raucusbacchus's Reviews

Excellent

Super clean. Precision tuning & sensitive to touch intensity on the guitar.

Now I see what all the fuss is about

I've had my eye on the ProCo RAT for some time. Historically, I've been more inclinded towards overdrives. When it comes to distortion, Boss has done just fine.

Now that I have the RAT, I am happier for it. It's got warmth and grit. It's a bit noisy, but when not strumming but when playing, the hiss is obscured by the glorious sound. I would classify this stomp as reasonbly priced. Given the long history, it's is easy to infer the pedals potential longevity assuming that pedelas that don't hold up to the rigors of play, would not be held in such high regard.

The 40th Anniversary was released in Japan only. As such, an adapter is required for the non-Boss barrel connecter input. Easily solved, but worth knowing as required to operate.

Loving this pedal for the raw edge it lends to guitar tones.

Clean, Solid, Easy and Reliable

Working with the Yeti Pro, a shock mount is a must given how sensitive the mic is. The Radius II is a perfect match. The "Blackout" option provides a clean sharp look. The assembly is solid and sturdy. Setup is intuitive and the setup get's the job done, no muss, no fuss, no doubt.

Second to One

The JDS-50 quickly earned a permanent place on my pedal board displacing the much loved Cult Germanium. I second to one as the Hot Cake is hands down, my number one, always-on, OD. Stacking the Hot Cake and the JDS-50 provides a great warmth and touch responsive result. From a clean, ringing sustain through held notes to ragged growl when digging in, the JDS-50 can do it. I dial it in for subtle presence, but it can ratchet up to aggressive and loud if that's what you're after.

Cool Tool

This is a cool tool. It's just too bad it has left me with no doubt that I need to practice with a metronome. Personal failings aside, this is fun stomp box. Inspiring and even motivational. Proof will be determined by how fast my timing improves.

Cute Box, Ugly Sound

Generally speaking Vox has not won me over with this little amp. On the plus side, it is an actual tube amp. Woohoo?! Is loud a plus when the tone is unnerving? Perhaps if you're aiming for obnoxious. If you want crunch, you've got it. There is no "edge of break-up". Clean tone is nearly impossible and if a bare bones, ragged sound is what you want, you get it. To be fair, I have had fun messing around with it. Leveraging a stereo reverb and a juxtaposed position across the room was interesting. The Vox does not include reverb. With this in mind, I've been tempted to snag a T&C Hall of Fame mini and tack it onto the amp.
As an experiment, I recently ordered a speaker from Warehouse. I am hopeful for increased dynamics and at lease some semblance of clean tone, but won't be crushed if luscious tones don't materialize. Worst case, I'll learn something beyond what buying on a whim gets you.

A Most Musical Fuzz

I had the chance to test the Half Horse when it was in prototype stage when attending Coe Schneider's "One Day" event. The nondescript box was drool worthy. I couldn't get enough. A friend lent me this box for a few months and I love this fuzz. From soft sustaining tones to a ragged edge's rasp, the pedal is super flexible and truly inspiring. Again, I can't get enough. Pelican NoiseWorks really knocked it out of the park with the Half Horse. At a list price of $155, this pedal is a steal! When my friend asks to get it back, I know I'll have to pony up and get one of my own. I LOVE this fuzz!

White on White

A special edition cable from Rattlesnake: white weave on grey PVC with Neutrik plugs. Rattlesnake cables are all-custom, low-impedance, made to order. Topnotch audio quality complemented by great looks and fantastic durability.

Serious Quality

In searching for the highest-quality, 20' cable, my research lead me to Rattlesnake custom cables. Ultimately, the best cable I have ever owned. The options are intriguing; the quality sold me. The materials that go into the cables are serious quality. Beyond the metallurgy & insulation properties, the snakehead option was a key selling point for its thoughtful design. I have to say, the mesh coating is super durable and looks really cool. The company provides great support. In placing my order, Hank (the owner) was super helpful. Developed by a musician for musicians. Best of all, 20' of silent cable that's tough as nails.

Musically Inspiring, Technically Daunting

I’ve been chasing an elusive sound. A pipe organ type thing. Modulated like a rotary speaker, but bassy. I run with a Strymon Lex which is one of my all-time favorite pedals. And then, I found this thing I didn’t know I was missing: the TC Sub’N’Up. The price is approachable to begin with. Christmas deals made it even more so. Cash worries swept aside, I took a chance. What I tripped into is a super-cool, fun-inspiring and insanely musical pedal. This really is an instrument sitting in line with the guitar and it is a blast to play with. What has not been a blast is the “Toneprint” thing. It’s gotta be more than a marketing gimmick, but the technical complexity has proven to be a barrier for me. Power-user I am not. I’ve spent my time playing and have stayed out of the Toneprint rabbit hole. Toneprint aside, I really dig this thing. Like a wah or envelop filter, it takes a bit of noodling to find strike gold with consistency. I’ve hit some really discordant mud, but this is more a testament to my messy playing and lack of precision than any issue with this cool little box. I dig it! ~m

G777 = Incredible x 2

OD’s are my go-to foot fetish if you will. With the G77, I hit a sweet spot that holds it’s own against my favorite setup: stacking a Hot Cake and a Cult Germanium. The first time I got wind of Greenchild was via the Guitar Geeks podcast in 2016. Their praise of the G777 sent me searching. Their enthusiasm was well placed. Once acquired, I found the anodized box to be just as inspiring as they claimed. Low-noise. Touch Sensitive. Flexible. Elegant & ergonomic form factor. Quality all the way. Best of all, it sounds great! ~m

Heavy in a Good Way

The DR259 is a solid, well-designed piece of gear. My mic is heavy and it's staying put in this rig. The stand is little larger than I anticipated which; in my world, is perfectly fine for mic-ing up an amp, but a bit large for my puny desk. ~m

Saight

Honestly, I don't know WTF I'm doing when it comes to recording, but I do know that given all the software that comes with this button laden box, the installs are insane. Be warned, Pro Tools is incompatible with Windows 10. Save yourself some time & anguish. Otherwise, the 2i4 works. ~m

My Favorite Tone Capsule

I've been slowly working through all of the tone capsules and the Robben Ford (RF) is my hands down favorite. For a solid state amp, the Blues Cube amp offers an exceptionally clean sound that lends itself well to pedals. The mods that Tone Capsules provide are more than a gimmick. The RF sends the amp into a mid-range boosted zone that has a warmth that I really love. There is a bit of toothsome grit that isn't as clean as the stock amp, but its a subtle texture that I love. Boosted and over driven, it sounds awesome.
In comparing Tone Capsules, the Eric Johnson (EJ) pushes into a near piercing high-key register and also has a grit that you cannot escape. The Ultimate Blues (UB) has a warmth & texture that I really enjoyed and a grit that was palatable without being oppressive. The RF offers a resultant tone has a richness that marries with my telecaster like no other. Generally, the Tone Capsules are a great way to modify the amp for a couple hundred bucks and the RF offers the tone I love most. ~m

The Chrome Changed My Tune

The musicality of the Supermoon reverb has changed my tune from an attitude of "My amp’s reverb does a fine job!" to "My amp’s reverb will do in a pinch." Prior to purchase, finding a reverb pedal was a wish list curiosity item for me. Nothing more. My amp’s reverb really had me covered or so I thought. With that in mind, forking over cash for a "novelty" wasn't my highest priority. That was before I stumbled across the backstory behind the Supermoon Limited MS Edition. More than interesting, it was moving. Digging deeper, on the standard Supermoon, demos were inspiring. And now, with the recent release of the Chrome Edition I found that Mr. Black ticked all the boxes for me: great tone, super simple, unique, different and arguably better and limited edition. Plugging in, the shimmer is awesome. I got lost in tweaking the 3 knobs for quite some time. It was inspiring. All-in-all, I'm a light reverb guy. Surf is cool to mess with, but I tend toward simple. The decay really makes it interesting. And sway lends an organic quality that I really love. You can push the pedal into quirky places with warble and a seemingly vacuous chamber which is fun. Settling in, the comfort zone my tone landed in the range of 10 o'clock or earlier each knob. This range gives me enough reverb for depth, harmonics via decay & that rich organic texture through sway. All-in-all, this an inspiring box that provides a wonderful musicality and texture to guitar tone. ~m

Cool Look... Futzy for the Price

I purchased this Pop filter with my Blue Yeti Pro. Aesthetically, it has a very clean, modern form and fits well with the Yeti. Looks aside, the "C-clamp" style method of attachment it is fairly universal. I do like how adjustable the flexible arm on this filter is. I do not like the armature's threaded attachment which looses grip with every adjustment. Its futzy. The threaded attachment on the armature requires frequent tightening and feels like it could easily be stripped if torqued aggressively. Loc-tite or a lock-washer may cure this problem, but this is fundamentally a design flaw and/or a materials quality issue that could have been addressed pre-manufacture. With an MSRP of $69, its a bit pricey. ~m

Small Board, Small Niggles

The Holeyboard M3 Amptop pedal board is my 1st foray into getting my pedal act (I have a more colorful vocabulary but toning it down for the masses) together. With my setup, I was able to mount 3, standard size pedals and two micro pedals. The M3 works relatively well for a bare-bones, take it anywhere rig. UPSIDE: The form factor is nice and compact. The materials are quality and the color selection is appealing. The small footprint makes for easy handling and is the single best aspect of this board. DOWNSIDE: In setup, I ran into a fundamental flaw regarding power adaptors: standard, 90-degree power cable heads do not fit through the board holes. This holds true of both the Walrus Audio and Strymon power supplies. In function, I bumped into second, fundamental flaw: a power supply mounted under-board will not allow the board to sit flush atop an amp. Reason being, the amp handle gets in the way. As a result, adding a power supply will relegate this board to the floor. Not a huge deal, but the name is a potential misnomer. OVERALL: I am glad to have the M3 Amptop board. For me, it has provided a nice gateway into pedal organization and collects the basic pedals I want in an organized and compact format. ~m

Small & Awesome

The Noir replaces my Hardwire HT-6 which was good, but this thing is great! The read out of the Noir is nice, bright and easy to read. The display automatically switches between poly mode with a full note spectrum and single string tuning with a larger readout. The only way the Noir could be better was if TC Electronics provided it in the Blacklight aesthetic. All said and done, the Noir works like a champ with a micro footprint that's be hard to beat.

Same as the Aetos, but Red

I've been running with the Aetos LTD (2015) for over a year now and it is an excellent power supply. My only complaint is that it does not have the amperage to power some of the Strymon Pedals (Lex & el Capistan). This niggle has more to do with Strymon than Walrus. Regardless, I needed something more. As such, I've opted to add the Zuma in order to compensate and will continue to run the Aetos even still, as a supplemental power source. ~m

Like the Pro-G, Just Plastic

The Cooperstand stands are versatile and stable. The Ecco-G provided a light weight version in plastic. Nothing wow in the looks department but simple & clean. I do appreciate the low profile. The form factor is streamlined and the engineers is sound when folding for storage. The stand is very stable though you do need to make sure you seat the guitar properly in part due to the terraced structure that is mean to support both electric and acoustic guitars. This is a plus side of the terracing is a great, stabilizing feature; however, for electrics this can mean a need to pay attention when seating the guitar; otherwise, the guitar can lean back at enough of an angle that the headstock could potentially knock anything behind the stand. All said and done, I liked the Pro-G enough to have gone for an Ecco-G for use in high traffic, office space. Black plastic is fine here where wood and look was not as important. Overall, the stand works well in a nice and compact form. It's cheap enough, I'm not going to cry if someone snags the Ecco-G as long as they leave the guitar behind. ~m