ULTIMATE PEDAL SPECIAL MODTONE ATOMIC PHASER II
RRP: $100
MODTONE AQUA CHORUS II
EFFECT: PHASER DISTRIBUTOR: ALLANS BILLY HYDE
EFFECT: CHORUS DISTRIBUTOR: ALLANS BILLY HYDE
RECOMMENDED FOR: Funk, rock, blues and psychedelic players who want to add a little liquid to their sound, or those looking for some experimental textures in indie and avante garde bands. SOUND AND VERSATILITY: This pedal can do everything from totally psycho wah-like sounds to a more Leslie-like tremulous warble, and of course all the slow swooshes and throbbing funk you’ll ever need. USABILITY: There are just two controls (Rate and Depth) but hey, that’s one more than most phaser pedals. There’s a pretty big range of sounds accessible throughout the knobs’ respective ranges too. CONSTRUCTION: It’s built like a little tank, with very stagefriendly graphics and a reassuringly robust switch to stomp on. The LED is nice and bright too. The pedal sports some great graphic design to boot. OVERALL: When it comes to phasers, the Atomic Phaser II definitely packs a whole lot more versatility than most.
RECOMMENDED FOR: Players who lean more towards the traditional, swirly, syrupy end of the chorus spectrum rather than the overly hi-fi, electronic, fizzy buzz you get with some chorus units. SOUND AND VERSATILITY: A nicely organic chorus effect which adds a steely shimmer to semi-clean tones and some subtle harmonic glitter when placed before an overdrive. Definitely more ‘vintage analog’ than ‘modern digital.’ USABILITY: Pretty simple to figure out, just a pair of controls for Rate and Depth plus a true bypass switch. Crank the Rate control to maximum for instant organ imitations. CONSTRUCTION: Chunky and stompable, with fairly stable control pots that won’t just turn by themselves when you least want them to. And the distinctive graphics make it easy to identify on your board. OVERALL: A traditionally voiced chorus pedal which lets you add some glassy sheen to heavy rhythm tones, spacious shimmer to clean ones and some syrupy thickness to lightly driven ones. Big bang for your buck here!
MODTONE HARMONIC TREMOR
RRP: $90
MODTONE EXTREME METAL
EFFECT: TREMELO DISTRIBUTOR: ALLANS BILLY HYDE
EFFECT: DISTORTION DISTRIBUTOR: ALLANS BILLY HYDE
RECOMMENDED FOR: Retro-flavoured players in blues, country, classic rock, psychedelic and indie genres, and maybe even the occasional stray Tom Morello fan looking for some strobey goodness to add to their rock assault. SOUND AND VERSATILITY: A nice range of both tremolo and vibrato sounds, with added versatility thanks to a Wave control which lets you shape the effect’s rise and fall from choppy to all-out warble, and anything in between. USABILITY: The Rate and Depth controls are easy enough to figure out but the real secret weapon here is the Wave control, which gives you access to synth-like sounds as well as more naturalistic sun-dappled shimmers of the Clientele variety. LED pulses in time too. CONSTRUCTION: Its purple and black colour scheme might suggest darker genres such as The Cure-style gothicism, but the Harmonic Tremor is infectiously user-friendly. And it’s true bypass, which is very important for a tremolo/vibe pedal. OVERALL: A great mix of vintage-style tremolo and vibrato tones but with a finer degree of control than many vintage units, and very stage-friendly thanks to the tempo-matching LED. Way more versatile than it initially looks.
RECOMMENDED FOR: Thrash metal, djent, grindcore, metalcore and death metal players who need some serious high end cut and low end wallop, especially for downtuned or extended range guitars. SOUND AND VERSATILITY: This pedal is capable of great Dime-like scooped-mid death tones or more midrange-friendly, treble-reduced Slipknot rhythm tones, Kerry King-like boosted-mid solo freakouts and even Satch-esque leads. USABILITY: More control than most Modtone pedals thanks to its separate Mid and Mid Scoop controls and concentric Treble and Bass controls. One for those who like to tweak rather than just plug and play. CONSTRUCTION: Very sturdy, but sausage fingers might have a bit of a hard time with the outer parameters of the concentric Mid/Mid Scoop and Bass/Treble controls. But that also makes them kinda hard to accidentally move. OVERALL: An aggressive modern distortion for either lead or rhythm players. Certainly not a subtle pedal, but plenty of variety within the parameters of what we think of as good metal guitar tone.
MODTONE DYNO DRIVE
RRP: $90
MODTONE SPEEDBOX DISTORTION
EFFECT: OVERDRIVE DISTRIBUTOR: ALLANS BILLY HYDE
EFFECT: DISTORTION DISTRIBUTOR: ALLANS BILLY HYDE
RECOMMENDED FOR: Players of any genre looking for a boutique-style overdrive pedal, especially to run into a tube preamp. SOUND AND VERSATILITY: Adds some sparkle and ring to blues and country tones, gives you access to some pretty filthy (in the good way) rockabilly sounds, and impacts a creamy feel to solo tones with either passive or active pickups. USABILITY: Only three controls - for Level, Tone and Drive - but with lots of variability between the extremes. Use it to boost a tube amp into high gain, or add analogue warmth to a modeller’s clean channel. CONSTRUCTION: It’s robust, it’s logically laid out, and the contrasting black and yellow colour scheme makes it easy to see on stage, which is especially important for a crucial effect like overdrive. OVERALL: A simple, meat-and-potatoes, no-mess-nofuss overdrive pedal which can form the basis of your clean-ish or chunky rhythm sound, or can help to give your metal rhythm or lead sound a decent kick.
RECOMMENDED FOR: Hard rock or traditional metal players, stoner rockers, grunge bands - really anyone looking for a versatile and good-old-fashioned distortion pedal, rather than simple overdrive. SOUND AND VERSATILITY: This one can do everything from a slight boost on top of a clean sound to all out distortion. There’s almost a Nuno Bettencourt-esque edge in the high end, but it’s great for fat vintage ‘70s/’80s metal too. USABILITY: Just three controls for Gain, Tone and Level, but the Gain control in particular has a pretty astounding range from light overdrive to sizzling distortion. Good variety in the Tone control too. CONSTRUCTION: True bypass and ready to rock. This one is well built and with easily accessible controls, but the colour scheme makes it a little hard to read what each pot does at first. OVERALL: The Speedbox is a raging little distortion pedal that can satisfy both lead and rhythm players of pretty much any rock sub-genre up to and including early thrash metal. Surprisingly versatile for such simple controls.
MODTONE SPACE FLANGER
RRP: $100
BLACKSTAR HT-DELAY
EFFECT: FLANGER DISTRIBUTOR: ALLANS BILLY HYDE
EFFECT: DELAY DISTRIBUTOR: NATIONAL AUDIO SYSTEMS
RECOMMENDED FOR: Retro-oriented players – particularly those of the psychedelic persuasion, who want some funky vintage analogue-style flanging sounds rather than the more neat-sounding digital variety often found in multi-effects. SOUND AND VERSATILITY: A little lacking in distinctiveness but still perfectly usable, from subtle swoosh to jetplane-like craziness. Organic chorus-like tones, almost wah-like vowels and clatter-filled clangs. Lots of fun! USABILITY: There are three controls - Rate, Range and Mix - rather than the usual four, but some players won’t really miss the usual Manual knob too much because the other three controls cover a perfectly acceptable amount of sonic ground. CONSTRUCTION: This true bypass pedal is robust and chunky, with good access to the three control pots and the 9V DC jack, and a very cool 1950s space race retro graphic (although flanging is more of a ‘60s thing). OVERALL: One for fans of Paul Gilbert and Eddie Van Halen for sure. An old-school, dirty-sounding, swooshy, warm, warbly flanger effect which comes alive when plugged into an overdriven amp rather than after distortion.
RECOMMENDED FOR: Who couldn’t use this pedal? It offers regular digital delay, simulations of various analogue delay types, and it even has looping features. Digital or analogue vibe, this pedal is designed to do it. SOUND AND VERSATILITY: A valve gain and compression circuit lets you dial in warm, organic-sounding delays if you wish, or you can set up clean, clear repeats. The looper is nice and functional, and definitely geared towards live performance. USABILITY: The eight different delay modes are Linear, Analogue (love the British spelling of analogue), Multihead 1, Multihead 2, Tape, Space, Loop 1 and Loop 2. CONSTRUCTION: A nice chunky pedal with ‘stageworthy’ written all over it. Like the other tube-loaded HT pedals, you can actually see the pedal through the case, which is a nice touch that reminds you of the warm tones the pedal’s capable of. OVERALL: A flexible, warm-toned delay pedal which would be better if there was a way to create and store presets, but the Tap Tempo foot switch certainly makes up for it.
PG. 42 MIXDOWN NO. 218
JUNE 2012
RRP: $90
RRP: $90
RRP: $60
RRP: $379