How would you compare the xotic AC vs RC pedals?

[zone47]

... is the AC more aggressive than the RC but less aggressive than the BB ?

[Strato]

I would say that the AC is less agressive than the BB - The BB has alot more gain, but, because the BB is a preamp, and not a boost pedal, it does not have anywhere near the volume boost that an AC gives.

Hope this helps...

Strato

[guitarboy02451]

all different animals. Aggressive is a bad term.
AC - Boost + Overdrive. Really drives the amp.. kinda like a Ghia on 2pm or an old Bluesbreaker cranked. No coloration, very sweet.

RC - Clean Boost - no overdrive. Very transparent and can work either by itself or with a combination of the other pedals mentioned.

BB - More of a distortion pedal. Very smooth, but likes to be cranked! At low volumes, it has a compressed type of tone which turned me off at first... But when you give the amp a good crank and kick this thing on, and then even add the RC to it and you're in jeff beck heaven.

I own all 3. But I started with the AC as it's the most practical.

[hollywood5150]

Having owned all three:

RC-A very clean boost. It lets you and a touch of EQ.

AC-Very close to tube screamer (TS9)sounds w/out the mid hump.

BB-Great dist. sounds with more gain than the RC. Very close to my old Marshall's.

I still have the AC and BB. I will be getting another RC shortly.

[JChance]

Got all three myself, and agree with the above statements..
Except, I feel like the AC can get pretty much as saturated as the BB. Just a different voicing.

The BB is smooth & gainy, and works great for "commercial" lead sounds. Think of all the L.A. session guys, and this is what this pedal does well. Lukather, Neil Schon, Dann Huff, Landau, Henderson, etc.

AC is definitely TS-ish, but smoother, no mid hump, and just more balanced overall. Might actually be the most versatile of the three, because you can use it very well for low gain, boost tones as well as gainier leads.

RC is a cool clean boost, but does have the ability to add a slight amount of dirt to the sound as well. Dialing it in so that it interacts with the amps and your other pedals is the real trick here. When you figure it out, the RC has some definite magic to it...