Heavyspender
Published on 04/23/08 at 14:25
This is an odd little digital unit, it is a combination of two distortion channels, which can be used in tandem or by themselves. It also has a pitch shifter that gave you a range of sounds from deep chorus to single and double octave effects. It could not be edited via computer and being a floor pedal, it is not rackable. There is a single input and dual outputs for stereo applications.
UTILIZATION
The setup is fairly simple as soon as you figured out how to engage the unit in order to blend the two distortion channels as well as using them independently. Therefore the effects editing was fairly easy. The manual that came with this unit was clear, sufficient and helpful.
SOUND QUALITY
The effects on this unit are decent, if not great. I've played a Fender Stratocaster, a Squire Strat and my current Ibanez through this box, and they all sounded fine. The two distortions, while similar in sound, are both usable and sufficiently realistic. YOu can also engage them both and you got a nice thick sounding 70's type overdrive. If you adjusted the pitch shifter for a chorus effect,it sounded nice and smooth with the overdrive/s, perfect and non-invasive in a praise and worship setting. The pitch shifter, along with having some odd sound settings such as a 3rd or 5th above the original note, had some really cool single and double octave effects. These are the facets that I really miss about his unit. (I dropped the unit, and it's pretty much broken and retired.) I also liked the stereo output capability of this unit, which is great for bi-amping. If I had to say anything I don't like about this unit, it's that the input led would start to clip if I turned it up to high, but if I backed it down, sometimes the output volume would not be sufficient on stage.
OVERALL OPINION
I used this unit on and off since the early nineties when I bought it up until recently when I broke it. I love the versatility and the cool sounds, as I was able to get overdrive, chorus and octaver out of it. I guess it can be considered one of the first multi-effects pedals. The only thing I didn't like was the clipping of the input. This was a great deal at the time at a price of $99, so I didn't try anything else, especially with it's unique combination of available effects. With all the pros to this unit (variety of effects, stereo capability) I would buy it again, hopefully for half the price, with technology having advanced in the past two decades. Even my current multi-effects pedal does not have an octave effect that compares to the effect on this unit.
UTILIZATION
The setup is fairly simple as soon as you figured out how to engage the unit in order to blend the two distortion channels as well as using them independently. Therefore the effects editing was fairly easy. The manual that came with this unit was clear, sufficient and helpful.
SOUND QUALITY
The effects on this unit are decent, if not great. I've played a Fender Stratocaster, a Squire Strat and my current Ibanez through this box, and they all sounded fine. The two distortions, while similar in sound, are both usable and sufficiently realistic. YOu can also engage them both and you got a nice thick sounding 70's type overdrive. If you adjusted the pitch shifter for a chorus effect,it sounded nice and smooth with the overdrive/s, perfect and non-invasive in a praise and worship setting. The pitch shifter, along with having some odd sound settings such as a 3rd or 5th above the original note, had some really cool single and double octave effects. These are the facets that I really miss about his unit. (I dropped the unit, and it's pretty much broken and retired.) I also liked the stereo output capability of this unit, which is great for bi-amping. If I had to say anything I don't like about this unit, it's that the input led would start to clip if I turned it up to high, but if I backed it down, sometimes the output volume would not be sufficient on stage.
OVERALL OPINION
I used this unit on and off since the early nineties when I bought it up until recently when I broke it. I love the versatility and the cool sounds, as I was able to get overdrive, chorus and octaver out of it. I guess it can be considered one of the first multi-effects pedals. The only thing I didn't like was the clipping of the input. This was a great deal at the time at a price of $99, so I didn't try anything else, especially with it's unique combination of available effects. With all the pros to this unit (variety of effects, stereo capability) I would buy it again, hopefully for half the price, with technology having advanced in the past two decades. Even my current multi-effects pedal does not have an octave effect that compares to the effect on this unit.