ilovefuzz.com

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4U8otLs88s[/youtube]

So I did a quick shootout between my Basic Audio Scarab Deluxe and the Source Audio Kingmaker. I used the SA Bender engine. Posted this on a few other forums last year to see if people could figure out which was which.

I used my Splawn Quick Rod and G&L Asat Classic. I think I got REALLY close on these and stapled a lot of digi-haters. It was funny AFTER the reveal how many people all of a sudden knew which was which even though they guessed wrong.

Anyway, thought I would share here.

Digital dirt is great when done right. It's just there are so many uninspired digital dirts out there. Poor implementations or offering no benefit over analog.

DRodriguez wrote:Digital dirt is great when done right. It's just there are so many uninspired digital dirts out there. Poor implementations or offering no benefit over analog.

Oh sure. I hear you. I was being a bit snarky. I agree most digital drives, especially in multi effects is seriously lacking. I hated the drives in my Kemper. The Fractal AX8's were better but still not great. I really am pleasantly surprised by the Kingmaker. I have some pedals that I really dig but for gigging purposes, I don't necessarily want to lug $1k worth of dirt pedals out. This is what prompted me to give the Kingmaker a go. Wanted to see how well it copped the tones I dial in for my pedals. So far, so good plus it can hold3-6 presets on it so pretty versatile. I like to keep my gigging board as small as possible.

So, which was which?

I'm assuming #1 was the digital because, to me, it sounded better and you sort of set us up to say the better was digital.

No idea which was which, but they sounded virtually interchangeable in the demo.

bloatedsack wrote:So, which was which?

I'm assuming #1 was the digital because, to me, it sounded better and you sort of set us up to say the better was digital.

You are correct. Though, I don't know that was quite how I set it up (at least not intentionally). The point was to see if digital could get anywhere near a killer analog pedal and I think it did. I know this sounds argumentative and that is certainly not my point. Without amazing analog pedals, digital has no benchmark for quality in comparison. I just wanted to see if i could accomplish the very reason I bought the pedal.

D.o.S. wrote:No idea which was which, but they sounded virtually interchangeable in the demo.

And that was definitely my goal. Hell, my criteria for keeping the Kingmaker was at least 80-90% feel. If it could even get me 80% the way there, it was good enough for live. Certainly not replacing anything.

I feel like the second pedal reacts to the harmonics in a different way?

I am of the suspection that the differences'd be more apparent if they're recorded more differently than this.

Chankgeez wrote:I am of the suspection that the differences'd be more apparent if they're recorded more differently than this.

I would say that's probably true. Will do that on the next one for sure.

vidret wrote:yeah. mic it up for dirt demos, always.

also source audio stuff seems rad but.. them layouts, goddamn.

Yeah the newer One Series pedals are MUCH better layout than the SoundBlox look at least.

JerEvil wrote: I would say that's probably true. Will do that on the next one for sure.

I think it's tough because the recording process will always color the final results to some extent.

If you try to capture as true a sound from the pedals as possible, it'd be a fairer comparison.

Chankgeez wrote:

JerEvil wrote: I would say that's probably true. Will do that on the next one for sure.

I think it's tough because the recording process will always color the final results to some extent.

If you try to capture as true a sound from the pedals as possible, it'd be a fairer comparison.

Not sure how to capture a more "true" sound than in the vid I posted. It was done using my iPhone 7+ in the room. Looking for good room mics to at least give a better representation. At some point there are a ton of variables that are going to affect it. Either a mic, the digital conversion going into an interface then another digital conversion out to the DAW.

The best comparison is guys being in the room actually experiencing it. I can say in the room, they felt dollars to donuts similar. Some cases I preferred the Scarab, others the Kingmaker. All in all, it was mostly for fun and secondly to see if it was worth the price. To me, it ended up being a solid buy.

Definitely still looking for the best way to capture audio in the room.

Anyway, it sounds like I am taking this way more seriously than I actually am. I am working on dialing in the sounds from my Black Forest and Witch Burner so interested to see how close I can get on those.

which one was 22 dollars?

multi_s: the s stands for "shitpost"

lel

vidret wrote:only reason i don't buy digital dirt is i haven't found any appealing ones yet. bitquest is digidirt tho, love that fuzz.

My angry dirt sound is the dirty bitcrusher on that. It's like when you're at the beach and you find a seashell. You put it to your ear to hear that lovely ocean sound, and find out it's full of angry bees. It's a wonderfully painful sound and I love it.