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Sonic consistency in pedals
Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 3:00 pm
by johnnyseven
I have 2 MXR Custom Badass Distortion pedals and I think that they sound quite different to each other, one seems to have more bass than the other and sounds better. Is this something that is common between mass produced pedals?
Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 3:26 pm
by Mike
Not really.
Are you sure it's not something to do with where they are in your chain?
Also you're probably not setting them the same, right? If so you'll often find that pedals have a point on the Gain dial where they thicken up nicely and can sound a bit thinner below...
Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 3:32 pm
by johnnyseven
They're sitting next to each other in the chain. I do have them set differently but when I set each pedal to the levels that I use on the other pedal i'm sure that they don't sound the same. Could be my cloth ears playing tricks on me again though.
Maybe I just need to twaek the settings to produce the same sound rather than assume that if I put the knobs in the same place the sound will be that same.
Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 8:31 pm
by Bacchus
johnnyseven wrote:Maybe I just need to twaek the settings to produce the same sound rather than assume that if I put the knobs in the same place the sound will be that same.
Mike'll know more than me about this, but I thought I'd read somewhere that pots generally will vary from pot to pot and they don't all behave exactly the same. So if you have so many pots in the same pedals by the same manufacturer, and put them all at twelve o'clock, the pots are all doing slightly different things. You'd have to tweak them a little to get them exactly the same.
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 11:00 am
by timhulio
I know some pots used to be +-20%. Can't imagine the decent 9mm alpha pots lots of commercial pedals use these days are that bad though.
Tell a lie. They are that bad:
http://www.alphapotentiometers.net/html/9mm_pot_22.html
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 11:18 am
by Bacchus
I'd read it as being the reason that clones are often blamed for not sounding like the original. I'm sure gearmandude mentions it in a Dano CC vs OCD video as maybe the reason that people were saying that one wasn't the same as the other.
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 4:03 pm
by Bill Oakley
This could be exactly the issue. There can be a huge variance in the tolerance of a lot of pots which can cause two pedals to sound different at the same settings. Usually turning the control a little one way or another on one of the pedals makes them sound similar. I build runs of pedals at a time and when I test them, I notice some are a little different at the same settings.
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 4:15 pm
by Doog
johnnyseven wrote:They're sitting next to each other in the chain. I do have them set differently but when I set each pedal to the levels that I use on the other pedal i'm sure that they don't sound the same. Could be my cloth ears playing tricks on me again though.
Maybe I just need to twaek the settings to produce the same sound rather than assume that if I put the knobs in the same place the sound will be that same.
I'd imagine
where they are in the chain in relation to a buffer or a certain patchcable (or whatever) could also have somewhat of an effect; there's soooo many variables at play.
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 4:49 pm
by batsbrew
i purchase and use Barber Pedals, and Fulltone Pedals.
i really like the build quality.
i think this is a perfect example of getting what you pay for.
i've owned many MXR pedals, and boss pedal as well..
i can say, that the Barber build quality FAR exceeds the mxr stuff, after getting inside of both....
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 9:29 pm
by timhulio
Okay...
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 10:52 pm
by batsbrew
i can say, that the Barber build quality FAR exceeds the mxr stuff, after getting inside of both....
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 11:12 pm
by hotrodperlmutter
timhulio wrote:Okay...
Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 8:44 am
by Mike
batsbrew wrote:i can say, that the Barber build quality FAR exceeds the mxr stuff, after getting inside of both....
You filthy bitch!
Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 1:35 pm
by paul_
pahaha
Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 2:33 pm
by batsbrew
You filthy bitch!
it's funny YOU should say that!
Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 2:38 pm
by Mike
Please elaborate?
BTW I'm a big fan of both Barber and MXR pedals, for what it's worth.
Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 3:50 pm
by batsbrew
Please elaborate?
Elaborate on what?
your poor use of modern slang english?
ok.
1
filthy adj \ˈfil-thē\
: covered with, containing, or characterized by filth
2
a : underhand, vile
b : obscene <filthy language>
1
bitch noun \ˈbich\
1
: the female of the dog or some other carnivorous mammals
2
a : a lewd or immoral woman
how does this all relate to discussion of effects pedals?
how the fuck should i know?!!
Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 7:50 pm
by Dave
Mike was making a witty jest sir, a play on your words no less, nor in any derogatory way to your good self. Ease up fella, no need for attack mode.
Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 8:31 pm
by stewart
oooh, the old aggressive response / smiley combination.
superb.
Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 8:51 pm
by NickS
To be fair, it took me a couple of re-reads to spot what Mike spotted. Call me slow.