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MGR/beandog « MXR Micro Amp »
Published on 05/23/07 at 15:00Gigging and recording musician for 30 years but got pretty rusty on guitar for a long time (synthesizers took over) but recently inspired by the purchase of a Danelectro 56 Pro, have begun to play again. Currently trying to unlearn all my bad habits but having great fun with a 1974 Fender Vibrolux, Colorsound Wah Wah, Fender Jazzmaster and mxr micro amp.
I got mine in a boot sale for £5 in about 1995. I'm guessing it is a mid-late 70s model, without the red light.
I love the primal simplicity of this box - a rugged chassis, a decent switch, minimal logo and a single enormous black rubber dial (that'll be GAIN, then)....
The bottom is secured rather over-entusiastically by 4 screws and a metal plate, not exactly convenient but a lot better than a flimsy plastic hatch. After about the fourth battery change you'll probably be considering leaving the damn thing off altogether...probably not a good idea though.
The Micro amp does what it says on the tin really...it acts as a pre-amp stage to drive your amp at low levels without altering your tone. You get pure crunch without the fuzzy mess of most distortion units. In my humble opinion most distortion pedals out there are no match for an overdriven valve amplifier. Having said that I quite like a bit of fuzzy mess on the top once in a while
...Big Muff, anyone?
I would have to say the lack of the light is a bit of a pain. Generally speaking however, when this bad boy is ON...you'll know. Other than this little quibble there's nothing to dislike about this pedal.
Basically it's a block of steel. Built like a tank. Go on, kick it around for a while. Then check for broken toes.
The Micro amp is a very simple idea, executed perfectly. When you can't drive your amp too much (neighbours etc.) this will do it for you, without compromising your essential tone. I don't know how it sounds on other amps, but it sounds pretty fantastic with some hot valves!
I haven't been using a distortion unit since my Roger Mayer Mongoose Fuzz got nicked a while back, and am still considering adding a distortion unit, maybe a Rat or a Tube Screamer. But I see the distortion pedal as a kind of final stage for when you can afford to go over the top...then you can back it down to the Micro amp stage and return to your 'real' sound.
I'd just like to say I'm in no way a guitar guru, these are just my personal impressions of gear I own and use. Hope this helps someone.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
I got mine in a boot sale for £5 in about 1995. I'm guessing it is a mid-late 70s model, without the red light.
I love the primal simplicity of this box - a rugged chassis, a decent switch, minimal logo and a single enormous black rubber dial (that'll be GAIN, then)....
The bottom is secured rather over-entusiastically by 4 screws and a metal plate, not exactly convenient but a lot better than a flimsy plastic hatch. After about the fourth battery change you'll probably be considering leaving the damn thing off altogether...probably not a good idea though.
The Micro amp does what it says on the tin really...it acts as a pre-amp stage to drive your amp at low levels without altering your tone. You get pure crunch without the fuzzy mess of most distortion units. In my humble opinion most distortion pedals out there are no match for an overdriven valve amplifier. Having said that I quite like a bit of fuzzy mess on the top once in a while
...Big Muff, anyone?I would have to say the lack of the light is a bit of a pain. Generally speaking however, when this bad boy is ON...you'll know. Other than this little quibble there's nothing to dislike about this pedal.
Basically it's a block of steel. Built like a tank. Go on, kick it around for a while. Then check for broken toes.
The Micro amp is a very simple idea, executed perfectly. When you can't drive your amp too much (neighbours etc.) this will do it for you, without compromising your essential tone. I don't know how it sounds on other amps, but it sounds pretty fantastic with some hot valves!
I haven't been using a distortion unit since my Roger Mayer Mongoose Fuzz got nicked a while back, and am still considering adding a distortion unit, maybe a Rat or a Tube Screamer. But I see the distortion pedal as a kind of final stage for when you can afford to go over the top...then you can back it down to the Micro amp stage and return to your 'real' sound.
I'd just like to say I'm in no way a guitar guru, these are just my personal impressions of gear I own and use. Hope this helps someone.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com