NPD: Ground-Breaking, Game-Changing - THE Best Pedal Made Thus Far ???

Barnezy

Looks like a cool pedal. I hadn't given it much time as all the YouTube vids that came out recently were the typical "paid ads", where they just gush about it. I also thought it looked like a gimmick with the faders that probably contribute to 50% of the cost. 

Just watched an independent vid, and looks very versatile and sounds good. 

My only doubt though is when something is so versatile, that is what becomes the issue. I guess the presets help with this. This is the reason I don't like digital... too many options. I'm really like one pedal, one job approach and don't mind having 10's of pedals. For some though, especially recording working musicians, the versatility is a great thing. 

BTW, my comment whether this was a paid ad, was purely due to the review being so professional, with the images etc. It wasn't meant to offend. 

monquixote

Waz is a top dude and I love his reviews and enthusiasm.

(Still hate the pedal though)

DanR

When they are used I will likely try one as I’m not sure how much interest the benson side holds for me.

Mist if my gain comes from my amps and I like a clean boost (normally a ts) and then a fuzz and my pdf-1x for different flavours.

But as I use 3 amps I can definitely see a benefit to the eq side and the the way you can save it so I can set for the diff amps and guitars.

mattdavis

Barnezy said:

. For some though, especially recording working musicians, the versatility is a great thing. 

I always think that - but then you look at a lot of Pro pedalboards and they are usually pretty simple, where one pedal does one main job. There seems to be a lot more Boss and MXR in pro-land as well.   And you don’t seem to see many Swiss army pedals like Stomps etc. You do still see a few line 6 M-series from time to time. I know some guys use G2s and midi patches on the multi effect pedals but I think That Pedal Show makes it seem like a more popular solution than it actually is amongst pros. 

I get the impression that if a pro artist really values versatility they tend to go the whole hog and take the Fractal route. 

Barnezy

mattdavis said:

Barnezy said:

. For some though, especially recording working musicians, the versatility is a great thing. 

I always think that - but then you look at a lot of Pro pedalboards and they are usually pretty simple, where one pedal does one main job. There seems to be a lot more Boss and MXR in pro-land as well.   And you don’t seem to see many Swiss army pedals like Stomps etc. You do still see a few line 6 M-series from time to time. I know some guys use G2s and midi patches on the multi effect pedals but I think That Pedal Show makes it seem like a more popular solution than it actually is amongst pros. 

I get the impression that if a pro artist really values versatility they tend to go the whole hog and take the Fractal route. 

Very true actually. I looked up Dave Grohl's pedal board the other day..... I bashed up MXR Phase 90 and his volume knob. 

I guess the people really good at guitar, spend more time learning to play, than obsessing over gear...... never mind, their lose.

DanR

Barnezy said:

mattdavis said:

Barnezy said:

. For some though, especially recording working musicians, the versatility is a great thing. 

I always think that - but then you look at a lot of Pro pedalboards and they are usually pretty simple, where one pedal does one main job. There seems to be a lot more Boss and MXR in pro-land as well.   And you don’t seem to see many Swiss army pedals like Stomps etc. You do still see a few line 6 M-series from time to time. I know some guys use G2s and midi patches on the multi effect pedals but I think That Pedal Show makes it seem like a more popular solution than it actually is amongst pros. 

I get the impression that if a pro artist really values versatility they tend to go the whole hog and take the Fractal route. 

Very true actually. I looked up Dave Grohl's pedal board the other day..... I bashed up MXR Phase 90 and his volume knob. 

I guess the people really good at guitar, spend more time learning to play, than obsessing over gear...... never mind, their lose.

Of the two guitarists in that band Chris Shifflet is probably better and here’s his board.

Winny_Pooh

Barnezy said:

mattdavis said:

Barnezy said:

. For some though, especially recording working musicians, the versatility is a great thing. 

I always think that - but then you look at a lot of Pro pedalboards and they are usually pretty simple, where one pedal does one main job. There seems to be a lot more Boss and MXR in pro-land as well.   And you don’t seem to see many Swiss army pedals like Stomps etc. You do still see a few line 6 M-series from time to time. I know some guys use G2s and midi patches on the multi effect pedals but I think That Pedal Show makes it seem like a more popular solution than it actually is amongst pros. 

I get the impression that if a pro artist really values versatility they tend to go the whole hog and take the Fractal route. 

Very true actually. I looked up Dave Grohl's pedal board the other day..... I bashed up MXR Phase 90 and his volume knob. 

I guess the people really good at guitar, spend more time learning to play, than obsessing over gear...... never mind, their lose.

Guitarists are obsessed with gear, just look at all the guitar mods by famous players like EVH, Vai that became signature instruments in their own right. 

Also, there's this guy called David Gilmour, he only plays bluesy guitar really but even so he's been known to use a few pedals and amps LOL

Barnezy

DanR said:

Barnezy said:

mattdavis said:

Barnezy said:

. For some though, especially recording working musicians, the versatility is a great thing. 

I always think that - but then you look at a lot of Pro pedalboards and they are usually pretty simple, where one pedal does one main job. There seems to be a lot more Boss and MXR in pro-land as well.   And you don’t seem to see many Swiss army pedals like Stomps etc. You do still see a few line 6 M-series from time to time. I know some guys use G2s and midi patches on the multi effect pedals but I think That Pedal Show makes it seem like a more popular solution than it actually is amongst pros. 

I get the impression that if a pro artist really values versatility they tend to go the whole hog and take the Fractal route. 

Very true actually. I looked up Dave Grohl's pedal board the other day..... I bashed up MXR Phase 90 and his volume knob. 

I guess the people really good at guitar, spend more time learning to play, than obsessing over gear...... never mind, their lose.

Of the two guitarists in that band Chris Shifflet is probably better and here’s his board.

I think that's his solo rig. I read an article where DG had said he doesn't use ODs or alot of effects in the Foo's because to him, it takes away what rock is. 

Obviously not everyone has 4x AC30's cracked to different levels, for our OD sound though.  

Love pedals. Love the review. 

Schmo

I dig Warren's reviews and his approach to gear, tone and "the chase".

Life is very short to be wasting time, being critical of whatever someone else decides to do with their own time/money.

Be happy Warren...and don't go changing !

mattdavis

Winny_Pooh said:

Also, there's this guy called David Gilmour, he only plays bluesy guitar really but even so he's been known to use a few pedals and amps LOL

Absolutely - but even though there’s lots of pedals, generally it’s one pedal for one effect, not one pedal with lots of different presets. I guess the frequent exception is delays where pros often preset different times. I just think it’s interesting how the pro world differs from the marketing that is stuffed down our throats on YouTube. Not a criticism of anyone’s buying choices or setups, not saying one is right or wrong, just an observation. (Edit - It is a criticism of YouTube marketing disguised as ‘reviews’ or ‘informative gear shows’)

On a separate note - went for a walk by the river near Hampton court the other day with the kids and stumbled upon Gilmour’s stunning floating recording studio/houseboat - now that I would stump up £750 for :-)

spirit7

Waz is an inspiration.  HNPD!

slacker

I'll air my only concern as a question for all owners...

Can you gig with it without having to reprogram it for band volume and room acoustics?or if you do have to tweak is it easy to adjust pre sets for the gig? 

Hattigol

Jeeeeez, remind me never to do a pedal review...

Wazmeister

slacker said:

I'll air my only concern as a question for all owners...

Can you gig with it without having to reprogram it for band volume and room acoustics?or if you do have to tweak is it easy to adjust pre sets for the gig? 

Easy. Slide. Save.

Wazmeister

Winny_Pooh said:

Humans are different from each other and don't understand other humans and how they are magically different too.
 
I have owned pedals for years and love them, but could never write a gushing review and would need to add minor criticism to give context for other players as to pros/cons

Waz writes reviews that don't criticise and he can love a pedal and then move it on while still being enthused.

That makes no sense in my brain, but I dont think there is any deception involved. And while it feels like watching an unusual animal he's just probably genuinely being himself. Even if it involves using cringey words like "game changing"

Keep buying nice gear mate

I think that is a fair point; I tend to be impatient and Im keen to get the 'review' out. This one was written over 3 days, and even then it was rushed at the end - leaving little time for criticism as its still honeymoon.

So, in balance, I thought Id try to critique the pedal this morning.

Physically, the unit is smaller than I thought it would be; it fits nicely on my Schmidt Array, which must be a relief to all those worried about it. The CBAP is superbly built and engineered, but on first impression, the sliders did feel less stiff than I thought they would. Very solid, but slide very easily (as I guess, they need to).

Pedal operation is very very simple. None of the usual Chase Bliss spend-a-month-learning-the-manual-but-never-really-grasp-it mode - instead, it is instinctive and really pleasurable to use.

In fact, I want to own this pedal. It is a delight in the flesh, and a joy to use.

You can use the excellent JUMP option to link some of your presets together, which will be unbelievably good for me live.

The fuzz settings are great, really usable with the option to get that weird splatty stuff that some desire.

Fuzz settings tend to be loud, cleaner less so (as you would expect ?)

And it is a game changer. Ordinary set and forget ODs already look dated next to this.

Hope that provides some balance to the wise ones out there

ruoma

@Wazmeister How would you compare this one with the Big Trees tonally and feel wise? They're about the same price.

Considering the Big trees or the preamp mk2. Current drives are a CC1, cruiser, small trees and some fuzz faces.

RaymondLin

The question I want to ask is how does it compare to the Original Effects Revival Drive?  Both are Pre Amp, both can do a lot.

Jonathanthomas83

Just watched a video for the CXM 1978 reverb and it looks like it's only mono, unless they use TRS cables in and out, but if that's the case, it'll be a massive amount of coin for a mono reverb pedal!

Freebird

@Wazmeister Are the drives wired into the circuit before or after the pre amp?

hotpickups

I’m absolutely not the target market obviously. To me no OD/Fuzz pedal is worth that money Always good to read people’s experiences though. The OP seems happy with it which is the main thing of course