Post by grayn on Aug 27, 2016 15:39:36 GMT
I've recently acquired an electro for playing out.
And I had the idea of using some effects pedals.
I already have an effects board, with 6 single pedals.
Some of which, would be fun, on an acoustic.
But I've got it all set up, for my electric, rock guitar stuff.
And I wanted to keep it simple and as portable as possible, for the electro.
So I thought of a multi-effects pedal.
There are a ton of these but they are mostly geared toward electric guitar.
Loads of overdrive and amp modelling, I just do not need.
There are a few acoustic orientated multi-effects pedals.
Zoom's A3, is probably the one that mostly comes to mind.
It looks a very nice bit of kit.
But to my mind, seems more useful for recording and home playing.
I like to keep things simple, for live work.
And the EHX Epitome, a pedal I've wanted for a while now, seemed a good choice.
It's basically 3 EHX pedals, in one.
The Micro-Pog, a polyphonic, octave up and down producing pedal.
The Stereo Electric Mistress, a chorus and flanger pedal.
And the Holy Grail Plus, a reverb unit, giving spring, hall, room and "flerb".
Each pedal has it's own on/off footswitch and 3 parameter controls.
All 3 are classic EHX pedals, in their own right.
And are simplicity itself to adjust.
I honestly can't be bothered, to go through what each control does, sorry.
BTW, Flerb means Flanging Reverb.
And it has a more, experimental sound.
The Epitome also has another, finger operated, on/off switch, for a Shimmer effect.
Basically, this re-routes the order the pedals run in.
This gives some interesting results and turns the Flerb into an echo effect.
It's all beginning to sound complicated but it really isn't.
I basically wanted some subtle effects, to give more tonal variety, playing live.
I've spent an hour or so with it and have found some good sounds, already.
For Micro-Pog, I have the original "dry" guitar on full, the sub octave on about a 3rd and the upper octave, on half.
This isn't dramatic but adds some very interesting harmonics and thickness, to the sound.
I have to say using the sub signal on it's own sounds pretty cool.
As does just the sub and upper signals, especially for stocatto runs and melodies.
The tracking of the added octaves is very good,
Although the upper octave notes can sound odd, with some chords.
Quite keyboard like.
The Stereo Electric Mistress does a great, subtle, spacial chorus.
And a a great, fast, bubbly flanging effect.
Both sound very cool, with the acoustic guitar.
You can't flick from one to the other though.
You have to knob twiddle.
I don't like to knob twiddle at a gig but I might consider it here, as I like both sounds, so much.
My Acus combo already has a nice reverb on it, which I leave on, all the time.
But, with a stamp on the Holy Grail footswitch, I can bring in a larger, very atmospheric reverb in.
For slow sections and harmonics.
Overall then, a very useful pedal.
Probably not to a lot of acoustic players tastes.
But to my ears, rather interesting and quite exciting.
I've still got some work to do, on the sounds and how the effects work with each other.
But after a relatively short time, I'm happy with what I've got, so far.
This is a very sturdy pedal, well made and designed, with nicer aesthetics, than many other EHX pedals.
It's also true bypass.
And I had the idea of using some effects pedals.
I already have an effects board, with 6 single pedals.
Some of which, would be fun, on an acoustic.
But I've got it all set up, for my electric, rock guitar stuff.
And I wanted to keep it simple and as portable as possible, for the electro.
So I thought of a multi-effects pedal.
There are a ton of these but they are mostly geared toward electric guitar.
Loads of overdrive and amp modelling, I just do not need.
There are a few acoustic orientated multi-effects pedals.
Zoom's A3, is probably the one that mostly comes to mind.
It looks a very nice bit of kit.
But to my mind, seems more useful for recording and home playing.
I like to keep things simple, for live work.
And the EHX Epitome, a pedal I've wanted for a while now, seemed a good choice.
It's basically 3 EHX pedals, in one.
The Micro-Pog, a polyphonic, octave up and down producing pedal.
The Stereo Electric Mistress, a chorus and flanger pedal.
And the Holy Grail Plus, a reverb unit, giving spring, hall, room and "flerb".
Each pedal has it's own on/off footswitch and 3 parameter controls.
All 3 are classic EHX pedals, in their own right.
And are simplicity itself to adjust.
I honestly can't be bothered, to go through what each control does, sorry.
BTW, Flerb means Flanging Reverb.
And it has a more, experimental sound.
The Epitome also has another, finger operated, on/off switch, for a Shimmer effect.
Basically, this re-routes the order the pedals run in.
This gives some interesting results and turns the Flerb into an echo effect.
It's all beginning to sound complicated but it really isn't.
I basically wanted some subtle effects, to give more tonal variety, playing live.
I've spent an hour or so with it and have found some good sounds, already.
For Micro-Pog, I have the original "dry" guitar on full, the sub octave on about a 3rd and the upper octave, on half.
This isn't dramatic but adds some very interesting harmonics and thickness, to the sound.
I have to say using the sub signal on it's own sounds pretty cool.
As does just the sub and upper signals, especially for stocatto runs and melodies.
The tracking of the added octaves is very good,
Although the upper octave notes can sound odd, with some chords.
Quite keyboard like.
The Stereo Electric Mistress does a great, subtle, spacial chorus.
And a a great, fast, bubbly flanging effect.
Both sound very cool, with the acoustic guitar.
You can't flick from one to the other though.
You have to knob twiddle.
I don't like to knob twiddle at a gig but I might consider it here, as I like both sounds, so much.
My Acus combo already has a nice reverb on it, which I leave on, all the time.
But, with a stamp on the Holy Grail footswitch, I can bring in a larger, very atmospheric reverb in.
For slow sections and harmonics.
Overall then, a very useful pedal.
Probably not to a lot of acoustic players tastes.
But to my ears, rather interesting and quite exciting.
I've still got some work to do, on the sounds and how the effects work with each other.
But after a relatively short time, I'm happy with what I've got, so far.
This is a very sturdy pedal, well made and designed, with nicer aesthetics, than many other EHX pedals.
It's also true bypass.
Jo whoever he is.
