TheMarlin
Active member
Damn. I’m definitely going to have to order one of those.
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INT80 FORUM LTD EDITION INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER - now available
Ziggy Played Guitar ....
- Thread starter Fretless
- Start date
Fretless
Active member
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TheRealAleman
New member
Fretless
Active member
Got a nice little 3-guitar rack for peanuts from AliExpress and a number of dirt-cheap pedals that I've been having loads of fun with.
Will post a rundown on the new additions very soon.
I'm getting to grips with the stuff I have assembled and am finding it to be an adventure. Now learning what everything does and how to get the most out of them.
The Chinese 'clone' pedals might be cheap n' cheerful but they certainly get some impressive sounds!
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Fretless
Active member
Fun Stuff Part 1:
In the Delay dept we have:
Left: the M-Vave Mini Universe. A reverb pedal with a variety of settings that add angelic choruses or vast shimmering clouds (amongst others) to the signal. Bizarre and amazing.
Centre: the M-Vave Elemental. Digital delay with several settings and a massive 3 seconds of echo. Instant 'Frippertronics' pedal for those fading ambient layers.
Right: the Movall Falling Star. A clean, analogue-style delay with a weird modulation option that is very strange. Have to play about with that.
Average price was €20 for these, including P&P. Also no extra import charges. AliExpress really makes it (too) easy these days.
There is a Summer Clearance Sale starting very soon. A couple of things I have my eye on already have a reduced-price warning.
In the Delay dept we have:
Left: the M-Vave Mini Universe. A reverb pedal with a variety of settings that add angelic choruses or vast shimmering clouds (amongst others) to the signal. Bizarre and amazing.
Centre: the M-Vave Elemental. Digital delay with several settings and a massive 3 seconds of echo. Instant 'Frippertronics' pedal for those fading ambient layers.
Right: the Movall Falling Star. A clean, analogue-style delay with a weird modulation option that is very strange. Have to play about with that.
Average price was €20 for these, including P&P. Also no extra import charges. AliExpress really makes it (too) easy these days.
There is a Summer Clearance Sale starting very soon. A couple of things I have my eye on already have a reduced-price warning.
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Fretless
Active member
Fun Stuff Part 3:
Now we're into 'Clone of a clone' territory as this Irin pedal is a direct copy of the Joyo British Sound (which itself was a copy of another one).
All I can say is that this is an absolute blast! Imagine a Marshall stack churning out the biggest, baddest noise there is - and this cool-looking pedal does just that. Instant Motorhead !!!!!
Love this one. I have it as my Overdrive as there are handy tone and voice controls.
The Irin pedals are considerably cheaper than the Joyo's and probably just as good.
Now we're into 'Clone of a clone' territory as this Irin pedal is a direct copy of the Joyo British Sound (which itself was a copy of another one).
All I can say is that this is an absolute blast! Imagine a Marshall stack churning out the biggest, baddest noise there is - and this cool-looking pedal does just that. Instant Motorhead !!!!!
Love this one. I have it as my Overdrive as there are handy tone and voice controls.
The Irin pedals are considerably cheaper than the Joyo's and probably just as good.
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Fretless
Active member
Fun Stuff Part 4:
Put a new pickguard on the HB Cabronita. Another 'Bundle' bargain from Ali (honestly, you can find anything on there).
Lovely 'Brown Tortoise' colour that looks very elegant.
A nickname for this model is the 'Smuggler's Guitar' as there is a cavity behind the plate that is big enough for a cigarette pack - or whatever takes your fancy.
Put a new pickguard on the HB Cabronita. Another 'Bundle' bargain from Ali (honestly, you can find anything on there).
Lovely 'Brown Tortoise' colour that looks very elegant.
A nickname for this model is the 'Smuggler's Guitar' as there is a cavity behind the plate that is big enough for a cigarette pack - or whatever takes your fancy.
Fretless
Active member
I have spent the last week or two immersing myself in the world of effects pedals. What they do, how they react to each other in the signal chain etc. etc. .
This has increased my awareness about the sort of sounds I'm hoping and trying for and given me a lot of new insights. I've stood on the edge of this playing field for years, just looking on. Now I'm going in.
Also playing the AliExpress field and fishing for bargains. There are several pedals en route which I did a lot of research on and have obtained for an average of about €12 per piece. That's about what I pay for a CD.
Stuff on the way, It'll keep me entertained, that's for sure.
This has increased my awareness about the sort of sounds I'm hoping and trying for and given me a lot of new insights. I've stood on the edge of this playing field for years, just looking on. Now I'm going in.
Also playing the AliExpress field and fishing for bargains. There are several pedals en route which I did a lot of research on and have obtained for an average of about €12 per piece. That's about what I pay for a CD.
Stuff on the way, It'll keep me entertained, that's for sure.
Fretless
Active member
If the accepted term for Chinese audio gear is 'Chi-Fi' then what does one call Chinese effects pedals? 'Chedals', pethaps? I know that the term 'Chibson' is used on a certain line of fake guitars!
Anyhow, my first Chedal from a serious splurge on AliExpress is in - except it ain't a pedal at all....
Enter the Chinese E-Bow ('Chi-Bow'?) or the Movall Infinite Continuous Sound Effector. Sometimes also called the 'Infinite Sustainer'. It's the white thing on the photo that looks a bit like a Ladyshave or maybe a 'massage device' (maybe that's where the infinite sustain comes from?).
Ignoring poor attempts at smutty humour we'll just pretend this is a serious gear review, okay?
The odd black plastic object is my trusty genuine E-Bow that I've used for about 20 years. For the uninitiated, an E-Bow generates a rapidly fluctuating magnetic field that gets a guitar string vibrating and amplifies the signal through the pickup, this produces gliding violin/flute-like sounds. I love my E-Bow and use it a lot
Recent years have seen a couple of devices that run on the same principle and I was intrigued by a model from Joyo, the JGE-01, that is a direct rip-off and reported to be nearly as good as the original.
Pricewise: a real E-Bow is about €100, the Joyo about €60. Then Ali pops up with an alternative at less than €30, this one from Movall, who also make some nice pedals like the 'Falling Star' delay.
A coupon got this down to under €25.
Getting this in your hand and it does feel very pleasant to hold with a silky smooth finish. The Ladyshave comparison isn't far off. It comes complete with a 9V battery and there is a single 3-position switch for the two playing modes of standard and harmonic (just like the E-Bow).
Switch on and a blue light shines on the string you are playing. And there is a note! It works! Had a short test session comparing the two devices on guitars with various pickups (hell, that sounds impressive!).
The Movall Sustainer has about half the power of an E-Bow; I even swapped in a new Duracell battery that improved matters slightly, but still - it has less 'grip' on the strings and is slower in getting a note generated.
Also the Movall can produce a nasty high-pitched screech at odd moments, although that got less as I became more adept with it. Eventually I was getting some pleasant atmospheric tones from it and it is very comfortable to use.
On the positive side, the E-Bow can be too aggressive sometimes and the Movall might even be preferable for soft, gentle ambient stuff.
Something nice to mess about with, also handy as a reserve. It is not a competitor to the mighty E-Bow but does give the flavour and potential to the curious at a fraction of the price.
Anyhow, my first Chedal from a serious splurge on AliExpress is in - except it ain't a pedal at all....
Enter the Chinese E-Bow ('Chi-Bow'?) or the Movall Infinite Continuous Sound Effector. Sometimes also called the 'Infinite Sustainer'. It's the white thing on the photo that looks a bit like a Ladyshave or maybe a 'massage device' (maybe that's where the infinite sustain comes from?).
Ignoring poor attempts at smutty humour we'll just pretend this is a serious gear review, okay?
The odd black plastic object is my trusty genuine E-Bow that I've used for about 20 years. For the uninitiated, an E-Bow generates a rapidly fluctuating magnetic field that gets a guitar string vibrating and amplifies the signal through the pickup, this produces gliding violin/flute-like sounds. I love my E-Bow and use it a lot
Recent years have seen a couple of devices that run on the same principle and I was intrigued by a model from Joyo, the JGE-01, that is a direct rip-off and reported to be nearly as good as the original.
Pricewise: a real E-Bow is about €100, the Joyo about €60. Then Ali pops up with an alternative at less than €30, this one from Movall, who also make some nice pedals like the 'Falling Star' delay.
A coupon got this down to under €25.
Getting this in your hand and it does feel very pleasant to hold with a silky smooth finish. The Ladyshave comparison isn't far off. It comes complete with a 9V battery and there is a single 3-position switch for the two playing modes of standard and harmonic (just like the E-Bow).
Switch on and a blue light shines on the string you are playing. And there is a note! It works! Had a short test session comparing the two devices on guitars with various pickups (hell, that sounds impressive!).
The Movall Sustainer has about half the power of an E-Bow; I even swapped in a new Duracell battery that improved matters slightly, but still - it has less 'grip' on the strings and is slower in getting a note generated.
Also the Movall can produce a nasty high-pitched screech at odd moments, although that got less as I became more adept with it. Eventually I was getting some pleasant atmospheric tones from it and it is very comfortable to use.
On the positive side, the E-Bow can be too aggressive sometimes and the Movall might even be preferable for soft, gentle ambient stuff.
Something nice to mess about with, also handy as a reserve. It is not a competitor to the mighty E-Bow but does give the flavour and potential to the curious at a fraction of the price.
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I bought one of these ages ago, when they first came out, I think. I never gave it much of a tryout, but if memory serves, I was starting to prefer it to my e-Bow.
https://www.tcelectronic.com/product.html?modelCode=P0DAS
It got some great reviews, but it obviously wasn't too popular, as TC Electronic stopped making them. If you spot one being sold used at a reasonable price, I'd grab it.
https://www.tcelectronic.com/product.html?modelCode=P0DAS
It got some great reviews, but it obviously wasn't too popular, as TC Electronic stopped making them. If you spot one being sold used at a reasonable price, I'd grab it.
Fretless
Active member
Bill Vencil does a shoot out here between the TC Aeon, Joyo JGE-01 and E-Bow.
It feels to me like these devices all have their own idiosyncrasies and it is a matter of getting to know how best to use them. I just had another blast with the Movall and this time it was much smoother and more expressive. Still not an E-Bow but certainly useable.
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Fretless
Active member
The guitar-doctor is IN !!!
Just performed my first major surgery, swapping the ceramic humbuckers out for a set of Alnico 5's.
Quite an achievement with my failing eyesight and I'm pretty pleased that I managed it. Haven't wielded a soldering iron for about 10 years but the simple switches weren't too tricky.
Sound-wise, the new pickups are smoother, fuller and more refined than the ceramics, which had a cold, biting edge. Changes the character of the headless guitar quite considerably though and that will take some getting used to.
Just performed my first major surgery, swapping the ceramic humbuckers out for a set of Alnico 5's.
Quite an achievement with my failing eyesight and I'm pretty pleased that I managed it. Haven't wielded a soldering iron for about 10 years but the simple switches weren't too tricky.
Sound-wise, the new pickups are smoother, fuller and more refined than the ceramics, which had a cold, biting edge. Changes the character of the headless guitar quite considerably though and that will take some getting used to.
