NPD New Pedal Day

[KuruPrionz]

Well, I did pull the trigger this morning. It's not here yet. I've wanted a Tech 21 Double Drive 3x for quite a while now. One came up on eBay and I liked the condition, price and seller feedback rating so I snagged it.

 

http://www.tech21nyc.com/archive/double-drive-3x/

 

I have the Tri-AC, which is similar but different. This has a different set of options with even and odd order harmonics and cascading gain stages. Programming is so simple, I've adjusted and saved a preset in the middle of a solo on stage before.

Tweak knobs, double click a foot switch, done. I'll probably use it more to record than for live work but I could set up a board with that, the TC Flashback X4 and a DI and gig with that sometimes, it's nice to travel light.

[Winston Psmith]

I like the design, very straight-forward. If it sounds as good as it looks, you should be very happy with it.

[KuruPrionz]

Thanks Winston, I have the Tech 21 Tri-AC, the Bass Drive DI (V2) and the Para Drive DI (V2), all of them are really useful and sound great. All of them are different enough to merit owning.

My bassist also has the Bass Drive DI V2 and the smallest of the Geddy Lee signature pedals. He loves them both, another Tech 21 fan.

 

There are TONS of pedals on the market and it seems we guitarists are always "looking for the next best thing", The founder of Tech 21 - Andrew Barta - is a gigging/studio guitarist in NYC, his perspective on what will be useful is well focused.

 

I used to own a Trademark 10 guitar amp and I wish now that I had kept it. I do still have a Killer Wail and I need to get it fixed, a great sounding, versatile wah pedal.

 

Yes, I am a Tech 21 fan. I like other stuff too but I've had consistently good experiences with their gear. Quite a few pedals have come and gone and the Tri-AC has remained, there's never been any question of selling it.

[Larryz]

Good luck with the new Pedal Kuru! I had (may still have) a Tech 21 Blonde and +1, it was a great piece of equipment. Great for a clean boost with the Fender Tweed amp sound and also great for distortion or OD...

[KuruPrionz]

I just fired it up for a bit. I noticed that is the rare MOD version - Private Stock Limited Edition.

 

http://www.tech21nyc.com/archive/double-drive-3x/   Down the page a little they describe it. I made new presets, the guy who owned had all the gain cranked way up and it just sounded nasty. 

 

The variations are pretty subtle but there are a lot of sounds there. I got my dirty clean singing tones pretty easily and the Class A does sound different than the Class AB. Running A into AB and tweaking it gives a lot of different levels of amp sim stuffs. 

It doesn't sound like my 3 other Tech 21 pedals. Plus it's "collectable" and in collectable condition. Score!

[Werewolf by Night]

Cool. Sounds real nice in demo vids! Keep us posted- I'd like to know how it fares with other pedals- particularly octave-fuzzes and fuzzes- stacked into it; I noted that Tech 21 states, "INPUT is 1megOhm high impedance input, same as traditional tube amps"- sounds promising for such stacking...

[KuruPrionz]

Cool. Sounds real nice in demo vids! Keep us posted- I'd like to know how it fares with other pedals- particularly octave-fuzzes and fuzzes- stacked into it; I noted that Tech 21 states, "INPUT is 1megOhm high impedance input, same as traditional tube amps"- sounds promising for such stacking...

 

Bear in mind I have a TC Electronic Flashback X4, a couple more SansAmp pedals (for bass and misc) and all the widgets that are built into my Katana and Vypyr amps.

I do have a Tech 21 Killer Wail wah pedal but it needs serviced. Great wah though, runs quiet (no radio!) and it has that tortured beast tone that I love. It's not a "smooth jazz sort of funk" kind of wah at all.

 

I don't have any octave fuzzes or other fuzz boxes. So I won't be able to say much, sorry. The Double Drive does run the gamut from fairly clean to tight metal distortions with a lot of ground in-between.

 

And it already has a cascading gain system, the Class A stage runs directly into the Class AB stage. You can do a lot with that.

[Werewolf by Night]

If you lived nearby, maybe I'd bring you a few to try with it!

[KuruPrionz]

If you lived nearby, maybe I'd bring you a few to try with it!

 

And that would be fun!

 

Bellingham WA right here.

[Werewolf by Night]

If you lived nearby, maybe I'd bring you a few to try with it!

 

And that would be fun!

 

Bellingham WA right here.

 

Aaaaah.... the Pacific North-West; I'm in Up-State New York, nearly the opposite corner across the US from you here in the North-East/Mid-Atlantic...

 

 

I'd almost entertain mailing loaners for fun; but recently, I finally got back an old TC Electronic "Stereo Chorus/Flanger + Pitch modulator"- that I'd loaned someone a good eleven or twelve years ago... !

 

 

I'll tell you what, I very HIGHLY recommend the Foxrox Octron- extremely versatile, 100% all-analog, Octave-Up Fuzz (think fOXX Tone Machine), Octave-Down Fuzz (think Mu-Tron Octave Divider), Direct/'clean-blend', all blendable in any combination of the three, with additional trimpots and min-switches to tailor it to your tastes, wants and needs.

 

My Octron would be a 'desert island' pedal for me, for sure- if I really could only have ONE fuzz, it'd be my Octron. I've even used it for clean fingerstyle voice-leading, chord-melody bass, chords, and melody-line kinda Jazzy stuff, with its Octave-Up Fuzz OFF, Direct high, and Octave-Down blended in gently, taking care with my fingerstyle "touch", adding fat, warm extra oomph in the lows... But believe me, it's capable of gonzo fuzz sounds, and KILLS stacked into distortion or overdrive! KILLS!!

 

 

But I digress. Sorry... Back to our scheduled NPD Tech 21 Double Drive 3X MOD programming... !

[KuruPrionz]

If you lived nearby, maybe I'd bring you a few to try with it!

 

And that would be fun!

 

Bellingham WA right here.

 

Aaaaah.... the Pacific North-West; I'm in Up-State New York, nearly the opposite corner across the US from you here in the North-East/Mid-Atlantic...

 

 

I'd almost entertain mailing loaners for fun; but recently, I finally got back an old TC Electronic "Stereo Chorus/Flanger + Pitch modulator"- that I'd loaned someone a good eleven or twelve years ago... !

 

 

I'll tell you what, I very HIGHLY recommend the Foxrox Octron- extremely versatile, 100% all-analog, Octave-Up Fuzz (think fOXX Tone Machine), Octave-Down Fuzz (think Mu-Tron Octave Divider), Direct/'clean-blend', all blendable in any combination of the three, with additional trimpots and min-switches to tailor it to your tastes, wants and needs.

 

My Octron would be a 'desert island' pedal for me, for sure- if I really could only have ONE fuzz, it'd be my Octron. I've even used it for clean fingerstyle voice-leading, chord-melody bass, chords, and melody-line kinda Jazzy stuff, with its Octave-Up Fuzz OFF, Direct high, and Octave-Down blended in gently, taking care with my fingerstyle "touch", adding fat, warm extra oomph in the lows... But believe me, it's capable of gonzo fuzz sounds, and KILLS stacked into distortion or overdrive! KILLS!!

 

 

But I digress. Sorry... Back to our scheduled NPD Tech 21 Double Drive 3X MOD programming... !

If you lived nearby, maybe I'd bring you a few to try with it!

 

And that would be fun!

 

Bellingham WA right here.

 

Aaaaah.... the Pacific North-West; I'm in Up-State New York, nearly the opposite corner across the US from you here in the North-East/Mid-Atlantic...

 

 

I'd almost entertain mailing loaners for fun; but recently, I finally got back an old TC Electronic "Stereo Chorus/Flanger + Pitch modulator"- that I'd loaned someone a good eleven or twelve years ago... !

 

 

I'll tell you what, I very HIGHLY recommend the Foxrox Octron- extremely versatile, 100% all-analog, Octave-Up Fuzz (think fOXX Tone Machine), Octave-Down Fuzz (think Mu-Tron Octave Divider), Direct/'clean-blend', all blendable in any combination of the three, with additional trimpots and min-switches to tailor it to your tastes, wants and needs.

 

My Octron would be a 'desert island' pedal for me, for sure- if I really could only have ONE fuzz, it'd be my Octron. I've even used it for clean fingerstyle voice-leading, chord-melody bass, chords, and melody-line kinda Jazzy stuff, with its Octave-Up Fuzz OFF, Direct high, and Octave-Down blended in gently, taking care with my fingerstyle "touch", adding fat, warm extra oomph in the lows... But believe me, it's capable of gonzo fuzz sounds, and KILLS stacked into distortion or overdrive! KILLS!!

 

 

But I digress. Sorry... Back to our scheduled NPD Tech 21 Double Drive 3X MOD programming... !

 

 

Interesting thoughts, my "reality" is different. If I were born 5 years ago, I would have been diagnosed as having some sort of gray area autism. Functional (more or less) but not on the same planet as "normal people."

Between the space cadet and the years of intentionally playing acoustic guitar to learn how to make tones from fingers, picks, frets and strings, I don't feel a need for an organized system of pedals, cords, power supplies etc. - rather the opposite, it is exactly what I want to get away from for live gigs.

 

At home I have a ton of fun plugins that are drag and drop, no cords, nothing on the floor to step on or think about, nothing to fail at a show and some otherworldly sounds. That's fun but it usually comes after I've recorded something.

I would not use a pedal board at a gig and I don't need one at home.

 

The last pedal I bought for a pedal board was a Digitech Luxe. I LOVE the sound of de-tuning, especially in stereo. I played through it maybe 3 times and then I started designing a pedal board for live gigging.

While I was procrastinating, I bought a Boss Katana with the 6 button footswitch, figured out how to make it sound great and the Luxe sat unused for a LONG time. Eventually I flipped it. The ability to put a single, small unit down by the mic stand and connect it to the amp with one cable completely supercedes any desire to have collection of effects dialed to my preference. I don't want to think at gigs, I want to play. The less there is to consider, the better my performance will satisfy my soul.

 

I still have a TC Flashback X4 that I've used once in the last couple of years. I keep it because it has 3 presets plus tap tempo and tones can be loaded from an online library anytime I want (I have a great sounding chorus I got off the Toneprint presets).

 

I can tell myself otherwise but actions speak louder than words. I keep moving towards simplicity. I would hugely prefer to have nothing on the floor and a wireless guitar system that sounds like a cord (or at least doesn't feel unnatural to me when I am playing.)

 

If I could bump a couple of spots down near the bridge with the edge of my hand and wirelessly switch the guitar from a cleanish tone to a considerably less cleanish tone, I would be doing that.

Further, if I could do the same thing with some form of modulation I would do that too. It could be chorus or rotary speaker simulation and I would not care which one.

 

I could split hairs on refining the "perfect" effect tones but I find that impossible in the context of my "Zenish" realization that ALL sounds are perfect since none of them should prevent me from expressing myself.

It is too late, I cannot be saved, I am irredeemable. I neither regret it or consider it significant.

 

Today the band jammed outside at a friend's backyard. I just took my Roland Cube, a 2 button footswitch that provides clean, lead and one preset (cleanish with chorus). I didn't miss anything at all, I had what i need to play and have fun.

 

I understand your quest but I do not share it. I think it's great that you want to do things the way you do them, we should all be happy when we play!!! I am happy, my only disappointments are my own shortcomings and sometimes those can be assets too. Rock on Brother O'Shite!!!!

 

Oh, and if you see a stray Double Drive, be sure to give it a spin!!!! I don't seem to keep many pedals and this one stays.

[Werewolf by Night]

If I could bump a couple of spots down near the bridge with the edge of my hand and wirelessly switch the guitar from a cleanish tone to a considerably less cleanish tone, I would be doing that.

 

I do just that- and even maneuver from very clean, to cleanish to considerably less cleanish to out-and-out overdrive and distortion,

 

using my guitar's volume-knob and my "touch" (your time logged on acoustic will serve you well here, I'm sure), all without fuzz or other pedals until I want them for something extra; usually via a cranked tube-amp, but there would certainly be all manner of means to emulate that with what you're working with, I'm sure!

 

I just set the amp's controls to be louder than I intend to be- well, most of the time- a bit gainy, but just enough; roll back my guitar's volume-controls for a big, fat full and throaty but definitely CLEAN tone, that is also definitely MY clean tone, not quite the same as the ubiquitous 'blackface Fender Reverb combo' tone, more middy, less "scooped". And then back up again, back and forth as I go, hitting all points in-between as needed.

 

 

I understand your quest but I do not share it. I think it's great that you want to do things the way you do them, we should all be happy when we play!!! I am happy, my only disappointments are my own shortcomings and sometimes those can be assets too. Rock on Brother O'Shite!!!!

 

And you, as well! Do things the way you do them and be happy when you play!

 

 

I just this morning had messaged two good friends that,

 

' ...I've been on a sort of... jag?- of playing my Les Paul unplugged most of the time. Practically ALL of the time.

 

That stems partly from having spent so much deliberation on getting the set-up, the action and relief, to feel and respond and sound 'just-so' again. [Weird weather-response and a little neck-twist scenario]

 

I'm happy to say that, in spite of the action being a tad higher than I'd want it, I've arrived at enough of a compromise between action and relief that overall, the guitar feels and sounds fantastic again. And thus, I've spent pretty much all playing-time without touching a cable, not even needing to re-tune all that often at all, by pedal-tuner or by ear.

 

 

At least I'm playing a little more often again! It's been weird, that with so much more time spent at home, I've actually played less this past year. MUCH less.

 

I will segue back into playing full-on plugged-in through all manner of 'verbs and blerbs and flerbs and zzzrbz. And therein will be much healing and soaring and working through emotions and purely intellectual wordless (WORDLESS!! ME!?) cognition and meeting with my Higher Power, as it were.'

[KuruPrionz]

I do the clean-ish to less clean-ish entirely with pluck pressure, whether it be pick or fingers. I was referring to wireless switching of channels and effects and literally, just a quick "bump". A built in wireless switching system that would allow me to have NOTHING on the floor. Empty floor makes happy Kuru.

 

My volume knob stays all the way up, nearly all the time. I may use it for swells, maybe 2 songs per performance. Or maybe not, I've played hundreds of gigs where I left the volume all the way up and never touched it.

I've seen Jeff Beck using his right hand to simultaneously pluck, work the volume and the whammy bar. I admire that but I'm not there yet and not working towards it so probably never.

 

I play unplugged at home almost exclusively. I do jump around a bit, sometimes different electric guitars and often I simply work on my finger style picking on 12 string or nylon string acoustic guitars. Lately I've been working up a lead guitar style based on finger picking too.

 

At the gigs I use a 2mm thick pick, I like the dynamic range that can deliver since it has no flex. It can produce artifacts in the studio since it is heavy enough to effectively be a "moveable fret". There a thinner pick or fingers work better. I've learned to use fingers exclusively when playing my Fishman Triple Play, it is so sensitive that it starts converting the heavy pick glitches into MIDI and confuses the synth plugins.

 

I'm brushing off the rust as well, somehow I have more to do than can be done and I stopped playing as much as I prefer. As always seems to happen when I take a break, I've come up with some fresh ideas out of nowhere.

Aa we climb the mountain, sometimes we must rest since the peak is unobtainable.