polonavarro's Reviews

A really good tone

It's something you can use like a slap delay or almost a sort of reverb thing and let it always on. It simply don't disturb anything else in the chain and you get really great sound. This is a "must find/must keep" stompbox.

Nice

Honestly I have never been attracted or trapped by effects like: Tremolo / Vibrato its function is a bit useless when you use something like a FloydRose system, at least that's what I feel for a long time ... but my experimental soul led me to try some stompbox of this kind, and well, the Electro-Harmonix Pulsar Stereo Tremolo achieves a quite peculiar effect: the first thing I noticed was that it hardly modifies the tone of my instrument, the second thing has been that these knobs have a very wide modulation range, the third thing is that definitely this kind of magic it doesn't work well for shreed. I notice lacking sharpness when I start to play faster and then it start to feels as if some sounds are stacked held between the previous and the last note played. Unclear because the faster tempo of the original signal clutches with the unmatched tempo of the Pulsar, maybe in an unwanted way. I think adding one expresion pedal can solve this but this option its not included, so we have to make this modification by our own. However... for secondary melodies, ostinatos, or fill-in riffs (in stereo mode) this Pulsar Stereo Tremolo is hard to beat. Its value and advantage lies in this of the stereo function. In short, the Electro-Harmonix Pulsar Stereo Tremolo provides a clear, enveloping and organic sound.

Need to tame it, or just let it be.

If you want to break the monotony in your effects chain and stand out through a unique sound this DOD Gonkulator Ring Mod pedal is for you. You should know the knobs are very sensitive to adjustment, a little twist and everything is transformed. I personally like "out-of-orbit" effects that span many dimensions in the hearing range, and this DOD Gonkulator Ring Mod stopbox is one of those "out-of-the-box" effects that needs to be tamed, or it is just enough to just let it be. Taking into account that the purpose of this pedal is to transform the timbre, we can conclude that the sound quality is good. However, handling the controls is a bummer, you can easily and very quickly fall into the realm of chaos where there will be a lot of hiss, noise, out of tune, bell sounds, telephone ring, synth beep, detune, doubling notes, blur sounds, kind of shimer and squealing, strident and sharp. Warning: This effect can sound like a lot of things are broken at the same time. I think really like it that way. So if you are one of those who like a purist and classic sound profile, stay far away from this stompbox, otherwise, get one at your fingertips and you won't regret it. This DOD Gonkulator Ring Mod serves well as a Distortion, as a Signal Booster, and of course as a Ring Modulator. In any case, dont forget it's a Digital Sound, it is not Analog Sound. You must take into consideration that modulating the tone and modulating the ring are very different things, because modifying the tone affects the frequency between highs, medis and lows of your signal, and modifying the ring affects the essence / nature of the signal, and this pedal DOD Gonkulator Ring Mod is just what it does. One last observation: this stompbox has a huge volume range, be careful. Blending is the key.

Bass pedal for Guitar?

The Caline Wine Cellar is a Pre-Amplifier plus Direct Box that has been designed to shave and make up the Bass Sound. And honestly does his own thing. However, the remarkable thing here is that it unexpectedly also serves as an Enhacer for a Guitar Ring. In a desperate moment during a random gig (without a sound engineer, nor anyone to care about the minimal sense of balance) between cutting edge instruments and overplaying, the sound of my guitar impoverished me, suddenly a little bit of everything was missing and certainly he was fighting for a place/space in the mix as a lead guitar. I think you know this feeling. So I started browsing the internet for several months until I came across very wacko recommendations (mic for clarity and quality, but at the same time send the line out from the amp to the mixer for presence. Double, triple and even quadruple split amp signal performing each one of them with a direct boxe into the mixer. Using a Guitar Amp connected to a Bass Amp both miked and at the same time sending line from each one to the mix, and a long of oddities etc.) Like i said all complex and complicated. Also very expensive. And turning it over in my head I decided to step on this pedal to gain presence and try to fight in "the unwinnable war of tone frequency". And it worked well. The Caline Wine Cellar It is not a dream sound, nor is it epic, nor is it a desirable sound for true rock stars. But if you feel that you cannot find your own place in the band mix, I assure you that with this Caline Wine Cellar you will cut quite well, and you will listen to yourself in exchange for a modest economic investment. Pretty shure this stompbox it's not make for do this enhace kind of job, but like I said, it will make the trick.

Tricky soul, but easy flow.

Plush Cerberus Overdrive Tri Mode it's a tricky stompbox because it has an "input signal" and "output signal" control that affect the feel of the tone and the saturation of the effect. It's an Overdrive that allows three modes: Marshall type, Doumble type and Fender type.

However, none of the three manages to come close to these qualities on their own, because depending on where or what you plug it in, it will produce a vastly different feel.

The first mode (Green Led) tries to recreate an English Amp Style that feels light, like a little Boosted Signal, but not like an overdrive amp, and is somewhat sharp. The second mode (Blue Led) tries to do it like a Californian Amp Stile, saturated and with more bass. The third mode (Red Led) tests an American Style Amp, the typical Tweed sorth of sound, somewhat crisp and oscillating in the middle frequencies.

So if we look closely at the behavior of this stompbox and the goal it is trying to achieve, we can hear that probably more than three overdrives are dealing with three available preamp modes (English Classic, Californian, and American Classic).

Sorry, but it seems to me that none of the three ways achieves its purpose. In other words, it does not deliver what it promises, or just it promises something what it can't do.

I have to say between the three modes the tone and volume sensation vary, i mean, it's necessary to readjust the controls. And it's a hard pain in a live situation if you know what I mean.

Whatever the redeemable thing about this Plush Cerberus is that the hearing difference between each mode is distinguished. The quality of its sound is good enough. There is no doubt that this Plush Cerberus actually has three different audible personalities (not the ones it advertises in its manual) but all three quite useful with some patience and creativity.

I'm convinced that the Plush Cerberus Overdrove Tri Mode is a good fit in various situations. I use it gratifyingly most of the time in red led mode.

Wonderfull

I spent a lot of time hounting precisely this stompbox in the used market and now can say: thank you Vox and thank you Satriani. It really is a very nice and good quality distortion. Of course it's not high-end and it's not a boutique pedal either, but the sound on it is definitely hard to forget. At first the sound is somewhat familiar to some Fulltone and Maxon distortions, it also ranges from some Boss and Ibanez distortions. It is definitely not a copy of any of those, but a different Distortion that allows us all those parameters. A very lot usefull and wonderfull sound. It has a Foot Switch "More", i think it's like a Booster, and also has a manual "Toggle Switch" to go between a "Vintage Mode" or "Modern Mode". Must say both modes sound their own way pretty excellent. There is no doubt that this Vox Ice 9 was very well designed. I just would prefer the "Foot Switch More" to be on the left side rather than the right side and that the Booster function could be activated without activating the Distortion. Maybe i will try to make do that with a mod. Anyway, it's a pedal with a very picturesque color. This one Vox Ice9 and the Fulltone PlimSoul are my best choise to go giging with pleasent confident.

The One

This modified version is very peculiar because it somehow seems to keep the original essence of the Boss DS1 and expand your sound possibilities: kinda fuzzy, a little octa. some squeaks, more body if you want, and yes "much more cut in the mix". Originally, this distortion is cloudy and hissy. Not wise to try to make a main tone. But, with this JHS Mod those qualities evolve far beyond the traditional sound of the Boss DS1. So ... if you like the sound of the DS1 even a little bit, this mod is going to be amazing for you. For my taste, alongside the famous Zvex Fuzz Factory and the forgotten Dwarfcraft Shiva Fuzz, this Distortion Boss DS1, Synth Deluxe JHS Mod is one of the most interesting sound distortions. I really enjoy using this toy.

Deserves a chance on my pedalboard?...

It's good enough (versatile) to work with, it's not that impressive because it's quite very similar to many other Cheap Delay's on the market. So the main point is, this stompbox does not have any special character, nor does it have any unique or exclusive characteristics that make it stand out. But... with just 3 control knobs it does a good job, i can hear a enougth clean, bright, and deep Digital Delay Sound. The quality of it's sound is like i say before " just enough". It's price currently (2021) is within a fair range.

Functional

The Behringer Fx-600 is one pedal on a huge list of the most hated. It is not that it is a badly made pedal but rather I feel that it is a pedal that when trying to cover a lot falls short. leaves us waiting for some other detail to finish balancing the sound. This is a multi-effect pedal. I personally use the pitch, it took a while to set it to my liking and almost by mere accident I found two quite useful parameters. I like the Synth sounds from Allan Holdsworth, and with this FX-600 I manage to do the trick (decent quality obviously but not exceptional). It helps a lot that the pedal works in stereo. It does not have good clarity: with an eq or compressor it improves. Warning, some times it gets or makes weird noises, so I tried various power supplies and solved it. The structure and physical composition is very basic (a plastic that seems to breaks just by looking at it). The sound of the Pitch and the Delay are usable. Flanger, Phaser, Tremolo, and Chorus honestly don't quite convince me but it works fine. I like to use up to 4 delays in cascade (not always), and well this FX-600 sometimes I include it as one of the two Long Delays with which I trace my sound (the most admospheric and Digital with very little volume), attached to the Echo Park (type Reverse, Tape Mod, Mix in the middle without which I just feel inferior) and a Digitech PDS 1002 at full volume (the best sound in Short Delay I have used) and a Carbon Copy (like a Short Delay much more Slappy). And while the FX-600 doesn't stand out a third of what the others do, it's still part of my background sound. So i must say its do his own part very well.

Oldie funky sound...

This Morley stompbox, the not so famous Black Gold Classic Wha is definitely an old-fashioned profile sound. It works with two 9v batteries and a transformer between 12v and 18v (maybe more voltage, but I accidentally used a poor quality one that indicated 18v but actually it threw 20v and survived) and due to this accident I tried to test it with various voltages at from 12v. The sound changes so we have a wide margin to choose from. this possibility is common in old pedals I have only tried in some TC Electronics, and Digitech. When increasing the voltage in the Power Supply (in pedals that allow it due to the tolerance of their electrical components) the first thing that stands out is the Volume, then the Tone of the effect and I do not know if it is my imagination but also the Presence ( I don't know exactly how to describe this fact: a more lively pedal). It is definitely not the competence of the Vox or the Jim Dunlop, just because in my opinion it does not have enough character to be the protagonist, it is rather complementary. That is, so yes you reach a Lead Tone but nothing similar to Jimi Hendrix. If you are riding a Rhythm Guitar (Funk / Jazz) this could become your secret weapon.

Why not give it a few chances?

At first, I did not expect anything that could be useful to me coming out of this stompbox, and for a long time I was playing with the Rocktron Metal Planet setting on a small pedalboard in which I usually test effects that I borrow or I am acquiring (I am faithful to the method try and failure). Well with this Metal Planet it honestly took a long time to find a sweet spot, it definitely does not have anything like a Brown Sound, basically because its knobs are too sensitive. Just a little movement and everything changes very drastically. And if you use different guitars and/or amps it gets worse. But ... this is not necessarily a negative thing. This Metal Planet pedal has a huge advantage when playing live: it stands out and you to. That's right, i check it over and over again and your sound doesn't get lost in the group mix, and you don't even need to hit 3 for Volume or Drive. (It does not have numbers printed but imagine them there). Its only bad thing is that it sounds too nasal and it is almost impossible to put makeup on this. So I use it for songs that are good for Honk and Twank. The Trill is't Gone by BB King with this Drive (well set) + a Bronze Slide and using as a base the pickups of your favorite HSS guitar combined, i mean the Bridge with the Neck (that is, all the pickups turning on with a Toggle Switch or tweaking a Blender Pot) you get quite an very interesting sound. Finally compared to the Boss Metal Zone this Rocktron Metal Planet is heard with a better sound. More serious, and more authentic. If you really like Hi Gain Distortion maybe this is the one.

Nice guitar

I am lucky to be able to talk about the Yamaha EG112 "c", I mean the Japanese version of this guitar model, and the truth is this: it is an excellent "cheap alternative" to get a very "decent" guitar. I mean a guitar with a good sound and a comfortable structure. Obviously, it doesn't include anything glamorous, because we're talking about a guitar that was planned to be included in a Starter Pack. I am not forgetting that. However, it holds up quite well against any other brand. (I try between Cort, LTD, Epiphone, Squier, SX, Gypsi Rose, Washburn and Peavey ... Of course, those guitars in low end models, because I believe they are more or less fighting in the same comercial war.) So it seems cheap is not always crap. But the why I still keep this Yamaha 1990 Japanese EG112c is simply because, as I say, I find it quite comfortable with a very good feel/sound. So I can say that this Yamaha EG112c is a nice guitar with a more than acceptable performance. A guitar that never let me down, and also one that I will never take out of my gear.

Turn on your shredding soul.

Since a few years I've been attracted to more aggressive range guitars (not for their aesthetics but for their components) and this LTD KH202 is simply one that you should give yourself a chance to try. It's similar to the feeling of playing an RG type guitar, however the sound is different (probably because of the type of humbuckers: EMG HZ vs POWERSOUND). I like to keep playing with more than one guitar for a while because I feel that each one reflects me in a different way. About this LTD KH202 must say I still can't feel complete. However, it has a very interesting sound. On a Clean Channel it maintains a balanced sound, but the reason I keep it is because when I move to Dirty Channels (Crunch / OverDrive), something seems to light up on this guitar and that's good. I don't know if it was designed to happen this way, but who cares. So I like it.

A Horsework

The Ibanez RG120 is an excellent piece to experiment with. The size of the neck resists being lowered a little more (it is manufactured thin but we all know that data, I mean even a little more thinner than it comes from the stock). The humbuckers allow you to adapt a Split Coils Toggle and honestly the instrument in this case becomes another one with more rounded sound. By modifying the electronic circuit we can get a more dynamic improvement, i put a 50s Wiring on it and sound just great, keep the 250 pots (yes with those humbuckers) imitating the initiative of some Jazz Fusion guitarists. Nut function is acceptable ok but nothing like a nice custom-made piece of bone. The bridge is an exclusive Ibanez design, Fat20 seems to work well but little by little it gets ruined, this one it is not steel, it seems to be an alloy of some material that just does the job, so in this area the manufacturing material i most say lacks quality. Surprisingly it holds up the play. Even so, some day it will have to be changed.

Impressive headache...

It's a cheap guitar, no doubt, but... it is not a guitar for beginners. The sound is often clean, clear, but a bit dark, it lacks brightness (although this is not exactly a negative trait) and depends a lot of the sort of amp you're using. The feel of my left hand on the neck wood is (for me) a very quite good, better than in a lot of medium range price stratocasters. But... I sand the wood to get the feel that I need (super thin). However, obviously this is a guitar that requires so much attention and patience, specifically on all those aspects that naturally make this unit a budget guitar: 1. Needs calibration, 2. Single Coils and HB needs leveling, 3. A properly intonation, 4. Lubrication, 5. Interior lined with aluminum or copper foraje, 6. Replace cables for another better quality ones, 7. Check each one of the junction points on the electronic circuit, 8. Replace the nut, and screw to our liking. Obviously (for sure) "all this work is not for beginning guitarists". In summary, from my point of view and usefulness, the Metalien Behringer guitar is a good option for been a back up unit: it's solid, pretty, and with decent sound (even with the stock pickups). Definitely this "is not" the best starter option, because you gonna need to work a lot on it (the freets need all the love of the universe). But when you're done it gets another character and personality. I like it for play some fusion jazz and progressive styles.

A cheap good option

This is a low-range guitar, the pickups are to a certain extent unique, their dimensions are different from the generic Stratocaster on the market, and of course also very different from the original Fender. These pickups that come in the Guitar Research LG33 are wider in their anatomical structure and apparently have a more widing copper line. The sound of these pickups is not superior nor the most amazing, but yeah it is different from what we are used to hearing in a Stratocaster. But this low profile Stratocaster can be upgraded with a few tricks in a good way: I painted the body with a gold spray paint and changed the electronic part with Brian May type wiring style, installed a killer switch, and also I add a VariTone Switch with caps .1, .47, .33, .22, .15. This LG33 guitar comes shipped from the factory with space in the Nut to place a Locking System, but I have not yet installed it.

Funky Tone

I am not sure of the production year of my S310, however everything seems to indicate that it is a 1989 model. Well, I think that this type of 80s guitar definitely attracts me, and this one in particular has some very peculiar pickups [they are not Ceramics] and to my good luck they are Alnico. Either way they throw a sound between Funky, Surf, and Retro. Although this sound characteristic is mainly attributed to the body wood that is Laminated Alder. It is a basic guitar, but with a enough level of potential to make it on some updates. After doing this your S310 will continue to be a low-profile guitar in the world, but... I don't regret taking a little risk with it.

Interesting fusion aural

I acquired this 1987 guitar with the intention of working on it as an experimental project, and after disassembling it to find out what its inside this 3/4 toy, I found that it is an interesting piece: good quality wood, with a distinctive tone personality, and when you pluged into an amp [i try on a Blues Deluxe and a Hot Rod Deville] it gives a very interesting playability on the midly freq. I had replaced the pickups with some that I consider to be of higher quality, but the sound did not really improve, but rather, only was replicated a sound that already existed in other guitar that I have used before this one. I mean, i notice the new pickups was taking away essence from this YAMAHA RGX112 instead of giving it something more, so, I decided to leave the original coils and humbucker for a while. Its a well done vintage guitar and im glad to have one.

You dont need more

My first Stratocaster has been this 1997 American Fender Lonestar, which from the first day I used it and even today it sounds fantastic. Its natural sound projection (contrasted with other stratocasters varieties) is a bit "dark", however, this generates an excellent complement with the original pickups (Seinmour Duncan Hambucker in the bridge position; Texas Coils in the middle and neck). The tuning stability is superior to that of other stratocasters, except for slight discomfort with the third string (very characteristic of this type of guitar). practically the only modification that I have made in 18 years have been some "Tune Locker" Fender. This 1997 Stratocaster Lonestar USA really projects a great sound. It feels like a great guitar because that's what it is.

Modern sound

The Laguna LE-400 seems to come in 2009 and i can say it's a fairly balanced model, it feels well done, the arm is comfortable. However, it is not as thin as an Ibanez, Yamaha, or B.C. Rich, but its more like the feel of a PRS. In fact, the dynamic effect of the fingers on the fingerboard feels very similar. The sound of this instrument oscillates quite well between the high, mid and low frequencies. And last but not least, it is equipped with a "tap coils" system located on the tone button. The pickups project a good amount of volume. For some strange reason this guitar works better with amplifiers whose function is consolidated based on transistors (solid state), because with those based on bulbs (tube amps) it acquires a different personality. This last observation, regarding its sound projection, makes me consider the LE 400 as a guitar with a modern profile from 2000 to 2020. To get a retro 80s-90s sound it might work. Although, for a 60s-70s sound, in my opinion, it would be better to use another type of guitar. This is a leading guitar (soloist) so, with this type of guitar it is a good idea to take into account its nature (soloist) when setting up with a band, because with so much dynamic range of frequencies it can feel like an intrusive instrument.