Ugly Guitar Truth: Fender Full Moon Distortion

While I may have posted about this before, one of my first pedals was a Fender. It was their California Series pedal tuner. The thing was complete crap. It hardly worked, and that is still being generous. I got rid of that and switched to the BOSS TU-2 that is still working like day one. Fender pedals don't have a great reputation, but their new line of pedals is doing a lot to change that. Let's look at the Fender Full Moon Distortion.

That Name

I don't dislike the name that Fender has given their new high gain distortion pedal, but at the same time, it is not great. The strongest statement that I can make about it is that it is extremely forgettable. Thankfully, the pedal is not as forgettable. Unlike the pedals of Fender past, the Full Moon distortion is not a pedal that they want people to forget about. High distortion pedals have a habit to come with some extra knobs and switches, both of which the Full Moon has. So is this a pedal that will fade into the sea of high gain pedals? Well, it does have some things going for it.

The Sounds

It's been a minute since I was a really metal-player. My signal chain either contained a Metal Zone plus EQ and boost or it was just an overdrive into a gunned amp. There are tons of options for metal players out there now. The Full Moon is just the newest in a long line of pedals, but is there anything that makes this pedal stand out? A little bit. You have your basic layout of tone controls (High, Mids, and Lows) but then you get a Hi-Trem that lets you smooth off the super-high-end. You also get a basic Boost function which is nice. In addition to all that, you also get a switch to go between symmetrical and asymmetrical clipping and another for "Bite". Bite will boost your high-mids and give you more pick-attack. Both of the switches make subtle changes, but I am a sucker for things to fiddle with. With all of these options, it is pretty easy to dial in a sound that is pleasing to the player. Going into a clean amp, it is easy to achieve great rock tones with the gain dialed back a bit. Cranking the gain is naturally rewarding as well. Yes, this high-gain pedal does high-gain well.

Conclusion

Fender has set themselves up to compete with the best pedal builders out there today. The pedals are pretty and boutique-ish. If this were coming from a smaller builder, I would expect to pay a lot more. But because Fender is... Fender. They can mass produce and keep cost down. Make the Full Moon distortion an attractive pedal for a guitarist that is looking to find a pedal with plenty of gain and flexibility.

Ugly Guitar Truth: EHX Grand Canyon Delay and Looper

It's been a year since the release of the EHX Canyon Delay and now EHX has announced the Grand Canyon Delay and Looper. It is a full-featured delay with expanded capabilities, a longer list of features, and dual switches. For fans of the original Canyon Delay, this is an obvious upgrade. While I loved the Canyon for its overstuffed feature set and compact size, the question of whether or not the Grand Canyon continues this trend is harder to answer. Let's take a look.

Size Isn't Everything

While I personally love dual-sized delays (mostly because of my fondness for my DD-20) the form factor plays a big rule in how this pedal is used. The original Canyon Delay was packed with features such as a "secret sub-menu" that allows you to edit modulations and other features depending on the settings. This would allow you to edit settings on the fly that you normally wouldn't be able to on a normal compact delay. However, there is no interface on the pedal, so the learning curve is a little steep, and on-the-fly edits would require a pretty deep familiarity with how this pedal operates. That's why the size of the Grand Canyon is important. The increased size lets you interact with pedal relatively easily. It also allows the addition of stereo ins and outs.

Quarter-Of-A-Grand Canyon

Price. When you pedal was announced, my biggest question was about price. I loved the original, but what was going to make or break this pedal is the price. It was a given that the price-floor for this pedal was going to be around $200. The Canyon sells for $140. It is a direct competitor to the TC Flashback II. The Canyon undercuts the price of the Flashback by $30 and offers a load of options without needing to be connected to a computer/phone. There is definitely a market for those that want a full featured, single-sized delay pedal that has no intention on updating patches. EHX delivered to those people. The Grand Canyon is yet another calculated play by EHX. This is a full-featured dual-sized delay that slides in under the price of every other modern delay in its category. While I would have loved to see this pedal in the $200-225 range (because I'm cheap), The $250 price tag is more than enough to not cannibalize sells of the original, but any higher it would start getting compared to the big flagship digital delay without the vibranium shield of "for the price".

For The Price

$200 doesn't buy the pedal it used to. I walked into my local guitar shop ready to buy the best delay they had. I had my choice of a Line6 DL4 and a BOSS DD-20. Both were about $200 bucks. Now, delays are just a computer with a special purpose. The BOSS DD-500 Costs $350 and blows the DD-20 out of the water when comparing features. A modern, high-powered, digital delay will cost $300 and up. Since the Grand Canyon is slipping in just under that mark, then you are going to hear a lot of "for the price arguments". "It doesn't do everything the DD-500, but for the price..." Feel free to substitute DD-500 for another big brained delay and mark my words.

Conclusion

The Grand Canyon looks like a feature-rich, intuitive pedal that seems poised to be successful. I think about the guy walking to the guitar shop looking for a delay. He doesn't want to spend the rest of the day reading a user manual. He wants to buy a pedal, head to a gig, and find some cool sounds. Sure, he might buy a DD-7 or a Flashback II, or maybe he'll buy the Grand Canyon.

NAMM 2018: Fender Bends Compressor Pedal

Fender showed off their Bends Compressor pedal at NAMM. Fender has done a lot of work to put out effects that will appeal to series players and pedal geeks. The Bends Compressor is probably one of more interesting ones in the group. I long list of features and creative solutions make the Bends a pedal that many are now counting days until they can get their hands on one. While I can't say that this is a impressive preforming pedal, the demonstrations have been pretty solid. I'm looking forward to giving the Fender Bends a closer look.


More Information:

Compression

The Fender Bends Compressor Pedal is designed to provide any type of dynamic compression effect you need to achieve. Compression is a varied term; it can mean many things for different guitar players.

• Some players may want to achieve a subtle 'thickening' of their sound for a natural clean sound with more depth.
• Other players may wish for a sympathetic sustain that lets notes ring on for much longer; such as during epic guitar solos.
• Some guitarists may even require an extreme compression effect that squashes every dynamic; think of funk rhythm guitar parts or country 'chicken picking' styles of playing.

The Bends Compressor has the range of control to let you achieve all these types of compression sound. It does this in a small and lightweight package that is built to last.

Ultimate Control

The Bends Compressor has a control for every important compression parameter, including recovery, drive, and level. This lets you set up the initial note attack and the amount of sustain you require.
The Bends also has a Blend control; this lets you blend in your original clean guitar signal and use the compressor in a parallel-style mode. By blending in the original signal, The Bends can create an extreme compression effect while your guitar signal can be blended in to maintain clarity and pick attack dynamics.

Professional Features

The Bend Compressor has a rugged and lightweight aluminum chassis with a brushed metal finish. This gives it both read-ready durability and a classy-aesthetic that can take pride-of-place on your pedalboard. The pedal is built by Fender who have a multitude of experience in amplifier design and you can be sure that this pedal will last a lifetime of gigging, rehearsing and recording.

Magnetic Battery Door & Jewel Light

The jewel LED light not only looks great, it also adds a handy on-stage visual indicator of the pedal's operation. The pedal has a clever battery compartment door; it has a magnetic latch which means you can easily change the battery with no fiddly screws to worry about.
This is a thoroughly professional pedal - both in tone and appearance - and would make a welcome addition to your pedalboard.

Features

• Versatile compression pedal which can create all sorts of dynamic response
• Multiple controls over the overall compression effect
• Blend control lets you run the effect in parallel and blend in your dry signal for maximum transparency
• Drive and recovery controls let you shape the sustain and attack properties
• Rugged anodized aluminum construction
• Classy brushed finish and jewel light
• Battery door with magnetic latching opening (no screws needed)
• Powered by 9V battery or DC

Specifications

• Effect Type: Compressor
• Controls: Drive, Recovery, Blend (Dry/Comp), Output Level, Bypass Footswitch
• Inputs: 1 x 1/4'' Instrument
• Outputs: 1 x 1/4'' Instrument
• Power Requirements: 9-Volt Battery or DC Negative AC Adaptor
• Power Consumption: 15mA
• Input Impedance: 1M ohm
• Output Impedance: 1k ohm
• Material: Anodized Aluminum
• Colour: Black

Ugly Guitar Truth: NUX Masamune Booster Komp

NUX is mostly known for making affordable pedals with plenty of options. However, they have recently released some pedals that look strikingly similar to Strymon. Now, I don't think you are going to actually confuse one of these for an actual Strymon pedal, but it seems that they are going for a more premium look. And they'd have to look a little more premium, because when asking what these pedal will go for. I was told, by NUX that they would fetch $160 street.

Here's what Nux Says about the pedal:

Booster and Compression Pedals are the gigging guitarist’s secret weapon.  Both pedals are now available in one convenient metal housing, and it comes with selectable signal routing.  The Boost Section comes with Boost Level, Drive, and Hi-Cut controls.  The Compressor Section comes with Komp Level, Sustain, Blend, and Clip controls.

NUX Masamune is a sound-crafter pedal.  It forges your dry-signal, enhancing your sound before sending your signal to your amp, and/or any effects unit.  The Booster adds beneficial color to your signal, and, if necessary, after you adjust the boost & drive levels, you can cut high frequencies on your Input signal with the Hi-Cut Toggle Switch.

Masamune’s Kompressor does a remarkable job managing and enhancing your signal:  Komp Level knob adjusts the final Output level for the Compressor, perfectly balancing your Input and Output signals.  Sustain knob adjusts the compression ratio, and increases sustain. Higher sustain levels will squash your signal harder when you hit the strings and creates a longer, richer sustain.  Blend knob adjusts the compressor transparency from 50% to 100%, so you can dial-in the exact amount of compressed dry-signal blend you want.

Clip Toggle allows you to choose the clipping range of your Input signal.  The Toggle-UP position will squeeze the signal for voluminous sound, and Toggle-DOWN will open up more space on your clipping range.

NUX Masamune Booster & Kompressor has inside routing with 3 Functions:
1_Use both effects in parallel connection.
2_Choose which effect you want to come first on your signal chain.
3_Toggle-UP the MUTEX to engage only one effect at a time.

NUX Masamune has an external foot-switch jack Input. You can add Masamune to your pedal chain, and/or you can operate the pedal by using an additional remote switch.

Conclusion

$160 is not an insane amount of money for a nice pedal, but NUX has made a name for its self as being an affordable direct from China. It would be hard to recommend this pedal when there are similar pedals made much closer to home (or rather, assembled here). There is a big difference between buying a cheap Chinese pedal for $20 and buying a $160 pedal from a company halfway across the world. What happens if it breaks? How's the customer service? There is an inherent risk of buying a pedal like this and the high than average price tag takes away one of the strongest advantages to buying from a Chinese manufactorer.

Ugly Guitar Truth: EHX Synth9

Almost like clockwork, EHX has been issuing new versions of the 9 series. Each one giving us new voices to transform our guitars into. The B9 was so revolutionary that it was widely seen on pro and hobbyist pedal boards near and far. Electro Harmonix have continued to release up date to the line to keep us busy. The C9 gave us even more organ noises. The Key9 let us made keyboard sounds. The Mel9 was possibly the last thing many of us expected, but still expanded the pallet of sonic expression. Now, we can apply synthesizer noises to the now-familiar 9-series format. So is this all good new, or is there some ugly truth behind all this. Let's see...

It's A Little Bit Too Familiar

Five knobs, one switch. The try-and-true format of the 9-series is back and weirder than ever. The synth sound is a mystic and allusive beast for many guitar players. While synth-guitar is nothing new, the quality of said synth is something that has alluded many a play for quite some time. I've played several effects that are supposed to create synth noise but each one comes up shy. Line6, Digitech, BOSS and others have tried and have come up wanting. So, is this just more of the same? From the demo video they dropped recently, it looks like they are hitting at least a few of those sweet spots to recreate some classic 80's rock and synth pop hits. Is this the go to pedal for 80's cover bands? Probably.

This Is Not The Update You're Looking For

Much to the dismay of many of the 9-series fans, this is not the update that many are begging EHX for. There is no edit function, no customizable parameters, no usb connectivity. We now have 45 voices in the 9-series and no hint that we will even be able to mix-and-match or edit and deeper than the 4 parameters physically on the pedal. However, this pedal is the furthest we have ventured for any sound that we can create with a POG. Organ sounds were one of the key selling points of the POG for many player, but the Synth 9 gives us things the POG is not capable on its own.

Nailed It?

From the beginning of the 9-series, these pedals have been nearly perfect. Some would argue that they are, in fact, perfect. I would say to them, that the lack of some key features would show us that they are not. The B9 gave us great organ noises, but no expression pedal in or fast/slow Leslie feature (they stuck that is a completely different pedal). The Key9 did cool keyboard sounds, but lacked a little of the authenticity that we loved about the B/C9 units. The Mel9 was cool, but obscure. Now the Synth9 is taking on a huge task: upping the guitar-synth game. ... and it has? Look, the 9 series is great at what it does: being the next best thing to the real thing, or faking it just good enough.

Conclusion

Here is the next in what is becoming a long line of rather ingenious pedals. With the power of these pedals combined, you'd hardly ever have to hear the sound of your actually guitar again. I am impressed with the ability of EHX to keep finding niches for their family of funky sound machines. I thought they were running out of ideas. Turns out they are feverously coming up with new ways to make crazy sounds. And when you take a long at the guy running the show over there, it make a lot of sense. So, do  you need this pedal in your life? Well, you have to ask your self. Do I have a consistent need to play "Jump". 

Support the blog by shopping on Amazon by using my link!

There should be an ad below:

Ugly Guitar Truth: Digitech CabDryVR

Can I start off by saying how much I don't like the name of this pedal. The CabDryVR. No spaces. That's the way it is on the official Digitech site. It drives me crazy. I assumed it was pronounced 'Cab Driver', but really was unsure until I heard the Digitech rep at name say the name. I absolutely hate the way it is spelled. Saying that, I do, kind of, like the pun and color scheme of the pedal. This is one pedal you will not confuse with many others. On to the next bit...

It's A Thing

When I saw this pedal, the first thing I thought is that it is a turd. Just DOA. This pedal won't sell because no one is going to buy a pedal that is basically a blanket for your tone. They don't want a pedal to make their amp sound like it is run through a cab. And then I remembered my experience with the Marshall CODE and how it's cab sim really worked. Then I though about the stage applications of have a 4X12 sound come from a 1X12 Blues Jr...

Conclusion

The very first cab sim I ever encountered was a Digitech RP100. It sounded terrible, but there is hope yet. I've heard a cab sim do rather incredible things, so here's hoping that this little pedal has bottled the magic. Also, let me give a shout out to all those pedal running ampless rigs. Plugging straight into the mix creates some unique challenges and this pedal is probably a god sent to them.



Support the blog by shopping on Amazon by using my link!

There should be an ad below: