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The inferior design (buyer beware) thread

Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2023 6:08 pm
by Blackened Soul
Some things are crap.
There are no excuses for crap. :mad:

#1 Ernie Ball Flat Ribbon Patch Cable :mad:
No shielding, they literally turn your pedalboard into a noise receiver.
They even add buzz when used with utility pedals like channel switches and expression pedals… how?
I am contemplating mailing them to Sterling Ball’s house!
Makes me have another reason to wish Dan was still alive, he should never have let them put these out.. :mad:
4C840E5E-B274-4785-99DB-91B85510560B.jpeg
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Re: The inferior design (buyer beware) thread

Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2023 1:00 pm
by Confuzzled
anything by aural dream pedals. just stay away.

Re: The inferior design (buyer beware) thread

Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2023 2:55 pm
by le lambin
Blackened Soul wrote: No shielding
Do they really have no shielding at all? That is truly a bad design. Fundamentally bad. Can you even call it an instrument cable if there is no shielding? Good to know because they look like slick higher end patch cables from a distance.

I guess you could include any cheap “vintage” woodwind/brass wind instrument in this category- it’s literally never worth it. I have PTSD from trying to get any sound at all out of those old Bundy flutes- mechanically flawed from the get go.

Re: The inferior design (buyer beware) thread

Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2023 3:16 pm
by Blackened Soul
le lambin wrote:
Blackened Soul wrote: No shielding
they look like slick higher end patch cables from a distance.
I know right, I have a bunch of hosas that look very similar and have no issues… the Ernie balls.. so much hum and noise…

Re: The inferior design (buyer beware) thread

Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2023 12:28 am
by coupleonapkins
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Re: The inferior design (buyer beware) thread

Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2023 11:18 am
by moozz
Confuzzled wrote:anything by aural dream pedals. just stay away.
If anyone wants to get rid of Crystals Harmony by Aural Dream I'm the sucker you can try selling it to.

Re: The inferior design (buyer beware) thread

Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2023 10:46 pm
by Gone Fission
Fuck Duck! Most epic review video ever—“What. A. Dick.”

Re: The inferior design (buyer beware) thread

Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2023 10:37 am
by Confuzzled
moozz wrote:
Confuzzled wrote:anything by aural dream pedals. just stay away.
If anyone wants to get rid of Crystals Harmony by Aural Dream I'm the sucker you can try selling it to.
Save your money and get it out of your head. I bought it and it sounds NOTHING like the demos. Such a poorly designed piece of shit. Its essentially a pitch shifter with 2 fixed tremolo speeds.

Re: The inferior design (buyer beware) thread

Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2023 12:05 pm
by echorec
I would suggest that people use caution when dealing with A/DA. There are multiple reports out there, including on ILF, that they've lost repair items and people were just completely burned. Is that due to the reissues being of substandard build quality or is it matter of poor organization? I can't really speak to that, but it's troubling when people are out a couple hundred dollars, due to manufacturers seemingly being in disarray.

Re: The inferior design (buyer beware) thread

Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2023 6:12 pm
by Gone Fission
I think A/DA is once again defunct. Really sucks for people screwed on their pending repairs.

Re: The inferior design (buyer beware) thread

Posted: Mon May 01, 2023 7:08 am
by goroth
The old Catalin bread Harmonic Pixelator or whatever it was called. I had this one setting on it which sounded just like clavinet, it was awesome. Except that the carrier noise was fucking constant.

I also hated that the EHX Freeze I had at some point in time had what seemed like 0 noise filtering on the power. Even on an isolated output it managed to introduce noise into my rig just by existing.

Re: The inferior design (buyer beware) thread

Posted: Wed May 03, 2023 6:06 am
by Phosphene Audio
Blackened Soul wrote:Some things are crap.
There are no excuses for crap. :mad:

#1 Ernie Ball Flat Ribbon Patch Cable :mad:
No shielding, they literally turn your pedalboard into a noise receiver.
They even add buzz when used with utility pedals like channel switches and expression pedals… how?
I am contemplating mailing them to Sterling Ball’s house!
Makes me have another reason to wish Dan was still alive, he should never have let them put these out.. :mad:
4C840E5E-B274-4785-99DB-91B85510560B.jpeg


I almost bought some of those when I recently re-did my pedalboard, looks like I dodged a bullet.


Similarly, I had a couple of Planet Waves patch cables that came free with something, and they also instantly added noise/hum.

Re: The inferior design (buyer beware) thread

Posted: Wed May 03, 2023 6:10 am
by Phosphene Audio
Seeing as I used to build and sell pedals semi regularly (though I don't much at all, anymore), I don't want to personally call out any manufacturer, but, as someone who also buys pedals here and there, I'd love to see a list of fuzzes that barely (or don't) make it past unity with the knobs dimed. I've consistently been surprised at this. I know that's just how a lot of vintage designs that get repurposed into the market these days are, but I don't find it useful.

Re: The inferior design (buyer beware) thread

Posted: Wed May 03, 2023 1:50 pm
by Gone Fission
quote="goroth"]I also hated that the EHX Freeze I had at some point in time had what seemed like 0 noise filtering on the power. Even on an isolated output it managed to introduce noise into my rig just by existing.[/quote]

I think I must have had the luckiest run ever on a One Spot daisy chain, since I never noticed a noise problem with mine while the wall wart still worked, including with the Freeze and other digital toys. It died at some point after I got my Cioks/Eventide DC-7/Power Max supply, so I can’t check whether I’m just deluding myself on noise performance. But EHX being EHX, I have no doubt that you’re right about the noise filtering sucking.
Phosphene Audio wrote:Seeing as I used to build and sell pedals semi regularly (though I don't much at all, anymore), I don't want to personally call out any manufacturer, but, as someone who also buys pedals here and there, I'd love to see a list of fuzzes that barely (or don't) make it past unity with the knobs dimed. I've consistently been surprised at this. I know that's just how a lot of vintage designs that get repurposed into the market these days are, but I don't find it useful.
I won a Mammoth Electronics [not Walrus Audio as I had initially brain farted] fuzz on IG that they released right before they folded. It was some generally Muff-ish thing that maybe felt a bit better under my fingers than most Muffs do to me, and maybe less scooped. But it needed to be at least 95% cranked on gain and volume to reach unity. (It was a built version of a kit, so I did wonder if it was a build error.) I fully disclosed that when I flipped it. I’ve kept other Muffs, but that volume issue really nudged me to list it.

Re: The inferior design (buyer beware) thread

Posted: Thu May 04, 2023 5:08 pm
by John
Phosphene Audio wrote:Similarly, I had a couple of Planet Waves patch cables that came free with something, and they also instantly added noise/hum.
These have always let me down.