Eventide MicroPtich Review

The Eventide Micropitch Delay has been out for a few months and I grabbed it as soon as it came out. I've seen a lot of videos and reviews on the in's and out's of this pedal but I've had a lot of questions about it too. What is it exactly? What can it do? What does it do that other pedals don't? How does it sound? And why would you want it? 

What is it exactly? 

For those that don't know the Micropitch it is ONE algorithm from the H9 pedal in a stand alone pedal. That might make it sound like it only does one sound, which is far from the truth. The "sound" comes from the early H910 and H949 studio units that led to the powerhouse H300 that was popular in professional studios in the 80's and 90's. Then guitar legends like Steve Vai and Eddie Van Halen started using them in their racks to get bigger guitar sounds. This is why I bought it. That 90's EVH W/D/W sound.  

What can it do?

At its core the Micropitch Delay has two independent delays that can be run in mono, stereo, or w/d/w. Along with the normal blend, tone and feedback controls each of these delays can be manipulated in various ways including pitch (up or down  a half step) and modulated. It even has filters for how the modulation is effected. On top of that you can MIDI control any of the functions! You want a wetter signal on the fly, sure. How about longer delay times, easy. You want a wider stereo spread? This is what it's all about!

What does it do that other pedals don't?

A lot. First off if your a fan of that 90's EVH sound and you own a 5150 amp (preferably at least two) then you want this pedal. Secondly most delay pedals don't have dual delays that are completely independent of each other and most of the ones that do are more expensive. Thirdly Eventide stuff has a certain "HiFi sheen" that I've never heard in anything else, and it adds a unique sound quality to your overall tone. Fourth, and this was a big seller for me, it has 5 presets you can access from the front of the pedal. More if you do MIDI which I don't. 

How does it sound?

In one word, Amazing. Seriously, other things get close but nothing is quite like the real thing. I run this in stereo going through the loop of my 5150 and into the return of a second amp. The first setting is perfect for that 90's EVH tone and while I've gotten pretty close with software this really does nail it. Of course ideally if you can go W/D/W it's even better. I've done this in a DAW and it's pretty insane. I also use a dual delay al'a Andy Timmons or David Gilmour (approximately 300ms and 450ms) and I use the envelope filter to add tape sag to the delays which sounds pretty wild even if it's subtle. And even after all these months I still feel like I'm scratching the surface of what it can do. 

Why would you want one?

1) You want the 90's EVH tone. Eddie was using this "still chorus" sound a bit more subtly all the way back to Diver Down, it just became more prominent on OU812. Some people love it, some don't. I'm someone who enjoys it. 

2) If (like me) you don't need all the functionality of the H9 but still want an incredibly flexible dual delay, with a handful of presets. 

3) This pedal can get some pretty wild tones out of it (barber pole delays anyone?) and those sounds can be inspiring. 

If your looking for a do everything delay you can get an H9 (it does a lot of other things) or a Timeline or for the price of a Micropitch a Source Audio Nemesis. But if you want "that" sound, that Eventide sound, that 90's EVH sound...  this pedal is well worth the price of admission. 

I did not receive compensation in any way for this review and my thoughts and comments are completely my own. 

NAMM 2018 most promising offerings

NAMM 2018! I dig this time of year. Despite the fact I haven't been to NAMM in several years I always look forward to see what's new. This year has been particularly exciting and I thought I'd go over a few things that have caught my eye.

AMPS

The Marshall Origin 50- Take Marshalls well thought out but expensive hand wired amp and build it with PCBs overseas and you get a killer looking, plexi based pedal platform with a few modern options. At this price point these should sell amazingly well.

Synergy Amps- Bruce Egnater has taken his modular preamp design and worked with the gurus behind Freidman, Fryette, Morgan and others to make an amazing tool for both the studio and the stage. Word is even Bogner is getting involved.

PRS Mark Tremonti Amp- Mark has been working on this for a couple of years. A 15 watt Archon lunch box head! With 2 6l6s it has better cleans than most lunch box heads and a massive high gain sound.

EVH 5150 III 50w- While not exactly a new amp they have added dual concentric knobs for channels 1 & 2. This was a deal breaker for some people and a welcome addition to the line.

GUITARS 

Ibanez AZ Prestige and Premium- Ibanez has spent the last few years searching out the opinions of up and coming shredders like Martin Miller and Tom Quayle. The outcome is a new guitar that is being compared to brands like Suhr and Tom Anderson. I really want to try out one of these.

Ibanez Nita Strauss signature guitar - Long time Ibanez endorser and current Alice Cooper hired gun Nita Strauss has become the first female to have a Ibanez signature guitar. Based on her custom shop S series model it has an EKG fretboard inlay and a gorgeous blond burst finish that looks sick!

EVH Wolfgang Standard- Not a new guitar but I love the new Blue Frost color I've never wanted a $500 Chinese made guitar so badly.

PRS S2 Studio- Adding to the S2 range PRS now have a HSS model that sounds stunningly beautiful. Still made in the USA but cheaper than their core models the S2's have been a big hit for them.

PEDALS

Andy Timmons pedals- Andy Timmons is such a great player and has amazing tone in his fingers. So it comes as no surprise that pedals with his name on them tend to sell. Xotic has re-released the BB preamp Andy Timmons edition and JHS has added another gain switch to the AT Drive. I'd love to see another JHS/Keeley combo with Andy's AT Drive and Keeley modded Blues Driver (SPM) in one box.

The Friedman Wah pedal- With LEDs, a three voicing switch for classic, modern and extended range and a high quality designed buffer (with option to turn it off) this might be the wah I've been dreaming of.

Keeley Pedals- Robert Keeley and his team are blowing it out of the water again. The new Aria is a dual pedal with his famous Keeley compressor and tweaked TS pedal, the Duet has his version of the Boss Blues Driver with a delay/reverb and the long awaited ECCO delay pedal which should be available later this year. My wallet can't handle following Mr. Keeley on social media.

MULTI-EFFECTS 

Line 6 HX- Line 6 took the Amp modeling out of the Helix and left you with a world class effects processor that you can four cable with your amp for live gigs. This is a better version of the M9 that ended up on so many pro boards.

Fractal Audio AxeFX III- The bar has been raised on what many people consider to be the gold standard of Amp modeling the last few years. The AxeFX III has FOUR processors among other improvements.

PICKUPS

Fishman's Fluence pickups keep picking up endorsers left and right as people try them. I'm not sure if they are for me but I'm fascinated with the tech behind them.

One thing I'm starting to notice is that big brands like Ibanez, Marshall, and Boss are waking up to what the boutique builders have been doing for a few years. They aren't copying them but actually seem to be talking to their end user and asking what they want in a product. Let's hope this trend continues.

Changes in the Wind

photo credit: @WyldeAudio

What is going on? The other day I posted here about Zakk Wylde and Wylde Audio his new guitar and amp company. They are posting new pics on their twitter page everyday so I grabbed this interesting pic they are calling the Odin. There is also a new pic of a Flying V. We still don't know the whole story. Is this a whole new company? Is Father Wylde doing with Epiphone and Gibson what Mr. Van Halen is doing with Fender and the EVH brand? This remains to be seen but I'm still kind of excited about it. Especially that they are doing an amp. I love a great sounding 800 head.



Next I get an email from Carvin Guitars about some high end re-branding. Here is the Press release.

"Carvin Corporation announces the formation of a new and separate company, Kiesel Guitars / Carvin Guitars, which will take control of the guitar and bass manufacturing and sales of all instruments and related parts and accessories, effective Feb 1, 2015. Kiesel Guitars / Carvin Guitars owners Mark Kiesel and Jeff Kiesel formed this new company so they can focus exclusively on the advancement of instruments. Mark Kiesel has led the guitar and bass division of Carvin since 1970 and will continue to lead the new company as president. Jeff Kiesel brings industry leading designs and advancements in construction and quality to the Custom Shop. The instruments will continue to be produced in the USA at the same facility. 

Carvin Corporation's focus will now be exclusively on our passion for pro audio and instrument amplifiers under the brands Carvin Audio and Carvin Amplifiers. We will continue to provide our customers with industry leading products and customer support. Carvin Corporation will continue to design and manufacture its products in San Diego, California, USA with its team of top engineers and staff of musicians under the direction of the Kiesel family; Carson, Joel and Kristen."

So now it seems you'll be able to order a Carvin Guitar or a higher end Kiesel Guitar with more complexity and better woods and finishes. hmmm ok, not sure I see the point of it but really not a big deal. The founder of Carvin was Lowell Kiesel, and Mark and Jeff Kiesel have run the Carvin Custom Guitar shop for many years. Carvin pro audio and Guitar Amps will still be Carvin. Ok got it, if you want a really nice Carvin you order a Kiesel. (And Jeff Kiesel has been doing some cool looking stuff lately).

Anything else confusing out there? Well here is a pic of Dave Navarro playing a copy of the David Gilmour Black Strat!!! That's not his normal gear!

If I pickup on any more interesting stories this week from NAMM 2015 I'll be sure to talk about them here or at least retweet them at @ADHDguitarist so follow me there.

The Marshall ShredMaster review

Back in January I stumbled across a killer find at a Flea Market. An original Marshall ShredMaster. I talked about the great deal I got here. This legendary pedal is pretty amazing but it wasn't exactly what I expected. For being called a ShredMaster this thing doesn't have a ton of gain on tap. I don't use a ton of gain when I play so this being on the low end of the high gain spectrum is fine with me. Back when JCM800's came out they were considered very high gain but compared to today's high gain monsters like Diezel, Engl or even the new 5150 III (which is fantastic IMO) it sounds pretty classic rock. But if you crank it up and hit it with a boost like a Tube Screamer or similar and it sings all day long.  The ShredMaster is the same way. Some of the more famous users of this pedal are Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead, and Kevin Sheilds from My Bloody Valentine.

My original Marshall ShredMaster!

The pedal is in remarkable shape for something that is over twenty years old and get's stepped on. When I first got the pedal the pots were a little scratchy. I checked with my tech guru that I use and he told me to order some DeoxIT, which cleans, protects and lubricates without using any overly harsh solvents that could hurt the circuit. Once that was taken care of I spent some time checking out all of the classic sounds in this pedal. You can nail easily JCM 800 sounds as well as hot rodded Plexi sounds with this thing. Early Van Halen? check, Zakk Wylde sounds? easy, ACDC? all day long! Honestly it's probably the original Marshall in a box. Compared to a Suhr Riot there is no where near as much gain but tone wise it's in the same family. One thing I'm not crazy about is the lack of volume in it. I keep the volume knob around two o'clock for unity. That's not a lot of front end boost. In fact I keep almost all of the knobs past twelve o'clock almost all of the time. But that's really not a deal breaker. My favorite feature is the contour knob. You can get great scoop sounds, which make it sound really heavy, or bring the mids back up for a ton of presence. I really don't know if it uses a buffer or not but the sound is very full, there doesn't seem to be any tone sucking going on but I'm pretty sure it's not true bypass so if that's important to you you may may want to skip this one.

 If your thinking you'd like to try a ShredMaster they seem to always have a couple over on Ebay. I've been checking Ebay for the last few months and have seen these pedals go for anywhere from $140-$200. Another option these days is that there are several pedal makers who are making clones of this pedal. A clone isn't always a direct copy. Often pedal makers change parts of the circuit or values to enhance a pedal if they think they can improve the sound. That's why there are so many Tube Screamer variations that all sound a bit different. If your wanting something in the same family but with more gain the Suhr Riot is pretty amazing. And the Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde is a Tube Screamer and ShredMaster in one unit, which seems like a match made in heaven. I haven't tried one yet but I've been impressed with the sound quality and build of their other pedals and the Jekyll & Hyde is one of their best selling products. So that is worth checking out too. I was going to add some clips to this but that will have to wait until a couple of other things come into play. Very exciting stuff happening behind the scenes here, get ready for more.

The Art of the Relic Guitar

So I'm sure you've seen them, brand new guitars that look like beat up used guitars. They call them "Relics" and every time I read a post about them, most people seem to look down on the idea. The comments range from  "Why would you pay extra to have someone beat up a guitar?" or "just play the thing enough and it will look that in a few years!" or "what a waste" to "man that's cool looking" or just "beautiful". As usual, beauty is in the eye of the beholder or, as it may seem,  the pocket book.

MXR ZW-90 Wylde Phase Review

I picked up the MXR ZW-90 Wylde Phase a couple of months ago. I've never played with a phaser before, even though a lot of my heroes used them. David Gilmour and Eddie Van Halen are two that come to mind. This pedal is a lot of fun, and is stupidly simple to use and get a good sound out of. It's one knob and one switch, and unless you put it in crazy mode it sounds great. While modulations typically lie between distortions and delays, I like this pedal before my dirt. After the dirt pedals, seems to accentuate the phase and make it harsher. But before makes it a bit more subtle and more like a UniVibe type effect, a UniVibe if you don't know is a type of phaser. On top of that there are quite a few "boutique" manufacturers who are making Vibe type pedals using a modified Phase 90 circuit. More on that later.

The first thing I did was try it at 9 O'clock. It was fairly subtle, just a hint of modulation, adding a little bite to solos and chords, think Eruption. When I ramped it up to 11 o'clock and switched to a clean sound I got a pretty good Pink Floyd "Breathe". This is where I think this pedal starts to shine, for faster songs and longer bends I like to kick it up to around 1 o'clock. Anything past this goes into crazy mode. I'm sure someone is using this but it gets a bit much for me. One thing I'm not crazy about is that if your playing through a warm clean sound that is on the edge of breakup, the mid range on this pedal is so pronounced it will kick you into dirtville. Big hard rock and metal distortion? no problem. But cleans? hmmm you might need to play with your settings. OR...

If your handy with a soldering gun, or know someone who is, just look up Phase 90 mods on Google. Seriously, these sound pretty easy. There are apparently several simple mods that people use to get the more subtle sounding "script logo" effect. There are also some "univibe mods" that sound great. Remember I mentioned that there are some boutique builders using modified phase 90 circuits? Seriously, Google is your friend. As of right now I'm not going to attempt any of these, mainly because my pedal is still under warranty and it sounds great. I might try to do the famous R28 mod after the warranty runs out but I haven't decided yet. As of right now it's my go to pedal when I need things to sound cooler.

So why did I choose the Zakk Wylde signature Phase 90? Honestly, I got a good deal on it. It was cheaper than the standard at the time. I've read that the ZW-90 is the standard Phase 90 with a different paint job and I assume that's true. A quick search on the internet will turn up a lot of guys who like the "Script Logo" Phase 90 much better. It is, by comparison, a somewhat more subtle effect. But the guys at Dulop/MXR have said that a lot of people like the more pronounced version of the pedal better and apparently Zakk does too. So it seems there are multiple versions of this same pedal and a quick jump to YouTube will turn up quite a few comparison videos. If you choose the more subtle Script Logo version you may find it works better between your dirt and delays, let your ears decide. I've met Zakk, and he's a great guy. Despite his crazy larger than life image, he's very down to earth and is a much better musician than some people give him credit for. If your in the market for a new modulation and want something simple but versatile, check out a MXR Phase 90 or watch for a good deal and grab the MXR ZW-90 Wylde Phase .


This review was completely unsolicited, I received no compensation for it and all views and opinions are my own.

Fender guitars IPO?

Leo Fender must be rolling over in his grave. Fender Guitars owns a lot of companies including Jackson, Charvel, and has a huge stake in the new EVH brand. They had sales of 700.6 Million last year but executives are sniffing for more money. By going public they are hoping to raise 200 million in capital, 100 million will be used to pay off debt. Remember in 1965 when they sold out to CBS. They kept producing high quality guitars for a few years but then bean counters at CBS made them look for cost cutting ways that hurt the quality of the guitars. Not to say you can't find a decent '70's Stratocaster but the best thing that happened to the company was when Fender Chief Executive William Schultz teamed up with some of the company's international distributors and bought out Fender in 1984. In my opinion, the quality of guitars that are coming out of the USA Fender shop are 1st rate. But there are a lot of boutique builders that are building better Strat style guitars for a better price than what you can get out of Fender's famed custom shop for twice the price. But whats going to happen as boutique companies get bigger and Fender now has to answer to stock holders? And by stock holders I mean fund managers.  The bean counters will start finding more ways to cut cost. If your thinking about buying a Fender custom shop guitar I'm gonna suggest doing it in the next couple of years. Or start researching boutique builders that source most of their parts from the USA. For more on the story read here. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/08/us-fender-ipo-idUSBRE8270M420120308