Greetings!
After several years of trying to avoid using
any pedals, and choosing my amps very carefully and making sure that they could cover my distortion needs without any pedals in front; I finally bit the bullet and got a few pedals. I was supposed to get the Koko only, but after I got it I was so blown away I just had to get the Shiba as well! They are simply the best pedals I have ever tried, and I wanted to share my experiences. Please note that I use them both for boosting an already driven amp, and that will be my focus in this review.
Koko Boost Reloaded:
A regular sized pedal with the new mf(x)-technology. This technology makes this pedal kind of two in one. When the pedal is activated, you can hold the footswitch for a few seconds and then you switch between the two modes: clean boost and mid boost. When you switch if off, the last used mode will be set to default when switched back on. It is not only two pedals in one, but it triples as a high quality buffer (if you want it to)! There is an internal switch for buffer or true bypass operation.
The clean boost is very transparent, but it also adds this depth to the tone that makes it addictive. It is also extremely powerful, with up to 26db of boost. Set to 12 o'clock it can turn your slightly breaking up amp into a high gain monster! This mode is very simple and straight forward, and there is just one of the knobs that affects this mode.
The mid boost on the other hand, is much more tweakable. It does not seem to be as much boost available in this mode either. So if you plan on using the clean boost all the time and then the mid boost for solos, you have to set the clean boost quite a bit lower. This mode is without doubt my favourite, and it can change the voicing of the entire tone!
The freq-switch is especially intiuitive:
Left: Mid mids
Mid: High mids
Right: Low mids
The Midboost-knob controls the overall boost, and the Mid Q-knob controls the amount of mids. I am not the hugest fan of stepping on a pedal for solos, but this pedal would help your tone cut through even the densest mix like a knife, rhythm or lead! It does not cut the bass as much as a Tubescreamer either, and is of course much more flexible. My Keeley Tubescreamer went out for sale hours after I got the Koko!
Shiba Drive Reloaded:
Also a regular sized pedal, but just one pedal in one. Although not as flexible as the Koko, it is very tweakable! It has 50% more available gain than the original Shiba Drive, and is in general more amp-like, open and not as dark. I have not tried the original Shiba Drive, so these are just statements I have read on the internet. The smooth-switch is far from as drastic as the freq-switch of the Koko, and Suhr also states that it has less effect at lower gain settings. It would probably be more natural to compare this one to the mighty Tubescreamer, and to my ears the Shiba is superior in every way! It is much broader sounding, keeping the bass tight just like the TS but not removing any of it. Because of that, the mid hump will not be as pronounced, but there is a mid boost nevertheless. I also think it works much better with a little bit drive on the pedal itself, as opposed to the famous «no drive full level» TS setting. It can do that setting equally well, but there is no need to when I have the Koko.
The smooth-swith explained:
Left: Mild high end roll off
Mid: Neutral
Right: More drastic high end roll off, for taming bright single coil pickups.
The knobs are pretty self explanatory, which everyone who have used a Tubescreamer or any clone will be familiar with. Drive is the amount of gain/overdrive, tone is the amount of treble and level is how hard the pedal will drive the input of the amplifier.
I like to use the Shiba almost the same way as the Koko, but not quite: drive at 9 o'clock, tone at 3 o'clock and level on full. That way it sounds more growly and maybe a bit more hairy than the Koko, which is more clean. The funny thing is, that even though the tone is heavily distorted you can really tell that the Koko gives a significantly cleaner boost. Sometimes you want the more growly, rawer and more nasty distortion the Shiba contributes to, and sometimes you want the cleaner, smoother and more refined boost of the Koko. The Shiba is also less guitar dependent, it more or less sounds good with anything at my favourite setting, but the Koko needs to be tweaked a bit more (but we are just talking a flick of the switch).
They also stack incredibly well! If I want slightly more gain from the Shiba I run the clean boost at a low setting, and if I want the mids extremely bumped up I can boost the Shiba with the mid boost. Running the Koko at a clean boost setting in front of the Shiba is also a very effective way to even out the differences between higher and lower output pickups!
So, if I did my job well now you should be thinking: which one should I get first?
I personally think that you cannot go wrong with the Koko, and I have to say that it is more flexible. However, if you like to get your dirt from your pedals the Shiba would be the obvious choice. Horses for courses (very cool expression that I learned yesterday), but they both work very well for similar things and I could honestly do very well with just one of them. They are both so great that I cannot say that I prefer one over the other. When you already have the best pickups, you need the best pedals to carry the torch further to the amp! Very high quality pedals, do yourself a favour and get one!
