Ugly Truth: TC Electronic Sentry

TC Electric is at it again with the new Sentry Noise Gate. Known for their quality effect, TC Electronic has put together a line of effect that are praised by many for their quality and flexibility. This pedal appears to be no different. The force is strong with this one due to the Toneprint technology. Not only doe it appear to be a smart noise gating pedal, but it's features are unlocked by its editable setting via linking to your computer or smart-device. Just like TC Electronic's other formidable offerings, this pedal is has been well though out. It looks like a pretty favorable picture, or is it?

It's A Yawn

Let's take a look at TC Electronic's new offerings lately: clip-on tuner, acoustic pre-amp and noise gate. Not exactly exciting stuff. But let's not forget that this is what TC Electronic is good at. Yes, the Polytune clip-on and BodyRez aren't flashy, but those are tools that are indispensable. Honestly, these are what TC Electronic are best at. The Mojo Mojo and Dark Matter are not as highly praise as their other offerings. Their Hall Of Fame reverb and Flashback delay are highly desired effect. Their Toneprint technology is a exciting feature that lets you apply famous artist's actual settings.

What It Does Is Nothing

Sure, it is a noise gate. It does what it does. It takes the noise that you don't want out of the signal. When you engage it, all your problems should go away, but what ends up happening with most of these pedal is that your tone ends up going away with it. When you watch the promotional video (because that is a thing now) you hear all about how it won't effect your tone at all. Does it work like that? Maybe.

Conclusion

Let's get down to business, this pedal comes from an impressive pedigree. Priced at around the cost of a comparable unit and promising performance that is unparalleled, This pedal is posed to take the noise gate pedal market in a fell swoop. This comes at a great time. I've recently added compression to my pedal rig and it can get a little noisy. This pedal would be my pick for a noise gate.

The Ugly Truth About TC Electronic Bodyrez Acoustic Pickup Enhancer

So TC Electronic brought this thing the Summer NAMM and I honestly have to say that I'm geeking out about it. It looks like a great solution for an acoustic player. The video (that we all expect to see from TC Electronc now) explains, and hypes, this tiny pedal. Like their ditto pedal, there are more features than you would expect from a pedal with one knob. There is a feedback filter, phase inverter, and mute function. In a pedal with ONE knob. Not only that, but the eagle eyed among us may have noticed that there appears to be a micro usb port. So this pedal might be a part of the Toneprint series, or at least give us more options with connectivity.

So what is so ugly about all these features being stuffed into a tine little box? Well, Lets look. If you are a acoustic player, then you probably don't use many pedals. A tuner as some sort (which may not be a pedal), A DI to run into whatever PA you use, and maybe a tone shaping tool provided that your onboard electronic doesn't do it for you. You might run a delay or reverb, but that is a Effect as apposed to signal processing. What TC Electronic has made is a super compact pedal that provides a simple and elegant solution. But these are other options.  BBE makes the AcoustiMax that does everything this pedal does and give you tonnes of control. It is also roughly 7 time larger than this pedal, but it includes everything but a tuner. Aphex make the Acoustic Xciter. I love this pedal as well. The controls are a little more open to interpretation, but the effect it has on a peizo pickup is amazing. It doesn't have all the function of the Bodyrez, but you'd be hard up to find a pedal that does what it does as well. I'll be first in line to get my hands on one come September, because these don't hit the market till the 29th of September. I guess we will have to wait till then.

Summer NAMM 2015

NAMM!

So I was caught a little unaware, but I started noticing companies showing off new gear, it hit me. Summer NAMM is upon us. So far we know that Boss and TC Electronic have new pedals. The Boss DD-500 Delay looks amazing. The TC Electronic BodyRez is impressive. Those are just the teasers that have slipped out before the main show have even began. I can wait to see the rest of the exciting gear that is sure to debut this year.

Take a look at Boss' new gear here

Here is TC Electronics new pedal