Boss Acoustic Simulator AC-2 review

Why did I buy it?

bossac2

At the time I was playing electric in a band that also often featured an acoustic guitar, however the acoustic player also sang and sometimes had trouble managing some fiddly acoustic bits whilst singing. As these bits were few and far between I got this pedal as a mimic for an acoustic sound so that I didn’t have the hassle of an extra guitar (and signal path). I set it to the “Jumbo” setting with the body control at 12 and the top control at 1.

How does it sound?

I wouldn’t use this on a fully acoustic song or without a band, however for a little intro or bridge section the sound is passable and definately more like an acoustic than a clean electric sound. A bit of chorus helps even more with sounding like an acoustic.

Keep or sell?

Well I bought this for a purpose and it served it well. However since then it has been sitting in the bottom of a drawer. I did once get it out when we were recording some acoustic guitar and used it WITH an acoustic as it gives a bit of sparkle to the sound, however this was because we were double tracking a guitar part and I wanted the second track to be a bit different from the first. To be honest this pedal is more of a gimic than a replacement for a proper acoustic.

Mini-pedal board – Boss TU-2 & CH-1 review

This is my mini-pedalboard that I use with acoustic guitar, bass guitar and also as part of my bigger pedal board. The TU-2 is particularly useful because it can be used to power other Boss pedals and also as a mute.

Why did I buy it?

About ten years ago the TU-2 was the only real pedal-tuner option. I also liked that fact that it powers other pedals, is a chromatic tuner, can be set to alternative tunings other than 440, and can be used to either mute whilst tuning or alternatively set to constantly on.

The CH-1 is a relatively simple chorus pedal that seems to do everything you would expect.

How does it sound?

I haven’t noticed the tuner adding any noise to my chain or affecting my sound. I use it as a mute on my acoustic and electric guitar but keep it in chromatic mode when playing bass which I find reassuring especially when playing fretless.

The CH-1 seems to be quite good at ranging from very subtle chorus to too much chorus. It sounds great on the acoustic, is workable on the bass and seems equal to my Line6 MM4 for the electric. I haven’t noticed it adversely affecting my bass frequencies but then again I seldom turn it on for the bass.

Keep or sell?

Some people have complained that the TU-2 is not very accurate however I have never had a problem with it. The chorus pedal is nothing special but does what I need it to. The two pedals stay together on this mini-pedal board out of convenience because I use the TU-2 every time I play live no matter the gig, whilst the chorus pedal is used mostly for acoustic but occasionally for bass and electric hence it is convenient to keep it with the tuner especially as it is powered by the tuner. I quite like this arrangement and cannot really imagine a reason for getting rid of these pedals.

Boss CS-3 review

Why did I buy it?

This was one of the first pedals I bought in around 1996. I purchased it because I had read an article recommending that all guitarists use one despite not really knowing what a compressor was. It has now been part of my pedal board for over ten years.

How does it sound?

I have a strange relationship with this pedal. Firstly the “sustain” function is next to useless because the pedal is just too noisy. But rolling back the sustain knob to about 9 o’clock gets the pedal acting like a compressor instead. People say a good compressor shouldn’t be noticed, and indeed I normally don’t notice this pedal – so much so that I have occasionally played with it off and not noticed! It probably works best during a quieter song when I am trying to pick single notes in chords where it helps even out the volume and attack of each note. However as soon as things hot up I don’t find this pedal particularly necessary and often just turn it off because it can suck the tone just a bit if you don’t have the tone knob set just right. I’ve also spent ages turning it on and off trying to hear what difference it makes. Sometimes I can hear it, but most times I cannot.

I’ve also tried to use it with acoustic guitar but found it unnecessary, and also with bass. Although it does work better with bass I am slightly concerned that it cuts some of the low frequencies as it has never been as good as some of the built in compressors I’ve used on various bass amps.

Keep or sell?

Well I’ve had it for 14 years but never been particularly enthused by it. It sort of stays on my pedal board because it has always been there, however recently I am tempted to buy a new compressor from another manufacturer to experiment further with compression. Either I don’t really know how to handle compression on an electric guitar signal in which case I will find a new pedal equally uninspiring, or the new pedal will help my sound and in which case it was the CS-3 itself that was uninspiring.

Boss DD-3 delay review

Why did I buy it?

On looking for that “nut” factor for my overdriven crunch sound I found out that a short delay makes the sound bigger. As I only wanted a one trick pony I opted for this small delay pedal instead of the bigger multi-delay pedals. I also already had a boss tuner so could power this from the tuner without needing an extra power supply.

How does it sound?

I set the delay time to around 100msec’s, enough that you can hear it clearly on a quickly damped clean note but not enough that you distinctly hear the repeat on a more overdriven sound. This has the effect of making heavily overdriven chords and solos sound much bigger but without being able to specifically notice that a delay is on. I use this effect along with reverb for all overdriven tones.

Keep or sell?

It’s a keep, but only as part of a bigger pedal board. When it comes to throwing a couple pedals in a bag to go for a jam this seldom comes because I use it more to enhance my sound rather than make it.

Holy Grail reverb review

Why did I buy it?

I kept on breaking the spring reverb on my amps so decided to try a pedal instead. I liked the fact that this had essentially only one knob and also I had read good reviews about it.

How does it sound?

It has three modes accessible via a small three-way switch – spring, hall and flerb. Spring sounds like a spring reverb and the knob adjusts how much you get. I only really use this with the main control set to around 10-11 o’clock. It sounds precisely how I expect a spring reverb to sound. The hall setting allows “bigger” reverb and sounds a bit more studio-like in quality. The flerb is a really neat backward reverb type effect although I’ve never found a practical use for it apart from making friends say “that’s weird but quite cool!”

Keep or sell?

It’s a keep because the spring reverb is exactly what I expect to hear and there are way less controls than some of the more studio quality pedals. As I only use it live this pedal is perfect for me.

Line6 MM4 review

Why did I buy it?

I bought the MM4 a few years back as an easy and compact device that could provide chorus and a rotary speaker sound in one box. I had previously owned a Line6 POD2 which is where I came across the rotary speaker sound so decided to stick with Line6 products sound wise, and also because this pedal is essentially four modulation pedals in one and there wasn’t anything else like it on the market.

How does it sound?

When I first bought it (from ebay) I set up switch one with the “analog chorus” setting to sound like the intro to GnR’s knockin’ on heavens door. The second I used the “rotary drum and horn” mode to make a fairly slow pulsating rotary speaker sound, the third I set to “analog flanger” in order to get a nice funk type sound and the final switch to the “phaser” setting mainly for a cool soloing sound (think EVH). I haven’t actually changed any of the settings since (in five years) because the sounds are still spot on what I need.

Keep or sell?

This ones a keep because it’s four good sounds in one easy pedal. I’m sure it has lots more potential however as I’m not a huge modulation fan I haven’t seen the need to experiment further

Mesa Boogie review, V-Twin

Why did I buy it?

I wasn’t happy with the amount or quality of drive I could get from my Laney VC30. I jammed with a guy who had a Mesa amp and liked the sound so much I got a V-twin from ebay. I would love to buy a proper Mesa such as the Lonestar, however with limited finances and certainly limited levels (ie in the bedroom) the V-twin is just as good.

How does it sound?

It has three channels – clean, blues and drive – however only two are accessible via the foot switch. Also it only has one set of controls (including gain) for all the channels so you are sort of stuck to compromising with the settings. I have it configured so that one footswitch turns the pedal on and off whilst the second switches between the blues and drive channel. I essentially set up a great crunchy rhythm tone on the blues channel and then use the drive channel as my solo boost because it is much louder and dirtyier despite all the settings remaining the same. This has worked really well for me, so much so that I tend not to use the drive channel on any of my amps in favour of this going into the amps clean channel. The mesa overdrive sound powered by the 2x12AX7 valves really needs to be heard to be believed. The only negative on the sound front is that some say this can be used a a recording pre-amp however every time I try to record I get so much noise (especially on the solo setting) that I have never kept a track recorded through this pedal.

Sell or keep?

Definately a keep because this IS the drive sound for me. Of course if I could get myself a Mesa amp this pedal would probably become extra to requirements, however at the moment it forms the heart of my sound.

Guitar rig around 2005

Very sad actually having the time to put together a picture like this however I did it a couple years back again whilst revising for an exam!

My bedroom a few years back

My bedroom as a student a few years back. I’ve got rid of various things in this picture since then (I think around 2003ish). I’ll try and post some reviews of everything in due course. The obvious missing thing is my Marshall 4×12 and Laney 2×10 amps which I didn’t use in my student house. Instead I plugged the pedal board into the mixing desk and mostly used headphones or very occassionally my stereo if I wanted to show someone my latest lick!