2025 2 LYFE ::FINGERS WAGGIN'::

[Zork]

I built a vintage style MK III Tone Bender and I like it a lot. A more tweakable and more pedalboard friendly version definitely appeals to me.

[dubkitty]

i only listened to a little of the EHX Bender demo…i need to see something more in-depth that uses the controls and switches more.

[echorec]

Did anyone ever try the WA Bender? That was a supposed to be a tribute to the original 2-transistor, the MKII 3-transistor, and the silicon 3-transistor. It has a sag option, but no tone knob. (I imagine they'll be available for $170 or less for BF...they're roughly $150 used currently)

[echorec]

More Pilule sounds---

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTaLT_I1PXQ (13 mins of pedal pairings for guitar)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQgU18Ge6AE (Minifreak noodling with BlankFor_ms)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuMG56mX2tk (modular/perc...loving these drum sounds after the 32:00 mark)

[echorec]

This DMNO (domino) looks and sounds beautiful.

8-voice, 2-part multitimbral
FPGA oscillators
analog filters
digital FX (delay, reverb, EQ, distortion, chorus)
8 play modes, including Random & Chaos (notes jump across the two independent oscillators)
64-step sequencer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW1SUyWcAz8
https://www.udo-audio.com/dmno




Roland TR-1000 (catalog leak)

built on the masterfully re-created circuits of the legendary TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines. Its hybrid architecture houses a trio of synth engines, bringing a prismatic palette of FM, PCM and VA possibilities to the TR-1000’s analog foundations, with ACB modeling supplying the coveted circuit-bent sonics of the 8x and 9x models.

Over 2,500 onboard sounds join a wealth of digital and analog effects

[dubkitty]

YOW! (re: the Roland). i’m not sure i need all of that and would like a more detailed explanation, but it certainly is impressive. problem is, i can get 808/909 clones so cheap that i could probably get 20 for the cost of this large boi. and given that anything i do with synths and drum machines is on top of the guitar-related budget cost is a real limitation for me. obviously this thing does loads of shit the clones won’t. how much is relevant to me? it’ll probably take a loooong article and multiple demos to be able to tell.

[dubkitty]

the Udo really does sound gorgeous. one can only hope it’s not as dear as their flagship units. not to sound like a broken record on costs, but their big units are over $4000US, or as i like to see it “two Gretsch White Falcons.”

[Gone Fission]

Speaking of White Falcons, any thoughts on the new affordable-ish Synchromatic version? https://www.gretschguitars.com/gear/bui ... 2506530567

[dubkitty]

i think it’s good for the price, and proper Filtertrons are a plus in the Synchromatic line. they don’t give body width on the Gretsch site, and the Synchro looks like it’s not quite the full 17” of the expensive Falcons. it also has the flaw of all the affordable Gretsch archtops, which is that the bridge pickup is a few millimeters too far north; compare the distances between the bridge pickup trim rings and the tops of the f-holes. that’s always been a deal-breaker for me because i think pickup position has a huge impact on sound. others may differ. the various Electromatic Jets don’t have this problem/feature. that’s why i have three Electromatic Jets and zero Electromatic/Synchromatic archtops, though i was tempted by the 512x archtops with the DeArmond 2000 almost-Dynas.

it’s also a bit more subdued with less of the sock-you-in-the-eye glitter. i like the glitz and the tone switch, but i can certainly see why folks would go for something that’s actually affordable.

photos for comparison.

Synchromatic

IMG_7428.jpeg (35.28 KiB) Viewed 211 times

Vintage Select

IMG_7429.jpeg (33.81 KiB) Viewed 211 times

[dubkitty]

i find it interesting that after literal decades of keeping their expensive designs and colors sacrosanct—you couldn’t get a budget Gretsch in Cadillac Green until recently either—they’ve started working them into the lower eschelons. i’m not sure whether it’s a good or a bad move for the brand, but i’m quite sure they’ll sell 3x or more Synchro Falcons than the high-end models. there was a huge debate among the Gretsch Pages cognoscenti in the 2010s as to whether it was better to stay with tradition or help the brand prosper so the classics would more likely remain available. honestly, i prefer the Econo Falcons (if you can call $1650 list “econo”) to the plethora of budget Gretsches with decidedly non-Gretschy pickups; the P90 Jets are acceptable, but those huge ugly humbuckers need to die in a fire.

it’s not just a Gretsch thing, either…Heritage startlingly dropped an entire line of more affordable guitars as well, and who the hell expected that?

my project mind says “hell, you could probably move the pickup and the trim ring would cover it” but my sensible mind says “no, you are not buying a $1650 guitar hoping a change would work.” i wouldn’t even think about it on the white body which exhibits flaws more obviously.

[dubkitty]

and it should go without saying that my Falcon is so great that a second would be extremely redundant. in fact, the only way i could justify any other Gretsch given my lineup would be if it had HiLoTrons, which i don’t care for no matter what JAMC or Beatle George have to say about them. or if the extremely unlikely event of me suddenly needing to tour at almost 69 years of age meant that i needed a spare assuming i was playing Gretsches in whatever the fuck it was i’d be doing.

which reminds me of when i saw Stephen Stills with Judy Collins in 2016. his entire guitar lineup was multiples of the Stills WF and white Hendrix-model Strats with the reversed bridge pickup, though he played an orange 6120 for their version of “Bluebird.”

[Gone Fission]

I wonder if the 6120-ish Synchro would conceal scars from brand affirming surgery better.

[dubkitty]

don’t know. in my limited experience black hides that kind of thing better than lighter colors. it was much easier hiding flaws on the black parts of the Kondor body than on the white Jetstar.

[Gone Fission]

There is a Black Falcon in the series . . .

[echorec]

Are you ready for 10 billion dirt possibilities?

One of the designers says there are 11B configurations, but some won't generate sound (or perhaps that's sound a human can't hear?).

The unit is completely analogue and uses multiple types of diodes and amplification devices from Germanium to Silicon and light-emitting diodes.

Changing the numbers changes the circuit itself, introducing different variations, some extreme, some subtle. The signal flow is from left to right so changes you make on the earlier numbers will affect what happens further down the signal path.

Total recall is possible, simply – write down the number (or photograph it) and you can return to your exact sound whenever you like.

guitar or line levels, 500ma, single input/output

Orders are open. (not sure on ETA. They have 50-100 enclosures/PCBs on hand, that need to be loaded.) £435.00 / $585 USD

https://teachingmachines.co.uk/product/ ... 3b97fa6688

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gYtoP70DUc (lengthy walkthrough with talking & several sounds)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNfpsH9cWNA (Sonic State interview)

Things I've heard in these videos: fuzzstortion, classic chug, RAT sounds, bluesy overdrive, splattered fuzz, PLL, 90s industrial, Fuzz Factory territory. There's definitely a lot of flavors, if you like edge-of-breakup stuff that borders between OD/distortion/fuzz.

some timestamps:

https://youtu.be/9gYtoP70DUc?si=Yr4crxladkIP3J8h&t=1920 (bias discussion...hear it go from clean boost to a classic fuzz)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gYtoP70DUc (25:00 PLL, roughly 27:00 Theremin/UFO tones)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZq4gZN9euQ (23:00 industrial drones)
https://youtu.be/rBB-QXIDu64?si=Ln2j1Scc8aKnicAi&t=230 (ACID, some PLL-esque textures)



Too bad about the sidejacks...