Strymon stuff is awesome, but it kills productivity. They pack so much shit into every unit there is no way you can make any kind of decision on how you actually want to use it. Strymon makes pedals for people who actually know what they use the very large prime numbers they are always so keen on discovering more of are actually used for.
Pros of buying a Strymon unit:
-Their pedals are really kickass
Cons:
-"This is too nice to step on. Also too nice to put velcro on the back of."
-"These routing options are too intense."
-"There is just too much here for me, I'm not worthy."
-"This brushed aluminum enclosure makes all my other pedals look shitty"
Also, you are going to have to spend another $50 to get their favorite switch with most of their pedals, so you can switch between two modes on the fly. It also has an out for an expression switch.
Strymon gets an A+ for quality but an F in terms of "right tool for the right job".
Buying a Strymon overdrive is like having to hammer in a nail, and instead of buying a hammer, you first go to school to get a PHD in hammers.
There is never a time when a Strymon pedal is the fastest way to get from Point A to Point B. I've never even talked to a Strymon owner who had any clue what half of the knobs and switches and menus on their units actually do. You just read the features list and nod to pretend like you understand what it means.
(directly from their product page)
"Series, reverse series, and parallel drive circuit stacking via Config switch"
"Ah yes, Reverse Series mode, I'm going to use that all the time"
That actually makes a lot of sense - do you want to run the Texas into the JFET, or the JFET into the Texas, or split your signal and run it into both without feeding one into the other?
....which is actually a pretty nifty feature, and suddenly I want this a little. :lol:
Nice pedal with several uses. My problem would be liking enough combinations to have to constantly reach down flipping switches - I could likely set the controls for useful in-between values.
a device this flexible should have some semi-programmable control-change-like switches.
A MIDI capable version with just limited programs + a MIDI mapper would be quite useful.
My problem would be liking enough combinations to have to constantly reach down flipping switches - I could likely set the controls for useful in-between values.
a device this flexible should have some semi-programmable control-change-like switches.
A MIDI capable version with just limited programs + a MIDI mapper would be quite useful.
I'm actually surprised that Strymon haven't implemented a midi capable drive pedal yet. I suppose that's something that'll happen down the line.
Come to think of it, there aren't many Drive pedals with midi capability. There's the Elektron and the Source Audio Soundblox units. The Elektron Analog Drive Distortion was a surprise since it's pretty affordable and actually sounds really good.
The thing I like most about the pedal is that instead of writing "Germanium" they used the symbol from the periodic table of elements. Like people looking for ultimate Texas Blues tone know the periodic table of elements off the top of their heard.
Although I'm offended that the "texas" mode is below it and not even capitalized.
I demand a limited edition of this pedal where every control reads "TEXAS".
I would even take a limited edition which pares down the controls to one giant knob that reads "TEXAS".
I ended up just getting an 808 for my Mesa, and it was the right choice. It's been a while since I had an amp that actually benefitted from a boost, since I've had just the 5150 for a few years. I still may end up grabbing one of these down the road sometime but for now my quest to sniff all the corks took a turn for fiscal responsibility and I just got the correct tool for the job instead.
I had a trimeline, sold it, was awesome though. But there was just too much going on. Shame, as it was cool, but, it's a pedal, and as such, if it needs a ui to program because buttons take ages, then it's too much hassle for me these days.
I had a Bluesky and a Brigadier (reverb / delay) at the same time for a while. No UI/LCDs or anythign, all knobs. They were fantastic, I had them for one of the MG-fests at my place and I think everyone that plugged into them just did this for half an hour:
also, just buy a few good utility dirt pedals. trs808, a ds1 a like, maybe a swedish chainsaw death metal one, and get a few of them. then use whichever one you want for a sound. Chances are, the staples will do everything you need.
I'm sure it's amazing. But i'd rather have a couple ods/distortions I truly love on my board than one that does a bunch of sounds really well. Have a hard time believing I wouldn't use it if one showed up on my doorstep for free though.
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