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Post by G'OlPeachPhan on Feb 15, 2006 8:22:37 GMT -7
Anybody have one of these? I've read in several places that this is a boutique tremolo pedal killer at a bargain price... What really sold me on getting one is that it has true Vibrato (supposedly somewhat close to old magnatone style vibrato), and the thing looks like it's rock-solid construction. Also, the stereo operation is a big plus. So we'll see when it gets here... If this pedal is as good as I've read it is, it may very well end yet another part of my quest to complete the pedal board!
Anybody tried one that can share a few observations, particularly on the Vibrato settings?
What about noise... any audible oscillation hiss or "whump - whump - whump" sounds with this pedal? That's most often what ruins a trem pedal for me... that audible hiss that oscillates with the waveform...
I've been eyeing that Austone Vibrostomp for a while now, but that $300 price tag that pedal carries is the biggest deterrent for me...
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Post by G'OlPeachPhan on Feb 20, 2006 19:34:21 GMT -7
Whoa... this is indeed a boutique trem killer! Fantastic pedal... Great vintage tube-trem sounds, and a KILLER tube-like vintage vibrato. Pedal is relatively quiet, with only slight LFO oscillation that's really only audible on the vibrato settings when you're not playing, unlike many trems where you can hear the oscillation hiss all the time. Only real downside is that it's only one channel, i.e. you only get one speed setting, but.....
This pedal has the best tone I've ever heard in a trem pedal, and it's a KILLER stereo pedal to use to drive two amps! Best part is, I only paid $92 brand new -- this one is a true boutique killer!
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Post by Curt on Feb 21, 2006 11:17:26 GMT -7
Hey Chad....where'd ya get it ? I have a "Swamp Thang" and it is no bueno Big $/Big let down. I wany one that sounds like the tremelo on my SF Vibro Champ and Princeton Reverb amps.
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Post by Greg G. on Feb 21, 2006 12:10:08 GMT -7
Very cool indeed. I sold my Boss Trem because of the volume drop, and later bought a Keeley modded one and sold it. I recently tried a Zvex Seek Trem, but after spending $300 on it, it crapped out after 2 days of use, so I sent it back. I was going to look at the Fulltone Supa-trem, but I'm really tired of paying "boutique" prices for an effect that isn't used all that often.
Now, here's the deciding factor for me on the VT-1: How's the volume when the effect is on and how does the passive bypass effect your tone when off? If you could let me know I'd much appreciate it. If it has good output and doesn't suck tone, I'm surprised word of this pedal hasn't got out!
-Greg
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Post by garyh on Feb 22, 2006 21:23:51 GMT -7
I bought a Marshall reverb pedal (Reflector) c. 2 wks ago. Only $119 Cdn. and I'm quite happy with it. It's quiet and does a fair spring and has plate, hall, room and reverse.
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Post by G'OlPeachPhan on Feb 23, 2006 7:42:55 GMT -7
OK, so here's a follow up review now that I've had it for a few days. It's DEFINITELY got the best, most amp-like tone of any trem pedal I've tried, and that's the most important thing to me... The trem is very lush, thick, sweet, and smooth on the sine setting, all the way to choppy on/off stutter (I don't ever use that sound though)... The speed knob goes from the slowest throb I've heard, to the fastest warble I've heard. But did I mention the how great the butter smooth sine wave trem sounds?!!! If it's got THE tone, very few things could break the deal for me, so.... +8 The volume when the effect is on sounds ever so slightly boosted above unity than when it's bypassed... That could be a good thing for some, a bad thing for others. I generally prefer a very slight volume drop more than a slight volume boost, as any time you boost the input it's going to add some noise, which isn't always a good think with modulation effects that tend to be used during cleaner passages. I'd say this feature is neutral, because it's impossible to create an output in a pedal that works perfect with every rig out there, but I'd prefer a volume pot adjustment to be able to dial that in on my own. Who knows though, maybe an extra volume pot added to the circuit would somehow compromise the tone? Still... -1 (though I really need to open this pedal up... maybe there's an internal trim pot?) Like any other true bypass pedal, this one doesn't affect your bypassed tone noticably at all. I don't have a problem with a good buffered output pedal either, but I prefer the true bypass that this one's got... So to me, this isn't really a feature, it's just expected that to be a contender the bypass needs to be up to par or better. +0 The Vibrato mode is OUTSTANDING, especially when driving two amps in stereo. The vibrato when set to full sine wave mode sounds VERY amp-like, allows some outstanding effects from subtle ambience to atmospheric bliss... Start to turn the wave shape knob towards square wave, and the pitch shifting gets progressively more radical, and starts to enter the 'vibe' range of sounds rather than the vibrato. Subtle ambience "is it on?" enhancement type sounds, to hendrix, all the way to whacked out psychedellic madness are all possible in Vibrato mode, making this "trem" pedal pretty darn versatile. +2 garyh, I'd be a fool if I overlooked the bang-for-the-buck ratio as you pointed out! For being a tonally smokin' boutique trem killer at a very non-boutique price... +1 So yes folks, we're at a total of "11" on a scale of "10" right now, but there's a downside... There is some LFO osciallation noise and hiss out of this pedal, though it's not as noticeable as some of the other trems I've tried... The oscillation does become even more noticeable on the Vibrato settings, which is a bit of a bummer. I think part of the reason the oscillation is so noticeable is due to the slight volume boost when the pedal is engaged. It's not a deal breaker for me, as the tone is great, but it is a definite minus. -2 And to end on a positive note... I wanted to draw special attention to the fact that this is a TRUE stereo pedal for less than $100! Anyone who owns two or more amps should have at least one stereo pedal in their arsenal. So this kind of goes back to the bang for the buck factor, but it's also a VERY well done stereo effect on par with pedals that cost several times more. +1 So yeah, I'm gonna give it a "10." I don't usually do that. The outstanding tone and Vibrato mode feature, mixed with a price that couldn't possibly make it worth ever getting rid of this pedal lead me to this conclusion. That was probably a little more lengthy than I originally intened. Yep... I have a tendency to ramble. ;D Curt -- the swamp thang was a bit let down eh???!!! Tell me more man! I'm VERY surprised to hear that after hearing so much hype and hoopla about that pedal. There's so much of that out there on the internet now, it's almost impossible to believe what you hear about a pedal. Guys buy "x" as their first "trem" pedal hearing it's the best, and they have nothing else to compare it to -- no amps with trem, no other trem pedals, etc.... so automagically it becomes "the best trem on the planet!" yeck. meh. I been there man... listed it on the classifieds and move it on! Next up I'm going to build one of those buildyourownclone trem pedals to compare it to the VT-1... I'm hoping to get a great trem sound out of that kit so I can use the VT-1 for vibrato full time without having to switch it, plus it'll be fun to compare the trem sounds of the two pedals.
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Post by Buzz Fretwear (Ignatius) on Feb 23, 2006 8:17:50 GMT -7
I'm beginning to think these Marshall pedals are underrated and a well kept secret. I needed a high gain pedal for some of the tunes my band does, and on a whim I picked up a Marshall Jackhammer. It's really pretty impressive, especially for $70. I don't think it's pure true bypass (I think they use the term passive bypass, whatever the hell that means), but I don't notice much difference in the bypassed tone.
The neat thing about this pedal is that it has a sweepable mid-Q filter that works very well with my Mazerati. To my ears, any of the pedals that do the typical mid-boost thing just don't sound good with this amp. With the Jackhammer I can dial in/out the amount of mids I want.
It's probably not the most complex and refined overdrive, but then again we're talking about high gain tones here. It does what I need it to do, it sounds good, it's built well, and it was cheap!
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Post by G'OlPeachPhan on Feb 23, 2006 8:35:47 GMT -7
Jackhammer sounds cool! I might have to check one of those out next...
stompboxblues over at thegearpage.net turned me on to the VT-1... he too had been through many a trem pedal with less than stellar results, and this one ended his search.
I'm pretty sure passive bypass is the same is true bypass... I think they're just playing with marketing lingo, but I'll go pop mine open and take a look to see what the bypass is and report back.
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Post by G'OlPeachPhan on Feb 23, 2006 10:41:49 GMT -7
Yep, it's true bypass without question. And WOW, I think this small box has one of the highest parts densities I've EVER seen.... things are just PACKED in there!
Switch isn't the high quality fulltone or carling-type... it's actually a mini footswitch connected to one of the THREE separate pc boards in this box... That's the cheesiest part of the whole thing, and would be what I'd expect to fail if anything fails... Still, it's situated well, so it should be a problem for years to come...
VERY nice quality jacks on this thing too. I wish peterson strobostomp would take notes and upgrade their plastic jacks!
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Post by Greg G. on Feb 23, 2006 11:01:19 GMT -7
Well, I found a new one on eBay for $74.99 +$8.00 shipping (what an awesome deal! ). I couldn't pass it up, so it should be here next week. I'll let you all know what I think when it gets here. -Greg
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Post by Curt on Feb 23, 2006 16:10:47 GMT -7
I bit on a fleabay deal too, $69.99.+ 5.00 S&H, so for $74.99 and three day's I'll know if I need ta head for Wi. and kick some 'Peach AZZ or send Chad a "Thank You" !!!!!!!!!!
LOL
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Post by Greg G. on Feb 23, 2006 17:39:03 GMT -7
Well, I'm bummed...I found the VT-1 on sale for $55 at www.humbuckermusic.com after I already purchased mine on eBay . Oh well, I guess somebody else will get a deal. Jake over at Humbucker is a great guy by the way, bought my first Z from him. Oh well, still a deal at $75.00 -Greg
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Post by Curt on Feb 23, 2006 23:12:23 GMT -7
Well, I'm bummed...I found the VT-1 on sale for $55 at www.humbuckermusic.com after I already purchased mine on eBay . Oh well, I guess somebody else will get a deal. Jake over at Humbucker is a great guy by the way, bought my first Z from him. Oh well, still a deal at $75.00 -Greg Dohhhh..dern you 'peach !!!
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Post by BW on Feb 24, 2006 7:42:59 GMT -7
Y'all tried the Luxury Twin? No true 'vibrato' or pitch change, but 2 presetable tremolos, very controllable. About 150 bucks. I think Tim Jauernig is a real sleeper in the world o' stompboxes....
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Post by Curt on Feb 24, 2006 7:56:47 GMT -7
Y'all tried the Luxury Twin? No true 'vibrato' or pitch change, but 2 presetable tremolos, very controllable. About 150 bucks. I think Tim Jauernig is a real sleeper in the world o' stompboxes.... Nope, Buddy does it sound like a BF/SF era Fender? I have SF Princeto and Vibro Champ amps and them Tremelo on those is great IMO, looking for that sound to run through my Z/28. Thx,........and how the Heck ya been ? Curt
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Post by BW on Feb 24, 2006 12:33:11 GMT -7
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Post by Buzz Fretwear (Ignatius) on Feb 26, 2006 10:08:37 GMT -7
I'm beginning to think these Marshall pedals are underrated and a well kept secret. I needed a high gain pedal for some of the tunes my band does, and on a whim I picked up a Marshall Jackhammer. It's really pretty impressive, especially for $70. I don't think it's pure true bypass (I think they use the term passive bypass, whatever the hell that means), but I don't notice much difference in the bypassed tone. The neat thing about this pedal is that it has a sweepable mid-Q filter that works very well with my Mazerati. To my ears, any of the pedals that do the typical mid-boost thing just don't sound good with this amp. With the Jackhammer I can dial in/out the amount of mids I want. It's probably not the most complex and refined overdrive, but then again we're talking about high gain tones here. It does what I need it to do, it sounds good, it's built well, and it was cheap! Contrary to what I may have implied in the above post regarding the Jackhammer, I hereby retract any postive remarks and/or endorsements of this pedal. While it seemed interesting enough here in the house, at gig volumes it just didn't cut it - quite literally. It is apparently designed to achieve only a scooped mid sound, and while there are gobs and gobs of high gain distortion on tap, I wasn't able to EQ it so that it sat well in the mix. Too much low, too much high, and apparently no way to dial in the mids with any sort of precision. This message was brought to you by the North American Council on Eradicating Bad Guitar Tone. ;D
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Post by G'OlPeachPhan on Feb 27, 2006 11:11:59 GMT -7
ignatius -- thanks for the follow-up heads-up man! ;D Buddy - I had one of those Luxury Twin Rates for a while... You're right, it's a VERY good pedal! From what Tim (Jauernig) told me, it was inspired by his '66 Blackface Deluxe, which has a very toneful trem, but it always breaks down... Hence the need for a pedal to recreate that magic! That's actually the reason I opted to try some other trems... Blackface trem is nice and smooth, but it's also very even... I wanted something a little more lopsided so that when I used it on subtle settings it would just add a sort of special spice to the sauce. Tim also happens to be a fellow-Wisconsinite too! Very cool. Nice guy, and builds great pedals. I agree -- very underrated in the pedals world as of yet.
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Post by BW on Feb 27, 2006 14:16:47 GMT -7
He's a great Wisconsin guy, and intro'd me to Greg Koch, another great Wisconsin guy and MONSTER of the git-tar! www.gregkoch.com
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Post by G'OlPeachPhan on Feb 28, 2006 14:36:22 GMT -7
Buddy, he's the player that inspired the DGTM right? Have you tried one of those? I'm not a tube screamer guy, but I've heard good things about the DGTM. Still, the screamer comparisons leave me nervous about checkin' it out.
I'm going to have to check out some of Greg's playing... Man, that's a pretty big endorsement coming from you!
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Post by Curt on Mar 1, 2006 13:10:42 GMT -7
Man 'Peach...I dunno 'bout this VT-1 ;^/
Sound pretty cool through the lil Vibro Champ, even a/b'ed with the on board....BUT at lower than gig volume and the Z/28....kinda noisy with a treble spike..in a BAD way...just a real quick run thru with a bit of a bright Guit but...uh...I dunno.......
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Post by taswegian on Mar 1, 2006 17:22:22 GMT -7
I can't even remember what trem I used on "Lie Down Next To Me" Something my producer had in a back cupboard! I think it was yellow Down this end of the planet Dave Ulbrick makes a great trem called the Wobble and Red Witch in New Zealand have some great trem products too. I think Stu stocks them at Fatsounds. Chad, did you get to try the Powerglide?
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Post by G'OlPeachPhan on Mar 2, 2006 8:21:58 GMT -7
Curt, sorry to hear you're not diggin it man! I agree, it may not be the most transparent sounding trem -- a little noisy, maybe a touch bright... though I'm not really getting the brightness here, but I suppose QC on these pedals may not exactly be top notch, and there could in all probability be some variance from pedal to pedal...
But shortcomings aside, I find it the most toneful and characterful of any trem I've tried... The tone is far more interesting than the other trems I've tried, it's highly adjustable, the Vibrato mode is great to me (though deifinitely more noisy than trem mode), the stereo outs are great. Tons of bang for the buck, but all that aside, I really do dig the tone.
I should add that for both trem and vibrato, I really do use pretty sublte settings as far as depth goes, and the pedal is definitely quieter and more transparent set up that way.
But different strokes too man -- If it's not for you, I do apologize for steering you wrong man!
Tas -- I did get to demo a powerglide man, and without question, that trem has no equal. Very versatile, supremely toneful, and highly dynamic just like the other Toneczar stuff. It's just more than I wanted to spend on a trem... for now...
As for Red Witch, I wasn't real impressed with the Moon Phase, but I haven't tried their trem...
And speaking of Australlia and Trem, I'm also building a buildyourownclone.com classic EA (Electronics Australlia) Tremolo, and that should be done in the next week or so... That one is supposed to be very quiet, very amp like, and very toneful. We'll see! If that one turns out well, I could send it to you for a demo Curt!
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Post by Curt on Mar 2, 2006 10:30:15 GMT -7
Sweet, send her on !! Man no worries, just givin' a lil feedback and my thoughts, I was stoked at first 'cause it copped the same sound as the Champs on board. I'm kinda thinkin' the Z/28 just don't like tremelo, maybe it's an EF86 thing? I need to try both trem's w/the Ghia and see. on the EF86 thing...what I do know is they REALLY like a hot signal just comes alive !!!!
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Post by taswegian on Mar 2, 2006 21:43:47 GMT -7
Sweet, send her on !! on the EF86 thing...what I do know is they REALLY like a hot signal just comes alive !!!! I've found this especially true with the Hellbilly. It loves to be smacked into the amp big time. I've nearly got it cranked. Must find out what tremelo that was I used on the album as it was pretty nice and I'm sure it was just a cheapy.
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Post by G'OlPeachPhan on Mar 6, 2006 12:13:18 GMT -7
Curt, no worries man -- Good feedback! I'm just still lovin' the VT-1 through the Ghia... Not having any issues with it being overly bright or noisy. Are you running it with an adapter? I've heard that's very preferrable with the VT-1...
I'm using mine pretty much exclusively on the Vibrato setting... full sine wave for maximum smooveness, depth about 2/3 of the way up, and speed at just a hair over noon... Gives very nice shimmer and ambience to cleanish tones, and nice subtle liquid movement to overdriven tones.
I'm finding it's pretty gracious when slammed with a boost or distortion too... good headroom, and it just gets gooey in a very musical way while still remaining articulate. Different strokes!
Still trying to get this BYOC EA Trem working... it's all wired up, but I'm having a few issues... more on that to come.
Taz, as for that 'billy - ype, it's a GREAT pedal for really WHACKIN' yer amp!
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Post by Greg G. on Mar 13, 2006 21:58:17 GMT -7
Peeeeeeeeeach!! Finally got my VT-1 in the mail today, and all I can say is WOW! I can't decide which setting I dig more, the trem or the vibe, they're both so retro, so just what I've been looking for in a modulation pedal. Got home from work at 6:30pm and just finished noodlin' on the gee-tar about 9:30pm, just couldn't get enough of the smooooothe, buttery tremo-vibolicious tones! ;D And for $75, come on! Well, I'm done gushing, just wanted to say thanks for letting me know about this fantastic pedal. I would have never thought to look at a Marshall effects pedal, built like a tank by the way, wasn't expecting quality like that. I've spent a lot of time and money looking for the right trem pedal, so thanks Peach! The search is over! ;D +1, Some Karma for ya Peach! -Greg
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