ARTEC PEDALS

[Red_Strat]

Just came from The Music Source today. I brought my Crybaby Classic to A/B it with the Artec APW-3. Kudos to the people at The Music Source for the great customer service. They even let me try the 5-watter Crate amp there. I didn't like it much, but good service nonetheless.

Alright, so in this A/B test.. other equipment I used included an off-the-shelf strat-style Aria guitar, and a (2x8?) Artec amp.

Construction-wise: Crybaby wins
Maybe it's just me; nasanay na ko sa bigat ng Crybaby. The APW-3 is considerably lighter than the Crybaby.. and the metal enclosure feels different. IMO, it felt like plastic at first, but I remembered reading specs na all-metal nga ito. The APW-3's frequency range knob felt a bit too easy to turn for me. Maybe I was expecting the same resistance as the pots from Boss, especially because Artec used the same kind of knob. You be the judge if it's just because of my OC tendencies. Hahaha. Finally, the APW-3 makes me think of a Morley slimmed down to just a bit wider than a Crybaby.

Features: APW-3 wins
The Crybaby is pretty much a no-frills kind of wah. No LED indicator, not true bypass either. Then again, I haven't really noticed too much tonesuck from the Crybaby.
The APW-3 on the other hand, has a red LED indicator, no wah pot to wear out, as well as a frequency range knob. The range knob, as far as I can remember, mainly controlled the highs of the wah (toe position). It wasn't as drastic as I expected or wanted, but worked nonetheless. When engaging & disengaging the wah, I didn't have to press as hard as I had to on the Crybaby.

Soundwise: I'm having a hard time deciding
I think everyone knows how a Crybaby sounds. As I expected, the APW-3 didn't have as much highs, or the 'shrillness' that others complain about. I also noticed that the sweep is a *tad* wider than the Crybaby. In addition, the APW-3's sweep is a bit more gradual.
Here comes the hard part - character. I'm not sure if it's because of the red Fasel inductor in the Crybaby, but the Crybaby has this character that's hard to fully describe. Whatever position you have the Crybaby in, it seems to boost the frequency that it's focused on.. and as a result, it has this "gnarly" tone. On the other hand, the APW-3 felt & sounded a bit more tamed & smooth.
Generally speaking, the two wah's sounded similar. The APW-3, priced at 2,595 (if I remember correctly), is good value for your money. It can come close to my Crybaby.

What bothers me now is if I should sell my Crybaby Classic to get the Artec APW-3.  I have a love-hate relationship with the Crybaby's 'character', and I can't really decide if I can live without that or not. The Artec's price is really tempting.. especially because my music doesn't always revolve around the wah sound.

What do you guys think? Help me!

[bryanarzaga]

Just came from The Music Source today. I brought my Crybaby Classic to A/B it with the Artec APW-3. Kudos to the people at The Music Source for the great customer service. They even let me try the 5-watter Crate amp there. I didn't like it much, but good service nonetheless.

Alright, so in this A/B test.. other equipment I used included an off-the-shelf strat-style Aria guitar, and a (2x8?) Artec amp.

Construction-wise: Crybaby wins
Maybe it's just me; nasanay na ko sa bigat ng Crybaby. The APW-3 is considerably lighter than the Crybaby.. and the metal enclosure feels different. IMO, it felt like plastic at first, but I remembered reading specs na all-metal nga ito. The APW-3's frequency range knob felt a bit too easy to turn for me. Maybe I was expecting the same resistance as the pots from Boss, especially because Artec used the same kind of knob. You be the judge if it's just because of my OC tendencies. Hahaha. Finally, the APW-3 makes me think of a Morley slimmed down to just a bit wider than a Crybaby.

Features: APW-3 wins
The Crybaby is pretty much a no-frills kind of wah. No LED indicator, not true bypass either. Then again, I haven't really noticed too much tonesuck from the Crybaby.
The APW-3 on the other hand, has a red LED indicator, no wah pot to wear out, as well as a frequency range knob. The range knob, as far as I can remember, mainly controlled the highs of the wah (toe position). It wasn't as drastic as I expected or wanted, but worked nonetheless. When engaging & disengaging the wah, I didn't have to press as hard as I had to on the Crybaby.

Soundwise: I'm having a hard time deciding
I think everyone knows how a Crybaby sounds. As I expected, the APW-3 didn't have as much highs, or the 'shrillness' that others complain about. I also noticed that the sweep is a *tad* wider than the Crybaby. In addition, the APW-3's sweep is a bit more gradual.
Here comes the hard part - character. I'm not sure if it's because of the red Fasel inductor in the Crybaby, but the Crybaby has this character that's hard to fully describe. Whatever position you have the Crybaby in, it seems to boost the frequency that it's focused on.. and as a result, it has this "gnarly" tone. On the other hand, the APW-3 felt & sounded a bit more tamed & smooth.
Generally speaking, the two wah's sounded similar. The APW-3, priced at 2,595 (if I remember correctly), is good value for your money. It can come close to my Crybaby.

What bothers me now is if I should sell my Crybaby Classic to get the Artec APW-3.  I have a love-hate relationship with the Crybaby's 'character', and I can't really decide if I can live without that or not. The Artec's price is really tempting.. especially because my music doesn't always revolve around the wah sound.

What do you guys think? Help me!

get paycheck then buy 

[strummer]

yep yep. buy. hahah. pero don't throw away the crybaby. you'll regret it. hahah. i tried parting with the crybaby once pero bumalik din ako. <note: i havent heard the artec wah yet... hahah>

[bryanarzaga]

i have 2 crybabys i cant sell them lol

[strummer]

i have 2 crybabys i cant sell them lol

hahah. kitam...

back on topic though... current gas: resovibe. heheh

[dakuykoy]

I used to have a crybaby fuzz-wah. Yep, it's heavy and obviously can withstand anything. Tone needs no explanation I guess  (traded it for a boss multi by the way  )

But the APW-3, imho, still has that "malapot" tonal character I'm looking for in a wah. Honestly, I prefer this over the APW-5, but to be fair, the APW-5 sounds very good for bass (it has guitar/bass mode). You can ask the great masked man from Eternal Now about that. 

@ Red_Strat - good luck! pero i think master strummer is right. whether you buy the APW-3 or not, keep the crybaby. well, kung bibilhin mo, at least napapahinga ung pot ng crybaby. 

[arkeetar]

2,595 lang yung artec! 
hindi na nga pinaghihinayangan yan! 

[dakuykoy]

short demo ng Artec Twinhead by Mr. Junji Lerma :

http://theguitarden.multiply.com/video/item/12/Junji_Lerma_Wahijuara_Radioactive_Sago_with_the_Artec_Twinhead

[wh1t33rick]

short demo ng Artec Twinhead by Mr. Junji Lerma :

http://theguitarden.multiply.com/video/item/12/Junji_Lerma_Wahijuara_Radioactive_Sago_with_the_Artec_Twinhead

ayt man! thanks sir for posting!

[turiguiliano]

i have 2 crybabys i cant sell them lol

get paycheck then buy 

[bryanarzaga]

i might grab an artec compressor 

[dakuykoy]

this might be slightly inappropriate, but look who's using the twinhead: 







yep, it's E. Now's Mr. Nobody..
even bassists can benefit from the true bypass circuitry since it preserves the natural sound of their instrument (the low end in particular)

[dakuykoy]

some sound samples of the Artec ADL-2 Analog Delay (as used by Junji Lerma):

[Red_Strat]

Thanks for the replies. I just might keep my Crybaby after all.
I'll turn my GAS to a new overdrive pedal instead. Hehe.

[wh1t33rick]

this might be slightly inappropriate, but look who's using the twinhead: 







yep, it's E. Now's Mr. Nobody..
even bassists can benefit from the true bypass circuitry since it preserves the natural sound of their instrument (the low end in particular)

Sir daks pati ba naman si sir RoJ hehehehe

[fraudulentzodiac]

I recently bought an Artec ADL-2 at one stop music and was able to try the twinhead as well, I find it ridiculous that people take these artec pedals for granted, if it wasn't for my BK Butler Tube Driver I would have bought the twin head as well, why buy a DS-1 or DS-2 when the twin head sounds a lot better, is more versatile and is much cheaper brand new.

The ADL-2 simply blew me away, boutique quality analog delay for like quarter or eighth of the usual boutique pedal price, and the good guys at One Stop Music gave a discount as well.

I might get the EQ/Tuner pedal next, which they are selling for a low price, I was even laughing when I found out how much they sell their artec pedals, dati someone was selling the same pedal for much more sa classifieds, and it was used!

[dakuykoy]

@wh1t33rick - ganun "ka-true" yung true bypass

@Red_Strat - syempre, baka ikaw ang maging crybaby pag dinispatsa mo yan! try the duo drive or the blues overdrive anyway

@fraudulentzodiac -kung ayaw mo nung reverb ng Crate V50 mo, yan na ang pwedeng solusyon 

[strummer]

Thanks for the replies. I just might keep my Crybaby after all.
I'll turn my GAS to a new overdrive pedal instead. Hehe.

have it true bypassed na lang para swak. heheh. im planning to buy a crybaby nga para i-mod lang eh. tbp, fasel, etc. heheh. i have a 535q kasi, swak na pero im missing my gcb95..  . if i sell my items myt get an od rin. hehe

[dakuykoy]

Artec released an Octave Driver in MusikMesse '09 

http://talk.philmusic.com/board/index.php/topic,132179.15.html

[inigo]

I just bought their eq-tuner. Sulit sya. EQ seems transparent (at the low volume I had my amp on, no diff between neutral position and off position), tuner tracks decently fast. True bypass din.

[x_taxi]

got the fuzztown!  the pedal was painted dirty and sounds as gritty as it looks!  was a toss up between this and a big muff.  but bein the cheapskate that i am...

i like the blues overdrive as well when i tested the boost pedals they had in stock over at the music source.  very responsive to playing dynamics.

 

[aya13allen]

Prices galing sa The Pocket....

The Music Source: 376-4598
SPL: 735-5440
HiFi Lounge: 842-8133

Bass equalizer & chromatic tuner - 2,995 pesos
Vintage Chorus - 2,895 pesos
Vintage Phase Shifter - 2,595 pesos
Big Dots Tuner - 2,995 pesos
Twin Head - 3,295 pesos
Analog Delay (version 2) - 3,995 pesos

8 channel Power Brick - 3,295 pesos

also try out these pedals:

Duo Drive Blender - 1,995 pesos
Turbo Compressor - 1,995 pesos
70's Drive Blender - 2,295 pesos
Crazy Metal - 2,395 pesos
Blues Overdrive - 2,395 pesos
Soloist Distortion - 2,395 pesos
Analog Delay (version 1) - 2,495 pesos
Vintage Tremolo - 2,495 pesos
Parametric Eq - 2,495 pesos
Classic Fuzztown - 2,895
Cool Drive - 2,995 pesos

ayos nito ah.. reasonable price

[in_the_tent]

ayos nito ah.. reasonable price

kung di nagbrown out baka nakapagtest pa tayo sa TMS. hehe

[dakuykoy]

got the fuzztown!  the pedal was painted dirty and sounds as gritty as it looks!  was a toss up between this and a big muff.  but bein the cheapskate that i am...

i like the blues overdrive as well when i tested the boost pedals they had in stock over at the music source.  very responsive to playing dynamics.

para ngang big muff (ung white fuzz nya). The blues overdrive doesn't have as much gain / grit as the Boss BD-2, but it's very responsive and thick, good for boosting

[x_taxi]

para ngang big muff (ung white fuzz nya). The blues overdrive doesn't have as much gain / grit as the Boss BD-2, but it's very responsive and thick, good for boosting

the white fuzz did sound like a big muff.  when i tried the white with just a bit of black, i got an tech21 xxl fuzz-ish out-of-phase tone.  it sounds great with a nice tube amp.

will probably get the blues overdrive when the itch comes.