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xxmartinxx « One of the better tube OD pedals out there. »
Published on 08/03/11 at 17:31- Volume knob
- Gain knob
- Treble knob
- Mid knob
- Bass knob
- Power LED
- 12AX7 tube
- AC power cord
UTILIZATION
The pedal is about as standard as any overdrive pedal, despite it having a 12AX7 inside adding tubey goodness to the sound. Pedals that use real preamp tubes tend to put out a lot of juice and this one is no exception. You really need to play with the Volume and Gain knobs to get a unity gain setting that sounds good. Since it has a preamp tube in side, you can also tweak the voicing by simply replacing the tube with a different brand tube. If you want to have less gain on tap you can also use a 12AT7 or 12AU7 in place the the 12AX7. With the right settings, this pedal can do clean boosting, overdriving, or super saturated distortion.
One odd thing is that the LED only turns on to let you know you have power. There isn't an LED (at least in the one I owned) that turned on and off with the pedal.
SOUND QUALITY
As with all overdrive/distortion pedals, there is a symbiotic nature between the pedal and the amp you are playing it through (not to mention the guitar, the pickups, etc). No pedal works well with all amps. I've tried this pedal on a bunch of different amps. It sounds better with some than others, but it never sounded bad. You need to adjust the Mids and Treble in order to keep them from getting to bright and metallic sounding. With the right amp this pedal sounds exactly like a second tube channel on the amp. Big, fat, and just right.
OVERALL OPINION
These were well made, we designed pedals. It's a shame that SIB appears to be no longer making pedals. The guitar community lost something special.
If you're looking for a pedal The downside would be the size (almost the size of a shoebox), but if it works with your amp that would be a small price to pay for the amazing, juicy tones this pedal can produce.
- Gain knob
- Treble knob
- Mid knob
- Bass knob
- Power LED
- 12AX7 tube
- AC power cord
UTILIZATION
The pedal is about as standard as any overdrive pedal, despite it having a 12AX7 inside adding tubey goodness to the sound. Pedals that use real preamp tubes tend to put out a lot of juice and this one is no exception. You really need to play with the Volume and Gain knobs to get a unity gain setting that sounds good. Since it has a preamp tube in side, you can also tweak the voicing by simply replacing the tube with a different brand tube. If you want to have less gain on tap you can also use a 12AT7 or 12AU7 in place the the 12AX7. With the right settings, this pedal can do clean boosting, overdriving, or super saturated distortion.
One odd thing is that the LED only turns on to let you know you have power. There isn't an LED (at least in the one I owned) that turned on and off with the pedal.
SOUND QUALITY
As with all overdrive/distortion pedals, there is a symbiotic nature between the pedal and the amp you are playing it through (not to mention the guitar, the pickups, etc). No pedal works well with all amps. I've tried this pedal on a bunch of different amps. It sounds better with some than others, but it never sounded bad. You need to adjust the Mids and Treble in order to keep them from getting to bright and metallic sounding. With the right amp this pedal sounds exactly like a second tube channel on the amp. Big, fat, and just right.
OVERALL OPINION
These were well made, we designed pedals. It's a shame that SIB appears to be no longer making pedals. The guitar community lost something special.
If you're looking for a pedal The downside would be the size (almost the size of a shoebox), but if it works with your amp that would be a small price to pay for the amazing, juicy tones this pedal can produce.