The Ugly Truth About Being A Telecaster Guy That Plays A Les Paul

It was nearly twenty years ago that I (or my parents rather) bought my first Fender Telecaster. I played that thing everyday for years. I was actively involved in playing at my church. When I wasn't playing my acoustic, I was playing that Telecaster. It was my only electric for the longest time. I changed the pickups because I wanted to play metal. It was then I realized that, even though I liked the shape and feel of a Tele, I wanted different sounds than the standard Telecaster quack. I've since owned many other Teles that all have something in common, they aren't standard Teles. I have one with P-90s and a Deluxe with Split coils. I have come to appreciate the Standard Tele quack, but I haven't committed to actually owning one. (I can get some quack by playing with my pickup configuration. So yes, I do call upon the mighty quack when I need)

I've Never Really Liked The Les Paul Shape (until I did)

There is something that happens to a guitar when they acquire their first "real" guitar. There is a fondness and familiarity that forms that is hard to overcome. Also, I jump between acoustic and electric so much that a flat-top electric feels more familiar when switching. A fender type bridge and Tonepros type bridge is an adjustment. The first few times I played a Gibson Les Paul I understood that this instrument was a quality instrument, but it was uncomfortable to play. Heavy, bulky, curved. Nothing seemed comfortable. I've owned, for a time, other guitars like a SG and a Jackson SLS. These were also different and good in there own respects, but they all lost favor and didn't suit me as much as my Tele. They were "homebase".

It Can Come As A Surprise 

So I messing about like I do in a music store, and on a lark picked up a Les Paul (copy) and slowly realized I like it better than the other guitars that I had picked up that day. I was surprised, not only how much I liked it, but how comfortable it felt. I had owned a SG for a few years, so the bridge was a little less foreign and the neck was slimmer and more "Fender-ish" than others I had play before. The pickups were bright and hot. The neck was one of the better rosewood fretboards I've played. Most other things were passable. All in all, it was a solid guitar, the price was right, so it became mine. No one was more surprised than me.

Having Something New Can Spark Renewed Interest. 

Being an active musician mean playing a lot of music. I Play a set every week with a group. I also teach music to students during the week, so playing "just for me" is uncommon. I'm either preparing, studying, or writing. I don't play for the pure enjoyment of it (even though I enjoy playing during that other times). But when I sat down with this non-Telecaster I was transported back to when the guitar was new. Things worked a little different. Similar enough to feel familiar but different enough to give everything a since of discovery. This would be the first guitar that I've spent a lot of time that had a set-neck, and honestly I thing I'm smitten. There is a sustain that I think is due to the neck joint. I still love my Teles for all the reason that I loved them to begin with, but now there is something else in my collection that doesn't resemble the rest and adds a new element to the mix.

The Ugly Truth About JHS Pedals

I'll admit that I am little late to this game. Like, way late. Couple years too late in face. But, there has been more information come to light and I'd like to talk a little bit about JHS Pedal and all the hype (good and bad) that surrounds them.

1. They Are Cloners

In the world of effects, detail get a little murky. Ask a person of average intelligence was any pedal does and you get colorful langue about Highs and Low ends. Maybe there is a Mid-hump, maybe it flattens out the Mids. But in reality all "dirt" circuits work similarly. Image that your guitar signal is a water hose. Your clean signal is the water flowing the the hose unobstructed. Then distortion would be similar to you putting your thumb overt the end of the water hose. This has a term, it's call "clipping". Every dirt pedal that I've come across does this in some way. Before the distortion pedal, guitar would push their amps to "breakup". This meant pushing their amps very hard to make a distorted sound. Early early pioneers took what guitarist were doing with their amps and boiled it down until they could replicate it on a small scale. In a way, amps were cloned to create the first pedals. Today we have a very popular pedals that are recreated in many different ways by many different people. Ibanez's Tube Screamer is a circuit that has been emulated by many manufacturer. I actually own a Tube Screamer clone made by EHX. Others have cloned and tweeked the circuit and sold it as being something completely different. This is what JHS is accused of. Is it true? Yes. But it's also true of Boss, EHX and others.

2. They Over Charge For Their Pedals

There is a lot of talk about "how much it cost to make a pedal". I can put together the parts to build a pedal for about $20. A more complicated pedal would cost more, of course, but to a varying degree that how much buying an enclosure, knobs, jacks, and internals. Some say that buying in bulk would decrease that price, so a manufacturer should be able to produce a product cheaper. So then, when JHS charges $200-$300 for a pedal, it raises some eyebrows. Let's look at it from a business standpoint. A product is worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. If there are people out there willing to buy a hand built pedal for boutique prices, then that's just fair trade. plenty of people have opinions about how much things should cost, but in reality, people can charge whatever they want for their products. Some people however don't live in reality.

3. They Pass Off Their Copied Circuits As Their Own

So we talked about how many manufacturers make circuit that are basically the same as others. Electro Harmonix barely mentions the Klon in its description, and only stated that it "inspired" the design of their Soul Food Pedal. Boss doesn't even mention the TS-9 in their description of the SD-1 even though those pedals are so similar even some mod instructions are the same for these pedals. It's not like this is unprecedented. In many cases the pedals that JHS produces are based on other pedals, but they have mods or features that didn't exist on the originals. If you spent enough time to design, breadboard, and build these pedals, you'd probably think about these pedal as your own too. Even though the designs might not be 100% original the work that was put into building the pedals, business, reputation for quality products make what he offers have value. How much value? See point 2

4. Bad Business Practices

OK. This might be legitimate, however, it might be hearsay. There has been allegations that JHS stole a design from another builder and put it into another pedal of his. Also, there might have been a case of criticizing a builder causing a store to stop carrying the other builders pedal. This again might be true, however, I find it unlikely that someone dropped a line of pedals just because a competitor had something off-putting about them. So then, in the worse case, the guy behind JHS might be a little bit of a jerk. (or shrewd in business lingo) This is compounded by the fact that people generally believe Josh Scott of JHS pedals to be a christian. This is because he did an interview for a christian magazine one time. So, in the case that all of this is true, we have a christian guy building his take on popular pedals and charging a mint for them. If he is a christian, should he give them away? (I wouldn't mind taking a few)

5. Poor Quality

If what I've seen is to be believed, then this is true... kinda. The pedal that "prove" this claim look like what I'd build. Like early work of a pedal builder. This is explainable, because it was probably early work of a builder. I learned most of what I know about this "issue" by reading forum post and another blog post that was very detailed. You can read it here. Josh Scott has already made replies to post about poor workmanship offering to exchange any pedal with poor build quality for a new pedal. It looks like this problem has been recognized and corrected.

In Conclusion

I don't own any JHS pedals. I would probably be more interested in some of the mods or other services. Plus, I'm kinda cheap, so... you know. Here's the thing. If you look hard enough at any company, then you're probably going to see something you don't like. Small pedal builders are very personal products. Don't forget that these people just want to do something that they enjoy and make money at it. Somewhere along the way they have to make a business out of it. The best way to make any business to change their practices is to not buy their product. If enough people agree with you, then the business will change, or go out of business. If you don't like them, don't buy from them. Do they deserve the hate they get in the forums? I don't support hate, although maybe organize a boycott, or create an online petition, something more constructive. (for more ugly truths about JHS, check this out)

The EHX Soul Food and Why Its Not a Klon Klone.

This might be a little behind the curve, but let's talk about the Electro-Harmonix Soul Food. There is a common assumption that it is a Klon clone. That's not a terrible assessment. From the outside, this is a very similar pedal. We have Treble, Volume and Gain knobs on both pedals. You get sounds that are similar out of both pedal. The circuit them selves might be very similar, but then again are most gain circuits "similar". I'm a fan on the Soul Food. I have one on my board currently. I'd probably like the Klon Centaur too. Did EHX just rip a massivly popular pedal off? Probably. But there are differences that separate the two, and they are:

1. It's Smaller

Let's start slow. The original Klon and the Klon Centaur are larger pedals. If you look at the insides of one these pedals you notice ample space. EHX created a circuit that fit in their small enclosure. Not ground breaking, but its a key difference.

2. It's Less Expensive

Right, again, duh... But lets take a look at what other Klones cost and see what EHX did. They made a pedal that performed a similar function and made it for a fraction of the price. Other similar pedal tend to take advantage of being klones and charge similar prices. This pedal bucked the trend and filled a gap in the market.

3. Switches, Please...

The Klon KTR (the red one) has a buffer. On the KTR it is optional, but the Soul Food is true-bypass. The Klon buffer is so fabled that people have made klones of the Klon buffer. The Soul Food has a switch as well. Hidden inside is a voltage switch. It takes your 9-volt supply and doubles it for more headroom. So, that's neat, and different.

4. Some Things Just Aren't The Same

We've discussed some finer points, but crack this pedal open and thing just aren't the same. Values and specs aren't one for one. The main difference being the diodes are germanium like in the Klon. Alchemy Audio has a mod that corrects this. What you get is a clipping section that more closely resemble that of a Klon. Is the mod worth you $35? Maybe,

In Conclusion

The EHX Soul Food is a great pedal. Many people have added it to their pedal boards for good reasons. Whether it is a klone or not shouldn't matter. What matters is that when you plug it in and turn it on, you like what it does. Nuf Said

Ugly Review: Ventura V28 (Les Paul)

In every guitar players life their are times when one grows restless. The familiar sounds and feels become too familiar and we long for a new experience. I kissed my wife and family goodbye as I prepared to begin a journey for the next conquest. I might encounter various perils on the trek to claim the prize awaiting me, so I gathered my courage and ventured forth to discover my next glorious acquisition. And so, I went to the music store.

I had a budget (small) and a few thing on my list (everything), so i began inspecting every instrument I deemed worthy (affordable). Cutting to the chase, I almost walk out of the store in defeat until I noticed a Les Paul. I didn't pay much mind because I don't really like to play LP's, but I decide to take a closer look when I notice the headstock. "Ventura". I ran into exactly one other guitar like this. It was a 1/2 size student guitar that I student brought to lessons. It was, far and away, the best "student" guitar I've seen. On top of that, it was also budget friendly. The V28 ran for just under a hundred dollars. I was skeptical, then I played it.

It felt like a Les Paul, that is to say, heavy. Everything seemed right about it. The weigh, balance, color, shape were all classic Les Paul. But I don't like Les Paul's. I plugged it in and strummed a few chords. It sounded very generic "PAF-humbucker-y". The thing that surprised me was the fret board. Most budget guitar get a raw deal especially when it comes to rosewood fretboards. But this one head and shoulders above the Epiphone SG that I've owned for years. 

Now for the ugly. The sounds and the feel of the guitar was well above the hundred dollar they were asking for this guitar. However, everything wasn't so impressive. The metal parts were the biggest let downs. Nearly every metal bit had a sharp/unrefined edge. The tuners is were I noticed it the most, but the saddles and stop-tail had edges that felt like they should have been hit with a sander before chromed. The finish is passable with visible wood joints through the finish on the back and some imperfections with the binding. There was a mar in the top where the hardware from the pickguard hit. Some of the areas around hardware was left rough. The frets end were left a little ruff, but none actually stuck out. The nut was cut and left raw. Intonation was difficult to adjust on some strings (due to the rough machining process all the other metal pieces I suppose) Most of this can be chalked up to being nit-picky.

I did end up purchasing it. I am not a big name brand kind of guy. The guitar played well, it was very affordable, and I wanted something different. It was a home run as far as I was concerned. There are some thing I'd like to change, but as it sits, it's a great playing guitar for a reasonable price. 

The Ugly Truth About TC Electronic Rottweiler

Ever on the look out for pedals that are stellar, I was browsing in one of my local music stores and noticed a TC Electronic Rottweiler. TC Electronic is more known for their filter and modular effects, but they do have dirt boxes as well. I decided that I needed to give them a try. What I learned surprised me.

My set-up was a Fender Tele Deluxe, into the Rottweiler, to a Peavey Classic 50. The Deluxe and the Peavey tube amp was a great combo. Great American sounds came chiming out. Que the record scratch because when the Rottweiler was turned on, everything changed. Before engaging the pedal I tried to achieve the "on the edge" sound with the amp. No go. If I wanted to sit in front of the amp and not have my ears bleed that is. (even with a master volume) So on came the pedal. Distortion is an understatement. I'm not much of a Metal player, so I won't claim it's great for Metal, but the tones were there. I rolled the gain all the way back and there was still no sign of letting up. There was no sign of my original sound either. The tone and dynamics were completely hijacked. Like a dog with a bone, this pedal was carried away.

The Ugly: Not Transparent, Little Gain Control

The Pro: True Bypass, Solid Construction

The Conclusion: The Pedal doesn't share. The tend in pedal have been to mix clean signal in a mix with dirt, but this pedal didn't get the memo. If you want the Rottweiler to keep some of your guitar's tone in the mix, then you'll probably get bit.

The Ugly Truth About TC Electronic MojoMojo Overdrive

I took a trip to my local guitar Mecca and had a look around. I had been feeling like I need to get something out of the ordinary. Something that will challenge and inspire me in certain intangible ways (I wanted a new piece of gear). So, armed with a tiny budget and a little bit of trade-stuffs I ventured forth. What I found was something that caught my attention. It was the TC Electronic MojoMojo Overdrive. Four knobs and a micro toggle on an OD pedal was enough to temp me. Nearly all my dirt are three-knob-jobs, so I wanted to see if this could offer something that I currently cook up with my rig.

First I ran Modern Player Tele through the Mojo into a little Yamaha lunch box amp. My first thoughts were not good. I fiddled with knobs and ran through pickup selections and nothing was good. Of course this could have been due to the 2.5 inch speaker on the Yamaha amp so I changed to a Fender Deluxe Reverb. Clean sounds were great (duh) but this is about a pedal. I fiddled and fiddled with the pedal, looking for the sweet spot that would make the sound that is currently unavailable to me. I never found it. There was some nice voices that I found in the pedal, but nothing that made me want to commit. The best tones of the day were found running straight to the Deluxe. Here is how you know I was underwhelmed, it was new and half price.

The Ugly: It was generic, bland, didn't control low well, not very transparent.

The Pros: It was cheap(ish) and had great build quality

The Conclusion: The MojoMojo lacked just that, Mojo.

TC Electronic's New Pedal Is Not A Pedal

So all the hype was made and many people, include me, were extremely excited. What was this new product that was coming out? I was convinced that it would be a interesting new pedal. Then we got this:

That's right. A clip on tuner. That might be the single least exciting product that I can imagine. I own several clip on tuners, but that doesn't mean that they are worth putting out teaser videos. The thing that gets my attention about a product about this is the price. That too is note worthy, because it is 50 dollars. That is not worthy for the fact that is more than twice the price of any clip on tuner that I've ever bought. TC Electronic is a little slow getting to market because Fender beat them to the punch with their own $50 clip on.

Yep. Looks like a Snark to me too. I think the Polytune has the upper hand in this fight because of how well the pedal version works. The Fender looks pretty standard exept that someone scribbled their name on it. In conclusion, if I were in the market for a $50 clip on tuner, I'd get the TC Electronic.

TC Electronics Has A New Pedal. What Is It?

TC Electronics have been teasing the internet with videos and pictures obscuring the identity of their new stomp box. This leads all of the pedal who care about such thing to wonder, what is it? For example, they posted this picture of a pallet full of boxes...

No hints here, but in their video they mention something about its size. So we can assume that it is a micro size. Currently most of their line has the compact and micro version of the same pedal. There are a few exceptions. Their Dark Matter Distortion and Helix Phaser have no counter part in the micro pedals. Currently I am waiting for a Dark Matter pedal on backorder, so that makes me think that they have limited the supply before the release of "new" micro sized version. In direct contradiction of this is the fact that TC Electronic doesn't seem to be heavily invested in dirt pedals. In fact they are currently pushing their Toneprint technology. So a move in this direction doesn't seem like their MO of late. Again, contradicting what I just said, Keen observers will notice that the pedal in their teaser video looked to be darkly color. This would point to the Dark Matter since TC Electronic keeps everything color coordinated.

The Ugly Truth About Big Tone Music Brewery

The other day I was on the Twitter, and I noticed the Big Tone Music Brewery has just announced a new line of pedals. If BTMB is a new name to you, you are not alone. They have been operating in obscurity for some time creating unique, feature laden pedals that are impressive to behold. The guy behind the Build You Own Clone site, Keith Vonderhulls, has created a line of creative pedals. Their most prominent pedal being their MOSFET overdrive and boost. More than just a Fulltone clone, this pedal offers panametric EQ and knobies and switches everywhere. Another standout in their line is the Royal Beaver. This combines every Big Muff variation and combination imaginable. In short, this is the beaver to end all beavers. These pedals are flexible and well designed. So when I heard that they are putting out more pedals, I got excited. I couldn't wait to see what designs they came up with next.

There New Line Is Heavy On The Dirt

Obviously BTMB is committed to making the best, and most flexible OD, distortion, and fuzz pedal. They also have come up with a boost and vibrato. Many people have several dirt pedals. If you are like me, I am always looking for pedals that add something to my sound. Once you have your sound with the right amount on dirt, then you can look at making that sound just a little sweeter. Delay, Reverb, and chorus are tryed and true effect that help make "that sound" that much better. Many people see the pool of gain pedal to be over-saturated. So when I learned that BTMB was offering nothing but dirt, my excitement was squelched a bit.

Their Clones

Let me be clear hear. These are no exact copies of other pedals. They take successful circuits and modify them to make them more desirable and flexible. So lets take a look at the line up:

Classic Overdrive=Tube Screamer (?)
Grey Box Overdrive=DOD 250 (Grey Version)
Ram and Triangle Fuzz=Big Muffs
Silicone and Germanium Fuzz=Fuzz Faces

They have applied their now-signature flexible EQ. Yes they might have familiar beginings, but they offer many options that aren't found on the originals. Not to mention that they are made with top quality NOS parts and construction. So the idea behind these pedals are not trying to copy the old pedals, but rather improve upon the old circuits.

They've Lost A Little Magic

Many of us have looked for that magic bullet to produced the sound that is in our heads, the one pedal that will rule them all. Some have claimed to find it, and they very well may have. Sometimes that sound is a slippery fish. It may sound completely different from day to day, making BTMB's flexible pedals great choices. However, the pedals in this new line fit a little more snugly into their original roles. They are more flexible then their counterparts, but they stop short of the exotic pedals they have previously built. Speaking of which, The original pedal had top mounted jacks. As everyone knows, if you want a super sexy pedal board then you have to have your pedals with top mounted jacks. That way you can put your pedals close together and have a solid mass of sonic goodness at your feet with little to no pedal board showing. Side jacks just down allow those pedal to get super close.

In Conclusion

Now we have a line of pedals that pretty much anyone can admire. They taken familiar designs and increased there tonal range, and given them modern features that today's players want. On top of everything, these pedals are handbuilt in America and under $200. That might be serious cash, but these are serious pedals. In a world where there are tons of dirt pedals to choose form, these pedal standout, but aren't too obscure that you won't be able to tell which pedal is right for you. These are very smart designs from the guys that have been building and modding circuits for years. Well worth a try!

5 Ugly Truths About Justin Beiber

Unfortunately, the world has been aware of Justin Beiber for the last five years and in that time, even those that actively avoid radio and other Beiber outlets have been subject to the Beibs. I remember first hearing JB while riding in my wife's car. She listens to the pop stations, so eventually I was treated to Justin's first single "Baby". I was convinced that it was a female singer for the next year. Justin has been the target of a lot of hate and he has earned a lot of it. However, he has build a dedicated fan base that has the strength and numbers to stage a small coup. So lets look at some facts that might be a little hard to stomach.

1. He Was Pulled Out Of Obscurity (Just like we wish we were)

After posting a video to the internet, Beiber was discover by his current manager. He made some fast connections and suddenly he was signed to a major record label in what must of been a whirlwind for a young Canadian kid. By the time he could barely drive, he was recording albums and performing for a growing number of fans.

2. He Has Worked With Established and Respected Artists 

Drake, Usher, Niki Minaj, Busta Rhymes, The Band Perry, and Ludacris. What do all those people have in common? (Other than the fact that I don't listen to them) They have all collaborated with Justin Beiber. These people willing let JB do whatever it is that he does with them. They also have the fact that people don't absolutely hate their existence. I'm not sure is Justin was trying to loss some of his tweeny-boppy image, or the other guys were trying to get some of the Beliebers on their side. Either way, it is an impressive feat.

3. He Dated Selena Gomez (and you never will)

Lets just look at statistics. Chances are you will never be in the same state as Selena Gomez much less meet Mrs. Gomez. The real surprise is that a successful, self-respected person decided that they were going to enter into a relationship with the Canadian singer. Perhaps the attention of the boy that is wanted by thousands of other girls was too intoxicating.

4. He's A Super-Jerk

After what we can only hope Was Justin peak, He has run into a bumps in the road. He was busted speeding around in a sports car in California even though he couldn't legally drive. He was arrested in Florida after being involved in a fight. Could this be explained by the fact that his normal teenage life was interrupted by fame and fortune. The years that most people spend hanging out with friend and going to the mall (or whatever kids do now) Justin was being handled and molded into a cash-producing, singing monkey. Add that to the fact he can legally drink and you have a power-keg.

5. He Plays The Guitar

It is completely acceptable that there be an annoying kid pop-star making music that I don't like to listen to. There will always be music that I don't care for. It is only to be expected that on slow news days, we hear reports on the lives of these "stars". What really upsets me is that he defiles one of the thing that I love. He started as a girl that incessantly sang the word "baby", and then became mop-headed boy that created a army of screaming girls, then he went super-turd-monkey and made all the bad decisions. So, when I see this epitome of douce-nugget playing guitar it makes me real sad, real sad.

The Ugly Truth About The Hardwire DL-8 Delay Looper

In search of a possible alternative to my trusty DD-20 Delay from Boss, I sat down with the Hardwire DL-8 Delay/Looper. In many repects the Hardwire pedal is the equal to any from the boss line. Offering a load of useful features, that you can read in full detail elsewhere, The DL-8 closely aligns its self to the Boss DD-7. It outshines it with more delay time and a few extra settings, such a Lo-Fi and Slapback that allows you to really scrutinize the delay time of your slap. Lo-Fi is an intresting setting. It allow the trails to get covered by the guitar's dry signal allowing you tone to remain unmuddied by delay trails in busier parts of the song. All in all its a solid little pedal. But its not all so pretty...

Its Awkwardly Sized

This pedal was thought through. The packaging is definitely a step above the rest. It comes with pre-cut velcro and a cover to keep your knobs from turning. I like that they have thought about these things. It makes it easier for those that run pedalboards and need to secure their settings. The wide footprint, however,  is evidence that these pedal were designed before the "micro" fad really hit its stride. EHX and Line6 both had large delay boxes that were doing very well, so when this had come out it was considered middle of the road. I like the sturdy feel, but  I also have a small pedalboard. I don't know if they needed the extra room due to pedal design, but it is a little bit of an odd shape for a single button pedal. Maybe they couldn't fit all that delay into a "standard" size box.



It's True Bypass-ish



 There is a hidden switch they've included. Which I'm sure does something. However, knowing what I know, I can feel pretty sure saying that the switch does little in the way of bypassing the entire pedal. Like most of the pedals built in the "Boss" style, it has a momentary switch and that corresponds with a flip flop circuit and that by nature is not "true" bypass. I believe that it might bypass the buffer, or even the whole delay circuit, but that pedal wont switch without running though that flip flop. But the option to have a truer bypass is nice. I wish Boss would follow suit. This is a great feature and out of the box thinking, but before we praise them too much for their features, there is one feature that is such an oversight that Homer Simpson called them to tell them they were idiots.



There Is No External Tap Tempo Out



Sweet mercy! This is this the mother of blunders! To their credit, The Hardwire series that Digitech designed was put out just before everyone went crazy about tapping their tempos. Some of the bigger boxes like the Line6 DL4 and Boss DD-20 had either a disignated tap tempo button or jack for an external pedal. The DD-7, the most comparable pedal to this one, has nearly every feature plus the external tap tempo for the same money and less space on the pedalboard. However these pedals were most like designed at the same time by different people, so it is not like that had something to compare themselves to. Actually when you compare this pedal to the Boss DD-6, the Hardwire DL-8 beats it on all fronts. The DD-6 has less delay time and no external tap temp out. Too bad Boss upped the ante with the DD-7 and supplied a feature that was actually in demand.




Looper Might Be A Bit Of An Exaggeration.




To be honest I bought this pedal for a delay, but the Looper feature was surprisingly useful. I'm not a particularly enthusiastic fan of loops, but they can be useful. I use a Digitech JamMan for a band that was the only guitar player for. The looping feature is similar to the Sound On Sound feature found on most Boss delays. In fact, Boss could call all of their delay pedals delay/looper if Hardwire can call this pedal a looper. If you are looking for a delay and don't have great need of a superlative looping pedal, then this works for you. The best feature of the loop setting is that it is triggered by the input, making the beginning of the loop easier to start than timing the perfect stomp. This works at a great practice tool, but I wouldn't buy this pedal for the Looper portion of it name.


In Conclusion


Buy a Boss DD-7. I find it very hard to use delays much longer than a few seconds, so the difference, to me, in the max delay time means little. The setting are almost exactly the same and an external tap temp option means a lot. Hardwire might be going the way of the Dodo so there are chances to get these pedals at closeout prices. Digitech, the makers of Hardwire, played their hand wrong. Everything about the pedal says "quality" but its just a little too underdeveloped. Its not a bad pedal, but it can't compete with the other options in its bracket.

Backorders Still Suck

Recently I received an email stating that my pedal is still on backorder. I have no idea what is holding it up anymore. Perhaps there is some issue with their manufacturing process. I've also noticed that they are heavily pushing their Toneprint pedals via the social medias. So I thought that TC Electronics might be retooling their Dark Matter distortion to be a part of their Toneprint series

I sent a Tweet out stating my theory on a Toneprint Dark Matter, and I was quickly replied to by TC Electronics. They informed me that they are not producing a Toneprint distortion. One could hope. I did see this on the twitter this morning. So something is coming.

Backorders Suck!

Back in April(?) I ordered a Dark Matter distortion pedal from TC Electronics. It was backordered for like a month. I Then waited said month and still nothing. I contacted my favorite online music store and the date had been moved to June. The pedal should have shipped by now but I continue to torture myself by rereading the description on the web. I've been unable to play one of these pedal (or even see one in person for that matter). The pedal was marked down to "clearance" price, so I couldn't pass it up. Also I had just discovered that my "distortion" choices on my board were light. By that I mean I had one distortion.

Whats My point in all this? Waiting for a pedal sucks. I can not stand waiting. It should come soon but who knows. I'm also waiting on some parts from China, but that's China... It has been months since I've bought anything new. I'm Jones-ing real bad. I almost bought a guitar today at Guitar Center. It was a Squier Showmaster. Lately I've been wanting a guitar with Floyd Rose. Go figure. I read somewhere that Floyd Rose was objectively better than non-FR trems... Whatever. I've never really played with a guitar that had one. The times I messed with one I found it bulky and clumsy. Its time to revisit that. I'll dream about that Showmaster tonight...