Truetone

(Originally written by Dlz/translated from Audiofanzine FR) Same features as the V1 except for the switchable noise gate and a knob to control the bass boost intensity. UTILIZATION The overall configuration is simple and intuitive. The provided setting examples in the user's manual are very helpful (they also allow you to quickly understand the pedal limitations). SOUND QUALITY The overdrive is very good even though the mid boost is very obvious (much more than in a SD-1) so the effect isn't as honest regarding the frequency response. I have a problem with the distortion channel (Hyde) of this pedal. While the overdrive has an excellent quality, the distortion channel has no real character, it is ordinary and it even sounds bad with extreme settings. Considering the low quality of the distortion channel, the overdrive and distortion controls yield poor results especially because the distortion is placed before the overdrive in the signal path. So you end up with a distortion boosting an overdrive not an overdrive boosting a distortion. It's quite inventive but considering the result I yearn for a classic effect chain. I'd rather have the J&H in overdrive mode and then connect a distortion pedal to it. Overdrive: 9 Distortion: 4 OVERALL OPINION I've been using this pedal for one year and I use the overdrive channel almost exclusively. I'm really disappointed about this pedal (which indeed has excellent reviews) because its distortion channel is nothing but average. Compared to my MXR Double Shot, the MXR provides two very good and really different distortion sounds. The price tag is quite high considering the weak distortion channel. I would never choose this pedal again.

Visual Sound's Route 66 American Overdrive is a modern interpretation of the classic Ibanez TubeScreamer design with the added dual-functionality of a stomp compressor. It is entirely powered by a single 9V input and features True Bypass switching. It is also built ruggedly for repeated stage abuse. Despite it essentially featuring two pedals in one, the combined chassis is somewhat conservative in regards to the amount of pedalboard real estate it occupies. Because the compressor shares the same box, there is no need for extra patch cables, which would not only take up space but could potentially be a source of noise or signal loss in your effects chain. The two sides can also be used individually, so this is truly a dual-purpose pedal. UTILIZATION While TubeScreamer reissues are a dime a dozen in a crowded market, Visual Sound have cleverly packaged their interpretation together with a stomp compressor and some sensible modifications. While the overdrive circuit itself is pretty true to the original TS design, the added Bass Boost switch is a key design addition. The original TS was infamous for stripping away low frequencies when engaged, forcing the player to compensate using the EQ or tone controls on his or her amp. This of course defeats the purpose of the stomp box, because when the players switches it off to go back to a cleaner setting, their tone will be too accentuated in the lows. With the Bass Boost switch engaged on the Route 66 pedal, this tone adjustment is done for you, providing a thick, uncompromising overdrive. For me, this is the singular element that sets Visual Sound's product apart from the competition. I found the other controls to be quite expressive and effective. The drive knob has a smooth, progressive trajectory that allows you to easily dial in the amount of overdrive from subtle to heavy. In particular, I found the tone knob in the center to be very effective, and when pushed past the 12 o'clock position it really adds to the tone. (In fact, the tone knob turned full bore was a common technique used by The Strokes using the same circuit during the recording of their first two albums). The volume control, as expected, provides clean control of the overall output to best adapt the pedal to any amplifier or signal chain. The compressor side, which intelligently comes before the overdrive section is also very useful. While there may be many individual compressors with more in-depth controls available, the simplicity of this design with the added bonus of its integration into the same chassis without the need for supplementary patch cables renders it a valuable tool. The compressor is particularly useful when riffing in alternate tunings where there are many open and droning strings. The one control on the compressor side that I don't use often is the Tone Control. Unlike the tone control on the overdrive side, the Tone Control for the compressor can be disengaged. This is a good thing, because also unlike the overdrive's tone control, it much more severely alters the shape of the tone. For the general tightening up of one's sound, the tone control is probably too heavy-handed and best left alone. However, this could become useful in a live scenario, where switching guitars would require changing amp settings to adjust to the change in pickups. Instead, you could dial a compensating tone adjustment using the tone knob ahead of time. Starting with the tone knob disengaged with guitar A, you could simply turn it on when switching to guitar B and save yourself the need to reach over to the amplifier's tone controls. SOUND QUALITY I'm very pleased with the sound and tone achieved with this pedal. Between the controls on both sides, there's a lot of variation in the type of overdrive tones I can dial-in. As someone who plays a lot of indie, alternative music, this pedal adequately fulfills my needs in terms of a subtle, harmonic overdrive with accompanying compressor to tighten up resonances and droning strings. In the example below, I play a riff in Open D where the compressor really helps to clarify the notes of the chords and bring out the picking dynamics induced by the overdrive circuit. https://en.audiofanzine.com/guitar-distortion-overdrive-fuzz/visual-sound/v1-series-route-66-american-overdrive/medias/audio/a.play,m.473854.html The compressor also works well on it's own to tighten up open chords and clean tones. The overdrive is also perfectly functional on its own and does not require the compressor to fill out its tone. My only complaint so far with the unit, is that when the compressor is engaged it tends to emphasize low-level noise in my signal path. This of course is an inevitable by-product of compression, but it is something to be wary of in a recording environment. OVERALL OPINION In keeping with Visual Sound's established reputation for producing quality, well-thought out products, the Route 66 delivers. It is a classic overdrive pedal that is very suited for traditional tube amps. It won't deliver scorching, Marshall half-stack distortion, but I pair it with my Rat 2 for those needs. The compressor is also a great added tool to my signal chain and the ability to have them both in the same unit greatly simplifies things. Pros +truly dual purpose overdrive and compressor pedal +powered by a single 9V input +reduced pedalboard footprint +Bass Boost to compensate for low frequency loss when the overdrive is engaged +rugged construction and true bypass switching Cons -compressor increases low-level noise -no ability to place the compressor after the overdrive -for someone who doesn't need the compressor, then the footprint would be unnecessarily large

This is a combo pack version of the 1 spot which includes a daisy chain and I believe some extra cables with different ends for specific pedals that don't have the regular boss style adapter end. This is a great deal, the overall package is less than $40 bucks and includes everything you need to power at least 5 pedals from the start. Not only that, it's very small and takes up little to no space on your board vs a brick power supply. But of course it's different for each player depending on the size of their board and what kinds of pedals they're using. The 1 spot has become to renowned that almost every other company is now making variations of the same thing to market. There has been some debates about noise issues with adapter style plugs but to be honest I haven't had any of these noise experiences with gigs or just playing at home. Nothing seems to be any noisier than without the 1 spot. Oddly enough I haven't even heard of the 1 spot cable being torn apart or anything like that either, it is rather thick compared to an older red tag boss style adapter and those have always eventually had the cable torn out somehow. This is slightly sturdier, as it is thicker. As I've said in an earlier review, I've seen many players using the 1spot and have had no troubles with it at home or live etc. So it seems to do the job, I have used both brick power supplies as well as the 1 spot and find them all to be very useful with the 1spot being the one I use the most merely for more space on my board. Just gotta make sure you clean up all the extra cables from the daisy chain etc to not tangle it up and mess it up when stompin!!

This is a hybrid digital/analog delay. It has a metal enclosure. It is black with white writing. Simple 3 knob controls. Im a hobbyist musician with a love of old rock n roll from early 50s rockabilly to 70s classic rock, I am also love the blues and vintage country music. I bought this pedal from musicians friend for $69. I was looking for a good analog delay pedal but most of the ones I liked where way out of my budget. I ran across a demo of this pedal on you tube and like the sound so I went to visual audio's website and read more about it before decideing to purchase it. This pedal has a very good vintage analog delay sound for the money. It is a hybrid meaning part of the signal path is digital but you can't tell it by listening to it. The price was very much a deciding factor for me as it was at least half the price of any other analog delay. I havent found anything not to like so far. It really is a good pedal. Alot of people shun anything that is not big name or boutique but it is really the sound that matters. It has a metal case. And seems to be a pretty sturdy pedal. The case is sheet metal like alot of electro harmonix stuff, not cast aluminum or pot metal. Overall a very good pedal for the money. There may be better sounding delays out there but for the money you cant go wrong. And if another delay sounds better it wont be by much in my opinion. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought the unit via the Internet from Humbucker Music for $116. I did my research and that was the best price anywhere! What I like about the unit, as you can imagine, is the sound. I was specifically looking for a tailored overdrive sound and the Jekyll & Hyde pedal allows for just that. It is actually two pedals in one, a distortion and an overdrive which can be blended for outstanding cut-through voicings. What really makes the sound from the unit stand out is that you can really hear the strings and feel the power of the tone, it breathes. What I don't like about the unit is what is expected from an overdrive pedal, noise. Ain't nothing you can do about it. The best solution is to keep playing and avoid the backround noise. What can I say, it's suppose to be noisy. The quality of the unit is awesome! Solid steel constructions, easy access nobs, perfect for gigs. If you are looking for an authentic overdrive or distortion stomp box, look no further. This pedal could have been used at woodstock and fit right in. The price of the unit is great and it's not going to break. Buy it, plug it in and feel your heart rattle. This pedal rocks! This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Purchased new at Gand music for $129. I was looking for a overdrive/distortion pedal that would not color my tone too much. After reading several reviews I found this to be what I was looking for. So I called Visual Sound with a couple of questions and the owner Bob Weil answered the phone. He answered all my questions and then refered me to the local dealer. There I compared the pedal to a couple of other pedals including the Visual Sound Route 66 overdrive. Another very nice pedal that is a tubescreamer and a compressor/sustainer combo. None could beat the versitility of this pedal. The tonal variations of this unit are indescribable. It has two foot switches one for the Jekyll which sounds like a tube screamer (SRV) it has the same chip as the TS-808 nice clean distortion/overdrive. The other switch controls the Hyde side and this has a more modern distortion sound that will vary from mid 80's to today's scooped mid's. With both switches engaged it is super overdrive yet does not get muddy. Just a bit noisy, but you are cranking! I have yet to get a bad sound out of it. Heavy steel chassis. Feels well built. I am very pleased with this pedal. I feel that if you are in the market for a overdrive pedal that can turn a single channel tube amp into a 3 channel this is for you. It also has a huge range of quality sounds. Excellent value because it is really two pedals in one! This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Purchased from Musician's Friend online for $130.00 (US). After I borrowed a rack fx box from a friend, I fell in love with the chorus and echo for both guitar and vocal work. I wondered what it would be like to have better thicker chorus and more control for my vocals, so after reading a few reviews I thought about the H2O, and I emailed the company to ask if they had tried vocals. They responded promptly that they knew of someone using it for vocals but hadn't tried it. I decided to give it a shot. It's very simple to use, and it inspired me to play for several hours from the moment I plugged it in with my guitar. Worked fine with my mic, and I was able to get some very spacy vocal sounds. After playing it for a few months now, both the effects sound a little "canned", just a little. When I first turn it on there is a loud ringing sound, so I have to turn it on before the amp if I don't want to hear it. When switching on and off both effects, there is a slight pinging sound, so I wouldn't want to use the swithces live on the fly (which sort of defeats the purpose of having foot switches). When it was only a few days old, I pushed the unit across the floor with my foot and two of the rubber "feet" fell right off. There was enough glue to stick them back on, but now I have to be careful, and I'm sure they will fall off again, and I will have to glue them on with something better than what came from the factory. The body of the unit is very solid; knobs and switches very sturdy and smooth and look and feel as if they will last about fifty years. All in all this is a pretty nice box and the effects are fine for live performance if you don't mind the slight ping (or don't use foot the switches). I have done some interesting recording with it, and I want to like it more, but they really need to improve on some basic things in my opinion. I might trade mine, I'm not sure yet. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I have been using this unit for 6 months. The first thing that's great about this unit is the compatibility options. this thing can supply 9v/12v boss (aca) pedals, 9v high current Line 6 pedals, a sag control option and 18v/24v pedals with custom cables that are sold separately (unfortunately). I love that you also get a 3-prong outlet on the back. I have a diamond halo chorus pedal that has a funky power supply option so the 3-prong outlet was perfect for plugging that in. All these options make this an ideal power supply for beginners (most boss pedals and line 6 pedals are beginner pedals in my opinion, they just aren't as amazing as some of the higher end pedals) and pedal connoisseurs alike. I guess what I liked least about it was how short the power cables that came with it are. I am a guitarist but also a piano player (Rhodes) so I sometimes have some pedals on the floor and some on top of my piano. If all your pedals are not within a 1 1/2 feet, you will have the same problem. I have furman rackmounted power conditioners, but this is the first one I have had just for guitar pedals. I actually got mine used for $100, but I would have paid the full price. I have over $2000 worth of effects pedals so its worth knowing they are protected and the power is correctly supplied. There are a few other things I should add. The SAG feature (supplies low voltage so it simulates low battery) seems a little strange. I have yet to use it and have not needed to use the last two jacks yet but according to the manual, you can select exactly what voltage your pedal is receiving, so.... that means that all the power jacks can be 9V. I only write this because I almost didn't get the pedal power 2 because I thought the SAG feature was unchangeable. All in all, its a great device for people who are serious about there effects, I would definitely buy it again!

* Die-cast aluminum housing * Blue and red LEDs * Active and Passive modes * Clean boost pre-amp in active mode * Two inputs and outputs for mono or stereo use * Tuner Out jack for silent tuning This is probably the most exciting thing that's ever happened to volume pedals for generations now. Volume pedals have generally just been nothing but a pedal, a pot and some strings. But now visual sound has literally reinvented the volume pedal making it not only suited better for live use but also added extra stuff to make it even more usable as a clean boost pedal!! Awesome! UTILIZATION Pretty simple to use, even though there are tons of different ways you can use this pedal. First off, to roll the volume on and off you use the big pedal. To see where you're at with the awesome LEDs, you have to be powering the pedal. If you don't want it and/or don't want to power it, you can still use it as a regular volume pedal without powering it but you won't get the LEDs which I find are very useful. Inside, there are two internal knobs that you can adjust the volume output with as well as the clean boost preamp. Set it to however you'd like. I set it so that when I max out the volume pedal it boost the signal as well. The Tuner out is there to hook up a tuner for silent tuning even with the volume all the way down, the tuner out still sends volume to your tuner, very cool. And you can run the pedal in mono or stereo out. The pedal itself is very smooth when in use with your foot. From seeing it and playing with it with my hands at the store counter it looked and seemed clanky, but when I put it down and actually tried it, it turned out to be one of the smoothest pedals I've ever used! SOUND QUALITY Technically since it's a volume pedal I shouldn't be rating the sound quality, but since it has a clean boost preamp built in I can. The volume pedal itself is active for the most part and therefore, includes s sort of buffer that's engaged when it's plugged in and set in active mode. This is visual sound's idea of true bypass but better as it acts as a buffer too bringing back any signal degradation that you might've had from the rest of your board or long cable runs etc. The clean boost itself is very very transparent. Depending on how you use it, even if it's maxed out it will add a large amount of volume, maybe around 10db but will also add, not distortion but, clipping, i'd say, depending on what your amp's set at. Which is also cool and useful if you're running on high gain through the amp and you're looking to push the amp into that saturated-esque super heavy uber metal distortion! OVERALL OPINION I personally love this pedal. I don't know what I would do without it, it's your basic volume pedal taken up 10 notches! You can do everything you've originally done with older volume pedals and more! The LEDs are also very very helpful on stage and are very bright for the stage! I love pedals that are made for live use! This is definitely worthy of that! I'm just not totally sure of it's construction yet, I've had it for a while and have treated it well but I just still don't know yet how long it'll last before it becomes a train wrecked piece of equipment. Everything looks like its made of plastic? Not sure..

2 effects built into one pedal overdrive: with drive, level, tone as well as a bass boost on/off switch compressor: level, tone, gain, with a tone control on/off switch Supposedly analog circuitry as far as I remember. Spec-wise it's very good and simple to use! UTILIZATION It's basically 2 pedals you set them how you want them and switch'em on. You can use either of the functions or both at the same time which is quite convenient. Depending on your playing style. No actual manual is really needed since it's just 3 knobs for each pedal with their added bonus switches! SOUND QUALITY This is what surprised me. It sounds GREAT. No it's not a handmade pedal as far as I remember it's made in china, just like 99% of visual sound's stuff. The overdrive on this is really smooth and does resemble a tube screamer, with the added effect of the bass boost to compensate for those who didn't like how much the tube screamers sucked the bass out. Very usable sound and very surprisingly good! The compressor is also very effective and can be very subtle or very very exaggerated if you want it to be. I find it quite nice if one wants to tame those highs on a sparkly clean strat or just to balance out the overall sound to make everything sound at even volume. I DID try both together and though I personally didn't find it usable in anyway, it still sounded good together if both were set up in a sort of subtle manner. OVERALL OPINION This is a great pedal! The overdrive is good and so is the compressor. I personally do not use compressors at all whatsoever but I can tell this is a good one paired up with a good overdrive. The sound quality is great for both, the overdrive can be used alongside the compressor or each of them by themselves which is great! My only real concerns are that this is the reliability I have no idea if this pedal would last as I didn't really have enough time with it but it looks sturdy for sure. Also for my uses, I would most likely only need the overdrive side, so I don't really get why the pair-up idea was done? I'm sure they sell these pedals separately in case people just want single-function pedals like me? I mean how often do players usually use compressors with overdrive? I actually don't know many...and I myself don't use compressors much at all. So it seems to be an option provided that may not be so popular? I'm not sure. However, the overdrive sound is definitely very smooth and musical. This is definitely a 'sleeper' overdrive pedal in my book. Not many people know of visual sound pedals as most of the players I know usually just go straight for the hand made boutique stuff but this is definitely worthy of trying. And like visual sound's youtube video of the blindfold test, most likely 99% of players won't be able to tell a difference anyway!

The Visual Sound Comp 66 is a compression pedal that is suitable for any electronic instrument, but I'm sure is primarily used for electric guitar, and that is what I've used it for. It is an analog pedal that has 1/4" connections for input and output and requires standard nine volt power. It isn't rack mountable in any way as it is a stomp box. UTILIZATION Using the Visual Sound Comp 66 is a very simple process. Even those who don't have much experience with compression in the past will be able to figure this one out fairly quickly. It's just got parameters for compression, tone, and gain, really making it as simple of a compression pedal as you can make it. You can even switch on or off the tone knob with a switch if you'd like. I don't think that the assistance of a manual is necessary at all with the Comp 66. SOUND QUALITY Even though the Visual Sound Comp 66 wouldn't be my first choice for a compression pedal in terms of a pedal to use for electric guitar, it definitely has a very respectable sound. It is capable of giving you a very squeezed tone as well as a more subtle sound for just getting some more sustain. I've really only tried out the pedal and haven't done any recording or performing with. I was using it with a Fender Stratocaster and a Marshall combo amplifier. In my limited experience with the pedal, I definitely felt I was able to get a few different nice sounding tones with it. OVERALL OPINION While I definitely like the way the Visual Sound Comp 66 sounds, there are a few pedals out there that I'd definitely rather use like the Boss CS-3 and the MXR Dyna Comp. There are a number more that I could mention, but they are more expensive so I think I should stick to comparing it to pedal in it's price range. Unless you're spending more than $100 USD on a higher end pedal, I think you'll find that the Visual Sound Comp 66 is right in the range of most of the other compression guitar pedals out there, so price won't be much a factor. I'd definitely suggest that you try out the Visual Sound Comp 66 in addition to pedals like MXR Dyna Comp to see what will work best for you and the sound you're going for.

The Visual Sound CL-35 Adapter Plug Mini Jack is a small connector which allows you to convert power for your pedals from a standard 9 volt jack to a 1/8" mini plug jack. I use this pedal in tandem with a daisy chain that I hook this onto and to power up both an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff pedal and a few other pedals that I have that require a mini plug like this one. I wasn't able to find too many adapters like this one, so this one was pretty much my only choice out there to get this job done. I must say that I'm very pleased with this little adapter as it has made me not have to rely on nine volt batteries to power up my pedals that don't have the standard nine volt jack on them. The cable is built pretty well and I expect for it to last a pretty long time as I don't see myself having to replace it anytime soon. Visual Sound offers up a variety of different connectors like this, making it possible to power up just about any pedal using the 1 Spot and daisy chain, which is really cool as it helps to consolidate the powering of all my pedals to a single location. I can't think of anything that I don't like about the Visual Sound CL-35 Adapter Plug Mini Jack as it has done everything that I had expected it to. The price of the cable is very cheap, so it isn't like they try to rip you off with a product that can't really be found elsewhere, which is definitely nice as I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one if I had another pedal that needed it. This is probably your best bet to power up Electro-Harmonix pedals if you have a daisy chain and don't have the power supply or are simply looking to consolidate your power supplies.