Valeton Guitar Effects

SOUND: Thanks to the 24-bit technology and custom buffer circuit, the Coral Mod II has great clarity. It also has very low noise, making the inclusion of its tremolos, wahs, flangers, etc., a pleasure to use with both clean and high-gain tones. With clean or slightly crunchy tones there isn’t even a whisper of associated noise (swoosh, pulse, etc.), and with high-gain tones the ‘noise’ is inconsequential and excusable. What stands out as much with the Coral Mod II is that the tones are both organic and natural sounding, but they also penetrate the mix exceptionally well. In sum, the clarity and quality of sounds make for ideal home studio recording, but also when playing gigs when you want to cut through the mix with an effect. I also think the quality of the tones relative to this pedal’s price makes for unbelievable value when compared to other combination pedals, and definitely hard to beat when compared to single use, one-trick pony (e.g., tremolo or flanger) pedals. OVERALL IMPRESSION: Valeton’s Coral Mod II pedal offers exceptional value. Some multi-effects pedals have some tones that are winners, some that may be all right, while others are duds. I find all the tones in this pedal usable and superb sounding. There are sixteen modulation effects from which to chose, in categories of Chorus, Tremolo, Flanger, Phaser and Other. This is a brief rundown, but do refer to the included demo for sound samples. The J-Chorus mimics the vintage ‘Jazz’ amplifier, the T-Chorus is lush (modulated by a triangle wave) and the Detune mixes the dry with a slight detuning for a quasi-chorus sound. The B-Trem simulates the bias tremolo from vintage tube amps, the O-Trem is a classic optical tremolo and the Echo-Trem adds a delay to the tremolo for a step-like effect. The Flanger setting is a classic flanger tone, the NFB Flanger includes negative feedback, and the Jet flanger produces that 1980s massive flanger with huge feedback. The Phaser setting produces a bright and sharp phasing tone, whereas the Phase+ simulates the MXR Phase 90 pedal. The U-Vibe simulates the legendary Univibe (4-stage phasing/rotary) circuit. The T-Wah produces a wah effect that varies relative to your picking dynamics (soft wah vs. hard honking wah). The A-Wah automatically varies the wah effect as you play. The LoFi produces a sample reducing effect (from wild and crazy to gritty and thick distortion). The Vibrato produces a warm and natural sounding vibrato. A very good buy at only $69.99 USD. GENERAL USE: There are three control knobs: Volume (self explanatory), Depth (mix) and Rate (speed). You can alter the rate manually with the Tap Tempo function (hold the footswitch down until the LED blinks and then tap your tempo). In some instances the control knobs may have different functions. For example, with the T-Wah effect the Volume control becomes the Mix, the Depth controls the cutoff (filter cutoff frequency) and the Rate controls the Tone (effect brightness). The included reference cards (manual) provide clarity and instruction in this regard. The large white control knob selects the modulation effect, from chorus, to flanger, to phaser, etc., and as detailed in the section Overall Impression of this review. The selections are printed white on aqua in very small lettering (since this is a micro-pedal), and so reading glasses for older musicians will be necessary. The footswitch turns the Coral Mod II on/off, or can be used as a Tap Tempo, as mentioned previously. OTHER DETAILS: Measuring 93.5mm(D) × 42mm (W) × 52mm (H) or 3.74 (L) x 1.65 (W) x 2.0 (H) inches, the Coral Mod II weighs 160 g or 5.6 ounces. Its aluminum alloy die-cast casing is light, yet strong to withstand regular and daily wear. The soft (no ‘click’) footswitch feels solid with no audible noise in the signal when in use, for both tap tempo and turning the pedal on/off. The mini plastic knobs and their associated pots feel smooth and solid when turned. The footswitch also is set higher than any of the controls, thereby avoiding damage when stomping. The Coral Amp requires a 9VDC standard power supply (negative tip) while drawing 100mA of current. #Valeton

Multi-effects and guitar processing units have come a long way. I recall an old rackmount Boss unit with early COSM technology that left a lot to be desired, making it difficult to create some clear-cutting tones. And then there’s the original Zoom units, which were decent practice devices, and ideal for beginner or intermediates wanting ‘everything in a box,’ but they sounded sterile to my ears. Now, I will be upfront in that I have not tried nor compared the Valeton GP-100 to any of the current competitors, but for $150 USD (the price of a typical quality overdrive) you get a huge amount of stuff. But before going over the features, how does it sound? First, be aware that I was a Beta-tester for this product. I was asked by Valeton’s marketing department since I did a few Valeton reviews in the past, and so that was an honor and the company must have valued my demos. Working with the first firmware, I noticed that the amps/cabs sounded OK, but with a slight top-fizz (particularly with the hi-gain gear). This was rectified, and now the guitar tones are very good and more organic sounding – with Rock tones sounding robust and even a bit chewy. I think most companies can zero in on effects rather well, e.g., delay, reverb, overdrive, but it takes far more tweaking to get amps and cab IRs sounding as they should – and Valeton did a spot-on job. Is the sound quality good enough to go head-to-head with the likes of An Axe-Fx or Kemper? Probably not, although you’re looking at well over 10 times the price for either of those options, making the GP-100 a bargain for what’s under the hood. Is it good enough for live use and jamming? I believe so, as the tones have great clarity (24-bit 44.1kHz signal processing) and will cut through the mix effectively, but certainly refer to the demo for a sound sampler, ranging from acoustic (the second acoustic patch toward the end is my favorite, played on a piezo pickup on an electric guitar) to classic rock and hi-gain. OK, I’ll let the demo speak for itself as I focus on the features. The Valeton GP-100 comes with 45 amp simulations for acoustic, bass and electric guitar, with models based on Fender, MESA/Boogie, Marshall, Vox, Bogner, Matchless, Dr. Z, Supro, Diezel, ENGL, Soldano, Peavey, Orange, Ampeg, AER, etc. The 40 Cab IR include replications of Fender, Two Rock, MESA, Fender, Marshall and the usual suspects already listed (and you can add up to 20 of your own third-party IRs). There are over 140 effects, including Chorus, Detune, Flanger, Phaser, Vibe, Vibrato, Noise Gates, Delays (11), Reverbs (9) and various Drives/Distortions/Fuzzes. There’s also the typical chromatic tuner, which always comes in handy, as well as its own 500mA 9VDC adapter. Some of the extras that help place the GP-100 over the top for the money include a drum machine/metronome, with categories in Funk, Rock, Electronic, World, Jazz, Blues, Pop and Metro (e.g., 4/4, 6/8, etc.). The 90-second looper may seem standard, but what’s cool is that if you change elements, such as the cab, delay, etc., or the patch entirely, then the recorded sound also changes – this way you can record a riff or passage, and then run through various presets to hear the differences (or perhaps to double down on track recording with different amps/cabs). The two footswitches can be used either to scroll up and down the patches, or you can assign them to three different functions each. For example, footswitch one can be assigned to engage a boost and overdrive, whereas footswitch two can engage a chorus, delay and reverb (or turn them off as the need would be). And one of my favorite features includes the ability to place any of the elements (noise gate, amp, cab, distortion, delay, etc., in any order you wish, done very easily (as with all GP-100 editing aspects) directly on the pedal’s LED screen or via the included mac/pc software. The expression pedal also works flawlessly, and that can be assigned in a number of ways, such as blending a modulation, delay, reverb or even overdrive, but more obviously for use as a volume or wah. The GP-100 definitely is full package, together with its USB audio interface function, stereo audio streaming, 1/8” audio jacks for headphones and AUX, and 198 presets (99 factory/99 user). It’s light weight (800g or 2.62 pounds) and small size (198mm W x 134mm D x 28mm H or 7.8 x 5.27 x 1.1 inches) make it even more desirable, particularly for travel or tossing into a gig bag for off-site jamming and gigging. Further factor in its all metal chassis and footswitches, and you get a lot of quality bang for the buck. I suppose the only downside may be not liking Valeton’s take on the amp and cab modeling, which form the backbone of any guitar sim/modeler, but there are so many options and tweaking potential, it would be difficult not to zero in on some very decent sounding tones.