time to update...

Its been 10 months since my last post and its now time to update after a long hiatus. Cheers to EBAY, Craigslist and the long list of people who traded, bought, sold and acquired most of my gears.

New Pedal Set-up for 01/24/2010 ...a new addition Lovepedal Englishman

New pedal set-up 01/24/2010 (note to self: knob settings):

Guitar -> Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner -> Dunlop 535 Wah -> '81 Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer -> Keeley 4-knob compressor -> Lovepedal Eternity Burst -> Lovepedal Kanji Eternity -> Lovepedal Englishman -> Lovepedal Provalve 2 -> Boss DM-2 Delay -> Boss RC-2 Loop Station -> BBE Sonic Stomp -> Line6 DL4 Delay Modeler -> Fender Deville 410 amp (effects loop: Omnisonic Deluxe Tube Amp Volume Control Box -> Lovepedal Kanji 50 Gold) 

a new addition: Lovepedal Englishman...review will be up next...

Lovepedal Eternity Burst ~ hand-wired hand-painted

Lovepedal Eternity Burst is a boutique hand-made pedal from Sean Michael over at White Lake, MI. Now a discontinued model commanding almost twice as much when it was originally released. Purchased as used last September of 09 on Ebay for $210 and now selling around $350 and up. This is my 1st Lovepedal and i love every sound dialed in. It became a hobby collecting old-school and new-school Lovepedals. More reviews soon...

This is the warmest and very organic sounding OD pedal Lovepedal ever made thus a wooden-looking box. Its so transparent that it feels like you're just using a guitar and an amp. It sounds like a vintage 1980s Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer but with a lot more headroom and gain.

It has 3 knobs and has no label so you just figure each knob out. It has LEVEL, GLASS and DRIVE controls. This pedal works as a 3-in-1 pedal. With the proper setting you can use it as a Volume Boost, a Treble Booster and as a mild to medium overdrive.

FROM LOVEPEDAL:
The overdrive sounds features the warmest, woodiest tone of all the Eternity units. Hand-painted, hand-wired socketed IC chip for tone tweakers. Darker tones brighter tones, etc. Unorthodox tone control. It's a treble boost instead of a normal tone control.

It is a very smooth type of OD. It can go from nothing at all to sounding like a very warm vintage overdriven tube amp or a clean flat booster or a treble booster even a tweed amp.

With the treble boost all the way off, it is warmer than most tube amps. The Eternity Overdrive always stays true to what's coming out of your guitar so you never turn into the pedal. No matter how hard you drive it. It also breaks up the harder you dig into the strings, which is priceless.

The lush midrange and smooth overdrive shine beyond any mass market overdrive, distortion, or boost pedal. The Lovepedal Eternity can stay on all the time. Even at maximum gain you can get a completely clean tone by just backing off the guitar volume. Every note has it's own separate, ringing tone even at the highest gain settings. Crank it up, play an open chord and hear each note shine! The unique "Glass" control is a treble booster that doesn't affect any other frequencies. This means you don't have to sacrifice low-end or midrange in order to brighten it up. It also just adds to the diversity of this monsterous little box. Transparency, dynamics, harmonic response, this stompbox stays on the top of the heap! If you've tried every overdrive on the market and are still undecided, the Eternity from Love Pedal could be the one you've been looking for!

These old school units fetch over $350 on the used pedal market and many claim Lovepedal sprinkled magic dust on these...

I have tried a lot of overdrive pedals...

• BOSS OD-1 Overdrive (MIJ silver screw version)
• BOSS Super Overdrive SD-1 (MIJ version and the version with the Keeley MOD)
• BOSS BD-2 Blues Driver (w/ Keeley PHAT Mod)
• 81' Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9 (always has a special place in my board)
• Lovepedal Eternity Kanji Series (Eternity, Red and COT...on the hunt for Kanji 9)
• Lovepedal Englishman (good as a clean boost, semi-clean boost and as a dirt pedal)
• Fulltone OCD v.3 
• three different Fulltone Full-drives (Custom cream version, 1st version, 2nd version and early white-board versions not PCB) 

and the Lovepedal Eternity Burst is still the winner on my list.  

a new love... LOVEPEDAL KANJI 50 COT GOLD

    
      * THIS IS A BOUTIQUE HAND-MADE PEDAL FROM SEAN MICHAEL OVER AT HIS SHOP IN WHITE LAKE, MI. PURCHASED FROM RAINBOW GUITARS FOR $129.99. NOW A DISCONTINUED MODEL RUNNING FROM $129-399 (YES, SOMEONE POSTED IT THAT MUCH - NO ONE BOUGHT IT ON EBAY YET). ITS A VERY SIMPLE AMP IN A BOX ONE-KNOB PEDAL THAT CAN GO FROM MELLOW TO A MARSHALL PLEXI SOUND. THE TRICK TO THIS PEDAL IS ITS GAIN TRANSISTOR KNOB THAT YOU CONTROL WITH YOUR GUITARS "VOLUME" AND "TONE" KNOB. THIS IS ANOTHER VERSION OF THE LOVEPEDAL COT (CHURCH OF TONE) NOW TURNED INTO A KANJI SERIES.

IT TOOK ME TWO DAYS TO FINALLY GET THE FEEL OF THIS PEDAL. WHEN I GOT TO THE RIGHT SETTING FOR MY SETUP, IT JUST HITS THE SWEET SPOT. NOW ONE OF MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE PEDALS. I LEAVE THIS ON ALL THE TIME WITH A KEELEY 4-KNOB COMPRESSOR AND A BBE SONIC STOMP. WITH A TRUE SILENT BYPASS SWITCHING, YOU WONT HEAR ANY POPPING NOISE WHEN TURNED ON OR OFF.

THESE WERE THE ISSUES THE FIRST TIME I USED IT:
1.) WAS THIN SOUNDING AND SOUNDS LIKE AN OLD TRANSISTOR RADIO TYPE OF DISTORTION.
2.) FIGURING OUT WHERE TO PLACE THIS PEDAL FROM MY SIGNAL CHAIN SINCE THE MANUAL DID NOT SUGGEST ANY.
3.) MY AMP EFFECTS LOOP HAS A VOLUME BOX AND KANJI50 SOUNDS VERY DIFFERENT WHEN PLACED BEFORE OR AFTER IT.

THE FIX:
1.) CHANGE THE VOLUME AND TONE FROM YOUR GUITAR TO MOVE FROM A MELLOW OVERDRIVE TO A MORE AGGRESSIVE PLEXI SOUND. NECK PICKUP FROM MY STRAT IS MY CHOICE TO GET TO A SWEET SPOT.
2.) PLAYERS PREFERENCE ON WHERE TO PLACE IT. I LEAVE IT ON ALL THE TIME AND CONTROL THE SOUND FROM THE GUITAR KNOBS.
3.) I NOW PLACE THE KANJI50 ON THE AMP BEFORE THE VOLUME BOX ON THE EFFECTS LOOP. ALSO, ANOTHER GOOD SPOT THAT WORKS FOR ME IS AFTER A KEELEY COMPRESSOR FROM MY PEDAL CHAIN...GUITAR->BOSS TU-2->DUNLOP WAH->IBANEZ TS9->KEELEY COMPRESSOR->KANJI50->FULLTONE OCD V.3->KANJI BURST->KANJI ETERNITY->LINE6 DL4->BOSS LOOP STATION->BBE SONIC STOMP->FENDER DEVILLE 410

LOVEPEDAL Limited Build - Gold Kanji 50:
http://twitter.com/Lovepedal/status/3901896247

FROM LOVEPEDAL:

What do you get when you mix a Kanji with a COT 50? Gold. Introducing the Gold Kanji 50. This is a limited build, so order your Kanji 50 before they're gone. I use this, and absolutely love it! It's beefy and amazing, and cleans up oh so nice when you need it to!

• Lovepedal Gold Kanji 50 Features:
• Made by Pedal God Sean Michael
• The Simplest Control Layout Ever
• Great Tone
• Cleans Up With Volume Pot

Lovepedal is like an addiction...gotta have 'em...next reviews will be for them:
Lovepedal Kanji Eternity
Lovepedal Kanji Classic Distortion
Lovepedal Eternity Burst
Lovepedal Provalve 2 - released January 2010 - just received while writing this review =)
Lovepedal Englishman (Death of the VOX) - released January 2010 - coming tomorrow =)
IM STILL ON THE HUNT FOR THE LOVEPEDAL KANJI 9 TO COMPLETE THE KANJI COLLECTION.

Heres a sample video from Sean Michael over at Lovepedal:





*sorry for using ALL CAPS i typed this one out @ work

New Pedal Set-up for 01/13/2010 (note to self: knob settings)

New pedal set-up 01/13/2010 (note to self: knob settings):

Guitar -> Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner -> Dunlop 535 Wah -> '81 Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer -> Keeley 4-knob compressor -> Lovepedal Eternity Burst -> Lovepedal Kanji Eternity -> Fulltone OCD V.3 -> Lovepedal Provalve 2 -> Boss DM-2 Delay -> Boss RC-2 Loop Station -> BBE Sonic Stomp -> Fender Deville 410 amp

just got in...LOVEPEDAL PROVALVE 2!!!

Just got it in...Lovepedal Provalve 2 is such a wonderful high-gain overdrive/distortion pedal. Best amp in a box pedal!!! Review will come up soon. No wonder Guitar Player magazine gave this an "Editors Pick Award". It gave my Fender Deville 410 a new "Marshall" channel. 

Here it is on a pedal board...its one of those pedals that makes you play on for hours...

IBANEZ AF9 AUTO FILTER ORIGINAL MIJ NOT REISSUE FROM 1980s

Like the rest of the 9 series from the 80s, they all sound good. Controls are 2 sliders for Sensitivity and Peak and then 3 switches for Drive, Filter and Range. By tweaking its parameters, you can go from subtle wah to full blown psychedelic funk. This is a tight pro-sounding effect.

Compared to the Boss' Touch Wah TW-1, Dynamic Filter FT-2, and the Auto Wah AW-2, (they're all different types of wah!!) this one is quiet with no hissing and as close as you can get to the Mutron 3 Envelope Filter. These vintage 9 series are climbing up in prices and this one is no exception. It now goes from $150-200 on the used pedal market.

Heres a video reference for the IBANEZ AF9:

Delays Delays and more Delays...BOSS DM-3 Delay Pedal

Heres a vintage BOSS DM-3 that I used as my analog delay pedal from '01-'04. Sells on the used pedal market for around $180-200. This has a green label made in Japan sticker. It stood the test of time and still works flawlessly since it was first manufactured 25 years ago. Built like a tank and able to withstand countless stomps. This pedal always has a place in my heart and in my pedal board for it's rich and high defined delays. But what also stands out from this pedal is its "glitch" to self-oscillate that's nice and warm coming from its cold and digital microchip

It has only 3 knobs : Repeat Rate, Echo & Intensity. Simplicity is always the best to my opinion. Very easy to dial-in conventional delayed sounds, slap backs and single short-delay. A warm-sounding lo-fi delay that's old school. After selling this DM-3 back in '05 I later replaced it with a BOSS DM-2 for its much warmer tone. I still have two BOSS DM-2 Delay pedals (sells on the used pedal market for around $200-250+) that will be posting on EBAY soon.

The BOSS DM-3 and DM-2 on my board are now replaced with a LINE6 DL4 Delay Modeler. The Line6 DL4 has 12 different delays which also emulates the BOSS DM-2 (Analog echo mode) plus 11 other different delays with 3 patches/settings you can call anytime w/ a single stomp. While Line6 is not as close to the original BOSS DM-2 it serves its purpose well for its smooth, crisp delays and echo plus the added versatility. Heck, John Mayer, Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains, John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Robert Smith of the Cure and most notably Eric Clapton to name a few. Line 6 DL4 blog will be up soon. Im still figuring out all the controls and sounds this green monster have.

heres a demo of an adjusted trim pot from inside:


beat synced and then some self-oscillation:


FROM GUITARGEEK.COM:
While not as collectible as the earlier Boss DM-2s, the DM-3 certainly holds its own in the fickle world of analog delays. This model isn't as rich or smooth sounding as the DM-2 but has it's own charms by having a more pronounced delay due to some added high-end definition. The addition of a direct out jack and a longer delay time also gives the DM-3 a few bonus points. A lot of pros keep a DM-3 as a backup to their DM-2s but I think this thing has enough individual character to step to the front of the stage. As with most analog delays, this thing really shines when set for slapback and doubling type effects. Surf and Rockabilly types may dig the DM-3 a little more than the older DM-2 due to its punchier delay and tight, focused decays.

FROM BOSSAREA.COM:
The DM-3 was last analog delay pedal produced by Boss. The circuitry is similar to the DM-2's but it isn't identical. The DM-3 has a built in high speed noise reduction circuit and an additional filter. It's also got a direct output that can be used to create a stereo effect. The delay time is variable between 20ms and 300ms just as the DM-2 and the control layout is also identical. The knobs on the DM-3 stands out when comparing to other Boss pedals. They only featured on the DM-3 and early versions of the CE-2B.

Specifications

• Controls: Repeat Rate, Echo, Intensity
• Connectors: Input, Output, AC Adaptor
• Current Draw: 18 mA (DC 9V, D.Time control at center)
• Weight: 450 g (0.99 lb.)
• Input Impedance: 1Mohm (FET Input)
• Residual Noise Level: -100dBm (IHF-A)
• Recommended Load Impedance: 10kOhm or greater
• Delay Time: 20ms to 300ms
• Recommended AC Adaptor: ACA Series

Labels

• Green - Made In Japan

The DM-3 was sold from May 1984 to May 1988.

Heres a picture when I used it with a BOSS BCB-6 pedal board: