NPD: Gnomeratron VTF!!!!!!

[jrmy]

Awwwwwwwwww yeah, babies - my VTF arrived in the mail today... and coincidentally, I cut out of work early. I love when that happens.

Anyhow, I didn't have enough time to give this thing a rigorous run-through (that will take time - there are soooooooooooooo many knobs & switches!), but I did do a loose set of riffs through a bunch of settings. Don't bother asking me what's what though, I didn't write anything down.

[soundcloud]http://soundcloud.com/thewyrrejimes/gnomeratron-production-test-teaser[/soundcloud]

There will be more, though... oh yes, there will be...

[elbandito]

Call me crazy but the VTF seems to have a touch of the P&C to it...

[steevdeadman]

VTF IS GOD!

[McSpunckle]

I've found the sound "opens up" a bit when you turn up the output booster's gain, and sometimes just turn down the gain in general.

[jrmy]

Yeah, I didn't have enough time to get deep into settings - I was literally just flipping switches and twisting knobs to see what came out. We will definitely need a "post yr fave settings" thread once everyone has theirs!

[McSpunckle]

I was wrong anyhow. It's just louder. My amp's weird about input levels... it kinda "opens up" at some point.

[jrmy]

Well you're definitely right about turning down the fuzz gain - in certain settings, I was all "aw man - the fuzz is so thin." But then I'd turn down the fuzz gain by about 25%, and it would just ROAAAAARRRR open! And I'd be all

And then in other settings, it's all about finding the right balance for the gate, or the tone knob. Seriously, there's so many options here, and the knobs and switches are so interactive, you can just spend days exploring these settings. And I plan to!

And THEN there's the whole issue of switching out diodes! I haven't even thought about how that could change things...

[steevdeadman]

Dude... I am seriously scared about what the VTF might be capable of!

[jrmy]

Dude... I am seriously scared about what the VTF might be capable of!

You should be.

[McSpunckle]

For diodes, try LEDs in both stages. Makes a cool/gross distortion.

Also just Germanium in the first stage tames the thing down A LOT. You can get a really cool overdrive with a Ge/Shottky setup.

A tip for doing the sockets: put them in right to left, and try to hold them as low on the lead as you can so the lead doesn't bend.

And the order is (from left to right): Switch 1 pos. 1, Switch 1 pos 2, Switch 2 pos 1, Switch 2 pos 2.

Position 1 is with the switch to the right.

[jrmy]

Today while my son was napping, I caught a little time to do a drone track using my EHX freeze and the Gnomeratron.

What would six tracks of bass (two low, two mid, two high) sound like through the VTF, you ask? Conveniently enough, I have an answer: something like this!

[soundcloud]http://soundcloud.com/thewyrrejimes/gnomedrone[/soundcloud]

In this recording, I start with one of the low E's, kick on the Gnomeratron, and then fade the other tracks in one at a time after. Variations in tone were created by slowly turning the gain, gate and tone knobs on the VTF. Each track had a different diode & octave setting (though, of course, I didn't write anything down). You can get some CRAZY resonant filter settings with the interaction between the gate & tone knobs.

[jrmy]

I'mma just gonna leave this here.

[soundcloud]http://soundcloud.com/thewyrrejimes/gnomeratron-full-review[/soundcloud]

Yeah, that "full review" bit's not quite true - gotta work up my settings notes into something comprehensible...

[metalmariachi]

Woo inspiration in a box.
Just the last 2 clips gave me ideas for songs.


MM

[McSpunckle]

[jrmy]

Yeah, I know I sound like a broken record, but it's ridonkulous how many sounds are in this little box. I've been playing with it for a week now, and feel like I've barely scratched the surface. The gain, gate & tone knobs are SOOOOOO interactive, it's nuts... to say nothing of the diodes and octave. I'm slowly starting to get ahold of some rules of thumb for what I like most in the settings, but every time I think I've got it figured out, the gnomes surprise me again.