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Yesterday I posted about the Strymon blueSky Reverberator, and this morning I came across this interesting shimmer shootout, where tubescreamer (andrew stephen othling)  compared the Strymon blueSky, Empress Superdelay and Line 6 Verbzilla. This shootout was only comparing the “shimmer” effect where it almost sounds like there is a keyboard behind what you’re playing. Very atmospheric and something that could be used to create some pretty interesting sound-scapes.

I didn’t think this was a fair comparison with the Empress Superdelay. I mean the Empress is an amazing pedal, but I don’t think it was pulling off the shimmer like the Verbzilla or Strymon. I think a Eventide might have been good to fill that slot. Overall, I still think the Strymon came out on top between the three. What do you think? Let me know by posting a comment below.

Pedals featured in the video:

Strymon blueSky Reverberator
Empress Superdelay Vintage Modified
Line 6 Verbzilla Reverb

Popularity: 8%

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If you’ve been following me on Twitter or paying attention to this site, you may have noticed that I’m a fan of Foals from Oxford, England. I had a chance to seem them last year in Chicago (which was an amazing show), and recently I just saw them in Portland. A few of you asked how I thought that show was, and I figured it might make for a somewhat interesting post.

To me the highlight was not the show itself but the journey. Not sure how many of you readers are with a significant other AND have kids, but I fall in that bracket. I’m happily married with two kids. What that simply translates to… I rarely spend quality time with my wife without kids clammering all over us. My wife really got into Foals, which has been fun. I mean I play her stuff all the time, but she got this band immediately and is super into them. So when I heard that Foals were playing Portland, I thought it would be super fun to hang with the wife and make a road trip to Portland.

Some thought we were crazy to drive 9 hours one way for a show… yeah.. 9 hours one way. Sucks to live in the middle of nowhere, but I thought the journey would be fun. I was right. Beef jerky, smart ass comments and loud music the whole way. It was a blast!

The show was at the Wonder Ballroom. I saw Mogwai there a few years ago, and I remember it was a good venue. The opening bands.. in my opinion… sucked pretty severely. Maybe it just wasn’t a good fit. Not sure. Foals came out and Jimmy had issues with his guitar on the first song. Equipment issues seems to be a slight issue with both Yannis and Jimmy, but what got me, was the monitor mix sound guy. He would just leave, and you could see Yannis getting pissed when he was trying to dial in the stage mix and looking for the mix guy, and no one was there. You could tell, that the mood was getting tense, and that was apparent in the performance. All I kept thinking – Thanks monitor man for fucking up this show. Thank you very much.

Foals put on a great show even through the issues. I’m sure many many people in the audience were oblivious with the situation, but I definitely could relate (on a small level) of how that feels, and that can make a performance pretty sour from the group’s point of view. The positives were high and many as well. When things were locking it, it was unbelievable. I’m a sucker for guitar interplay and they have that in spades. The set list was similar to the show in Chicago, and the energy / response they were able to create from the audience is intense.

Since this is a effects blog I want to see if anything has changed. In Chicago, I had the opportunity to see the boards up close and talk with Yannis. This time, not so lucky, but I was able to take a photo of Yannis’ board from pretty close. Overall, it looks the same, but there is one unidentified pedal in there, maybe you can help ID it. He was definitely using it a lot and I had the impression it was a OD of some sort, based on when it was hit and what I was hearing, but I’m not sure.

What I’m able to see the following on this board shot:

Boss TU2 Tuner
Boss RV-5 Reverb
Boss DD-3 Delay
Strymon blueSky Reverberator
Telenordia TK-23 Kompressor (not shown)
Empress Super Delay
Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2+

The Unknown Pedal appears to be blue. 2 footswitches. 5 knobs and 2 toggle switches. This is where the Klon Centaur was in the past, but couldn’t see if the Klon was on the other side of it. I’ve also seen the EHX Nano Grail in the position as well, I doubt it’s a reverb.. but maybe.

UPDATE:
The unknown pedal was a Strymon blueSky Reverberator pedal, thanks Alex! Additionally, I had this photo sent to me:

Popularity: 7%

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Today, I’m pretty excited to talk about the Empress Multidrive. The Empress Multidrive is the new pedal in their product line up. It’s a unit that has fuzz, overdrive and distortion in one box. What makes it different? You can blend them and you can shape the tone of the individual drives and adjust with the 3 band EQ (low,hi, mid) on the output. Each drive channel as low pass and high pass filters.  You can also adjust the midrange frequency to be 500, 250 or 2K. Each drive channel has gain and volume controls. To turn off a particular drive channel, you just lower (or blend) the volume of that particular drive channel. You want OD, with a hint of fuzz? You want distortion fury mixed with fuzz? You can do it one box.

Here is the official description of the Empress Multidrive:

The idea of blending amps together has been a studio trick used on countless recordings over the years. Being able to blend the stregths of certain amplifiers and have other amps fill in the weaknesses produces a richer, better balanced sound. Up until now, the only way to repoduce this live was to haul a few amps around with you on the road. After a few gigs of doing that, a lot of players end up compromising tone for the ease of carrying 1 amp around with them. This is where the multidrive shines.

The multidrive allows you to blend Overdrive, Distortion and Fuzz together, creating a full and rich array of tones that would not be available otherwise. Let the sustain of fuzz, the bite of distortion and the clarity and note definition of overdrive all work together! Do what would normally take 3 amps in a 4×3″ box.

I found two good videos. The first video I was particularly impressed with it. It’s a studio clip where they use the Empress Multidrive to simulate a variety of nice amp tones. They A/B the actual amp and then the Empress Mulidrive. They get it pretty darn close. This video was submitted by empresseffects:

This next video is by xtimehascomex. This is a good video where he’s playing a basic riff and showing the different settings and how they impact the tone.

I would say this has to be one of the most versatile drive pedals you could probably buy out there. Coming from Empress (who also makes one of the best delay pedals on the market – Empress SuperDelay), you know this is going to be quality.

You can pick up the Empress Multidrive for only $299.00 at Amazon.com

If you own this pedal.. love to hear what you think by commenting below!

Popularity: 5%

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After I posted Thurston Moore’s pedalboard post, I received an email from Will letting me know that he had some photos of MGMT‘s pedalboard and if I was interested to check them out. Hells yeah! He was kind enough to send those photos, which I posted below. His band Jamestown, The First Town In America had a chance to open for MGMT and had an opportunity to take these photos (Thanks Will!).

Not sure who’s pedalboard this is. .. but I’m definitely liking the delay portion of it. Also.. good to see another Hot Cake!

Here is the breakdown:

Roland EV-5 Expression Pedal
Boss PH-3 Phase Shifter
SubDecay Quasar Phase Shifter
Malekko Analog Chorus
Soda Meiser Fuzz Pedal (original)
Morley Classic Wah Pedal

T-Rex Replica Delay
Empress Superdelay
Empress Tap Tempo Tremolo
Malekko Chicklet Reverb
ZVex Fuzz Factory
Crowther Audio Hot Cake
Boss TU-2 Tuner

Here is something interesting. It’s a Analogman pedal labeled MGMT. No knobbies? What could this be?

Here is a good shot of a 3rd Power triangle cab

Will, thanks again for sending these photos my way. Much appreciated. Please check out Will’s band – Jamestown, The First Town In America!

Popularity: 10%

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A few months ago, I wrote a community question asking what the best delay pedal is out there today. There were tons of responses and great suggestions on what people thought about a great delay pedal. Yesterday, @BooDooPerson let me know (via Twitter) about a great video his friend shot at Taylor Barefoot’s studio. This video is a great little boutique delay shootout of some awesome pedals. Two different riffs, with similar settings. Same guitar (1959 Strat) same amp, same mic so you can really hear the differences.

Below are the pedals in the shootout:

• Moog MF-104
• Empress Superdelay Vintage Modified
• Dr. Scientist Sunny Day Delay
• Way Huge Aqua Puss
• MXR M169 Carbon Copy
• Toneczar Echoczar
• EHX Deluxe Memory Man Reissue
• Diamond Memory Lane
• Hughes and Kettner Replex
• Roland SRE-555

Here is the video by Tibbon.. great stuff. Hope you enjoy!

Let me know your thoughts on this! Post your comments below.

Popularity: 17%

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I just saw that Phil from Fat Tone Guitars tweeted about a sale going on for the Empress Tap Tempo Tremolo Effect Pedal. I just recently did a post about the Empress Superdelay, so this is a nice follow-up post! Looks like you can save $25 today/tomorrow on the Empress Tap Tempo Tremolo Effect Pedal with the following code at checkout: EMP25

Here is the description of the Empress Tap Tempo Tremolo Effect Pedal:

The Empress Tap Tremolo is an original design built from the ground up to include innovative features without sacrificing tone. The audio signal path is analog, but the tremolo effect is controlled digitally via opto technology.

Pristine Sound- The Empress Tremolo has to be heard to be believed. It’s whisper quiet and free from the “LFO throb” usually associated with tremolos. We dare anyone to find a better sounding tremolo.

Waveform Selection – You can modulate your sound with three different waveforms. An asymmetrical tremolo was modelled after a ’65 Fender Vibrolux (brown face) to give you the fullest tremolo sound possible. A square wave can be utilized if you’re after a harder sound. And if you’re looking for a more normal tremolo, you can use the triangle wave setting.

Tap Tempo – The Empress Trem averages your last four taps so it plays in sync with your music. You can also choose different tap to tremolo rate ratios. 1:1, 1:2, and 1:4 are available.

Two Speed Mode – An exclusive feature to the Empress Trem. You’re able to set two different rates, and switch between them using the tap tempo stompswitch. This is similar to playing through a Leslie cabinet and changing the speed.

Rhythms – Another exclusive feature. The Empress Trem will definiately do your run-of-the-mill tremolo sound to a tee. But you can also set it to play different rhythms. Check out the soundclips for examples.

Gain – A problem with most tremolos on the market is that when they’re engaged, you hear a noticeable drop in volume. The Empress Trem solves this by having a gain stage on the output. It’s able to deliver up to 6dB of gain without adding any distortion to the signal.

True Bypass – The Empress Trem employs true bypass, so you can be sure that it’s not affecting the signal when disengaged.

Perfect Size – The enclosure measures approximately 4.5″ by 3.5″ by 1.5″, which is delightfully small when considering all the features packed into this unit.

According to Empress’ site, this pedal’s price is $449. Fat Tone Guitars has the Empress Tap Tempo Tremolo pedal for $249.95 (plus $25 off with the coupon code EMP25

Popularity: 7%

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I’ve been hearing about this. I asked the question “Best delay pedal available today?” a while back, and the Empress Superdelay was mentioned several times. Empress Effects has been pumping out some fantastic pedals since 2004ish and have really secured their place as a quality boutique pedal company.

While poking around at Amazon, I found a decent deal on the Empress Superdelay, but first here are the details of this awesome delay:

The Empress Superdelay isn’t your basic delay. Sure it does basic delay sounds, and it sounds better than anything else out there while doing them. But if all you want is a simple delay, the Empress Superdelay isn’t for you. The Empress Superdelay is for musicians who want to be inspired by their pedals, not limited by them.

* Killer Sound Quality – The Signal to Noise ratio is around 105dB.
* 2.8 Seconds of Delay Time – For your extra long delays.
* 8 modes – normal, tap, autoset (delay time is set by tempo played), reverse, rhythm mode (multitap), tape mode, misc (dynamic, gate), and 12 second looper.
* Expression Pedal Input – allows you to control either mix or feedback with your foot.
* High Pass/Low Pass Filter – high pass is good for electronic music, low pass is sweet for darker analog delay type sounds.
* Fast/Slow Modulation – slow adds extra texture, fast is a little crazy.
* 8 Presets – Settings can be saved to 8 presets. With three stompswitches, accessing the presets is easy.
* Tap Tempo with Ratios – many of the modes use tap tempo, and the ratio selection makes fast in-time delay times easy.

Here is a great video by EmpressEffects:

Also, here is a good video about the Tape Mode. There are a few modes, and various videos can be found that covers them all:

Currently (this may change), the Empress Superdelay is available for $432.31 at Amazon.com

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: 4%

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• Ｅｍｐｒｅｓｓ ＳＵＰＥＲ ＤＥＬＡＹ

Looking through the site, I started to notice that I hardly mention modulation pedals. Okay, enough of that, so today I wanted to bring up the Red Witch Empress Analog Chorus-Vibrato pedal.

Red Witch is a small company from New Zealand (I’m also a big, big fan of Audio Crowther that is from New Zealand as well) that specializes in analog guitar effects.

Here is a brief description of the Empress Analog Chorus:

The Red Witch Empress Chorus is not just an ordinary analog Chorus and Vibe effects pedal. The most enticing feature on the Empress Chorus pedal is the unique voicing control. This dial accesses virtually any chorus sound you could desire. It changes the delay time—it’s on a pot so you’ve got an infinite number of chorus pedals in one box—from super spanky sparkling clean to noisy, seasick-inducing, pitch bending wobble.

Delay time determines a big part of any chorus pedal’s tone, flavor, and sound. Short delay creates a very pristine, airy chorus, whereas longer delay time gives more wobble and throb. Unfortunately virtually all chorus devices only have 1 fixed delay setting—or at most a choice of 2.

Red Witch designed a circuit that adjusts the delay time via a potentiometer—from one extreme to the other and everything in-between. In its most extreme settings the device produces some hiss—this would be expected within the last third of the voicing controls sweep.

I found a nice video by soundpurestudios where they describe the pedal in detail:

You can pick up the Red Witch Empress Analog Chorus-Vibrato Pedal for $299.99 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%

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The following is a guest post review of the Eventide TimeFactor Twin Delay Guitar Effects Pedal by Nick Georgiou. If you are interested in guest posting, please contact me!

Many of us have been through pretty much every delay in the TimeFactor’s class; Boss DD-20, Line 6 DL-4, TC Electronic Nova, T-Rex Replica, Empress Superdelay, etc. and been relatively dissatisfied with the lack of certain features, or just on overall feeling of hitting “a brick wall” when it comes to parameter adjustment. Wait, lets back up, the TimeFactor is in a class by itself.  Not because of the price (it is well worth the money) but because of the features that make this pedal bar none. It is all of Eventide’s best delays wrapped in a stomp-box, times two by way of independent stereo, with one of the best user interfaces out there.

It has a USB hookup for infinite update possibilities. Like to update the internal firmware to allow for things such as; more accurate analog and tape sounds, more storage banks for presets, smoother user interface, and the list goes on. You can check for updates on Eventide’s website and updating is a breeze. You can even backup all your banks and preset settings online. From the digital delay to the reverse delay, all the way to the on board looper, you’re in for a wild ride of sounds so good, you’ll be changing your underwear with every twist of a knob. The control expansion is fantastic as well. You have your typical 3 footswitches built into the chassis, but you also have an expression pedal jack along with an aux switch jack that’s programmable to act as a tap tempo, bank select, or a number of other controllable functions. Not to mention the MIDI in and out for those dudes who want to rack this beast and control it using a MIDI controller or get creative and do creative MIDI things with it (my generation has a hard time fathoming all that MIDI stuff). The LCD readout and tempo display is fantastic for those players who play in bands or with artists who just so happen to enjoy a click track and maybe one or two or ten BGV tracks, programming tracks, and percussion loops. Just dial in the tempo and you’ll be rocking your way to a set tighter than Russell Brand’s trousers. The LCD readout also allows for the display of numerical setting values to either write down and patch back in later (should you choose not to save in one of the 100 available preset slots) or to remember and adjust for crazy oscillation manipulation. You have complete control over everything in this pedal. Granted, you’re not going to master this thing in a night. It’s like a woman; you have to spend some time alone with her, buy her nice things (like sick OD’s and Whammy pedals), and never under any circumstances talk about her size. Then, (even that’s a maybe,) she’ll put out and be easy to work with from then on.

About the author:
Nick Georgiou

Nick Georgiou is a freelance player currently living in Nashville and playing with many Christian music artists and worship leaders. Nick is currently with artist Sarah Reeves, and on the road with Decemberadio. He also plays with songwriter and worship leader Chris McClarney.
http://www.sarahreeves.net/
http://www.chrismcclarney.com/

You can follow Nick on Twitter (@rewindstuff)

The Eventide TimeFactor Twin Delay Guitar Effects Pedal can be purchased for $399.00 at Musician’s Friend.

Popularity: 16%

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