Post by skinvoyager on Nov 11, 2013 8:37:21 GMT -7
Over the weekend I had the opportunity to gig the M12 with two pedals designed to get a hot-rodded Plexi tone: the Xotic SL Drive and the Carl Martin PlexitTone (Single channel version). I have been using an MXR Super Badass Distortion for this tone up til now. For the money, it's a GREAT pedal and can get really close to these two, but I wanted something a bit more refined. I'm doing a lot of cover gigs, and the MXR will remain on the board but I'll use on the few songs where I need that scooped sound. It excels at that.
I received the SL Drive in the mail first. In a side-by-side with the MXR, the SL was definitely more organic and 3D sounding. Again, the MXR got damn close, but the SL just sounded more like an amp and less like a pedal. There's definitely some midrange character to it, but not annoyingly so. For me, it sounded best with the gain and tone both around 2:00.
The next day, the PlexiTone arrived. I didn't have time to play with it at home so I literally stuck it on my board at the show, knowing I was covered because I had the SL Drive on there as well. Throughout the night, I switched back and forth between the two pedals during the same song, trying as many different settings as I could. Both pedals sounded incredible, but in the end, I'm keeping the PT and returning the SL.
The PT edged out the SL in the same way the SL edged out the MXR. There was definitely some overlap in the tones, but the PT just jumped out of the M12 more. I didn't want to turn it off, which is the mark of a great pedal. I found the PT had a more usable range in the tone knob as well. I had to dime the SL's tone knob to match the noon position on the PT. Interestingly, on both pedals maxing the tone knob doesn't get ice-picky. But for adjusting to different pickups, the PT was more versatile. I also found the PT had more gain on tap, and could get a lot more liquid if needed.
Again, these are both incredible pedals. I love the small footprint of the SL (I have an SP compressor on my board as well- my favorite of all time). What really sealed the deal for me was that with the PT, my ears didn't get fatigued the entire night, and I was not tempted at any point to adjust the volume or controls on the M12 or the pedal. That's rare for me.
Pete Thorn reportedly lent his expertise to this redesign of Carl Martin's larger PlexiTone dual-mode pedal, and that guy has a hell of an ear. IMO, this pedal is voiced perfectly. While I do like the 3-band EQ on the MXR and I sometimes like having separate bass and treble controls on a pedal, I think you can sometimes have too much control, which can lead to "knob anxiety" and also tones that are too extreme. I much prefer 3-knob pedals that are voiced just right, and I think the PT is just that, especially with the M12.
PS I also picked up a Rockett Blue Note for low-gain stuff, but i only got to use it for a few songs and didn't get enough time to evaluate it properly. Looking forward to doing just that!
I received the SL Drive in the mail first. In a side-by-side with the MXR, the SL was definitely more organic and 3D sounding. Again, the MXR got damn close, but the SL just sounded more like an amp and less like a pedal. There's definitely some midrange character to it, but not annoyingly so. For me, it sounded best with the gain and tone both around 2:00.
The next day, the PlexiTone arrived. I didn't have time to play with it at home so I literally stuck it on my board at the show, knowing I was covered because I had the SL Drive on there as well. Throughout the night, I switched back and forth between the two pedals during the same song, trying as many different settings as I could. Both pedals sounded incredible, but in the end, I'm keeping the PT and returning the SL.
The PT edged out the SL in the same way the SL edged out the MXR. There was definitely some overlap in the tones, but the PT just jumped out of the M12 more. I didn't want to turn it off, which is the mark of a great pedal. I found the PT had a more usable range in the tone knob as well. I had to dime the SL's tone knob to match the noon position on the PT. Interestingly, on both pedals maxing the tone knob doesn't get ice-picky. But for adjusting to different pickups, the PT was more versatile. I also found the PT had more gain on tap, and could get a lot more liquid if needed.
Again, these are both incredible pedals. I love the small footprint of the SL (I have an SP compressor on my board as well- my favorite of all time). What really sealed the deal for me was that with the PT, my ears didn't get fatigued the entire night, and I was not tempted at any point to adjust the volume or controls on the M12 or the pedal. That's rare for me.
Pete Thorn reportedly lent his expertise to this redesign of Carl Martin's larger PlexiTone dual-mode pedal, and that guy has a hell of an ear. IMO, this pedal is voiced perfectly. While I do like the 3-band EQ on the MXR and I sometimes like having separate bass and treble controls on a pedal, I think you can sometimes have too much control, which can lead to "knob anxiety" and also tones that are too extreme. I much prefer 3-knob pedals that are voiced just right, and I think the PT is just that, especially with the M12.
PS I also picked up a Rockett Blue Note for low-gain stuff, but i only got to use it for a few songs and didn't get enough time to evaluate it properly. Looking forward to doing just that!