January 1, 2009

Dirt Review - Tonality Effects : Anemonia

Stashed under: Reviews - Overdrive / Distortion — grygrx @ 9:22 pm


Tonality Effects Anemonia

Manufacturer: Tonality Effects
Model: Anemonia
MSRP/Paid: $199 Euro
New/Used/Loan: New
Battery: No
Power Supply: Yes
Size: Aprox. 4″ Wide x 4.75″ Tall x 3″ Deep (jacks/knobs etc included)
Available from:Direct

From the maker:

Description:
Tube Distortion
The latest Tonality Effects Pedal is this special 2-Stage tube distortion. Not only a great sound , but also a visual highlight on each effectboard. This pedal sounds very lively and dynamic, because of the 12AX7 Tube inside the gainstage .

The Tube reacts directly to your guitarplay and technique. Smooth characteristic curve of theTube gives distorted sounds a sweet and harmonic touch, like a Tube Amp.

Nothing to compare with ordinary standard diode-clipping distortion pedals. Even single-coil guitars sounds fat and rich. A huge quantity of harmonics gives you a feeling of playing two guitars at the same time.

Really nice feature is the input sensitivity of this Pedal. You can control the distortion with your technique or the volume control of your guitar.

The second Footswitch activates the Boost-Control, and adds more Gain, Volume and Sustain.
A special Tonestack controls the frequenzy spectrum very linear and find a very nice balance between punchy deeps and transparent highs.
A warm glewing 12AX7 Tube, works in a precious chrome tube shield and needs only a standard 9V DC supply.

True Bypass is a Tonality Effects standard.


Filter Review - WMD : Fatman

Stashed under: Reviews - Filters — grygrx @ 5:25 pm


WMD - Fatman

Manufacturer: WMD - William Mathewson Devices
Model: Green Filter
MSRP/Paid: $250
New/Used/Loan: New
Battery: Yes
Power Supply: Yes
Size: Aprox. 3.75″ Wide x 5″ Tall x 2.25″ Deep (jacks/knobs etc included)
Available from:Dealers

From the maker:

Description:
The WMD FatMan is a funky envelope filter providing massive tweakability. The FatMan produces a vast range of filter sounds with intuitive, wide range controls. The FatMan is an incredibly powerful device with the quality expected in a boutique pedal, plus some original features for players on the cutting edge of musical innovation.

Features:

Fat & Warm Pure Analog Circuitry
12 Filter Frequency Ranges
Tweakable Filter Feedback
Lowpass & Bandpass Filter Mode
Reverse Sweep
Tweakable Attack Speed
Internal Gain Adjustment
Key Input
Hand Wired True Bypass
Violet LED
Top Quality Components
Super Hard Epoxy Powder Finish
Standard 9V Power Jack

The Controls. The FatMan’s controls are intuitive and effective in sculpting your desired filter sound.

Attack - Adjusts the speed of the filter, and how fast it responds to transients in your playing. Fully slow opens the filter like a nice sweep on the wah pedal. Fully fast will open and close the filter nearly instantly making the attack of each note very pronounced. Fast attack will also move the filter around during note bending and the beating of slightly out of tune notes.

Threshold - Adjusts the volume sensitivity of the filter. Turning it up causes the filter to begin working sooner, or at lower levels. Adjusting this lets you control the frequency that the filter opens up to in a given range.

Feedback - Controls how much you hear the filter working. Turning it up adds more of the frequency the filter is moving at to the sound. All the way down and the Fat Man subtly removes frequencies like a moving passive filter. Turn it up and the filter becomes more audible. Dime it and you’ll be able to make it quack and thump depending on where the range is set.

Range - Selects between 12 distinct frequency ranges, controling the tone of the filter. The lowest setting goes down to 20Hz and provides movement in the sub-bass frequencies. The highest range tops out at 7kHz. Each range has its own sound and response characteristics.

Sweep Up/Down - Controls where the filter starts and moves to. When in “up” mode, the filter startes at the lowest frequency and as volume increases, the frequency moves up. When in “down” mode, the filter is at its max frequency for the range and moves downward as the volume increases. Down acts as a tone compressor.

Lowpass/Bandpass - Changes the way the filter affects low frequencies. Lowpass mode is more subtle affecting only the highs in the signal. Bandpass mode sounds more like a wah pedal, allowing only a narrow band of sound through. Bandpass mode has much more feedback and a very strong sound.

Bypass - The stomp switch enables and disables the Fat Man. When bypassed, the Fat Man will not touch your tone. True bypass wiring means that your signal goes in and right out instead of being degraded by unnecessary electronics. Good stuff.

Internal Gain - This control lets you set the output volume of the Fat Man. The Fat Man can put out a lot of level, so turning this down will clean up the signal for the device following the Fat Man. Turning it up will add some extra juice for driving quiet devices. This control doesn’t affect the Fat Man when bypassed. Use this if you need the FatMan louder or softer than the input signal.

Key Input. The key input lets an external source control the filter. For example, you plug a drum machine into the key in it automates the wah FatMan. Or, hook a mic to the Key In and put it in your drummer’s kick drum and plug the bass into the main in; the kick and bass work together to create a new sound. The Fat Man’s versatility is intended to spark your creativity. There are literally hundreds of things that can be pluged into the key in to create new and interesting sounds.

Getting the most out of the key input requires proper setting of the Attack and Threshold controls. If the attack is too slow, the filter won’t move around much. Set the threshold to get the desired amount of movement.

Construction. The Fat Man is made from milled die-cast aluminum and then powder coated purple and lettered with bright red epoxy paint. This makes the Fat Man easily stand up to the rigors of the road. Plus, a voilet LED tells you when the Fat Man is engaged.

Only the highest quality components are used in the electronics, simply because the sound better. Less noise and distortion are the goal. Each pedal is extensively tested for low noise and sound quality.


Filter Review - The Syle : Green Filter

Stashed under: Reviews - Filters — grygrx @ 2:23 pm


The Syle Green Filter

Manufacturer: The Syle
Model: Green Filter
MSRP/Paid: $150
New/Used/Loan: New
Battery: Yes
Power Supply: Yes
Size: Aprox. 4.75″ Wide x 4″ Tall x 2.25″ Deep (jacks/knobs etc included)
Available from:Dealers

From the maker:

Description:

green filter:
ultra-versatile & extremely responsive analog envelope filter.
fizzle-crispy synth fuzz gargling, insane bubble-quacking, liquid funk-sweeps.
dual selectable frequency pass filters provide multiple tone options!

controls :
level - controls output volume.
width - adjusts attack/decay intensity.
depth - varies filter sweep height/depth.
a switch - selects different filter frequencies.
b switch - selects different filter frequencies.


Filter Review - BoomStick Audio Devices : Bottom Feeder

Stashed under: Reviews - Filters — grygrx @ 1:52 pm


Boomstick Bottom Feeder

Manufacturer: Boomstick Audio Devices
Model: Bottom Feeder
MSRP/Paid: $149
New/Used/Loan: New
Battery: Yes
Power Supply: Yes
Size: Aprox. 3″ Wide x 4.5″ Tall x 2.25″ Deep (jacks/knobs etc included)
Available from:Direct Only

From the maker:

Description:
The Bottom Feeder by Boomstick Audio Devices is based on the same circuitry as the original DOD 440, but with a wider frequency range for baritone and bass players.


December 2, 2008

Dirt Review: Penny Pedals DS-1 Bass Mod

Stashed under: Reviews - Overdrive / Distortion — grygrx @ 9:06 pm


Manufacturer: Penny Pedals
Model: DS-1 Bass Mod
MSRP/Paid: $79.99/Trade
New/Used/Loan: Used
Battery: Yes
Power Supply: Yes
Size: Aprox. 2.5″ Wide x 5.5″ Tall x 2.25″ Deep (jacks/knobs etc included)
Available from:Direct Only

From the maker:

Description:
Oh no… not another DS-1 modification. But wait…. Bass? Yes!

Originally designed for a heavier guitar distortion, the Penny Pedals DS-1 ‘Bass’ mod takes this pedal where you never thought possible. NOT modified for ’singing highs’ or “delicate, balanced upper mid clarity,’ this DS-1 is simply BRUTAL. Of course, it can be used for guitar… but you may have to pry it from your bass player’s hands!

First, the ‘usual’ DS-1 mods are done, with attention paid to reducing the noise, shrill distortion, and general blah sound. A few key components are adjusted to retain low end frequency response, but maintain a ‘tight’ sound.

Second, the tone control is modified to my own personal ‘flavor,’ reducing the mid drop and making it more usable overall. The tone control is completely usable throughout the entire range… try that with a stock DS-1!

Finally, the addition of a two-way switch gives you the option of two disticnt modes: DS and OD. in DS mode, the overall sound is closer to stock, but with much more low end, Mid-high gain (distortion) and normal output. This is great for cranking the distortion and getting an almost fuzz-style sound. In OD mode, the gain is reduced and overall volume increased a LOT, much more like an overdrive. The low end is huge without being flabby. This is becoming a favorite overdrive for bass players, myself included!

These are new units, fresh with factory boxes and papers, as well as my own manual. I can also modify your existing DS-1 to Bass spec, just email for info!