My Review of the Memory Boy:
Initial impressions were confusing to be honest. I was expecting to dial in a musical setting right out of the box, didn't happen. It took a lot of tweaking to get a feel of the pedal, but once i did, i quickly found out some things that i like, and dislike about this pedal.
Delays: The delays were very clean and clear, much brighter than my Carbon Copy. It really nailed the DMM sound to a T i feel, i'm satisfied with the repeats and the way that they seem to naturally decay with the feedback knob. One thing that i am really put off by the pedal is that you have to have an expression pedal to get the whole 550ms of delay. I currently have an empty 1/4" > 3.5mm adaptor plugged into it to trick it into giving me the whole length of delays, but i feel that this shouldn't be necessary to get the most out of your pedal. Big downer for me. I am, however, thinking of a pot-in-a-box with a switch kind of thing so i can have some adjustabilty. Other than the time issue i'm gitty about the delays.
Feedback: The feedback is very musical. My CC gets very loud when it starts to self oscilate, this does not. You can keep it on the point of oscilation very easily without it going overboard and loosing control. Infinate repeats while retaining a constant volume is very attainable. Fully Satisfied.
Modulations: The Depth knob isn't very "useful" after about 8'o-clock, its alright if you're going for ring-mod tones which i like from time to time. If set low around 7:30, very low that is, you can get a shimmery chorus sound that is very DMM convincing. After that it gets extremely warbly and tape sounding [think Lo-Fi Loop Junky]. The triangle wave sounds great, the square wave sounds alright depending of how you play it. Still very usable though. Without an exp jack the middle position on the modulation rate switch [which it basically is] gets a great middle ground between chorus and vibrato, which is my favourite thus far. The Vibrato on the square wave on higher depths can achieve octave shifting effects that are super cool if you like funky sounds. Other than the depth control being "harsh" after 8 on the dial, I'm loving the modulations, really compeating with the CC to my ears.
The Blend control isn't what i am used to. I am used to the CCs Mix control that allows the wet signal in, 100% dial = 100% delay and 100% dry, a equal volume. The Blend knob blends between Wet and Dry signals, Middle being a mix of both. I suppose it is useful to get only delay sounds, or a louder delay sound than the dry signal but i haven't found much use for it yet, i'm sure more tinkering will find something.
I'm pleased with the overall construction of the pedal. It does require some time to warm up completely otherwise the switch will pop and it will do other odd things. The switches being mounted directly to the board seems a bit flimsy to me, i'm afraid i'll step on them and it will shoot through the PCB. Top mounted jacks would have been nice but no body else does it so it wouldn't make it that much more convienent.
Cons:
Depth knob isn't very useful after 8'o-clock
EXP needed for full delay length
Board mounted switches feel flimsy
Pros:
All the rest of it!
Just threw together a quick video, got my microphone sorted out, Movie Maker is a bitch and, after five minutes of use, crashes if you make any changes.
The MXR does seem to have more volume but this may be due to the MBs funky Blend knob, its useful, just not what i am used to.
HQ will be available once Youtube processes it.
[youtube][/youtube]
Self Oscilation demo
[youtube][/youtube]
Finished Demo
[youtube][/youtube]
EHX Memory Boy vs MXR Carbon Copy + other demos
Moderated By: mods
EHX Memory Boy vs MXR Carbon Copy + other demos
Last edited by Haze on Sun Aug 16, 2009 2:50 pm, edited 3 times in total.
No matter what, EHX seem to tarnish a synthetic kinda sound with everything they do...
My micro pog has the same qualities as does my mates Holy Stain... & the same here. Probably not surprising being made by the same company and all... but it's really starting to really put me off.
It's like eating Caviar from a polystyrene carton... it does the trick but the flavors could be enhanced.
My micro pog has the same qualities as does my mates Holy Stain... & the same here. Probably not surprising being made by the same company and all... but it's really starting to really put me off.
It's like eating Caviar from a polystyrene carton... it does the trick but the flavors could be enhanced.
Re: EHX Memory Boy vs MXR Carbon Copy
MM is a lot happier using WMVs- so save your raw video file as a high quality WMV first, THEN edit that.Haze wrote:Movie Maker is a bitch and, after five minutes of use, crashes if you make any changes.
But yeah, if you have loaaaads of videos/pix in a project, it does tend to shit the bed.
*goes to actually watch video*
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hotrodperlmutter
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Cool stuff, not liking that switching noise, I'm gonna have to see if that is sortable.
Your comments about having to have an expression pedal for 550ms do not sound right at all. I have heard from other people that you can get the Memory Boy up to a 1second delay with the expression pedal attached (albeit super lo-fi) and easy 550ms without. I think you should contact EHX, the trimpots on yours have not been set up correctly.
The MXR sounds louder. I'm going to reserve judgement until mine arrives and I can play with it and compare it to my DMM.
Your comments about having to have an expression pedal for 550ms do not sound right at all. I have heard from other people that you can get the Memory Boy up to a 1second delay with the expression pedal attached (albeit super lo-fi) and easy 550ms without. I think you should contact EHX, the trimpots on yours have not been set up correctly.
The MXR sounds louder. I'm going to reserve judgement until mine arrives and I can play with it and compare it to my DMM.
Just based on toooone, I prefer the EHX; I've never been a massive fan of dark analog repeats like on the MXR. In my eyes, it just makes the effect slightly redundant in a live band situation where you're struggling to be heard already.
Buuuuut, I guess it's all based on how you use delay to begin with.
Buuuuut, I guess it's all based on how you use delay to begin with.
