Pedal/Stompboxes Guide !

Discussion in 'Guitar Gear Talk Forum' started by Alfons, Sep 11, 2005.

  1. nebuchadnezzar

    nebuchadnezzar G34r G33k

    So, you would not buy a tube amp given the choice??It has 8-10 tubes which can fail..:p:..my pedal only has a preamp tube...
    Man if you want tube sound,you have to take the oddbaall voltages and tube failures with it..i know that my pedal will have to be dismantled totally to replace that tube..I think the tubes are available in India..If it blows I will try out a different characteristic tube(12au7, and many others) for a modded pedal..I already have my eyes set on a replacing the tube and coupla resistors about an year down the line...
     
  2. Alfons

    Alfons C.F.H

    AMT Metalizer :

    https://www.pedalgeek.com/cgi-bin/n...YcHQAA1126176924&uzc=99999&command=link--amtm

    AMT has just unvield a new version of da Metalizer ... it luks quite different ....
    the 1 i've got iz all BLACK and Metalizer iz written in red with a BLOOD font !!

    Specifications:

    Overall dimensions: 112/mm72mm/90mm ( itz as big as my PALM!! )
    Controls: Level, Low, High, Dist,
    Connections: IN, OUT
    Power requirements: External – DC 9V, Self-contained – 9V battery I cons. -6 mA

    itz a VALVE distortion which means it has dat TUBE AMP distortion type of sound !!

    FEATURES :

    u cant say dat this iz very HAVY DISTORTION itz more of HEAVY OVERDRIVE but itz perfect 4 playing Metallica and Megadeth and Maiden !!!

    itz very light and very small ..... can fit in ur pocket


    this iz also the only distortion for heavy stuff which i've heard dat isnt only KRRR.KRR. when the gain's turned full !!

    has 4 nobs :

    LEVEL =volume
    low = bass
    high = treble
    GAIN = the amt of distortion u want ..


    NOTE: for ppl hu play the 60's , 70's 80's and funk metal ( RATM )... this iz the perfect pedal 4 u .......

    cost: 99.99$ from pedalgeek.com
     
  3. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    The tube distortion pedals dont really operate at high voltage. The Anode to Cathode voltage is maintained at around 30V using a +15 and -15 dual supply. But the 12AX7 datasheet says that it operates at up to 300V or so. Actually higher voltage will have a better head room but it will too difficult to get them inside a stomp box. So for a genuine tube sound, either get a rack or a real amp.
    But this Silver Dragon strikes a nice balance. Great pedal for an almost tube kind of distortion.
    Nice review Nebu. Waiting to play that and your PRS too :)
     
  4. nebuchadnezzar

    nebuchadnezzar G34r G33k

    Ronnie..your outlook mailbox is full again!!! :mad:
    Which 12ax7s are available in India?Are its variants like 12au7 available too?As I said I wanna mod it later..I have searched this up and changing the tube and resistors can provide more control at the lower settings of the tube mode..which is desirable
     
  5. rocking_devil

    rocking_devil Banned

    @ronnie....some of the reviews are from sites!
     
  6. dennis

    dennis The Bhangra King

    just adding on to what my bro said about the metalizer:

    Increase the low and decrease the high to get ur typical british metal sound...i (rather he) got an exact iron maiden sound outta it.
    Next i put the Low to max and high to around 2 , distortion full...got Symphony of Destruction.
    Ok, till now its prettymuch what one wud expect form a pedal named metallizer.

    Now here comes the fun part,
    Low-6, High 8, Distortion-6
    ..very nice bluesy tone...raised the mids on my amp from 0 to 7..added some delay with my New Rocktron Timer(ill talk about it later) ..and got Money(Floyd) ..sounded pretty similar if not the same to my ears.

    I personally think that naming the pedal Metalizer is an understatement, its very versatile.
    I feel that by tweaking the pedal i can get anything from bluesy rock tones to satch to petrucci(with my single coil) to marty.I do foresee myself using it for a long time(prolly cuz i am broke).

    Lows: I cant get razor death metal/pantera style distortion..i guess its a tube valve emulator and hence i shudnt expect a solid state sound outta it. And i cant figure out where the batteries go in.
     
  7. dennis

    dennis The Bhangra King

    @nebu, dude when are u passing out??
     
  8. h4f0n

    h4f0n New Member

    Basically the 12au7 is a lower gain tube than the 12ax7, thus it doesnt get to that metal high gain territory. Its really good if you are looking for rich clean sounds or slightly overdriven ones. Don't think its necessary to swap resistors to put that tube in.
     
  9. nebuchadnezzar

    nebuchadnezzar G34r G33k

    @dennis..dude I already passed out and have been on my new job for one and a half months now!..thats why I dont post much these days..all forums are blocked in my office:mad:..but for the past 2 days its somehow opening..so I am back in action:)

    @h4fon..the resistors need to be changed to have more control..as it is the pedal starts distorting and compressing past min settings...adding a higher value resistor to the pot will allow for even softer overdrive....then I can have minimal dist till, say, a setting of 3 and normal operation thereon...but I'm not messing with it just yet :)
     
  10. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    @Rocking_Devil. I am at least honest enough to write my own reviews. You check out anywhere in the web to see if I lifted them from anywhere. Ban me if you find them anywhere else and written other than me.
     
  11. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    Below your pedal, there are two rubber flaps which are kind of screwed in. The smaller flap has only one screw to it. Unscrew that one for the battery compartment.

    Metallizer can actually do a nice scooped mid thing. With some good amp settings and a larger cabinet, you can actually play Pantera or things like that. Your pick ups should be gainy enough too. Dimebag never played his guitar fitted with a Vintage Low output PAF pickups. Pickups make major difference.
     
  12. dennis

    dennis The Bhangra King

    ahh,, guess its hust my givson pickups wont do it then
     
  13. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    Rocktron Short Timer Delay:
    ------------------------------------

    Another terrific pedal from the Rocktron guys. As the name indicates it is a short delay and at the extreme settings, you can get reasonable longer ones for soloing but cannot get ehcoe kind of effects with it. I wont call that a disadvantage. Only an idiot will buy a Short Timer and crib about not having long delays. Built solid and large like a typical Rocktron. The knobs are also well places so that you dont bang it when you stomp it on or off.

    Features:
    Time, Level and Repeat knobs. It has two modes short and shorter which is selectable with a small black cheapo plastic which looks like it will wear off any minute. I wish this mode is availble as a Footswitch. I had plans of modding this pedal to accomodate a footswitch instead of that little platic button. Easy to operate or set a reasonablly pleasing delay.

    Pros:
    Has a great reverb feel to it. Even with every knob set to 0, the pedal still rocks because the reverb kinda does a magic to the sound. Especially for Lead, this thing really rocks. Even though this is a Digital Delay, the decay is still resonably natural and the decay with repeats is also good unlike the Boss Delay which sounds extremely artificial like a Robot in action. The Repeat or the Regeration knob at 0 offers only a single repeat of the delay and at the extreme setting, takes you a world of psychedelia. You have to play this to feel it. I usually keep my Chorus settings at a Leslie kinda speed settings and also this regeneration to full and the delay level and time being at full for total psychedelic madness. Might remind you the early Pink Floyd psychedelia. Nice bright Blue LED is a bonus and is a good contrast for the Green pedal.

    Cons:
    Adds a reverb. I know I listed this in the Pros. Even though it sounds good, you still dont have an option to cut this out. You have to live with it and you have no choice. I haven't added another reverb to my chain to see how it will sound.
    The short / shorter modes switch is stupid. A footswitch would be useful. Idiots for keeping the DC jack in the side. Takes unnesscesary space in the pedal board. Makes wiring clumsy and difficult. Makes it difficult for wiring the patch cables too.

    Overall:
    It's a short Delay with a nice reverb kinda feel. Even though it's Digital, has an Analog thingy in it. Regeneration is a super plus for guys who want to make wierd music. Doesn't have too many features but good in whatever it is.

    Verdict:
    Highly recommended.
     
  14. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    Boss BD2 Blues Driver:
    ------------------------------

    A great tube like Warm overdrive pedal. As the name indicates it's mainly for Blues to Rock. Not for Metal. I see lot of idiots have written stupid reviews about this saying that this pedal cannot be used to play Megadeth or Metallica. Why will you buy a Blues Driver then. This pedal nor Boss made any claims that it's the most versatile pedal, so dont crin for what it's not.

    Features:
    -------------
    Level, gain and Tone. This can go from a clean boost to a reall freaky fuzz. The level has a great amout of boost and with gain turned to zero it hardly even distorts. Till I bought my Carl martin Boost Kick Clean Boost, I used to use this as a Clean Boost and it did it's job well even there was a slight colouration of the tone.
    Heavy duty contruction. It has a buffered switching and not true bypass. It neither will let you do a true bypass easily because of the layout inside. Anyway the buffer switching is pretty good and you dont require true bypass mod for this. As I told you before buffering has it's own major advantages.

    Pros:
    Great warm tone. Amazing clarity of each note if you play an open chord or a barre chord with the distortion being one. You can hear every note ring clearly. Exceptionally responsive to your picking. At full gain, you can turn down the volume knob and it cleans up pretty well and also cleans up well if your picking is soft and can get strongly overdriven or fuzzy if you pick it hard. This lends itself to what many of Blues guys would want DYNAMICS. Not some random distorted tone but real nice one. I got mine modded by Robert Keeley, so many of the harsh top ends have disappeared and the has become even responsive with a better bass response too. This pedal is a total Pro sounding one after the mod. Keeley also has given another additional Bass Boost toggle switch which Boosts a tad amount of bass. He has added a bright blue LED too. Another nice thing is the DC socket is at the top, very convenient for people who put them in pedal board. I used this Modded BD2 to drive a tube amp which was kept with little gain. This thing really shined through the tube amp. Infact it gets much better with a tube amp than a solid state. Works well with solid states too but goes to different world with the tube amp. AMT kinda sucked in this test.

    Cons:
    The usable sweet spot on the tone is pretty limited till about 11 0 clock. After that it gets very fuzzy and even unusable. With the tone being full it's total crap. It not just gets trebly, it gets very harsh. This harsh treble is a typical characteristics of all Boss overdrive / distortion pedals. At full Gain settings, the tone is not at it's best. Great for Rhythm work and not cutting enough for solos. Keeley's personal favourite is a BD2 for Rhythm and a TS9 for the Leads. A Keeley modded TS9 is in my wishlist.

    Overall:
    A great pedal if you know how to use it and you are into playing Blues. By the way it's good enough to play things like Led Zep, Deep Purple and even some Black Sabbath. It's a bright sounding pedal. Responds well with single coils as well as hum buckers. When I disposed my previous pedal collection, this is the only pedal I retained because I just couldn't let it go. Nice creamy distortion is always yum yum to play. I know plenty of other Boutique pedals which have a great Bluesy tone but at about 2 to 5 times the price of this pedal. So for it's money this is a good pedal. A lot of Pros use this pedal too.

    Verdict:
    Buy it if you know what you want and you also know it has it. I strongly suggest you try this pedal out before buying it. It can get pretty exciting too or pretty disappointing too. It's a mixture of a great and a bad pedal even after the mod by Keeley. It's in the hands of the user to exploit it's beauty or crib about it's ugliness. One of my personal favourite pedals.
     
  15. Alfons

    Alfons C.F.H


    TRUE............... took da words out of my mouth..
    and unknow 2 u.... i unscrewed da metalizer 1 day :p:
    opened da backportion of it
     
  16. ssslayer

    ssslayer Banned

    hey anyone here knows any pedal that makes MEsa Boogie sound ...

    most sound like Marshall ... :(
     
  17. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    A lot of the heavy gain pedals like the MT2 and several others should be there.

    Check out the Womanizer Pedal.
     
  18. ssslayer

    ssslayer Banned

    nope dude ...

    i feel tha MT2 sounds exaclty like a marshall with 4x12 stack ... jsut that the gain is very high ...

    i have found that Marshall n MEsa have diff sounds ...

    Marshall has more of low mids (200-600Hz) ... and less of hiugh mids (~1000Hz)
    Mesa has more of balanced sound ... creamy ... so to say ...

    i think that AMT Platinum sounds a little close to low gain MEsa Boogie ...
    so my ques is still open ...
     
  19. ronnieanand

    ronnieanand n00bier th@n th0u

    Mods. Can you make this thread Sticky, so that it will be a good reference for a lot of people who might be interested in reviews.

    There are some useless threads like Price list at some guitar stores and things like that sticky. This thread is defenitely informative.
     
  20. Alfons

    Alfons C.F.H

    yup...
    definately made 2 be sticky... hehe..
    anywayz can sum1 give me a sound sample of a mesa boogie.... cause i'v heard nver it....
    iz it really heavy.... cause then an AMT Ramstein wud be gud .
     

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