear. I plugged into this amp because it was available on the floor... and I instantly fell in love with the sound. This amp is the brightest, sparkliest, cleanest amp I think I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. And when cranked, offers an overdriven tone that competes with the Orange Tiny Terror for my love. A great amp, a decent price, with build in tremolo and reverb. This thing is a no brainer.

This is what I wish Telecasters were like.

The ASAT has quite a few things to love, for one, it's price compared to Fender Telecasters. For the money, this thing feels way better than any Squier or Fender Tele I've played. The reason for that is more personal than anything else. I dislike the C shaped neck on Telecasters, and I find myself a bit slowed by lacquered necks. This thing solves that problem with... no finish on the neck, and what feels like a slimmer neck all together. I like it. It feels good to play.

My only complain, more of a setup issue than anything else, is the action is a bit low out of the box. And I'm not sure if that can really be adjusted too much... I haven't played with it yet. But this thing is more meant for lead playing, I believe. Less about shredding or showing off, more about playing with emotion and expressing yourself through soaring leads rather than showboating with scales and fast picking techniques. Bottom line, I'd suggest this thing to just about anyone looking for a great guitar that stands up to the big boys at nearly 1/4 the cost.

Great Electric Mistress clone.

I'd almost say it's better than what it's trying to be, but I love the look of the original Mistress...

Great little box for making vocals sound good when you want to take control back from the sound guy.

If you don't get along well with the local sound guy... get one of these. Leave your settings lower than you'd like and if things sound too quiet, just give it a boost.

Warm and soft.

I'm generally a bigger fan of the exact replication that digital delay offers. But for quite the opposite, I enjoy the AD9. A really warm and natural resonating delay comes with this thing. A bit softer, less punchy, and more subdued sound.

Good for learners.

If you want to learn more about how synthesizers work, this very hands-on kit will show you!

Analog sound for an unbeatable price.

Oh, I love this thing. The polished gray finish is beautiful, the sounds in this thing are killer... the hands on of a hardware synth is truly like nothing else you will ever experience.

For spoken word or voiceover.

This thing works wonders as a voiceover mic. Never had to mess with settings save for volume to make it sound amazing.

Great mic!

This mic is excellent at what it's made for, vocals. Try recording anything else with it, and it will sound pretty muddled and thin.

I will never sing without this thing in front of my PA again.

The compression on this thing is great, and that warmth setting gives a really nice bright sound to your vocals.

Good midi controller.

Not much else to say, it does it's job! The keys are pretty flimsy but I guess that comes from abusing it as a live instrument rather than treating it as a studio instrument.

A lot of missed oppurtunities.

The best way I can describe this thing is to say that it does a lot of good in it's sounds, but lacks execution on just about anything else. The controls are odd and clunky, they presets are strange, and the lack of any real sequencing or arpeggiation kind of killed it. What's worse is it seemed like they had intentions of really supporting this thing, and then just didn't with no real explanation.

On the plus side, it has a pretty neat piece of software that lets you share your presets with others... if you can find anyone else messing with the thing.

Inspiration in a small box.

If you are a bored musician, I suggest the Monologue. It will cure your boredom. Synthesizers, specifically analog synthesizers, are so much fun, you will feel like a kid playing with Lego... only now you're making sounds.

80s analog glory.

Oh, I love this thing. The polished gray finish is beautiful, the sounds in this thing are killer... the hands on of a hardware synth is truly like nothing else you will ever experience.

My Post-Hardcore Romance.

I loved this when I was playing metalcore/post-hardcore/emo back in my teens. Locking tuners so you can hammer power chords as hard as you want, Seymour Duncan humbuckers that sound gorgeous whether driven or clean, and a beautiful finish. The set neck is a plus too. My only complaint with it was that the locking tuners are a bit flimsy. Twice I have seen the pegs bend due to a simple knock against an amp.

Acoustic sound, electric feel.

I'm kind of picky about acoustic guitars. Prior to this, I insisted on Luna simply because of their smaller build and twangy sound. But, the Sonoran is great. When I first saw it, I wanted that seafoam green, a personal favorite finish of mine... then I saw this beautiful red, and I had to have it. The neck feels great. I compare it to the neck of a Fender Toronado I had a few years back. The built in Fishman tuner is a life saver in loud situations, too.

Deep... Dark... Brooding... Badass.

I love this bass. I have beat the hell out of it. Pun intended. Somehow, it still sounds great. I'm not a bass aficionado, I wouldn't even say I'm a bass player. But I do play on my own songs, and I am comfortable with saying that this is a great bass for studio use.

It's a pedal board.

For the price, this is the best you're gonna get save for going and building one on your own using supplies from your local Home Depot. For those of us less handy with tools... this will do the job just fine.