matt_kehley's Reviews
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705
An Amazing Sounding 12 String
This is a rare model that Ibanez made in the 80s. It has 12 strings and it has the uncanny ability to make anything you play sound better than it would on a regular acoustic. I would honestly take this guitar over a Martin or a Taylor.
705
Very good for the Price
This guitar is very good considering the price. If you are just starting out, you can't do much better than this if you're on a super tight budget. The quality and construction are passably good and has much better off the shelf playability then Squires of the same price point.
I agree I've had this since about 2 years of playing I still have and play it 9 years on it is possibly one of the best cheapish SG's on the market and absolute steal for the price :D
705
First Guitar Build
Built off the bones of my first Strat, almost every aspect of this guitar has been changed to make a Frankenstrat style guitar with my specs. Plays pretty well actually and sounds good too.
705
This Overdrive Rocks
I bought this pedal to replace the Boss DS-1 that was on my board. While I liked the DS-1, it didn't quite give me the dynamic overdrive tone I was looking for. Now to be fair I'm running them into Fender Mustang so... Anyway, after looking around and consulting my budget, I decided on this baby. The pedal is basically a Marshall in a box type of overdrive. The pedal has MOSFET transistors inside to give a more authentic tube style tone. While the controls are simple you can squeeze a lot of tones out of it. It is a bassy sounding pedal so the tone knob needs to be up past noon anytime the gain is about halfway or so or else it gets muddy. The mid shift mini-switch is nice for adding more volume and cut to your sound. Inside the pedal is a little DIP switch which changes the internal voltage from 9V to 18V for better note definition and clarity. To my ears it sounds more like a Hughes and Kettner at 18V, and a dimed Plexi at 9V. Both tones are good but it sounds better in 18V to my ears. The gain knob is very sensitive to your volume knob and just by rolling it off, you can reduce the gain considerably and so I leave this pedal on during the entire set just because it adds a little flavor and girth to the clean sound when the volume is rolled off on your guitar. When the gain is all the way down it acts as a clean boost and dimed it will take you almost into Big Muff Territory. One thing I would do with this pedal though is buy an EQ pedal to put after this to get a more amp-like control over the sound. While I haven't tried hard to get a metal tone, I don't think that those tones are in this pedal. It's more of a Plexi style distortion, not a JCM800 or JCM900 style Marshall tone. While I would buy this pedal again under similar circumstances, I'm looking into buying a Hughes and Kettner amplifier which will make this pedal somewhat redundant, what with actual tube distortion and all. Overall this is an awesome pedal. It would work good for someone who likes the sound of their clean amp (Vox, Fender) but wants a Marshall-y tone on the cheap for a few songs.
41016
actually the glove uses the mosfets as diodes (and I think a single germanium diode on one side to make the clipping asymetrical) to hard clip the signal sort of like the DS-1 but instead of the clipping being connected to ground they are connected to the bias potential of the dual op amp that provides input and output gain on either side of the clipping and tone circuit.... its a tweaked fulltone OCD, which in turn is a refined version of the discontinued Voodoo Lab OD which pioneered this dynamic diode clipping (but was voiced very poorly compared to the OCD, Glove and chine OCD knockoffs)
41016
by the way, have you played a dimed superlead? I don't feel you can fake that with a pedal (though there are some thigns like the DLS that get in the ballpark in front of a microphone), I used to be a plexi/JMP guy when I played big stages on the reg and its a nuanced sound that's incredibly reactive to the player and guitar settings... there's also a hardness/softness thing to the breakup depending on how you choose to voice your parts (wound vs plains trings) that no one gets right with the ap in a box pedals... like a lot of old amps played well into their distortion range 4 input Marshalls ask you to PLAY THE AMP to coax subtle shades thru voicing, dynamics, pick versus fingers, spongey fignertips versus finger nails etc and you find yourself trying lots of little things instead of stomping effects. After I got my 1st plexi and 800 the pedals disappeared from my rig FAST. Not that my sound got better so much as it got more varied and interesting with nothing in line.
for the record, the 800 is 1 gain stage and a little voicing from an plexi/JMP and if you use it like one getting plenty of phae ivnerter and power tube distortion it will cop a lot of 70s marshall tones and can even pull off some plexi sounds (though it is a gainier and stiffer amp, just use the low gain input, open the master all the way up and twek the tone controls to get the bolder plexi midrange... and make sure you use EL34s and not 6550s)
and you mention vox as a clean platform, this is a misconception... the ac30 is not a champ for headroom (I own 3), its midrangier than a marshall unless you get pretty extreme with the top boost channel and it breaks up pretty early giving up a drive tone that's certainly in the Marshall camp, though more growly than crunchy in general, just a little smoother than a plexi but also a bit more MAGICAL?
don't buy an H&K, I always see them in the shop... if you were looking at those tubemeister heads look at a similar marshall 18 watt-based amp from another manufacturer or something in the ac15 camp like the tiny terror.... the difference between an original ac15 and the marshall 18 watt circuit is tube choice in V1, a few voicing caps and resistors and a little negative feedback in the Marshall tightening the power amp response. VERY SIMILAR
705
Super Chorus
This MXR is designed to be a sound replica of the famous Boss CE-2. But MXR went a step further and added a bunch of new features like EQ's and a Level knob. While this doesn't quite get that Boss CE-2 sound, it gets pretty close in my opinion. When I first plugged it in, it was easy to dial in Gilmour, Lifeson, Summers, Cobain, and Rhoads style tones. Very versatile and built in typical MXR style with a bulletproof light blue housing. There is no perceptible volume drop when the pedal is engaged, rather the opposite as your volume seems to increased when the pedal is engaged. The blue LED is REALLY bright making it easy to see that the pedal is engaged while under stage lights. Overall a super chorus. I would go and buy this pedal again.
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705
Time Machine of a Delay Pedal
This is by far the most versatile, compact, and pro quality delay pedal I've ever played. I went through a lot of delay pedals before I found this one and it has been a staple on my board for over a year now. This is one of the few pedals that if it broke, I would run out right away and buy a new one. Tons of tweaking ability inside and a wealth of clear delay sounds inside. It may sound stupid, but I like the way the footswitch feels. It's smoother and doesn't audibly "Click" when you engage it. Tons of possibilities. Trust me, you need this pedal.
41016
love my flashback x4 and I have been a modelling delay doubter for decades! a flashback is worth the price of admission just for the space echo simulation that sounds awfully close to the old chorus-echo rack I used to have
great review, TC always has awesome footswitches, even the pre-toneprint stuff like the nova series has those great soft touch switches that you don't need to stomp hard
705
A Versatile Big Muff Alternative
While this may not be the most pedalboard real estate friendly or boutique sounding Muff on the market, the Deluxe Big Muff makes up for it with the massive array of tones hidden inside of it. There is the regular Big Muff control panel but underneath is a bass boost switch, which when activated will beef up single coil pickups. There is a built in noise gate which is a big plus. As a result, I run the Muff last in my string of gain pedals so it quiets any noise coming from any of them when it is on. The attack knob does just that: adds more attack to your picking. Where this pedal really shines above the rest is the foot switchable Mids section. It allows you to dial in a scooped or boosted mid tones so that depending on your circumstances, you either sink into the mix or are right at the forefront. A handy tool for solos. Now it is a monster on your board but I think its a worthwhile investment if that's the kind of tone you're looking for.
705
Best Strings I've Ever Played
I've tried a ton of different strings when I was starting and felt the Ernie Ball Super Slinky's were the best fit for me. Then Ernie Ball upped their game with the Cobalt series. I only use Cobalts on my FSR Strat. The output goes up, string life goes through the roof, ability to play louder when unplugged, and superior tuning stability compared to other strings. They are more expensive, but they're worth it. Another thing is that they seem to get your fingers a little dirtier then regular Slinky's.
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705
The only Phaser worth buying!
This pedal is perfect for those EVH, David Gilmour, Alex Lifeson, Dave Grohl, and countless other's tones. Set the rate low for EVH and high for Leslie-like warbles.
705
A Super Strat!
This is my favorite guitar. I bought this 2013 FSR Strat @ my local Guitar Center on super sale. It is my main guitar and I play it at every show and every recording. Sound and build quality was better then Fenders that cost twice as much. Plays like a dream. While the pickups are good I wouldn't mind replacing the bridge with a Seymour Duncan SSL-5.