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Post by doctorice on Apr 15, 2018 7:02:35 GMT -7
Looked and sounded interesting, so I took the plunge. I've only played it for a few minutes; will get more time today. Early impression: seems to be a "good deal" compromise between sound, features and price. There are two gain stages, which can either run in series or parallel. Different voicing on each stage. Series is always A --> B, and both stages are always on, i.e., you can't select them individually. However, since each stage has its own tone and gain, I think a lot of different sounds may be achieved. "Blend" mode -- the parallel setting -- has a pot that lets you go from 100% stage A to 100% stage B and anywhere in between. I'll update after more listening time. And yes, the battery compartment's magnetic lid is very neat. But not child-safe; easy to get a pinched finger
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2018 8:03:36 GMT -7
Weird that both are always on. Huh.
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Post by BritInvasion on Apr 15, 2018 9:48:05 GMT -7
I saw Fenders new line of FX and was curious about them , thanks for reviewing Mike , will be interested to hear your impressions after you've used it for a while.
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Post by doctorice on Apr 15, 2018 10:10:27 GMT -7
Plugged it in to the Z-Lux today. Focused more on learning some new songs, so I didn't really run the pedal through its paces. It has plenty of level available, and there's enough range on the (single) level knob to get unity gain, or less, even at higher levels of distortion. I like that. More to come on how it sounds. The LEDs in the knobs are pretty cool. Weird that both are always on. Huh. Strikes me as a compromise to keep the cost down by having only a single foot switch. The companion OD unit has more features, including a couple stomp switches, and it's 2 x $.
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Post by doctorice on Apr 30, 2018 16:36:15 GMT -7
It took me a while to find some free time to get more familiar with this pedal. Today I dialed in a setting, using the blend, that seems to work very nicely for harder blues and rock. I was able to confirm that it does clean up with the guitar volume backed down. Another plus is that it does not squash the guitar tone control range much.
The A side is less compressed, seems a little flatter in eq; the B side has got more mids, but not TS-type pushed. Put another way, the A side leans more toward OD, while B is more distortion, but the gain range on both is fairly wide. A can serve as a decent cleanish boost.
Next task is to do some a/b against a couple of my regular dirt boxes.
It's not a "must have" box, but it is a good value. If I were on a tight budget and in need of a dirt pedal, this one would be on the list.
That Pedal Show's overview of the new Fender pedals is a good place to hear some of what the Pugilist can do. Pugilist segment starts just before the 18:00 mark.
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on May 3, 2018 6:43:48 GMT -7
Great review Mike, thank you! Looking forward to your impressions of it in comparison to your favorite dirt boxes.
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