The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Ken very generously got me a six-month gift subscription to PedalGenie, which is sort of like a Netflix service for guitar pedals. I'm looking for suggestions for fun pedals to put in my queue.

http://pedalgenie.com/pedals

So far I put in a couple of the "9" series pedals from Electro-Harmonix, the Mel9 and the new Synth9, and the EH HOG2. I've got the TimeLine and Big Sky from Strymon. Then I've got a Klon Centaur overdrive clone from Pedal Monsters, a Barber Direct Drive overdrive pedal, and a ZVex Fuzz Factory.

The way this thing works is that when I send back my current pedal they apparently will pick something from my list, I won't necessarily know which one, and I won't necessarily have time to receive and send back everything from the list. It seems like a pretty small outfit and it's kind of expensive so I probably won't keep using it after my gift subscription runs out. But it should be a really fun thing while it lasts.

This guy sounds like it could be a lot of fun and we could run all kinds of instruments through it: http://pedalgenie.com/pedals/keeley-mon ... -fuzz-vibe

I got the EH Mel9 today and just had a few minutes to try it out. I'm disappointed so far in how it sounds. Good thing I could find that out without buying it! The tracking of the notes is mostly pretty good. There are issues around the input level. When playing single notes, if the note's volume drops below a certain level the output pitch goes flat a half step. With chords, the higher pitched notes don't really come through very well. A review I read said one simple solution is to put a compressor in front. I don't have one handy to try that with though. Also there is a weird sound to the attack of each note sometimes. Speaking of the attack, there is a knob to control the length of attack envelope, and a knob for the length of the sustain of each note after you stop playing it on the guitar. Both knobs seem to be useless after turning them past 12 o'clock. They should have calibrated them differently. I don't see the point in a multiple second long fade in for each note. And the sustain when turned up sounds terrible, like a bad reverb with artifacts or something. Overall, thumbs down for this one. I think the $149 G-Force M-Tron VST is probably a better way to go for quality Mellotron sounds.

At least with PedalGenie though I can ship this thing back on Monday and have a new pedal to play with a couple days later!

I am back in performance mode, rehearsing with a Pakistani singer who's amazing.
I've recently acquired these, which I'm quite happy with...

DITTO-X4 looper
HotOne SoulPress (mini Volume, Wah, Expression)

Combined with an old Zoom 505, it's working out well, and all fits in a small tech bag.

Those look cool. I used the Mel9 on this week's BSS song, it was kind of fun. It turned out to sound pretty good on the recording, possibly due to Ken's production magic. Overall though I'd still probably not buy one for $222. Maybe used for $100. Today I sent it back and am now awaiting my next pedal. This is exciting!

ken wrote:This guy sounds like it could be a lot of fun and we could run all kinds of instruments through it: http://pedalgenie.com/pedals/keeley-mon ... -fuzz-vibe

This pedal is on its way to me now!

I just bought an Electro-Harmonix Ravish Sitar pedal for cheap which will be delivered this week. Perhaps I'll use it in my next SF submission. It doesn't make your guitar sound like an actual sitar (duh) but it's still a cool effect. Listened to some demos on Youtube (on bass guitar, especially - it makes a really cool drone effect).
This one is also available via PedalGenie, and if you are into experimental sounds, check it out.