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What's the boo-teeky, overpriced obscure pedal you actually think is terrific?


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1 minute ago, django49 said:

Totally agree. My favorite of all time. As an experiment in how light a rig I could use in actual live play, I took the "amp" version of the Ethos Overdrive (builtin solid state power amp, about 30 watts) to a gig with only a Flint pedal (Reverb and Trem) on a very mini "board" (6" x 12") and a 1 x 12 cab. It was at least as good as anything onstage.

I wish Robbie's new "super deluxe" version was not already 3 years overdue. A prototype has built in reverb, expanded boost function and a switchable HRM feature. God only knows the eventual price.

Well, there are at least two of us waiting for it!

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What I want but not willing to go down the rabbit hole, a Treble booster.

There are so many TB's out there, I do not know where to start.

Too old to care, no money to spend on trying to find "the one"....

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14 minutes ago, murkat said:

There are so many TB's out there, I do not know where to start.

Can’t go wrong with a  Beano Boost. Easily had for $100 used. They can be powered with standard -/center power supplies, but sound even better with carbon 9v batts. Draws very little current, batts last forever. 

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Empress ZOIA.  100%.

It's pitched as a "modular synth in a box" but it functions both as that, and as a super-flexible virtual pedalboard (a la Helix) and as a platform for designing your own effects (see https://patchstorage.com/platform/zoia/ for examples).  

  • It's about 3-4 modules to DIY a harmonic tremolo which I wanted to try but didn't want to shop for.
  • I made a 10-tap delay and started experimenting with even vs. random vs. exponential spacing.
  • Want parallel delays and reverbs with the ability to mash a momentary switch to have it crank the mix and feedback?  No problem in just a minute or two.
  • Wanna add pitch tracking and/or envelope following to any parameter of an effect?  No problem.
  • In a few minutes I dialed up a crossover into two separate reverbs with different decay times for hi/mid/low after hearing the TPS gush about that feature of the CXM 1978
  • There's a ton of folks that post recreations of other pedals (including weird, glitching, booteeky stuff) on patchstorage for ZOIA too, so even if you don't want to built your own, you can download them. 

The built-in Empress mod, reverbs and delays all sound great, too, so even if you just use it kind of like a pedalboard, it's still awesome.

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9 minutes ago, sixesandsevens said:

Empress ZOIA.  100%.

It's pitched as a "modular synth in a box" but it functions both as that, and as a super-flexible virtual pedalboard (a la Helix) and as a platform for designing your own effects (see https://patchstorage.com/platform/zoia/ for examples).  

  • It's about 3-4 modules to DIY a harmonic tremolo which I wanted to try but didn't want to shop for.
  • I made a 10-tap delay and started experimenting with even vs. random vs. exponential spacing.
  • Want parallel delays and reverbs with the ability to mash a momentary switch to have it crank the mix and feedback?  No problem in just a minute or two.
  • Wanna add pitch tracking and/or envelope following to any parameter of an effect?  No problem.
  • In a few minutes I dialed up a crossover into two separate reverbs with different decay times for hi/mid/low after hearing the TPS gush about that feature of the CXM 1978
  • There's a ton of folks that post recreations of other pedals (including weird, glitching, booteeky stuff) on patchstorage for ZOIA too, so even if you don't want to built your own, you can download them. 

The built-in Empress mod, reverbs and delays all sound great, too, so even if you just use it kind of like a pedalboard, it's still awesome.

I've been interested in that. How hard is the "designing your own effects" aspect? 

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20 hours ago, RobB said:

Can’t go wrong with a  Beano Boost. Easily had for $100 used. They can be powered with standard -/center power supplies, but sound even better with carbon 9v batts. Draws very little current, batts last forever. 

Yeah it's the key to those Brit rocking tones. I literally never saw one in person til about 5 years ago and now I'm obsessed. The Beano is life changing

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I have few Wampler pedals, not sure if that is boo-teeky enough to pass.  

Just ordered Darkglass Microtubes B7K Ultra V2.  Black Friday deal so it was not too bad.  But I like that in comparison to the old SansAmp Bass Driver pedal.  I hope that I can take that to gigs (when that is possible again) where I can do without backline.  

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On 11/30/2020 at 3:52 PM, sonic1974 said:

I've been interested in that. How hard is the "designing your own effects" aspect? 

I don't think it's too hard, but I had been digging into synths for a while before I got it, so I had a slight leg up.  You can really easily customize effects by like adding LFOs to "turn the knobs" automatically for you.  You can also route components really easily or use env followers to make it adjust a parameter based on your pick attack.  All of that is about as fast as you can tap it out. 

On my first day I made a harmonic tremolo in maybe 15 minutes.  I read an explanation like off of Strymon's web site and then used a sv-filter as a crossover to split the audio at some frequency, set up an LFO as the tremolo, and then you take it and its inverse and modulate the volume of each frequency band (low goes up when high goes down, etc.).  I think I needed a vca block for each output to control volume.

A week or two ago I started making a 10-tap delay to experiment with different timing for the taps.  That was a little tedious (since you end up copying and pasting pieces, or redoing the work 10x) but not hard.  You can then wire up a single knob and some multiplication/division and send different multiples of the timing to the different delay lines.

Making dreamy combos of delays and reverbs in parallel and series?  Piece of cake.  It's faster than it would take to wire them up on a pedalboard.

Making a reverb from scratch?  That's still pretty hard unless you'd already know how to do it in some other programming environment.  It's on my "to do" list, but after a few hours of reading about reverbs I'm still not sure I can make one as good as the ones it ships with.  🤣

If you are at all interested in tinkering with effects design or have felt kind of limited when wiring things together in something like a Helix, take the plunge.  I can't imagine an easier platform to take the next step.

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13 hours ago, sixesandsevens said:

I don't think it's too hard, but I had been digging into synths for a while before I got it, so I had a slight leg up.  You can really easily customize effects by like adding LFOs to "turn the knobs" automatically for you.  You can also route components really easily or use env followers to make it adjust a parameter based on your pick attack.  All of that is about as fast as you can tap it out. 

On my first day I made a harmonic tremolo in maybe 15 minutes.  I read an explanation like off of Strymon's web site and then used a sv-filter as a crossover to split the audio at some frequency, set up an LFO as the tremolo, and then you take it and its inverse and modulate the volume of each frequency band (low goes up when high goes down, etc.).  I think I needed a vca block for each output to control volume.

A week or two ago I started making a 10-tap delay to experiment with different timing for the taps.  That was a little tedious (since you end up copying and pasting pieces, or redoing the work 10x) but not hard.  You can then wire up a single knob and some multiplication/division and send different multiples of the timing to the different delay lines.

Making dreamy combos of delays and reverbs in parallel and series?  Piece of cake.  It's faster than it would take to wire them up on a pedalboard.

Making a reverb from scratch?  That's still pretty hard unless you'd already know how to do it in some other programming environment.  It's on my "to do" list, but after a few hours of reading about reverbs I'm still not sure I can make one as good as the ones it ships with.  🤣

If you are at all interested in tinkering with effects design or have felt kind of limited when wiring things together in something like a Helix, take the plunge.  I can't imagine an easier platform to take the next step.

Just from your description, it seems like I'd have some reading to do for sure. 

Sounds like a fun platform! It's definitely on my radar, but more of a long range thing. I've been spending cash on recording stuff lately, so have to cool it for a while. 

I think I know what's on my shopping list for next year though!! :) 

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On 11/30/2020 at 11:08 AM, murkat said:

What I want but not willing to go down the rabbit hole, a Treble booster.

There are so many TB's out there, I do not know where to start.

 

Xotic EP boost. Got some nice features. Internal switches let you tailor the tone. One knob operation. Have a go and see.

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30 minutes ago, HamerDave said:

Xotic EP boost. Got some nice features. Internal switches let you tailor the tone. One knob operation. Have a go and see.

That's not a treble booster though. 

It's a replica of the preamp in an echoplex.

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13 hours ago, sonic1974 said:

That's not a treble booster though. 

It's a replica of the preamp in an echoplex.

Your not wrong but thats where the internal switches come in. They let you boost, highs, mids, or set it to unity gain at zero. 

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Lovepedal. Black Glass OC-42 BBB. KILLS. This pedal impressed me the first moment I'd tried it. Each time I've played it,  I've only grown to love it more. My favorite pedal for blues, jazz-blues, and blues rock. Also into the heavy fuzz mode is great for Hendrix and other fuzzbianz of classic rock.  I've never owned a dirt pedal that has felt so right in so many genres. The blend knob and the COT knob together create such a variety of sound, it boggles the mind, all from one pedal. It is a germanium fuzz and treble B, and a COT all in one pedal. You can choose all out fuzz with the blend knob fully clockwise, and TB fully counter-clockwise. If you start with full on TB, as you dial the blend knob clockwise, it adds fuzz characteristics to the sound. At 12:00 is an equal  balance between the two. As you continue clockwise you filter out the TB characteristics in the sound and enter full fuzz territory. It is an articulate and fat fuzz too. The tone is sweet, and the COT knob allows you to add or subtract gain and treble into or out of the input signal to the germanium transistor stage. You can coax a very convincing amplifier overdrive sound from this as well as TB and fuzz. I am just absolutely blown away by this pedal.

Also another couple of faves is the Lovepedal AMP 808, and the Eternity Burst!

BBB.png

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I'm too far out of the loop to know what is and isn't obscure, but the only relatively spendy pedal I have is the Keeley Monterey.  Its tweakability can be a rabbit hole, not because it's a chore to find something good but because of the variety of good it offers.

It's easily the best variable octave rotovibewah fuzz box out there and allows you to choose as little or as much of any of the above as you like.  Add an expression pedal and it's pure acid trip, but in a controllable, back-to-earth-on-demand kinda way. 

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On 12/3/2020 at 10:15 AM, sonic1974 said:

Just from your description, it seems like I'd have some reading to do for sure. 

Sounds like a fun platform! It's definitely on my radar, but more of a long range thing. I've been spending cash on recording stuff lately, so have to cool it for a while. 

I think I know what's on my shopping list for next year though!! :) 

:) 

I probably made it sound more intimidating than it is.  I totally suggest you check it out sooner rather than later, since it will totally meet you where you are.  It would still be worthwhile if I was using it as just a way to do traditional "effects" blocks (flanger, chorus, delays, reverbs, tremolo) in series and parallel however you like.

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22 hours ago, HamerDave said:

Xotic EP boost. Got some nice features. Internal switches let you tailor the tone. One knob operation. Have a go and see.

Ha! I have one on my board! got it from Hamerhead years ago.

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10 hours ago, gtrdaddy said:

Lovepedal. Black Glass OC-42 BBB. KILLS. This pedal impressed me the first moment I'd tried it. Each time I've played it,  I've only grown to love it more. My favorite pedal for blues, jazz-blues, and blues rock. Also into the heavy fuzz mode is great for Hendrix and other fuzzbianz of classic rock.  I've never owned a dirt pedal that has felt so right in so many genres. The blend knob and the COT knob together create such a variety of sound, it boggles the mind, all from one pedal. It is a germanium fuzz and treble B, and a COT all in one pedal. You can choose all out fuzz with the blend knob fully clockwise, and TB fully counter-clockwise. If you start with full on TB, as you dial the blend knob clockwise, it adds fuzz characteristics to the sound. At 12:00 is an equal  balance between the two. As you continue clockwise you filter out the TB characteristics in the sound and enter full fuzz territory. It is an articulate and fat fuzz too. The tone is sweet, and the COT knob allows you to add or subtract gain and treble into or out of the input signal to the germanium transistor stage. You can coax a very convincing amplifier overdrive sound from this as well as TB and fuzz. I am just absolutely blown away by this pedal.

Also another couple of faves is the Lovepedal AMP 808, and the Eternity Burst!

BBB.png

I just bought one! 

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