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Audiofanzine FR
Published on 03/15/02 at 02:28
(Originally written by nihilsbajo/translated from Audiofanzine FR)
I have a "Super Distortion / Feedbacker" (analog effect) made in Japan. Volume, tone and gain controls plus a feedback control. Typical heavy-duty Boss manufacturing. When you open the housing you get the impression that Boss had to go to great lengths to fit all those components inside.
I'll take 1 point off because there is no way to control the feedback volume (see below).
UTILIZATION
Someone who doesn't know how to use this pedal should buy a brain rather than a distortion pedal.
The tone knob has a very wide control range, too wide would say some. For normal applications, set this control in the center position. If you want a very dull sound it can be interesting to turn it down to the minimum, for a shrill sound turn it up to the maximum. And you can also play around with the pickup settings of your guitar and the amp's EQ.
The feedback knob controls the emphasized frequency while you step on the footswitch to generate the artificial feedback. It's some sort of tone knob for the feedback.
To activate the feedback effect the distortion must be on and you must hold down the footswitch as long as you want the feedback to last. It's a bit cumbersome if you want to control other effects at the same time or if you need a very long feedback.
SOUND QUALITY
At the beginning I found the distortion sound really bad. I used it very rarely, only with a minimum gain so that I could use the feedback function, but now I've gotten used to it and it can provide a very interesting sound depending on the amp. I discovered that with my small Marshall amp the sound comes close to a Mesa. This impression is even stronger with my Randall tube amp but you'll get a more "British" sound with other amps. Anyway you'll get very good results with a tube amp. I heard comments about this distortion pedal not being that good. But that's maybe if you use a very bad made-in-Taiwan amp and the wrong settings, but with my gear I find the sound is very good!
The feedback function is excellent but I miss a dedicated volume control for it because it often sounds softer than the notes I play and I have to adjust my pick attack for it to be audible while I'm playing. But it simulates all sorts of feedback quite realistically, from the feedback of a guitar placed close to the amp to microphone feedback. Excellent.
EDIT: I first tested it with a power supply but the sound changes in battery operation! When battery operated the pedal has another sound character. The tone is more "aggressive" and fits harder music styles better. But it's a matter of taste, I personally don't like it that much.
OVERALL OPINION
After several months I'm very satisfied with the performance, especially considering the price! I saw the pedal is sold at very high prices on Ebay USA and it was the same in Europe several months or years ago. With its unique features, this effect pedal is really underestimated.
Up to now it has been a unique, indestructible and great sounding pedal!
I have a "Super Distortion / Feedbacker" (analog effect) made in Japan. Volume, tone and gain controls plus a feedback control. Typical heavy-duty Boss manufacturing. When you open the housing you get the impression that Boss had to go to great lengths to fit all those components inside.
I'll take 1 point off because there is no way to control the feedback volume (see below).
UTILIZATION
Someone who doesn't know how to use this pedal should buy a brain rather than a distortion pedal.
The tone knob has a very wide control range, too wide would say some. For normal applications, set this control in the center position. If you want a very dull sound it can be interesting to turn it down to the minimum, for a shrill sound turn it up to the maximum. And you can also play around with the pickup settings of your guitar and the amp's EQ.
The feedback knob controls the emphasized frequency while you step on the footswitch to generate the artificial feedback. It's some sort of tone knob for the feedback.
To activate the feedback effect the distortion must be on and you must hold down the footswitch as long as you want the feedback to last. It's a bit cumbersome if you want to control other effects at the same time or if you need a very long feedback.
SOUND QUALITY
At the beginning I found the distortion sound really bad. I used it very rarely, only with a minimum gain so that I could use the feedback function, but now I've gotten used to it and it can provide a very interesting sound depending on the amp. I discovered that with my small Marshall amp the sound comes close to a Mesa. This impression is even stronger with my Randall tube amp but you'll get a more "British" sound with other amps. Anyway you'll get very good results with a tube amp. I heard comments about this distortion pedal not being that good. But that's maybe if you use a very bad made-in-Taiwan amp and the wrong settings, but with my gear I find the sound is very good!
The feedback function is excellent but I miss a dedicated volume control for it because it often sounds softer than the notes I play and I have to adjust my pick attack for it to be audible while I'm playing. But it simulates all sorts of feedback quite realistically, from the feedback of a guitar placed close to the amp to microphone feedback. Excellent.
EDIT: I first tested it with a power supply but the sound changes in battery operation! When battery operated the pedal has another sound character. The tone is more "aggressive" and fits harder music styles better. But it's a matter of taste, I personally don't like it that much.
OVERALL OPINION
After several months I'm very satisfied with the performance, especially considering the price! I saw the pedal is sold at very high prices on Ebay USA and it was the same in Europe several months or years ago. With its unique features, this effect pedal is really underestimated.
Up to now it has been a unique, indestructible and great sounding pedal!