Effects Bay

Today’s pedal line is from Todd Bishop. If you have a pedal line (doesn’t have to be in a board) for your rig, please email me a photo, bio, description of pedals and routing to Every Friday I’ll showcase a pedal line submission. Make sure you include any links to your band or music page.

Here’s my submission for pedal line Friday. I’m using a XDS-X2 wireless, Crybaby 95Q wah, TC Electronic G-System (The G-system handles all my effects and amp channel switching via the RJM Mini Amp Gizmo. All my other pedals are plugged into the G-System’s external loops  so they can be controlled through the G-System), BBE Sonic Stomp, MXR-Phase 90, Morpheus Drop Tune, TC Nova Drive (which is controlled via the G-System) and Ernie Ball Volume pedals for expression and volume control. I run it all in stereo with a 5150 III half stack and an original 5150 half stack.

You can hear Todd’s gear in action at the following links:

Facebook is: www.facebook.com/victimrocks
Myspace: www.myspace.com/toddbishopmusic
Myspace: www.myspace.com/victimrocks (band)

Popularity: 3%

Hello All. I’ve been hearing that there have been some issues sending shirts to the PO Box I provided. If you sent me a shirt, and have not heard back from me, or had it returned to sender, please let me know. I’m talking with the Post Office today to see what the dealio is.

Thanks!
hank

Popularity: 1%

Yesterday, MMisanthropy let me know about a couple of videos showcasing a pretty insane private effect pedal collection. The person who shot the video is blondegraemey who did a great video on the various Big Muffs in the past and made a post referencing that video.

This pedal collection is pretty amazing.. here are both parts:

And part two:

Popularity: 3%

Today, I thought I would like to talk about the Voodoo Lab Proctavia pedal. Here we have a fuzz/octave pedal that pumps out some quality *classic* tone. What really got me interested was the video by voodoolabvid which featured Tim Pierce playing the pedal back in 1997. Good stuff..

But first, here are the details of the pedal:

Voodoo Lab’s Proctavia is a fuzz/octave pedal that re-creates the unique sound heard on classic tracks like “Purple Haze.” Proctavia is an exact replica of Tycobrahe Sound Company’s Octavia pedal which creates a note an octave higher than the original. The sound of the Octavia effect can also be heard on numerous tracks by Jeff Beck, John Mayer, and Michael Landau.

Known for an aggressive, stringy sting, the original Octavia is prized by vintage stompbox collectors everywhere. Proctavia replicates the exact sound of the original and incorporates the same types of transistors, germanium diodes, and transformer-coupled output stage in its circuitry.

Voodoo Lab Proctavia Pedal Features:

* Classic fuzz/octave tones
* True bypass switching with LED
* Hand built in the U.S.A.
* Five-year warranty

You can pick up the Voodoo Lab Proctavia Pedal for $129.00 at Musician’s Friend.

Remember, if you like reading about these pedals and seeing videos reviews from others, please subscribe to the RSS feed and get notified via email when there are new postings!

Popularity: 2%

So I was thinking about a new community question this week, but this question is definitely too large for Twitter replies. I was kinda looking at my gear the other day, and was reflecting back to the early days.. thinking about my first guitar, amp, etc. Oddly, I even have my first pedal laying around (not the amp or guitar any longer).

So here is my question to you. What was your first rig back in the day (guitar, amp and optional pedal) and what’s has become today. When I say ‘first rig’, I mean the first ‘real’ rig. I don’t want to hear about the guitar you had when you were 5, etc. But the first guitar/amp/pedals where you were thinking…”Hmmm. I should join or start a band”.

I’m curious how your gear evolution has grown. Likewise, I know some of you have 20 guitars, 10 amps and 100 pedals today, but let’s list your ‘primary’ rig set up today.  #1 guitar, #1 amp and your general pedal set up.

I’ll start.

Popularity: 4%

Feelin’ a bit cranky this morning. Cure.. watch fuzz videos.  So today, I got sucked into the Devi Ever Disaster Fuzz. This is a pretty nasty fuzz, and has a oscillation toggle, which gives it a growly synth sound. We know that Devi Ever makes some great and crazy sound effects. If you’re looking to get some weirdness, meaness, and/or craziness, then Devi Ever might be your ticket.

Here is the official description of the Devi Ever Disaster Fuzz:

One of the most of the radical sounding pedals created by Devi Ever the Disaster Fuzz Guitar Effects Pedal doesn’t like you. In truth, he wishes you’d just stomp hard on his face and put him out of his misery. Of course, the Disaster Fuzz is made of shamrocks and stern stuff, so there’s no way he’s ever going to be destroyed. He will destroy your guitar tone though. In ways that you never dreamed possible. Turn on the oscillation, you will be greeted by an endless synth drone of melancholy. Turn off the oscillation and enjoy the sweet fuzz without the whining.

Devi Ever Disaster Fuzz Guitar Effects Pedal Features:

* Volume Knob Adds Lots Of Gain
* Control Knob Changes Fuzz Texture And Intensity, Oscillation Intensity And Pitch When In Oscillation Mode.
* Flip Switch Toggles The Oscillation On Or Off.
* True Bypass
* MXR Sized Enclosure
* Boutique Quality Components
* Incredibly Low Ma Draw
* Silicon Transistor Based
* 9 Volt, 2.1 Mm, Negative Tip Power Jack
* 9 Volt Battery Snap Inside (Unscrew the back plate)

Here is the demo video by devieverfx:

You can pick up the Devi Ever Disaster Fuzz for $97.50 at Musician’s Friend.

Remember, if you like reading about these pedals and seeing videos reviews from others, please subscribe to the RSS feed and get notified via email when there are new postings!

Popularity: 3%

So there has been some been some ‘buzz’ about the Way Huge Electronics Aqua-Puss MkII Analog delay. This is another Way Huge reissue. It offers 20ms to 300ms of delay. Has a very simple interface, which includes delay, feedback and blend.  I like the simplicity.

Here is the official description of the pedal:

The Way Huge Electronics Aqua-Puss MkII Analog Delay pedal offers bold analog and tape delay echo. Over the years, the Way Huge Aqua-Puss received tremendous praise for its outstanding tone, but because of its scarcity, the cost of finding a used pedal went soaring. Once you hear this reissue, you will know exactly what all the fuss was about.

One twist of the Aqua-Puss pedal’s Delay knob takes you from a tight 20ms delay to a cavernous 300ms. The Feedback control regulates delay duration and intensity. But watch out. Extreme settings can send the Aqua-Puss MkII into self-oscillating psycho-freak-out mode. Meanwhile the Blend knob lets you set a balance between dry and delayed signal—from mild to wild. The Aqua-Puss MkII delivers all the spooky mystery of vintage analog delay and tape-based echo, with none of the hassle of creaky, ancient gear. This reissued pedal features delay, feedback and blend knobs, just like the original.

Professional guitarists across the globe have long revered the amazing tone the Aqua=Puss delay puts out. From Oasis’ Noel Gallagher to John Mayer, this pedal has been a staple to their unique guitar tones. It delivers a warm, vintage analog delay that is truly sublime and rich. Now it returns to make a glorious appearance in your pedal board, offered at a price that any tone junkie can enjoy.

Way Huge Electronics Aqua-Puss MkII Analog Delay Guitar Effects Pedal Features:

* True Bypass
* Delay Knob: 20ms to 300ms of delay
* Feedback
* Blend knob

I found another interesting video by premierguitar. This is another NAMM 2010 demo, where Premiere Guitar visits the Dunlop/Way Huge booth. They chat with Jeorge Tripps (creator of Way Huge) and has a small demo with Uli Jon Roth from the Scorpions.

You can pick up the Way Huge Electronics Aqua-Puss MkII Analog delay for $149.99 at Musician’s Friend.

Remember, if you like reading about these pedals and seeing videos reviews from others, please subscribe to the RSS feed and get notified via email when there are new postings!

Popularity: 3%

The following is a guest post review of the Electro-Harmonix Holy Stain by Lee Chavez. If you are interested in guest posting, please contact me!

In the world of multi-FX processors, you have to really look high and low to find the ones that are worth buying. Electro Harmonix’s “Holy Stain” pedal is a multi-FX processor, and is a quality one at that.

When it comes to multi-FX processors, a few things probably come into the minds of several guitarist. “It’s too confusing! Too many buttons, and the manual is no help! It sounds poor, and unreliable!”.

Not the Holy Stain. Six knobs, two buttons, and runs only off of a 9V adapter (included), makes this pedal very simple, and versatile.

From left to right, the knobs are in the fallowing order: MIX – AMOUNT – VOLUME – TONE – COLOR – DIRT. Lets break them down, to explain what each one does.

MIX – is the volume of the effect.
AMOUNT - is the amount of the effect (like the feedback on a delay pedal. The amount.)
VOLUME - sets the overall volume for the pedal, when engaged.
TONE - Plain and simple. The tone of when the pedal is engaged.
COLOR - There are three types of color to give your tone. Bright, Dark, and Warm. I personally keep mine on Warm, but switch things up occasionally.
DIRT - Yes, this multi-FX has distortions in it as well! Not to add another stereo type to the multi-FX name, but this pedal has three different types of “dirt” on board. Clean, Fuzz, and Drive. Now I’m not to big on the distortions, but we’ll get to those in a little while.

Moving on to sound quality, the “Holy Stain” is a small, compact power house of great FX. No cheesy, bad, lame effects will be found here. The four effects being “Room Reverb, Hall Reverb, Pitch Shifter, Tremolo”, they are all useful, and sound great.

Focusing on the “Room Reverb” effect, I don’t really use this one too often. I prefer the big sound of the “Hall Reverb”, but for what it’s worth (and keeping in mind the settings this pedal lives in), it is a nice reverb. Natural sounding and authentic.

The “Hall Reverb” is my second favorite effect in this pedal, but I use it the most. It, mixed with my Boss DD-3, is the back bone to my rig’s tone. I won’t give away my sweet settings, but I will say this is one of the best reverbs I have heard, and I love it. I would buy this pedal, for the reverb alone (so the holy grail, from EHX!).

The “Pitch Shifter” is a cool effect, and is the reason this pedal features an out put for an expression pedal, to use as a whammy on a budget. I don’t use this effect for that, I use it to make a harmonizing sound, and make for some sick leads! This is for sure, the coolest effect in the pedal, and my personal favorite! This almost makes the pedal!

The “Tremolo” is a bit odd, but in a good way. It sounds almost like there is some kind of flange, when on the right setting. I don’t use this a whole lot, but when I do it comes in handy. From the most suddle trem, to the most intense and obvious trem, it works great personally (being an instrumental guitarist).

Now I will admit this pedal isn’t perfect. But when I started running it in the FX loop of my amp head, it was so much better. The distortion of the amp messed with the effects and drowned them out and made them sound nasty. But in the FX loop, it became a beast! I can say I found the secret to the “Holy Stain”!

After that, we have the “dirt” section to look at. In front if the amp, the distortions are unlike any other multi-FX systems. Their usable! In the FX loop, at least in my amp, forget it. It sends the signal sky high, and squeals. If I need the “dirt”, I will use it in front of the amp (I REALLY liked the fuzz more the the drive!).

(Check out the the video below, to hear this pedal in action)

With all of that being said, that wraps up this review, and is the many reasons, why the Electro Harmonix “Holy Stain” is one pedal, you not only need to check out, but need to have on your board!

I’m Lee Chavez, and thanks for reading this review, and keep visiting and spreading the word of Effects Bay (they rock!)

Thanks!

You can pick up the Electro-Harmonix XO Holy Stain Guitar Multi Effects Pedal for $118.50 at  Musician’s Friend.

Please check out Lee Chavez at Twitter, YouTube and MySpace.

Popularity: 4%

I’ve been liking these new delays that EHX has been putting out (Memory Toy, Memory Boy, etc), and they just recently released the Deluxe Memory Boy Delay. This pedal is quite powerful and versatile, and really takes the Memory Boy to the next level.  So what’s different in the Deluxe Memory Boy? First off, you have additional controls. There is Gain, Rate and Delay that are not found in the vanilla boy. You also have tap tempo ability, with tap division settings. Both pedals have the expression pedal input, but the deluxe has expression mode, allowing you to apply the expression pedal to Rate, Depth, Feedback or Delay. The Deluxe also has a built in effects loop.

Here is the official description of the pedal:

The Electro-Harmonix Memory Boy is a smooth analog delay that takes its heritage from the 1970s Memory Man and the legendary Deluxe Memory Man. The Memory Boy uses the Deluxe Memory Man as a base, expanding upon it with additional modulation features and an optional expression pedal input for external control over delay time or modulation rate.

Memory Boy features a 550ms delay time, allowing you to explore limitless textures. A three-way toggle switch lets you add in vibrato or chorus, or control the delay time with an external expression pedal.

Since the early 1970’s, Electro-Harmonix has been designing analog delays featured on some of the greatest recordings and used by iconic musicians throughout the world. From the original Memory Man guitar pedal to the Deluxe Memory Man, still available today, EHX delay pedals are desired instruments for the organic tones that deliver textures that define quality.

Electro-Harmonix Memory Boy Delay Guitar Effects Pedal Features:

* All analog delay with Feedback
* Up to 550ms delay time
* Selectable Chorus or Vibrato modulations rates
* Choose between triangle or square modulation waveforms
* Expression pedal control of delay time or modulation rate (expression pedal extends the range of modulation rate)
* True Bypass

I found this great video by EHX demoing this pedal:

You can pick up the Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Boy Delay for $179.25 at Musician’s Friend.

Remember, if you like reading about these pedals and seeing videos reviews from others, please subscribe to the RSS feed and get notified via email when there are new postings!

Popularity: 5%

I’ve been getting into pedal building, to the point where I’m a little concerned about how big this obsession is getting. Frankly, I think about it ALL the time these days. I had no background in electronics prior. I’ve always been a ‘hacker’ in a way, but more of a ‘breaker’ in reality, but I’ve always wanted to fix things or see why they work, etc. Over the years, I’ve picked up a few tricks/techniques and tools, and I’m at the point where I can start to get my head around basic pedal circuits and what not.  For me, the satisfaction comes with the application. To build something.. and then play my guitar through it is completely rewarding, and I absolutely love it.

The world of pedal building is overwhelming when you first start. From understanding electrical components to the basic fundamentals of electricity you are exposed to a lot of new and challenging things right off the bat. When looking at pedal circuits, you’ll most likely see them as schematics on the web, and it’s hard to translate that to physical components.. well it was for me at least. I was having trouble going from schematic to board, but one thing that has helped immensely is this great FREE program called DIY Layout Creator.

Basically, it’s a piece of software (I did mention it was FREE right?) that will allow you to place components on a virtual board. This is really great to ’see’ how the circuit develops and it’s helped really translate schematic to reality. I personally like veroboard (strip board) for this since this translates well from schematic really easily for me. You can also use perfboard or PCB layouts as well.

If you’re interested in building pedal circuits, I would highly recommend this program. You can download it here.

Popularity: 6%