Bixonic EXP-2000R

The Bixonic Expandora EXP-2000R is a reissue of the old Bixonic Expandora. This pedal was made popular by ZZ Top and is quite hard to find now that Bixonic has gone out of business. This new version of the Expandora has some new features the old one didnt have. On the face of the pedal it has 3 switches that combine in different combinations to make certain sounds. There are D1 and D2 switches with low and high settings that change the voicing of the distortion and an Instrument switch where you select if you are playing bass or guitar. This also effects the voicing of the pedal. Each combination of distortion settings is laid out on the back of the pedal. On the front of the pedal there is the traditional Gain, Tone and Level knobs.

UTILIZATION

The different tone settings are laid out on the back of the pedal. With both of the D switches on Low the pedal will provide a crunch setting. With D1 on high and D2 on low it will provide an overdrive sound. With D1 on low and D2 on high the setting is just called distortion and with both settings on high the instructions call this setting "Forbidden" and you will find out why if you try it. With the switches it is a little counter intuitive that the low setting on the switch is above the high setting. If one setting is higher than another setting I think the setting should be above the other one just to be intuitive.

SOUND QUALITY

The crunch setting with both D switches on Low provides a loose ZZ Top style of gain. The overdrive setting with D1 on high and D2 on low produces a loose but more heavier distortion kinda like AC/DC. The "Distortion" setting with D1 on low and D2 on high gives a more searing style of distortion with more bite and high end. The "Forbidden" setting with both D switches down gives a really thick muddy fuzz style of gain. This setting is very noisy and sounds like the pedal is broken. In the manual it even jokes around saying you should never use it because it will drive your listeners crazy. I think they were only half joking.

OVERALL OPINION

With all the versatility and mostly usable sounds this pedal provides, many different types of music can be covered. The small design is a welcome change to the big square bricks that most pedals are. It can provide the sounds of 3 pedals and is smaller than one. This will save space in your pedal board. If you are looking for a wide range of distortion and dont have much space left in your board or rack you should try and find one of these pedals.

A pedal that delivers a very specific 4 different sounds depending on the possible combinations do the little switches: a crunch, an overdrive, a saturation and sustain an explosion, grain, and feedback!

It's an analog pedal, true bypass, what is most basic.

Ah yes: IT'S THE FOOT OF BILLY GIBBONS RÉVÉVEND!

UTILIZATION

The Expandora is easy to use a footswitch to engage the back of the pedal is a small diagram showing combinations of the mini switches for 4 types of sounds, and 3 knobs, "Gain", "Tone "and" Level ". The first 3 sounds are very simple to set, the fourth is slightly more complicated, and there he must play to tame the mad scientist's (called "Forbidden" on the back of the pedal).

SOUND QUALITY

Personally, I find all this pedal sounds very good! Warm, responsive, a little fat, you can pretty much attack if you put a good amp and a good shovel in the ass, the crunch, overdrive and saturation are very well their taff, sound punchy and fat enough The major flaw (yes) is that it lacks low bass, it sounds a bit empty if the assistant to a clean sound at once, this effect disappears if he sticks a good crunch sound: for its already a good dirty rock is where I prefer it. But the interest of this pedal is just the sound "invincible" when you have enjoyed, we want more! We shall make shit everywhere intro riffs, solos, bridges, I stuffed a melted lump! This sound is not very progressive on the pedal, but on arriving to play the guitar volume, you come to draw really special crunches with crunches, it seems that the amp will "make the soul "as others say! And this is qu'je became an old redneck stuffed with testosterone: to experiment with the sound of this pedal is dangerous for the Portuguese! But as soon as we know it under control, there is no limit to the grain and sustain at will!

All albums post-Eliminator ZZ Top are attackable fingers in the Jew, especially Mescalero, as it surely had to use a little more, and finally more clearly. Reproduce the sound of Rhythmeen is impossible, as the sound of Antenna, but you would bring with varying degrees of success. M'enfin, we never reach the quality and the grain of the Reverend, who is a genius in this field.

OVERALL OPINION

Great pedal, well made, with sounds very interesting, it offers an interesting and varied sonic palette. Considering the price when you get to have OCCAZ ', it offers a good alternative to a lot of saturated / overdrive.

It is therefore an overdrive pedals / crunch / saturation that is plugged in analog effects loop, and nothing more than a con dconcertante ease. To be paid: a gain knob, an equalizer level and ...

UTILIZATION

Okay so let's be clear, the exp-2000r (actually just a classic rework expandora with apparent switch) is the pedals with the grain of his most peculiar that I find, for me it's a wonder she asks a little research in the config to find the saturation you love.

SOUND QUALITY

Basically three types of saturation, a rather enjoyable crunch to vintage rock, the other buggers and finally a casi troisime unusable (the amp does not support it they are a espce of feedback) but is saturation, the most powerful that we can find, trs argler hard for the receiver supports it, but once the rglage find your solos will never be the same ... no one comes back from the sound that comes out of this saturation, an overly strong but wonder vritable a clean and beautiful grain

OVERALL OPINION

Before deciding on the pedals I had to try about fifteen other bosses in the maxon od-20 .. it a totally unique grain, if you like his sound you will not find anywhere else and you can choose this pedals, but even try it before buying ... Perso my choice would be the same pedals that is a wonder it gives a clean and beautiful grain to his mates and trs well with a cry baby, or other chorus pedals ... Try vritable a marvel, but relatively CHRE of distortion pedals for a single. By the way the look is excellent, tiny pedals round it looks like a box a dope ...