Replacement for a MI Audio Crunchbox

[Telerocker]

I you want that kind of features look at the Ibanez Gemini (Steve Vai-pedal).

[Jazz Rock]

Just had a quick browse on the net for the Jemini. Hard to get a good idea of the range of sound available as the clips on youtube are all played by guys trying to sound like Vai, when they are not the man himself. Anyway, from that panel, it seems it is simply a combined OD and Disto pedal, which didn't seem to have a particular timbre variation.

From what I have seen so far, the closest device to what I am looking for is the ISP knob from Blackstar. Anyone using their stuff. I have to admit, and I am going slightly off topic here, that what caught my eye is there 1 watt amp, the HT-1R. It seems to have a good range of sound from the ISP and is ideal to play at home.

Another thing I have seen that is heading the same way as the ISP, is the CE pedal FET dream with the girth and lean knobs... sounds impressive, but is rather on the pricey side of things.

I an wondering where I could be trying out one of these blackstar amp / pedal, since they don't seem to be distributed by Guitarguitar... There might be a shop in Glasgow who has them...

Isn't it always the same, you set yourself a simple task, i.e. replace a crunchbox, and in no time you are thinking of reshaping your whole rig again.

[Telerocker]

Maybe you're are better of with this one.
Does ultrametal, but back the gain down and you can even play classick rock with it. At least Palle Schultz from Emma Electronics stated that.


http://www.emmaelectronic.com/products/PisdiYAUwot/PisdiYAUwot.html

[dave_mc]

just bear in mind those blackstar amps aren't all tube. if you know that already, or don't care, then it';s not a problem, just don't get conned by their marketing...

[Jazz Rock]

So I have just spent a good hour with the Jackhammer.

It is a funny piece of kit. I plugged it in, started with the OD setting, from the ground up with the gain. And my first thought was that it was not half as bad as I remembered it to be. So I lost myself into knobs tweaking for a good while, until I realised that (1) the contour and contour freq. control are a good example of the kind of timbre alteration device I would be looking for in a new distortion pedal; (2) by the jackhammer standards, I don't actually really want a distortion pedal but a beefy OD pedal (I know that it is a semantic quibble and different manufacturers will use either terms for what I am looking for); (3) and finally, the reason I dislike the jackhammer is the level of compression that comes from the unit, ranging from mildly annoying at low gain setting to unbearably boring at hi gain levels. From 3:00 onward on the gain knob, no matter how hard you hit the string, you will get virtually the same response.

So, useful reminder of why I don't like it. WHich brings me back to my starting point... I need a replacement for the crunchbox.

Dave_mc, I did not realise that. But what does it mean? Is it a mix between valve circuitry and digital programing? Anyway, I wouldn't buy an amp without having been able to test it myself. Therefore if it passes the hear test, I guess I wouldn't be too bothered about what is inside... Havings said that I have yet to find a digital device I enjoy the sound of... apart maybe from the Vox tonelab that one of my friends is using, which plugged into a small Fender amp (can't remember which one) can sound very good.

[dave_mc]

nah it's not digital (EDIT: on the ones which have reverb, the reverb is digital i think), it's a mix between solid state and tube... it has a solid state/transistor-based phase inverter, some solid state clipping in the preamp, and some gain stages provided by op-amps.

I think it's a bit like already having an od pedal built in.

as you say, if it does the sound you want, it's all good.

my concern would be that as it already more or less has an od built in, that it might not react too well to other od/distortion pedals.  (i haven't tried it)

[Jazz Rock]

Thanks Dave.

I found a place in Glasgow who got them, so I will bear this in mind when I give it a try... hopefully soon.

[dave_mc]

yeah- if you do use pedals a lot it'd be worth trying it with a couple of od pedals etc. :)

[Jazz Rock]

I think I will bring the FOD along to see what comes out.

Nonetheless, I have been busy browsing Youtube and pedal manufacturer websites for demos of various pedals, looking for the one, and came across the VOX JS Ice 9. WHile I have to admit that I have no affinity towards his work, there is no denying that he has had more than his fair share of tone experimentation. The clips I have heard from the box are very promissing as it seem the Ice 9 soundscape basically starts where the FOD stops, and go just about high enough in gain levels for my liking, throwing in what seems to be an interesting tone control mechanism, providing a reacher palette of sound then the traditional tone knob. Anyone has been using it, or tried it in the past? Any opinions?

This one is now at the top of my list of things to try.

[Pete24v]

i've just bought a Satchurator and Ice 9. So far only had a little play, the Ice 9 is great, very fat, massive eq adjustment available with the vintage modern switch and tone and bass controls. Not had much time with the Satchurator, initial impressions are that it sounds like a modded DS-1 with more gain.

I'll throw another suggestion out there as well, MXR Distortion 3. Great pedal, very similar to an Xotic BB Preamp pedal

[nfe]

Thanks Dave.

I found a place in Glasgow who got them, so I will bear this in mind when I give it a try... hopefully soon.

CC in Otago Street? My favourite shop in the town. They've often got some oddities and cool second hand bits and bobs so you might find something pedalwise, too.

And it's fun going in just for the running arguments between the guitar techs all wanting to listen to underground techno and the boss wanting to listen to the Beatles.

[dave_mc]

this is probably a stupid question, but what's an fod? :lol:

[Jazz Rock]

Thanks for the feedback on the Ice 9 Pete24v. When you say it is very fat, is it a constant caracterisitic or does the EQ or the switch from vintage to modern offer less fat sound variations? I am asking because the FOD produces quite a fat sound and I wouldn't want to be locked in this kind of sound, even though I love it, having some smoother sound on tap would be good.

I will check out the MXR and the Xotic.

Thanks nfe for this other address in Glasgow. I probaly won't strecth my tour this far out of the city centre for the next trip. But I'll keep it in mind for another trip.

Dave, that is not a stupid question at all as I have come to appreciate that the FOD-1 from Demeter is not a very well known pedal. You can find clips on youtube though, the one from proguitarshop will give you a good idea of what it does. It is basically an overdrive and a clean boost, in one pedal (with individual switch and control) which sound lies on the fat sides of things. FOD stands for Fat Over Driveulator or something of the like. I came across this pedal spending a morning at Guitarguitar looking for an overdrive to serve as second channel for the LC15R, having never heard of it before. I quite like the sound of the laney with the gain cranked up but as it is a single channel amp, I can't switch from a clean-ish sound to a good crunch swiftly with the amp by itself. So, short of buying a second unit and an A-B switch pedal, I set myself on a mission.

The FOD turned out to be an improvement on the crunch sound from the amp and it was very wellcome because apart from the space of a second amp, I didn't save much else with its acquisition - It was as expensive as the Laney. Nonetheless, for everything rock up to 70's hard rock, it delivers a brilliant FAT overdrive, think ZZ top stuff. It is my go to pedal that I put in the sound chain every single time I play plugged in. Now, you can get it more modern sounding, with a bigger bass presence, through the loose / tight switch, but I tend to use the loose setting more often then not. Even with the tight mode on though, it doesn't handle PM particularly well, which sometimes can really add something to a riff. So that is where the Crunchbox came about, to be able to play mildly more violent hard rock. And then this all thread and new crusade for a power OD / distortion.   

[dave_mc]

thanks, i'll take a look, that sounds good. Funnily enough I've actually been browsing pro guitar shop a lot recently, once i realised they offer free worldwide shipping over $400, it suddenly became worthwhile... :D

[Pete24v]

You can dial out lots of the fattness with the Bass control, it is a very versatile pedal. It remains smooth in the vintage mode, switch to modern and there is a harsher/rawer 'clipping thing' happening

Crowther Hotcake is another to check out