IdiotBox Spring into 2014 tourbox actions & informations th.

[BitchPudding]

Ok so before I start off the first review, big thanks to Matt for setting this up and Chankgeez for organizing the list and just in general running the thread. You lot get ALL OF MY SNUGGLES!


So of course as soon as I got the box, I opened it up ever so gingerly.

And by gingerly I mean like a chest burster eating its way out of Sigourney Weaver.


A nice little message from Matt explaining some thing about a few of the pedals. Theres some pretty sweet Idiotbox stickers in there too. LOOT.

Ill do this in order of the pedals I pull out of the box. For the purpose of demoing the pedals I will be leaving my amp with all setting at noon.

First up is the Rainbowtron. Runs on batteries which helps a lot for messing with the knobs and dancing around with the thing like Bugs Bunny in a gunfight. Just keep in mind if it dies along the way to swap the battery. It runs on a single 9 volt.




Look wise, this thing looks like something straight from a sify movie. Lots of bright blinky lights and cool looking knobbys everywhere. Fits the usual Idiotbox mad scientist vibe. and of course with any of Matts stuff, the build is super solid, nothing feels cheap. Could definitely stand the rigors of touring with your blackend doom noise jap rock outfit.

Going into testing the Rainbowtron, I really didnt know what to expect other than only some sort of completely bonkers ocillator must be inside. Turning it on reveals that it seems to be step baised somehow, almost like each step was slightly phased and differently pitched each time. The big center knob controls the cycle speed of the LED's (max completely is my personal favorite). The big red light looking thing as it turns out is a photo eye sensor that effects how "clear" the ocillation comes through. I also found that shaking the rainbowtron makes the ocillation kinda "wobble" which was a lot of fun to mess with.

The Rainbowtron plays really well with other pedals, especially fuzz. Running it through my Ssstampede coupled with a delay and some movement produces a very convincing airaid siren like sound. My Ssstampede also has a photo eye sensor for its feedback loop, which interacted well with the bright leds on the front of the unit.

such wub wub.

much rainbow

most moop

wow

Another favorite thing I like to do with it is run it into a pitchshifter and work that killswitch. Tom Morello vibes for days.

Overall, solid pedal and stupidly fun noisemaker that looks fucking rad as hell.

Buy if: You dont have an ocillator already, are looking for something different and experimental or just want another soundscape building toy.

Don't buy if: Your looking for something more traditional or if you dont play experemental music. But then again, this is ILF. Go Crazy!

I'll try and get these reviews all done today, I've got plenty of time to do so.

BOOP.

[Chankgeez]

Yay, Pudding of Bitch, you don't waste any time.

You're welcome and, yes, most thanks to Matt for allowing me to do this.

And Matt does like shit LOUD. So, please, don't disappoint him in that regard.

(... and I just wanna say, for the record, I'd eat my way into Sigourney Weaver.)

Nice clip there, BitchPudding. Sounds very Sci Fi. Please, continue along those lines. I like it. Let the reviews commence.

[BitchPudding]

I aim to please babeh.

Played with the other ones, proper reviews to follow but so far:

The demention X is one of the best delays I've ever heard. Like holy fuck, it beats all the delays I have mang.

The blower box is BASS FOR DAYS. UMPH. Talk about hauling ass.

An the dungeon master is everything I hoped it would be. A really unique fuzz.

Also my son loves the rainbowtron. I have a video of him playing with it I'll try and post up. But I'll have to buy one now for him exclusively.

[neonblack]

(... and I just wanna say, for the record, I'd eat my way into Sigourney Weaver.)

Seconded. The original Alien is my favorite movie of all time, and (with the utmost respect to Ms. Weaver) that scene near the end when she's in the shuttle in her little tank top and undies, and DAT 70'S BUSH.
(Edit:couldn't resist)

Love.

Oh, and pedals too. What does everyone play? I am a bassist pretty exclusively, and obviously Behndy is, but is it a mixed bag for everyone else?

I can only hope my style is different enough from Behndy's that it won't seem like I suck too hard in comparison.

[BitchPudding]

I play guitar, bass, and sing. I program my drums.



I should run a mic through the blower box....

[D.o.S.]

I play bass but have thin strings and hitty things too.

And I'm getting it last anyway so I'll just be like +1 to what errybody else said.

Also fuck yeah battery only. That's the best.

[neonblack]

A buddy of mine has a bunch of vintage synths and a fretless, and a recording setup, so I'll hopefully get some good quality demos with some weird shit.

[BitchPudding]

Here is a video of my son messing with the Rainbow Machine. He loves him some noise.

http://instagram.com/p/mWskzesWP5/

[BitchPudding]

Alright y'all, next up is the pedal that made me wanna get in on this tourbox thaaang, The Dungeonmaster!





Right off the bat, aesthetically, this is my favorite pedal. The etch combined with the rust on the pedal enclosure makes it look like something pulled directly from a Zelda dungeon.



Heres the sound demo. Ive started with all settings at 12 o clock and will tweak both the pedals settings as well as my guitars volume knob. I should also mention for all of these demos I am using my Squire Afinity Stratocaster.



So from first impressions, this thing is LOUD. Like, holy fuck Sunn O))) in a box loud. If your looking for a fuzz that's loud, heavy and just all kinds of evil, look no further. Doom Room regulars need to get on this thing NOW, especially with how low cost it is, you'd be crazy not to jump on this thing.

I found that working with the low and high settings on this thing, you can get a lot of different fuzz sounds. Super shrill highs, bassy lows, and everything in between are to be had here. All kinds of crushing, feel the frequency goodness. Something I liked as well is the higher up on the neck you go, this weird clipping noise occurs that gets sort of bitcrushy. I dunno if that was the goal of the pedal to have it function like this, but I like it a lot!

Overall, once again a solid and aesthetically super cool doomy fuzz box that's surprisingly versatile. Its the kind of fuzz I could see becoming a bands signature sound, its both familiar but different. Not quite a muff but not quite a HM-2.

Buy if: Your looking for the perfect high gain fuzz for your doom/stoner/heavy rock project or want something with a lot of balls and a lot of low end.

Don't buy if: Your looking for a fuzz for a lighter style of music. This is a very unforgiving fuzz as far as volume knob tweaking and going for lowgain, and honestly, using anything but max drive would feel like a disservice to the pedal. Its meant to rip off faces and melt bones. Heavy as fuck!

The Dimension X is next, feel free to bug me if you wanna hear something specific.

[BitchPudding]

Alright, next up, the Dimension X!




As always, a super clean build by Atari Matt. Surprisingly small given how much it does. Knobs for Echo, Time, modulation speed when the modulation is activated and a toggle for the shape of the modulation waveform. On top of that, the graphic on the pedal glows in the motherfukin' dark. Maximum ghostly vibes yo.

Heres a sound demo. broke a string on the strat so I've switched over to my custom built telecaster.



This delay is one of the better sounding delays I've heard in a while. In fact, it sounds exactly like how I've always wanted a delay to sound. Clear, without too much high end but not too dark. Just the right middle ground. As it stands, this delay could replace both of my current delays and I would be happy without another delay for a long time. Or at least until my GAS calls for something else. But I digress.

The modulation on the Dimension X is really interesting. It strikes me as more of a vibratoish and sounds great with the speed cranked allowing the modulation to get super choppy. Another thing this delay does well is oscillation. Setting the echo at 2 o clock and above will make the pedal go into self oscillation. Interestingly enough, with the modulation activated, the Dimension X is less prone to oscillating. You pretty much need to max out the echo to get it to go crazy, but it sounds super cool oscillating with the modulation going.

Overall, its a good sounding delay with some cool extra features that make it useful for a lot of different applications. If your thinking of getting this delay, go for it. Its worth every penny.

Buy if: you want a big sounding delay with some clarity and craziness.

Dont buy if: Your not a fan of oscillation.....

I don't think I could understand a person like that.

Murrrrrrrr.

[BitchPudding]

And for the final review, the Blower Box!





Really dig the etch on this pedal. It looks like if fuzz pedals existed in a post apocalyptic world. Really solid build by Matt as usual. That being said. Lets jump right into it. All settings at 12 o clock except for volume, which will be maxed.



So right off the bat, the Blower Box strikes me as a fuzz that would do best run with a bass. The amount of sub and bass in this thing is ridiculous. In the way the Dungeon Master has a lot of bass, this has way more. It does have some high end in it, but ultimately this thing is all about DAT BASS. Huge, big and crushing. Trying to make chords with it does tend to get muddy, but such is the nature of this fuzz, its all about sludge and huge walls of sound.

Not much else to say other than its huge and blown out sounding. Tonally crushing and would be great on bass.

Buy if: your after a good bass fuzz, or just want a fuzz with low end for days.

Don't buy if: You want a fuzz that lets chords ring clear. This thing is as sludgey as sludge gets. Embrace it.



That's it for my reviews. Thanks a lot to Matt and Chankgeez for this opportunity to test drive me some fuzz and other things. Never done a tour box before but I gotta say its something I would definitely do again. Expect an order for a couple of rainbowtrons and a Dungeon Master soon.

[Atarimatt]

Great reviews! I noticed on the Rainbotron I forgot to put the knob on the volume pot, whoops!
And also that Dungeon Master is my personal one that I wanted all rusty and corroded like it was dug up. The normal ones have a clear coat that keeps that from happening
And I wanted to thank you dudes for taking time to check these out, and especially to Changeez for setting all this up and keeping track of everything!
ILF dudes rule.

[Chankgeez]

BitchPudding, you and your son

In fact, I think you should print this smiley out on sticker paper and stick it to his forehead.

Great nice long clips and write-ups.

Nice use of modulation/oscillation with the Dimension X.

I think you're selling the Blower Box short though. Not to discount your initial impression, but within the range of controls, there's a lot of fantastic sounds to be found. It's a truly versatile pedal. I encourage you to mess around with settings more.

Same with the Dungeon Master. I've found that sometimes backing off on the Drive allows it to be heard a little better. (Not that I don't love it with the Drive dimed as well.)

Take your time and experiment. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

... I noticed on the Rainbotron I forgot to put the knob on the volume pot, whoops!

I was wondering if that was intentional.

And I wanted to thank you dudes for taking time to check these out, and especially to Changeez for setting all this up and keeping track of everything!
ILF dudes rule.

You're welcome, Matt, it's my pleasure to facilitate. As you can probably tell by BitchPudding's enthusiasm, these guys are eager to try these pedals out.

[Tristan]

Cool reviews and clips Bitchpudding!
Your son is awesome, great vid!

[BitchPudding]

Yea, these are my initial thoughts, ill be toying with them throughout the week an post more as I explore. I also am gonna get batteries an do a clip with everything together at some point.

Matt, I noticed the knoblessness of the rainbow tron and shoved a red chicken head knob on there. Feel free to keep it.

That's pretty cool about the custom finish on the dungeon master, you should offer that as an optional finish or a little extra cash. Would buy like crazy.