YellowJacket
Well-known member
I realize that this topic has been beaten to death already but allow me to explain why I am not being lazy by bringing it up again. Basically, I am looking for some more specific feedback rather than something general.
I posted a thread about getting metal tones from a recto back in the recto subforum this summer. Through that process, I got a new axe, hotrodded it, and tried a TS9. It got me nearly all the way there as a clean boost but it kind of compressed / squashed the mids in a way I find displeasing.
So, realizing how hit and miss youtube demos are, I started listening to clips to try and narrow down what 'that sound' is that I am looking for.
Basically, I like how a boost pedal really brings out a nice harmonic sheen with the recto. It not only tightens up the sound, but also gives that necessary high end bite and aggression which is so indispensable for a good metal tone. A bit of a boost in the upper mids and a bit of a cut in the lows also helps bring out the strengths of a recto while mitigating the weaknesses.
Additionally, as much as I love my Electra Dyne, it would be fun to have another tool to agitate the amp further. Having a means to create a proper liquid high gain lead tone on that amp would be a boon at times. Also, boosting it could be fun.
One pedal I really liked was the Protone Misha Mansoor Signature Overdrive. To clarify, I don't play Djent at all and my band makes fun of it. A lot. We're more a fusion of thrash, power metal, and neoclassical metal.
Back to the pedal, it just has this midrange 'zing' to the tone that I really like. (It sounds the best of all demos I've heard and I really like the tone, enough to justify the cost) I also liked that you can footswitch in the classic TS9 mid bump (Attack switch) which I thought would be useful for rhythm playing / lead playing. Which brings me to:
The Mesa Boogie Flux Five: At pretty much the same price point, the pedal does a whole lot more and then some. The lower gain / smooth breakup clips sound awesome and it seems like the pedal could be a mostly clean boost with a nice level jump for a smoother lead tone. So, it would be 'mild' clean boost for rhythm playing, and a nice huge mid bump for a juicy solo tone. Additionally, its powerful tone shaping capabilities would allow me to use it with my Electra Dyne as well. So, to make a dumb 'dead horse' pun, it isn't a 1 trick pony like the other pedal. **groan**
I've heard demos of Mesa's pedals and overall, I like the Grid Slammer and the Flux Drive / Flux Five best. The Tone Burst is cool but I would need to hear it in front of a high gain amp to really get a taste for how it interacts in that sort of tone world. Of course, this is perhaps the problem with all of Mesa's demo videos as well as all of the videos I've seen of these pedals thus far. At any rate, the Flux Drive / Flux Five and the Grid Slammer both sounded the most organic and 'amp like' to my ears.
As for other boost pedals, I think the TS9 is in the ballpark for what I want save for the drawbacks I discussed above. The OD808, another tonal staple, is also good but it's more of a transparent sort of a thing. I think having some tone shaping capabilities is actually a useful feature which would make me want to shy away from a pedal like this one.
Thoughts? I'm also open to other suggestions but the idea of having a boosted rhythm tone followed by another boosted lead tone is quite ideal, especially for my band.
I posted a thread about getting metal tones from a recto back in the recto subforum this summer. Through that process, I got a new axe, hotrodded it, and tried a TS9. It got me nearly all the way there as a clean boost but it kind of compressed / squashed the mids in a way I find displeasing.
So, realizing how hit and miss youtube demos are, I started listening to clips to try and narrow down what 'that sound' is that I am looking for.
Basically, I like how a boost pedal really brings out a nice harmonic sheen with the recto. It not only tightens up the sound, but also gives that necessary high end bite and aggression which is so indispensable for a good metal tone. A bit of a boost in the upper mids and a bit of a cut in the lows also helps bring out the strengths of a recto while mitigating the weaknesses.
Additionally, as much as I love my Electra Dyne, it would be fun to have another tool to agitate the amp further. Having a means to create a proper liquid high gain lead tone on that amp would be a boon at times. Also, boosting it could be fun.
One pedal I really liked was the Protone Misha Mansoor Signature Overdrive. To clarify, I don't play Djent at all and my band makes fun of it. A lot. We're more a fusion of thrash, power metal, and neoclassical metal.
Back to the pedal, it just has this midrange 'zing' to the tone that I really like. (It sounds the best of all demos I've heard and I really like the tone, enough to justify the cost) I also liked that you can footswitch in the classic TS9 mid bump (Attack switch) which I thought would be useful for rhythm playing / lead playing. Which brings me to:
The Mesa Boogie Flux Five: At pretty much the same price point, the pedal does a whole lot more and then some. The lower gain / smooth breakup clips sound awesome and it seems like the pedal could be a mostly clean boost with a nice level jump for a smoother lead tone. So, it would be 'mild' clean boost for rhythm playing, and a nice huge mid bump for a juicy solo tone. Additionally, its powerful tone shaping capabilities would allow me to use it with my Electra Dyne as well. So, to make a dumb 'dead horse' pun, it isn't a 1 trick pony like the other pedal. **groan**
I've heard demos of Mesa's pedals and overall, I like the Grid Slammer and the Flux Drive / Flux Five best. The Tone Burst is cool but I would need to hear it in front of a high gain amp to really get a taste for how it interacts in that sort of tone world. Of course, this is perhaps the problem with all of Mesa's demo videos as well as all of the videos I've seen of these pedals thus far. At any rate, the Flux Drive / Flux Five and the Grid Slammer both sounded the most organic and 'amp like' to my ears.
As for other boost pedals, I think the TS9 is in the ballpark for what I want save for the drawbacks I discussed above. The OD808, another tonal staple, is also good but it's more of a transparent sort of a thing. I think having some tone shaping capabilities is actually a useful feature which would make me want to shy away from a pedal like this one.
Thoughts? I'm also open to other suggestions but the idea of having a boosted rhythm tone followed by another boosted lead tone is quite ideal, especially for my band.
