What else sounds like a Workingman's Blue?

[Mapleneck]

Anything close out there from people who have actually tried them side by side?

[Mapleneck]

anyone?

[slopeshoulder]

NADA.
the z vex BOR is also like a JTM-45, but Z didn't seem to realize that unlike a plexi most JTM45 users turn the bass way down, so the BOR is very boomy. Not the Menatone.

[Mapleneck]

Originally Posted by slopeshoulder

NADA.
the z vex BOR is also like a JTM-45, but Z didn't seem to realize that unlike a plexi most JTM45 users turn the bass way down, so the BOR is very boomy. Not the Menatone.

I love the WMB. The texture of the OD and the voice of the eq. It is just perfect in a mix (with my amp and guitar). It is also very balanced between neck and bridge pickups. The only down side is that it is a tad noisey. All Menatones I have played are prone to buzzing. But Brian just must have a great ear for tone, and a mastery of how to get a circuit voiced just how he wants it. I've had several Menatones now and they are all really well voiced.

I was just wondering if there was anything out there that competes with the tonal qualities of the WMB. It's bright, with great low end, and plenty of mids. How many pedals pull that off, and have the character and texture that the WMB puts out? It has become my surprise favorite low to mid gain drive (combined with the natural OD of a 5E3 it actually has quite a bit of uncompressed OD when cranked). Just have to fight the buzz when the volume is backed off.

Mine is an older 5-knob. I wonder quite a bit about the different versions of Menatones too. But there are very few decent demos, and not much talk around here.

[amphead777]

Originally Posted by slopeshoulder

NADA.
the z vex BOR is also like a JTM-45, but Z didn't seem to realize that unlike a plexi most JTM45 users turn the bass way down, so the BOR is very boomy. Not the Menatone.

I agree, that's about the best I've heard. You can clip that "boom" by using the Distortron. It has a three way bass control. Plus, it's way cheaper.

[slopeshoulder]

Originally Posted by Mapleneck

I love the WMB. The texture of the OD and the voice of the eq. It is just perfect in a mix (with my amp and guitar). It is also very balanced between neck and bridge pickups. The only down side is that it is a tad noisey. All Menatones I have played are prone to buzzing. But Brian just must have a great ear for tone, and a mastery of how to get a circuit voiced just how he wants it. I've had several Menatones now and they are all really well voiced.

I was just wondering if there was anything out there that competes with the tonal qualities of the WMB. It's bright, with great low end, and plenty of mids. How many pedals pull that off, and have the character and texture that the WMB puts out? It has become my surprise favorite low to mid gain drive (combined with the natural OD of a 5E3 it actually has quite a bit of uncompressed OD when cranked). Just have to fight the buzz when the volume is backed off.

Mine is an older 5-knob. I wonder quite a bit about the different versions of Menatones too. But there are very few decent demos, and not much talk around here.

Those open, balanced, amp-like qualities you desribe are in all the Menatones, the Catalinbread amp pedals, the Wamler amp pedals, and the Kingsley minstrels. With Mena and Kingsley being best IME. MP LGW too and the EWS little brute drive too in recent experience.

[Mapleneck]

Originally Posted by slopeshoulder

Those open, balanced, amp-like qualities you desribe are in all the Menatones, the Catalinbread amp pedals, the Wamler amp pedals, and the Kingsley minstrels. With Mena and Kingsley being best IME. MP LGW too and the EWS little brute drive too in recent experience.

Ha! The Kingsley Minstrel is the other OD on my board! Despite having more gain, the Minstrel is quieter than the WMB. Both are GREAT sounding pedals with my rig. That's your old JAC by the way. I love that too!

[amphead777]

Originally Posted by Mapleneck

Ha! The Kingsley Minstrel is the other OD on my board! Despite having more gain, the Minstrel is quieter than the WMB. Both are GREAT sounding pedals with my rig. That's your old JAC by the way. I love that too!

Nice board!!

[Mapleneck]

Originally Posted by amphead777

Nice board!!

Thanks. It is working for me real well. I read sometimes of people who used to use the Workingman's Blue before moving on to something else. I would love to know what that something else was? Was it in the same vein and better, or did they move to a totally different sound? I can't imagine a pedal sounding too much more like the real thing. I used to have a Club and Country and this pedal will cop that feel too. Would lilke to kill the noise though. Anyway, pedal purchases are way down lately. Very happy right now.

[EXP]

Originally Posted by Mapleneck

I used to have a Club and Country and this pedal will cop that feel too.

I thought the Club and Country was Marshalls take on a Twin Reverb? Which channel was it, the boost or the Fendery clean side? I like the C&C but it's too bulky and HEAVY. Way heavier than my Super.

What happened to the Blackstone? My favorite combo right now is a Blackstone with a fuzzface.

[saf_1]

Originally Posted by Mapleneck

Thanks. It is working for me real well. I read sometimes of people who used to use the Workingman's Blue before moving on to something else. I would love to know what that something else was? Was it in the same vein and better, or did they move to a totally different sound? I can't imagine a pedal sounding too much more like the real thing. I used to have a Club and Country and this pedal will cop that feel too. Would lilke to kill the noise though. Anyway, pedal purchases are way down lately. Very happy right now.

I just sold one last year, that I'd had in my pedalboard for years. It was one of the original handwired models, that looked like the top was hand painted with what looked more like a panhandling hobo, than a "working man". Anyway, I had a real love/hate realtionship with that pedal. On the one hand, I loved the tone. It came about as close to a cranked plexi in a box, as anything I've owned. But it was very noisy, and as soon as you engaged it - especially if you used it in tandem with other pedals - your noise level jumped exponentially. The other thing was, that the pedal was just SO hot - had so much gain on tap - that I had a really hard time balancing the volume, relative to my amp and other pedals. At settings comperable to whatever I had my other pedals set at, there was just a huge volume (and noise) jump when I kicked it in. And if I dropped the pedal volume down, it sounded too thin - like I wasn't getting it's full benefit. Kind of like trying to play a 100 watt stack at bedroom levels. Anyway, after years of wrestling with trying to reach some acceptable compromise, and taking it in and out, and in and out of my board, I finally just said the hell with it, and sold it. Got about $100 more than I originally paid for it though (I bought it used) - so felt like I got good value out of it. And I haven't really "moved on" to anything else. I bought an MI Audio Crunch Box, but it's not even in my board now - I let a buddy borrow it and haven't gotten around to getting it back. Mostly what I have now is different flavors of medium gain od pedals.

[Mapleneck]

Originally Posted by EXP

I thought the Club and Country was Marshalls take on a Twin Reverb? Which channel was it, the boost or the Fendery clean side? I like the C&C but it's too bulky and HEAVY. Way heavier than my Super.

What happened to the Blackstone? My favorite combo right now is a Blackstone with a fuzzface.

Actually the Blackstone sounded pretty darn good played into the WMB! I still have my Blackstone v2 (and a Hotcake, and a bunch of Fuzzfaces, and a Dirty Blonde, and a Timmy, etc). But at volume, in a mix, with my rig, this is the bomb. I learned that if I keep a small stash of great pedals around, I actually save money because I don't have to go fishing in the Emporium everytime my mood changes. But not so many that I get the itch to sell them to free up the resources. It's a balancing act.

[Mapleneck]

Originally Posted by saf_1

I just sold one last year, that I'd had in my pedalboard for years. It was one of the original handwired models, that looked like the top was hand painted with what looked more like a panhandling hobo, than a "working man". Anyway, I had a real love/hate realtionship with that pedal. On the one hand, I loved the tone. It came about as close to a cranked plexi in a box, as anything I've owned. But it was very noisy, and as soon as you engaged it - especially if you used it in tandem with other pedals - your noise level jumped exponentially. The other thing was, that the pedal was just SO hot - had so much gain on tap - that I had a really hard time balancing the volume, relative to my amp and other pedals. At settings comperable to whatever I had my other pedals set at, there was just a huge volume (and noise) jump when I kicked it in. And if I dropped the pedal volume down, it sounded too thin - like I wasn't getting it's full benefit. Kind of like trying to play a 100 watt stack at bedroom levels. Anyway, after years of wrestling with trying to reach some acceptable compromise, and taking it in and out, and in and out of my board, I finally just said the hell with it, and sold it. Got about $100 more than I originally paid for it though (I bought it used) - so felt like I got good value out of it. And I haven't really "moved on" to anything else. I bought an MI Audio Crunch Box, but it's not even in my board now - I let a buddy borrow it and haven't gotten around to getting it back. Mostly what I have now is different flavors of medium gain od pedals.

Yep, so far the noise has been, to one extent or the other, a problem with every Menatone OD pedal I have tried so far (WMB, Dirty Blonde, Kar Krash, Foxey Brown). I love the way all of them sound tone wise. The WMB sound good on my 5E3 turned down, so the noise is minimal, but the optical compressor (which sounds awesome) bumps the noise floor up again. I keep them both backed down to control the noise, and frankly the subtler settings are what kill on both the WMB and the JAC. When in the middle of a song it isn't a problem, but annoying enough between songs that I kill it with the volume pedal. I am about to record some stuff, and it will ba a challenge to clean it up enough. The Minstrel has more gain and less noise. A Riot I had was very quite with TONS of gain. But noe have that cool WMB tone. If Brian could just tackle the noise. There is always something.

[whaiyun]

I have the 8 knob WMB and it's dead quiet. Same with my 8 knob TBIAC

[FLYING V 83]

Had the 8-knobber and hands down the best JTM45 pedal out there.
No noise, major tweakability, and a killer independent boost circuit.

Turns out I'm not much of a fan of the 45 sound, currently using his Fargen/VOS pedal which has a very unique smooth high gain (and that same boost too).