Analog Man ARXD20 Dual Analog Delay

For those who weren't aware, Analog Man has finally released a successor to the popular but hard-to-get AR20DL analog delay!

From Analog Man:

The new ARDX20 is based on the awesome tone of the old pedal, but adds several features that customers have been requesting, and are now needed in the ever-growing boutique delay market. About 100 pedals were sold in the summer of 2009, then full production ramped up, so availability should be good starting in September 2009. Designed by Analog Mike in the USA and primarily by Analog Man Japan, the pedal also has final assembly, calibration, and graphical engraving completed in Japan after being hand built to our precise specifications in China by a few assemblers who we chose for their excellent hand-soldering and detail work.

The ARDX20 uses a specially designed ergonomic enclosure for ease of use and best fit on pedalboards without taking up too much valuable real estate. This pedal will cover echo and delay functions for almost any musician, as it's designed for flexibility and tone. Some features are external and optional, as not everyone may want to pay up front for these. Standard delay time can go up to 600mS, higher than most analog delays, with clear, not dull, delay sounds, and very little noise. The repeats are easily controlled for infinite feedback without runaway volume problems which can damage your speakers. There are two LED lights which blink in time to the delay setting. These lights are always flashing, so you know the current setting before engaging the delay pedal and turning on one of the two channel's LED.

True bypass switching is now used, for no change of tone when OFF. There are two channels with two complete sets of controls. Not only the delay time, but also delay level and feedback can have two independent settings, chosen with the footswitch on the left. This allows, for example, a short, quiet slap-back delay with just a few repeats for rhythm parts, and a long, loud delay with several repeats for lead - just what most players need. There is a handy battery compartment on the bottom and a normal 9V barrel type power jack on the back which most people will use. Unlike digital delays (including "analog sounding" digital delays), power consumption is low, only 15mA. So an alkaline battery should last about 30 hours of use in emergencies or if you prefer not to use a power supply. Jacks are on the top of the pedal for the most efficient layout on pedalboards.

There is an EFFECTS LOOP jack next to the input jack. The delayed signal only, not the dry signal, goes through the loop. Use a Y-cable to run any effect in the loop. Modulation pedals like chorus or vibrato are cool here, for a natural modulated delay sound. Or use a VOLUME pedal with a Y-Cable (or an expression pedal) to control the level of the delays. Or use both, or even more pedals in the loop! Pulling back the volume pedal will kill the delay sound. You can also control the FEEDBACK this way, as lowering the volume will reduce the feedback, so you can easily control infinite delays. Great for jams!

Another request was fulfilled by the DELAY TIME EXPRESSION jack. Use a normal expression pedal to control the delay time of one channel. This allows pitch bends and whammies of the delayed sounds, as well as fine control of the delay time to match the music. This jack will also be used for external options that we will introduce, including tap tempo, modulation, multiple delay time preset boxes, etc. Between the Delay Time jack and Effects Loop jack, there are a multitude of ways you can use the ARDX20.

The ARDX20 will stand atop the effects world offerings along with other Analog Man pedals like the Sunface, Beano Boost, Peppermint Fuzz, Choruses, BiComps, King of Tone, and modified pedals, with value, performance, and support that is second to none. Please see buyanalogman.com for more information, videos, and ordering.

ToadWorks Pipeline Harmonic Vibrato/Tremolo & Fat City Overdrive

PipeLine Harmonic Vibrato / Tremolo

ToadWorks USA is pleased to announce the release of PipeLine, the only stereo tremolo pedal capable of replicating the fabled ‘harmonic vibrato’. With the addition of a Waveform adjustment, wide range of speed, low-pass frequency trim adjustment and an expression pedal input, ToadWorks has taken Tremolo to the next level.

MSRP: $300.00
MAP: $250.00

ToadWorks entered the boutique effect market in 2001. With an artist roster that includes Howard Leese, Paul Jackson Jr. and Paulie Z, ToadWorks has raised the standard for quality effects while remaining affordable to the average musician. With a product line that includes the Award-winning Barracuda ® Analog Flanger, all ToadWorks effects are carefully handcrafted in the USA.  For more information, visit www.ToadWorksUSA.com.

Fat City Dual Overdrive

ToadWorks USA is pleased to announce the release of a new Dual Overdrive pedal, Fat City. Two years in development, Fat City is the next step in analog overdrives.

With two unique flavors of OD, an independent clean boost and the ability to stack the overdrives, Fat City gives bedroom players and working musicians an affordable, reliable method of reproducing overdriven tones normally found in high-end tube amplifiers.

MSRP: $375.00
MAP: $300.00

ToadWorks entered the boutique effect market in 2001. With an artist roster that includes Howard Leese, Paul Jackson Jr. and Paulie Z, ToadWorks has raised the standard for quality effects while remaining affordable to the average musician. With a product line that includes the Award-winning Barracuda ® Analog Flanger, all ToadWorks effects are carefully handcrafted in the USA.

Diamond Compressor Review

The Diamond Compressor is a studio-quality guitar compressor pedal that does a damn fine job providing subtle compression while keeping your tone intact.

The EQ Tilt at noon will allow you to get everything from darker/beefier compressed tones, to more present compressed tones, while keeping your eq unaffected in the noon position.

The Compression control allows everything from an ever-so-slightly compressed boost (with the volume rolled all the way up and compression all the way down), to mild all-around compression, to country chicken-pickin' tones.

The volume control does what you think it would.

Overall, this pedal improves your tone, and is the kind of compressor pedal that you can leave on all the time.

Here's a great video review of the Diamond Compressor:

If this Diamond Compressor review helped you determine that this is a pedal for you, check out the current eBay auctions:

Top 10 Guitar Gift Ideas | 2009

Christmas season is right around the corner, and you're looking for great gift ideas. We're here to help!

We only recommend quality equipment. Sometimes a mass-produced piece of guitar equipment is a great value, and sometimes boutique or vintage is the route to go for that top-of-the-line tone. Either way, the result will be a quality guitar gift for your friend or family member. Without further adieu...

[Read more]

Black Friday & Weekend Guitar Deals | 2009

We've compiled the best guitar gift shopping deals from around the web so you're up to date on all the great savings.

Before diving in, here's a few acoustic guitar deals available on eBay for Black Friday Weekend:

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Guitar Center's Black Friday Guitar Sale offers shoppers 15% off any item at a store location or online (11/27/09 only), and 10% off any item at a store location or online (11/28/09-11/29/09).

ProGuitarShop.com's Black Friday Guitar Sale requires you sign up for their newsletter to receive savings such as:

• $30 off Lovepedal E6 Overdrive guitar pedal
• $100 off T-Rex Replica Delay Echo guitar pedal
• $60 off Red Witch Deluxe Moon Phaser
• $30 off Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone Compressor guitar pedal
• and more!

MusiciansFriend.com's Black Friday Guitar Sale is offering discounts on many new arrivals including:

• Fender Standard Telecaster Ash Electric Guitar With Vintage Noiseless Pickups for $649.99
• Electro-Harmonix Memory Boy Delay Guitar Effects Pedal for $98.18
• Breedlove Passport PLUS B350/CB4 Acoustic-Electric Guitar for $649

Sweetwater's Black Friday Musician's Sale consists of 50 "blockbuster holiday deals," including:

• 10% off select Fender guitars
• Zoom H2 Handy Recorder for $179.97
• D'Addario EXL120 Pro Pack (10 sets of electric guitar strings) for $29.99

Buy Gibson Echoplex | For Sale

We have a rare Gibson Echoplex for sale. This is the famous Digital Pro (EDP-1) Looper/Phrase Sampler. This is the most powerful looper (no longer being made), and it includes the foot controller along with the manual and power cord. The Gibson Echoplex can be used for guitarists, bassists, keyboardists, or any other electronic musican.

If you've ever wanted to buy a Gibson Echoplex, now is your chance. Check our eBay feedback (spotcheckbilly1) and buy with confidence.

This particular item has sold, however here are the current eBay auctions.

How to Arrange Guitar Effects Pedals

Guitar effects pedal placement has long been the bane of gearheads' existence, or the fun of it..depending on how you view it. This articles makes sense of the options, allowing for more educated experimenting (and final decision making).

A common first approach is by Robert Keeley (as originally published in Mix Magazine), maker of the famous Keeley Compressor. Let's take a look at what he had to say... [Read more]

Guitar Buffers are the Key to Effective True Bypass

Ever plug straight into your amp and be amazed at how great your amp feels compared to when you run through your pedalboard full of true bypass pedals? If you haven't, give it a quick try. Chances are, you're still missing something even though you thought you were safe with all of those true bypass pedals on your pedalboard. Pete Cornish explains why.

Guitar Buffers & Boost Pedals

Now, before you take the Cornish word as word of God (which you almost should, when it comes to guitar gear), consider another solution. Place a high quality line/guitar buffer or boost pedal at the beginning or end of your chain. What you'll do is ensure that your signal isn't colored by a full pedalboard's worth of different buffers, and also ensure that your signal stays strong when it hits the front end of your amp (thus avoiding tone sucking).

Companies like Lovepedal are making line driver/guitar buffer pedals which are a direct remedy for this signal loss problem of tone sucking. CAE also makes a guitar buffer that can be installed directly in your guitar, just before its output jack. However, any boost pedal will work in this application, and consider adding some tonal control. A pedal like the Xotic RC Booster will give you EQ control over your tone in this application. The Zvex Super Hard On (SHO) will add some sparkle to your tone. The Burriss Boostier will allow you to add a touch of natural sounding breakup with it's Input control, and warm up the tone by rolling off some high end with the High control. All of these options allow you to prevent or recover signal loss (depending on whether you place it at the beginning or end of your effects chain).

Where should you place a guitar buffer/boost pedal in your guitar effects chain for this application? When using a guitar buffer with no boost (such as the Loveped Mini Buffer), simply place the pedal first on your pedalboard. When using boost pedals, the answer to this question lies with your other pedals. Do you like the sound of a boost before or after your overdrive/fuzz pedals? Placing a boost before will goose your overdrive/fuzz pedal, making it sound more distorted. Placing a boost after your overdrive/fuzz pedals will make it sound bigger without adding more distortion.

Do you use a compressor? If so, placing an "always on" boost before it will negate the effect we are trying to achieve. In this case, you have two options. The first option is to use the boost pedal after your pedal compressor, to avoid the compressor leveling out the slight boost you're trying to create. The second option is to use your compressor's level control for the slight boost you're trying to achieve. This, of course, will only work if you play with the compressor on at all times.

In the end, true bypass is still your friend. But if you want to retain the natural feel/impedence of plugging directly into your amp, you'll need to place a guitar buffer/line driver or boost pedal on your pedalboard (and keep it on at all times) in order to retain the strength of your signal on it's way to your amplifier's input.

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