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nickname009
Published on 08/18/11 at 20:58
# True Bypass
# Level dial
# Mid dial
# Character dial
# Drive dial
# Low dial
# High dial
# Speaker Sim On/Off
This is an interesting pedal, actually most of the character series is interesting. They all have their own little flavors of famous amps using the same set of controls on each. The Oxford in particular, as you may be able to tell from the orange aesthetic is meant to emulate or have the sounds of vintage tones specifically marshalls, orange amps etc.
UTILIZATION
All the knobs, are ACTIVE. Meaning that even with the slightest turn, it'll affect the sound, GREATLY. You don't need to turn each knob too far to start hearing results.
The speaker sim is sort of a love/hate thing. Some people don't like it some people do but it actually depends on how you're setting the rest of the knobs. One setting you have that sounds great with the speaker sim on, will not sound the same with the speaker sim off. As a matter of fact you should think of setting the speaker sim on or off first, and THEN tweaking the rest of the knobs.
As I've toyed with this for quite a long time, one can actually get great sounds with the speaker sim on OR off. It just completely depends on how you set everything else.
SOUND QUALITY
Ok here's where we get really critical. Does it sound good overall? Yes it sounds great!
Does it sound like a vintage marshall or orange amp? No. Not at all. But the sounds I was able to achieve sounded very convincing and very good when paired up with a tube amp of any sort.
I haven't tried this direct but knowing most pedals of this type, the tone will probably lack when compared to hooking it up to an all tube amp. The distortion is clear, and can be tweaked for low/medium gain applications or even super high gain metal type and get get quite convincing, strong, thick rhythm tones.
In my opinion the sounds are most like a smoother sounding solid-state pedal. Which is great! But may not suit others. If i were blindfolded, would I be able to tell? probably not.
OVERALL OPINION
Overall it's a good sounding pedal and is very tweakable. You can get a wide variety of vintage-esque sounds from low gain to completely over the top high gain. The sounds are very convincing but you have to work with the speaker sim which some people may not like the sound of when engaged. There is a specific sound that this pedal gives out overall, a vibe, if you will that some people might like, and some people won't.
Does it sound exactly like a vintage marshall-esque amp? I wouldn't say so but at the same time I can't tell you why either. There is something about it that is untrue that can be heard when playing leads, single note runs etc. Maybe it's how it tracks, or maybe it's how the notes decay when playing leads that differentiate it from tube amps.
Either way it's still a really good sounding pedal for what it is and the price, and if paired up with a tube amp, you're set to go!
# Level dial
# Mid dial
# Character dial
# Drive dial
# Low dial
# High dial
# Speaker Sim On/Off
This is an interesting pedal, actually most of the character series is interesting. They all have their own little flavors of famous amps using the same set of controls on each. The Oxford in particular, as you may be able to tell from the orange aesthetic is meant to emulate or have the sounds of vintage tones specifically marshalls, orange amps etc.
UTILIZATION
All the knobs, are ACTIVE. Meaning that even with the slightest turn, it'll affect the sound, GREATLY. You don't need to turn each knob too far to start hearing results.
The speaker sim is sort of a love/hate thing. Some people don't like it some people do but it actually depends on how you're setting the rest of the knobs. One setting you have that sounds great with the speaker sim on, will not sound the same with the speaker sim off. As a matter of fact you should think of setting the speaker sim on or off first, and THEN tweaking the rest of the knobs.
As I've toyed with this for quite a long time, one can actually get great sounds with the speaker sim on OR off. It just completely depends on how you set everything else.
SOUND QUALITY
Ok here's where we get really critical. Does it sound good overall? Yes it sounds great!
Does it sound like a vintage marshall or orange amp? No. Not at all. But the sounds I was able to achieve sounded very convincing and very good when paired up with a tube amp of any sort.
I haven't tried this direct but knowing most pedals of this type, the tone will probably lack when compared to hooking it up to an all tube amp. The distortion is clear, and can be tweaked for low/medium gain applications or even super high gain metal type and get get quite convincing, strong, thick rhythm tones.
In my opinion the sounds are most like a smoother sounding solid-state pedal. Which is great! But may not suit others. If i were blindfolded, would I be able to tell? probably not.
OVERALL OPINION
Overall it's a good sounding pedal and is very tweakable. You can get a wide variety of vintage-esque sounds from low gain to completely over the top high gain. The sounds are very convincing but you have to work with the speaker sim which some people may not like the sound of when engaged. There is a specific sound that this pedal gives out overall, a vibe, if you will that some people might like, and some people won't.
Does it sound exactly like a vintage marshall-esque amp? I wouldn't say so but at the same time I can't tell you why either. There is something about it that is untrue that can be heard when playing leads, single note runs etc. Maybe it's how it tracks, or maybe it's how the notes decay when playing leads that differentiate it from tube amps.
Either way it's still a really good sounding pedal for what it is and the price, and if paired up with a tube amp, you're set to go!