| teleman 23.05.2006 01:33 |
link Product Description Modes: Model 1: "Keep Yourself Alive" Model 2: "Bohemian Rhapsody" Model 3: "Tie Your Mother Down" Model 4: "We Will Rock You / We Are The Champions" Model 5: "Crazy Little Thing" Model 6: "Brighton Rock" Model 7: "Winter's Tale / Deacy" |
| Togg 23.05.2006 04:37 |
Very cool, I want one, any news as to if they are on sale in the UK yet? |
| teleman 23.05.2006 11:31 |
I think they come out in late June/ early July |
| Adam Baboolal 23.05.2006 19:59 |
For what little you get, both preset-wise and control-wise, I'm wondering if the sounds it'll do will really be THAT good... Did it actually appear at the guitar expo show? And if so, did anyone get to hear it? Peace, Adam. |
| Togg 24.05.2006 04:01 |
Have you tried other digitech pedals? the Eric Clapton for instance? well let me tell you for the money they are great, I don't understand what you were expecting? you can't make a pedal that has infinate control and eq built in, the norm is three to four control elements, what do you expect for $200? |
| john bodega 24.05.2006 07:24 |
Someone will have to lend me one so I can form my own opinion. |
| Adam Baboolal 24.05.2006 08:46 |
Togg wrote: what do you expect for $200?lol $200?! Try £200. What did I expect? Honestly, at the very least control over delays in the Brighton Rock patch or maybe a proper pair of jack outputs for the stereo effect with a normal out for a center amp. It makes me think that I should just get the Genesis pedal Brian seemed to love the sound of, i.e. the one some guy auditioned for WWRY and had some really clever tone that was almost like Brian's. At least the Vox VBM1 was cheap and amazing. I use it all the time. I can't stop! But seriously, that's a booster, deacy, hi or low gain setting and has a basic gain rotary setting. I picked one up for £50! So, yeah, at 4 times the price, I expect more than a few presets and a treble/bass control. You might as well spend the extra £30 for the GenX3 that Brian was so initially pleased with. And with that, you'd get a whole load of effects as well as the clever amp modelling. EDIT: not to mention a drum machine, bass modeller and 8-track recorder built-in! Why is it that I can find the other artist pedal's, including Clapton's, for £115 and yet, Brian's is £200!? Peace, Adam. |
| Togg 24.05.2006 09:26 |
Sorry but that's nonsense Adam, firstly they haven't released the price in the UK (that I've seen) but if it's on sale in the US for $199 it will be somewhere around that here. Secondly, no pedals (that are any good) have the complicated controls you speak of, Boss is just about the industry standard used by Pro and Amateur alike, they are simple and work extremely well. Effects like the Brighton Rock delays need to be done with a separate delay pedal if you want to do it properly. This pedal was meant to give you Brian's tone, not his whole rig! If you think $200 or for that matter £200 is too much for Brian's rig than I would be amused at what you think it should cost. Anyway I'm sure in a year you will be able to do the same you did with the deacy amp and pick it up for £50, I seem to remember that being a little higher priced when it arrived. But until you hear it, why not wait until you slag it off??? there's a thought |
| john bodega 24.05.2006 11:04 |
Muahaha. I must be really lucky, but my amp sounds Queen enough for my liking. It's a shitty Crate amp, but I've been fiddling with settings for so many years now that I've come to the point where I'm finally happy with the sound. Needless to say I won't be spending money on anything that'll make me sound like someone else. Don't get me wrong, I like to play Queen and have that 'Queen' sound, but you realise half of that sound is in the way you play the guitar? All the accents, the expressiveness - you're not going to get that out of a pedal. But anyway. |
| Adam Baboolal 24.05.2006 11:19 |
Togg wrote: But until you hear it, why not wait until you slag it off??? there's a thoughtWho slagged it off? Peace, Adam. link £200 like I said I had found it for. I actually thought it should be similarly priced to the other Digitech Artist pedals. |
| Togg 24.05.2006 11:29 |
Adam Baboolal wrote:"So, yeah, at 4 times the price, I expect more than a few presets and a treble/bass control".Togg wrote: But until you hear it, why not wait until you slag it off??? there's a thoughtWho slagged it off? Peace, Adam. link £200 like I said I had found it for. I actually thought it should be similarly priced to the other Digitech Artist pedals. Well I didn't think you were applauding it! It's not far off the price of the Jimi H model which I suspect was also £200 when first launched, the configuration is similar as well, which is why I'm surprised you were expecting more. |
| Adam Baboolal 24.05.2006 11:45 |
But that's not slagging it, Togg. Just an observation on what you get for your money. I'm always amongst those here that say, let's wait and see before judging something. And I'm merely making a point by what I said. I'll wait and see how it sounds, but at that price (in the UK), even if it's great, it'll be difficult to consider buying it. Especially difficult because I already have a guitar and amp (plus deacy) that make a great Brian sound already. So, this pedal really needs to deliver, for me to consider investing in it. Peace, Adam. |
| Penetration_Guru 24.05.2006 17:58 |
As an aside, expecting something to be the same price both sides of the pond is laughable. If it's $200, I'd say £200 will be nearer the true figure than £120 ($200 equiv) |
| Adam Baboolal 24.05.2006 18:39 |
Actually, I think I just noticed something really clever. The SC/RedSpecial/HB selector on the pedal... Could that be to match the kind of guitar you're using? e.g. if I used a strat with single-coil pickups, does switching the pedal to "SC" adjust parameters to something suitable for those guitars? Hmm... Peace, Adam. |
| Togg 25.05.2006 04:18 |
I noticed that too, and if the specs are right it also allows for a Crazy Little Thing (tele) sound as well as the full monty Bri overdrive. Which personally I think is rather nifty. It will be interesting to see how it sounds through different Amps, I notice it has a direct to mixer output as well as Amp, the amp will of course make the most difference,and I guess starting from as cleaner setting as possible would be the best bet. I think I will be investing in one,I have a very good valve amp plus the deacy and one of my guitars is the Burns Red Special so even thogh I can get a good version of his sound unless I go get an AC 30 I'm not going to get it that close, it will be interesting to see if this does the job. Also to try it on single and humbucker guitars as well!! |
| Adam Baboolal 23.06.2006 15:15 |
Nice update - link Peace, Adam. |
| Bobby_brown 23.06.2006 17:28 |
I think i´ll wait for the reviews on the guitar mags! Take care |
| Adam Baboolal 23.06.2006 17:44 |
I have to admit, the amount of control is far better than what I originally thought. If this sounds good, then it could well be worth the money after-all! It even has a harmonised control for the Brighton Rock stuff that Bri did in 1992 ala Chinese Torture. Someone was hoping for that here on the forum and another person said it wouldn't be there. Well... it is! And it also appears from the manual that you can hook it up to a pair of amps after-all. Nice! Only drawback to that site link is that they still haven't put any clips or samples online. Heck, if the deacy portion sounds good, I'll definitely have to think about getting this. Nice turnaround! But yes, need to hear it and get the reviews back. Peace, Adam. |
| john bodega 26.06.2006 08:44 |
See now if I was a half-witted magazine writer, I'd get one of these in the mail with the understanding I'd write a glowing review of the thing. Frig... I really wouldn't mind having a fiddle with this pedal. |
| drwinston 26.06.2006 14:21 |
Looks like it will be fun to play with, but I'm not sure how much I will be able to use it for my stuff. Adam, you said you love the VBM1. I haven't been able to do much with it, and I'd be interested in knowing how you're running your signal path with it and what you're using it for. Care to share? |
| drwinston 26.06.2006 14:35 |
Togg wrote: Have you tried other digitech pedals? the Eric Clapton for instance? well let me tell you for the money they are great, I don't understand what you were expecting? you can't make a pedal that has infinate control and eq built in, the norm is three to four control elements, what do you expect for $200?Togg, I haven't tried the other artist series pedals from Digitech due to the fact that I've never liked their stuff before. Their pedals always seemed to break and they always seemed to have a very "digital" sound. How about a review of the Clapton pedal? I'm not a big fan of his tone, but if they have come close to recreating it without all the digi-noise (and it doesn't break in the first week), I might give it a try. |
| RedSpecial1979 26.06.2006 19:54 |
Just pre-ordered mine @ the local Guitar Center - Retail $299 - their price $199. And now, the wait... |
| Adam Baboolal 26.06.2006 23:02 |
Well, DrWinston, there are three ways I use it... 1) As is... - in other words, Recommended settings like the manual states with my Hohner RTX guitar. This particular guitar seems to get me a great Brian sound. 2) I do run it through either my Vox reverb twin amp via the speaker out or into a Marshall cabinet. Both work really well and add a bigger speaker for added warmth. And 3) I also use it via a Behringer V-amp effects unit. The guitar into the VBM1, speaker out (or it may be the recording out) into the v-amp input. Then a specially contructed patch to make the best use of the amp modelling within the V-amp. These are the 3 main ways I've used the unit. But even today I just like plugging into the unit and soloing away. My guitar and that amp just work nicely together. I have another Hohner RTS model guitar that should be similar, but doesn't have the same sweet sound. I guess I'm lucky in that sense. I've also demo'd the Burns RS through it and my guitar is close to that sound. If you want to know anything else, just ask. Peace, Adam. P.S. I just picked up a Digitech GNX3 and that unit doesn't have a particularly digital sound. You really think all Digitech gear does? |
| drwinston 27.06.2006 12:31 |
Thanks for the info, Adam. I've been able to use the VBM1 as a preamp for recording solos (love the bite to the sound), but I have to skip using it live. I need some kind of footswitch to bypass it for live rhythym part. I don't think they make one, so I just use a treble booster live in its place. It's not as sharp, but at least I can kick it on and off with my foot. My Digitech experience goes back a while (I've got a few years on most of you!), and I had a couple of rack mount units that just "digitized" my tone. I used the delay and reverb, but any distorotion, phase or other effects gave me a tinny sound. So that left me with a couple of expensive delay units! I gave them another chance about a year ago and picked up an envelope filter. It had potential, but quit working after three days! Needless to say, I gave up on them at that point. BTW, I tested the GNX board, and I thought it was an improvement, but I went with the Vox modeler - unbelieveable sound out of that little box! I'll try the new Brian pedal. I downloaded the manual and it looks great. Hopefully the thing lasts longer than a few days this time around! Thanks again, Doc |
| john bodega 27.06.2006 21:17 |
Probably the best sound I've ever gotten out of my Red Special was when my brother-in-law brought over his little Laney AC15. Sounded frigging *sweet*... I remember happening upon the neck/middle pickup setting and trying Bohemian Rhapsody and the thing sang like you wouldn't believe. Ha-ha Sinceriously though, it was like listening to that Burns/RS comparison Brian May did a few years back, the sound was pretty nice. |
| Jason@Star-Wars.net 28.06.2006 22:45 |
Is there a release date for this yet? |
| Adam Baboolal 05.07.2006 07:56 |
Btw Dr Winston, I forgot to list one last way I use the VBM. A few years ago I took apart a small Yamaha computer speaker as I was looking to see what my amp sounded like through it! Yes, this was before the VBM as I was looking for a deacy sound! Anyway, it actually sounds really good! It's just a bit weak in gain. However, the sound is very reminiscent of the harmony guitars on Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy. Anyway, I plug into the speaker out on the VBM and that gives a pretty excellent sound. It's just a shame the speaker is quite quiet. But for micing up, it produces a great sound. Peace, Adam. |
| great king rat 1138 05.07.2006 08:02 |
Togg wrote: Sorry but that's nonsense Adam, firstly they haven't released the price in the UK (that I've seen) but if it's on sale in the US for $199 it will be somewhere around that here.It's up on Soundslive.co.uk for pre-order at £199. Sounds like a bit of a white elephant to me personally, although a VBM is very tempting I have to admit - how can I sneak one past the wife without her freaking out at me for buying more gear? Answers on a postcard... |
| Togg 05.07.2006 08:25 |
I wouldn't call it a white elephant personally, I think this could well be the best selling pedal in the coming year, if it truly does what it says on the tin it will be a fast and cheap way to get Brian's sound without a wall of AC30's and a red special. Looking at it I think they have cramed a lot into a small box. I will grab one as soon as they arrive, so far they seem to be retailing between £195 - £210 and I have been told they will be arriving in two weeks! I don'tthink any of the stores actually have one yet. |
| AmeriQueen 12.07.2006 00:19 |
Got one! This is it, fellas. The BM item we have all been waiting for. First, what I don't know: I don't know if it's true to it's claim to turn a different guitar into a Red Special via the SC or HB selection on the guitar knob. I have a Burns Red Special so I keep it set on that. I also don't know how good the Deacy effect is. It sounds kind of like my other Deacy imitations(Vox BM1/Fryer Mayhem), but then again, I don't have a clue how to make it into the device it is. I assume at this point that the Deacy sound is strictly a studio thing involving several working together in harmony. The Winter's Tale bit adds a cleaner sound and a touch of delay to it which is nice. Okay, what I do know: 1. This Pedal perfectly imitates Brian May's signature tone and allows one to control it's volume to reasonable levels, still keeping most of the sustain. Not only this, but with the treble, bass and gain knobs all being seperate from the level knob, you can really tweak the sound out, getting it to conjure a number of RS sounds. 2. BRIGHTON ROCK IS HERE!! The pedal has the Brighton Rock Live tone perfect and with control over the time between the repeats. This works great, giving you the best you can get with repeats all coming from one amp. I think through a mixer one can seperate the repeats and have them come out of 3 seperate amps if you have them, but I am not sure. My only complaint is that the longest delay amount, while ample for BR, still could have been longer. For instance, it would be nice to try the Earl's Court version of 'Doing Alright' but the guitar part would need a longer delay pattern. 3. CHINESE WATER TORTURE IS HERE!!! The harmonizer effect is exactly workable just like the Q + PR tour where he goes over to switch the pedal to that sweet as hell orchestra sound. Today's guitar lesson(I still suck, but not for long now that this pedal is here) was the bad ass intro to 'China Belle' off of the Another World album. The pedal makes the sound perfectly! 4. The Ovation setting is sweet! I'm not crazy about the Telecaster, but I imagine it just needs adjusting with the knobs and a better player which I hope to eventually be. 5. The We Will Rock You setting is perfect. I never knew or thought about a phaser effect being involved, but this time something missing before was suddenly present in the tone. The bottom line is that there is no longer any reason to complain about replicating the BM tone. This pedal is only $200 and does so much. Granted it helps greatly that I have at least a Burns, and that I do have a good AC30, but my Fryer Pedals and Vox BM1 are now officially useless. I might even sale them. For anyone interested in starting a BM kit, by the Digitech pedal first and foremost! As for negatives, I don't really have any at all. I guess it's barriers from pure perfection are the absense of the weird ass 'Get Down Make Love' effect, the slightly limited delay, and I still am skeptical about the Deacy effect being truly authentic, but what do I know. |
| drwinston 12.07.2006 10:39 |
Adam, Thanks again for the info. It sounds like you've spent a lot of time working with the VBM1, and I think that is what's missing on my end. I'm a bit lazy when comes to things like this! AmeriQueen, Great review! Where did you get the pedal? I've been to Guitar Center every day this week and they act like they've never heard of it. Sounds like a lot of fun - thanks again. |
| AmeriQueen 12.07.2006 11:53 |
I got it online from Bananas At Large in California. |
| Micrówave 14.07.2006 15:54 |
Togg wrote: what do you expect for $200?Steel, not plastic. Having not held it, I assume (digitech) it's plastic. How about it AmeriQueen? Your review is making it hard for me to say "no". But no longer need your Fryer???? There's no way it's better than that.... Is there? |
| Adam Baboolal 14.07.2006 17:20 |
Hmm... curious. Man, I need to check one of these out! Peace, Adam. |
| MercuryArts 15.07.2006 10:45 |
I just bought one on Wednesday. It is quite amazing. The tones are true! I test drove it for an hour w/ an Epi LP through a Victorian 30W tube amp. All controls are adjustable; gain, bass& trebble. Also the control knob. This effect different features depending on which preset you have on. In some cases it raises & lowers the mid-range. I set the delay time for BR solo. The amount of phaser used on several settings. The expression pedal works on several setting. It controls the phaser speed, it cuts off the delays so you can close out BR or Son & Daughter! lol Also, there is a subsetting activated by depressing the toe or heel of the pedal. Set to Toe on the WWRY preset is Brians tone for that slol. Rock it back to the heel position & it gives you the singing tones at the end of WATC. Again, all adjustable to you liking. Every preset was money! KYA has the perfect amount of phaser dialed in. Being able to add more phasing w/ the expression pedal is cool. Setting #3 is the classic Brian tone ala TYMD. It rocked! A guy next to me started playing the intro, I joined in & we jamed on a verse. The BR solo setting is WORTH THE COST ALONE!!! I hit a chord & the delays were perfect! Even w/ a single amp. Being able to adjust the delay time is a nice feature. Bijou will be fun to play w/ this pedal! Once I got home & was able to play through my Burns RS & my Vox AD30 VT set to the AC30 model. It really is staggering how accurate it is! Excitingly errie!! Later I put head phones on & played to Now I'm Here w/ the TYMD setting & it was perfect! Yes it a very cool pedal. Theres so much more but I don't have the time to talk about it. Anyone else care to ad an opinion? |
| Adam Baboolal 15.07.2006 12:36 |
No offence to AmeriQueen's review, but I like MercuryArt's for the testing of NON-Brian equipment. It gives hope to those without those guitars and amps. Not all of us get to be hardcore equipment owners. Peace, Adam. |
| Jason@Star-Wars.net 15.07.2006 13:43 |
I was able to pick this up with the optional footswitch and free shipping for: 1 DIGITECH FS3X 3 BUTTON FOOTSWITCH KC 39.99 1 DIGITECH ARTIST SERIES- BRIAN MAY PEDAL KC 199.99 Total: 239.98 ____________________________________________________________________________ ORDER RECAP Total Product: 239.98 Net Product: 239.98 Sales Tax: 0.00 Shipping: 0.00 Grand Total: 239.98 Here in the states, both Sam Ash and Guitar Center are treating it as a special order only. ____________________________________________________________________________ |
| Adam Baboolal 15.07.2006 14:26 |
Again, I need to ask, why do the states get it so cheap?? Peace, Adam. EDIT: Btw, what kind of power supply is used to power the unit? Could an owner describe it for me? I'm thinking of importing one from the states cause it would still work out cheaper than buying it here in the UK!! |
| Jason@Star-Wars.net 15.07.2006 19:42 |
All music equipment here is never the suggested retail price. I've never been to the U.K. so I have no idea if it's that way over there. However, we have huge chain stores like Guitar Center and Sam Ash Music. They are able to sell things for much cheaper then the independent music stores due to their size and the fact that they move equipment from store to store to insure it sells. I’m not sure if you guys have huge chain music stores like us, but that’s what I assume allows for the cheaper prices on musical supplies. If I were to buy it from the local music store, I would probably have to pay as much, if not more then what you pay. When the Burns Brian May Guitar came out, I had a hard time getting one here. Then all of a sudden it popped up here for $699.00 If I had acted on impulse (which believe me I almost did ten times) I would have paid about 40% more plus shipping from the U.K. The price is also conforming to the past Digitech Artist Series pedals as well. So far the whole series as been released and floated around that price, mainly the Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix models. Both of those players are much more popular here, so in a way you could make an argument that they are charging too much for it (not that I would agree with that assessment though). The list price here is $ 299.95 From what I understand it's a 12 volt AC adapter. |
| Adam Baboolal 16.07.2006 06:48 |
It's not a 12-volt adapter. Why did you think it was? I did a search and found it's the Digitech PS0913B power supply that runs at 1300Ma. 9 volt. We have big stores here in the UK too - Sound Control, Turnkey, Digital Village, etc. But the price is 200 pounds. PieDog - link - 195 I think I'll just import one in for cheap. I can't believe the difference is so huge. Without shipping, it's 108 pounds!! What the..? Peace, Adam. |
| AmeriQueen 16.07.2006 19:50 |
I take no offense Adam. I'm not even a compatent guitarist yet. I just know that this pedal is going to give me control at last of a BM selection of sounds at a controllable volume. Now I can get better with practice. As for the Fryer vs. Digitech, I would say the Digitech wins a battle vs. Mayhem pedal decisively, not just for having an equal or better tone, but for better controlling the volume and for offering all the other effects and what not. Also for costing a third as much. As far as the treble booster, I would give the Fryer booster the edge in having that pure, crispy cleanness to it, but then you have to take into account that the Fryer TB offers no help in volume control. Basically, the Digitech is better unless you are in the situation where you will a) go seperately get any and all effects you desire for versatility. b) are willing to play at psychotic volumes or otherwise posess devices to solve the issue. and c) You are rich and can afford the pure method(Fryer TB + supporting merchandise). |
| AmeriQueen 16.07.2006 19:56 |
One suggestion for the more serious guitarist out there interested in this. Get the opitonal foot pedal! I don't have one, but when I get better, I will buy it. The reason isn't just for the ability to quickly toggle through tones, it's also because going from toe to heel while sitting down is a pain in the ass. You have to be standing to easily go from green to red, otherwise it's an annoying effort to push it enough to change. Doing it by hand isn't easy at all. It's not a challenging task so much as it is annoying. The footswitch would save a lot of irritation. |
| Adam Baboolal 17.07.2006 05:52 |
Cool stuff. So... who can post some clips of the sounds since Digitech can't be bothered!? Peace, Adam. |
| MercuryArts 17.07.2006 11:36 |
One more thing to add... it package also includes a very nice embroidered Brian signature satin bag to put your weed in, I mean to put the pedal in! LOL Anyway, it also included a real sixpence! Far far superior to the mickey mouse souvenir coin sold at the shows. My coin was minted in 1963. It is much easier to play with than the commemorative coin. For the people who have bought this pedal, what year is your coin stamped? Anyone from England want to collect a few for me & mail them to the states? I will cover all charges. Thanks! |
| MercuryArts 17.07.2006 12:08 |
For Adam & whoever else want to hear the Digitech BHM pedal. These aren't my samples, I found them on another forum. Enjoy!!! link |
| john bodega 17.07.2006 12:21 |
Hmmm. I'm not so impressed with some of those sounds... they just sound like an array of chorus effects from here! I will readily say though, I like the "Winter's Tale" sound. One of the samples where he played "Sweet Lady" sounded pretty nice too. I like the harmoniser one, the Brighton Rock delays are okay. But reeeally... not great enough for me to justify such expenditure so soon after I've gotten myself a nice amp and all. Perhaps the thing would benefit from a better player. I urge someone here to get one and do some more samples! :P |
| Adam Baboolal 17.07.2006 14:56 |
I second what Zeb says on getting someone who can demonstrate the unit better. Sorry to whoever that guy is, but I felt it hurt the demonstration to have someone who can't play that well. Also, was no-one else picking up on the fact that he didn't record the Brighton rock stuff in stereo? Just a little note, that. And lastly, it would be nice to get some well recorded amp'd up sounds. I would do it, except I don't have the friggin' pedal!! Hmm... donation please! LOL Peace, Adam. |
| john bodega 17.07.2006 15:02 |
I mean... I realise I'm outnumbered in this, but I think half the 'sound' comes from the playing anyway. If anyone in the Perth, Australia area comes across one of these and wants to hear it really cook, come visit. |
| Adam Baboolal 17.07.2006 15:33 |
I totally agree that the playing technique gives a big part of the sound. Good point to make. |
| john bodega 18.07.2006 00:13 |
I mean it's a knife edge way of doing things, but there you have it. I find (like with the Somebody to Love solo) that unless I hit the string-bends in a certain fashion, it just sounds wrong, yet if I do it right the guitar 'screams' in that way. It'd be nice if a pedal could do that for me, yeah (I used to have a Xoom that made it all sound rather nice) but anyway. |
| drwinston 18.07.2006 15:27 |
Well, I picked one of these up yesterday and had the chance to play with it a little bit last night. I only got the chance to play my Strat through it, and most of the sounds were pretty good. I think it's lacking a little top end on the Deacy tone, but I didn't mess with EQ so there is potential there. I STILL think digitech pedals have a tendency to sound too digital, but maybe that's just me. The one sound that I would like that isn't on this is that chimey clean electric sound, like on Long Away, or at the beginning of It's Late. Maybe I can adjust the settings a bit to get something close. My biggest initial concern is the whole "toe and heel" activation concept. You really have to stomp to get them to activate, as opposed to my other pedals which are relatively easy to kick on. I'll have to think about the foot pedal add on, although it seems redundant to need a foot pedal to control a foot pedal! I'll try and get some samples in the next few days that you guys can check ou using my Strat and Les Paul for comparison. |
| john bodega 19.07.2006 13:59 |
Come visit me, we'll try the Burns too. I hope new samples from the Digitech will prove me wrong, but from the one's I've heard it just sounds like chorus effects or maybe a talkbox or something - these are sounds I can find for cheaper. But indeed - I'd like to hear more from it. |
| Adam Baboolal 20.07.2006 11:31 |
Good stuff. Can't wait to hear more! Peace, Adam. |
| AmeriQueen 20.07.2006 21:05 |
The one truly dissapointing thing is that the Brighton Rock Solo, with 3 repeats, just cannot sound as good coming out of one amp. That's just life. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but the tone that I would most have liked to see added is that strange, psychedelic sound during Get Down Make Love, particularly the live versions. Killer stuff! I've said it before, but I can't get stop repeateadly playing the intro to 'China Belle' with the Chinese Water Torture setting. It sounds so great! |
| Adam Baboolal 21.07.2006 07:57 |
AmeriQueen wrote: The one truly dissapointing thing is that the Brighton Rock Solo, with 3 repeats, just cannot sound as good coming out of one amp. That's just life.Hang on a minute... Didn't they add a multiple output setting? I'm pretty sure I read about that only yesterday. And imo, I've made patches on other effects units for a brighton rock delay before and they work well through one amp. So, I don't see how it could sound worse. Peace, Adam. |
| MOANZONE TWAT 21.07.2006 08:15 |
Adam Baboolal wrote:I could be wrong but didn't Brian use an Echoplex on Brighton and other full second delay tracks?AmeriQueen wrote: The one truly dissapointing thing is that the Brighton Rock Solo, with 3 repeats, just cannot sound as good coming out of one amp. That's just life.Hang on a minute... Didn't they add a multiple output setting? I'm pretty sure I read about that only yesterday. And imo, I've made patches on other effects units for a brighton rock delay before and they work well through one amp. So, I don't see how it could sound worse. Peace, Adam. |
| drwinston 21.07.2006 10:56 |
I was going to post comparisons of the default settings using a single coil and a humbucker, but I just couldn't get my Les Paul to sound right through this thing. In fact, the CLTCL acoustic setting and the LP bridge pickup came out distorted! I finally gave up after a couple of hours and a few rum and cokes. I'll look at it again, but if you use a guitar with humbuckers, I'd definitely wait to try it out at a store before buying it - or at least hang on to your receipt! Here's a couple of samples with the Strat (using the neck pickup). Everything turned up to 11 on the guitar (as it should be!) except I rolled off the volume a bit on the acoustic sample. The pedal settings are all in the middle, except the guitar knob is turned to SC (single coil). I should have recorded before the rum and cokes, but I think you'll get the idea. link |
| Micrówave 21.07.2006 13:19 |
Now come the answers I'm really looking for. So there ARE multiple outs on this thing, right? |
| Adam Baboolal 21.07.2006 15:00 |
Mircrowave! wrote: Now come the answers I'm really looking for. So there ARE multiple outs on this thing, right?It's all in the DOWNLOADABLE manual at the official site. Hmm... samples. Methinks I'll have a listen! Peace, Adam. EDIT: Had a listen. First of all, shame you only recorded 3 of the variable patches. Oh well... And I'm not entirely sure, but I think the idea of getting this unit is fading for me. I really want to hear some full on testing of this unit to be sure though! But this thing is starting to sound a bit basic to me. I just can't believe that, according to these samples and the others I've heard, I can get better results from other units. Effects units and simple guitar and amp setups. Dagnamnit! |
| MOANZONE TWAT 21.07.2006 20:11 |
Adam, can you answer my question? :) I am just wandering if Brian did in fack use an Echoplex on long delay patterns? I still have one of these machines (covered in dust though). I am going to buy this pedal just because it's BM, but i my opinion (without acually playing with the pedal), i think it is going to be another pedal that is mostly dependant on Chorus and a slight treble variance. I could be wrong but most of Brian's clean songs were merely just a medium chorus with his style and a combo of his Guitar and the AC30. I think his sound is just a combo of equipment and HIS playing style, i just don't see how you can get the BM sound without BM. :) Anyways, i am a BOSS pedal kind of guy, but i will buy this Digitech product only for it sentiment. |
| john bodega 22.07.2006 02:43 |
Well it's immaterial to me, I'm not buying one because I'm in Perth and I hate big freight charges. I haven't listened to these new samples yet ( still dling them) but the first batch just sounded like... Chorus effects to me. Talkbox - stuff I got out of a Behringer for shit's sake - now it's not a very good example, but the talk box got me pretty close to a White Man sound - and this was *before* I bought my Red Special. Just about the only sounds I can't get at the moment are the Winter's Tale one, or the delay (as the Behringer is a useless turd when it comes to delay effects). I used to use this old Xoom... really it was all the effects I needed, lots of delay stuff, some pretty decent effects really. I would like to be proven wrong that the Digitech isn't all that useful, but if I could find better sounds cheaper then I certainly would (and maybe paint my cheap pedal Red so it matches my new guitar). |
| Togg 01.08.2006 07:45 |
From what I can see I believe this to be the best method of attaining Brian's sound out there. You will however still need a good guitar of some description and a good amp pref valve if you really want to sound close with an amp. It's no use hoping to sound like Brian with a cheap guitar and poor quality amp, the pedal will not help you. The samples posted were played on a home made walnut guitar which may or may not work like Brian's so don't be surprised if it doesn't sound right, it was not designed with that guitar in mind, however if you have a reasonable strat or gibson you should stand a good chance of getting closer than ever before. As for the price, I think it's terrific, in the music instrument world £200 is nothing, so what are folk complaining about, if you think that's expensive I am guessing you are not really in the market for this product, and don't really understand what goes into creating something like this. Believe me, this is a big leap forward considering the alternative is really a very expensive AC30 and a high end version of his guitar. No other combo that I have tried comes truly close to his sound, people think they get a close approximation, but in reality it bares little resemblance if you pull it apart. Anyone seriously wanting to get close to his sound should check this out, if you are a reasonable player with half decent equipment you will get a great deal of pleasure from this little item. |
| john bodega 01.08.2006 07:52 |
"You will however still need a good guitar of some description and a good amp pref valve if you really want to sound close with an amp." I've found that a Burns plus the Peavey Classic 30 sounds pretty damn pleasant. To be honest, I don't need to splurge on the Brian May pedal, I've gotten the sound I'm after. |
| Togg 01.08.2006 08:20 |
If your happy with the sound you have then fine, it will be different to his as an AC30 has many unique characteristics. Loud being one of them! But if however you want to get a wide selection of his tones then I think this pedal will be the best starting point for some time to come. |
| Adam Baboolal 01.08.2006 12:22 |
Togg wrote: ...£200 is nothing, so what are folk complaining about...The complaint is that the american shipped product can be found for 108 pounds, while the UK product is 92 pounds more! That's what people like myself are not happy about. As for using this to get approximate sounds, sure, why not? But I recently bought a Digitech GNX3 with a huge amount of features for 130 pounds. It does a pretty good job at getting close sounds. 200 pounds IS a lot of money. Peace, Adam. |
| Micrówave 01.08.2006 12:34 |
Adam Baboolal wrote: 200 pounds IS a lot of money.So is $200 dollars, for a digitech pedal! For a digitech anything for that matter. Think I'm gonna pass on this item. Maybe the Brian May bag is really nice... |
| drwinston 01.08.2006 12:44 |
Yeah, I returned the pedal. It was fun to tinker with, but just a bit too "gimmicky" for me. I just couldn't see myself ever using it. I figure any time spent missing with that thing I should use to actually practice my own stuff. Hope you others enjoy it. BTW, for about the same money, I would recommend the VOX Tonelab. Much more practical and flexible with some good Brian May tones already built in. |
| RedSpecial1979 01.08.2006 16:50 |
Watch your local guitar center for a large cardboard cutout of Brian to advertise the pedal... pretty sweet. |
| MOANZONE TWAT 01.08.2006 22:18 |
RedSpecial1979 wrote: Watch your local guitar center for a large cardboard cutout of Brian to advertise the pedal... pretty sweet.I am gonna see if they will sell me the Carboard Standee! lol :) |
| john bodega 01.08.2006 22:37 |
Togg wrote: If your happy with the sound you have then fine, it will be different to his as an AC30 has many unique characteristics. Loud being one of them!It is different, true enough. But the amp I'm on at the moment has a pretty vintage sound; it's like playing chinese whispers with amps, to be honest. The Laney AC15 my brother has is similarly wired to the big ol' AC30s that Brian uses, and thus when I turned it up nice and loud I got some very pleasant Queen sounds out of it. The Peavey Classic 30 is of a similar breed, though I doubt it has *that* much in common - nevertheless, there must be something in there that's doing it because it gives me a very nice, creamy tone. (Unless you hit the 'boost' button, which I find kind of pointless). |
| Togg 02.08.2006 04:58 |
Adam Baboolal wrote:Well I'm afraid that's the way the market works, Nike trainers are 50%-70% cheaper in the states than here. I have to say I am not sure where Digitech make their products, but it's a fact of life that products cost a lot of money to ship around the world. My point was that if you play any instrument and you have progressed beyond simply messing around you will have been used to spending big bucks on everything from cases to stands, as an example the fight cases for my mixers cost more to make than the mixers, everything in music is expensive. And frankly £200 is NOT a lot of money, sure it maybe more than you are willing to spend on this item, but these days there is very little you can buy in the world of musical equipment that is worth buying for less than £200. certainly no instrument or amp, and very few processing units, the odd stomp box, but apart from that £200 buys you a pretty nice guitar flight case if your lucky and that's about it.Togg wrote: ...£200 is nothing, so what are folk complaining about...The complaint is that the american shipped product can be found for 108 pounds, while the UK product is 92 pounds more! That's what people like myself are not happy about. As for using this to get approximate sounds, sure, why not? But I recently bought a Digitech GNX3 with a huge amount of features for 130 pounds. It does a pretty good job at getting close sounds. 200 pounds IS a lot of money. Peace, Adam. I am sure you will now list several good products for less than £200 but my point here is not really to get into an argument about how much you can buy at that price, it's more to do with the fact that to get everything you have thrown into one pedal, which will have taken months to develop and ultimately have limited potential purchasers. If you are going to build it you really have to have it at that price tag, there is no way round it, if it came out at £70 it would just be a piece of crap that was thrown out there with his name on in the hope people would be stupid enough to buy it hoping it will make them sound like Brian. With a unit priced at £200 you have something that they have invested much more effort into to make it a much more comparable to his tone, not a clone but close enough in the right hands. I am just surprised Adam that you as an audio engineer (in training) view this product as expensive, surly you have seen it takes a lot of money to make small improvements in sound quality, with signal processing after you leave behind the £200-£400 make you have to make huge jumps in price to get some increments in quality and flexibility. for example a £100 mic will sound little different to a £300 mic, but jump to a £1000 mic and you get a much clearer tone, but was it worth the extra bucks? All in all I just think for it to be taken in any way seriously by the industry and Brian as well it has to be around this price tag, and for what you get they seem to have packed a lot in there. I have tried it with a custom shop les paul, a custom shop strat, a burns red special and a basic american telecaster and from what I can see it seems pretty good value for money. |
| john bodega 02.08.2006 07:05 |
"from what I can see it seems pretty good value for money." Forgive those of us who haven't seen it first hand for thinking it might not be worth the price tag. The samples that have been posted frankly aren't so great; were someone to do a decent play-test of the thing, one would get a better demonstration of the effects on offer. I can but comment on what I've heard, and what I've heard is an assortment of chorus effects. Somebody please fix this. |
| Togg 02.08.2006 07:17 |
Sure I agree the tests posted have been low quality, but to be fair not many will have the ability to truly record it well enough to post anything much better, if you get the chance to try it in real life I would, as with all these things they sound very different up close and personal. |
| john bodega 02.08.2006 12:30 |
Well I tell you what, someone send one to Perth and I'll put on a clinic. Ha-ha. |
| Adam Baboolal 04.08.2006 08:10 |
Zebonka12 wrote: Well I tell you what, someone send one to Perth and I'll put on a clinic. Ha-ha.Here, here!! And yeah Togg, I could list many many quality products under 200 quid. And my training leads me nowhere near development of such things. I'm into recording/mixing people, no more, no less. Simple life for me! Anyway, my electric guitar of 6 years cost me 200 quid and sounds brilliant and plays really really well. I honestly believe there's something about it that lends itself to Brian's guitar. The shape and the sound are sometimes seem uncanny. But I have a second version from the same line of guitars and it DOESN'T have the same sound. Hmm... Also my Vox cambridge30 cost me 200 and can sound excellent. So digi brian people... send me one or pop over to my place and we'll drive this thing every which way possible!! Actually.. yeah, why don't we do that?? Peace, Adam. |
| john bodega 08.08.2006 06:31 |
I'm not seeing any takers. This blows! |
| Adam Baboolal 08.08.2006 10:44 |
Zebonka12 wrote: I'm not seeing any takers. This blows!Yeah, tell me about it! Peace, Adam. |
| Togg 10.08.2006 05:49 |
What's the best price you have seen this for sale at? (available for UK delivery) Anyone seen some bargins? |
| Adam Baboolal 10.08.2006 08:07 |
Saw them on ebay from America and they cost roughly £136 including shipping to the UK. Peace, Adam. |
| Togg 10.08.2006 11:45 |
Great thanks I will order now that I'm back in the country for a while. |
| jchensf 13.08.2006 14:11 |
I have the pedals in stock and available for sale here at Audio Images in San Francisco, CA. I also have two more BM Red Specials for sale (not the Burns version). I also have the Pete Cornish treble booster. Call me at 415-957-9131 and mention Queenzone.com and I'll cut you a Killer Queen deal. Better than GC/MF! -- Jim |
| Togg 14.08.2006 03:57 |
Well I for one am bloody impressed with it, the sounds are truly amazing, if you want to hear a good sample check out Guitarist magazine, they are doing a review plus sample on the cd which is pretty good, they also rate it 5 stars. You do have to tweak the tones a little to compensate for changing between guitars, and don't forget to get your amp to a clear a tone as possible to begin with, but anyone that tells you that you can get these sounds with other equipment is simply not understanding how complex they are to achieve. These are truly the closest you can get, they are sampled from the record so the WWRY and Bo Rap stuff in particular are spot on, KYA is amazing and so are the rest with the possible exception of the tele sound, which is pretty good but not stunning. I suggest you get the cd from the mag if you are interested, my pedal arrived on Saturday and I haven't put it down yet! Anyone that thinks is this not value for money is kidding themselves, truly check it out it's fantastic once you work out how to use it. Not that it's complicated but you do have to tweak it a bit before you get your particular guitar to work, but having tried it with my burns then a strat then a les paul, I can state that you will not get this close to Brian's sound without getting and AC30 and red special and a treble booster, plus phasers etc etc, so all in all under £200 is just stunning. |
| Adam Baboolal 14.08.2006 04:05 |
link I believe that works out at £124! Here's that cheaply priced pedal I saw. Remember, you'll probably need to buy a step-up transformer. Or is it step-down? I forget! Or do you need one? I remember buying a Behringer V-amp pro from america and I didn't need one. Hmm... Peace, Adam. |
| Togg 14.08.2006 04:38 |
Check out this months guitarist mag Adam, you will hear a pretty good quality demo. I was going to set to work doing one but frankly this is all you need to understand what it can do. |
| Adam Baboolal 14.08.2006 09:23 |
Togg wrote: Check out this months guitarist mag Adam, you will hear a pretty good quality demo. I was going to set to work doing one but frankly this is all you need to understand what it can do.I'm off down the town to buy it RIGHT NOW!! ziiippp--! Peace Adam. |
| john bodega 14.08.2006 09:43 |
Adam Baboolal wrote:Lemme know how it sounds!Togg wrote: Check out this months guitarist mag Adam, you will hear a pretty good quality demo. I was going to set to work doing one but frankly this is all you need to understand what it can do.I'm off down the town to buy it RIGHT NOW!! ziiippp--! Peace Adam. I would really like to hear a *good* example of what this thing does. All the ones I've heard so far just make it sound like effects I'd get on a Behringer or whatever. Seriously, someone drag this pedal through the coals and show me what it's capable of. |
| Adam Baboolal 14.08.2006 11:07 |
Okay, I got the mag. It helps things along, but I'm still really unsure. At this point I'm really going to have to sit with the unit for a while to try it. I'm considering getting it from a music shop for a week or so. I'd take notes and do some recordings of course! Well, we're right back where we were, really. To be honest, while the recording included on the cd is nice to hear, it's sitting on its own. There's no backing tracks or anything to hear it blended in. It's all soloed sounds as they run through the basic patches. Kinda disappointing in a way. But at least we hear someone more experienced with the unit. If I do manage to get my Brian May guitar, I'll consider doing what I said at the top of my post. Peace, Adam. |
| Togg 14.08.2006 11:47 |
I have to say Adam that I just don't know what would make you happy here unless Brian came and demo'd it in your bedroom. If they had put a backing track along with it you would have said that you couldn't hear the guitar, when they demo stuff it's always solo'd so that you can hear it properly. The review was one of the most positive reviews in ages. It scored almost top marks in every section, build quality, sound quality, value for money etc etc. And whilst I don't normally go along with journalists in this case these guys DO know what they are talking about due to the shear number of products they test. I have to say the review and the CD is really all anyone could ask for with a product of this nature, and surely you can hear that those samples are bloody close to the original recordings. I do however except that in order to get that sound you will have to play with your own equipment to adjust the sound, and unless you know what you are doing it might take a while. All I can say is I have played guitar for a number of years and I own high end ones and low end Epiphone ones, I have used VOX,Fender,Marshall,Lany, Line 6, Matchless and Soldano amps. Nothing gets close to Brian's sound other than a Red Special and an AC30 with a treble booster, if that's the sound you want you have a choice, spend a few grand on the amp and effects, not to mention the guitar, or get on of these pedals for £200 or less... no choice really. Now if you just want a nice sound then whatever floats your boat as it were, but trying to copy his sound with equipment other than the original just doesn't work, you get something 'like' it but it never really comes close under inspection. Here you get a dozen effects and real samples from the record taken from the master tapes and approved by Brian, then used by Brian in a session, and supposedly also on stage! What other recommendation do you need? no matter what tests you do, I seriously doubt you will get better versions than on the CD, and when I tried a unit a few weeks ago, basically that's what you get, (assuming you know how to re-set-up your amp) But I am sure after a week of intensive testing you will come back and say you can get closer with your guitar and current amp! |
| Adam Baboolal 14.08.2006 12:49 |
Togg wrote: I have to say Adam that I just don't know what would make you happy here unless Brian came and demo'd it in your bedroom. If they had put a backing track along with it you would have said that you couldn't hear the guitar, when they demo stuff it's always solo'd so that you can hear it properly.I'm surprised at your tone, Togg. We're here to give opinions on these things and when it comes to something guitar/audio related, I like to delve into these things, get some ideas about it past the same old, "it does this and that" comments. Strangely, this is the first Brian related product that hasn't been put through its paces. In the past the fans HAVE put previous products like the Burns, the deacy, vox amps, RS guitars, etc. through their paces before. Audio demos and inventive ideas being put on the web. I'll never forget the time I came across a site that showed off what you could do with the VBM1 deacy. It was brilliant! Recreated harmonies and their own usage in their tracks. Now, let me answer your queries: 1) IF they had put a backing track on there, I would've been most appreciative. I would never have said what you did! That comment was just a weird thing to say. The fact was, when they ran through the list of sounds and ended their test right there, I was most disappointed. If you remember the demos done for the Burns guitar back in 2001, you'll remember brian demo'd the guitar in a solo'd fashion AND even a backing track called Sideburns. Then there was a second track that had the guys from the mag playing to a backing track of their own. So, why not with this product? Togg wrote: The review was one of the most positive reviews in ages. It scored almost top marks in every section, build quality, sound quality, value for money etc etc. And whilst I don't normally go along with journalists in this case these guys DO know what they are talking about due to the shear number of products they test.Uhmm... And your point is..? We've all heard the same good things. But hearing the unit and seeing what its like to US is what's most important. With something like this, it's a lot to invest in. People NEED to be sure about what they can get out of the unit. Not just the basic idea of using those included tones. That's why they mention that you can alter things for differing ideas. Togg wrote: I have to say the review and the CD is really all anyone could ask for with a product of this nature, and surely you can hear that those samples are bloody close to the original recordings.The recordings they made are IMO good, but not great. It sounds like someone going into a shop and running through each of the tones for 15-25 seconds. It's not enough to really hear what it can be used for. Not everyone wants to buy this and sit and solely play Queen riffs all the time. We want to be sure we can do something of our own. Togg wrote: Now if you just want a nice sound then whatever floats your boat as it were, but trying to copy his sound with equipment other than the original just doesn't work, you get something 'like' it but it never really comes close under inspection.This is one of the things I'm struggling with. I like the idea of the product and some of the sounds are pretty cool. But I like what I have in my own guitar, vox amp, effects and the deacy. It does sounds close without emulating Brian's sound. I like what I have. But personally, I need to ask myself, is it worth getting this pedal AS WELL AS a red special copy? It's not an easy decision for people like myself to make. And that's why there are other folk that keep coming back to this thread looking for more info and demos/sounds etc. We're curious about what it can do. Even Zebonka has said he can already get some sounds with his current equipment. [Q |
| Adam Baboolal 14.08.2006 16:21 |
Some folk doing recordings for us to hear! link HAH! Download and listen to the sound of the guy playing on A Winter's Tale. The sound is really good!! THIS is one of those things I wanted to hear. This sounds better than any soloed playing without it being in context of the track it's from. And I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one (along with Zeb) that sees the guitarist demo in a bad light. They mention it in that topic I've put up. Peace, Adam. EDIT: link |
| Togg 15.08.2006 03:48 |
Adam it just seems to me that you have been on a mission to discredit this pedal from the onset. First you were complaining about the price when frankly many similar pedals and effects are pitched at the same price. Then you felt it didn't do much for the money, well I've yet to find one that does more. You were unsure of the quality, well have you tried the Hendrix model? it's very impressive. And now when it has been put through it's paces by professionals with a good quality recording, you are still unsatisfied that it does what it says on the tin. I just don't understand your reasoning unless you want to claim it's Brian attempting to get more money out of the fans for little return. For a product that costs under £200 it has been pretty well reviewed, at the end of the day you are not spending £1500+ on something, it's a pretty reasonably priced effect that does something you say you want to produce, so just buy it, if you don't like it sell it, you will get 90% of your money back if you really don't find you can achieve the sounds you want with your equipment. Now I do except that maybe spending that much is something to carefully think about, however, having bought one I can be pretty confident that anyone with half decent equipment could get a great sound out f it, and I really don't think you will be disappointed. Having said that, the one thing to consider here is, if you are using low end amps and guitars it will not be as accurate a copy of Brian's sound as if you are using reasonable equipment, at the end of the day a £200 guitar always sounds like a £200 guitar, and there is no getting away from that, you can't expect it to sound like a professional guitar for that money, same goes for the amp. In just the same way as a low end mic will always sound like a cheap mic against the studio quality valve mics, guitars and amp just the same when you really listen to them. Adam I am not having a pop at you I am just a little surprised that you seem so very reluctant to except that this might truly be a good product, particularly after the Guitarist review, sure they could have done more with it, but I don't think it called for it, they did what they needed to it give us all a good idea of what we would be buying, further demos seem pointless to me, if it sounds that close in solo, it will certainly sound good in a live test with backing tracks. I Think you should go test one in a shop for half an hour and see, I really can't see any shop letting you have one to test for a week unless you're a journalist. Go try it I think you will be pleasantly surprised. ( one last edit here, I want to make it clear that I do understand £200 can be a lot of money to some folk, however it is not a lot of money in real terms, you can always find a buyer for new equipment if you don't like it and in the world of music particularly £200 or less is pretty impressive for something that does as many things as this) (Adam I have no knowledge of your job so I obviously don't know how much you earn and whether this is a weeks wages or a days, however as you do seem to have some understanding or recording equipment I am sure you know how expensive this stuff can be, a few years ago digital modelling equipment was well over the £2000 mark so to find something of this quality below £200 is I think impressive and just shows how things have moved on, I fully excpt that it still may seem like a large investment for you, but then if you want the tones you really don't have another option.) |
| Adam Baboolal 15.08.2006 04:39 |
I've already answered a lot of the points you just made. Did you read my post? It answers practically everything. Now listen, 2 points here, 1) The Price - we're not all made of money and I'm not full of cash. Ok? Spending any high amount is not easy. My friend who is very comfortably well off can't even buy a NintendoDS because he needs to think of his family. So, just leave the price thing at that. I find it ridiculous that you keep bringing it up because, in the end, you don't know me and I have my own reasons, much like you had your own when getting yours. And 2) I'm not out to discredit or dislike the pedal. If you read back by oh, I don't know, one post, you'll see how happy I was at the sound on someone's little AWT playing. It sure wasn't pretty, but that's the FIRST time that particular sound has sounded right to me. It seems to me that I'm certainly not out to say bad things about the pedal. In fact, interestingly, you're the one who seems so smitten with it that there's nothing bad to say. touche! Joking aside, you really need to stop thinking such things. You bought into it. But there are still people out there that need to look into it more. If you also read what the people on that other forum (from the post I put up), you'll see they thought the same of the guitarist demo. They DIDN'T put it through its paces. They did a very run-of-the-mill look at it. Like I said before, it was like someone just ran through a bit of a lick for each tone. That's not helpful to people like myself. In fact, the 2001 review in guitarist had them playing Brian's guitar on a track THEY made up. NOT some Queen recreation. But they never did something like this for the pedal. A real shame. Peace, Adam. |
| Adam Baboolal 15.08.2006 04:41 |
Togg wrote: I Think you should go test one in a shop for half an hour and see, I really can't see any shop letting you have one to test for a week unless you're a journalist.You obviously haven't tried that then. I've known people who can borrow mics from shops to try. All you need to do is put down the cash as insurance. Peace, Adam. |
| Togg 15.08.2006 05:30 |
Fair enough, if you reckon you can do that good luck to you. As for the price issue, it was you that kept bring up the fact it was a lot of money, all I am saying is it isn't for what you are buying based on what else is out there. Finally yes you are correct in thinking I am smitten with it, I have to say I am most impressed, this is the first time I have found a product that out of the box I could plug in and hear the tones I wanted to hear, I personally think Digitec need to be congratulated on a wonderful product. It's not often that that happens, more often than not you open the box and it just doesn't seem to come up to scratch, for example I also bought a few years ago the first Line 6 effects modelled on amps. Now they are certainly good, but I found it difficult to get that excited about them until the newer versions came out. Here I have found that I was simply amazed at how accurate the product was, prior to this I have tried to get his sound and unless you bring an AC30 up to full power you simply don't get close, and unless you are in a studio cranking on of those up in a live situation creates as many problems as it solves, so here finally was a controllable model that I could use on those occasions when I wanted to get his sound, and for considerably less than the price of the new Brian May AC30! I guess we just have different approaches to this type of purchase, personally I think you are over analysing it, simply there is no other choice on the market currently that comes close, if you are after his sound that's the best way to go. I hope you manage to find your Red Special copy, I think you will enjoy what it can do, again for the money it's a great guitar, however, without an AC30 don't imagine you will sound like him (I am sure you don't) I have tried mine through many amps and each one adds different tones, plug it into and AC30 and you are in Bri land no doubt about it. Enjoy whatever you purchase Adam. |
| Adam Baboolal 15.08.2006 06:01 |
Do you realise how condescending that post sounds? Listen, I'm an audio engineer (officially now!) and I can get the sounds I want. You don't seem to listen when I say, I DON'T CARE IF I DON'T SOUND LIKE BRIAN!! I have the hardware and software to sound like Brian if need be. How about you actually read my posts in future, otherwise, how can you possibly understand my point of view. Peace, Adam. EDIT: And btw, how can someone be overanlyitical if all we have of this product are some basic sounds and reviews saying it's a good product? If you bought a car, you do actually check it out before buying into it. Reading a good review and seeing it drive around the lot is enough for you in that case. |
| Togg 15.08.2006 06:26 |
I did read your post and they don't sound like they have been written by someone that is a sound engineer. I am always intrigued by your posts, you make a great deal about your knowledge of recording in many of them, your response to this topic has baffled me, as always you seem to give the impression that you are never satisfied with professional and amateur reviews unless you have done it. Sometimes Adam you give the impression that you are the only knowledgeable person here (soundwise) All this talk of extensive testing with notes just makes my laugh, go try it in a shop and see simply decide if you agree with the professional review or not. All I am saying is there is a valid professional review with sound bites out there, which seems to give a favourable impression of the product, yet you seem to find it difficult to cope with that until you have done some extensive testing??? we are not talking about a new car or a new mixing desk, it just a small effects pedal, you will truly find out all you need in ten minutes in the back of the shop, that's all you will need, further testing isn't going to get you anything that the CD and a few minuets playing with it are not going to answer. BTW I do read your posts, I listened to the demo on the other site and very good it was too, again proving my point that further tests are pretty pointless, I think it has been established that it works! Sorry but if anyone here is being condesending it's you with the whole I must test it first before I except anyone elses view! |
| Adam Baboolal 15.08.2006 06:49 |
That's not condescending. That's just me being anal enough to want to try something for myself before fully accepting the word of someone I don't know. Especially when that person is telling me I'm not going to sound like this or that. Who are you to say such things? Why, I could tell you that I've used my VBM1, a pishy little Behringer V-amp2 and my vox cambridge 30 to get a very very close sound to Brian's sound. Just without his guitar. The car analogy was to demonstrate that just seeing what a car can do is not enough. This is why we drive the car to see what it can do. We're all different, which is why we need our own time with such things. And my idea of making notes and testing the unit may have seemed silly to you, but the point is I can really put it through its paces. You thought someone playing 15-20 seconds of riffs through each preset was enough. I didn't. Sometimes I find myself spending 20-40 minutes getting lost in playing a good sound. This is why I'd do what I said. In fact, I'd even be offering my own ideas on how to use the pedal to the fullest. I could try it with different cabinets/speakers or patch it through stuff in trying to get the most from the unit. You have to understand that I'm not joe bloggs off the street! You must have realised that from my posts about how I used the VBM1, surely? Peace, Adam. |
| Togg 15.08.2006 07:07 |
You see that's what I (personally) find condescending, "You must realise I am not Joe Bloggs off the street" sorry but you are, as far as I'm aware you are not a famous engineer or guitarist or musician, you are just that Joe Bloggs off the street. That aside and not wishing to get into another heated debate I do understand where you are coming from I certainly understand the desire to test properly and I often do as well, but on a product such as this I often rely on professional reviews as a great source of information, that's what these guys do all day, they provide my with enough to go on to say it's worth a punt on that, sometimes I buy over the web and see what happens, sometimes I will trial it in a shop, but only on major purchases do I find it helpful to really put something through it's paces. Finally, I am sure you do get a similar sound with your set up, but you seriously cannot tell me that you can get anything that truly accurately resembles his range of tones with a VBM1 your guitar and a Cambridge 30. Sure the Deaky tone is good with the VBM1 I also own one, but the full live sound and phased lead tones, sorry no, I don't find that credible at all, I'm SURE it's a good sound, but it's not going to be accurate, to be fair the Cambridge is a great amp but I have never found it could do the same job as an AC30, somehow they made something unique there. Again, I hope you get the chance to test both your new Brian red special and this pedal, I think you will find it to be a pretty good jump up in tones available to you. |
| Adam Baboolal 15.08.2006 08:24 |
I probably didn't explain the joe bloggs comment well enough. What I meant was, joe bloggs will plug in and be happy with that alone. Me? I like to try out loads of ideas for patching between things and trying out other things to get different takes on those sounds. And for the last time, it doesn't matter if the sound I get isn't accurate. That matters to you. Peace, Adam. |
| john bodega 15.08.2006 11:37 |
Togg ol' boy, you show incredible ignorance. Half the sound is in the playing. A particular hammer on-pull off combination will result in an interesting squak that a pedal simply will not create. A string bend, picked with the right amount of force, bent slowly at first then rushed up towards the end of the note with a suitably paced vibrato, will sing. No Brian May pedal, amp, or guitar will give you 'that' sound if you simply rely on the equipment. I can say to you here, now, it is entirely possible to get a Brian May sound without this pedal; indeed, without certain component pieces of the combination that made Sir Brian famous. It's just in the playing. And the volume. Gotta have it loud. Look, I've been tinkering with various shitty neglected guitars and Crate amps since I was 12. I never got a truly Brian May-ish sound until I finally got myself some better equipment, but it was pretty damn servicable. One might argue that the Digitech pedal is a cheap solution to 'that sound' that we apparently won't get unless we have an AC30 (or nine) and a Guyton and blah blah blah... it's nonsense. The absolutely most integral solution is good playing, which is why the earlier playtests of this pedal perhaps fail to impress. All I'm hearing is different shades of chorus. The "A Winter's Tale" effect, is pretty good. I'm going to listen to the latest tests available. In closing, one could easily accuse me of not wanting to like this pedal - nonsense! A pedal that recreates tones like those advertised here would be most impressive, but it still wouldn't get you even 50% of 'the sound'. It's in the fingers. |
| Adam Baboolal 15.08.2006 12:10 |
Btw, Zeb, here's the Guitarist playabout they did: link Peace, Adam. |
| Togg 15.08.2006 12:17 |
I for one certainly don't dispute that Zeb, and I'm not sure what lead you to that conclusion, however playing ability aside we were talking about the tones available on the pedal, which is in reality the best place to start. There is only one person that plays like Brian and that's Brian, we all have our own abilities good or bad, but no matter how accomplished you are if you sound nothing like him at the start then good playing isn't going to change that. As Brian commented in a copy of Vintage Guitar, his advise to young players was to start with the sound, he commented that if he isn't happy with his sound he plays badly and therefore he recommended all new players and old alike to concentrate on getting the sound right and then (he feels) the magic will happen. As for getting his true sound on other equipment I stand by my comments and nearly 30 years of playing with many many amps and guitar combinations, you truly don't get close until you use the right equipment, for a short while you think it sounds like Brian and then you go back and listen closely and you realise it wasn't after all. Trust me here, if you really what his sound, it has to be as near to his set up as possible, your ears are deceiving you if you think you have it nailed any other way, and as for loud well yes that helps but it also covers up the subtlety of his sound, and NO other amp sounds like an AC30 I have tried most of them, the closest runner up is a Matchless DC30 which is pretty bloody close, but then you might as well use the Vox if you are getting into those prices. |
| Adam Baboolal 15.08.2006 18:19 |
link More people talking about the unit and their thoughts. |
| Togg 16.08.2006 03:41 |
Last night I sat with the pedal in the studio and played each setting as suggested with a Burns red special and a Fender deluxe amp. I also had the cd's from the Queen tracks with me, after subtle tweaking of the amp and I really do mean subtle I found I got as close to the sound on each song as I ever thought possible, The guy over on the link you posted (Foxx) doesn't seem to know what his talking about or he either has a faulty unit or just doesn't know how to use his equipment. The bo rap settings are spot on, the Brighton Rock settings are simply stunning as is KYA. I go have to agree with the guitarist review the CLTCL settings are a little strange at first but you do get pretty close, (I would still use a telecaster and fender or boogie amp in pref but this ain't that bad. a/b testing the pedal next to the cd was fun and very revealing, you do forget without it what the sounds really feel like, and I still maintain that DigiTech have nailed them 98% Bo Rap 5 stars WWRY 5 stars KYA 5 stars Bri rock 5 stars CLTCL 4 stars Winters 5 stars Deaky 5 stars poss? (this one is difficult because you never hear the clean deaky setting, however it does sound very close to me) |
| Adam Baboolal 16.08.2006 04:03 |
Togg, you don't seem to like anyone having a bad thing to say about the pedal that differs to your own experience. Why is this? And the guitarist review said that the CLTCL acoustic setting was very fake sounding. Thought I'd remind you of what your buddies said. They're (the other forum) not all going to think it's the greatest pedal ever. This is why some don't like it. To say that they don't know how to operate their equipment right is a bit of a stretch, isn't it? Peace, Adam. |
| Togg 16.08.2006 04:45 |
Well sorry if it offend you but I am simply very impressed with it,and I make no applogise for that, and no it's no stretch that a kid doesn't know how to use an amp properly. I have met many guitarist that know little about there equipment both professional and amateur alike, I have met dozens of drummers that can't tune their kits and many more guitarist that have no idea how to get the sound they are looking for from there amps, so no I don't think it's a stretch at all. If you read the following posts many of them also comment on the fact that he might not be using the amp correctly. Look I don't care whether you or anybody else likes or dislikes it, I have spent many years working with pros in studios and I have been fortunate enough to get to use many of the worlds best guitars and amps, not to mention drums and basses. I know a good product when I see one. If you what to disagree or post dozens of negative reviews from every 12 year old with a guitar that's up to you, I really don't mind, after all we all have different tastes so I don't see why everyone would feel the same. But what I can tell you is (if my pedal is anything to go by) if you use it correctly you will get the sounds it claims to have stored inside it. One caveat would be that it is used with reasonable equipment, low grade poorly maintained amps and guitars will not show it at it's best. |
| Adam Baboolal 16.08.2006 05:37 |
Just an observation is all... And I've posted 3 threads each with their own takes on the pedal. Only one seems to be negative and yet, that's the one you call me up on? Give me a break. I've said plenty good and little bad. You? You only ever say good. I like to think I'm staying open-minded about this pedal. Peace, Adam. |
| Adam Baboolal 16.08.2006 05:51 |
I'll rate it on what I've heard so far: Bo Rap 3-4 stars (just - seems a bit harsher than Brian's - but the basic tone is there) WWRY 3 stars (Not bad, but somehow lacking - I think Zeb knows more why) KYA 5 stars (pretty much like the record) Bri rock 3 stars (I've heard better from my VG8! But it is useful to have) CLTCL 2 stars (rubbish acoustic and very plain lead sound) Winters 5 stars (top marks - I heard a kid's recording and thought it was pretty spot on) Deaky 2-3 stars (The vbm1 sounds better than this one, I'm sure - wonder what the tweakability of this one is) Of course, these marks could change for me once I actually try one. Who knows? But I think having a Red Special guitar will make it better. The strat and Les Paul stuff on the guitarist test was a bit off. Shame they didn't conduct a separate test with only the RS being used. Zeb, what would you mark each one you've heard? Peace, Adam. |
| Togg 16.08.2006 06:03 |
Adam At the end of the day I am sure there will be many that don't think it works or simply don't like it for one reason or another. I happen to find it extremely impressive, keeping in mind the price, sorry to bring that up again. If it were priced considerably higher I too would be looking more closely at it and possibly finding faults, however, trying to keep a balanced view means keeping everything in mind, that includes price, sound quality, build quality and ease of use. When I looked at those together I basically have very little to fault it on. My buddies as you call them over at guitarist mag also seem impressed, and I often found their reviews to be very insightful, they do I admit tend to lean towards Brian when reviewing his products, but I think they still give a balanced review. There will be plenty of kids scratching their heads in bedrooms around the country wondering why the second-hand Peavey and £150 quid strat copy with two year old strings don't sound like Brian. And I'm sure over the coming months several on this site and others will voice their views, I doubt I will bother responding, but currently I am still very much in love with this little pedal, so forgive my enthusiasm I am enjoying playing with it. |
| john bodega 16.08.2006 07:22 |
I might interject here. The only thing wrong with the Peavey Classic 30 amp is the Peavey logo. It is a seriously decent amp for it's price range and is a most pleasant sounding match with the Burns. Adam; haven't sat down and had a decent listen to all the samples made available so far, but as of the present : I'm pretty pleased with the Winter's Tale sound; someone a while back did a Sweet Lady test that sounded quite good. WWRY is decent, yet 'something' ain't there. Maybe I'm imagining things - I'll listen to the latest bunch of tests from that magazine to be sure. I'm not sure which batch of tests it was, but basically it didn't seem to offer anything but different increments of chorus and flange effects. True enough, that's one way of getting a Queen sound, but I suspect maybe the people doing those tests weren't getting the full use of their pedal or their amp because there's other steps involved. I can't 100% say what I think of the pedal because I don't have one in front of me. I've heard good and bad samples of it in near equal quantities, so I suppose I need convincing. |
| drwinston 16.08.2006 11:51 |
Adam, Why not try the pedal? I would assume that your local shop has a return policy that would allow you to check it out. That's what I did, and it's really the only way to tell if it's going to be useful to you or not. Just wondering... |
| Adam Baboolal 16.08.2006 12:09 |
drwinston wrote: Adam, Why not try the pedal? I would assume that your local shop has a return policy that would allow you to check it out. That's what I did, and it's really the only way to tell if it's going to be useful to you or not. Just wondering...Does no-one read the posts anymore? I said I'd probably get it to test. And in another thread I said if it's in the shop where I'm getting my brian may guitar, I'll try it out there. My local shop doesn't have the pedal. The Glasgow shops (15 miles away) MIGHT do, but it's a bit difficult to get the time to go into Glasgow. Mind you, I need to pickup a pair of speaker stands, so I might have to find the time to go into Glasgow at some point. Just have to wait and see... Peace, Adam. |
| Penetration_Guru 16.08.2006 14:51 |
I'm sorry, I lost a little patience with this at the line "can't even afford a NintendoDS".... ...as if that was one of lfe's essentials. Missing a sense of perspective here I think... |
| drwinston 16.08.2006 15:03 |
Adam, No, I don't read every word you post on every thread, nor do I intend to. It was simply a question - no need to get pissy. Once you have it in your hands, you'll be able to decide whether it is of value to you or not. No amount of samples from others are going to convince you one way or the other - obviously. |
| Adam Baboolal 16.08.2006 15:26 |
Penetration_Guru wrote: I'm sorry, I lost a little patience with this at the line "can't even afford a NintendoDS".... ...as if that was one of lfe's essentials. Missing a sense of perspective here I think...Hey, I don't judge my friend on it!! I mean, he really wants one!! lol |
| Adam Baboolal 16.08.2006 15:31 |
drwinston wrote: Adam, No, I don't read every word you post on every thread, nor do I intend to. It was simply a question - no need to get pissy. Once you have it in your hands, you'll be able to decide whether it is of value to you or not. No amount of samples from others are going to convince you one way or the other - obviously.Shame cause I read everything in a thread, unless the thread is gumph like the GB ones. Actually, on the samples thing, you should note that I posted about really liking the sound from a kid's recording. Something I can't say the same about from the Guitarist demoing. It DOES make the difference when someone demonstrates the unit in an easier way than just listening to what it does on its own. This is why I made such a fuss about the backing tracks thing. That kid, while no great guitarist, really sold that AWT sound to me. Samples can be enough when done right. Peace, Adam. Btw, I wasn't getting pissy with you. It's just that text on a screen doesn't get across the tone properly. Ach well... |
| Adam Baboolal 17.08.2006 05:38 |
Zebonka12 wrote: In closing, one could easily accuse me of not wanting to like this pedal - nonsense! A pedal that recreates tones like those advertised here would be most impressive, but it still wouldn't get you even 50% of 'the sound'. It's in the fingers.I believe the same thing as Zeb in this respect and here's a perfect example of what his fingers can do to make that sound happen on an acoustic guitar - link Peace, Adam. |
| Togg 17.08.2006 06:08 |
Without wishing to start this all up again, one thing that would be interesting to discover is how the pedal differs from amp to amp. I have personally always found Fender amps to give the best clean sound, which I believe is the best place to start, once you remove the reverb on the amp you can get a very nice bright ring and subtle tweaks to the controls should produce the desired sound for most guitars. Now to date I have yet to try the pedal in other amps, I have tried the pedal with Strats and Les Pauls plus the Burns, but not yet with other amps which of course is the one thing DigiTech can't provide for, they have done a great job with the pick-up settings, however the amp may well have more of an influence even on clean than you'd expect. I did try it last night through a mixer and ran out of time before I got a sound I was really happy with, so a little more messing time there I guess, but it will be interesting to see what transpires as we all try it with different configurations of equipment. |
| Adam Baboolal 17.08.2006 10:21 |
I'd love to try it with dual amps personally. I'm looking at a couple of Vox amps VR30 and ADVT30. Both have nice reviews and feedback for such cheap amps. Ideally, it'd be nice to get another of the same one I have, but I keep missing them on ebay. They're not made anymore, ya see! Peace, Adam. |
| john bodega 17.08.2006 23:41 |
Haha I love that TYMD video. |
| BUofM24 18.08.2006 09:21 |
Togg, In your personal experience with this pedal, i was wondering what has more of an effect on the authentic brian may sound, the amp or the guitar? If you had to choose high end guitar and cheap amp, or high end amp and cheap guitar what would your choice be? And i was also wondering if you familer with the guitar port program for the computer. It has an AC30 built into the software. I was wondering if you might have tested the pedal on that too. |
| Togg 18.08.2006 09:57 |
Hi Well to answer the second part first, No sorry i have not tried the port so I can't comment, regarding the amp/guitar question I personally believe brian's sound is split like this Amp 40% Guitar 30% Treble booster 30% plus of course the mystery percentage that Brian himself adds!!! OK that doesn't add up, but you get the idea. I would generally say you are better off with a high grade amp than you are a higher grade guitar. A great guitar will sound like crap with a poor amp, basically a cheap guitar will sound pretty good if you hook it up to a valve amp with real valve distortion, you may well not get the best clean sound, but it will still be better than trying to get a good sound out of a cheap amp. Hope that helps. |
| drwinston 18.08.2006 11:03 |
Not that anyone asked me, but I think Togg's got it really close. But I would change the 30% Treble Booster to 30% Effects. Phase, Chorus, Delay, and Wah are pretty prevalent in his sound at various times. I also think he has been using a distortion pedal post-Queen, but I'm not sure. If you listen to the opening of TYMD from a Queen show and compare it to his solo and +PR shows, the sound is quite different. It could be something else, but I would bet it's a bit more than a Treble Booster. |
| Togg 18.08.2006 11:31 |
I'm not sure he has employed a distortion unit, but he certainly has used multiple effects from time to time, I believe he is currently using a Foxx Phaser, he also used to have a Boss Chorus as well, but I think these days that is built into his pedal board that he uses for delay settings. Personally I think the change in sound from older live recordings is largely down to better quality digital recording, and better quality PA equipment as well. I remember the first shows I saw the sound was nothing like what I expected it to be, it just seemed loud and over-powering, However, I remember thinking at the 86 wembley concert that it was the first time I'd hear Brian sound like Brian, they really had the sound nailed in the magic tour. |
| BUofM24 18.08.2006 12:10 |
Hey thanks alot togg, that was a great reply just what i was looking for. I actually demoed the pedal at guitar center with an epiphone guitar and the valve neodog vox amp set to an AC30. IT WAS AMAZING!!! lol neways guitar port also has a great sound depending on the comps sound card and speaker system. I LOVE IT. so many effects and amps (it contains a vox AC30) so i think im going to buy the pedal and see what happens. ill record and post if anyone is interested. just request anything thanks alot |
| john bodega 18.08.2006 13:34 |
Having had a listen to the guitar magazine test; I'd say the following about the effects displayed. KYA effect sounds pretty much spot on. Bo Rhap solo effect is good. Not quite there. Something is lacking - either in the playing of the solo itself, or the actual sound. Not sure, but this one don't do it for me. Bo Rhap headbangin' section effect isn't so great. Doesn't sound 'big' enough. Tie Your Mother Down 1st effect is okay. Tie Your Mother Down solo effect is good, but missing something. In my head I see a TYMD dial that is only turned up by half, or something - it just feels like it needs more of something (the 'phasey' sound, I don't know what it is). The WWRY sound would benefit from being played a little louder. It's a pretty fair approximation, good sound all told - but leans a little too close to the sound of a small radio. The Crazy Little Thing intro effect strikes me as a little pointless. It's a clean sound, I guess... why wouldn't someone just get an acoustic? It'd probably sound better. The Crazy Little Thing solo effect is nice, but I'll side with Mack - while one could imitate the sound of a Tele, one will get more realistic results by just *playing a Tele*. :P Brighton Rock delay; it's a delay, what else can one say. Unless I'm missing some nuance of each sound here. It'd be more impressive if they did some sort of stereo example. The harmoniser impresses me, if for no other reason than I don't have anything that'll do that effect at the moment. I am a compulsive buyer; I would probably get the pedal just so I could do harmoniser stuff, and ignore the rest of it. Haha. 1st Deacy setting is nice. I like the fat sound of the Burns when all pickups are on and in phase, the Deacy setting just seems to be 'more' of that, which can't be a bad thing. 2nd Deacy setting (A Winter's Tale, eh?) is good. But I've a soft spot for that song; gee I wish they'd actually just played the solo itself. I'm more interested in this pedal on the basis of the guitar magazine test. I am still dubious on a few of the effects (namely the Bohemian Rhapsody ones and the Crazy Little Thing ones) as they don't (in these tests, anyway) come close enough to 'the sound' - if 100% accuracy is the consideration here. |
| BUofM24 18.08.2006 13:45 |
in the little experience i have had with the pedal, i have found that it is very very good for the price of 200 dollars. You get 14 of the most popular 'Queen' or 'Brian May' Tones for 200 bucks. I cant wait to grab one of the shelves and start recording. I think i might start a band with my friends and i will for sure be using the brian may pedal for that |
| john bodega 19.08.2006 03:01 |
BUofM24 wrote: in the little experience i have had with the pedal, i have found that it is very very good for the price of 200 dollars. You get 14 of the most popular 'Queen' or 'Brian May' Tones for 200 bucks. I cant wait to grab one of the shelves and start recording. I think i might start a band with my friends and i will for sure be using the brian may pedal for thatIn the right hands it'd be worth a lot more than $200. Someone willing to experiment with the pedal and daisy-chain it with other units would probably get some pretty wicked sounds. For now I'll have to side with Scotty Moore (haha) and slum it with the Classic 30. |
| Togg 21.08.2006 04:36 |
Having played around with the pedal for a few days now it's fair to say that you can get a pretty wide range of tones from each of the settings so you do need to play for a while with each one to get the best out of it. For me the Bo Rap is spot on, certainly with the Burns, I have trouble getting the Deaky tone to be as nice as the one from the Vox deaky amp, and strangely the winters tale also seems to elusive now and again, you get a very Nice tone but getting very close to the original leave me playing around for quite some time, I have had it a couple of times but last night it seemed to disappear. The Crazy little thing lead tone is not too hard to get and frankly is as good as any acoustic model I have played, they are all a little odd, and sound too close to an electro acoustic with the emphasis on electro, however the lead tone impresses me. All the heavy settings just leave me grinning with joy, they are very easy to set up into a great clone of Brian's tone, KYA is wonderful! Anyway enough praise from me, over to someone else.. |
| Adam Baboolal 21.08.2006 06:36 |
Togg wrote: The Crazy little thing lead tone is not too hard to get and frankly is as good as any acoustic model I have played, they are all a little odd, and sound too close to an electro acoustic with the emphasis on electro...You should try a VG-8/88. Those acoustic tones from the roland pickup is pretty good. Sometimes very convincing. Peace, Adam. |
| BUofM24 21.08.2006 09:50 |
I was playing with the pedal the other day and i couldnt get the orchestral harmonizer to work on it, it just sounded like the brighton rock tone without the tape delays, anyone else experience that problem and have any answers to the problem. I was using a valve neodog vox amp and a fender strat guitar, so it shouldve worked, was it a bad pedal that i demoed or what?? |
| Togg 21.08.2006 10:04 |
Hard to say, there is no mistaking it when it is switched on so far on mine. Yo may have had a bad conection I guess, I doubt the amp or guitar would alter it that much that you'd not get it to work. So long as the red light was on in that setting you should have heard it loud and clear? |
| BUofM24 21.08.2006 10:28 |
haha theres the answer, as I would switch it to the heel, there was no red light on, so the pedal must have been bad or something that has to be it |
| Togg 21.08.2006 10:52 |
Sounds more like it, when you connect the pedal in order to turn it on you have to press hard with your toe, this turns on the green light, when you select the other 'Heel' model you press hard with your heel, which in-turn turns the light to red for heel mode. |
| BUofM24 21.08.2006 11:04 |
yupp i got the green light, but i dont remember a red one, BUT it was green and there was no tape delay so it was kind of in between the 3 part orchestral harmonzier and the brighton rock solo tone which to me is very odd. That is the only reason why i didnt buy it then and there because it seems like it was junk, but now I know what to look for when i go back to guitar center and demo it again |
| Togg 21.08.2006 11:21 |
On that settling the footplate just alters the amount of delay so you were hearing the Brighton Rock sound but no delay. You need to click the heel down to activate the heel mode settings in each case. The footplate only has an effect on some of the settings, so for example the Bo Rap end section setting slowly morphs into the deaky tone as you bring the pedal down in heel mode. |
| BUofM24 21.08.2006 11:53 |
thanks a lot togg, i thought i pressed down really hard on that pedal to get the red light but it didnt work i duno man. I cant wait to get back and try it again. Togg did you actually buy a pedal or what is your situation with the Brian May pedal |
| BUofM24 21.08.2006 18:22 |
i got the pedal and IT RULES!! ask for any more information |
| Togg 22.08.2006 03:18 |
Congrats, and in answer to your question, yes I bought the pedal. |
| BUofM24 22.08.2006 09:42 |
sweet man, hey togg do you have any demos that you could share with us to see how yours sounds? |
| Togg 22.08.2006 09:59 |
Not as yet, and to be honest I doubt I'd get much better than the quality of the magazine CD, if I get round to doing one i'll post it. However at the moment I am spending all my spare time working on learning a new set list, as my band are getting ready for some more live dates after the summer. |
| BUofM24 22.08.2006 10:17 |
really that sounds awesome, where do you play, and do you have any band demos or anything like that? |
| Togg 22.08.2006 10:30 |
It's not as grand as it sounds, we play a few select gigs a year often friends parties weddings funerals(joking) etc etc, and the occassional club/pub dates. These days we are all too old and busy with family/work lives to do much more. The band is just a hobby now but over the years we have collected so much equipment that it's a bit like the current Stones tour when we do go out!! Although I play guitar, I am the drummer in the band and have been playing for some 25-30 years, so you'd think I'd know what I'm doing but now;-) If we do anything I am particularly proud of and we have the recording rig set up I'll post something. |
| BUofM24 22.08.2006 10:51 |
awesome man thats better than what i have lol so do you do any queen covers or anything of that nature or what songs do you play |
| Togg 22.08.2006 11:12 |
Sure over the years we have done a fair few, currently on the list from time to time are CLTCL and TYMD, but it just depend on what the audience is we are playing to, sometimes it's the heavey stuff with smoke and amps up full, other times its stuff people can dance to. I think I have played the following WWRY WATC TYMD CLTCL Save Me Play the Game It's Late Somebody to Love Fat Bottomed Girls Don't Stop Me now Radio Ga Ga Sweet Lady Your my best freind Now I'm Here A Kind of Magic One Vision Keep yourself alive Dragon Attack Another on bites the dust Spead Your Wings Gosh and probably many more However we are hijacking this topic... |
| BUofM24 22.08.2006 13:40 |
haha, that sounds sweet man i wish i could play all those songs. the only thing I've ever done is mix my own instrumental version of bohemian rhapsody, with someone else's drumbeat. I did every other part. So im planning on taking the pedal i just bought and redoing it maybe to make it sound more authentic. If anyone wants to hear it, request and ill post it or send it |
| TheBelgianKillerQueen 01.11.2018 13:31 |
Hi ! I'm digging up this old topic because I can't seem to find the answer anywhere.. Could anyone tell me if, using the Digitech BM (I know it's discontinued but still easy to find) with a AC30 and a BM Red Special, 1) how should I set the AC30 ? (dry and clean sound ?) and 2) how should I set the RS's mics (like for example using the middle and neck out of phase setup for BoRhap ? Or does the pedal effects already bring the special tone and therefore I must use the same mic setup on the guitar?). Hope you can help me, Cheers, Lucas |
| TheBelgianKillerQueen 01.11.2018 13:31 |
Hi ! I'm digging up this old topic because I can't seem to find the answer anywhere.. Could anyone tell me if, using the Digitech BM (I know it's discontinued but still easy to find) with a AC30 and a BM Red Special, 1) how should I set the AC30 ? (dry and clean sound ?) and 2) how should I set the RS's mics (like for example using the middle and neck out of phase setup for BoRhap ? Or does the pedal effects already bring the special tone and therefore I must use the same mic setup on the guitar?). Hope you can help me, Cheers, Lucas |
| Togg 06.11.2018 08:59 |
Set the amp Normal channel dry no other processing or treble /bass, you will really need an attenuator to control the volume, the pedal will do a lot here but to get the best you will need to have the volume up pretty high. The PU's on the RS should be set approporiately for the song so yes out of phase for Bo Rhap solo, the pedal can be used with non RS guitars and will do at least some of that for you if you switch to non RS |
| Fireplace 07.11.2018 01:08 |
The only reason to use the Digitech with an AC30 would be to keep the volume down. With a BMG and an AC30 you're good to go without the Digitech, You just need to add a treble booster, crank it up full on Normal and possible replace the windows afterward. |
| Togg 07.11.2018 09:19 |
Well I'd say that's almost right, but you do get the phaser sounds and multi delays that you can actually run on one single amp that is impossible any other way |
| TheBelgianKillerQueen 07.11.2018 11:41 |
Thanks to both of you for your answers ! Regarding the ac30 I was thinking about getting an ac15 because the ac30 is so heavy to travel and powerful I never use it to the full.. but do you know if I can get the exact same sound with it and if it’s enough? Plus I know there’re lots of different ac15 and even ac30 so in the end I’m a bit confused ! |
| Togg 08.11.2018 09:50 |
Well, short answer no not the exact same sound but close enough, Brian's sound requires an AC30 full up, the only way to get close if you can't cope with the volume is to use an attenuator of similar device like the Mayday pedal from Greg Fryer, the best AC30s for BM tones are old 70s ones or the 90's TBX, the modern ones are a little harsh, as are the newer AC15s. Ideally you need two Blue Alnico speakers to get the best tone. try a few out and see what you like? an AC15 will absolutely do the job, and will be much easier to cart about. The Digitech pedal will do the rest for you if you need a simple and relatively cheap set up |
| Lamebert whoehahaha 12.11.2018 12:48 |
Used it... what a shit pedal |
| aristide1 12.11.2018 16:00 |
What have you used it for, doorstop? |
| Togg 14.11.2018 08:49 |
Oh good Gerry's back again.... ffs |
| Fireplace 15.11.2018 01:04 |
The Digitech does do most of the BM sound, but it's slightly lacking in gain and sustain. I'd still consider putting a treble booster in front of it. Also it does not clean up quite as nicely when you roll the guitar volume down compared to the real thing. If you go with the Digitech, the heel position Tie Your Mother Down sound is a good starting point for a more generic (as opposed to song specific) BM sound. You do indeed have instant Brighton Rock delays and Foxx phaser on the Digitech. |
| Togg 15.11.2018 09:28 |
I agree, you need a TB with it ideally, also most people tend to play BM with the volume rolled full up, in reality he doesn't do that much, only really in solo's the rest of the time he's 2/3ds up or less, if you listen to the guitar only tracks it;s amazing how much string ringing can be heard, even on stuff like One Vision, which 'sounds' full gain, it's actually very clean and ringy, he just has double tracked it. I agree thou, the pedal can be a little full on much of the time |