cool new effects

[Mark Schmieder]

Interesting perspective on the BOSS pedals. I got rid of all of mine in the late 80's, then again in the late 00's (a couple of bass pedals at that point) as I couldn't live with the outrageously high noise levels across their product line. Not as bad as Digitech at least! Surprisingly, their all-in-one pedalboard units don't seem to suffer from this problem. But of course like many people my first introduction to pedals in the early to mid-80's was via BOSS.

 

My Fender MTG Tremolo pedal keeps saying "arriving today" for four days now. Maybe this will be the day, after I leave for my band rehearsal. :-)

[Caevan O’Shite]

Interesting perspective on the BOSS pedals. I got rid of all of mine in the late 80's, then again in the late 00's (a couple of bass pedals at that point) as I couldn't live with the outrageously high noise levels across their product line. Not as bad as Digitech at least! Surprisingly, their all-in-one pedalboard units don't seem to suffer from this problem. But of course like many people my first introduction to pedals in the early to mid-80's was via BOSS.

I can't say you're wrong! They tend to be good for the money, 'bang for the buck' pedals, but not necessarily the finest or fanciest. I have two Boss pedals, myself, and they're plenty good enough for me, unless I come up with a specific need that another maker better suits, that I can afford and/or 'can't live without'.

 

For example, I have and really enjoy a Boss RT-20 Rotary Ensemble, dual-stomp Leslie/Univibe/rotary sim pedal. Its Leslie-sim sounds HUGE in stereo, especially in times past when I sent Left-Out to a tube-amp, and Right-Out to the PA and monitors. Its "UNI-V" Mode, a Uni-Vibe sim, was good enough to make me finally decide that I had to get a 'REAL' Uni-Vibe pedal, photo-cells, treadle, and all. To get a better, more satisfying Leslie-sim pedal, I'll have to spend a considerable chunk of money- and I have no pressing need for that, while still thoroughly enjoying the RT-20.

My Fender MTG Tremolo pedal keeps saying "arriving today" for four days now. Maybe this will be the day, after I leave for my band rehearsal. :-)

Best and speediest of luck with that! I look forward to your report on that...

 

I have and love a Strymon Flint, but the two Reverb and Tremolo modes that I like the least- practically disliking- are its " "65 Photocell Tremolo" (blackface amp trem) and " "60s Tube Spring Tank Reverb". I just don't find them satisfying, or sounding or feeling much like the actual vintage Fender blackface amps and reverb that I've owned and/or had the pleasure of.

 

I love its " "61 Harmonic" and " "63 Power Tube" Tremolo Modes, and also its " "70s Electronic Plate" and " "80s Hall Rack" Reverb Modes, my favorites being the " "63 Power Tube Tremolo" and " "80s Hall Rack Reverb" Modes, the Reverb feeding into the Tremolo.

 

 

I am very interested in how you like that Fender MTG pedal; and, I only just realized that that one does NOT include reverb! And, that it uses a vacuum tube, AND was designed with Bruce Egnater... cool, cool, very cool...

[Winston Psmith]

Interesting perspective on the BOSS pedals. I got rid of all of mine in the late 80's, then again in the late 00's (a couple of bass pedals at that point) as I couldn't live with the outrageously high noise levels across their product line. Not as bad as Digitech at least! Surprisingly, their all-in-one pedalboard units don't seem to suffer from this problem. But of course like many people my first introduction to pedals in the early to mid-80's was via BOSS.

 

@Mark Schmieder - I couldn't help but notice your remarks about the noise levels from Boss effects, so I have to ask if you were using mostly SC's and P90's with them? I've been using Guitars with HB's since . . . well, that long, and never had a real issue with noise and Boss pedals.

 

My first effects pedals were mid-70's EHX and MXR pedals, and some of the early EHX gear had hellacious noise levels, while the early MXR pedals gave off a distinct, and distracting "POP" when you'd step on the switch to engage the effect. I recall at least one live recording of the Pat Travers Group, where you can hear that sound as the Phaser kicks in. By comparison, Boss gear sounded pretty clean, the main issue I noticed was with the LFO on the Mod effects. If you had your Phaser or Flanger on all the time, you'd hear the LFO coming through, and if you had a Drive box in line, or an overdriven Amp Channel, it sounded like you were playing a tuned chainsaw. In fairness, I've run into LFO and Clock noise bleed-through with other brands of pedals.

 

My experience with Boss MFX, at least regarding the Factory Patch Banks, is if you encounter a particularly noisy patch, the first thing to do is turn off the Compressor in the signal chain; if there's still a lot of noise, see what Amp model it's using. The Factory Patch Banks tend to be cranked up beyond what most of us would really use. I just delete them, and start fresh.

[Larryz]

+1 Winston, I never had a noise problem with Boss pedals and I really appreciate their silent big flat pedal switch. No popping noise when kicked in/out. There is a little high gain noise with their DS-1 Distortion pedal which is to be expected. But I only paid $39 bucks for mine and it was a great little pedal. It is true that if you put a compressor in front of it, it will blow your doors off with some endless sustain. My last pedal purchase this past year is the Boss Compressor CP-1x. I use it to kick in a clean boost for leads on some of my guitars including acoustics. With my 57 humbuckers, I don't need it. Boss pedals work great with humbuckers and single coils IMHO. The CP-1x is silent and would be great for studio recording. I had a Boss multi and sold it as the gain patches were hard to control and could blast me off the map compared to the other patches LOL!

[KuruPrionz]

Like Winston and Larryz, I've not had any significant noise issues with Boss pedals, whether run off a battery or a power supply.

 

I switched to EMG active pickups in the late 80's, a ground wire from the strings to the ground on the jack is not required.

Those of you who stepped up to a hot mic and blew their faces off back in the days of hillbilly electricians will know what I'm talking about.

 

It wasn't fun getting shocked, a customer had me install EMG pickups in their guitar and when I noticed that the installation instructions suggested NOT connect the string ground, I started switching over to EMGs.

 

Never been shocked again and very quiet. EMG was their own worst enemy back in those days, the installation instructions suggested adjusting the pickups as close to the strings as possible without obstruction.

This was purportedly to improve the signal to noise ratio.

It does improve it, slightly - it's already excellent in that regard. It also sounds pretty crappy, turning many players off of EMGs for their "harsh, thin, unbalanced" tone.

They've changed their instructions but it took them too long. Tough to overcome first impressions, if you were not a guitar tech you might not try adjusting the pickup height, which is what has kept me with EMGs.

 

Lowering them down, away from the strings, changes all that. They sound great if adjusted properly and still very quiet.

 

The quality of the AC power is a big factor, most pedals that can use battery power will be quieter if you just run them off batteries.

And you may have an excellent quality pedalboard power supply but what is coming out of the wall?

I added a Furman R-8 Pro C power conditioner to my home studio rack and reduced my EMI, hum, etc. problems to non-issues.

 

Single coil pickups, especially those with large flat coils like p-90 and Jazzmaster will pick up stray EMI more efficiently than one would like.

I've had lots of noise problems with those. I have only two guitars with single coil pickups, both vintage Danelectro / Silvertone instruments with the original lipstick pickups. The entire coil is completely shielded by a chrome plated brass casing - the lipstick tube. They are not hum-free but they are much quieter than stock Strat or Tele pickups.

 

Try testing your Boss pedals for noise using a battery instead of the power supply. If that change makes a difference there is one answer - and also another question (is it the power supply of the wall power going into it?).

Also test your pedalboard as you use it (AC power?) with a humbucking equipped guitar.

If that reduces noise you have another answer. And, both could be a factor. Cheers, Kuru

[Winston Psmith]

KuruPrionz brings up an important point which I had neglected . . .

 

How you power your pedals can make a great deal of difference; daisy-chains can be noisy as hell, among other issues. Batteries have exactly one thing going for them; by its very nature, a battery is an Isolated power supply. If your pedal runs quiet with battery power, but noisy with an Adapter or Daisy-Chain, the problem most likely isn't in the pedal, or not the pedal alone. Try a different power supply, or move up to a Power Brick with Isolated Outs.

 

Among my 5 Electric Guitars, I have exactly one SC PU, in the middle position on my Godin Freeway SA, and if I switch to that PU alone, the 60-Cycle hum kicks right in. It's noticeable, and distracting enough that I never use it. OTOH, I often use the mid-position between the Neck PU and the Middle when playing live, and switch to the Neck for a very slight boost when needed.

[KuruPrionz]

KuruPrionz brings up an important point which I had neglected . . .

 

How you power your pedals can make a great deal of difference; daisy-chains can be noisy as hell, among other issues. Batteries have exactly one thing going for them; by its very nature, a battery is an Isolated power supply. If your pedal runs quiet with battery power, but noisy with an Adapter or Daisy-Chain, the problem most likely isn't in the pedal, or not the pedal alone. Try a different power supply, or move up to a Power Brick with Isolated Outs.

 

Among my 5 Electric Guitars, I have exactly one SC PU, in the middle position on my Godin Freeway SA, and if I switch to that PU alone, the 60-Cycle hum kicks right in. It's noticeable, and distracting enough that I never use it. OTOH, I often use the mid-position between the Neck PU and the Middle when playing live, and switch to the Neck for a very slight boost when needed.

 

 

The other advantage batteries have is they are pure DC, negative and positive with no frequency generated. There is no quieter power supply than pure DC and batteries are incapable of producing anything else.

And yes, compressors will amplify any and all noise. Always good to vet your pedal rigs with compressor off and on for comparison.

[Scott Fraser]

A couple of noise observations. Many years ago I was shopping the used pedal bin at Rogue Music in NYC & pulled out a Boss flanger. I plugged it in & it was unacceptably noisy. The sales guy said to try the bass version, which I believe is the BF 2. It was dead silent & I bought it. Secondly, absolutely the noisiest pickup I have is the lipstick pickup in my Jerry Jones electric sitar. Odd, because Jerry Jones was making high end versions of Danelectros, & I would think he would have found the best lipstick model around. But it's way worse than the single coils in my Strat or the P90s in an Epiphone Zephyr.

Seems to me you need a larger sample than one piece to draw generalizations from.

ps. The absolute quietest pedal I have is the original Boss Dimension chorus, I think it's the DC2, the one with 4 push buttons. As quiet as any outboard studio gear I've owned.

[KuruPrionz]

A couple of noise observations. Many years ago I was shopping the used pedal bin at Rogue Music in NYC & pulled out a Boss flanger. I plugged it in & it was unacceptably noisy. The sales guy said to try the bass version, which I believe is the BF 2. It was dead silent & I bought it. Secondly, absolutely the noisiest pickup I have is the lipstick pickup in my Jerry Jones electric sitar. Odd, because Jerry Jones was making high end versions of Danelectros, & I would think he would have found the best lipstick model around. But it's way worse than the single coils in my Strat or the P90s in an Epiphone Zephyr.

Seems to me you need a larger sample than one piece to draw generalizations from.

ps. The absolute quietest pedal I have is the original Boss Dimension chorus, I think it's the DC2, the one with 4 push buttons. As quiet as any outboard studio gear I've owned.

 

I'd have to see the Jerry Jones pickup in question - not doubting you at all. But, if the metal lipstick casing is not connected to ground it will not provide shielding. I've certainly seen wires that were disconnected, whether by accident or intention the result is the same. The rest of the circuit matters as well. I was pretty specific in that I stated that I have 2 guitars with pickups that hum but hum less in general than stock Fender or Gibson single coils in my experience. I've had a LOT of guitars in the shop but not that many with vintage lipstick pickups.

 

Other aspects of single coils humming are external - the fields of energy in proximity at the time and location of testing, the purity of the AC that the amp is plugged into and the angle one stands/sits while using the guitar can all have an effect on how much a pickup hums. Get all your ducks in a row and single coils can be pretty quiet as long as you are touching the strings and the strings are properly grounded.

 

Too many unknown variables to draw any sort of firm conclusion one way or another. If my vintage lipsticks didn't sound so good I would not even mention them. Not all the vintage Danos I've owned did sound that good. Hand wound pickups are certainly subject to variation!

 

I had the Boss Bass Flanger pedal, got it used somewhere a long time ago. As I recall, it only put flange effects on a limited upper band of frequencies, leaving the low frequencies of bass guitar un-effected for a deeper, fatter tone. I liked mine too but don't use pedals much at all anymore.

[Mark Schmieder]

I knew nothing about electric guitars when I started out, so took my teacher's advice and bought an Ibanez humbucker guitar that I despised. Single coils weren't the issue. But anyway, I didn't mean to get this discussion off-track; I was merely commenting on why I'll never buy another BOSS pedal ever. I only use guitars in the studio (very rare that I gig on guitar vs. on bass, woodwinds, keys). I similarly avoid all batteries, for over a decade now. Back in the day, I didn't know about pedalboards, but always made sure batteries were well over 70% or I replaced.

 

At the time, mid-80's, I owned (and bought) every pedal that BOSS made. I didn't even know there were other brands! I rarely used compressors or back-to-back pedals (and still prefer a simple signal path). I also tried them on my ES-175 (also humbuckers). I was mostly going direct at that time as I knew nothing about the roles that amps play in the guitar sound. I doubt anyone out in the boonies in modern times could be as ignorant due to internet.

[p90jr]

In the Smiths cover band I play in, we had a last minute crisis before a gig that ended up with me having to switch to bass and bringing in a friend to cover my acoustic and electric and 12 string rhythm guitar role. We had one quick acoustic practice with limited time for even that... and my buddy filling the guitar assued us that he knew "How Soon Is Now," which is the only song we need to play as far as any audience is concerned... and it's built around a tremolo rhythm guitar part. I offered my Boss TR2, which nails the sound of the record, but he said "uh... no thanks, I have a better tremolo pedal." Again at soundcheck we focused on other songs that were harder to play... in the gig, at the end where we have to put that song as the crescendo to the set, we look over and lauches into it... and his tremolo is way too slow... the drummer is yelling to me "I can't find the beat with that..." I stop him, and tell him to speed it up... he reaches down and now it's way too fast of a setting... the drummer yells, I stop him and tell him to match my clapping... but his pedal has preset speeds and none match, so he tries the tap tempo and... it's all wrong... I put down my bass and go and mess with the pedal... trying to tap in the tempo myself, but I can't get it to get the right rhythm... he's playing an AC30 so I tell him to just turn on the amp's tremolo and I'll set it, but he says he doesn't have the footswitch... there's heckling from the crowd, he says "this is so embarrassing..." and I said "yeah, all because you have a BETTER boutique tremolo pedal, pal!" The drummer eventually just had his guitar taken out of the monitor so the tremolo wouldn't throw him off and we played the song with whatever he could get... and actually I walked over after a few bars and turned his amp way down and looked at him like "don't mess with me..." There's a spot later in the song where the band drops out for a few bars of the tremolo intro again and that sounded jarring and off time and we all just tapped out the beat on our instruments to come back in at the same tempo we'd been playing...

 

Whenever I play with that band people invariably come up to ask me how I get that sound and match the record, and when I say "Boss TR2 Tremolo pedal" they make funny faces then insist I must have some other secret... but that's it. Even the great tremolo on my Vox amps didn't do it as well for that song. The recording was made by Johnny Marr playing the part un-effected on a Epiphone Casino, then re-amping it through 4 Fender Twins with their tremolos matching in a big studio room with the room mic'ed as well as the amps (and the tremelos would drift out of sync with each other after a minute or so, so they'd have to stop and get them back in sync with each other and in time with the track then do the next minute... I forgot why they didn't want just loop it but right as the tremelos were getting out of sync gave them a cool effect in spots, he said).

[p90jr]

Tim Pierce recently proclaimed the Boss EQ pedal the most important studio pedal you'll ever own in one of his vids.

 

I used one for years as a clean boost for solos.

 

I'm also still a fan of the lowly Boss Super Overdrive pedal... and it turns out the ones I have around somewhere have the same chip as the coveted Tube Screamer models, supposedly. Since everybody was clamoring for Tube Screamers I could buy the Super Overdrives for $15 each back in the day. My contrarian streak has served me well. I find it to be a very musical overdrive pedal but I apply the overdrive to anything sparingly, usually.

[KuruPrionz]

I knew nothing about electric guitars when I started out, so took my teacher's advice and bought an Ibanez humbucker guitar that I despised. Single coils weren't the issue. But anyway, I didn't mean to get this discussion off-track; I was merely commenting on why I'll never buy another BOSS pedal ever. I only use guitars in the studio (very rare that I gig on guitar vs. on bass, woodwinds, keys). I similarly avoid all batteries, for over a decade now. Back in the day, I didn't know about pedalboards, but always made sure batteries were well over 70% or I replaced.

 

At the time, mid-80's, I owned (and bought) every pedal that BOSS made. I didn't even know there were other brands! I rarely used compressors or back-to-back pedals (and still prefer a simple signal path). I also tried them on my ES-175 (also humbuckers). I was mostly going direct at that time as I knew nothing about the roles that amps play in the guitar sound. I doubt anyone out in the boonies in modern times could be as ignorant due to internet.

 

No worries, Sir Mark. I have my own "will never own again" list. I won't touch anything by Crate or Behringer just to name 2.

I have a Boss Katana 100 Combo with the 6 button footswitch and I LOVE that amp for gigging.

 

The only Boss pedals I own are footswitches,I have 2 of the unlatched switches that I used with a dual TS to single TRS adapter to switch channels on my Roland Cube 40GX and today I found the double switch with the TRS out at a the thrift store and it works perfectly with the Cube.

 

I currently own 4 pedals and rarely use any of them. Tech 21 Tri AC, Tech 21 Para Drive, Tech 21 Bass Drive and a TC Electronics Flashback X4. All good stuff in my experience, I love the Bass Drive for going direct with bass for recording.

[Scott Fraser]

Too many unknown variables to draw any sort of firm conclusion one way or another. If my vintage lipsticks didn't sound so good I would not even mention them. Not all the vintage Danos I've owned did sound that good. Hand wound pickups are certainly subject to variation!

 

Yeah, which is why I say my one sample isn't enough for me to draw the conclusion that they're inherently noisy. I've seen enough of them in custom builds to believe there are good, useable, relatively quiet lipsticks out there. But I have humbuckers that I feel are too noisy also.

 

I had the Boss Bass Flanger pedal, got it used somewhere a long time ago. As I recall, it only put flange effects on a limited upper band of frequencies, leaving the low frequencies of bass guitar un-effected for a deeper, fatter tone. I liked mine too but don't use pedals much at all anymore.

 

I moved from pedals to multi FX rack units long ago, & the pedals just gather dust now. Now I'm slowly migrating from 90s era rack FX to software, which is quieter & much more flexible & programmable.

[KuruPrionz]

Too many unknown variables to draw any sort of firm conclusion one way or another. If my vintage lipsticks didn't sound so good I would not even mention them. Not all the vintage Danos I've owned did sound that good. Hand wound pickups are certainly subject to variation!

 

Yeah, which is why I say my one sample isn't enough for me to draw the conclusion that they're inherently noisy. I've seen enough of them in custom builds to believe there are good, useable, relatively quiet lipsticks out there. But I have humbuckers that I feel are too noisy also.

 

I had the Boss Bass Flanger pedal, got it used somewhere a long time ago. As I recall, it only put flange effects on a limited upper band of frequencies, leaving the low frequencies of bass guitar un-effected for a deeper, fatter tone. I liked mine too but don't use pedals much at all anymore.

 

I moved from pedals to multi FX rack units long ago, & the pedals just gather dust now. Now I'm slowly migrating from 90s era rack FX to software, which is quieter & much more flexible & programmable.

 

I transitioned to amps with built in effects. Most gigs (back when there were gigs) have been smaller places, I've got a Roland Cube 40gx that covers those well. For bigger venues or outdoor gigs (summer!!!) I have a Boss Katana 100 Combo with the 6 button footswitch. There are over 50 Boss effects modeled inside. I think if I update the firmware I can get 60. Plus several amp types and an output power switch that goes 100 / 50 / 1/2 watt and has a silent mode where only the DI works. I like the 1/2 watt mode, it lets me turn the master volume up a bit and get a more authentic amp tone.

 

Mostly, I LOVE that I plug my guitar in direct with one cord and the footswitch in direct with another. Just a power cord and I'm good to go. If we need to run into the PA then one cord from the back to the PA, done.

 

I've got a couple of Peavey Vypyr VIP amps - the 1 and the 3. I think Transtube is my favorite amp modeling hardware ever, it really sounds great if you have a good speaker.

[Caevan O’Shite]

But anyway, I didn't mean to get this discussion off-track; I was merely commenting on why I'll never buy another BOSS pedal ever.

Not off-track at all! Kickin' the ball around about pedals 'n' stuff. The rest of us had already steered 'n' veered a bit sideways here before you posted that... 's all good, 's fine.

 

The absolute quietest pedal I have is the original Boss Dimension chorus, I think it's the DC2, the one with 4 push buttons. As quiet as any outboard studio gear I've owned.

When set to its Pitch Modulator Mode- blending Stereo Chorus and a very subtle, quasi kinda sorta Vibrato/Dimension C/Rotary like effect- the TC Electronic Stereo Chorus/Flanger + Pitch Modulator is so low noise, there is actually less background noise and hum when you stomp it on than there is with the pedal bypassed... Now, THAT'S quality.

[Winston Psmith]

But anyway, I didn't mean to get this discussion off-track; I was merely commenting on why I'll never buy another BOSS pedal ever.

 

You didn't pull us off-track, brother! I was curious about your experience with Boss gear, and that's what took us off in this direction.

 

I can't say I've ever sworn off one particular company or another, but there is exactly one pedal on my personal, "Don't Even Bother" list, and that is the Wah-Wah Pedal. No animosity towards any particular brand, no epic fail in the past, I've just never found a use for that sound, no matter what?

[KuruPrionz]

Agree with both above that discussing Boss pedals in a thread about pedals is perfectly fine.

 

And, Winston reminds me that I should get an expression pedal for my Katana and see what the wah pedal sounds are like.

I dont use a wah often but I love that sound when it belongs. I can program it to be a volume pedal on some patches too, that can be handy.

 

(still using pedals, just mostly in the box).

 

Or I could get my Tech 21 Killer Wail fixed - or sell it as-is and buy another one. My favorite wah and I've tried many. It doesn't pick up the radio when cocked back and it has that animal snarl.

[Larryz]

+4 Mark, Liking or not liking a pedal by brand or otherwise is what discussion forums like this one are all about IMHO. I agree with Winston on not having much use for the wah wah and I'm not sure if I still have my Cry Baby? I also agree with Kuru about liking one "where it belongs". In the hands (I mean feet) of Jimi and Los Lonely Boys, I kind of like a wah LOL!

 

Caevan mentioned a "TC Electronic" piece of gear discussing the Boss Chorus with Scott, giving TC a rating of "that's quality" while others in the past, gave the TC company a lot of bad press on this forum. So much so, that I was afraid to buy a TC clip on tuner! I bought one anyway and it turned out to be my favorite tuners. I gave my brand new Snark clip-on tuner in the box to a friend that needed one. Different strokes for different folks and all these guys give great advice...

[Mark Schmieder]

SCF is the oldest pedal in my collection, and the only one with a built-in two-prong cable. I use it exclusively on bass guitar and it remains the ONLY chorus pedal I'll put on bass (something I do rarely anyway), as it is so transparent all the way to the lowest notes on a 5-stringer. Yet I don't use it on guitar, where I want a bit of character. I briefly owned the TC rack version and it was awful, non-transparent, phase issues, etc. But when I spoke to TC about this at a tech conference their rep told me I must have bought a flawed unit, which is quite likely on the eBay market. I took a huge hit when I resold the 2290, in spite of its rarity.

[KuruPrionz]

+4 Mark, Liking or not liking a pedal by brand or otherwise is what discussion forums like this one are all about IMHO. I agree with Winston on not having much use for the wah wah and I'm not sure if I still have my Cry Baby? I also agree with Kuru about liking one "where it belongs". In the hands (I mean feet) of Jimi and Los Lonely Boys, I kind of like a wah LOL!

 

Caevan mentioned a "TC Electronic" piece of gear discussing the Boss Chorus with Scott, giving TC a rating of "that's quality" while others in the past, gave the TC company a lot of bad press on this forum. So much so, that I was afraid to buy a TC clip on tuner! I bought one anyway and it turned out to be my favorite tuners. I gave my brand new Snark clip-on tuner in the box to a friend that needed one. Different strokes for different folks and all these guys give great advice...

 

I have and really like my TC Electronic Flashback X4 delay. I've had zero problems with it so far and it sounds great.

I love that it can load a variety of Tone Print presets from TC's webpage.

 

It's kinda big, there are 4 footswitches on it. Tap tempo and 3 presets. I've got a lush chorus on one of the 3 (Tone Print download), a nastier sounding chorus I made by tweaking knobs on the second switch and a delay on the 3rd - tap tempo lets me lock to whatever groove the band is putting out instantly.

 

I get the complaints about terrible customer service, no reason to doubt them. I bought my Flashback before I knew about all that and I guess if you don't need customer service then all is well.

 

Larryz, if you play any outdoor gigs, check to see if you can read your TC tuner. I HATED the Snarks, partly because they seem to either fall apart or disappear but also because you really can't see them easily outside daytime and in the past we've had quite a few summer gigs outside - even this year we had 6.

 

The Boss TU-10 clip on tuner is super sturdy, small, accurate and automatically changes the display depending on lighting. In a club it is backlit and very easy to see. Outdoors in bright sunlight the background is light gray and the tuning marks are very dark gray - absolutely the easiest tuner I've used in bright sunlight. Our lead singer/strummer tried mine and bought one the next day.

[Larryz]

@ Mark and Kuru, Most of the TC complaints had to do with customer service. The CEO or one of the high mucky mucks from TC even signed on to our forum and promised he would right the wrongs which to my memory (poor as it is) never happened. The pedals had some sort of flaw with the stomp switch mounted over or on the Printed Circuit if IIRC. The main complaint was that TC was no help and wouldn't take care of the repairs or make refunds. Astring left the forum and we never really heard how the story ended...

 

@ Kuru, +1 on the Snark breaking easily if you're not really careful. Mine broke at the gooseneck mount and I just taped it back on with black electrical tape...it still worked LOL! That's why I had a new one in the box to give to a buddy who lost everything in the California Paradise fire a year or two ago. I gave him my capo too as I never use it and he uses about 13 different tunings and was staying at my buddies house who loaned him his acoustic...

 

On the TC tuner, I never had a problem at outside gigs but we seldom play in direct sun. Usually we have a pop up, a shade tree overhead or just start playing when the sun goes down. +1 They are hard to read in direct sun unless you cover them with a baseball hat and make your own shade. One of the nice things about them is you can just unplug your guitar and take it to the nearest shade if you have to. You can also tune other guitars and instruments for those that need the help. One of my buddies said they didn't have good rubber protection when they 1st came out and he scratched his headstock. They must have corrected that problem as mine has good rubber covers on it. I love the big wide screen with big green zeroing dots and the little fine red tuning dots which really show up on a darkened stage and at any inside gig. I think they are very accurate and they are very reasonably priced. My only negative comment is that the on/off switch is a little too small...

 

[CEB]

TC is okay until you need proprietary parts like the PCB mounted switches. The thing on most the TC pedals you step on that looks like a switch is just the actuator. They are hard to get parts from. This is one thing that may have improved with the Behringer purchase. TC support sucked.

[Caevan O’Shite]

Speakin' o' Boss, somethin' old, 'n' somethin' (sorta) new...

 

BOSS / Sola Sound Tone Bender TB-2w

 

[video:youtube]

[Mark Schmieder]

Still not here! Promise date for the Priority Mail delivery was last Friday and tracking shows it at the Durham NC USPS warehouse since last THU if not earlier! No big deal as I can only try it on my bass for now, or on a bandmate's guitar at this coming weekend's rehearsal, but I hate the stress of constantly checking shipping status and being concerned about loss or theft.

 

BTW my understanding is that there is a VERY limited supply of this Fender MTG Tremolo effect due to the specific tube that is used, but it may be that this applies to the entire MTG range of pedals?

[Winston Psmith]

According to one source, Fender acquired those particular tubes when they bought out Grove Tubes some time back, so they shouldn't have any issue with re-supply? I do have to wonder if they chose to make a line of tube-driven pedals, just because they had an overstock of NOS tubes lying around?

 

Whatever the case, it does seem like they're out of stock right now.

[Mark Schmieder]

Yeah, that makes sense, and they announced two more pedals this week (one is a reverb/pre-amp combined pedal for acoustic guitar piezo pickups), but neither is an MTG model. I originally thought the entire new series of double-width pedals was MTG.

 

Still not here either, and tracking has been stuck since 8 December with an original 10 December promise date. I had to contact the seller to see if they can find out more at their end.

[p90jr]

The Stupid Deal of the Day today is the Pigtronix Disnortion, which is an overdrive and fuzz combined in one micro pedal. A couple of weeks ago I succumbed to the Deal of the Hour special and got both the Disnortion and Micro Germanium Philosopher's Tone at this price, which is essentially half- off. I put them under the tree and haven't opened them, yet...

 

Stupid Deal of the Day - Pigrtronix Disnortion

[Caevan O’Shite]

The Stupid Deal of the Day... Micro Germanium Philosopher's Tone... essentially half- off.

I saw that, and kinda~sorta regret not scoring one at that price... Then again, I have no shortage of fuzz pedals, and fuzzy germanium goodness is what I would have used that for...

[Mark Schmieder]

The MTG Tremolo FINALLY arrived today, two weeks after its promised "Deliver By" date. :-)

 

I can't try it out though, as it can't use batteries and has no AC adapter. My pedalboard is in CA.

 

Not sure if it can accept an adapter or not. Probably, but it seems designed exclusively for boards.

 

Anyone know for sure about these new Fender pedals? Maybe I can grab something at FC soon.

 

Otherwise, maybe one of my bandmates has a pedalboard we can hook it into this Saturday.

 

The power jack for DC In says 200mA and 9V, which is pretty standard, so should be easy match.

 

I'm disappointed by the looks as it's metallic and highly reflective and glarey; hard to read as well.

 

I thought it was orange. Maybe in outdoor light it will be non-distracting and not so hard on the eyes.

 

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1Spot9v--truetone-1-spot-slim-9v-dc-adapter

 

Looks like the adapter above is good to have at hand for quick-and-dirty single-pedal powering.

 

Of course, 1700mA means lots of headroom regarding power drops not causing problems.