Tonebone Radial Dragster: True Eliminator or All Show and No Go?

[epluribus]

Opinions?

Heard a lot of great things about these lately, and I've been researching them on the web, though most of the stuff is ad copy. I know two guys here who've had great luck with them, and find the difference they make to be substantial. Not to be a Doubting Thomas, but in the interest of being a Doubting Thomas, what's your take on 'em?

BTW, for those who haven't heard, the Dragster is basically an impedance corrector for passive pickups. You use 'em in front of things like wireless transmitters and digital modellers to show the optimum load to the pups. Cool thing is, they come with a little pot to vary the impedance and hit it spot-on, no matter what you're plugged into. Could have all sorts of handy uses...theoretically at least.

So I'm askin'...cuz I guess I'm too cheap to pony up about enough dough for a tank of gas and get one. :)

--Ray

[Scott Peterson]

I'm a cheerleader for it I guess. :D

My honest opinion is that it does what it says it does, simple as that. If you use passive pickups, especially single coils, or lower output humbuckers it'll truly work. It isn't some bolt of lightening from above, it isn't smoke and mirrors, it just helps things like modelers and wireless units by loading the pickups like a tube amp would. And the end result is that you get a sense of "body" and "pop" from the tone that isn't there unless you plug into an amp.

And just to reiterate, I paid full price for it, don't have any connection at all to Radial. Just want to pass on something that is working for me. $40 spent is well worth what you get back.

[StompBoxBlues]

Another thing...If you get one, it would be smart to search on "Dragster" and find Scotts recent post about how he finds the "sweet spot", for positioning the pot for the best response.
He was more descriptive than I remember the manual being.

[epluribus]

Somebody in this neck of the woods asked this--wouldn't have occurred to me...does it change the way the guitar's volume or tone pots interact with the amp or the wireless?

--Ray

[fr8_trane]

OK, I really don't get this.

Gtrs have a low impedance output. Tube amps usually have a really high input impedance of 1 meg ohm which is what the gtr wants to see. So as long as the input impedance on whatever you're plugging into is about 1 meg or more there should be no loading unless you have 100 ft of shitty cable between you and that input. Could Line 6/ Vox/ Digitech be dumb enough to put a low impedance input on their modelling products?

[Scott Peterson]

OK, I really don't get this.

Gtrs have a low impedance output. Tube amps usually have a really high input impedance of 1 meg ohm which is what the gtr wants to see. So as long as the input impedance on whatever you're plugging into is about 1 meg or more there should be no loading unless you have 100 ft of shitty cable between you and that input. Could Line 6/ Vox/ Digitech be dumb enough to put a low impedance input on their modelling products?

Passive guitar pickups are high impedance, not low. Active pickups (ala EMG and such) are low impedance.

The Dragster or any given buffer (the Dragster is not a buffer btw) would not be needed for active pickups; not with a wireless and not with any given modeler.

From VHT's site: However, all digital effects and modelers have solid-state analog input stages and most of these have fair to mediocre frequency response and very low headroom. Headroom (the maximum amount of signal level an audio circuit can handle before overload) is directly related to the operating voltage of the entire unit. Since most digital and modeling effects operate at very low voltage (typically between 6 to 12 volts), it is very easy to overload the analog input stage causing a flat artificial tone.From Radial's site:

Q: Will the Dragster affect the tone of an electric-acoustic guitar?
A: Yes – but only if it is a passive instrument with a magnetic pick-up or piezo. The Dragster will have zero or very little effect on acoustic guitars or active instruments that have built-in battery powered pre-amps. Keep in mind that it is really designed for passive instruments

Q: Can I use the Dragster at the receive end of my wireless system?
A: No. The output of the wireless system is buffered. The Dragster will only work if connected directly in line with the pickup before the signal reaches the wireless transmitter.

Q: Will the Dragster help me when I record direct to my computer?
A: Yes – Absolutely. By adjusting the impedance or load on the pickup before it is processed, the tone will become much more natural and amp like. This will then let you create tones using the various amp modeling software that is currently out there.


How Drag™ works:
What happens when you plug a guitar directly into typical tube amp is very different than what happens when you plug into a buffered device, mixer or effect. The amplifier presents an optimal load to the guitar pickup for which it is designed. Other devices change this natural load and the signal from the pickup is altered. Certain frequencies are emphasized or removed and the guitar looses it's warmth and rich harmonic tone. Drag control, simply put, restores the optimal loading on the pickup so that no matter what device comes next, the pickup always sees the correct impedance load, just as if it were plugged directly into the amp.Here's my "How-to" post on setting the Dragster:

It is passive and has one pot to set, it's a set it and forget it thing. Basically I use a humbucker on full, then roll the knob from "less" to "more" until I hear it crushing the signal. Then I back off till I don't hear it at all and that's my setting. What I find is that it really lets the single coil pickups retain life and volume compared to without the Dragster. I just love this little thing. If you don't use humbuckers, you simply crank it all the way up and then play while rolling it down. Use your ears and "feel" the right place to set it at. It's a pretty simple thing, though I imagine is doesn't come off that way for some reason.

[fr8_trane]

I guess I'll just have to try one and see. Gotta love the MF return policy:D

Here's a link to a technical discussion about what the dragster may or may not be doing to your signal. Not much insight really.

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=39543.0

[Scott Peterson]

I guess I'll just have to try one and see. Gotta love the MF return policy:D

Here's a link to a technical discussion about what the dragster may or may not be doing to your signal. Not much insight really.

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=39543.0

Whew. That thread underlines one cardinal law of the internet, never ever trust the opinion of someone who a) hasn't owned or even tried the unit at hand; and b) speculation and opinion are completely baseless.... they all admit they have no idea or concept of what the stupid thing is/does or what it is made with. Um, let me follow.... Guy "A": I heard the thing is a scam, just a pot to ground! Guy "B": "Yea!"

My answer? Um, reality. I own it. I've used it. It works. The rest? Internet "blah-blah". :D :NUTS

[epluribus]

The rest? Internet "blah-blah". :D :NUTS

:D Wasn't there a song about this, something like Radio DaDa?

[JKoeth]

I don't use a wireless system or modelling devices. Would the Dragster help when going through a pedalboard with TB pedals? Can it help tune a buffer?

[JackButler]

I'm thinking of trying one at the end of a long chain of TB pedals to see if it helps any.

[Ferrari-Dude]

My Radial JD-7 has a drag control and it works. I liken it to a tone control or a really subtle presence control . I have a multi-amp setup which is fed by the JD-7 and it's interesting how each amp reacts to the adjustments in the drag control.

Because I use a variety of guitars with the JD-7, each with a different kind of humbucker, I just set it to a decent setting that works for all pickups. I don't think I've tweaked it ever since.

[hrowe]

I'm thinking of trying one at the end of a long chain of TB pedals to see if it helps any.

In order to work properly with your pickups, it should be first in the chain.

[hrowe]

Don't forget about the Radial BigShot PB1 which is the Dragster AND a buffer AND a transparent class A boost. Great box:AOK

[trancedental]

I think there might be something in this, after reading another thread on here I got out the old Johnson J-Station that I had not used for a while.

I tried it with the Barge concepts http://www.bargeconcepts.com/vfb1.html looper (buffered ins & outs) & the http://www.littlelabs.com/redeye.html reamp /DI before the J-Station.

Both of the above boxes make a very big difference to the tone, more dynamics & sparkle, plug straight in and somethings missing again.

[ruger9]

Yeah, I know... REALLY OLD THREAD...

I've been using the Radial PB-1 Buffer/Booster for a couple years. First in line, right after the guitar. LOVE it. Bought an extra just in case they stopped making them...THAT's how much I love this thing. And I LOVE how I can use a relatively large pedalboard & it still sounds like I'm plugged straight into the amp. But I don't use the booster, and I'd love to have the real estate...

So, the PB-1 has a Dragster INSIDE it... is that the buffer? Or is the buffer seperate from the Dragster? And what is keeping my guitar sound like it's plugged directly into the amp (alot of it is a high-end thing, but that's not the "whole" story).

Just wondering if the little Dragster could replace my PB-1, for how I'm using it?