#1 · Oct 09, 2008 16:39 UTC
This will probably come as a surprise to most of you, but I have tried a few high end pedals lately and thought I'd do a mini review.
Since my last updates, I've actually sold my much loved MI Audio Crunchbox. I figure I can almost exactly duplicate this with the MI Tube Zone, but that is not making me feel any better about selling it. I really loved that box. If it had a little more bottom, it would still be here. Truth is, its voice pretty much dead on a hot rodded Marshall JCM 800. Strong mids, and rolled off bottom, just like the amp. The pedal was a one trick pony, but GREAT at that trick. It didn't do low gain well, didn't clean up particularly well with volume knob etc, but boy, did it rock.
Anyway, I tried the latest version of the Menatone King Of The Britains. This pedal claims to actually recreate the whole preamp and amp section of a classic Plexi head, but with transistors in place of the tubes. I found this pedal to be a very good plexi pedal. The tone knobs were subtle (like the real amp) but it nailed the old AC/DC stuff and tones like that. I really liked this pedal, but in the end didn't LOVE it. I can get VERY close to the same plexi type sound with my OCD>BarbEQ set to Brit mode. So I traded it for....
Fulltone GT500- I have only had this pedal for a few days so I have not tried it with all the guitars yet. My initial reaction is, it seems to be an OCD on steroids plus a Fatboost 2 in one box. I say OCD on steroids, because it has the real amp-like response of the OCD, but it has more gain AND B/M/T controls!!!! SWEEET! It also has a boost section which, after playing with Matts Fatboost II at WHStock, seems to be pretty much just like the FB II. It can be clean or go into mild breakup, and has bass and treble controls. The pedal has a switch to select Boost>OD or OD>Boost. This is a great feature as well. If you want to take your sound and make it louder for solos, OD>Boost, boost kicked on for solos. But I like to add character and change the tone some on my solo boost so I usually leave it Boost>OD. The boost side of the pedal is very nice, but not as nice as....
Paul Cochrane - Timmy. This pedal is the best clean boost through mid level OD I've heard, in terms of transparency. If you have a great amp, something that sounds REALLY good on it's clean, mild breakup or OD or even high gain channels, you NEED one of these pedals. It is the best I've heard at simply adding some more level or gain to an already great sound, without changing it at all. Unless you want too. It has bass and treble controls that allow you to tune it to your needs. This pedal I have had for a few weeks now. The best clean tone I've ever gotten out of my Classic 30 is my strat>Timmy>amp. Sparkley clean tones that sound like a great old Fender, and mild to mid breakup if you want it. But I can also set this into one of the heavier ODs (Tube Zone set to Mesa type sound or GT500) and it can just add more gain and sizzle without changing the tone.
The best part, the Timmy only costs about $120. But there's about a 4 month waiting list, and if you want one now, you'll probably pay around $200 for a used one. Worth the wait. The ONLY way to get one new, is call the builder, Paul Cochrane on the phone and get on the list. He doesn't even use a web site. I have his number if you'd like it. Paul is the designer/builder of the killer Heritage amps. This pedals rep is off the charts at TGP, (which is why they sell used for double the new price) so it's not just something that works great in my setup. GREAT PEDAL!
So, for now, GT500 is still in honeymoon stage, but could be a truly great pedal. Timmy IS a great pedal.
Last but not least, is the Hermida Zendrive. This pedal is supposed to sound like the lead channel of a Dumble amp. This thing definitely has a unique sound. I really like it. Not sure I love it, but it is definitely something different and special. I think if I were a jazz player this would be my holy grail pedal. But remember SRV and other blues and rocker guys have used Dumbles. This thing is great for blues, but has a completely different character than my Blues Pro, or other screamers. In fact, the Zen>OCD is a magic tone. Really makes my C30 sound like some high end boutique amp.
This one is a bit of an enigma. Unique. Great at what it does. And what it does is VERY cool. Just don't know if I want $200 wrapped up in what it does as it's not a "main" sound I'd use a lot.
That said, one of the delays in building my BYOC OD was that I wanted to test several other pedals so that I could build their sound in as an option if I really loved them. If I don't keep this pedal, I'll certainly option my BYOC to be able to get this sound, just so I can have it when I want. It really is cool.
Since my last updates, I've actually sold my much loved MI Audio Crunchbox. I figure I can almost exactly duplicate this with the MI Tube Zone, but that is not making me feel any better about selling it. I really loved that box. If it had a little more bottom, it would still be here. Truth is, its voice pretty much dead on a hot rodded Marshall JCM 800. Strong mids, and rolled off bottom, just like the amp. The pedal was a one trick pony, but GREAT at that trick. It didn't do low gain well, didn't clean up particularly well with volume knob etc, but boy, did it rock.
Anyway, I tried the latest version of the Menatone King Of The Britains. This pedal claims to actually recreate the whole preamp and amp section of a classic Plexi head, but with transistors in place of the tubes. I found this pedal to be a very good plexi pedal. The tone knobs were subtle (like the real amp) but it nailed the old AC/DC stuff and tones like that. I really liked this pedal, but in the end didn't LOVE it. I can get VERY close to the same plexi type sound with my OCD>BarbEQ set to Brit mode. So I traded it for....
Fulltone GT500- I have only had this pedal for a few days so I have not tried it with all the guitars yet. My initial reaction is, it seems to be an OCD on steroids plus a Fatboost 2 in one box. I say OCD on steroids, because it has the real amp-like response of the OCD, but it has more gain AND B/M/T controls!!!! SWEEET! It also has a boost section which, after playing with Matts Fatboost II at WHStock, seems to be pretty much just like the FB II. It can be clean or go into mild breakup, and has bass and treble controls. The pedal has a switch to select Boost>OD or OD>Boost. This is a great feature as well. If you want to take your sound and make it louder for solos, OD>Boost, boost kicked on for solos. But I like to add character and change the tone some on my solo boost so I usually leave it Boost>OD. The boost side of the pedal is very nice, but not as nice as....
Paul Cochrane - Timmy. This pedal is the best clean boost through mid level OD I've heard, in terms of transparency. If you have a great amp, something that sounds REALLY good on it's clean, mild breakup or OD or even high gain channels, you NEED one of these pedals. It is the best I've heard at simply adding some more level or gain to an already great sound, without changing it at all. Unless you want too. It has bass and treble controls that allow you to tune it to your needs. This pedal I have had for a few weeks now. The best clean tone I've ever gotten out of my Classic 30 is my strat>Timmy>amp. Sparkley clean tones that sound like a great old Fender, and mild to mid breakup if you want it. But I can also set this into one of the heavier ODs (Tube Zone set to Mesa type sound or GT500) and it can just add more gain and sizzle without changing the tone.
The best part, the Timmy only costs about $120. But there's about a 4 month waiting list, and if you want one now, you'll probably pay around $200 for a used one. Worth the wait. The ONLY way to get one new, is call the builder, Paul Cochrane on the phone and get on the list. He doesn't even use a web site. I have his number if you'd like it. Paul is the designer/builder of the killer Heritage amps. This pedals rep is off the charts at TGP, (which is why they sell used for double the new price) so it's not just something that works great in my setup. GREAT PEDAL!
So, for now, GT500 is still in honeymoon stage, but could be a truly great pedal. Timmy IS a great pedal.
Last but not least, is the Hermida Zendrive. This pedal is supposed to sound like the lead channel of a Dumble amp. This thing definitely has a unique sound. I really like it. Not sure I love it, but it is definitely something different and special. I think if I were a jazz player this would be my holy grail pedal. But remember SRV and other blues and rocker guys have used Dumbles. This thing is great for blues, but has a completely different character than my Blues Pro, or other screamers. In fact, the Zen>OCD is a magic tone. Really makes my C30 sound like some high end boutique amp.
This one is a bit of an enigma. Unique. Great at what it does. And what it does is VERY cool. Just don't know if I want $200 wrapped up in what it does as it's not a "main" sound I'd use a lot.
That said, one of the delays in building my BYOC OD was that I wanted to test several other pedals so that I could build their sound in as an option if I really loved them. If I don't keep this pedal, I'll certainly option my BYOC to be able to get this sound, just so I can have it when I want. It really is cool.