Gear Reviews

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Wampler Dual Fusion Pedal Video and price

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Just stumbled across this new video for the Wampler Dual Fusion pedal. As I wrote about before in this post, I am quite excited by this pedal, and it certainly is on my hitlist. After seeming this video probably more so, although I have to say I was much more impressed Channel 1 than channel 2, to my ears (obviously based on a youtube video) I think I prefer the sound the Suhr Riot, perhaps stacking with another of Wampler's pedals would work really well for me....but I can't really say until I try it out for myself. Having said that I am not sure that the UK price is that fantastic, and actually in fact rather high. The US price is around $259, where as the UK price is in a similar ball park. Obviously we have factor in shipping etc etc, but with the current exchange rates (and world economy) it does seem quite high.....therefore going to be on my wishlist for quite sometime I think....back to looking at Far Easten pedals I guess :)PeaceNeil

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Joyo JF-01 Vintage Overdrive Review

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It seems I am on a bit of a roll at the moment in reviewing Joyo Pedals, I guess the thing is, they are so cheap it seems silly not to give them a whirl and then stick them on Ebay if you aren't happy with them. So far, I have reviewed the Joyo Tremolo, American Sound, California Sound and Ultimate Drive, so it is the time of the most famous it would seem Joyo Jf-01 Vintage Overdrive pedal! So why is this...'the most famous' well because it unashamedly is a rip off of the most classic of guitar pedals...the Ibanez Tubescreamer....hey it is even the same colour! So here is the video review….on the whole is positive, personally I found it a little harsh sounding, but that is just me, in terms of overdrive I am very much in love with either getting it from the amp (with a boost pedal ...I currently use Rothwell F1 Booster) or either the Boss BD-2 or SD-1 Super Overdrive (my oldest pedal!) Pros1)The cost2)It sounds pretty good in to a clean amp3) Works well as a lead boost  with an already distorted amp4) Works exceptionally well into the American Sound pedal for a bluesy toneCons1)Not 100% convinced about the construction if used under pressure2)Personally speaking it is a bit harsh for me3)Once again the ethics of ‘stealing’ IP and cheap labour economics?PeaceNeil

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Joyo JF-15 Califonia Sound Review

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As I have mentioned in previous posts, it seems Joyo Pedals (and Mooer now) are causing a bit of a stir in the guitar pedal world, and I have already reviewed the Joyo Tremolo, American Sound and Ultimate Drive, so it is the time of the California Sound! I know there is some controversy about the Joyo range of pedals, and how they are basically rip offs (copies) of existing pedals, in this case the Tech 21 California (original Joyo!!!) which in turn is trying to model Mesa Boogie MK II.So here is the video review....on the whole is positive, but there is one major issue which I highlighted in the video where you get the most horrendous sound when you turn up the voice and drive control...see (hear) for yourself. Pros1)The cost, it's great and could be used as an emergency amp in a live situation!2)It sounds pretty good as a clean amp and as a direct box, with moderate distortion sounds pretty good too.Cons1)Not 100% convinced about the construction if used under pressure2)THE HORRIBLE sound when you turn up the voice and drive settings3)Increase in noise at high drive settings (sounds like a fry up!)4)The ethics of ‘stealing’ IP and cheap labour economics?PeaceNeil

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Suhr Corso 5 Watt Amp and the Hedgehog

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Wow, just been made aware of a couple of new amps from Suhr, which look fanatastic....and by watching the video of the Corso, sound pretty fantastic too! The Corso in particular looks like it could be a very versatile and fantastic in the studio. Likewise, the Hedgehog (what a cool name for an amp!!) look very interesting, although, I always the 30 Watts of the Badger seemed to be rather optimum these days. But quite exciting all the same, really love Suhr products, and the Suhr Riot, is probably one of (if not the) best pedal I have ever owned!It will be interesting to see what the prices are....but I am guessing high! It is also interesting to watch Suhr videos without Guthrie Govan in them, now he has moved to Charvel (Fender)...although his new guitar looks amazing, but again I am guessing megabucks!!PeaceNeil

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TC Nova System Direct into a PA - A/DA GCS-2

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Following up on my series of articles on the Nova System an video reviews, I have always wished a little bit that the Nova was like a GT-100 or HD-500 and had some associated amp modelling, so it could be used direct into a PA or recording session. I didn't wish that much as to be honest I think the effects are awesome and it is a fantasticaly awesome pedal, as is evident. Then part of me thought wouldn't it be cool to have a set up where with a simple clean modelling pedal I could achieve basically the same thing (and use it in an emergency should my amp break). Whilst the Nova does have a 'speaker simulator' built in, this is a very basic eq curve (hence the reason you 'loose' the eq section when you engage it), but it could save you in an emergency. And then I found this, the A/DA GCS-2 cabinet simulator and direct box and it could be exactly what I am looking for, and something which is an all round Swiss army.I am starting to think, that with something like this, and say an American Sound pedal, you basically have a modelling rig (and all analogue) which could save you in an amp emergency, but also make a fairly small and lightweight rig. I am going to look into this and report back asap!PeaceNeil

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Wampler Dual Fusion Pedal

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Okay, after not being to up on stuff to come out of NAMM 2013, I did just stumble across this....Been following Tom Quayle for a while now, really like his lessons (and playing of course!) on iGuitar (although curses for tuning to 4ths!), and was really surprised to hear that he has released a signature pedal, but how cool is that. I really like the idea of a dual pedal (in a compact space), I think it is what of guitarist really need, a great rhythm tone on one side, then gain staging to get a lead tone/boost. I am really excited to try this pedal out. Here are the specs from the Wampler site• 2 separate pedals in one box, each with their own gain structure - volume|tone|gain (each with two voicing options)• Switcbable stacking order (1 into 2, 2 into 1 or you can completely separate them).• Stack perfectlyI like the fact (actually I think it is amazing!) that you can separate the channels out!! Hoping it won't be too expensive!!PeaceNeil

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Joyo JF-14 American Sound Review

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It seems Joyo Pedals are causing a bit of a stir, and I have already reviewed the Joyo Tremolo and Ultimate Drive, so it is the time of the American Sound now. I know there is some controversy about the Joyo range of pedals, and how they are basically rip offs (copies) of existing pedals, in this case the Tech 21 Blonde, and I know we should be looking into the economics and politics of this, but it is difficult to know where to start.

Should you buy something which is basically stolen from someone else IP (intellectual property?), or if I took one a part and brought the same components for pennies from Maplin and rebuilt it, is that the same thing?

The fact that the economics of scale and the Chinese economy mean that they are then able to sell these back to us for incredibly cheap prices, particularly when compared to the Tech 21 original. But for me, curiosity got the better of me, I wanted a pedal which could be used as a DI incase of my amp going down, and what better pedal to have than an amp model of than a clean Fender and then drive it with distortion pedals. So I gave it a whirl.

The Joyo JF14 is supposed to emulate a Fender 57 deluxe amplifier, which (according to Fender) is their most popular Tweed Amp, and it is a lovely amp I must say!

How easy is it to use?

The pedal is dead easy to use it has a 3 band EQ section and controls for level, gain and voice. The voice control is perhaps the only one which isn't immediately clear as to what it does, but it is basically a mid-shaping pre-amp controlThe pedal also has built-in amp simulation, (this is a simple EQ profile to make it sound like the output is running through a 1 x12 cab, in this instance) which make it sound "Fender-ish".

This is great because you can use this as an emergency amp, or strapped to a pedal board you could create your own amp simulator board, without the need of something like a Line-6 amp simulator. To me this is probably the best feature of this pedal. I have been using it to do direct recording too and it sounds fantastic. In conjunction with something like a traditional pedalboard, you could have a amp modelling system.

There is 9V input and it runs from a battery.

Are there any nice touches?

Pretty bog standard really! Nicest touch...it costs less than £30!!! (Ethics aside)

So most importantly what does it SOUND like?

For a pedal which costs less than £30, it is simply amazing! It would be impossible to have any real complaints at all. It works fantastically as a DI amp modelling box in the studio, and I would happily use it instead of micing up an amp. It also works fantastically well as a DI box in a live situation, I am using it now as my valve amp back up, and it is just stuck on my pedal board.

I would say I am not completely convinced by the drive setting, but actually in conjunction with the voice setting you can get some nice break up tones, but I found using it with a separate drive pedal suits me more (personally).

I will say that the pedal is very dynamic and does respond well to your playing, it does cleans up well using the guitar's volume.It is well worth every penny. I would suggest putting it on your shortlists.All guitars were tracked direct with this pedal (using a Fender Telecaster with Dimazio Tone Zone in the neck), straight into DP8 with a touch of ambience from the Live room plug-in.The pedal is also true bypass.

Will it fall apart?

The case is made of pretty robust Aluminium, built like most pedals, but whilst I am sure it could take a complete hammering, I probably would treat it with some care, I also worry about the battery cover which seems a bit flimsy. I use a PSU, so this isn't really an issue for me.

Pros

1)The cost!

2)The cost!

3)It sounds GREAT as a clean amp and as a direct box.

Cons

1)Not 100% convinced about the construction if used under pressure

2)Personally the dirty gain sounds aren't awesome, seems to work better in conjunction with an OD pedal.

3)The ethics of 'stealing' IP and cheap labour economics?

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Neil