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Post by skydog958 on Nov 6, 2020 13:22:35 GMT -7
As is wont to happen with me, after months of agonizing about buying anything the dam broke and I bought a bunch of stuff. I realized there were a lot of pedal builders (and personalities) that I liked but never purchased anything, so I wanted to show some support (and get cool stuff). I bought:
1. Analogman Sun Lion (RCA Super High Gain germanium transistors) 2. Keeley D&M Drive 3. Analogman Prince of Tone 4. Kingsley Constable V2
So far, only the D&M has arrived and it's exactly what I needed--I've been dissatisfied with my high gain amp tones (specifically hot-rodded Marshall), and pushing the Boost > Drive gives me the right mix of grind and saturation. I'm mostly using my Collings 290 with TV Jones, and sometimes they can feel overly squishy with a lot of gain. I also found that the Drive sounds great being pushed by a Power Booster-style pedal set to medium breakup for a bit of that transistory edginess.
The PoT and Constable are in the mail, should have them both next week. Was actually very surprised by the latter, because I was told in an email that the wait list was 7 months for pedals. The next day I get an email saying that every now and then they decide to expedite an order for a random customer and I was the lucky guy so it was put in the mail the day after I ordered it! I'm planning to use it like a second channel for my Cure, running it into the Effects Return.
I ordered the Sun Lion first but hadn't gotten the notice about shipment yet...would be interested in knowing what the lead time is there.
At some point I also want to get something from JHS--thinking about the Supreme.
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Post by zpilot on Nov 7, 2020 2:30:05 GMT -7
I have been wanting a Kingsley pedal for some time now. It is tough deciding which one. I'm interested in why you chose that one and also will want top hear your impression of it when it comes.
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Post by skydog958 on Nov 7, 2020 18:41:30 GMT -7
I picked the Constable because I want That Plexi Sound. If I had more room in the apartment, the ability to crank up the volume, and the scratch, I would have grabbed an EMS! Will let you know how I feel once I get it.
The Prince of Tone landed today and I had a "shwang" with it, as it were. I was feeling lukewarm with it in the stock configuration (both DIP switches up), but didn't really "get it" until I flipped the first DIP switch off, which I believe turned off the low-mid boost that was added for the PoT. Felt more tonally neutral, which I liked better with the FilterTrons. Tomorrow maybe I'll try it with the 2nd switch down, which will take away a bit of the compression.
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Post by jeffmp on Nov 11, 2020 8:40:24 GMT -7
I’m can relate! After so long and so much researching I broke down ! The Sunface was on my list along with the 69. But I saw the Queen bee and lost control! Next up is the chorus.
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Post by skydog958 on Nov 17, 2020 12:50:18 GMT -7
The Constable came in on Friday, but I couldn't spend a lot of time with it over the weekend (spent most of the time in class). I've been running it directly into the Effects Return of my Cure (thankfully the Level control works here!), and have tried it into the Cure's speaker and the Celestion in my Silent Sister (I believe it's a G12T-75). Having no previous experience with Plexis, I can't put in my 2 cents for accuracy, but here are my impressions:
1. As Simon has said, it offers pretty mild breakup on it's own. without additional gain, it can give you some great rhythm crunch. I've been trying my three main drive pedals into it (the PoT, the D&M, and the ThorpyFX Gunshot V2) and it takes all of them well. They all add different flavors of bite, body, and compression in a way that's very obvious when A/B/C'ing them. Have not tried any fuzzes yet (I'm still waiting for an update on the Sun Lion).
2. It's very dynamic, which I guess makes sense since it is a true preamp. Also, there is plenty of output.
3. I wish I had a British-flavoured power amp to run it through. The way the Cure breaks up is cool but doesn't really suit the sound I'm going for, especially with brighter tones. In the demos I've heard, there is that glassy sharp pick attack at the front of the notes that doesn't really come through in my rig, and I feel that's a power-tube thing.
4. Speaking of which, there is a ton of top end on here. Between the Bright cap settings, the Vol 1 & Vol 2 mix, and the Treble pot, there are tons of combinations for adding top end. I'm still getting a feel for how I'd want to use it.
At some point I'm going to get a switcher so I can compare the preamp of the Cure directly with the Constable; I think that will be very informative.
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Post by runninwiththerevil (Matthew) on Nov 26, 2020 20:55:18 GMT -7
Not sure why I sold my Sunface as it is amazing. I will likely either pick another, or even hold out for a Sunlion. I would really encourage to check out the Pedal Show episode they did on the Sunface. It helped me both make the most of the Sunface, but helped learn to set some other stuff up after.
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Post by skydog958 on Dec 30, 2020 15:16:37 GMT -7
Well, it took a couple of months but the Sunlion made it, along with a surprise new friend.
First impressions with the Sunlion: I like it, will need to take some time to decide how I want to dial it in. I went with super high gain RCAs (described as similar in gain to silicone, more temperature stable), and it definitely has a ton on tap. With filtertrons, I need to dial the fuzz back to ~2 o'clock if I want to have the quick clean-up with the guitar volume, but even at that point it's pretty fuzzy full-on. It's a bit brighter than my other germanium fuzzes, which is what I wanted. The Rangemaster side is interesting--it sounds pretty different than my BSM RM on the High setting. My Cure as I run it doesn't benefit much from the boost side. I'll have to try it with my vintage amps that have way less headroom. I've wanted a Superfuzz for a while, and bit the bullet when the Black Friday sales came up. To my surprise, I'm liking just how huge the scooped mid sound is for a grungey rhythm, which isn't my typical jam but it's fun to play around with. Definitely more of a "I want a very specific tone" pedal vs. the Sunlion which is a good all around fuzz.
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