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I kept waiting for it to do something truly, deeply weird, and never got there. Maybe my "Weirdness" meter is pegged higher than other players? I'll have to watch the video again.

 

In a way, it does remind me of a very simplistic MonoSynth, although I don't recall that particular EHX Synth? Your Guitar acts as the main Oscillator bank, and you get a Sub-Oscillator, a Filter effect, an LFO (the Phaser), and a Fuzz/OD circuit: look at the front panel of almost any Analog MonoSynth, and you'll see all or most of those features.

 

My biggest reservation concerns the sliders. Guitar pedals get the worst of all possible worlds, being on the floor and underfoot. My second thought was that it needs an Expression Pedal Input. Being able to sweep through Filter Range or Phaser Rate with a Pedal would make for a much more interesting and dynamic effect. Maybe V2?

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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I"ll take a half-dozen, please.

I knew you'd like that... :D It's that sound on those riffs, i'n' it? :cool:

 

I kept waiting for it to do something truly, deeply weird, and never got there. Maybe my "Weirdness" meter is pegged higher than other players? I'll have to watch the video again.

 

In a way, it does remind me of a very simplistic MonoSynth, although I don't recall that particular EHX Synth? Your Guitar acts as the main Oscillator bank, and you get a Sub-Oscillator, a Filter effect, an LFO (the Phaser), and a Fuzz/OD circuit: look at the front panel of almost any Analog MonoSynth, and you'll see all or most of those features.

 

My biggest reservation concerns the sliders. Guitar pedals get the worst of all possible worlds, being on the floor and underfoot. My second thought was that it needs an Expression Pedal Input. Being able to sweep through Filter Range or Phaser Rate with a Pedal would make for a much more interesting and dynamic effect. Maybe V2?

Shorterish answers here (morerish answerers elsewheres ;) )- you aren't wrong about sliders on pedals; and you are VERY right about an expression-pedal option being needed.

 

I think he meant that it was the weirdest pedal in Jeorge Tripps' Way Huge line; and, the pedals name is alluding to the "weirding way" and goofy gadget in the film adaptation of the Dune series of books...

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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Caev nailed it. It isn"t the weirdest pedal in the world, it"s the weirdest Way Huge pedal and a play on the team from Dune. Add to that your familiarity with the power of ACTUAL synthesizers as opposed to what guitarists play with...

 

And yes, loved those riffs! I have stuff that gets in the same neighborhood, but- predictably- I like having options. There"s a(n un)reason why I have multiple builders" takes on the Green Russian Muff, including one from EHX. Each one is a leeeeeetle different.

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It"s a thing. I"d use this thing as a better MXR Blue Box which is a guilty pleasure that I have no real use for but sounds cool. But then again I never thought I had any use for Rangemasters but as of late I have been playing the heck out of a Rangemaster.

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"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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...I like having options. There"s a(n un)reason why I have multiple builders" takes on the Green Russian Muff, including one from EHX. Each one is a leeeeeetle different.

Kinda like my thing for octave-fuzzes in general and various pedals based on the Octavia/Octavio, fOXX Tone Machine, Shin-ei FY-6/Univox Super-Fuzz, Ampeg Scrambler, and Mu-Tron Octave Divider... I've got at least one version of each of those, as well as other fuzzes...

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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Distortions and Delays for me - seems like there's always room for one more. I went wa-a-ay overboard with Dirt boxes some time ago, before I did a major pedal-purging, so I'm more deliberate in my choices now. Of course, I still have enough Distortions and Delays for either to take up their own pedalboard . . .

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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  • 2 weeks later...

EHX is offering a compact Bit Crusher, the Mainframe -[video:youtube]

 

Not the most inspiring video for what should be a very unusual pedal, but WTH? Bit Crushers are definitely an acquired taste, kind of like Ring Modulators; you either have a use for that sound, or you wonder why anyone would do that to their Guitar signal?

 

I have to say, it looks a LOT like the Malekko Scrutator, which is only about $10 more from any online outlet. The main difference is the Filter switch on the EHX. Malekko's QC & build quality are 1st rate, while with EHX, well, you might get a dud now and then. I have a Malekko Scrutator, and I really like it, but I also got mine used for just under $100.

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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The EXH Mainframe has one big thing going for it - availability.

 

GC has the Scrutator listed online, but as a backordered product; you're more likely to find a used one in stock somewhere. By contrast, GC will probably stock the Mainframe among all their other EHX gear, so more players are likely to see it, and buy it.

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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Well, I love ring modulators & have used them extensively since buying a Maestro Music Modulator (made by Oberheim) in 1972. But to my ear, the Mainframe sounds like ass. Everything sounded worse through it, just IMO.

 

@Scott - That's really kind of the idea with Bit Crushers; much less Musical (and I use the term loosely) than Ring Mods. OTOH, I don't really feel like that guy is the best choice to demo this kind of effect?

 

Of course, there's a video of Andy demoing the Malekko Scrutator, and he makes it sound great. It'll be interesting to se if he does a demo of the Mainframe.

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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@Scott - That's really kind of the idea with Bit Crushers; much less Musical (and I use the term loosely) than Ring Mods.

 

I think growing up on the European Musique Concréte & electronic music of the 50s, the ring modulator is just part of my musical 'ear', a very natural sound to me. Bit reduction mostly sounds like the bad artifacts of early digital recording & samplers that we were always fighting against, trying to eliminate.

 

OTOH, I don't really feel like that guy is the best choice to demo this kind of effect?

 

Yeah, I think Bill Ruppert could make this thing sing. He's kind of the 'Andy' of EHX.

 

Of course, there's a video of Andy demoing the Malekko Scrutator, and he makes it sound great. It'll be interesting to se if he does a demo of the Mainframe.

 

I'll check Andy's demo.

 

ps. Yep, Andy gives the Scrutator a great demo. Not my kind of sound, but he shows it at its best. I think Andy makes great demos because he's a great musician & he is really showing each device at its musical best, how each makes music. Worth his weight in gold.

Scott Fraser
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Not quite an impulse buy as I had been thinking about upgrading to a new version for some time, but I accidentally found out about the OCD-Ge Germanium Edition tonight due to a Sweetwater newsletter, and ordered one after some research. My current one is Rev 1.4, which many years later became a favourite of quite a few people (even though initially V2 was considered an upgrade).

 

As my upgrade a few years ago to a Custom Shop version of the DejaVibe (to the MDV-3 rocker pedal) greatly pleased me, this Custom Shop upgrade of the OCD probably will as well. If anyone's interested in my v1.4 OCD, shoot me a PM as I'll probably put it up for sale within a day of the Germanium Edition's arrival.

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Dig. Temperature-controlled germanium-transistor fuzz, along with a special buffer and "pickup-simulator" circuit that allows it to have virtually any pedal placed before or after it with no issues. Sounds pretty damn good, too. Pricey, but if one gigged a lot and used fuzz frequently, it could be very easily worth every penny several times over- especially if playing sunny outdoor gigs in the Summer...

 

[video:youtube]

 

[video:youtube]

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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Some great sounds from that Fuzz!

 

Now, maybe if we pair it with a Bitmap 2?

Cool. I haven't cared for what I've heard in demos for many "bit crusher"/Nintendo NES sounding boxes, but what I've listened to in such vids for the Red Panda Bitmap (1) sounds interesting to me; like ring-mod and messed-up AM radio reception in a '67 Buick late at night. This 2nd version is probably even more so. Stack yourself before you rack yourself...

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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I'm too old to have any nostalgia for 80's Arcade games myself, although I've heard some very funny "chip-tune" versions of songs like A-Ha's Take On Me.

 

I like the purely electronic aspect of the sound. It's not obvious how you would use it in a Musical context, but that's part of the fun, like finding new, weird flavor in your Spice Cabinet.

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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  • 4 weeks later...

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