Pinoy Pedals Review

[Magus]

Please excuse my ignorance on homegrown pedals.

Pls. Feel free to provide your review of any pinoy made peds and how they stack up with foreign made ones. ( Shredhead, COS, Rectorizer etc.).

Game. Go.

[Ralph_Petrucci]

MarkV Shredhead

Tested Through:

Test 1:
SAMICK Greg Bennett Avion 3 (Les Paul Copy)
GOLDEA AT-30 Tube Amplifier

Test 2:
PRS P22
MESA Boogie Transatlantic TA-30


Build: 3.5/5 Stars

Housed within a Diecast Enclosure (MXR Type), the Shredhead 's (SH) components look pretty solid.
Knobs are... OK. Mark used black MXR Type Knobs.
It can take in 9 -18V, where the extra voltage gives you extra headroom.
Input and output jacks seem sturdy enough as well as the DC in port.
The Pedal is labeled with a sticker containing the SH name and Control Labels.
I am not a fan of the plain design though. it could use a facelift to give it some visual wow factor.
It is also surprisingly quiet compared to other distortion pedals.


Ease of Use: 4/5 Stars

The SH is pretty easy to use.
It has 4 controls, Tone (Highs), Presence (Mids), Volume, and Drive.
The only thing i would change is the labeling o the knobs as it makes it hard to tell which knob you are turning.
But as you get used to the pedal, it'll be a second nature for you to adjust to the controls.


Sound: 4.5/5 Stars

If I recall correctly, Mark claims that this is a Marshall 6100LM in a box. Running it through 2 different amps, It does sound like Marshall.
The knobs response is awesome and it can give you a wide array of tones from a gritty low gain tone to an in your face Shred high gain tone.
comparing it with a CatalinBread DLS Mk. III, the SH has a more pronounced Mid Range making it ideal for solos.
I find that the SH Tone is not my ideal tone for use with heavy riffing/chuga chuga type of style. Pairing it with an EQ would help get a better rhythm tone.
For Solos on the other hand, the SH is definitely a keeper. Also, for the price, it can't be beat.




Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars

All in all, it is a great pedal. For guys starting to build their boards, the SH is definitely one pedal you would want to try.
I wish it had a boost function though!

-RDG

[Magus]

Nice review Sir Ralph. How about the come on scream pedal?

Or any others?

You could use the term. "Compared to" this sounds better or worse...

just for the benefit of other new forumites.

[Ralph_Petrucci]

Kalikot Audio's Terracotta

Tested Through:

Test 1:
SAMICK Greg Bennett Avion 3 (Les Paul Copy)
Marshall MG30
Goldea AT30

Test 2:
PRS P22
MESA Boogie Transatlantic TA-30


Build: 3.5/5 Stars

Housed within a Diecast Enclosure (Medium sized), the Terracotta (TC) components looks sleek.
Knobs are MXR Type. They complement the pedal's design.
It can take in 9V. Wish it had an option for 18V, but the 9V is fine.
Input and output jacks seem sturdy enough as well as the DC in port.
The Pedal is labeled with an engraved name plate containing the TC name and Control Labels. It looks pretty nice.
I really like the choice of using a bronze plate on a black coated pedal. it makes the pedal look elegant.
The only thing I noticed tho, is that it has a slight audible noise. I've tested 2 units of the pedal, both have this audible hum.
Kalikot Audio has been advised of this and they might be working on this issue.


Ease of Use: 3.5/5 Stars

It takes a while to be comfortable with the TC. .
It has 6 controls, High, Low, Mid, Bias, Volume, and Drive.
Knobs are properly labeled, however if you are a first time user, you will have to spend a little time to get the right blend of settings.
The knobs are pretty responsive though. you can get a lot of tones via the different possible settings.


Sound: 4.5/5 Stars

The TC has a lot of tones to offer. once I got comfortable with the knobs, i tweaked like crazy.
I went from a slight vintage grit tone, then to a high gain vintage rock tone, and then to a modern sounding Djent tone.
The tone options are endless due to a knob called BIAS. from what I hear, the bias gives the drive voicing the "air" that you hear from amps.
Turning the Bias all the way up gives you a modern sounding distortion, if you lean on the lower bias setting, you'll get a vintage sounding distortion.
the gain knobs provide a lot of gain as well. Plus, the 3 band eq definitely gives you more options (or more headaches, depending on your preference )
Compared to the SH, the TC is a better sounding rhythm guitarist pedal. IMHO, it can be compared to some wellknown distortion pedals in terms of the voicing.
However, as I mentioned earlier, it gets pretty noisy when turned up. i wish this would get resolved as the TC is a very good pedal.




Overall Rating: 3.833/5 Stars
The Terracotta is a pedal that you would want on your board if you need a lot of tones from 1 box.
it is a versatile pedal that will be loved by tweakheads.
Other than the noise issue, i can't think of another negative for this pedal.

-RDG

[gandydancer123]

Shredhead

Great little pedal, I liked it immediately on the first power chord I played...Clean guts, its well built, good components, its personally signed and numbered by Mark V. I got one of the earliest units..#84 I think...good overall dirt pedal in my opinion...best paired with a boost pedal or EQ. Used ones are pretty cheap and easy to find and quite easy to sell if you plan to move up and explore others.

 Id say go get one... Id give it 4 out of 5 stars.

[Zacchary_amadeus]

Apax pedals... Im planning to get apax sustainer because it is affordable for me..

[lundai]

SHredhead is the best for me.

i didnt appreciate it in the first time i borrowed one and tried it for about 30mins.
and when i tried it again and have about few days playing with it, i immediately raise fund and bought a  brand new one!!

as of now, this is the only pedal i cant afford to lose..

[Boxedking]

MarkV's Shredhead
Hands down ako sa pedal na ito. It has been on my barebones pedalboard since day 1. I use it from low-gain, single coil, OD-like tones to active humbuckers, in-your-face, chugah-chugah riffing. Singing lead tones as well.

Built like a tank. Nagiging scratchy yun pots from time to time due to accumulated dirt pero nareremdyuhan naman ng contact cleaner, which Mark recommended.


Rave Electronic's Come On Scream
Kasabayan ito ng SH ko on my pedalboard. I got the first version, yun may symmetrical/asymmetrical switch. I was able to get really creamy OD tones from this one. Ang sarap nya lalo gamitin sa single coils kasi pagka-strum mo ng isang chord (particularly those with 7ths), parang kumakalat yun tunog.

I used it also to boost my SH. Great combination. Para silang magpinsan.

Unfortunately, it didn't last kasi it gave up on me. Nasira yun footswitch. Naging scratchy yun pots na hindi maremedyuhan ng contact cleaner. Kung maayos ko lang sya ngayon, I'd gladly welcome it back aboard on my pedalboard.


Neil's ADD Analog Delay
Sakit ng ulo inabot ko sa pedal na ito. Mula sa pag-order, hanggang sa tuluyang nasira. I got a unit that was first customized for someone else (may FX loop). Fortunately, the guy didn't pay the remaining balance so Neil gave it to me instead since I already fully paid for it.

Oks sana as a delay pedal. Kaso dumating yun time na sa kalagitnaan ng performance, bigla na lang nawala yun effect at ayaw na bumalik kahit anong tapak ko pa.

[Igor]

   Dr.Boogey ( Not Sure kung Sino Gumawa)   - Solb ako sa Gain nya.  So Far di na ako naghanap ng iba pang dirt Pedal.

[iyzburg]

Neil's ADD Analog Delay
Sakit ng ulo inabot ko sa pedal na ito. Mula sa pag-order, hanggang sa tuluyang nasira. I got a unit that was first customized for someone else (may FX loop). Fortunately, the guy didn't pay the remaining balance so Neil gave it to me instead since I already fully paid for it.

Oks sana as a delay pedal. Kaso dumating yun time na sa kalagitnaan ng performance, bigla na lang nawala yun effect at ayaw na bumalik kahit anong tapak ko pa.

Agh.. I thought ako lang naka-experience nito.. Kapag naka-off (bypass), may sound.. Kapag naka-on, wala na..

[david_leyson]

Agh.. I thought ako lang naka-experience nito.. Kapag naka-off (bypass), may sound.. Kapag naka-on, wala na..

this! i have sent the pedal to Neil with this issue, and sa august mag aanniv na sa kanya yung pedal, hahah! sorry OT

Neil's ADD is good to my ears and had lasted to me for about 3 years or so but the components were not that great because of the lifetime it only had.

Sinusoid Phaser by Rave Electronics

This is one great pedal, it's like you have 2 MXR phase 90 in one compact pedal, you can switch the effect to a different rate with jsut one step. warm and classic to my ears, and also a bonus is the Univibe toggle which goes from phase 90 to phase 45 sound IMO.