some quick pedal reviews

[aussy]

Tried out a bunch of pedals today. Tested with an old Yamaha LP copy and a Swart Space Tone (bit over 5 watt, 8 inch)

Goatkeeper
Just got it today. Amazing. Inspiring. Musical. Intuitive.

Wattson FY-2?
The new one. Sounded great for riffs and leads, and had that distinct, vintage chainsaw crumble to it. Very raw and massive. Unfortunate case of huge sounding fuzz into small amp. It'd sound amazing into a big amp. If I wanted this kind of fuzz, I would definitely buy the Wattson.

Fairfield Four Eyes
My favorite. EQ is HIGHLY tweakable. I set it and left it as such to avoid hours of knob fiddling. The main fuzz tone is very unique. Mid to high gain, but with ringing clarity. Leans slightly towards the OD side of fuzz. Sounds similar to the barbershop demos actually, though still distinctly fuzz in nature. The main course was the frequency knob. Allows for crazy filter shifts. Shifted it around with my toe for just subtle movement in sound, or huge synthy sweeps. Also allows for very specific tone tailoring. Can achieve cocked wah fuzz tones, trebley thrash (with a nice glassy edge), thick and bassy, etc. Extremely versatile with a character of its own. Might purchase in the near future.

Blackout Fix'd Fuzz
Took me a minute to figure out the controls. Great tone when every circuit was activated. Very lush and with a nice texture that shifts and sways with your dynamics. A true fuzz with a highly musical and unique voice. Each individual circuit was usable in its own right. I wouldn't buy the pedal for any of these on their own, but they make nice secondary functions. I like swiss army pedals. Again, the main fuzz tone was great. The shade control helped tailor the sound to my amp to keep it from sounding TOO massive (bassy fuzz into small amp sounds like crap).

Hartman Flanger
I don't like flangers, but I tried this. It sounded pretty. The end.
Cool steel drum tones when I combined the filter mode+DBA Octave Clang

Fromel Seraph/Lush
Sounded like a chorus. People rave about this pedal and the DC-2. "I hated chorus before I tried this pedal", etc. However, I didn't see the hype. It sounded like a good chorus, not a mythical beast. I feel that most people favor its simplicity. They can't help but crank the knobs on other choruses, but the Fromel limits them.

Freakshow Maharishi
Weak sound, 'sitary'. Very much like an Octavia with some added rasp/fuzz on higher settings. Nothing special.

Death By Audio Octave Clang
Went in expecting crap, but it actually sounded great. Beautiful octave bell tones. Almost like the most beautiful ring mod I've ever heard. Can stay clean, or get a little dirty. Will definitely look into one in the future.

Devi Dark Boost
Its like rolling your tone knob down and adding a slight fuzzy breakup. Can see this as being an always on or utility pedal. Forgot to try setting my amp up super bright and running the dark boost into it. Overall, left me feeling very meh and . Could find uses for it, but for the asking price (even though it is cheap), definitely pass. Effect can be achieved through other means imo.

Devi LP
The hiccup didn't work with my setup I was left with a nice gritty, warm breakup. Very light. Nothing special. Too bad the artifact didn't work. I imagine an LP with a switchable hiccup would be worth the price, and infinitely more usable.

Devi VFM
Fun and great sounding pedal. Basic thick fuzz, to octave up, to scramble insanity. The octave is very pronounced and extreme. The fuzz is very thick, but more on the congested side. Again, would sound great through a huge amp.

Devi Torn's Peaker
Two basic sounds, trebley bite and thick fuzz. The control knob could be replaced by a switch. I didn't bond with it much, but it was very usable, almost in the 'meh' sense. I guess it was just more conventional than I expected. No wonder those TGP folks like it.

Earthquaker Devices Dirt Transmitter
Sounded good. High gain germ fuzz face basically. Very typical fuzz sound, though it did that sound very well. Thick, leads and chords sounded big. Bias and tone add to versatility. Not necessarily wowed and only played with it for a minute. If I wanted a germ fuzzface, I'd purchase this.

Subdecay Prometheus
Wtf. Couldn't figure this thing out, so I just gave up. Sounded cool, very synthy, not 70s funk porn sound track wicka wicka. Crazy versatile from what I could tell. I'll try it again another day...

[nieh]

I was thinking about getting a dark boost. So you don't recommend it?

[Chumley]

There is no rig I've used the VFM in where it hasn't done exactly what it said on the tin. It might only have two sounds (chewy fuzz and WTF HUGE COMPRESSED OCTAVE) but those sounds always work with everything.

[Teej212]

i like the torns peaker.

otherwise, nice read

[hazelwould]

I like this. I wish we could have a review section on pedals. And just have really simple criteria for filling it out and a rating system.

[hclapp219]

Cool reviews, it sounds like you had a fun day! Where did this all go down??

[tuffteef]

id love an octave clang but i have not enough monies for one chip

[aussy]

Forgot one review:
Devi Destructo Noctavia
I didn't get to test this at a normal volume. Another guy came in and out volumed me. If I played the DN at a normal volume, he probably would have quickly surrendered. As soon as I turned this pedal on, it screeched. Instant feedback. This pedal makes you play in order to save your ears. I can't really describe the tone, just pure trebley crap in a good way? Like a boosted never drive (which it basically is) or the TP with the control knob down but with more gain (enough to feedback uncontrollably). Good freakout pedal.

I was thinking about getting a dark boost. So you don't recommend it?

Depends what you were planning on using it for. As I wrote, it basically sounds like you've rolled down your town and added a slight fuzzy breakup. If this sounds like something you're interested in achieving at the click of a button, go right ahead. As a boost, I'd imagine it'd just get really muddy, though that has its uses as well . It'd probably sound cool as an always on pedal into your usual amp (set brighter than usual, for a different texture), but I forgot to try this out.

In conclusion, I wouldn't recommend it, but it does have its uses. They're just very specific, and more 'utility' in nature. I can see how some people might love this pedal, but most would have a hard time figuring out a way to work it into their rig.

There is no rig I've used the VFM in where it hasn't done exactly what it said on the tin. It might only have two sounds (chewy fuzz and WTF HUGE COMPRESSED OCTAVE) but those sounds always work with everything.

Yes, the VFM sounded great! I just have this peeve about fuzzes through my amp. My amp is small and mid heavy, so more congested fuzzes such as the VFM become somewhat limited in their use (aka leadzzz and riffzzz). I also do a lot of chord work and light strumming so this pedal did not automatically fit my play style. Was super fun though. I'd like to play one into a bassman and emperor 4x12.

:grumpy: i like the torns peaker.

otherwise, nice read

I didn't mean to diss it. It sounded good, and I can see why the circuit is so popular. But, I just didn't have that "aha " moment with it. More of the "hmm this is nice, sounds cool, moving on". I already have my basic dirt needs figured out, so I went into these demos looking for something much more distinct in character and in use. The TP was just too inherently musical for my purposes Thanks otherwise!

I like this. I wish we could have a review section on pedals. And just have really simple criteria for filling it out and a rating system.

A review section would be cool. I always find myself browsing reviews on sites like noise guide since they approach pedals with a similar mindset. Reviews are always a useful resource, but even more so when you're coming from the same place as the reviewer.

Cool reviews, it sounds like you had a fun day! Where did this all go down??

Yup, I had a great time. I tested the pedals at Prymaxe Vintage. Awesome place. ILF is slowly taking over their shop. Anyone in NJ should check it out asap, total boutique treasure cove hole in the wall spot with cool forumite employees (VDP, Wizard )

id love an octave clang but i have not enough monies for one chip

I do too, now! Kind of sad I didn't bid on this black one on ebay last week. Oh well. I was really surprised how great it sounded. I was expecting either complete noisy crap or an octavia/jawari clone, but it really had its own thing going (from my experience). As I said, the octaves were just so clean and bell like, even when they clashed together.

[univalve]

Subdecay Prometheus
Wtf. Couldn't figure this thing out, so I just gave up. Sounded cool, very synthy, not 70s funk porn sound track wicka wicka. Crazy versatile from what I could tell. I'll try it again another day...

Yeah, you have to invest some (or a lot of?) time. But it sounds awesome. Try putting it behind a delay (or if possible in the delay feedback loop). Pure pleasure

[veteransdaypoppy]

Yup, I had a great time. I tested the pedals at Prymaxe Vintage. Awesome place. ILF is slowly taking over their shop. Anyone in NJ should check it out asap, total boutique treasure cove hole in the wall spot with cool forumite employees (VDP, Wizard )

yo