sandra_lee's Reviews

Whoa

A Squier cyclone II but in PINK!!?!?!? Needless to say, as soon as it was leaked I had to have it. It is even better than I expected. I actually like this neck better than the Fender version. The stock pickups are a bit iffy, but tend to work really well with a lot of distortion which is generally how I make my noise. I'd thought about swapping them with Jaguar pickups, to really make it a cyclone II but I think I'll just keep the stock ones. The guitar feels really nice and I haven't been able to put it down since I got it. Probably the best non Vista Squier i've ever had the fortune of playing.

The only complaints was no competition stripes (which I added) and the lack of the Cyclone dude logo on the headstock. But otherwise Squier absolutely knocked it out of the ball park.

Dream Guitar

This is a bit different than the 69/73 reissue guitars. The neck is u shaped, as opposed to c shaped and feels more baseballish. it actually reminds me more of my 78 Musicmaster than my Japanese Mustangs. It's really cool feeling and very 70ish. It's absolutely beautiful and sounds very cool. I am so happy Fender finally released this in America!

Oh my

This is the echo pedal I've been searching my entire life for. This thing is absolutely incredible. It's so much fun, sounds absolutely amazing. It's a bit big, so it takes up room on your board, but goodness is it ever worth it. It's a multi echo unit with a self oscillation footswitch. It can create really warped sounds, giving you really cool textures that just fill my head with ideas as a songwriter.

Not the easiest pedal to get, you have to order it direct from JPTR from Germany and it takes a bit to reach the states but it's well worth the wait.

My new favorite

These are pretty comparable to the standard .88 Dunlop Nylon picks. But, on a whim, I decided to go with these because I like the color better. I just was bored with the dull gray of the Dunlop and saw that Clayton had nylon .94 in a light blue color. So, since picks are cheap why not take the plunge?

They are a bit more translucent than pictured online. But, I really like the feel of them and I think they may even have a bit more grip than the Dunlop Nylon picks. The material is a bit less slippery as well. I seem to get the same tone as my old favorites.

Your basic multi loop switcher

Six different loops, each with a different LED color. Since they are built to order you can choose your LED colors and your choice of LED colors is completely free. So it was a bit of a debate on what colors I wanted and what order I wanted them in!

It's true bypass, which is always welcome. Feels incredibly sturdy and an amazing value compared to other devices with the same function.

Blah

It's an isolated power supply. I am still confused why they cost so much but it's a necessary evil when you start getting into a larger pedal board. I am annoyed they don't include a voltage doubler for 24v pedals, and when I bought a voltage doubler the included cables didn't fit my Frantone Glacier or Ehx Polychorus.

The legendary guitar

This guitar is legendary. So legendary that Fender reissued the guitar in their Fender line, and the Fender version is actually the inferior model! The blue sparkle model is absolutely beautiful, and an absolute head turner. Only made from 96-98, these guitars are Fender Japan spec with the Squier logo slapped on. Basically a Fender experiment, that bombed in the marketplace. But found life on Ebay and other secondary market sites with huge price tags.

The only negatives to this guitar, which why it doesn't get a full five stars, is the dumb placement of the pickup switch and the equally dumb placement of the strap button. But, aside from that, this guitar is amazing and one of the most unique Fender models in their entire history.

My favorite humbucker

I have this in my Jag-Stang and it's my absolute favorite humbucker. It has amazing tonal characteristics and such a nice warm low end sound. It's so smooth, I am always amazed that it's a 70s humbucker andI I've never heard anything better than it.

It's big

It's a high quality professional pedalboard. I am taking a star off because it doesn't come with mounting tools, the lack of built in power and the absurd price (mine was a gift). All you can really do with it is put pedals on it and transport it around. It's sturdy, it's not going to break but it doesn't need to cost as much as it does. But it does what it's made to do. Comes with velcro and ties.

My DS-1 sounds better

Maybe I have a bad unit, or maybe my DS-1 is a unicorn pedal that just sounds amazing. But my DS-2 has never really impressed me. I tried it for months on my pedalboard, listening to others about how superior it is. But finally decided to try my DS-1 again and bang remember why I loved the DS-1 so much. This pedal is just so blah in comparison.

My new favorite

69 Reissue Made in Japan 07-10 model. Fiesta Red.

Everything I've ever wanted out of a guitar I have in this guitar. Amazingly thin neck, beautiful finish and light. 7.25 radius, like Fender Mustangs should be. This guitar is high quality and feels high quality. The pickups are a bit weak, but sound amazing with my fuzz pedals. So that isn't really a negative in the end. The only issue, of course, is the mile long Mustang phase switches but that is an easy fix with spacers to lower them. This has been my dream guitar for so long, and to actually own it is a dream come true. I absolutely love this guitar. I wish Fender would reissue it in the states.

The black sheep of the Vista Family

I absolutely love these guitars. They are the black sheep, and incredibly rare, of the Vista series. Only made one year they are the 6 string sibling of the Vista Musicmaster basses. Basic setup of just a volume knob and a Vista Tone Humbucker. But, in an unusual twist, you can coil split the humbucker as the volume knob has a push/pull.

The guitar is thin, very light, but is a pure punk rock machine. I absolutely love these guitars. They look awesome and play great. They are unusual, with their 24.75 scale length but that just adds to their quirkiness.

It's so beautiful

Made in China 1998 of the famous Vista Series family. Beautiful matching headstock shell pink. Short Scale! Has a very good sound. There is reason why this bass, along with the rest of the Vista series, is highly desired. It's quirky, it's different and it stands out in the crowd. There is a reason why these things have cult followings.

Over the top Germanium transistor Fuzz

Fran loves to give cutesy names to such wicked sounding fuzzboxes. It's part of the charm and why I love her pedals so dearly. The Sweet had the misfortune, for me, of being compared to Fran's other two fuzzboxes the Cream Puff and the Peachfuzz. Neither of which it can measure up with on it's own. However, I've discovered that pairing it with wacky effects like Ring Mods and other off the wall noisemakers is where the pedal really shines.

Made in Japan Vintage Underdog

These Japanese KMD pedals seem to be a mystery. Made by Maxon but with Roland (Boss circuit boards?) Modified clones of CE-3s? I haven't taken mine apart to see what is going on inside, but wow. This pedal sounds weird. My personal pedal, I discovered on Ebay, is in very good condition for it's age, I bought it because it was cheap and made in Japan. Then did research and was amazed at what I discovered. Or amazed at how little I discovered. Just a few people going on about how great they are. And this pedal is great. By itself it's okay but when paired with other effects it becomes something else. It has this subtleness, like a secret weapon. It really shines and makes my late night ebay purchase seem magical. Knowing I have this rare vintage MIJ pedal that is also cheap. It's not something I'd use alone, so I revising my rating to 3 stars but it does a really cool job of coloring the sound.

A fun learning curve

There is a bit of a learning curve, but once I learned it I really began to enjoy the Flashback X4. I don't use all the pedals, instead choosing a few and only really using those. But it's knowing the others are available for future use if I should decide to experiment that makes me happy. It's sounds good, especially after you adjust a few things, and works how it should. It gives you an enough options, and the looper is a really nice option, to really make it an important piece on my board. It's really the perfect Delay Pedal for someone who enjoys using delays but doesn't make their entire songs about delays.

PEACHY

A perfect sister to the Cream Puff. Perfect to play leads and create 90s style fuzz and just rock out as hard as you want. You can really create amazing things with this pedal by coloring it's sound with other effects and allowing your imagination take you into uncharted territory. I can certainly understand the hype about this pedal once I finally put it on my board to pair with my Cream Puff. Wow.

Basic

Made in the 80s basic Power Switch to power your Boss Pedals, or any pedals running on 9V, with a daisy chain. Also allows you to create an effects loop, which is the main reason I use the pedal. It's Boss, it's rugged, so it can take a lot of abuse. You can also set it into Mute mode but it's not very user friendly or combined with options when compared with more modern pedals.

The girly pedal that blows you away

One night, out of boredom, I was was watching effects demos on youtube. I stumbled upon this pedal, on a popular youtube review channel, and was absolutely blown away. It was the cutest pedal I ever saw but sounded beastly. I had to have it. I finally got it and, somehow, sounds even better with my playing style.

It's the perfect rhythm pedal. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it if you're a lead player looking to wank solos, it's not designed for that, but this thing has an absolute thickness on the low end that is out of this world.

I miss this one.

Out of all the guitars I've owned, and sold, this is the one I miss the most. I really wish I didn't have to sell it but I was in a very bad financial position and.... :( I had a yellow one, from 2002 I believe and a black one from 03. They were oddball Fenders in that they had a 24.75 neck (Gibson scale). But I absolutely loved the Atomic humbucker in the bridge and pairing it with the single coil in the neck. It was basically a bigger version of the Cobain Mustang with a strat bridge. I really want another one to replace what I lost. One day.