Ok, so I know I'm a little late to the dance...I only just received my Limited Edition GSBlack (#30/30) today (25th Jan) as I'm located in Singapore...but here we go!
Firstly, lemme say that next to #1/30...#30/30 is the best model to have!
Now, I plugged into my Gries 5 (the best Blackface in the world, seriously) and grabbed my Les Paul (Burstbucker Pros) and started with unity volume, tone and gain at 12 o'clock, switches set to 'soft' and 'I'...and well, wasn't that impressed at all! The breakup wasn't anything to run to the hills about...but when I swivelled the gain knob clockwise (3 o'clock), WOWzers! Talk about sweet crunch! And anything from 2 o'clock to max gain was super sweet...there was absolutely NO distasteful tone in that range at all IMO! It was med/slightly heavy crunch without much compression or saturation, and very responsive to picking dynamics! So...now the switch is flicked to 'hard' mode, and the crunch gets a bit more saturated and intense, but slightly less responsive to picking dynamics - but being a naturally inclined to the heavier side of things, I like it!
Then we move onto setting 'II'...again, 'soft' mode...more aggressive than 'I', saturation & sustain increases, and with gain at 2:30-3 o'clock we're going into the heavy realm
. Still very sensitive and responsive to picking style. By now, I'm honestly thinking MP Mighty Red (my fav distortion)...watch out!! On goes the 'hard' setting and with gain at 2-3 o'clock, it completely does it for me - it has crisp (nice CLEAR highs w/o being ice-picky) and beefy (thick & saturated) crunch a la...well...a cranked angry JCM800.
Mind you, this whole time (1 hour of playing) I haven't touched the volume or tone knobs cos 12 o'clock tone just sounds so sweet already. So now, I'm already sold on the settings of 'hard' & 'II' with gain at 2:30-3 o'clock...so I grab my Musicman SUB1 (stock Dimarzios), and the tone is a little more aggressive, a bit more saturation...but clarity is still so apparent here! I'm strumming open chords for crying out loud!
So now I A/B this dude with my MP Mighty Red D which is my go to guy for rythmy heavy dirt - it definitely has more clarity, breaks up slightly nicer, highs are more pronounced and sweeter, but lacks some balls (bass) compared to the MRD...harmonics are sweeter with the Black as well... But one thing is clear - the GSBlack is not a transparent pedal. Yes, the characteristics of both my LP & Sub1 shined through on each take, but not nearly as much as they do when using something like the MRD or Timmy. But I don't think Brad designed it to be transparent if I recall correctly.
Anyways, I've still got much more to explore with this little guy...these are simply initial reactions and thoughts.
Bottom line: this is one sweeeeeet distortion pedal (yep, it ain't an overdrive...well not the way I use it), its probably one of the best heavier dirts I've ever played - if not THE best. And I've tried a lot (BOR, Crunchbox, KOTB, OCD)...its still fighting it out with the MRD for the title though - haven't quite decided as both are really different monsters...and I can't comment on how it matches against the BJF DRD as its been that long that I can't remember exactly what a DRD sounds like. But I have a feeling that the GSBlack may take the cake - simply cos I chose the MRD over the DRD when initially searching for a heavy dirt.
*Note: I played mainly rythm stuff on the pedal - strumming, palm mutes, some light runs...but by no means did I put it through its paces for lead work (nor do I really intend to - as my lead stuff is covered more than adequately by the GSRed & Blackstone)
Sorry for rambling...but I hope this can be of some help to at least someone out there
*PS. I've had the pleasure of directly interacting with Brad a couple of times now & as previously it was a great experience, he's a phenomenal guy! Great service, great product...3 Thumbs up! :BEER
Firstly, lemme say that next to #1/30...#30/30 is the best model to have!
Now, I plugged into my Gries 5 (the best Blackface in the world, seriously) and grabbed my Les Paul (Burstbucker Pros) and started with unity volume, tone and gain at 12 o'clock, switches set to 'soft' and 'I'...and well, wasn't that impressed at all! The breakup wasn't anything to run to the hills about...but when I swivelled the gain knob clockwise (3 o'clock), WOWzers! Talk about sweet crunch! And anything from 2 o'clock to max gain was super sweet...there was absolutely NO distasteful tone in that range at all IMO! It was med/slightly heavy crunch without much compression or saturation, and very responsive to picking dynamics! So...now the switch is flicked to 'hard' mode, and the crunch gets a bit more saturated and intense, but slightly less responsive to picking dynamics - but being a naturally inclined to the heavier side of things, I like it!
Then we move onto setting 'II'...again, 'soft' mode...more aggressive than 'I', saturation & sustain increases, and with gain at 2:30-3 o'clock we're going into the heavy realm
. Still very sensitive and responsive to picking style. By now, I'm honestly thinking MP Mighty Red (my fav distortion)...watch out!! On goes the 'hard' setting and with gain at 2-3 o'clock, it completely does it for me - it has crisp (nice CLEAR highs w/o being ice-picky) and beefy (thick & saturated) crunch a la...well...a cranked angry JCM800.Mind you, this whole time (1 hour of playing) I haven't touched the volume or tone knobs cos 12 o'clock tone just sounds so sweet already. So now, I'm already sold on the settings of 'hard' & 'II' with gain at 2:30-3 o'clock...so I grab my Musicman SUB1 (stock Dimarzios), and the tone is a little more aggressive, a bit more saturation...but clarity is still so apparent here! I'm strumming open chords for crying out loud!
So now I A/B this dude with my MP Mighty Red D which is my go to guy for rythmy heavy dirt - it definitely has more clarity, breaks up slightly nicer, highs are more pronounced and sweeter, but lacks some balls (bass) compared to the MRD...harmonics are sweeter with the Black as well... But one thing is clear - the GSBlack is not a transparent pedal. Yes, the characteristics of both my LP & Sub1 shined through on each take, but not nearly as much as they do when using something like the MRD or Timmy. But I don't think Brad designed it to be transparent if I recall correctly.
Anyways, I've still got much more to explore with this little guy...these are simply initial reactions and thoughts.
Bottom line: this is one sweeeeeet distortion pedal (yep, it ain't an overdrive...well not the way I use it), its probably one of the best heavier dirts I've ever played - if not THE best. And I've tried a lot (BOR, Crunchbox, KOTB, OCD)...its still fighting it out with the MRD for the title though - haven't quite decided as both are really different monsters...and I can't comment on how it matches against the BJF DRD as its been that long that I can't remember exactly what a DRD sounds like. But I have a feeling that the GSBlack may take the cake - simply cos I chose the MRD over the DRD when initially searching for a heavy dirt.
*Note: I played mainly rythm stuff on the pedal - strumming, palm mutes, some light runs...but by no means did I put it through its paces for lead work (nor do I really intend to - as my lead stuff is covered more than adequately by the GSRed & Blackstone)
Sorry for rambling...but I hope this can be of some help to at least someone out there
*PS. I've had the pleasure of directly interacting with Brad a couple of times now & as previously it was a great experience, he's a phenomenal guy! Great service, great product...3 Thumbs up! :BEER
