compressor, clean boost and treble boost all
in one package. – GG
Buy if … you play fair and want to treat all
your guitar notes equally.
Skip if … you don’t fully understand compression or don’t need it for your style.
Street $199
Strymon
strymon.net
WHIRLWIND RED BOX COMPRESSOR
The new Whirlwind Red Box Compressor
is housed in a small, sturdy metal box, just
like the original MXR Dyna Comp pedal of
many years ago. There are two control knobs:
one is the Output knob and the other is the
Sensitivity control. The jacks are on the sides
of the unit, as are on the original, and two
welcome additions to the new model are a
9V battery jack and an LED On/Off status
indicator. The control knobs even look the
same as they did on the vintage unit.
The first thing I noticed upon firing it up was
the full rich sound, and its quiet operation.
Additionally, the range of compression went
from barely noticeable to a fat, sustaining,
completely even tone. Through a clean amp,
with the Sustain knob set at about two o’clock
I was able to get classic country compression
tone. Using it with a little bit of distortion
and turning the Sensitivity control down a bit,
the notes seemed to sustain extremely well,
and using a guitar with humbucking pickups
produced some pretty cool B.B. King tones.
When using this pedal, you have to be sure
the output level is set for unity gain so the
front end of your amp is driven properly.
Otherwise, you may experience an over-com-
pressed sound. I found that, by comparison,
the original MXR Dyna Comps were brighter
and also produced a bit more compression in
the maximum Sustain setting. It seemed a lit-
tle harder to dial it in exactly where I needed
to be, but the newer Whirlwind unit seemed
to produce higher fidelity. – KR
Buy if … you’re looking for a great, versatile
compressor for all types of music.
Skip if … compression is not an integral part
of your sound.
Street $149
Whirlwind
whirlwindusa.com
DELAY
MAXON AD999 PRO ANALOG DELAY
Maxon has a long history of producing some
of the most celebrated effect pedals ever. In
the 1970s, they were commissioned by Ibanez
to design and build an effects line that eventually resulted in the Fuzz/Wah, the famed
TS-808 Tube Screamer, TS- 9 Tube Screamer
and the AD- 9 Analog Delay, amongst others.
Several years ago, Maxon shifted gears and
decided to market their own line of Maxon-branded effects, utilizing rare NOS (new old
stock) components and newer technologies,
such as true bypass circuitry. The AD999 Pro
Analog Delay, one of the newest entries in
their Vintage Series, picks up concepts from
their renowned AD- 9 and AD999 analog
delays and pushes them even further, utilizing
a new noise reduction circuit and a “
Multi-Head” mode, which simulates older tape
delays that used multiple tape heads to create huge, atmospheric sounds.
With a Grosh ElectraJet Standard into a
Mesa/Boogie Electra-Dyne half stack, I was
easily able to coax out some excellent slap-
back tones that were some of the warmest
and most dynamic I’ve heard in years. The
sound definitely took me back to when I had
an original Ibanez AD80 (another Maxon
design), using it with very small repeat and
delay settings to help thicken my rhythm
sound. Gradually, I added in each of the three
Multi-Head mode switches to create a swash-
ing backdrop of cavernous delay, perfect for
wide, ethereal soundscapes. Maxon explains
that each switch adds midstream delay signals
(which are taken from the middle of the delay
circuit), which give the AD999 Pro the ability
to emulate fabled tape delays of yore, such
as the Roland RE- 201 Space Echo. Lovers
of digital delay will probably want to look
elsewhere, as the AD999 Pro’s high end fre-
quencies are rolled off and the overall delay
tone has a very fuzzy, unclear flavor to it. For
devotees of vintage analog sounds however,
the AD999 Pro is a perfect choice. – JW
Buy if … you’re fed up with searching high
and low for rare, multi-head tape delay units.
Skip if … pristine delay tones are a must.
Street $399
Maxon
maxonfx.com
ELECTRO-HARMONIX MEMORY BOY
The release of the famed Electro-Harmonix
Memory Man in the 1970s was a watershed
moment in guitar gear history. Previously,
players’ options for emulating echo were
very limited. Devices such as the Maestro
Echoplex utilized magnetic tape to produce
the effect, but were prone to problems
with jamming, tape breaking and degradation. The Memory Man’s solid-state, analog
circuitry provided warm delay in a smaller,
lighter package, while at the same time eliminating the need for moving parts that would
eventually need replacing. Electro-Harmonix
has continued to release various delay, echo
and looper pedals throughout the years, and
while most have been very good, none has
reached the legendary status of the original
Memory Man model.
The release of the new Memory Boy, EH’s
new analog delay with modulation, aims to
set the bar higher than that of its original
Memory Man, with the same organic delay
tones and a modulation switch (the effects
can be processed in either in triangle or
square wave forms) in an even smaller enclosure. With a 1978 Gibson Les Paul Custom
plugged into a Mesa/Boogie Electra-Dyne
4.5Rating...
The Stomping Grounds
5.0Rating...
4.0Rating...
www.premierguitar.com 132 PREMIER GUITAR NOVEMBER 2009
