Questions

  • What's a tube based distortion pedal you have or you think might be worth buying?

  • What would be a good site / reddit sub / forum / Youtube channel / whatever to check? I'm going to check Reverb tonight when I have time.

Skippable boring details

The thumb is for this COMING SOON: Audiode Overdrive / Distortion Pedal - Curious Audio

Curious Audio is run by a couple of lefties and the pedal intrigued me but there are issues. The pedal is more than I want to spend. The site lists the price as "$379.00 $289.00". I dont know if they are actually still making the damn thing. The apparently sold five. They were supposed to have a Youtube vide up around September. But now they removed any mention of that. Also - I emailed them a follow up question 3 months ago and they never replied.

I shouldn't have wasted my time but this morning I emailed them again. I broke a simple but very useful rule I have. If a business doesn't reply promptly - I should never do business with them. And it's not like there aren't loads of other pedal options.

  • Findom_DeLuise [she/her, they/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Oh, nice! Yeah, the preamp models on that should be pretty close to the real deal. I understand the struggle of wanting a real tube preamp -- I was in the same boat a while back. I started with a Digitech RP series modeler back in the day, and while I could dial in some classic rock and alternative/grunge sounds that I liked, it was just never quite there for the higher gain stuff, due to the fairly limited amp models on those. I had some hair metal-ish presets that I didn't hate, but yeah, at the end of the day, trying to get a Fender Princeton Reverb to sound like a Mesa Dual Rec or a block letter 5150 is a fool's errand. Amp modelers were definitely on the wrong side of the uncanny valley 15-20 years ago.

    The Helix, on the other hand, is a really damned good modeler. You're in for a hell of a ride once you get through some of the initial learning curve.

    • InevitableSwing [none/use name]
      ·
      2 years ago

      You’re in for a hell of a ride once you get through some of the initial learning curve.

      It's as if I'm trying to think of a good excuse for me not to play around with it after work today. Also I can't remember the last time I even touched my guitar. I think it was March. Well, the damn thing won't play itself.

      • Findom_DeLuise [she/her, they/them]
        ·
        2 years ago

        This sounds like me with my undiagnosed-but-extremely-plausible case of adult ADHD. I think it has been about a week for me, and I still don't practice nearly enough. Work-related burnout is a motherfucker.