Ugly Guitar Truth: EHX Canyon Delay/Looper

This little pedal flew completely under my radar. I paid attention to all the NAMM 2017 debuts but somehow didn't even get a hint of this pedal. Tell me if I'm wrong, but did you see anything about this pedal before now? Regardless, here it is, and we have to talk about it. Thankfully this pedal should drop on the 13th of February (2017) so there isn't much waiting for this one. As for price, well, there seems to be a little confliction as to what can be found online. Musicians Friends had posted a price tag of 158 USD, but EHX has been caught tweet a cost of 139 USD street price. So with the information that we have, Is this pedal a yay, or a nay. It's mighty morphing Ugly Truth Time...

It's Small...


Alright, small can be a good thing. Lots of good things come in small packages, but delays that occupy tiny spaces are usually lacking in the feature department. I mean, look at the Strymon and Eventide well-endowed delay boxes. Those are feature packed and massive. So this little box couldn't have that much to offer... Except it kind of does. 11 modes give you more than a BOSS DD-20. It can loop for a full minute and you get 2 "secret knobs when you hold the Tap/Divide button. This has to be one of the most feature laden delays in the size box. No, it isn't stereo. But you can control the rate and depth of the modulations. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's a new trick for a compact delay.




Don't EHX Have A Lot Of Other Delays?




Yes. Yes, they do. The Memory Man/Boy/Toy line is extensive. And they do have some cross over as far as price. There is even a DMM (Deluxe Memory Man) setting on this pedal. However, this is a digital pedal. Kind of different for EHX, but I guess they were just waiting until they really had something that they liked before they put one out. Analog Delay users are going to analog, digital are gonna digital, that's just what happens. What has a lot of people looking at this pedal is the long list of modes and the affordable price. It could also be the neat tricks that this pedal is capable of that has people interest as well.. hmm, guess there is a few thing to like about it...



Wasn't There Another 3 Second Delay Released Recently?




Yes. I even wrote my thought on the DOD Rubberneck here. I like the DOD delay a lot. It has a lot of cool things going for it. It also has a $250 Street price, so fair is fair. The DOD pedal has features that this pedal can't touch. The titular feature, Rubbernecking, is pretty unique to that pedal. It also has a built in tap feature. Admittedly, the DOD looks cooler. But If I had to go with one delay on my board and also had to choose between these two pedals, then I would be picking the Canyon. The Rubberneck is a pedal that I'd be proud to own, but if I had to choose one, then I'd pick the one that can Loop, Reverse, Shim, Octave and Verb.

Conclusion




I like this pedal. I like this pedal a lot. You could probably tell that already. This pedal would be a great addition to a pedal board that wasn't already fitted with a delay. I'd even pick this one over the BOSS DD7 and the smaller Flashback delay. If you are looking to upgrade your delay but don't want to get one of the larger "do everything" units or if you looking to save a buck, then this pedal would be something to look at seriously. Should you drop everything and get this pedal for its wonderfully healing properties? Of course. But try to remember that this people isn't as powerful as one those others that have all the blinking lights and MIDI and extra holes... Oh, it has a dumb name too...

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Ugly Truth: Fulltone Catalyst

Lately I noticed that a couple of the Fulltone pedals have been marked down to a reasonable price. $80 for a Fulltone pedal used to be unheard of. The Catalyst and Fat Boost have both been marked to a discount price. I don't keep tabs on Fulltone, so I don't know when this happened, but everything looks like it has been recently. Used prices are still floating around previous levels. I was reading about the Catalyst on some forums and found where someone was over the moon to find one used for $99. I had a little experiences with the pedal a few years ago. I was playing some sessions with a group of guys, and used some borrowed gear. I dug the pedal then, but it was traded/sold. I haven't thought much about the pedal since, but when I saw that it was so affordable I decided to visit it again.

It's Flexible

You read the description on the Fulltone website and it makes this pedal sound like it can do anything. Boost, Overdrive, Distortion, and Fuzz. There are tons of pedal that want to do "everything" but few actually do more than one thing very well. Once you start to play with this pedal, you notice that it achieves several sounds. You might not like all of them, but there is probably a few you might. I ran this into my Vox AC15. It wasn't magic right away. I am a pretty big fan of the Vox on its own, but I did like the Catalyst as a Boost/light OD. It thickened up the sound and acted like a nice EQ. It sounded nice with Chords, but I think this pedal is more flexible than articulate.

It's Underwhelming. 

For a pedal that debuted well over $100, it kinda under-preform. This pedals actually acts better when the front of the pedal is hit pretty hard. I put a Klone in front of this pedal and it really opened up. This pedal seems to have plenty of head room, which is odd for a dirt box. So I'm guessing that it's a holdover from it being capable of a clean boost. However the boost isn't very "clean". It colors the tone in a very noticeable way. I liked it with my Vox. But I found that heavier gain setting were better with my American voiced amp.

I Like It

But I don't love it. It comes up a little short of awesome. My biggest complaint is that is not articulate enough. Chords sound thick and rich, but the single note runs don't translate well. Also, picking patterns get muddy. That's my biggest complaint, but you don't buy a fuzz to be clean and clear. But you think that your fuzz could be a boost, or work as and overdrive... So maybe Fulltone didn't really hit it out of the park with this one.

Conclusion

Fulltone may be clearing out the Catalyst and Fat Boost. They aren't the most popular pedals. They haven't been updated. Mine still say V1 on the PCB. This pedal is a little confused, but it still has a some good sounds. Its flexibility and versatility are what set this pedal apart. Would it be better if you had single pedals that did fantastic jobs of each one of the things that this pedal can do? Of course. However, this pedal is enough to do several different functions, and it has a voice that is unique. If you considered picking one of these up, then it may be time to grab one.

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Guerilla Warfare Pickups: Tactical Tele Humbucker

If you know me much, you should know that I am pretty big Tele guy. I've been playing Tele for nearly as long as I've been playing the guitar. I've played and owned several other guitars but it seem that I trend toward the T-shape. So when I saw this boutique pickup builder making this particular 'bucker I got very excited. I mean, look at it:

eww... preeeetty

Besides looking like awesomeness in pickup form, The description of this pickup makes you would to buy a pair... or all of the pairs:

Built for attitude and definition; these pickups offer a great blend of PAF Humbucker warmth and vintage Telecaster tones. Designed to maintain that traditional Tele tone, while providing a bigger sound with more volume, and of course, no 60-cycle hum or buzz. Tactical Tele Pickups have a raw, aggressive midrange, clear creamy treble and a fat bottom end to provide plenty of punch and attack. Pickups include nickel silver covers, mounting rings, and are wax potted with either single or 4 conductor shielded pickup leads. 

Alnico V magnets 
Moderate/High Output 
Neck Pickup 11.75K 
Bridge Pickup 12.50 
DC resistance is approximate

Check it out for your self, here.

Ugly Truth: Music Gear Is Expensive

Before I get into talking about whatever this post is about, Id like to take a second and say that Brian Wampler of Wampler Effects commented on my post about his new overdrive pedal. You get see that here.

Take a second and thing about your most recent music-related purchase. Regardless how much you spent, it probably wasn't the first or last purchase you'll make. I own several guitars at varying prices. With that I have amps, and effects. I also have accessories that complement these things (cables, pedalboards, capo, stands, cases). Over the many years I've played music, I've amassed quite a bit of expensive gear. I try not to spend boat load of money (mostly because I don't have it) by budgeting and saving. I also buy most of my gear used. This is tricky, and you must be able to tell a diamond in the rough from a turd.

The key to not spend too much money of music gear is to be happy with what you have. I know that acquiring new things is fun. I love to get a new piece of gear and analyze it to death. How is this drive different than this other drive? What can I do with two delays that I can't do with one? Yes, you might be able to do more with more, but why not challenge yourself to do more with less (or maybe with what you already have). Most of the guitar players that we idolize had nothing between them and their amps but a guitar lead. We over complicate sometimes to compensate.

I for one will be reworking my sound from the ground up. The very foundation of our sound comes from our chops. So much time and effort go into "shaping our tone", but could our skills be what really need developing. I'll admit, buying a pedal is easier than devoting the time and effort it better our abilities. Am I going to start playing without effects? HA! no. What will do is take that money that I usually invest in gear and converting it into time to invest into where the real tone comes from: my hands!

The Ugly Truth About PedalboardPlanner.Com

I was messing around on the internet the other night and I found a website that is pretty much the best thing ever. That is, if you are like my and you can stop rearranging your pedal board. The site is pretty simple. You have a long list of pedals to choose from, and a rang of pedalboard (all by pedaltrain). You are allowed to configure them any way you want to. You can even arange the signal path. I could probably spend hours on the site as it is. Although, there are some ugly truths to be told.

1. Its All PedalTrain

Go figure, a site that is produced by PedalTrain only features PedalTrain model pedalboards. The good news is that they support their older model boards as well. They give detentions of the boards so you know just what size you are dealing with. This is helpful to those that don't have a PT board but can find a size close enough to simulate their board. Or, if you are like me and planning a new board, you can get an idea of the size of board you need to fit all your pedals. I'd like to be able to specify your detentions, but I guess you can have everything.

2. The List Of Pedals Is nearly exhaustive. 

Many of the pedal that I own were on the list. Some were not. A lot of the Boss and EHX stuff were there, but others weren't. This isn't a big deal, you can approximate the size of the pedal and stick a pedal of the same size in there, but the whole signal chain thing become pointless at that point. If there were really slick, then they could allow you to upload pictures of your own pedals and add a title and all that. Just a thought.... but a pretty good one.

3. This Site Is Way Too Much Fun

Not only can you arrange the digital representation of the pedal you own, you can fantasize about the pedals you want to own. This is aided by the list of more boutique pedal that are present on the site. Not all obscure pedals are there, but all lot of the more popular ones. I spent close to an hour before pulling myself away. I was in the middle of a pedalboard overhaul at the moment, but I can see my self coming back just to fiddle around. The best thing is that you can download and save your arrangements to use as a template when you actually get to moving your pedals.

4. It's Not As Good As The Real Thing

At the end of the day, all you've done is play on the computer. Your pedals are still mismanaged and you need to get back to doing something important. Not only that, but now you want to go play with your toys... way to go.