Digitech PDS 20/20 dilemma - calling Sea Machine users

[DarkAxel]

Hey, guys... I need to help resolving a gear dilemma

now, i own a Digitech PDS 20/20 multiplay. The sound possibilities are amazing, but i use the drone machine/stutter sounds sparsely at home, in a band, the only thing that's getting used is the flanger, either for leslie simulation or for the freakout infinity oscillation siren sounds.

(yeah, right now, it's my only delay as well, but that'll change soon)

the problem is it's kind of too big for what i use it for
i have two options:

a) the PCB is quite big, so there's no dodging the size, but if I got a new house for it, have it engraved, have it have proper footswitches and bypass AND possibly adding a momentary switch for momentary infinity loop, I could justify it.

b) Getting an Earthquaker Sea Machine

so here are some questions about the Sea Machine:

I want an effect, that can do cool shit. Vibrato, leslie sounds, crazy stupid things in the likes of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and stuff

a) can it get fully wet and slow for making it sound like a tape machine slowing down and speeding up? mildly or very, very deeply?
b) can it do something at least a bit similar to the crazy drunk vibratos of Mid-Fi Pitch Pirate?
c) nice leslie-ish sound?
d) freakout noisy shit?
e) something similar to flanger (not TZF) ?
f) funky-ish sounds like in RHCP's "If You Have to Ask" bridge?
g) one of the most important questions - IS IT GOOD EVEN FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T LIKE THE CLASSIC CHORUS?


every input, experience and idea is much appreciated

[coldbrightsunlight]

a) It can't go full wet (no dry signal)
b) yeah, the wet signal gets pretty loud so it can sort of sound like a vibrato, and it definitely does the huge pitch shift thing, but there will always be some dry signal
c) Not really
d) YES
e) No
f) yeah, I think so
g) It doesn't sound like most chorus pedals, so hell yes

[DarkAxel]

Hmm, thanks for the info on the dry signal... kinda on the fence about it

any other options? and please don't say Cosmichorus, because that thing is far out of my budget even used

[Casavettes]

I've owned both and like the deluxe pitch pirate a lot more.
They're both great pedals. Sea machine has kind of a chorusy/reverb/spacey thing going on.
But basically what you're describing, in my opinion, a pitch pirate does more effectively.

[DarkAxel]

From the demos, it seemed to be more of a warbly delay that would give me good tape machine and vibrato sounds, but not the rest... from some videos though, i grasped that it's not the only trick it can do and it could actually do some kind of leslie-like fast sounds and cool textural chorusing

ugh, this is a tough one

[skullservant]

I got to try out a Sea Machine for a bit. I would DEFINITELY suggest running it at 12v for some more headroom if you ended up going with it. That was my only complaint with it, in running 9v's it sounded kind of stuffy. But the effects it could do were pretty great for a guy who usually hates chorus

[Casavettes]

From the demos, it seemed to be more of a warbly delay that would give me good tape machine and vibrato sounds, but not the rest... from some videos though

Are you referring to the sea machine?
I never really associated tape machine sounds with it when I had it. Skull is right that it can sound a little stuffy at 9v.

[DarkAxel]

I meant the Deluxe Pitch Pirate

[Casavettes]

Ahh my bad.
There's a lot of sounds in that little guy
That one demo of it that shows off 20 settings is a good example of its possibilities... that is if you haven't watched it already.

[zRobertez]

I had a Sea Machine about a year ago. I dug it but I had one issue with it. To get some deeper, drowsier chorus sounds, you had to keep the mix up, obviously. But the animate and intensity knobs affected the delay time a little bit and you could always hear the chorused signal just a little bit behind your dry playing. It was cool for a lot of stuff but for me, I wanted the dry and the wobbly signal to have less delay between them.

[coldbrightsunlight]

Yeah, the impossibility of dialing out the echo on some settings was why I ended up selling mine.

[DarkAxel]

alright, sounds like the Deluxe Pitch Pirate might be better for me...

but since I just bought a ticket to a Neurosis show and i'm going to see ETID as well a few days ago, I might have to hold with the buying... anyway - thanks for the recommendation

i might mess with Digitech's trimmers as well, maybe that can help me with something and maybe i'll keep it for some time maybe i'll even experiment with it some more after i have both of my standalone delays

THANKS DUDES

[goroth]

A note on the pitch pirate - in my opinion the pitch pirate sounds great before dirt and horrid after dirt. It kinda sucks all the life out of your distorted tone.

[Casavettes]

Doug is also having a sale that I think ends today or tomorrow

[Casavettes]

A note on the pitch pirate - in my opinion the pitch pirate sounds great before dirt and horrid after dirt. It kinda sucks all the life out of your distorted tone.

Did it depend on what setting you had it to or just in general sounds good better before dirt?