rick_hyde

The Alien Echo is out of this world. Very pristine sounding without coming off as "digital", it's a combo anyway. It's does tape wobble very well, and to extremes if you choose to. Solid as all JRAD pedals are. Space-wise, fits nicely on any board. The warble knob is great, because you can add the amount of volume on that and switch it on when you want it. That's a handy feature to have. You can't go wrong with this as you primary delay, and if the tape/analog thing is you, then this delivers just that.

I think GP got it right when they made this a Critic's Choice Guitar, in their 2015 Guitars under $799 review. This is simply a great guitar. The only "mod" I chose to make, was swapping in a vintage mint green pickguard. I love the gold anodized, but the mint green on antique white is more to my liking. This guitar came from the factory set up perfect for my plying style. I've kept the card because I like it so much. I started out back in 1985 with a Ric 340/6 in BurgandlyGlo, and followed that with a '65 Mustang. I've been a gear snob my whole life, still am. But this so-called "cheap" guitar, is a quality axe all the way round. I'm a pickup swapper, I like doing that. However, as the GP reviewer stated, hold off on that, because these pups sound great. And they really, really do. I've got Fat Tele with Seymour Duncan Billy Gibbons pups, a Pearly Gates hummer, and a CS BG stacked, and through the same gear, the J Mascis sounds f-ing amazing. Different, but fantastic. I can even dig using the fabled and "useless" "rhythm" circuit. My only complaint was a noisy pup switch, which I spent a few bucks and replaced. No biggie. If you're looking to get into a Jazzmaster, get this this one. Nothing against the Vintage Modified Series, my son has a Jaguar, same factory and all, but this is a step from those. A bit heavy, bit not too bad. I love it, I'm keeping it!

It is what it is, right? I bought this for two reasons; it's 15 lbs lighter than my Laney, and the reverb. It's plenty loud at 15 watts Class A/B, and a nice compliment sound-wise, to my Class A Laney. The reverb ain't Super, Twin or Deluxe, but it goes in that direction. The stock Jensen is a jack-of-all-trades, and has mastered none of them. I will be switching to either an Eminence GA-SC64 or a WGS driver. At loud volumes the Jensen just pharts out and loses character. And since it starts out with little character, that's not good! By custom voiced, they mean versatile. I say pick a speaker that works great for this amp, and not to cover many styles of playing, which, IMO, they did, resulting in a drab sounding speaker. I switched the stock tubes to 2 Mullard 12AX7 in V1/V2, and a Sovtek 12AX7 into V3, and swapped the 2 GT EL84's for 2 matched JJ EL84's. Right now, I like what I am hearing. That may change with the speaker swap. I am also considering swapping both the PA transformer and the Output transformer. Cheap and easy plug and play swap, and supposedly makes a ton of difference tine-wise. It is a great looking little amp, and capable of adding an extension cab. Looking the landscape over, I think this amp is better priced at $499 and not $599.

I bought this amp used, in '04. It's a UK made model, and I love it. Is it a Vox clone? Clean channel, I think so. Very chimmy, beautiful breakup at 5 and above; sweet spot at 8! Drive channel, to me, is very plexi in it's tone and drive. I'm running Mullards ECC83 in V1 and V2, and a Sovtek ECC83 LPS, and a matched quad of Mullard El84. The reverb is there, accutronics on mine. It's not Fender or Ampeg, but it doesn't suck either. I run it with a Blues Jr. and get that verb from it. This is one of my most favorite amps. I've owned or have borrowed some goodies over the years; a first year Super Reverb, '64, borrowed a '66 AC15 twin for awhile. This amp sounds as good as any of them, albeit a bit different. It's a circuit board, but whatevs, it kicks ass. Loud as Phok!! The places I'm likely to gig at, and have, I don't get to turn it up past 2.5. And that sucks! It has two 10" Vox Bulldogs in it, and I connect a 12" extension cab. This amp has 2/8 ohm ouputs, and will run a full stack if you like, and I have ran a Line6 4x12 with vintage 30's and it sounded the best yet! Ideally, I'd like a 2x12 cab to go with the 2/10"s. Great amp! The only time I had a problem... i had no load on it when I switched it on... OOPS! Rookie mistake or what!! Otherwise, it's never failed, E V A S!

This is a swirly from J Rockett, and their page tells it all. MXR Phase 90/45 inspired. It does more, and experimenting is a required and fun! I use this with a Fulltone Mini Deja-Vibe, and together, I cover the bases I love. This is another pedal you can play with live. Very musical, and capable of some shapes that are both trippy and hypnotic!

I almost took this back to GC. But I didn't. Instead, I started to imagine the ways in which this mid-size gem could provide a band, or artist, a way to avoid adding a keyboard player. The sounds are there, so is the performance. Honestly, if I can swing it, I'm going to have a small board with the C9, B9, Key9 and Mel9. This is the only one I've messed with, however, if it is a clue to the others, I'm all in. It's amazing. I'm not quite good enough as a player, and don't understand theory and chording that much, but I can still see myself incorporating this into originals and even cover songs. A very fun and useful stomper!

This thing works great for both humbuckers and singles. Yeah, the four dips are internal, and that can be a pain when switching between pickup types. But I found a great setting that works really well for both. Nice and smooth compression. The Hi/Low/Mid switch on top is great for the pickup changes. I had a Dyna reissue, I really think this is way better and more versatile. One star ding for the internal switches. Get one!!

Never sure how to describe this gem. It just makes everything sound betta'! It's small, set it, forget it. That's really all I can say. No board should be without it, big or small. If I have two pedals, one will be an Archer, the other the EP Booster!

This pedal is quite simple, and that is great, unless you want more versatility. I had an EHX Pulsar, way more versatile and musical, but volume drop and no volume knob. Not so with this. The volume knob makes up for it's limited function. However, I do like it. Being simple is not a bad thing at times!

This box is quite weird. The fuzz options are endless, it's built like all Rockett pedals, bullet proof. This thing drives, OD's and fuzzes out like wowee zowee. Unbelievably versatile, it really is. You can actually work this thing live, like we all did our Boss DM-1 delays. It's like a KAOS pad in a fuzz box.

That does sum it up. I love this pedal, and all of it's offerings. My only critique is the size, it's YOOOOGE. However, it's awesome. How so? The modelings are exceptional in my mind. I've love the sounds of the MM4 by Line6, but they break and f-up a lot. The TC folks, have equally nailed the flaws and nuances of the analog devices they are modeling. I've always struggled with using and embracing delays. Not sure why. But this delay is so much fun, it can have a subtle or dramatic affect on your sound, and I haven't even talked about the TonePrint feature. Cos I probably won't use that. The reverse setting is incredible. Looper? Yep! Also increddy!! I got this new, from ProGuitarShop.com for $149.00 shipped. Great deal, not B stock. If searching for an affordable option at delay, look for the TC Electronics delay series; Flashback and there's another in addition to the Alter Ego. These are fantastic delays!!

Full disclosure; I've known one of the owners since HS, '82. Having said that, I read all the hype and so on, about this pedal, the history, and the Klon. Simply put, this pedal is a must have, as it handles a few chores very well; OD and Boost. Rock solid, quiet, smaller real estate, and most of all just fantastic sounding drive. Transparent? What's that. I'll this; now matter how high the gain, I can still hear my guitar and amp. Important? You decide. It's gritty and smooth, and pushes a slightly overdriven amp to nice breakup. My rig; Laney VC30 2X10, Fender Blues Jr. Squier J. Mascis JM, Fat Tele with BG Seymour stacked in the bridge and a Pearly Gates in the neck. Many pedals, I usually have my Archer on at all times, with gain at 9 o'clock, volume at 10 o'clock and tone at about o'clock.

works as legend would have it. Nice for swells and keeping silent when not playing. I would say every board should have one, but I don't want to preach!