mentoneman
Well-known member
disclaimer:
i am an old picky tone snob who has owned and played a bunch of coveted toys.
boss waza chorus-$199
it has 3 position switch and the far right is the ce-1 chorus sound mode which is pretty close--7 out of 10 scale. i had the original grey poobah with the built in power cable and it was a special hog indeed and worthy of grail status. the other two modes were pretty average modern boss chorus pedal sounds so you are basically paying for the one vintage sound otherwise you could buy a dime a dozen boss chorus for $50.
vertex dynamic distortion-$199
i recently played the boost and dug it. i tried this one using a fender combo and strat. after swinging the knobs to and fro i found it a bit underwhelming. maybe it wanted to hit a driven marshally type amp?
it was a bit too light in the gain department for a distortion box for my taste and a little edgy. i'll stick with my vertex modded plexitone.
carl martin ac tone-$169
considering i love the plexitone so much i had high hopes for this. who wouldn't dig an ac30 color in the arsenal? gong. this was like playing a kazoo with a sinus infection. particularly after recently babysitting a eggie m4 with the vox module, owning a eggie tol 50 combo which had a voxy vibe, and playing many variations of ac-30s over the years.
no contest. i have a klamac arc furnace pedal which is more ts-9 in nature yet it does ac30 leagues better than the ac tone.
source audio nemesis-$299
looks great on paper and tons of function, but after a play test--meh. didn't bother to dig in too deep. revisited a second time to double check and still meh. prefer timeline or my x4.
catalinbread bella epoch-$199
instantly more tape authenticity to these ears and fingers than nemesis. one trick pony but more inspiring than nemmy.
catalinbread echorec-$199
i guess i'm just not a fan of the boss dm/mxr carbon copy low fi delay sound which this falls into the catagory of imo. there was one setting i kinda liked but not more than the pile of delays i've owned including the cheapo danecho or flashback x4 i currently have.
i have yet to try the echolution 2, and give the hr roland sdd-3000 pedal another run through, which i am eager to do, but if that doesn't float my boat i may end up getting a el capistan.
if strymon ever cracked the echoplex preamp riddle and added it to the el cap circuit i would be in heaven. nothing touches the echoplex or space echo preamp headroomy analog feel and vibe, in pedal form, to date and it is the thing i miss the most on all digital delay pedals.
tc ditto-$99
better than the looper on the x4 which kinda distorts when playing overdubs into the basic loop, but too tricky to ever imagine trying to use live with that single multipurpose button.
roland blues cube stage combo-$499
nice low gain blues fusion tones but i didn't love the stock cleans although the ej module clips i've heard have great cleans in it. overall in this hybrid catagory the yamaha thr100hd is a more attractive fusion lead amp to me.
fender 57 custom deluxe -$1999
great amp. on a boutique level clean sound and feel with two rock and carol ann.
carry on...
i am an old picky tone snob who has owned and played a bunch of coveted toys.
boss waza chorus-$199
it has 3 position switch and the far right is the ce-1 chorus sound mode which is pretty close--7 out of 10 scale. i had the original grey poobah with the built in power cable and it was a special hog indeed and worthy of grail status. the other two modes were pretty average modern boss chorus pedal sounds so you are basically paying for the one vintage sound otherwise you could buy a dime a dozen boss chorus for $50.
vertex dynamic distortion-$199
i recently played the boost and dug it. i tried this one using a fender combo and strat. after swinging the knobs to and fro i found it a bit underwhelming. maybe it wanted to hit a driven marshally type amp?
it was a bit too light in the gain department for a distortion box for my taste and a little edgy. i'll stick with my vertex modded plexitone.
carl martin ac tone-$169
considering i love the plexitone so much i had high hopes for this. who wouldn't dig an ac30 color in the arsenal? gong. this was like playing a kazoo with a sinus infection. particularly after recently babysitting a eggie m4 with the vox module, owning a eggie tol 50 combo which had a voxy vibe, and playing many variations of ac-30s over the years.
no contest. i have a klamac arc furnace pedal which is more ts-9 in nature yet it does ac30 leagues better than the ac tone.
source audio nemesis-$299
looks great on paper and tons of function, but after a play test--meh. didn't bother to dig in too deep. revisited a second time to double check and still meh. prefer timeline or my x4.
catalinbread bella epoch-$199
instantly more tape authenticity to these ears and fingers than nemesis. one trick pony but more inspiring than nemmy.
catalinbread echorec-$199
i guess i'm just not a fan of the boss dm/mxr carbon copy low fi delay sound which this falls into the catagory of imo. there was one setting i kinda liked but not more than the pile of delays i've owned including the cheapo danecho or flashback x4 i currently have.
i have yet to try the echolution 2, and give the hr roland sdd-3000 pedal another run through, which i am eager to do, but if that doesn't float my boat i may end up getting a el capistan.
if strymon ever cracked the echoplex preamp riddle and added it to the el cap circuit i would be in heaven. nothing touches the echoplex or space echo preamp headroomy analog feel and vibe, in pedal form, to date and it is the thing i miss the most on all digital delay pedals.
tc ditto-$99
better than the looper on the x4 which kinda distorts when playing overdubs into the basic loop, but too tricky to ever imagine trying to use live with that single multipurpose button.
roland blues cube stage combo-$499
nice low gain blues fusion tones but i didn't love the stock cleans although the ej module clips i've heard have great cleans in it. overall in this hybrid catagory the yamaha thr100hd is a more attractive fusion lead amp to me.
fender 57 custom deluxe -$1999
great amp. on a boutique level clean sound and feel with two rock and carol ann.
carry on...
