luxiu's Reviews
62 reviews Back to luxiu's Equipboard
44621
Versatile gain unit
This can always help you to enhance your grit and tone. I usually let the channel A in Germanium or Treble mode to suit an always-on point of drive (Germanium is nice to add some dynamics to cleaner amps –I used this with Fender's and Roland’s amps–, while the Treble is nice to touch a little of the tone through Vox amps –which are already very dynamic). I like to set the channels in parallel so when I activate the B channel it blends in harder tones (for softer requirements I try to deal with the JFET mode but when I need to gain a little more I use the Hard or the 2-Stage modes). I just don’t rate it with five stars because Strymon decided not to go to absolute silence with gain or volume controls at its minimum (as they did with the Riverside).
97
I agree. I have had mine for about a week. It’s been great... so versatile. I’m using it as a replacement for my original Turbo Rat for more gain and a Klone for more of a light gain, focused boost. But also when using the treble into the FET it’s like perfect, edgy clean boost. I’m late to the game and just demoed one at the strymon booth at winter NAMM ‘19. I had to have one.
44621
Killer utility pedal :-P
You know what it offers and this is actually a nice combo of features in a single pedal (kill switch and/or momentary looper). But this review is not to advertise what is currently advertised but my path and to it: I first wanted a regular kill switch pedal to make some stuttering to the signal but found that passive ones usually are not transparent as the switching mechanism filters a click to the signal, then I quickly considered this option and tested at the store to prove the feeling of the switch and had to bought it just like that, the switch is not soft –it has an acoustic clack but is not awkward to stomp it.
44621
Amazing sound
I still have Strymon's rotary machine there to use it but, at least by now, I prefer to keep it archived as the Viscous Vibe has a bolder sound and smaller footprint. I tried analog options too but I prefer digital versions as these produce a cleaner sound –analog ones tend to produce some noise and therefore work better before gain stages so it's better to place them through regular amp inputs instead of FX loops (I used BBE's Soul Vibe for a tour as I like it anyways among them) .
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44621
Great little amp
At home I connect it to a V112NT and found a nice tone by setting it at Bright mode and then as the cabinet is not that prominent in the low frequencies I turn the Bass control at its maximum while Treble and Gain points 9:00 as Volume is kept at noon, this setting cuts the excess of brightness from my Tele and makes room for a nice clean platform. It is a nice companion for some rehearsals as its sounds very nice with PA systems through its headphone's out.
44621
I think that it has a triode/pentode kind of selection by switching between "Bright" and "Thick", as the later bypasses the eq section and brings in more gain. :-)
44621
Seems nice
I have several instrument cables from KWC's Iron line which is always very solid in terms of construction. The sound quality of those instruments cables is far from tying up big names like Monster or Mogami but I have nothing to complain about this speaker cable.
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44621
Winner expression pedal
To me it beats any options at its price range. It is made of plastic but has a very solid and comfortable feeling. I used it to control the gain on Moog pedals but also with other brands (mostly Strymon) . It has this typical pot to shorten its range from its minimum. It comes bundled with a TRS cable but I lost it and replaced it with a short MXR TRS.
44621
Nice practice amp
I use this head with a Vox V112NT cabinet (I think that it sounds considerably better than the TV one). It is more than enough for home use (it could even result loud at its lower wattage setting) and happens to have a very bright sound. This upper range of tones is something that I really missed with other heads such as the Terror series from Orange (which I used with the exact same cabinet and speaker cable).
44621
Rich analog tone
I had a Strymon Mobius to replace my individual modulation pedals but now I started to select a few ones to count within some peculiar scenarios and this is the one that I found that better fits my taste to replace the warm rotary simulator settings that I always enjoyed. I like its simple control layout, I had its internal trimpot set to an extreme position and then I tend to use with its intensity at no more than 50% as it already gets a very bold presence there. I use the rotary simulator of the Strymon across the FX loop as it sounds very clear there but this one works way better through the regular input of the amps.
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44621
Funny, effective, great sounding
I bought the Pitch Fork as soon as it came out because it sounded fine, though still wished the better sound of the Whammy so then the Ricochet came out and I had to buy it to get the sound that I always wished and I'm totally pleased about it. DigiTech should have made this since they released the WH-1 as I always wished this kind of design as I found the treadle obtrusive to my usual application of the effect. A future version would be ok with the features that this lacks compared to the Pitch Fork (the blending option, the dual mode, the extra intervals –yes: detune, thirds, etc.– and the possibility to attach an expression pedal), and of course that MIDI would be appreciated too.
41016
ABY box, 2 amps, instant 50/50 blend with the ability to dial in a different tone on each side if you want... also, a couple boutique companies like Xotic make blend boxes (you can easily build one yourself if you have a little know how) and a separate parallel effects blender can be useful with other effects whereas with the control exclusive to the whammy you can't blend a whole chain od effects (imagine using detuned overdrive in parallel with your straight signal for instance or being able to pitch shift your delays leaving the dry signal intact for instant hamonized delay... add in an EQ or filter pedal on the delaysed signal and the possibilities are endless)
44621
Yes, I considered that possibility indeed but though my brain tends to impulsively think about that kind of scenarios then I tend to keep things far less complicated in practice since a long time ago for simplicity/effectiveness's sake. I really appreciate your will to help with it anyways! :-)
12239
The Ricochet is missing the Dual mode, but it has two features the the Tuning Fork does not. The Ricochet allows you to control the spend of your shift both up and down. It also allows you to use the panel like a Whammy without the need of an expression pedal. It'll come down to what you need the pedal for in the end.
44621
Littler AC30 combo with no compromises to me
It's an AC30 combo with just one speaker but it sounds as heavenly as one expects from an AC30, I played AC30s with Blues, Greens and others and I feel very comfortable with this English Celestion "Neo Dog" speaker (it has a very round sound… so I guess it's closer to a Green than to a Blue as I always felt the Blues with much more percussive reaction), I sold my AC30CC2 to afford this and I'm very glad about the replacement.
41016
I think the neo is meant to combine the chime and compression of the Blue with the roundness and (comparatively) hifi bass response of the H30... good compromise if you don't want to lug a full 2x12 combo with a blue AND an H30
44621
Yes, and to me it feels clearer too in terms of crispness (which is something I'm feeling pickier about). And considering that I turned to use an additional cabinet for my CC2 on stage to enhance my monitoring I think that the final count with the CC1 of no more than two speakers with different directions would result in a more balanced distribution. :-)
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44621
Helpful tool, but interface app could be improved
I use it mainly to load phrases from my computer so I care about its management software (JamManager XT) which it's just ok in terms of easy of use as the design could make it way much better not just in terms of visual appeal but also boosting the usability through a better (more clear and consistent) interface (yes, I know: in the end it ends being redundant to visual appeal too, as simplicity is a sub product of clever decisions). Then the pedal itself works great.
44621
Handy freeware preamp
I have written some fast guitar arrangements which I exported as MIDI to my DAW and then I processed the VSTi with this to send it to my sampler/looper pedal for live use. Though I prefer a more dynamic gain response in general this one it is ok for straight and short loops as it has very nice and consistent sounds.
41016
y'know Lux, that's what a review is supposed to be. You didn't run down all the features but you described how you use the thing and described the way in which it falls short of an actual amp or a higher end plugin.
44621
Powerful Jag incarnation
As with any Jags: the short scale feels very comfortable for rhythmic playing and string bending but can turn a little tedious on the upper frets. Once you set its pickups properly it has a decent sustain. You get the tone that you could reasonably expect from it (in terms of regular humbuckers and a dark –rosewood– fingerboard). It's visually sexy, it is nice to see a Jag with this simplicity but unfortunately it doesn't sound as amazing as it looks.
44621
Great sounding unit with very solid construction
Vintage and standard settings gives the usual TS tone, which off course sounds nice though I don't care much about it as I prefer the flat midrange and MOSFET settings to achieve a punchier response with more balanced tone and dynamics. I like how the boost switch is implemented as it just kicks in more gain. I always use guitars with HH mic configurations, then even at bridge positions with no treble cut and with my MF Boost at the maximum of its tone knob the FD's tone knob range does never become much sharp nor super bright. All this considering that I always feed it with 9V and run it at home through my Vox AC4C1 and at rehearsals and concerts through my Vox AC30CC2.
41016
if you just want to add a little dirt into a brit voiced amp that's ready to breakup when you strum hard then the flat TS with less overt clipping is THE JAM, butfor anything else a stock TS is best... I briefly borrowed one of these blue fulltones and tired of it quickly
44621
The fact of getting me tired seems to be an attribute of almost every dirt box out here! I always try different ones and get some decent sounds, I consider my essential sound coming out from my brit voiced amp's saturation and that's it, I played many years without any dirt box at all but now I tend to take them just to have a permanent reference across different output scenarios for very precise instances. Among that I think that these blue box can deliver the basic versatility I need with a more than decent tone and enough dynamics. :-)
44621
Very responsive, friendly and useful interface
Setting dropped tunings would have been a nice feature for the polyphonic mode –though I don't really care much about it as in fact I just use the strobe mode. Its plastic material seems a little weak/fragile to me. Anyway a really amazing product!
44621
Comfortable, durable, simple
I've got this pair after tiring myself of watching all my previous sneakers' soles broken right in the point where they make contact with my pedals' switches. Now this nicely made shoes has tall soles so I hope they'll stand longer. The zipper may hurt some of my older socks, but I can live with it.
44621
Great unit
It has a very clean signal response, an easy interface, a friendly size, MIDI implementation and the added bonus to use it as a little frequency sequencer with its auto-scroll option. Unique piece of gear, reliable and funny to explore as it goes beyond what any other EQ pedals has to offer.
It just looks ugly, as everything by Source Audio (though they have worst examples).