KVR Audio

SJ_Digriz · Post by **SJ_Digriz** » Sun Oct 02, 2016 2:42 pm

Uncle E wrote:Check out the TC Subnup, as well. It adds the ability to modulate the individual octaves.

PurpleCatfishBettie · Post by **PurpleCatfishBettie** » Mon Oct 03, 2016 9:31 pm

...also have got a couple of 'Xvive' pedals on the way. The 'Memory Delay' has an EXP input, plus stereo outs. And then there's the 'Tube Squasher' mini pedal, with my preferred 'bigger knob' form factor.

...had a chance to play with the Idiotbox Death Ray. I didn't really know what to expect, even after ingesting some youtube demos. Basically it's a 'character fuzz' with some really cool 'sweet spots'. To put it another way... 'that is one heck of a fuzz box'. It just obliterates the tone, but cycling through the exp pedal, it passes through certain stages of 'yum' as well. ymmv

justin3am · Post by **justin3am** » Mon Oct 03, 2016 11:09 pm

Xiangqi wrote:...also have got a couple of 'Xvive' pedals on the way. The 'Memory Delay' has an EXP input, plus stereo outs.

Wow, I didn't know that XVive was making pedals! I've bought XVive vactrols (VTL5C3-alike) and BBDs (mn3005-alike) but I didn't know they had their own product line.
AFAIK, Electro-Harmonix is using XVive BBDs and vactrols (I'd assume to avoid using CoolAudio/Behringer parts). Correct me if I'm wrong, Eric. That doesn't mean that the circuits are the same as the EHX pedals but now I'm curious.

bharris22 · Post by **bharris22** » Tue Oct 04, 2016 12:46 am

Speaking of Mooer, does anyone have any experience with the Mooer Black Secret? I am looking for a Rat clone with many options. I know that I can get a real Rat for about the same price as the Mooer, but the Mooer has both turbo and vintage modes and is a lot smaller. Any other Rat clones people would recommend (the more tone shaping options/variants the better).

Thanks!

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Tue Oct 04, 2016 6:55 am

justin3am wrote:AFAIK, Electro-Harmonix is using XVive BBDs and vactrols (I'd assume to avoid using CoolAudio/Behringer parts). Correct me if I'm wrong, Eric. That doesn't mean that the circuits are the same as the EHX pedals but now I'm curious.

Yes, that is correct and the person who designed the pedals for Xvive also designed the newer Memory Man's (and presumably other pedals) for EHX. They told me he used to be an EHX employee.

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Tue Oct 04, 2016 7:04 am

bharris22 wrote:Speaking of Mooer, does anyone have any experience with the Mooer Black Secret? I am looking for a Rat clone with many options. I know that I can get a real Rat for about the same price as the Mooer, but the Mooer has both turbo and vintage modes and is a lot smaller. Any other Rat clones people would recommend (the more tone shaping options/variants the better).

The FATRAT adds a mosfet/silicone clipping switch (very cool!), a low-end boost switch, and a socketed opamp so you can play around with different components. The opamp is compatible with the LM308 that were in original Rat pedals.

If you can find a Hartman LM308, that will be the most authentic to the sound of original Rat pedals. It also adds an a/symmetrical drive footswitch.

justin3am · Post by **justin3am** » Tue Oct 04, 2016 9:11 pm

Uncle E wrote:
justin3am wrote:AFAIK, Electro-Harmonix is using XVive BBDs and vactrols (I'd assume to avoid using CoolAudio/Behringer parts). Correct me if I'm wrong, Eric. That doesn't mean that the circuits are the same as the EHX pedals but now I'm curious.
Yes, that is correct and the person who designed the pedals for Xvive also designed the newer Memory Man's (and presumably other pedals) for EHX. They told me he used to be an EHX employee.

Thanks! That makes a lot of sense actually. I hear that Xvive may also be making UA726 clones eventually... those things are like $100 a piece, if you can find them.

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Tue Oct 04, 2016 9:18 pm

justin3am wrote:Thanks! That makes a lot of sense actually. I hear that Xvive may also be making UA726 clones eventually... those things are like $100 a piece, if you can find them.

I will ask them. We have the Xvive BBD's in stock:

www.jrrshop.com/xvive-mn3005

resynthesis · Post by **resynthesis** » Tue Oct 04, 2016 9:22 pm

Uncle E wrote:
justin3am wrote:AFAIK, Electro-Harmonix is using XVive BBDs and vactrols (I'd assume to avoid using CoolAudio/Behringer parts). Correct me if I'm wrong, Eric. That doesn't mean that the circuits are the same as the EHX pedals but now I'm curious.
Yes, that is correct and the person who designed the pedals for Xvive also designed the newer Memory Man's (and presumably other pedals) for EHX. They told me he used to be an EHX employee.

It's Howard Davis who was with EHX in the 70s (I think). There are also people from Pigtronix involved I think. Some of the pedals look pretty interesting (e.g. the phaser)

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Tue Oct 04, 2016 9:25 pm

Maybe Howard Davis did some work for Pigtronix, too. That would explain a lot.

resynthesis · Post by **resynthesis** » Tue Oct 04, 2016 9:28 pm

Yes he designed (or co-designed) the Mothership at least

justin3am · Post by **justin3am** » Tue Oct 04, 2016 9:59 pm

Uncle E wrote:
justin3am wrote:Thanks! That makes a lot of sense actually. I hear that Xvive may also be making UA726 clones eventually... those things are like $100 a piece, if you can find them.
I will ask them. We have the Xvive BBD's in stock:

http://www.jrrshop.com/xvive-mn3005

Cool! Cheaper than Small Bear but slightly more than Synthcube (but maybe not, when shipping is figured in). Are you starting to sell more DIY stuff? It seems that market for kits and PCBs is growing pretty fast. I saw recently that JHS are doing kits now...
I told the guys at Perfect Circuit and I'll tell you the same thing... If some local dealer were to carry a large variety alpha pots (D-Shaft and T-18, right angle and straight, board mounted and solder lug, etc), I'm sure there are lots of DIYers who would be interested. Right now, the best option is Tayda but they don't always have the form factor I need.

Perhaps we should take this convo to a thread in the DIY area.

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Tue Oct 04, 2016 10:06 pm

Good to know!

I know the Xvive people. We've also done some Gligli Prophet 600 chips but that's just out of personal hobby.

PurpleCatfishBettie · Fri Oct 07, 2016 11:02 am

...awhile back i ordered this distortion pedal -- 'California Distortion', but for nothing more really than to have something to test out. What happened though was that this little pedal kind of blew me away. It didn't turn out to be overly aggressive, and actually had some tone to it that I wasn't finding with any other pedal; and it was only around $20-$25.

So, I went to the well again with 'California' pedals and got the overdrive, chorus, and delay. The company which sells (and manufactures?) all of these pedals is Eleca Intl., and they also offer an 'Eleca Fuzz' for around $20. It's going to be fun to try these out.

PurpleCatfishBettie · Post by **PurpleCatfishBettie** » Tue Oct 18, 2016 7:00 pm

...impressions of the new pedals:

Xvive W3 Memory: Can do chorus-y stuff, and some really wild delay sounds, especially with an expression pedal. Stereo. Really versatile pedal.

Malekko Scrutator: A step up from the likes of Mooer Lo-Fi Machine and Hotone Krush. Excellent Bitcrusher type of pedal, with the ability to setup the various knobs for use with an expression pedal.

Idiotbox Deathray: Excellent 'fuzz' type of pedal, with expression pedal input. This pedal is sort of 'beyond fuzz', or 'extreme fuzz'. Also has a sort of 'break up' which can occur, at times giving it a bit of a stutter quality.

OCD Fulltone: Really oustanding 'OD' pedal.

Mooer Tender Octaver: 2 seconds with this and I was blown away. This is the real deal.

Eleca Fuzz: Really good fuzz pedal, especially for around 25 bucks.

California Delay: Great delay pedal for around 30 bucks. Delay time can be longer than I'd thought; over 500ms from the sound of it.

California Overdrive: Would not recommend. It's kind of like a boost with a really hard (painful) attack. Had to dial down the tone to get anything approaching usable.

California Chorus: Meh. Decent enough chorus, i suppose. Nothing special.

YMMV

FX Pedals Thread: News, Views, Etc.