RMA TOURBOX : First Review On Page 4

[Chankgeez]

Just messin' around with no real focus. Thought it sounded good. So, I turned on the camera:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxyT0fvU7t8[/youtube]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxyT0fvU7t8

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJeob9d2RjU[/youtube]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJeob9d2RjU

(Also, sorry for the unnatural lighting. I recorded these after the sun had set.)

[K2000]

Is it too late to sign up? Sorry if I missed that info.

I already have a Brick... I'd like to try the others.

[crochambeau]

It'll only be too late to sign up once it hits Jwar, PM'd.

Love the videos Chankgeez! Igniting GAS for a steel guitar.

[Chankgeez]

Thanks, Curtis!

I wanted to try the pedals with a higher output pickup and the one in the steel is much hotter than the pickups in the guitar I usually play.

[lordgalvar]

Stone splitter sounds awesome!

Blue mode on mudlark always has some surprises. I like the gated sounds around 2:39 on the mudlark too.

[crochambeau]

Yeah, I think the newer version of mudlark dips deeper into gated territory than before, especially when the larger center knob ("song") is not wide open (and even when it is in some settings) but the gate's not always off, there's a step of going low. There should also be enough output recovery to dial the low step in as your unity output, but then the high state is incredibly loud - this can be fun with certain things following, but it's a be careful feature for sure.

My current set up is just a tetanus booster slamming a mudlark straight into a tube amp.

[doommeow]

Great vids! Can't wait for the tourbox!!!

[Dandolin]

Aloha!

[Chankgeez]

Thanks, doommeow! The videos were fun to shoot. I've got a few more to post along with some write-ups.

Dandolin has the tourbox now. I miss it already. It is well worth the wait though.

[crochambeau]

It is well worth the wait though.

Good to hear, the wait aspect is one of the biggest hurdles I grapple with. Getting some process refinement underway, but at the end of the day I'm still a one person shop.

[Chankgeez]

Wow, first off, big thanks again to Curtis for doing this!

Where to start gushing?

I found all of these apparatus to be inspiring and quite versatile. There was a lot to take in during the short amount of time I spent with them. Too short a time. I could’ve kept myself busy for a long while with these.

Not only do they all look fantastic, they sound it as well. (Sorry there was no natural light in my videos. I had to shoot ‘em in the evening hours. At least you get to hear ‘em in those clips.)

I spent the least time with the Crustacean. That wasn’t because it has the least to offer. It was because I was the least prepared to deal with it. As an extremely part-time HNWer, I just tested it by throwing it first in line with my usual guitar pedal set-up in place of my guitar. As ibarakishi pointed out, I could’ve used a volume knob in that application. That’s not how I’d use it though. If I had a Crustacean of my very own, I’d use it with a mixer. I actually pulled my mixer out, but never got around to setting it up. Just didn’t have time. HNW fail on my part.

I also tried the Crustacean as a carrier for the Monobius. Worked fairly well in that application, but I generally prefer carriers with adjustable frequency. So, I'd likely just use it as a noise source.

This Monobius in the tourbox is nice. Has a three-way range toggle. (Mine only has a two-way.) This one’s also much quieter than mine (in terms of carrier bleed). Just a really nice sounding ring modulator. As with all of Curtis’s designs, quite versatile as well.

Tetanus Booster is probably the most straight ahead device Curtis builds. A great sounding boost. Pairs well with all the other apparatus.

Mudlark is great. I could get lost playing for hours with one of these. As mentioned before, it’s much louder than lordgalvar’s (which is an earlier one). It’s also considerable brighter (as observed by lordgalvar himself from listening to my video). They each had their strengths. It was difficult to decide which I liked better. They both rule!

Speaking of which I liked better, the Stone Splitter was my favorite of the bunch. Maybe that was because it was the least familiar and came as a pleasant surprise or maybe it’s because it’s just AMAZING! Tracks surprisingly well depending on the settings. I preferred it with MIX L set high and MIX H set low. I also preferred it set to square waves. The feedback modes weren’t particularly useful to me. Especially FB 1 which had just too much high end to my taste. Love it!

If I had to get only one RMA, it’d be a Stone Splitter. (I'd love to get 'em all though. )

I recorded the guitar vids with my Inter-Mark which has low-output, gold foil-ish pickups into a Kay 703 amp. For the lap steel vids I used my aluminum Aloha.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy listening to these half as much as I enjoyed playin' 'em:

Manipulated the guitar volume knob a lot in this one:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohJtKmN1L58[/youtube]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohJtKmN1L58

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlysPnfMvQU[/youtube]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlysPnfMvQU

… and as requested:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9RtPKW_1Ts[/youtube]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9RtPKW_1Ts

[crochambeau]

Excellent to hear! I'll enjoy those videos once I'm past my Saturday morning crunch, but.......

Has a three-way range toggle. (Mine only has a two-way.)

This is a very easy fix. Initially I was going to put these out with just the two modes, but sticking a three way toggle in there became a performance upgrade I could not ignore. If you're comfortable with a soldering iron (or other method of wire splicing) I'm happy to mail you a switch sub-assembly that connects to the PCB with only two wires that will provide you the middle range.

This is a free upgrade to any other two position frequency range Monobius that might be listening. Furthermore, that offer stands to three position units that have experienced switch failure (the tourbox unit had this switch fail TWICE, and I have had another unit in field also fail) those switches have been identified and are no longer procured for any reason.

[lordgalvar]

Some nice trem out of that monobius at around 2:20.

[Chankgeez]

Curtis, I make take you up on your offer on a Monobius tune-up.

I defnitely dig that three-way range switch.

[Dandolin]

The tourbox has moved on--just completed a Philly special to rickenbastard. Write-up and video snippet to follow. All the others waiting on this to arrive--you are in for a hella good time