I originally bought the Freqout because there were times of wanting feedback but not able to turn up LOUD... but it quickly became its own instrument - and also a way to get E-Bow sounding effects.
@@chinmeysway Not sure if you've ever seen videos of the seemongly secretive 'Fender Runaway' pedal. It was like a feedback pedal but using an expression pedal - also some interesting effects but not remotely convincing feedback sounds from it.
I call it the synth sine generator for ondes martenot sounds The tracking and harmonic feature is actually great, and it sounds musical despite being monophonic when playing chords- making its own little melody. I maybe would like a more comprehensive synth with saws and squares etc. following though. Boss or something? Pigtronix? I bought for eBow styling but didnt find it much use for that, i wonder about other alternatives, would love a sustainer pickup!
I always enjoy your fuzz recommendations because I, too, am often uncomfortable with gain pedals, but always enjoy your picks as they have a unique voice that I can immediately imagine a fun use for. Loved your take on the Sunlight, I'm going to make that my first pedal after a long time experimenting with the effects in my practice amp and Audacity. Also the number of sostenuto-like tones in this video from the FreqOut, the Attack Decay, the Plus, and the Sunlight, made me very happy. Of course, your videos always make me happy, so no surprises. Thank you for sharing!
I was a DJ in 1972 and remember a DJ friend had a Wem Copycat and i was so envious ! It was an echo from the past.My ' light show ' was twirling some flashlights on various lengths of string and for a strobe i just asked people to blink rapidly - it did the trick.Those were the days,my friend.
1) The EHX Attack Decay is a woefully underrated and underappreciated pedal. Capable of SO much, and able to make any guitar a synth. I love mine. 2) The Tentacle is a faithful recreation of the Dan Armstrong Green Ringer. Unfortunately, that pedal was too simple for its own good. Here's how to make it better. a) There is a 6.2k resistor from the emitter of Q1 to ground. Put a 10k variable resistance in series with 10uf and put that in parallel with the 6.2k resistor to vary the gain. Pushing a little harder gets a more lasting octave (or less if you max that 10k pot). b) There is a 47k resistor to ground on the output. The stock circuit presumes equal output volume in effect mode. If you add more gain up front, then you need some way to get things back to equal volume. So make that 47k fixed resistor a 47k log volume pot. c) The best octave-up units understand that it takes a few moments for the unwanted harmonics and their multiples to fade out and allow the octave to become more audible and "bloom". Unfortunately, over that brief interval, the string volume also drops, such that the octave enters just around the time when it's harder to hear. The simple cure is to stick a back-to-back pair of diodes on the output (normally in parallel with that 47k resistor, now a pot), going to ground, to act as a quick & dirty limiter. This creates the illusion of constant volume, such that the octave doesn't seem any quieter as it blooms. Because those diodes can also add a bit of dirt, stick a smallish-value (100-470R) resistor between the diodes and ground to soften things a bit. This will also help when you crank up the gain of the unit. Trust me, you'll like it. It won't instantly turn it into a Foxx Tone Machine, but it will dramatically improve the usability of the pedal. Hope to see you at Festival Sonore next April.
@@abrakadeep8810 You're welcome. I've had/built some 8 or more quite a bit.(probably more like a dozen) octave-up units, from clones of classics to designs from other DIY-ers, and studied what does and doesn't help producing a pleasing octave. Like all Dan Armstrong devices in those extruded aluminum "cubes" you plugged into the guitar's output jack, the Ringer had an on-off switch and no other options. If it worked flawlessly in your context, great. If not, tough luck. It likely needs more than I suggested to make it a *great* octave up, but the mods really do improve it, in a noticeable way, without detracting fro its character.
I literally just ordered a Lethargy today, can’t wait to have a play with it. Excellent vid as always, super relaxing (apart from the fuzzes maybe which were beautiful in a different way)
Picked up the Dreadbox Darkness and it can get deep and haunting. Absolutely love it. The lethargy tempts me soooo much but I already have a couple things with phaser options. I kinda want all their pedals tbh 😅 maybe I need a synth only pedal board 😂😭 must control myself
@@eweystewy unfortunately the darkness was announced not long after I got the Walrus Audio Fathoms, but it’s on my list as a possible second reverb at some point. I’m with you on wanting all their pedals! I wanted the Komorebi pretty much since it was announced, but I got a pretty good deal on a used but like new Lethargy and my current phaser seems to have broken so…
The BHS is a beauty for sure! I particularly love how much original not clarity you get when having the reverb and delay maxed out. One of my personal favourites :)
11:25 Not surprised that Knobs/Scott enjoys Goodhertz’s Lossy (and a CB pedal version was recently released), as he gets similar sounds out of Attack Decay’s Poly mode!
Ahhh haha! Great video! Only halfway in and i already love it. I saw the jack half in and was like… whhhaaa? Then you commented on that as if reading my mind! 😂
I basically have the Beebo so that I don't need this many pedals. Also, it's basically Mutable Instruments in a box. It even has Marbles now, so you can send out MIDI and have it play your other gear randomly while you do stuff.
856 for Zellersasn def deserves a full video :) Kinematic I've been considering for a few weeks now, but I just dont need anymore kit and my constant kit buying ban is already enough of a failure :D
Microcosm was my very first pedal. It’s a must-have. I don’t regret paying $550 for it second hand, it’s truly worth it. Hologram is a game changing company.
Hey Knobs, i'm sure youve answered this many times before but how do you get your base guitar sound to be so plucky and articulate but not harsh at all?
Ah how does the Behringer slow motion compare- i had one and it basically didnt work properly its a bit crap. But then i had a pigtronix philosopher king; the attack decay by EHX seems weirder even though it was based on it. Seemed like overkill, even though it made a great compressor/boost and tremolo-ish effect. Tried using just a volume pedal for a while- Now i am using the Zoom MS50G slow attack patch which is actually rather good at tracking. Might try "building" an attack decay with a gate and drive and whatever else it does- nothing quite dies its 'decay' shortening like the EHX or Pigtronix.
Hello. Can I ask you, where do you plugged for this video? What was the setup? I tried many times the Rat, would love to sound exactly like this but it sounds so different on my setups. Thanks by advance.
Hello! Enjoyed this. If I may ask, how did you create the jingle at the start? beautiful circinate / unfurling ambient loops with lush verb and realistic cassette compression
@@Knobs brilliant! been deliberating on this all summer because international postage / import fee is substantial but my mind is made up now! what synth are you sing for the jingle?
With a very small number of exceptions (oddly including the freqout) you have a large list of pedals I would never buy. I can't decide if its a distinct difference in tastes or that I'm just not that adventurous in the tones I'm looking for. Anyway, I wouldn't know I didn't like them if you hadn't reviewed them, so THANKS! and keep it up.
awesome video. thanks for helping me empty my wallet again after i thought i was done lol. sidenote... i can't figure out my BOSS FS-5U to save my life, and there are NO decent videos that explain it. welp, here's to dreaming !
Hey man I love your video! I collect guitar pedals for my guitar,bass and Wurlitzer piano. I also repair and modify pedals for fun. I can repair that pedal for you with the faulty input jack. I would do it for free just cause i like your video so much! I also own the Dreadbox phaser. I bought it broken and fixed it. Also modified it with a foot control/expression pedal. I think you would like it. Let's get in touch!
Oohhhh!!! Now I get it!! They are for making noise, not music. Lol honestly though I build almoat all my own effects and do my own mods and build guitars from scratch. I'm actually working on a Chasm reverb now with my own mods that I'm going to post on a few forums when I'm done. With that said I didnt find a pedal in this whole video besides the Sustainer/freeze pedal that I would actually want and would actually find useful (I remember when they were first shown at NAMM I almost got one right after that because they weren't your typical freeze pedal at all. But I wanted a Marshall DSL100HR (100w tube amp, that wont break the bank forever like a JCM800 lol) more. A good choice too cause it's still my main amp and I got it at launch so its been about 3 years). Anyways I love shoegaze so I can do crazy effect driven stuff all day long but it's still got to sound like music or it's like being forced to listen to a beginner preteen guitar player who is trying to write a song even though he or she cant even play a cowboy chord yet. I guess I just despise effects if they are used to cover up a lack of actual musical ability. If you cant sound as good without effects as you can with them then your not ready for effects at all yet. Which I've told my nephews countless times lol. It's about making music others can relate to with intention. It's not chance or luck. I think as a musician we should know what we are trying to convey before conveying it. Just trying things until it sounds cool isnt ever going to move anyone to write a timeless album. Different strokes for different folks but the whole noise machine pedals with pretty lights just isnt what I love about guitar pedals. I want to make music, not have an expensive abstract piece of art on my pedal board.